Jacob's Foot: LOST Season Two Rewind

LOST Rewind: Season Two

I think the introduction of The Dharma Intiative is worth thinking about when considering the answers to the questions we'll be awaiting when the sixth season returns. I want you all to remember that Sept. 21, 2005 night when "Man of Science, Man of Faith" premiered. NO ONE saw The Dharma Intiative coming. No one saw a button that had to be pushed every 108 minutes to save world coming. Billie Doux, a veteran LOST reviewer, wrote that she expected answers but didn't expect that. It was jarring. I had no idea what to make of it. In retrospect, the feeling is, "of course they had to do that." Perhaps considering this plot point is rather weak considering it opened up a whole new world of LOST storytelling while the answers we'll be given in the sixth season are going to work towards the ultimate conclusion.

I'm aware I promised less-wordy season recaps and opt for smaller blocks of text so I will keep to my promise.

Episodes You Need to Watch before Feb. 2

*Live Together, Die Alone--my vote for the most underrated LOST finale (most forgotten as well perhaps). I planned on writing a rather verbose entry on this specific episode and will most likely do so as January will be LOST season finale month. I have a lot to write about all of the happenings in this episode because these happenings launch so much for the future of the show. It's a brillaint finale. In short, this episode has: Desmond's first flashback, the revelation that his failure to push the button caused Oceanic 815 to crash, The Four-Toed statue (known as JACOB'S FOOT!), The Hatch implosion, the introduction of Charles Widmore, etc etc. I don't want to step on my own toes (there's also the weird encounter Desmond has with Libby) for when I write about this episode but this episode is pretty important in the LOST story.

*S.O.S.--Rose and Bernard's only flashback. It's sweet. We find out Rose, too, was healed by The Island. Why is this essential to watch? I have my reasons[caption id="attachment_590" align="alignnone" width="250" caption="The season two poster. It's like an old school Royal Rumble poster."][/caption]

LOST Rewind: Season Two

I think the introduction of The Dharma Intiative is worth thinking about when considering the answers to the questions we'll be awaiting when the sixth season returns. I want you all to remember that Sept. 21, 2005 night when "Man of Science, Man of Faith" premiered. NO ONE saw The Dharma Intiative coming. No one saw a button that had to be pushed every 108 minutes to save world coming. Billie Doux, a veteran LOST reviewer, wrote that she expected answers but didn't expect that. It was jarring. I had no idea what to make of it. In retrospect, the feeling is, "of course they had to do that." Perhaps considering this plot point is rather weak considering it opened up a whole new world of LOST storytelling while the answers we'll be given in the sixth season are going to work towards the ultimate conclusion.

I'm aware I promised less-wordy season recaps and opt for smaller blocks of text so I will keep to my promise.

Episodes You Need to Watch before Feb. 2

*Live Together, Die Alone--my vote for the most underrated LOST finale (most forgotten as well perhaps). I planned on writing a rather verbose entry on this specific episode and will most likely do so as January will be LOST season finale month. I have a lot to write about all of the happenings in this episode because these happenings launch so much for the future of the show. It's a brillaint finale. In short, this episode has: Desmond's first flashback, the revelation that his failure to push the button caused Oceanic 815 to crash, The Four-Toed statue (known as JACOB'S FOOT!), The Hatch implosion, the introduction of Charles Widmore, etc etc. I don't want to step on my own toes (there's also the weird encounter Desmond has with Libby) for when I write about this episode but this episode is pretty important in the LOST story.

*S.O.S.--Rose and Bernard's only flashback. It's sweet. We find out Rose, too, was healed by The Island. Why is this essential to watch? I have my reasons.

Episodes You Don't Necessarily Need to Watch but Still Should

Yes. I'm aware I listed just two episodes that begs to be watched before the premiere. But hey, season two doesn't have much mystery anymore. Season Five really shored up Season Two.

*The 23rd Psalm--Eko's greatest episode and one of the best in the series. Eko provided a different kind of man of faith compared to the man of faith that is John Locke.

*One of Them--I mean, you don't really need to watch this episode before Feb. 2. It's just fun to re-live the very short Henry Gale era.

*Lockdown--I wrote a whole episode of the day on this one.

*Dave: I know Damon and Carlton have stated that Libby's Dave and Hurley's Dave are totally different people but those two like to trick the audience. I doubt it's a big deal for the sixth season. The final scene of this episode is the reveal that Libby was once in the same mental institution as Hurley and she was a patient. I also am trying to make up for omitting "Numbers" in the season one rewind I did. I have no idea why. There's some great Hurley stuff in this one too.

*...And Found--a nice, sweet episode about Jin and Sun's destiny to be together. also, a nice episode about friendship. Jin goes off to find Michael after Michael takes off into the jungle to find Walt.

*Fire + Wate--an episode I onced had trouble accepting when it first aired but I have since found a new sense of appreciation for it. There's an Episode of the Day for it. Also worth watching: the bonus feature about this episode in the season two dvd. It gives valuable insight into Locke and Charlie.

*Everybody Hates Hugo: Again, an episode of the day exists for this one. I'm a big Hurley fan. The Island story in this one is terrific as is the conclusion of the episode. Love the montage.

*What Kate Did: Remember when EVERYONE wanted to know what Kate did? I do and this episode tells you what she did. It also features the famous horse that is still be discussed and theorized.

*Maternity Leave: I mentioned this episode in my "Whatever Happened, Happened" recap. I think it's an important episode for Claire/Aaron.

*Man of Science, Man of Faith--The introduction of Desmond, Jack and Locke yell at each other, the introduction of The Hatch and Dharma, Walt-Who-Speaks-Backwards appears. It's very, very good.

