Jacob's Cabin: Much to chew on in 'The Variable'

[caption id="attachment_321" align="alignnone" width="250" caption="Daniel is unsure why he's so upset upon seeing the wreckage of Oceanic 815"][/caption]

 

 

Written by Chris Monigle

 

I'm going to begin with mathematics, ladies and gentlemen. When Faraday said that he always looked at the constant instead of the variable, I knew that would be the place to start off. Before I dive into mathematics, I'm going to outright declare this: nothing is going to change. Changing the past isn't going to be the big deal as much as what the attempt to change the past will mean. I still buy the concept of 'whatever happened, happened.' If the plane never crashes, we don't have a series. It's that simple. You mine as well just bring Joop into the mix. Season Five had to reach this point though. The point when the characters would attempt to change what has happened but that's the thing: whatever happened, happened. This recap might get a little confusing as I weave my way through what we saw in 2007 and 1977 and in this episode as a whole. 

To begin with: variables, constants, and mathematics. And I know I'm in over my head with this stuff. I mean, I'm an English major, folks. I'm going to look like a complete fool but I've come this far so here goes. In mathematics, a variable doesn't necessarily mean change. It means dependence on the values of other variables in the expression in which the variable occurs or dependence of the value of the expression on that of the variable. And a constant is a fixed point. The definition is in the word. In algebra, one needs variables to determine the constant value of the expression (I hope to Pythagoras I am right). So with that said, I understand what Faraday means by our favorite castaways being the variable. In theory, our favorites castaways can determine the constant value of their future existence but there's an inherent paradox in that theory precisely because their existence in 1977 depends on the already fixed constant. In other words, they, as variables, are dependent on the other variables (these other variables being all of the moments which led them to the Island. The Island is the constant.) I don't think they can be change this fixed point because it's a huge paradox. I think that made sense. I understand it. Moving on...

A very worthy 100th episode for the series. I like how they're asking the fans to completely re-evaluate everything they've come to know in the 100th episode of the season, an episode which usually brings together the previous 99 episodes. Instead, we are faced with possibility that the previous 99 episodes will be irrelevant if they do indeed change the past which I do not think they will. As I wrote yesterday, I think the Oceanic 6 will be directly responsible for the Incident, for the need to push the button, and they will be why they end up on the Island in 2004. Yes, I know about electromagnetism and all of that but there's no way it's going to be that cut-and-dry.

As for the episode itself, and the central story, let's turn the focus to everybody's favorite scientist Daniel Faraday. As a boy, Daniel told his mother that he would 'make time' for his piano playing. Faraday is trying to make time. The death of Charlotte is the reason why. LOST is always going to return to its characters and their story. He wants to change Charlotte's fate. We learned of the fragile relationship between he and his mother. From an early age, she was determined for Daniel to become the person that he has become, and at the cost of their relationship. The most interesting aspect of the Faraday flashback was his reaction to the wreckage of Oceanic Flight 815 which we first saw in season four's 'Confirmed Dead.' He's upset and he doesn't know why. We do not learn why he was so upset. But we can take everything we know so far and make an informed guess. But I'm not going to make an informed guess at this present moment. It may mean nothing but I doubt it. I'm going to hold off on this for the time being. Anywho, Faraday stepped all over the concept of destiny from the get-go, calling his mother a liar, and claiming that the Oceanic 6 (well the four lucky enough to experience the fun of Dharma) are not supposed to be in 1977. STEVE brought up the fact that Jack essentially believes everything now that people tell him. But it really seems that our favorite castaways are merely pawns of some game between former Others. Ms. Hawking apologized to Penny for Desmond being a casualty of this very game. Destiny, though, was present throughout this episode. Bear with me now, folks:

--I dare say Ms. Hawking raised Daniel the way she did so that he'd eventually end up pointing a gun at Richard in 1977 and be shot by his own mother. Why? Because Daniel can not change what has already happened. Hawking seems to know everything of what's to happen. We saw an example of this when Desmond was with Ms. Hawking in 1996 despite being unconcious on the Island in 2004 after the Hatch explosion. Ms. Hawking always knew she'd have to shoot her son because she knew he'd end up on the Island and back in time wanting to change the course of the future definitively and that can't happen. He'll be healed I think but he won't be able to detonate Jughead and the Hatch will need to be built. Overall, changing the future is too much course-correcting for the universe.

