UConn James

Doc Jensen's recap for this week still isn't up, for those wondering. ----- It's been announced that LOST will be airing next Tuesday with "The Last Recruit," then will have a one-week hiatus where they will replay "Ab Aeterno." The following episode #14 "The Candidate" will air the following Tuesday, 4 May.

This... no. Locke is dead in the original timeline. Still open for consciousnesses to shift between these, but like Ben said, "Dead is dead. You don't get to come back from that." Also, arguably still open for the real Locke to appear in spectral form. This... yes. Physical trauma has been shown to induce the flashes in the sideways world. I don't think Desmond had any other way to connect Locke with his living (read: he will have no memory of anything after Ben killed him. He was dead) island / post-frozen-donkey-wheel experience. Other than showing Locke his 400 knives in an attempt to connect him to his constant , Des is thinking Jack. Locke chose not to go to Jack by free will, so Des offers the much more painful 'course correction.' I can see how they wouldn't bring real Locke back to the island --- namely, b/c Jack has taken his place as the island's purpose/fate/destiny spokesman. Otherwise, I'm not so sure that Desmond is "playing" Flocke. In this timeline, Desmond was last on the island on 24 Dec. 2004. He's not up to speed on everything that's happened since. Widmore didn't tell him much of anything. In the sideways world, he's operating much like Locke was in trying to get the O6 together. There's a vague plan to get them all to see flashes of their island experiences, but after that, I'm not so sure he knows what to do... just, he has faith that the pieces will fall into place / the island will do its thing. It does seem to be a purgatory for the lost souls who've passed on. Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko and Charlie all appeared off-island to Hurley, and Suit-Christian appeared to Jack. Nice of you to join us, aj! I was wondering how far you'd gotten. That's one of the things people miss as they watch all of the episodes straight through. None of the discussion, none of the "Oh, dude! I never would've known/seen/thought that!" moments. FLocke is the term for the MIB/Jacob's nemesis in Locke's form, and is a contraction of "False Locke."

What was the name of the song in the preview? Man, I thought we were going to see Dave in this episode. I guess not.... Looks like that's going to go unanswered as to whether that was Libby's (deceased) husband, in the original timeline, at least. Nice to see Hurley and Libby finally getting to have their picnic on the beach. "Everybody likes cheese." And it was also something to see Michael apologize without making some stupid "but... but... MY SON!!" excuse for his murders.... And let us in on the fact that the whispers are those of the departed souls who can't leave. But I'm just wondering how Walt fits into that. Whether it was Smokey, or if it's a time-shifting role like the Mysterious Boy, who made another appearance tonight. Slightly older this time, slightly darker hair, no bloody arms. I just get the feeling that the whole "Let it go, Jack" thing doesn't mean a very broad-term 'Stop being Mr. Fix-it!" That it's going to be something that he literally has to let go... and that it wasn't the Jughead bomb, either. Total shock to see Ilana go out like that. She was so built up, and then *kabloo-ey!* I guess we can rule her out as a candidate / she was touched by Jacob. So, she was training all her life... to get Sayid on the plane and tell certain of the Lostaways that they are '... candidates to replace Jacob. And more than that, well, I'm **** out of ideas. Jacob didn't tell me diddly.' Just when we were really starting to like her ass character. But, as Ben said, it makes you wonder what's going to happen with them all when they've done what the island needs them for, especially the non-candidates who don't have a no-kill clause in their contract with Jacob. But, that deal led to the meeting we're evidently going to see in "The Last Recruit." Just a weird thing with Sayid right now. Why'd he let Zoe go last week? The dude who has no feelings, doesn't care a whit to save Kate from Claire, who's killed the enemies of whomsoever's employ he's been in, says it wasn't necessary to kill Zoe, Widmore's Gal Friday on Hydra Island? Something screwy with it. Totally saw that coming with Desmond being thrown down the well. Smokey seemed chagrined that Des didn't know he wasn't Locke, and particularly interested that Des had survived massive electromagnetic releases. Of which we got some partial answer on tonight --- not the people who dug the several that are on the island, but that it was a "Very long time ago" and b/c those spots sent their compass needles spinning round and round. Note that this does not appear to be our Frozen Donkey Wheel well. The previews apparently show Sayid firing into the well. Is this Desmond's sacrifice? Can Des, as the Constant, be killed? But... it doesn't really matter now. Des's mission has been given and, from the looks of it, completed. In a complete flip from Charlie's insistence last week, the Sideways World is where it's at for Des. The Island world/ Original Timeline doesn't really seem to matter to him anymore. And in that Sideways world, he's on a mission to either kill John Locke, or whatever/whoever he is there... or, as I'm thinking, he's setting Locke up with Jack so they can glimpse the Original Timeline. Because, really, who would be Locke's constant? He wasn't particularly close to anyone on the island. He just used people, like he himself was used pre-Oceanic 815. Per Lostpedia: Continuation of the bugs in the machine / in-flux nature of the sideways world now that Des and others are changing things. OK, that's about all I've got right now.