MOST VALUABLE CHARACTER--SEASON TWO EDITION

This was fun to do for season one. I will do this again right now:

Jack Shephard: The defending MVC. In season two, he decides to push the button every 108 minutes, explores The Hatch with Sayid and discovers the electromagnetic energy, yells at Tom in The Hunting Party, is nice to Ana Lucia, continues to help people as their doctor, saves Sawyer's life, engages in a passionate kiss with Kate, wanted to find Michael when Michael went to look for Walt, listened to Sayid about Sayid's suspicion of Michael, attemped to force a trade for Walt by using Ben.

Sayid Jarrah: Sayid fixes The Swan computer, wonders why time is being wasted just so Jack can decide the button needs to be pushed, discovers the amount of concrete undernearth The Hatch and compares it to Chernobyl (the incident), continues to court Shannon, dazzles her as he comforts her about Boone, eventually believes Shannon about her visions of Walt, forgives Ana Lucia for murdering Shannon even after being tied to a tree, helps put the fire out ignited by Charlie, listens to 1940s music with Hurley in the first hint of time travel, is the only one that believes Ben is lying about Henry Gale, PROVES that Ben is a liar by going back to the balloon Ben told them about and digging up that very grave, is correctly suspicious about Michael after Michael returns from his sojourn to find Walt, hatches the plan with Jack for how to handle Michael, uses Desmond's boat he got from Libby to sail to the other side of The Island to aid Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sawyer in their battle with the other, as he sails he discovers the four-toed statue which will eventually be known as Jacob's Foot by me.

Mr. Eko: Protects the Tailies after they've landed just like he protected Yemi, does not speak for 40 days afterwards as penance, comforts Ana Lucia as she cries, later apologizes for killing some Others to Benny Linus, apologizes to Sawyer for his actions against Sawyer, Michael, and Jin (he beat them with his Jesus Stick when the Tailies mistook them for Others), helps Jin look for Michael after Michael takes off for Walt, Eko suggests the group go inland as they make their way to the Losties camp in order to save Sawyer's life though it puts them at risk with The Others, saves Ana Lucia's life when Sayid's ready to kill her, stops Jack from going to the Tailies full of anger and bloodlust, comforts Ana Lucia as she deals with accidentally killing Shannon, Eko brings the missing piece of the Orientation film from The Arrow, CONFRONTED Smokey and did not stand down or run, is able to properly mourn his brother's death as he recites The 23rd Psalm with Charlie, begins building the church he owes Yemi, baptizes jagirl Claire and baby Aaron, discovers the ? Hatch (otherwise known as The Pearl) with Locke, Eko then believes pushing the button to be more important than ever, continues pushing the button until Locke and Desmond force him out and then lock him out.

Hurley: Is told to do an inventory on the food but eventually decides to give the food to everybody, develops a relationship with Libby, accepts the Tailies, helps Sawyer out even if Sawyer's blackmailing him, exercises with Libby, tries to fix his eating problems, attacks Sawyer because Sawyer called him crazy and probably for all the other stuff Sawyer said to him that got under Hurley's skin, is one of the few characters to remember The Caves existence, plans a picnic for Libby (but unfortunately forgets the blankets), buries Libby and leads the funeral for her and Ana Lucia, decides to go on the trek to The Others after Michael asks him to.

Desmond: Informs Jack and Locke of the importance of pushing the button every 108 minutes, tells them about the Orientation video, flees as soon as the computer's shot because he hates The Island, gets Jack to open up about Sarah, eventually returns to the beach because his sailboat just went in circles, tells Claire she doesn't need to give Aaron the injections because he's been doing that for three years with zero results, helps Locke see whether or not the button's consequences are real, realizes it's all bloody real, and turns the failsafe with the key (doing that will eventually allow him to get off the island as he boards the freighter, is able to call Penny, and Penny finds him and The Oceanic 6 plus the whole 'see-the-future' thing starts with that but that's for season three). For fun: he's also the reason why Oceanic 815 crashes.

WINNER OF THE SEASON TWO MVC AWARD: This is a tough, tough call but I think the award has to go to Desmond Hume. The failsafe thing is so damn important for the future of the show. So the season two MVC is Desmond Hume.

2. Mr. Eko

3. Sayid

4. Jack

5. Hurley

TOP THREE EPISODES OF THE SEASON

3. Lockdown (http://www.hulu.com/watch/90178/lost-lockdown#s-p2-n2-so-i0)

2. The 23rd Psalm (http://www.hulu.com/watch/90207/lost-the-23rd-psalm#s-p3-n2-so-i0)

1. Live Together, Die Alone (http://www.hulu.com/watch/90204/lost-live-together-die-alone-part-1#s-p1-n2-so-i0)

FINAL THOUGHTS

The tagline for season two was: Everything Happens For A Reason. That has been a prevailing theme throughout the series. Damon Lindelof even mentions the tagline at the end of the commentary for "Man of Science, Man of Faith" as he emphasizes the importance of Jack meeting Desmond in the stadium. I read Doc Jensen's newest LOST column and he wrote about experiencing moments again and again and offered an opinion that LOST is doing just that. But I will respectfully disagree with that. I should probably make these thoughts known in a whole different entry and probably will. I'll simply remind you of James Joyce's Ulysses that is seen in 316 in season five and turn your attention the book Joyce wrote after Ulysses (entitled Finnegan's Wake). Actually, I definitely will make this its own entry. As for season two, it's an interesting season. It happened before the show had an end date. There's 24 episodes (1 less than the epic season five). With the shorter seasons, you can see the filler that's present. It takes 8 episodes for the Tailies and Losties to meet. There's a B story in an episode in which Sawyer forces Hurley to hunt down a tree frog. But there's some great stuff in season two. I'm a huge fan of the Henry Gale stuff. The end of "Two For The Road" is a top 5 LOST ending. Any spoiler-free person at the time did not see that coming including me. I like the first-ever on Island flashback (Claire's Maternity Leave). Season Two and I have had a complicated relationship for four years now but that's just me.