--We saw the scene between little Charlotte and Daniel in which he tells her to not come back. That happened. Charlotte's death is absolute.

I'll need to re-watch to go further into this. There's some other things like Daniel, Widmore, and The Island but I don't want to write a novel. Back to the story of this episode:

We saw Daniel as a broken man pretty much and he reminded me of Locke. His mind was handicapped due to all of the radiation used when he experimented with time-travel, he ended up hurting the woman he loved because of his obsession with science and experimentation. Locke was a broken man who destroyed his relationship with Helen because he could not get over the anger he felt towards his father. His father pushed him out of a buidling. Locke fell 8 storeys and was paralyzed until he was healed. Daniel's mind was broken, like Locke's back, until the Island healed it. The Island is a place of miracles. On the Island, Locke has realized his destiny just as Daniel has realized his. The episode brought up the themes of LOST: free will vs. destiny, science vs. faith. Faraday has abandoned sciene in a way because he is just hoping he can change the future to undo the death of Charlotte. 

Overall, a very good episode. It further developed Daniel's character and the intensity is beginning to build towards the finale. There's a lot of things to chew on from this episode. Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz delivered in this 100th hour of LOST. Here's some other thoughts:

--We saw the guitar with Hurley once again. Charlie connection, right? I think one of my favorite scenes in LOST is in the season four opener when Hurley talks to Charlie. Hurley's just a big teddy bear. He's great. Another scene I love is when Hurley's talking to Jack. Jorge Garcia delivers this line brilliantly: "And then I saw Charlie..." 

--Jack was great tonight especially when he knew Kate was not where or when she needed to be for being back on the Island. She's gotta find my girl, guys and gals. She's gotta find Claire.

--I hope we see more of the 2007 stuff. It's extremely interesting. I know we will. There's only three episodes left.

--I didn't like Miles stepping on Daniel's feet tonight. But I loved the exchange between Sawyer and Miles about Daniel still being crazy. FANTASTIC!

--I hope Sayid's hanging out in the caves. I was hoping that Sawyer would suggest that everyone just hide in the caves. I really

miss the caves. They were so cool. They created a great atmosphere in that first season. I'm looking forward to seeing Sayid

again.

--I usually don't write about the previews but I've got to say: wandering around in the Temple is going to be awesome.

--Richard Alpert is so cool. He's by far the sanest Other ever. RICHARD! RICHARD! RICHARD!

--I suppose I should write about the revelation of Daniel's parents but it was pretty much figured out by everyone weeks ago. But it's cool you know.

--Things are about to get ugly for Sawyer and Juliet. It's going to be intense. The end of this season is going to be intense, you know?

Anywho, that's about it for 'The Variable.' ONTO THE LOST RANKINGS!

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS!

I was too harsh on Kate last week. I made some changes with my rankings. Daniel falls to 12. It's not for any particular reason. It's just the harsh nature of the rankings. Jack falls to a shocking 11 for STEVE. Richard nears the top five for me. But yeah, check it out:

AFTER EPISODE 14

RANKED: 4/29/09

CHRIS

1. Locke

2. Desmond

3. Sayid

4. Jack

5. Sawyer

6. Richard

7. Ben

8. Jin

9. Hurley

10. Juliet

11. Kate

12. Daniel

13. Sun

14. Miles

15. Frank

16. Widmore

STEVE

1. Desmond

2. Sawyer

3. Kate

4. Sayid

5. Locke

6. Ben

7. Miles

8. Jin

9. Richard

10. Frank

11. Jack

12. Sun

13. Juliet

14. Widmore

15. Hurley

16. Daniel

Some Thoughts BEFORE the 100th episode 'The Variable.'