I hate it when people call me Jimmy, Jimbo or Jim. But then again, someone once took to calling me "Jamison" in a fake British accent... and I was fine with it.

Except that, as I understood it, their president serves mainly as commander-in-chief of the military and does foreign affairs. The internal functioning for their country is done by the prime minister/parliament; the president is a figurehead in this regard.

Better start preparing for more of the same drawback on things America used to do.

What about Tim Russert?

Just read an awesome theory on the alt world, as it relates to the Swan's detonation. "Just Saving the World" by Jhisc9999 on DarkUFO: This makes all kinds of sense to me. There is also a recap on that site that provides a screencap of 815 having "no status" on the departure/arrival board Des's reflection appears in. Kind of plays into the whole idea of Des' wedding ring not being there anymore, Claire's difference re: the sex of her baby, etc. Little differences b/c the state of flux currently going on in the ALT.

Doc also points out that Desmond's wedding band from the premiere's sideways flash is gone in "Happily Ever After." Add this with Claire not knowing whether she was having a boy or girl, yet in the premiere, she said she was going to name her son Aaron. Of this, he writes:

Actually, that appeared to just be a likely assumption... Tgreg, you're still LOST-pure, right? By the by, there was a reveal on this topic as it pertains to the series finale on the LOST UFO spoilers site a while back. I didn't click the 'Are You Sure [You Want To Be Spoiled]?' button, which took a lot of willpower. ----- Two days removed and I still don't quite know what to think about this episode. I don't have a lot of discussion to offer b/c I'm having trouble sorting out what so many of these things shown mean. Desmond eps are like that. I mean, we found out that Des relived his life, making all the same moves, even when he would have done them differently. Right now, I'm wondering about the interaction with Jack in the stadium. On what iteration of Desmond did that happen? After the Swan explosion? Or is something else to be revealed there? Des's "You have to lift it up" message during their talk is something we haven't seen referenced yet. Perhaps that's why Widmore wants to find the energy pockets, each apparently having a different exit point in space/time --- to send Des on another mission in the original timeline. Or is Des' "sacrifice" going to be solely in the sideways flashes? Doc Jensen's LOST recap: The End Begins Now

In many respects, I can see Tiger's turn down the wrong path starting after the death of his father in 2006. Not to get too psychological or offer it up as an excuse for absolution. But maybe finally dealing with losing his dad has been, and will be, an important part of Tiger finding his way back to the straight and narrow. Many people can testify to how they went adrift after they lost their anchor. Through this whole thing, from the perspective of a casual observer, I was disappointed in Tiger's behavior. But Tiger is not the first to pour himself into his work and also make self-destructive choices while not properly coping. I'm not going to cast stones b/c I live in a glass house. I hope he can understand what it was that lead to those choices so he can avoid them in the future. Realizing that our anchors are still there, as long as we remember them / their words / their teachings, is a pretty good first step.