UP NEXT: Who knows. Maybe Season 3 rewind. Or a season five DVD feature review. Don't expect my season six-Finnegan's Wake thing next because that'll probably go up close to Feb. 2

Merry 2010!

Jacob's Foot: The Constant

THE 'LOST' EPISODE OF THE DAY

The episode: The Constant

Original Airdate: February 28, 2008

Written by: Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse

Directed by: Jack Bender

Content: Sayid and Desmond hit some turbulence on the way to the freighter, which causes Desmond to experience some unexpected side effects: his 1996 consciousness travels to 2004 and back multiple times. The episode follows Desmond's 1996 consciousness in one continuous narrative between the two years.

Why It's Worth Re-Watching: Narratively speaking, it is the most ambitious episode LOST has produced. It took 6 weeks just to break the story for this episode. The episode has recently been named TelevisionWithoutPity's favorite LOST episode of the series. It's also the Christmas episode of LOST which is why it's getting its episode of the day.

I've had this planned since about September, to write about "The Constant," because I, and many fans, have embraced the episode as the Christmas episode. There's nothing better to lift the holiday spirits than to re-watch the fantastic phone conversation between Desmond and Penny but I'll get to that.

This episode reminds the viewer about time-travel, a sort of long set-up for what's to come in the fifth season. Desmond previous experience with time-travel occured in season three's "Flashes Before Your Eyes." When he turned the failsafe key, his conciousness traveled through time. Likewise, another Island-something sends his conciousness to 1996. When he's active or aware in 2004, he still experiences his 1996 conciousness. Anywho, as Desmond continues to randomly black out on The Freighter, Daniel Faraday comes to help via Freighter mobile phone. He tells Desmond that he needs Desmond to go to Oxford because he needs to find Faraday and to declare that he knows about Eloise. Desmond does. BEFORE THAT, Desmond and Sayid are introduced to Minkowski (the communications guy). He, too, experiences what Desmond is experiencing and warns that the entire crew will experience this because of The Island. At this point, Minkowski suffering from nose-bleeds and then eventually dies because he did not have a constant. I'll allow Faraday to take it from here:

[DESMOND awakes, back in DAN's office.]

DESMOND: What happened?

DAN: Whoa, you're back, and you were out for almost 75 minutes.

DESMOND: Out?

DAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You just whoof, went catatonic right in the middle of a sentence. I had to carry you to the chair. So I take it you were, you were in the future again?

DESMOND: Aye.

DAN: For how long?

DESMOND: I don't know...five minutes? Why does this keep happening?

DAN: In your case, I'm guessing that progression is exponential. Each time your consciousness jumps, it gets harder to jump back. I would be careful crossing the street if I were you.

[DESMOND looks at the body of ELOISE.]

DESMOND: What happened to her?

DAN: She died.

DESMOND: Yeah, I can see that. How?

DAN: Brain aneurysm, probably. I dunno. I'll need to do an autopsy later.

DESMOND: Is that going to happen to me?

DAN: The effects seem to vary from case to case, but uh...

[DESMOND pins DAN to the wall.]

DESMOND: If these keeps happening, am I going to die?

DAN: I don't know. I think Eloise's brain short-circuited. The jumps between the present and the future...she couldn't tell which was which, she had no anchor.

DESMOND: Wh...what do you mean, anchor?

DAN: Something familiar in both times. All this, see this is variables, it's random, it's chaotic. Every equation needs stability, something known. It's called a constant. Desmond, you have no constant. When you go to the future, nothing there is familiar. So if you want to stop this, then you need to find something there...something that you really, really care about....that also exists back here, in 1996.

DESMOND: This constant...can it be a person?

DAN: Yeah, maybe. But you have to make some kind of contact. Didn't you say you were off on a boat, in the middle of nowhere?

Penny is Desmond's constant. Something very sweet, very real, and very human comes out of the time-wonkiness. I think this episode captures the essence of LOST. There's a lot of 'out there' things happening throughout the episode but it's grounded by a very familiar love story. It's always about the characters. I think that is why this particular episode of LOST has resonated with fans the way it has. Penny literally saves Desmond's life in this episode. It's a beautiful episode.

As for the other happenings in this episode, there isn't much beyond the Desmond story but there's a very important auction scene involving Charles Widmore. Here's the most important part:

AUCTIONEER: The Black Rock set sail from Portsmith England on March 22, 1845 on a trading mission to the kingdom of Siam, when she was tragically lost at sea. The only known artifact of this journey is the journal of the ship's first mate, which was discovered among the artifacts of pirates on the Ile Sante-Marie off the coast of Madagascar seven years later. The contents of this journal have never been made public, or known to anyone outside the family of the seller, Tovard Hanso. We open the bidding on lot 2342 at 150,000 pounds. 150,000, sir. For 160? Do I hear one six- 160, sir. 170, sir. 180 on the phone. 200,000 pounds. 220,000 pounds, 240? 260,000 pounds, sir. 280? On the phone I have 300,000...320. 340,000 pounds. 360? 380...

I will bet the journal belongs to one Richard Alpert. And there's no way that ship was tragically lost at sea. As we saw in "The Incident," Jacob was sort of willing the ship towards the Island much to Man in Black's chagrin. But I digress.

I recommend listening to the audio commentary for this episode. Editor Mark Goldman joins Lindelof and Cuse, and it's really cool to hear how he cut the episode. Plus, Damon and Carlton never disappoint. There's also a podcast rehash of the episode, which is a great listen.

All in all, the episode is terrific. One of the finest. Probably the best of season four. Do watch. And Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays.

Jacob's Foot: 'Because You Left' Audio Commentary Thoughts (Part ofMassive Season Six Preview)

LOST: The Complete Fifth Season

The Journey Back-Expanded Edition

One of Many Reviews: Audio Commentary for "Because You Left."