Written by Chris Monigle

 

[caption id="attachment_81" align="alignnone" width="235" caption="Destiny's a big deal."][/caption]

So, it's the middle of Final Week so of course I have to write about LOST as the 100th episode nears. I mean, come on, it's the 100th episode! This is a big deal. This won't be an exhaustive entry (I'm saving that for after the 100th episode) but I do have some thoughts to share about the season so far and where I think it is going as we head into the final three weeks of season five. Boy is that a depressing reality. But I cannot think about that. This is the time of year, with LOST, when I begin dreaming about, re-watching old episodes like it is literally my job. And I HAVE BEEN watching old episodes sporadically thanks to the SCI-FI airing the second season at 1AM. It's fantastic. But anywho, here's some thoughts as we head into the 100th episode of LOST!

 

--Episode 100 is entitled 'The Variable,' which means 'changeable' or 'apt to vary.' In LOST terms, it's gotta mean: 'we're going to see just how solid whatever happened, happened' actually is. I pretty much believe anything that comes out of Daniel Faraday's mouth when it comes to time travel so when I see him in the preview saying 'any one of us can die,' I'm prepared for anything to happen. There's only one other character who I trust with explanations: Joop the Monkey (and 1,000,000,000 you are a super duper points to whoever knows what I'm talking about and who Joop actually is). Actually, I'll just tell you who Joop is. Joop is the monkey who would've opened up the finale if the show had ever been abruptly cancelled, to explain everything about LOST. He would also have a pipe in his mouth. Lindelof and Cuse are kings, folks. Anywho, I'll be honest with you, readers: I have had this in the back of my mind since 'This Place Is Death' I mean. I didn't write out what I was thinking. I wrote about it in a vague fashion because that's how I roll I suppose (FYI: You can access older reviews of LOST episodes with a search of my name on wcuquad.com. I'll get this blog up to date once school is over). Originally, I thought (and this will NOT happen) that the Oceanic 6 might change the history of The Purge but that won't happen because it simply can't happen because of when they are. I have to see 'The Variable' before I go further into my thoughts about changing time/integrity of the show/whatever happened, happened/promises by Lindelof and Cuse, etc. But I do have an idea in my head about where this season is going to and how it relates to the tagline of season five: Destiny Calls.

--In 'Some Like It Hoth,' we see the beginning stages of The Swan station. Hurley's face drops once he hears the numbers as a worker stamps them on the outside of the Hatch door. Miles wonders what's going on because Hurley knows the number 42 before the construction worker yells to the other guy. Hurley tells Miles that they're building a hatch. Miles asks, 'What Hatch?' and Hurley tells him, "The one that crashed our plane." So now here comes my idea which has been floating around in my head. I wasn't sure if I was going to be vague about it or tell it outright but I suppose I've come this far. In the previews we see Jack and Kate on the run. Things are falling apart for our castaways in the future New Otherton. And then there's The Incident. The Incident was introduced in season two, episode three. We don't know what happened. All we know is something happened that forced a person to type in 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 every 108 minutes or something bad will happen. Any number of things can be the cause of it: electromagnetism as seen with the death of Alvarez and, of course, Jughead. Whatever happens with The Incident will directly involve our favorite castaways. They will be the reason why their plane crashes in September 2004. 

--Enough about 'The Variable' for now. As always, I don't really care if what I think doesn't happen. I'm all about the story, and I know whatever Lindelof and Cuse have planned will be awesome. As for the season so far, it has been very enjoyable. 'Jughead' is one of the best episodes of the series and my favorite so far of season five. I've enjoyed the character development with Jack. I absolutely love how some are in 1977 and others are in 2007. It's fantastic. And this season has been packed with answers and information about the mythology of the show. We got Rousseau's backstory, introduced to The Temple...and all that jazz. But I'll stop writing about the season so far here. I prefer writing about each season as a completed whole. Yes.

That's about all I have. I'm really excited for the 100th hour of LOST. It has been a wonderful journey so far. A big congrats to the cast and crew of LOST from all five seasons! 'The Variable' TOMORROW NIGHT! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

'Some Like It Hoth' Thoughts

FARADAY HAS RETURNED! Ah! That is awesome! Faraday has been gone for far too long. But I will discuss Faraday in a little bit of time. There's no better place to start than with Miles Straum himself since he was at the center of episode thirteen of season five: 'Some Like It Hoth.'