I think that's what it may be shaping up as. Everyone in the sideways flashes seems to be reaping their choice of allegiance, although they're not set in stone yet. Right now, predicting the final 'sides' would be akin to knowing who the O6 are based on who was in the helicopter as it left. Still some decisions to be made. As for Kate and Sawyer being unhappy in the alt, Sawyer's character does have a revenge bent, but notice some of the final words of the ep --- Sawyer was waiting for Miles, and said he never told him about Anthony Cooper b/c Miles would talk him out of killing him. Well, voila, Sawyer was here telling Miles... and ostensibly knows that Miles will talk him out of it. Claire doesn't seem particularly on the outs, based on what her original life was like, and it seems reasonable that she might find joy with her baby. Kate is still in some deep 'do, tho. I just wonder where Locke is in this dealing. This ep kinda blew my mind, tho, as Des episodes are wont to do. I'm going to have to watch it ~ two more times to really digest what we were just shown. And, unfortunately, with my dinosaur rig here, I have no way of doing that. Guess I'll have to make do with reading the Lostpedia precis.... and waiting for Doc's column. But, it still may be that the sideways world was merely a creation/byproduct of a massive amount of electromagnetic energy being released. That's what Widmore exposed Desmond to, and what he experienced to a lesser degree in the less powerful MRI machine. Our 'slightly unstuck in time' character has now become slightly unstuck in multiple dimensions of time. One of the bigger questions for me is, how much did Desmond experience after being put into the EM machine? Did he see the whole course of things, or just the same amount as what we witnessed? Whatever it was, he's now intent on making one of these worlds happen. Another thing, is the sideways world a 'real' reality? Or is this a mental construct of the MIB based on the information he downloaded from certain of the lostaways? I'm leaning no, but there's a whole Matrix-like 'bug in the machine' angle going on now. Charlie was the first to catch on to the fullness of what the ALT is. Still so much that we don't know about how the alt came about. Interesting that touching his constant knocked Des out. (BTW - That was a great exchange at the stadium b/w them. We've been missing that kind of connection for a while.) Also funny how Minkowski is the limo driver --- the guy who died for lack of a constant shortly before Des established his own.

Again, no re-air of last week's episode. It looks like this will be the deal for the rest of the way. Word is that those who loved "The Constant" will love this ep, and vice versa. I love Desmond episodes. They have always shifted what you think you know about this series. He was sent back in time to re-live his life (and did his part to push a couple-few of our favorite characters to the island), his consciousness was revealed to be real-time b/w strings time. Can't wait to see how "the conversation is going to change" this week, according to Damon Lindelof's tweet.

No, they're scheduling around V. Elizabeth Mitchell has been filming in Hawai'i just recently.

That's what he's done all along. I can only say that if you don't find them worthwhile, don't read them. <shrug> ----- This is a theory I'm in agreement with and was thinking myself in the Jack-Sun scene. His presence is so Jacob-esque there.... By Mr_Friendly on the LOST DarkUFO site (Warning for the LOST-pure crowd. This page is safe, but don't go poking around the rest of this site): ----- The cast and crew are currently almost finished filming the finale. The whiteboards in the writers' room have been erased. I wonder what kind of scenes they're shooting just to f--- with the actors' minds and create a real air of nobody knowing quite what's going to happen at the end until it's shown. Kind of like how for "There's No Place Like Home" they filmed Locke, Sawyer, Desmond and I believe a one other (lowercase "o" there) in the Jeremy Bentham casket. Also, Lindelof tweeted today: "In one week, the conversation is going to change." Hmm.

Dude killed Charlie. I hate him. Anyway, Doc Jensen's wrap-up: "The Complete Package"

Check, on Sun not being able to speak English after the blow to her head. Could be aphasia as Jack said... or it could be a slight disruption of the timeline meshing e.g. that the part of her consciousness that still hadn't learned English in the Sideways world was creeping into the original timeline. I am still on-board the theory that when Jughead exploded, their consciousnesses, etc. all went to their Sideways selves c. 1977. The logic goes that, for example, Jack's consciousness merged in '77, and he spasmed and his appendix burst to reconcile with what happened on the Island. More and more, this explanation seems to account for the pre-Jacob's-touch changes. Copy-edit: Flocke visited Sun in the garden. Interesting about the tomato. I didn't think they were native to Pacific islands.... Did she plant it from a DHARMA tomato seed? But also, it's a rough size and color equivalent to an apple, no? This show is full of the biblical imagery, ain't it? But it's trending more toward a Garden of Eden theme. The Tree of Knowledge last week, Adam and Eve (still to be revealed).... Titus Welliver has said that he knows the name of MIB, but it hasn't been revealed yet b/c, well, they like slow reveals on this show. As Doc Jensen wrote last week, it could well be 'Cain' who was doomed to roam the earth and protected by God's promise that anyone harming Cain would have the damage returned on them sevenfold sevenfold. And so, Cain must be contained, not killed. LOST also plays into the Mark of Cain = Juliet's tattoo? Ben seemed quite sincere when discovering Sun. Cue the accusations, protestations and the "because your lips are moving" line. I would love for Ben to become a force of good after all he's done. He's become one of my favorite characters in story, and it would be great to see his redemption. But this is Ben we're talking about. What's up his sleeve? Mikhail doesn't get any love for a reason. We're supposed to hate him.