I know I promised the season two would be up next; however, what I declined to mention is that only pertained to the next season I'll write too many words about. Anywho, it's time to give my thoughts on the commentary Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse recorded for the fifth season premiere "Because You Left."

--This is an epic, detailed commentary. They discuss the major points of Season Five, how they got there. In sum, they summarize the entire writing process of the fifth season from mini-camp to the finale.

--With that said, they let slip a few things about the final season. It's barely anything but it's enough that I can write many words about it. The first thing I'll mention is their use of the word paradox when discussing what Faraday will attempt to do by season's end. The reason why the word struck me is because, since they recorded the season three podcast for Flashes Before Your Eyes, they've advocated the no paradox rule. I'm sure I've written about this using different words and phrasing months ago but I'm ready to advocate 'time will not reboot' during the final season full time. I'm open to anything that actually happens. But yes: paradox absolutely stood out to me.

--Damon quips about the teaser of the episode, saying "Because You Left" begins as the other seasons doe: not knowing where the hell you are or you are with. I got a kick out of that.

--Desmond is discussed. The Desmond discussion takes place at the end of the episode (you know...when Desmond appears) and Lindelof and Cuse jump ahead to what Ms. Hawking tells him: The Island is not done with him. Apparently, The Island is not done with Desmond at all. The discussion is very interesting not because they say a certain character's story is not done, it's HOW they discuss it. They used words like significance as in the viewers will learn Desmond's significance to the WHOLE story. But it is the final season. We're going to learn about where every character fits in to the grand scheme of things. In the recap before 'The Incident' aired in May, Damon and Carlton give a brief summary of where the characters were left at the end of "Follow The Leader" and then say that they are really excited to be at this point where they can begin really telling the final chapter of how these characters are more intertwined than they ever imagiend. Oh man I can't wait.

-I really enjoyed the discussion about how season five was constructed and crafted, even the first episode alone. Damon and Carlton discussed the mistakes they made in past finales (not involving all of the characters) and how they wanted to account for every character in the premiere. They discussed how to pay each character the time they needed in a 42 minute window. The discussion provides valuable insight into the inner-workings of the LOST writers room and how an episode is broken (the most famous episode break is for "The Constant").

-During the scene in which Locke is treated by Richard for his bullet wound, Damon and Carlton talk about how (the viewer now knows) Future Locke and Ben are watching the scene from the jungle. Carlton simply says 'Locke is basically a different person" and Damon then says "You can say that again!" Oh those wacky dudes. Should I have written Future Locke or Not Locke there? Hm. They have a lot of fun messing with the audience. Speaking of that, there's a worthwhile quote from Damon from a GQ interview with Bad Robot. It's about the final season. Suffice to say, I will be using this quote again when I write the final part of this preview on February 1, 2010.

But it makes you understand why some people go to church every Sunday and some people are atheists. Some people need Lost to have a scientific explanation for everything, and that's why our viewership now is what it is—because the people who needed there to be a scientific explanation for everything stopped watching. They were like, "Okay—the show has now proven my theory wrong." This is another joke masking a true terror for us—we're doing the last season of the show now, and this season is where you get your answers. And we're not waiting until the last episode—the answers start coming fairly fast and furious right out of the gate. But in a lot of ways, the storytelling this year is just us telling people that they were wrong. They've built up theories for five years. When a show like this gets to a certain point and then it's "Oh, man, we were cancelled," people get to bring their theories with them to the grave. With us, it's basically like, "No—you're wrong." And some people may have been right. Who knows?

-Back to the commentary: they spend some time emphasizing thee motif of the season which is The Hatch. They wanted to set up the importance of the Hatch again because they knew that would be the key thing by season's end. They wanted to establish the rules of time-travel because they wanted the viewers to question whether or not the characters would try to change anything. This led into a discussion about the overall story of the show and how free-will is a very important theme. Eventually, the characters do try to change things and those episodes are really, really good.

-There could be a part two to this because I might be leaving things out. But this is the end of this LOST entry.

LOST: The Complete Fifth Season

The Journey Back-Expanded Edition

One of Many Reviews: Audio Commentary for "Because You Left."


I know I promised the season two would be up next; however, what I declined to mention is that only pertained to the next season I'll write too many words about. Anywho, it's time to give my thoughts on the commentary Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse recorded for the fifth season premiere "Because You Left."

--This is an epic, detailed commentary. They discuss the major points of Season Five, how they got there. In sum, they summarize the entire writing process of the fifth season from mini-camp to the finale.

--With that said, they let slip a few things about the final season. It's barely anything but it's enough that I can write many words about it. The first thing I'll mention is their use of the word paradox when discussing what Faraday will attempt to do by season's end. The reason why the word struck me is because, since they recorded the season three podcast for Flashes Before Your Eyes, they've advocated the no paradox rule. I'm sure I've written about this using different words and phrasing months ago but I'm ready to advocate 'time will not reboot' during the final season full time. I'm open to anything that actually happens. But yes: paradox absolutely stood out to me.

--Damon quips about the teaser of the episode, saying "Because You Left" begins as the other seasons doe: not knowing where the hell you are or you are with. I got a kick out of that.

--Desmond is discussed. The Desmond discussion takes place at the end of the episode (you know...when Desmond appears) and Lindelof and Cuse jump ahead to what Ms. Hawking tells him: The Island is not done with him. Apparently, The Island is not done with Desmond at all. The discussion is very interesting not because they say a certain character's story is not done, it's HOW they discuss it. They used words like significance as in the viewers will learn Desmond's significance to the WHOLE story. But it is the final season. We're going to learn about where every character fits in to the grand scheme of things. In the recap before 'The Incident' aired in May, Damon and Carlton give a brief summary of where the characters were left at the end of "Follow The Leader" and then say that they are really excited to be at this point where they can begin really telling the final chapter of how these characters are more intertwined than they ever imagiend. Oh man I can't wait.