Daddy issues are no new thing with LOST. It is a theme of the show. The first father/son relationship was introduced in season 1's 'White Rabbit.' The fifth episode of season one revolved around Jack following his father in the jungle. His father led him to water but that's besides the point. In fact, the second Jack episode of season one is entitled 'All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues.' In season one we saw these father/son difficulties: Locke, his father, and the con of the kidney transplant; Jin and his own shame of his father's life as a fisherman; Michael and Walt. In season two, the show revisited Locke and his father as well as Jack and his father. In season three we saw Hurley and his dad, their issues as well as Ben's daddy issues with Roger. We even saw Locke purged of his anger at his father in 'The Brig.' In season five, we saw Sayid and his father as well as the focus of tonight's episode: Miles and his father.

The long-awaited backstory finally happened tonight. Miles was introduced in the show as such a brash person. Maelstrom and his name Miles Straum is intentional. But anywho, we never knew how Miles got involved with Naomi and Widmore, and it all began when he was a young boy and he heard voices from a dead man. Once again, death is involved in a season five episode. And death has been a theme in this season. The very fact that Dharma will eventually be killed is always in the back of minds. Miles doesn't know how to deal with his ability to communicate with the dead. He makes a profit from it, of course, but he doesn't understand himself and why he is the way he is as we learn in the scene with his dying mother (and there's also a theme of mothers and death in the show which may be written about). I think that's something the story will be returning to.

It wasn't a shock at all to learn Miles is Dr. Chang's son. Every fan figured it out in the season premiere. I can't help but think of Locke, in The Orchid, when he tells Jack that the Island is a place of miracles. It relates to what Hurley said to Miles about Miles having the chance to be with his Dad in the present. The Island can be a place of miracles. Throughout the episode, Miles dealt with, essentially, abandonment issues. He's been angry at his father for years. In 1977, he doesn't want to see him or talk to him. Luckily, Hurley's there. Hurley brings out the best in every character on the show. He and Miles have the communication with dead people in common as well as the daddy issues. As Hurley told Miles: if you have the second chance, you have to take it. And Miles does. In a classic LOST scene (and really this episode is what is special about LOST: their character-driven episodes), Miles watches his father read a story to 3-month-old Miles, and in that moment he saw that his father truly loved him. I think Pierre had a very good reason for sending his wife and son away. Now, it looks like Miles will get to spend, at least, a little time with his father. Overall, a good episode with nice character development and also some set-up for the remainder of the season. LOST is king.

Some other thoughts:

--Did we see the first electromagnetic-related death? I'm surprised Hurley didn't put things together with what he knows. Speaking of electromagnetism, I really dug the scene with The Hatch Hole. Jorge Garcia did a great job with the scene and, especially, the line to Miles about this Hatch being the reason why the plane crashes in 2004.

--’Who is the Shadow underneath the statue?' has got to be Smokey. I really thought we were going to see good ol' Tom in that scene. But I still think Ilana, and the thugs with Miles are with Ben. And, also, big guy is ON the Island. Thanks to TwoP for that since I didn't connect the dots.

--As the great Jim Ross says, business is about to pick up. Sawyer's holding Phil captive. Roger is suspicious of Kate. Meanwhile, in 2008, Ilana is ready to start taking names. I'm excited to see what happens.

--Very interesting that Dharma does some work in Hostile territory. Horace Goodspeed is still awesome, by the way.

--I really enjoyed the scene between Jack and Sawyer. Sawyer looked genuinely grateful for the information Jack told him. And I always like the presence of Juliet.

--You know...Kate told Claire's mom that she was going back to the Island to find her daughter. Maybe Kate should get on that. But, of course, I doubt Claire is in 1977. I'm going to move on from this...

--I got a kick out Sawyer's line about lying and being the head of security. I felt like that was a shot at our government. Very enjoyable.

--The cover-up of Alvarez's death lends to that Utopian society of the Dharma Initiative. I wonder if that will be re-visited.

--No Jin again. Bummer.

--Loved the line Miles had about standing in front of his mother in the lunch line.

--I was glad to have more Hurley around. I got a kick out him writing The Empire Strikes Back. Hurley's just awesome in general.