First, the annoying V logo in the lower right corner... for the entire show. At one point, it obscured what Sun wrote on the paper to Jack. WTF? Really missed seeing the repeat beforehand. ABC. Our first sideways flash... actually, a continuation of one... where the outcome doesn't look so good. You just knew that was going to happen. Kind of an amalgamation of what happened to AnaLucia and Shannon in the original timeline. First, it drops that in sideways world, Jin and Sun are not married. They're just gettin' jiggy with it, Sun is preggers and her father hired Keamy to kill Jin. So, if we're still running with the speculation that Sideways world is what happened if Jacob had never touched them, then Jacob's touch may have caused Jin's infertility in the original timeline.... But wait. There's more than that. Jacob touched Jin and Sun at their wedding. They aren't married here. So, the point of timeline difference/deviation goes further back. But it also raises the question whether this was Mr. Paik's plan in the original timeline. Jin is still delivering a watch to someone. I don't think we ever learned about money, but then again, Jin hadn't gone through LAX customs to find any, b/c 815 crashed. We know that the Korean-speaking white dude was following them to make sure Jin made delivery. That's about as much as I want to dote on the sideways world right now. Open with night-vision goggle view. Widmore's group overtakes the Smoking Club (minus the man himself) with tranquilizer darts, and they take Jin to Room 23, where he's asked to confirm the location of energy pockets. Interesting how Widmore noted that it was all out of order from the timeline... as if he's got a set knowledge of how events are supposed to go. Per some of my prior writings --- especially re: Ben's visit to Widmore's penthouse, his distinct selection of certain people, and my own ideas of Others tinkering at the Orchid station, and this all being part of the "Secondary Protocol" (of which Keamy and the freighter captain got info on the first step of many) --- I think he does. The first confrontation b/w Flocke and Widmore, through the pylons. If they do have a plan for his capture, why didn't they do it then? I guess the obvious answer is, they're waiting for something. Ominous bit b/w Flocke and Claire: 'After I use Kate to get me the three I need' you can kill her and make a skeleton nanny for your skeleton baby. In case you're still confused, Flocke/MIB is playing them all off of each other and it looks like he will leave no one standing --- even people on his side. Desmond is "The Package." Didn't exactly come out of left field with that. Which has me thinking back to Daniel Faraday, and Doc Jensen's theory that I expounded on upthread, whereby Faraday's transported consciousness is at least part of Smokey's make-up. Perhaps Widmore intends to use Desmond, as Dan's journal entry put it, to create a constant for him. Just my first thought.

Point taken about the "New World." Thanks. But it figures that the island has, in fact, moved since Richard arrived. What of the polar bear with the DHARMA harness found in Tunisia? My guess is that after after the Purge in '92 and after Charles Widmore was banished shortly thereafter... the Others took over the DHARMA stations, they sent that polar bear down to move the island to try to ensure that Widmore couldn't get back.

OK, it's officially Tuesday again. There apparently will not be a repeat of "Ab Aeterno" this week. "Dancing With the Stars" is scheduled for 8 p.m. ----- Another note that seemed to go unmentioned (or at least I forget seeing it mentioned)... The Black Rock purportedly was sailing from an island off of Spain to the "New World." So, unless there was a serious detour, the Island at that point was located in the Atlantic Ocean.

Longevity.... like Brad Butler. Sorry, but especially for Buffalo, representing the equivalent of the Kansas City Royals of the NFL, IF we happen to pick a guy who plays well, there's ~ an 85 percent chance that he is GONE at the end of his rookie contract. So, really, what difference does it make? If you really need a safety, take a friggin' safety. By the by, RBs have the shortest NFL careers.... On average, almost a year less than any other position.

I remember we could never get Super Huey to run on ours.... I can't remember the name of one game in particular. In it, you're a space ship, where you controlled the altitude and would hover above ships that passed by and had to shoot things on their deck. Anyone remember?

Wait, wait. What if he woke up next to the smoke monster from LOST?!?

I don't foresee a cop-out ending for this show. Re: the "Previously on LOST" voiceover, there was speculation that it was Cuse, Lindelof, even Tim Daly who was bouncing around shows on ABC and now stars on "Private Practice." But it was revealed in '06 that it is Llyod Braun, the former ABC exec who conceived the idea of LOST, and was basically fired for it. Signing off on the $12M pilot episode was Braun's "final f--- you" to Disney/ABC, according to Lindelof and Cuse. The rest of the story. And yes, if you're wondering, the mentally unstable, lo-mein flavored gum chewer character on Seinfeld was named after him, too.