-I really enjoyed the discussion about how season five was constructed and crafted, even the first episode alone. Damon and Carlton discussed the mistakes they made in past finales (not involving all of the characters) and how they wanted to account for every character in the premiere. They discussed how to pay each character the time they needed in a 42 minute window. The discussion provides valuable insight into the inner-workings of the LOST writers room and how an episode is broken (the most famous episode break is for "The Constant").

-During the scene in which Locke is treated by Richard for his bullet wound, Damon and Carlton talk about how (the viewer now knows) Future Locke and Ben are watching the scene from the jungle. Carlton simply says 'Locke is basically a different person" and Damon then says "You can say that again!" Oh those wacky dudes. Should I have written Future Locke or Not Locke there? Hm. They have a lot of fun messing with the audience. Speaking of that, there's a worthwhile quote from Damon from a GQ interview with Bad Robot. It's about the final season. Suffice to say, I will be using this quote again when I write the final part of this preview on February 1, 2010.

But it makes you understand why some people go to church every Sunday and some people are atheists. Some people need Lost to have a scientific explanation for everything, and that's why our viewership now is what it is—because the people who needed there to be a scientific explanation for everything stopped watching. They were like, "Okay—the show has now proven my theory wrong." This is another joke masking a true terror for us—we're doing the last season of the show now, and this season is where you get your answers. And we're not waiting until the last episode—the answers start coming fairly fast and furious right out of the gate. But in a lot of ways, the storytelling this year is just us telling people that they were wrong. They've built up theories for five years. When a show like this gets to a certain point and then it's "Oh, man, we were cancelled," people get to bring their theories with them to the grave. With us, it's basically like, "No—you're wrong." And some people may have been right. Who knows?

-Back to the commentary: they spend some time emphasizing thee motif of the season which is The Hatch. They wanted to set up the importance of the Hatch again because they knew that would be the key thing by season's end. They wanted to establish the rules of time-travel because they wanted the viewers to question whether or not the characters would try to change anything. This led into a discussion about the overall story of the show and how free-will is a very important theme. Eventually, the characters do try to change things and those episodes are really, really good.

-There could be a part two to this because I might be leaving things out. But this is the end of this LOST entry.

Jacob's Foot: The Seven Week Preview for The Sixth and Final SeasonBegins!

It's Finals week. So what better time to launch my epic seven week season six preview? Finals Week!

I've been thinking a lot about Jacob's Foot since I launched it. I'm always debating with myself how to improve the blog, how to approach weekly coverage of the show when the show is on hiatus for 8 months. I've figured it out: a seven-week season six preview.


What exactly will this seven week preview contain? A little bit of everything. The episode of the day feature is not going away but it won't be written on a weekly basis. I'll explain why later. For the preview, I'm going to break down each and every season of the show with full mind being paid to the upcoming season. I'm going to stare at the final poster released as part of damoncarltonandapolarbear.com and then write about it. I'm going to write a lot about certain characters, review every single thing contained in the season five dvd. It's going to be an interesting and exciting process. Without further do, here is an NBA/NHL style recap of the first season of LOST

THE FIRST SEASON OF LOST


I know I\'ve done a variation of this when I compared seasons of LOST with The Mars Volta albums during the summer This will be much less wordy I promise you but I have to do some set-up first

In the official LOST podcast for "Follow The Leader," Damon and Carlton spend a few minutes explaining the similarities between the end of season five and the end of season one. Here's the transcript of that conversation:

Damon Lindelof Yeah, what do you think the reaction to the finale is gonna be? Let’s just get that out of the way.

Carlton Cuse Umm, I think that, you know, people are gonna like it because there are some good mythological advancements in it, but I think there’s also gonna be a fair share of annoyance that they’re gonna have to wait 8 months to find out what happens after the finale. It has a very, sort of, Season 1 feel to me, like when we blew up in the hatch and people were like, “You’re kidding me! That’s where you’re leaving us?”

Damon Lindelof Yeah, that is always a part of the finale, and I think that umm, several have begun to assume that the show is almost, that there is sort of a reflective quality to it, so that if we’ve been saying that Season 6 is going to be a lot like Season 1, it would seem only fair that this finale going into the finale season of the show is sort of, sort of reminisced about Season 1. We do know that the Jack-gang at the very least is about to go to the Swan site, which is exactly where Season 1 ended, correct?

Carlton Cuse It’s kind of like, you know, in movies, when instead of having the credits at the beginning, they put them at the end of the movie but they’re in reverse order. Right, you know?

Damon Lindelof Oh, interesting.

Carlton Cuse So, feels like we’re kind of, almost spinning back into Season 1. Does that mean that we’ll start Season 6 with the most exciting part of the season?

Damon Lindelof All I have to say is that over the summer, if anybody asks me, “What’s in the hatch?” I’ll know that something has gone horribly haywire!"

I spent the last portion of my 4,000 word "The Incident" recap discussing the mirror of season six to season one. Now I have no idea how this mirror will work. I'll just have to wait and see. But know the set-up is there throughout the season five finale and the intention for the mirror is there. The official posters for season six features every major character. The final poster for damoncarltonandapolarbear is very season one. Now, let the seven week season six preview commence with a look-back at the first season of this fantasic show:

Episodes You Need To Watch before Feb.2

*Walkabout--The first John Locke episode that revealed he couldn't walk for four years until he landed on The Island was healed. This is absolutely the finest Locke episode of the series and a top 3 episode of season 1. I have no idea what to make of the "John Locke" we saw in the season five finale but I totally think this episode will be re-visited somehow, someway. I'm not sure if healing itself will be answered on the show but it's been an essential thing throughout the show. This episode truly begins Locke's special communion with The Island.