--Faraday has returned. I thought we'd see him at the Orchid but I should've known Faraday went on some crazy adventure. He returned with scientists from Ann Arbor. I am extremely excited for the Faraday episode. I'm thinking it gets the 2 hour season finale. But I was very, very glad to see Daniel Faraday again. You can bet your cadberry egg that he's moving up in the rankings. Faraday looked like a new man too. No longer broken. Very excited in case I didn't express that yet.

That's all for 'Some Like It Hoth.' No new episode next week so I'll be back in two weeks to discuss THE 100TH EPISODE! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

And here's a transcript of a scene between Sayid and Hurley from season two's episode 'The Long Con.' It's always been one of my favorite scenes.

[We see Hurley sitting by a fire reading a manuscript entitled "Bad Twin" by Gary Troup. Sayid enters carrying a pole and the radio.]

HURLEY: Hey, check this out. I found a manuscript in one of the suitcases. It's like a mystery book.

SAYID: I want to show you something.

HURLEY: Cool, you fixed it.

SAYID: We'll see. [handing Hurley the radio] Hold on to this. Don't expect anything. The chances of getting a signal are slim at best.

[Sayid plants the pole in the sand and turns on the radio. We hear static.]

HURLEY: Static's good, right?

SAYID: No, reception is good.

[Sayid changes the dial and we hear Danielle's transmission.]

HURLEY: Wait, what's that?!

SAYID: It's Rousseau's signal.

HURLEY: Oh, crap.

SAYID: [changing the dial] But this radio has a wider bandwidth.

HURLEY: Hold it, stop! Do you hear that!

RADIO ANNOUNCER: [spotty reception] That was the old classic "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'" by Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, featuring Cootie Williams on the trumpet. Up next on WXR, the Glenn Miller Orchestra with Moonlight Serenade.

[The song begins to play with good reception.]

HURLEY: Whoa, you hear how clear that is? It's got to be close, right?

SAYID: Radio waves at this frequency bounce off the ionosphere. They can travel thousands of miles. It could be coming from anywhere.

HURLEY: Or, any time. -- Just kidding, dude.

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS!

Another exciting weeks for the rankings. Kate dropped 9 spots in my rankings. Jack moved back into the top five. For STEVE, Kate moves up even further and Miles cracks the top 10. AFTER EPISODE 13 RANKED: 4/16/09 CHRIS 1. Locke 2. Desmond 3. Sayid 4. Jack 5. Sawyer 6. Ben 7. Daniel 8. Jin 9. Hurley 10. Juliet 11. Richard 12. Sun 13. Miles 14. Kate 15. Frank 16. Widmore STEVE 1. Desmond 2. Sayid 3. Kate 4. Sawyer 5. Locke 6. Ben 7. Jack 8. Jin 9. Miles 10. Frank 11. Richard 12. Sun 13. Juliet 14. Widmore 15. Hurley 16. Daniel

Jacob's Cabin: 'Dead Is Dead'

'Dead Is Dead' is one of the most important episodes in the series. I know this. You know this. People who don't watch the show know this. It's one of those episodes which will begin to make sense in the sixth season. It has to be. The final scene alone, with Ben walking underneath The Temple in what seems to be another Temple, has so much in it that I'll advise you, dear readers, to read Doc Jensen's recap of the episode. I do think we saw the four-toed statue carved into the rock facing what has to be the image of the smoke monster. But Doc Jensen will offer interesting theories into that final scene with Ben. And, of course, AS ALWAYS, you must trust in LOST itself because LOST will explain EVERYTHING (well...mostly everything) by May 2010.