*White Rabbit--Jack's first episode! Jack follows his father through the jungle. He's led to his father's casket which he finds empty and then is brought to the caves and the fresh water. Those two sentences say everything. Christian's been pretty important during the show. That empty casket will probably make some sense by series end.

*Raised By Another--The dream Claire has in the beginning of the episode seems so significant that I'm posting the first 8 minutes of the episode. This is Claire's best, has the most mystery regarding the significance of her relationship with her son Aaron. We haven't seen her since Something Nice Back Home (unless you count The Little Prince). This is the perfect Claire refresher.

*Exodus ALL PARTS--There's the Black Rock, The Others, and the fantastic montage of everyone getting into their seats on Oceanic 815.

Episodes You Don't Need to Watch but should still watch:

*Solitary--I said enough when I wrote about it a few weeks ago.

*The Moth--A great Charlie episode, wonderful scenes between he and Locke.

*Confidence Man: See the Episode of the Day I did for it:

*Born To Run

*Hearts and Minds--Boone and Shannon's episode. Remember them? In this episode, Locke gives Boone something that makes Boone hallucinate Shannon's death. There's a lot of great Locke moments PLUS the first notion of electromagentism existing on The Island.

*...In Translation: an episode I will probably write about in the Episode of the Day feature because it's a favorite of mine. Jin finds himself in an unpleasant situation when people find his hands burned. They think he burned the raft. The scene when he yells at Michael in Korean, he is merely telling him that he tried to put the raft out. It's an absolute spectacular episode. You should watch "House of the Rising Sun" as well since, perhaps, Jin and Sun will be reunited in the sixth and final season of the show.

*The Greater Good--Remind yourself how Sayid ended up on Oceanic 815. This episode provides some context for the B-plot in "Walkabout."

*Outlaws: See the Episode of the Day for this episode: (http://blogs.wcuquad.com/2009/11/17/jacobs-foot-outlaws/)

Most Valuable Character

I told you this would be in the style of a major sports league recap. There's a few characters in the running for this: John Locke, Jack Shephard, Sayid Jarrah, Kate, and Michael. How does one decide? That's a good question. I'm not sure. I haven't made up any rules for this and since me and STEVE didn't begin recording our rankings until season three...I can't look at rankings and say "oh there's the MVC." I have enlisted STEVE for the MVC. Here's the different characters credentials (i'm relying on my memory as well as the greatest LOST resource in the world for this: lostpedia.com and I am basing MVC on their on-Island stuff only. no flashbacks.):

Locke:

Discovered the Hatch, Hunted Boar for awhile, helped Boone's obsession with his step-sister to cease, built a crib for Claire's baby-to-be (big points right there as I am a Claire geek), ate an orange whole in the pilot, the first survivor to see Smokey the Smoke monster and put an optimistic spin on the Monster, helps Charle kick his drug habit, discovered Claire who had just gotten back from her time in The Staff with Ethan and his Other friends, was able to get Walt to confess to burning the raft, lights the fuse that blows up the Hatch.

Here's some things that could prevent him from winning MVC: Hits Sayid in the head when Sayid attempts to triangulate the distress call, had the poor taste to show up to Boone's funeral in a shirt covered with Boone's blood, and lied about Boone's fall which caused Jack to mistreat him.

Jack:

Assumes the role of leader of the losties, Wakes up surrounded by bamboo and immediately leaps to help everyone after the crash, finds fresh water at the caves, gives the great 'live together, die alone' speech, breaks up many fights between the survivors in the first days, always treats Claire and whoever else needs to be treated, tries to save Marshall, sits by Rose and talks to her about Bernard when Boone expresses concern, tries to save Boone after Boone's accident, nearly kills himself giving Boone a blood transfusion, and saves Charlie's life.

Sayid:

Devotes Much Time seeking ways to communicate with the outside world,Tries to Triangulate Rousseau's distress call, Stands by his Beliefs like not wanting people to move to the caves with jack, Disagreed with Jack's plan to burn the bodies in Walkabout (again watch The Greater Good), Helps and Connects with Rousseau, Fixes her Music Box, Is Honest with her, Finds the Looking Glass cable, Is the first character to hear the whispers and acknowledge they are not alone on The Island, Begins to Court and DOES court Shannon, goes with Charlie on a mission to retrieve Aaron from Rousseau, and helps RESCUE Aaron alongside Charlie.

Kate:

Goes on the quest to retrieve the Transceiver with Jack and Charlie, humors Charlie when Charlie sings "You All Everybody," helps Sayid triangulate the distress signal, helps an injured Michael back to camp, Makes out with Sawyer in an attempt to get the truth out of Sawyer, Helps Sawyer break out his shell, Goes with Jack in pursuit of Claire and Charlie, Gathered fruit in the Jungle, Helped Sawyer track the boar who annoyed Sawyer, and HELPED CLAIRE GIVE BIRTH TO BABY AARON (Big Points).

Michael:

Builds a Relationship with his son after the crash, Uses his construction skills to make The Caves a safe dwelling place, Saved Walt from an attacking Polar Bear, Helped Sun deal with her problems with Jin, Eventually Settles His Differences with Jin and becomes Friends with him, and builds a raft NOT ONCE but TWICE giving the losties the best possible chance for rescue.

Here are some Honorable Mentions:

* Hurley: He's the heart of the show.

* Charlie: Kicked a drug habit, became Claire's best friend, became best friends with Hurley. He's a good man.

* Jin: For everything post-...In Translation.

* Claire: Gives Birth on a FRIGGIN' Island!

* Sawyer: He caused so many problems that he couldn't jump Michael. The MVC is tough.

THE WINNER AND MOST VALUABLE CHARACTER OF THE FIRST SEASON OF LOST: Jack Shephard. As STEVE writes, "He's the leader." Indeed. Jack's experience as a doctor is so essential that it'd be a crime to rob him of the MVC.

Runner-Ups:

2. Sayid

3. Locke

4. Michael

5. Kate

-------------------------------------------

I was going to do an LVC category but...it's too negative and every character is so damn good and important this first season and throughout the show so the LVC has been scrapped.

For fun, here's The All-Island Adventure Team (the characters YOU want going into the jungle for an adventure or search or something). It'll only be 5. Think the All-NBA team set-up.

All-Island Adventure Team: Kate, Sayid, Locke, Jack, and Sawyer.

-----------------------------------------

You must be wondering to yourself, "I thought he said this is the first of a seven week season six preview." Indeed, it is. It's the first part of the preview. The whole objective of the episode of the day is to show where these characters were, their arcs, etc as we prepare for the final season of the show. It's all about reminding people of the story and these characters. And for these next seven weeks, that is what I'm going to do.

UP NEXT: Season TWO!

Jacob's Foot: Greatest Hits

THE 'LOST' EPISODE OF THE DAY

The episode: Greatest Hits

Original Airdate: May 16, 2007

Written By: Eddie Kitsis & Adam Horowitz

Directed By: Stephen Williams

Content: When Desmond has another one of his flashes, Charlie is forced to come to terms with the notion that he may have to die to ensure everyone else's rescue. Meanwhile, Jack formulates a plan to combat the Others when they arrive the next day, but complications arise.

Why It's Worth Re-Watching: It is Charlie Pace's almost finest hour. His finest hour takes place in the season three finale but this episode is one of the best LOST has produced. It's the best Charlie episode period. Here's my least favorite-to-favorite Charlie episodes IN ORDER: Homecoming, Fire + Water, The Moth, Greatest Hits. Anywho, I love the approach the writers took for this episode. First of all, the episode's structure is mis-leading. One would think this is Charlie's final episode but it's not. After all, there's no way he could've drowned during that briefly tense moment before he surfaces when it looks like he might drown. There's no room with equipment in sight nor a blinking yellow light. The episode is the final set-up to the prophecy of Desmond's which came in "Flashes Before Your Eyes." Charlie is going to die. It just won't be until "Through The Looking Glass."

Now, before I discuss more of the episode, I have a brief tangent. I'm a huge Claire nerd. I love the character, adore the actress, etc. In this episode, Desmond tells Charlie he had a flash of Claire and Aaron getting onto a helicopter. At the time I thought, "great!" But NO! As we know, Claire gets nowhere near an helicopter. Kate gets onto the helicopter with Aaron as does Desmond. The thing I have been thinking about since Claire disappeared in "Something Nice Back Home" is: was Desmond telling the truth to Charlie or did he use Claire because he knew Charlie would sacrifice his life for her? Did Desmond see himself on the helicopter and eventually back with Penny? Remember, Desmond has no desire to leave the freighter once he's there because of Penny. Perhaps it's ridiculous to think this much into this plot point but I'm an english major! This is what I do! Anywho, I'm aware that Desmond sees only pieces but what if he didn't? I think about this plot point a lot because Charlie gives his life because he thinks Claire and her son will get off the Island! But she doesn't! I doubt this will be cleared up in The Final Season but this insane man can hope.

As for the episode, the episode captures the essential LOST. Charlie refers to his life as sorry, pathetic, and defines it as a excuse of a life. But Charlie's come a long way from where he's been. He's kicked his drug habit, found Claire and Turnip Head, and purpose in his life. One musn't forget he was willing to give his life for Jack in "The Moth" and he's more than willing to give his life for Claire and his friends. The story of Charlie is wonderful. "Greatest Hits" brilliantly captures where he's been and how far he's come as he remembers his greatest hits. Charlie says, "you know, memories. They're all I've got." Charlie doesn't embrace the choices he's made, the mistakes, the regrets like Eko does but Charlie, like Eko, is willing to sacrifice his life for others. And, remember, Eko and Charlie once worked on the church together.

My favorite scene in the episode is between Hurley and Charlie. It's their goodbye (sort of) though Hurley doesn't know. I write sort of because they will talk again in "The Beginning of the End" which helps Hurley gain the closure he needs. But this scene is so well-done. The best part is when Charlie, after telling Hurley he can't come, runs and embraces Hurley and tells Hurley that he loves him. Hurley and Charlie's friendship is the greatest in LOST.

Another strong scene is when Charlie says his goodbye to Claire and Aaron in his own way. It's very sweet and sad.

As for the rest of the episode, Jack, Sayid, Juliet, etc prepare themselves for The Others. There's an overwhelming sense of rescue throughout the episode which is definitely warranted because of "Through The Looking Glass." There's great character moments through the episode like the little exchange between Bernard and Rose about the knots, the scene between Jin and Sun when Sun tells Jin about their child, the scene between Alex and Karl when she tells Karl to warn the Losties, when Sawyer comes to Karl's aid, and an underrated moment: when a crazy Ben comes from just shooting Locke. Ben is just wild. Maybe "The Shape of Things to Come" will be the next episode I write about it.

Overall, this is one of the finest hours of LOST. Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz do another great job. Stephen Williams masterfully directs it. If Lindelof, Cuse, and Bender are the ace of the LOST rotation or the Tim Lincecum of LOST...Kitsis, Horowitz, and Williams are the Matt Cain of the staff. Not quite as good but DAMN good.

Good day! Videos below:







And, of course, the entire episode can be viewed at hulu.com. Do watch.

Jacob's Foot: The King of the Castle

Before I dive into "King of the Castle" from MISSING PIECES, I'd like you to go here ( to look at some great scans of ANOTHER Final Season poster. This time Eko shows up. Only two months until LOST returns!

THE 'LOST' WEBISODE OF THE DAY

The webisode: King of the Castle

Debuted: November 20, 2007 on Verizon Wirless & November 27, 2007 on ABC.com

Written By: Brian K. Vaughan

Directed By: Jack Bender

Content: Jack and Ben play chess.