With that said, I have a lot to write about this episode. There's no better character to begin with than the man the episode centered around: Benjamin Linus. The episode did a fantastic job of adding layers to an already fantastically layered character. There's no character on television as complex as Benjamin Linus. The added layers involved children and Ben. Ben has a soft spot for children. It's that simple. His soft spot for children is what saves Penny's life. Once he sees little Charlie, he drops the gun. He was supposed to 'exterminate' Danielle but he found Alex, and decided to save her. When Widmore described Alex as an 'it,' Ben responded with: "She's not an 'it,' Charlies. She's a child." My theory of Ben being devastated by a childbirth he experienced, which is actually the story of Ethan, was dashed. But the episode explained why Ben was so focused on children, of fixing the problem of pregnant mothers and their unborn children dying on the Island, of kidnapping children like Zach, Emma, Walt, and Aaron. Yes, I know Juliet said Ethan acted alone but I'll elaborate on my inclusion of Aaron in the list of kidnappings ordered by Ben later on. Ben's soft spot for children helps humanize him but I'm sure I didn't even need to write that sentence. Framing the story around Ben's relationship with Alex and, subsequently, the history with Widmore created a whole picture for this particularly poignant story in Ben's life.

Ben kidnapped Alex because he figured leaving her with Rousseau would result in the child's death. Widmore insists that the Island wanted her dead. In the beginning of the episode, while 12 year old Ben recovers from his gunshot wound, Widmore and Richard have an exchange in which Widmore believes the child was meant to die. A major component of this episode is the idea of what the Island wants. But what, in fact, does the Island want? It seems clear that the fate of Alex was to die on the Island, and Ben simply did what he did not do nineteen years ago: he let Alex die. I write this only because Ben lived to tell the tale of his judgment with the Monster. We've seen what the Monster does to those who are acting against It, as in the case of Mr. Eko. The difference between Eko and Ben's judgment was: Eko pled his case to the Monster's manifestation of Yemi, and the Monster manifested as Alex AFTER the judgment of Ben but It issued a warning to Ben: to follow every word Locke says, and to not kill him. Yes, Locke is important. And I'll be addressing Locke soon. But back to Widmore, Ben, and daughters. The rule Widmore broke, as we know, was killing an Other. Regardless of his banishment, Widmore IS a banished Other. Therefore, the rule still applied. As we saw in 'The Shape of Things To Come,' Ben was absolutely broken, and we saw this in 'Dead Is Dead.' In that season four episode, Ben tells Widmore that he will kill his daughter. We see this in 'Dead Is Dead,' and for the second time, other than the remorse he felt for what he did to Alex, Ben expresses remose to Sun over his attempted murder of Penny. He tells Sun to tell Desmond that he's sorry. Ben says this because he thinks he is going to be punished by death by the Monster, and that's something for Ben. I felt like, unlike his apology to Locke in the Orchid, that he's genuinely sorry for what he did to Desmond. It was all over his face. Speaking of Locke though...

'What's dead is dead,' Ben tells Sun on the porch. And I think Locke is different despite what he says to Sun about being the same. I don't want to say that Locke is like Christian but he is like Christian. They both died, and they both were resurrected on the Island, and by the Island presumably. Ben fears Locke because Locke is special. 'The Man From Tallahasse' is one of the finest LOST episodes produced. There's a particular exchange worth noting. Ben is still wheelchair bound, and they have an exchange about the Island, and being special. Locke, the man once paralyzed but healed by the Island, remarks to Ben that Ben is in a wheelchair and he is not. It is that episode which sets up everything Ben does to Locke in future episodes such as shooting him at the end of 'The Man Behind The Curtain' and killing him, and there should be no confusion of why Ben plans/planned to kill Locke again. Locke is a threat to Ben, and what Ben thinks he is. Ben never believed the words he said to Locke in the Orchid about accepting what the Island wants. Locke will always be a threat. And even more so now because of his resurrection. Ben was also healed by the Island. He doesn't want to lose the communion he had with the Island. To repeat myself: Locke will always be a threat to Ben. But, perhaps, things have changed now that Smokey let Ben live. As for Locke himself, he is in the Island zone. It's awesome. But I don't want to write too much about Locke alone yet. I do want to write this: John Locke is JABOY. Charlie will prove to be right: John Locke will save them all.

As for Ethan and Aaron, I just think Ben ordered Ethan to kidnap Claire in private. Ethan was with Ben before. So, there's not much to it other than Ben is not the most honest person, and it would not be surprising if he AND Ethan acted alone in Claire's abduction. And by Aaron, I mean Claire's abduction because they planned to keep Aaron. So, in essence: kidnapping.

I suppose I'll move on to my other thoughts on 'Dead Is Dead':

--Obviously, Ben was lying to John about his believing and seeing. Ben did not expect Locke to resurrect. Ben is a tricky fellow.

--Lapidus made the wrong decision going back to Alcatraz Island. Walt's dream of Locke being surrounded by people who want to hurt him looks like it will come to be. Ilana's leading a pack to avenge Cesar's death presumably.

--I'm loving Sun again. She's so much cooler searching for Jin. And I love the atmosphere of New Otherton in 2008. It's so cool. I really dig this separation of time. And I wonder what ideas Locke has for finding Jin and the rest of the castaways. Locke will get it done though.

--I'm really glad Penny is not dead, and glad we saw Desmond again. I hope Desmond comes back to the Island again. The entire scene with Ben and Our Mutual Friend (Dickens/Season 2 Finale/Desmond callback!)

--I've got to comment on the name given to the Monster on Radzinky's map. The name is Cerberus: the creature from Greek mythology with an alligator's body and three dog heads. He guarded Hades. Obviously, the Monster is guarding The Temple. However, Cerberus is a name given to the Monster by a character on LOST. It is not an official name for the Smoke Monster. Radzinsky named the Monster Ceberus because of the knowledge of the Monster guarding The Temple. That's all I have to say about that.

--Did not expect Cesar to die so quickly. I figured he'd play more of an important role. Lindelof and Cuse are tricky fellas.

--'Who is the Shadow underneath the statue?' Very interesting. Code word or no?

--I really felt for Rousseau when Ben took Alice. What a character Rousseau is.

--I mine as well write it now: will we learn Amy is an Other? Her son is Ethan after all.

--Widmore was banished for having a child with an outside, breaking the rules. Widmore should've been smarter.

--Richard's awesome. He didn't seem to like Widmore very much. It was more evident this week than last week.

--Overall, I loved the episode. Absolutely terrific. Stephen Williams directed the hell out of this, and Brian K. Vaugh and Elizabeth Sarnoff did a great job with the script.

That's about it for 'Dead Is Dead.' Next week's episode looks awesome. TO THE RANKINGS!



THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS!

An exciting week for the rankings I dare say. STEVE has a new number one. There's movement in both of our rankings. Here's some clarification: For STEVE, characters he doesn't care about begins at 12. Characters I dont care about begins at 16. Enjoy.

AFTER EPISODE 12

RANKED: 4/8/09

CHRIS

1. Locke

2. Desmond

3. Sayid

4. Sawyer

5. Kate

6. Jack

7. Ben

8. Jin

9. Richard

10. Juliet

11. Hurley

12. Sun

13. Daniel

14. Miles

15. Frank

16. Widmore



STEVE

1. Desmond

2. Sayid

3. Sawyer

4. Kate

5. Locke

6. Ben

7. Jack

8. Jin

9. Frank

10. Richard

11. Miles

12. Sun

13. Juliet

14. Widmore

15. Daniel

16. Hurley

The LOST blog 'Jacob's Cabin' Episode 11: Whatever Happened, Happened

Quite possibly the best Kate episode the show has ever produced. Actually, no, scratch that: it is the best Kate episode ever produced. Gone is Kate the fugitive and all of the breaking-into-the-bank-to-find-an-airplane fun that we got in episode 22 of season one. I'll be honest with you all, my excitement for the episode took a hit when I saw the Cassidy stuff in the previously. I don't know why. Perhaps it is still my unresolved feelings for aspects of season two. But I'm of the opinion that "Left Behind" from Season Three is Kate's second best episode, and it featured Cassidy. I digress though. This episode showed the new side of Kate in all of its glory. The big picture is not about Jack and it is not about Sawyer. It is about Aaron.