Why It's Worth Re-Watching: I'm bringing the webisodes into this now for a few reasons. First of all, I intended to dive into "The Constant" for this week's episode of the day before realizing that I had planned in August or September to save "The Constant" for Christmas. I had also planned to either watch one of three episodes but school work is taking priority because it's that time of the year. But this is a worthwhile webisode to highlight because it ties into that much-talked about Spanish promo as well as harkens back to Locke explaining backgammon to Walt.

Well, this webisode involves Jack and Ben playing a game of chess. This definitely takes place before Kate, Sayid, and Locke arrive in New Otherton (where Locke will blow up the sub). It's probably the best webisode of the Missing Pieces series. The Missing Pieces series aired before the fourth season so when I first watched this I had the finale 'Through The Looking Glass' in my mind throughout which I believe was/is the intention of the webisode. Jack and Ben discuss the agreement they made which will allow Jack to leave The Island. Ben tells Jack he intends to honor the agreement and wants to but warns Jack that if The Island doesn't want Jack to leave The Island won't let him. Ben also tells Jack: "But if you do leave this place, the day may come when you want to return." Jack laughs it off but we viewers knew the final scene of season 3 was Jack yelling at Kate that they need to go back. We didn't know then why he wanted so badly to go back.

This is a very cool webisode to watch prior to the launch of the final season because the webisode foreshadows "Something Nice Back Home" in particular. If you'll recall, Jack becomes very sick because of his appendix. Rose tells Bernard that it's no coincidence the leader of them gets sick when they are so close to being rescused (remember Rose's cancer healed once she arrived on The Island making her a quieter, much saner female John Locke or simply she understands this Island). Of course, if you watched this in November 2007, you'd immediately think back to John Locke blowing up the sub. Questions about fate, destiny, free-will, etc start popping up. The webisode also foreshadows the transformation of Jack. In this, as it is season 3, he is staunchly the man of science but he'll eventually believe that the Island wants all of the Oceanic 6 to return.

As for the game of chess, the board alone makes one remember Locke's favorite game of backgammon. Two sides. One light. One dark. There's been a bunch of discussion through the years about our favorite characters essentially being chess pieces in something larger than they are aware of. Also, worth noting (though it has nothing to do with the webisode), Ben loses his faith in The Island when Jack gains faith. LOST is brilliant.

To speak of the chess game again, the Spanish promo for The Final Season places the characters on a chess board. Before I post the clip and the actual webisode, I suggest you go to ew.com to read Doc Jensen's latest article about LOST. It's terrific. Also, all the Missing Pieces are on the Season Four DVD. Here's the videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huJFX51FxXw

"The King of the Castle"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-fFyZ7VINc

Before I dive into "King of the Castle" from MISSING PIECES, I'd like you to go here: http://media.tv.ign.com/media/821/821880/imgs_1.html to look at some great scans of ANOTHER Final Season poster. This time Eko shows up. Only two months until LOST returns!



THE 'LOST' WEBISODE OF THE DAY

The webisode: King of the Castle

Debuted: November 20, 2007 on Verizon Wirless & November 27, 2007 on ABC.com

Written By: Brian K. Vaughan

Directed By: Jack Bender

Content: Jack and Ben play chess.

Why It's Worth Re-Watching: I'm bringing the webisodes into this now for a few reasons. First of all, I intended to dive into "The Constant" for this week's episode of the day before realizing that I had planned in August or September to save "The Constant" for Christmas. I had also planned to either watch one of three episodes but school work is taking priority because it's that time of the year. But this is a worthwhile webisode to highlight because it ties into that much-talked about Spanish promo as well as harkens back to Locke explaining backgammon to Walt.

Well, this webisode involves Jack and Ben playing a game of chess. This definitely takes place before Kate, Sayid, and Locke arrive in New Otherton (where Locke will blow up the sub). It's probably the best webisode of the Missing Pieces series. The Missing Pieces series aired before the fourth season so when I first watched this I had the finale 'Through The Looking Glass' in my mind throughout which I believe was/is the intention of the webisode. Jack and Ben discuss the agreement they made which will allow Jack to leave The Island. Ben tells Jack he intends to honor the agreement and wants to but warns Jack that if The Island doesn't want Jack to leave The Island won't let him. Ben also tells Jack: "But if you do leave this place, the day may come when you want to return." Jack laughs it off but we viewers knew the final scene of season 3 was Jack yelling at Kate that they need to go back. We didn't know then why he wanted so badly to go back.

This is a very cool webisode to watch prior to the launch of the final season because the webisode foreshadows "Something Nice Back Home" in particular. If you'll recall, Jack becomes very sick because of his appendix. Rose tells Bernard that it's no coincidence the leader of them gets sick when they are so close to being rescused (remember Rose's cancer healed once she arrived on The Island making her a quieter, much saner female John Locke or simply she understands this Island). Of course, if you watched this in November 2007, you'd immediately think back to John Locke blowing up the sub. Questions about fate, destiny, free-will, etc start popping up. The webisode also foreshadows the transformation of Jack. In this, as it is season 3, he is staunchly the man of science but he'll eventually believe that the Island wants all of the Oceanic 6 to return.

As for the game of chess, the board alone makes one remember Locke's favorite game of backgammon. Two sides. One light. One dark. There's been a bunch of discussion through the years about our favorite characters essentially being chess pieces in something larger than they are aware of. Also, worth noting (though it has nothing to do with the webisode), Ben loses his faith in The Island when Jack gains faith. LOST is brilliant.

To speak of the chess game again, the Spanish promo for The Final Season places the characters on a chess board. Before I post the clip and the actual webisode, I suggest you go to ew.com to read Doc Jensen's latest article about LOST. It's terrific. Also, all the Missing Pieces are on the Season Four DVD. Here's the videos:



"The King of the Castle"