I didn't buy, and I don't buy, what Cassidy said to Kate about needing Aaron because Sawyer broke her heart. It was always about Aaron for Kate. "The Little Prince" reminded the viewers that Kate delivered Claire's child. Those two will always be connected because of that. And those two refers to both Kate and Claire AND Kate and Aaron. 'Destiny Calls' is the tagline of season five. Destiny once again showed its face in the scene at the super market. After losing Aaron, she found him with, basically, Claire's twin. Evangeline Lilly played the reaction to the woman perfectly: relieved to have found Aaron but aware of Claire always. Claire visited her in a dream, telling Kate to never bring Aaron back. So now, Kate is going to bring Aaron his mother to him because Claire and Aaron are supposed to be together. It's destiny. There's a beautiful scene at the end of season two's episode 'Maternity Leave.' It is a Claire episode. In the episode, Aaron has is sick so Claire treks into the jungle with Rousseau and Kate (of course it's Kate. Always connected.) When she returns, Aaron is better. There's a scene with Claire putting a sock she knitted for him while she was with the Others and drugged in The Arrow on Aaron's foot, and she says, with tears: "You know, I wanted them to take you. But now I know -- I know that we're supposed to be together, you and me. We're supposed to take care of each other, okay. -- You're mine and I love you. I love you so much."

Here are some other thoughts:

--Lindelof and Cuse wrote this one, and they did a great job (which is expected). They know their fans so well. I could hear Cuse and Lindelof in the scenes between Hurley and Miles. Cuse would be Miles and Lindelof would be Hurley. I've been listening to their podcast since 2006 so I know the minds of Lindelof and Cuse in regards to this show obviously. I knew they wouldn't kill Ben because WHATEVER HAPPENED, HAPPENED! HE COULD NOT DIE! Hopefully, the fans of the show will finally understand that very simple concept. Pierre Chang, in the premiere, says to a construction worker, when the worker jokingly asks if time-travel means a person can travel back in time and kill Hitley: "Don't be absured! There are rules! Rules that cannot be broken!" It's been there since the premiere. Whatever happened, happened.

--This episode did a solid job of advancing the plot. Jack understood that Ben would not die. Don't mistake that for Jack being a so and so, folks. He's supposed to be on the Island. He knows this, and he's content waiting until the Island tells him what to do.

--There's no way Kate, Sawyer, and little Ben disappear without any Dharma catching wind of it. There's still the key issue. It shall be interesting.

--I loved the scenes between Hurley and Miles. Miles said what I was thinking about the time travel business in 1977 that I had trouble putting into words. It is the past but it is the Losties present.

--We saw a new, gentler side to Roger. That moment explains the difference between how Roger was when Ben was 8 in 'The Man Behind The Curtain" and how Roger was with Ben before Ben killed him in The Purge. It is also worth noting that Kate is involved in key moments in the Linus history. As soon as Roger realizes how far away he is from the father he wanted to be when Ben was born, Ben will never be the same again after Richard saves his life.

--The scene between Kate and Mrs. Littleton was fantastic. Scenes like that are why I love the show as much as I do. It got a bit dusty in the 619. I won't lie. I've been waiting a long time to hear Claire's name again, and for her story to be brought back, and how they are doing it is great. Kate's goodbye to Aaron was very touching. The music was quintessential LOST. Definitely my favorite part of the episode.

--Did I see a bright light as Richard entered the Temple? I missed a name the one Other said. I heard Ellie but I missed the other name. I still think Ellie is Ms. Hawking.

--And last but not least: Locke and Ben are finally back! Locke was the last thing Ben wanted to wake up to.

And that's about it. Next week's episode looks awesome.



THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS!

Exciting rankings. Kate makes a huge jump in me and STEVE's rankings. The rankings are tough though. I really like every character and sometimes characters have to be low because it is a harsh numbers game. It is very tough. Anywho, here are the rankings:

AFTER EPISODE 11

RANKED: 4/1/09



CHRIS

1. Locke

2. Desmond

3. Sayid

4. Sawyer

5. Kate

6. Jack

7. Jin

8. Ben

9. Juliet

10. Hurley

11. Daniel

12. Sun

13. Richard

14. Miles

15. Frank

16. Widmore



STEVE

1. Sayid

2. Desmond

3. Sawyer

4. Kate

5. Locke

6. Jack

7. Jin

8. Richard

9. Ben

10. Miles

11. Frank

12. Juliet

13. Sun

14. Widmore

15. Hurley

16. Daniel