It's been awhile, but I've been keeping up. Finally Lost is starting to get exciting again. I've been pretty disapointed with most of this season even though it's managed to be really funny. The Hurley episode is definately one of my favorties so far. The last couple episodes have been solid and last week's Jin and Sun episode was excellent. The acting was top notch all across the board. I especially liked John Shin, the actor who plays Jin's father. The story's starting to move again too. Thank God the eye patch guy is still alive. He's just damn cool.
I'm really excited for the last couple episodes, and I'll be checking back here more often. Cheers. {[]
And finally. I hope the writers aren't going the purgatory (sp?) route. Unless parachute babe is actually an other? What did she say to Mikhail in Itailian? And why did Mikhail have that look in his eye? I think he lied about what she said.......'till next week.
Interesting episode. Great ending. Were we really given an answer to why they are on the island. ?:) I don't think the writers would reveal the truth so early. Purgatory was one of the first conclusions people jumped to when the show first aired, so I doubt it's that simple. This pushes me towards some kind of conspiracy involving the Dharma Initiative. I suspect the girl is telling the truth about a plane being found, but it's not the plane the passengers were on. All in all, this is getting more and more intriguing. Highlights so far include:
Hurley picking up parachute girl's phone and saying 'mom?' )
Jin Tae Kwon Do-kicking Wishmaster in the face.
Gratutious bikini crotch shot of Evangeline Lilly a couple of episode's ago.
And Brother Desmond drunkenly singing football songs while still a monk.
It would take a lot of chutzpah for the Lost writers to use the purgatory angle. When Matthew Fox hosted Saturday Night Live last year, there was a sketch where people on an elevator kept bugging him about the show; and he put down someone who insisted the castaways are in purgatory. Then again, what can you put past these producers?
My theory: the crashed plane was apparently seen only by underwater cameras. If the Others can get dossiers on everyone on the flight they can easily put a mockup plane on the ocean floor.
Anyway, this most recent episode was a winner. We've seen too little of Locke this season, so it's great to see him again. . .although I sort of miss the spiritual man he used to be. He was really at his worst, essentially forcing Sawyer to commit murder because
the same miserable con man who drove Sawyer's father to murder Sawyer's mother and then commit suicide is Locke's own miserable father. In retrospect, I'm sorry I never caught on to this before!
This revelation--and the brutality of Sawyer--just minded me how unpredictable the show can be. Lost Season 3 has been a mixed bag, but at its best the show has been as good as it's ever been.
Vox clamantis in deserto
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
I think this was the best show this season. Locke being humiliated in front of "The Others" because he wouldn't kill his father. So, Locke goes and gets Sawyer, locks them in a room and doesn't let Sawyer leave until Sawyer kills the man that killed his parents. This episode showed Sawyer at his cruelest. Let's hope the last two episodes can answer the next question that was raised this week. The question: What do Juliette and "The Good Doctor" know about the lady who jumped out of the doomed helicopter?
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
Terrific episode. Nice to see Locke's father finally get what was coming to him. This season has involved a lot of mind games, and second guessing. It looks like things are finally picking up speed.
In a potentially paradigm-shifting play, ABC has agreed to let the producers of "Lost" set an expiration date for the series -- three years in the future.
Skein will now wrap after the production of 48 additional episodes that will be divided into three, shortened 16-episode seasons. Final episode -- the show's 119th -- will air during the 2009-10 season.
In conjunction with the advance order, "Lost" showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have inked hefty new multi-year overall deals with ABC Television Studio to continue with the series until the end. Duo had made setting a wrap date for the show a condition for staying.
Lindelof and Cuse had wanted "Lost" to end after two more seasons. They're essentially still getting their wish: The 48 episodes they'll produce over the next three years is the same number the show produced during its first two seasons.
ABC execs, however, came up with a way to keep "Lost" on its sked for three more seasons. What's more, the 16-episode arcs will run without repeats (a la "24"), allowing the Alphabet to make the show more of an event.
"In considering the powerful storytelling of 'Lost,' we felt this was the only way to give it a proper creative conclusion," ABC Entertainment prexy Steve McPherson said.
"I always said that we would allow the series to grow and give viewers the most compelling hour possible," he added. "And, due to the unique nature of the series, we knew it would require an end date to keep the integrity and strength of the show consistent throughout, and to give the audience the payoff they deserve. "
McPherson also acknowledged that getting Lindelof and Cuse to reup "was critical to me and the network."
ABC Television Studio prexy Mark Pedowitz shared that sentiment.
"We wanted to make sure we had the team responsible for its success in place for not only the run of the show, but so that each of their future series creations have a home at the studio after 'Lost,' " Pedowitz said.
J.J. Abrams, who co-created "Lost" with Lindelof, defected to Warner Bros. TV last year and has been focusing on a new slate of TV and film projects, including the revival of the "Star Trek" franchise for Paramount Pictures. He told Daily Variety that he fully supported the advance wrap decision.
"It is the right choice for the series and its viewers," he said via an email message. "It takes real foresight and guts to make a call like this. I applaud ABC and Touchstone for making this happen."
Lindelof and Cuse, who are putting the finishing touches on the third-season finale, released a joint statement praising what they termed "a bold and unprecedented move for ABC" and thanking McPherson and Pedowitz for making it.
Cuse added that he hoped more shows will be able to follow the "Lost" lead and declare an end date.
"I think for story-based shows like 'Lost,' as opposed to franchise-based shows like 'ER' or 'CSI,' the audience wants to know when the story is going to be over," Cuse wrote. "When J.K. Rowling announced that there would be seven 'Harry Potter' books, it gave the readers a clear sense of exactly what their investment would be. We want our audience to do the same."
Cuse confirmed that devising an exit strategy for "Lost" was key to reupping with ABC Television Studio.
"In making this deal, Damon and I had two priorities: defining an end point for the show and keeping the quality bar high," Cuse said. "To do that we are both fully committed to the day-to-day running of the show right up until the very end. It's also why the 16 episodes per year was key for us. Because our show is so mythological, and because, unlike '24,' we can't reset each season, we need the extra time fewer episodes affords us to really plan out the specifics of our storytelling."
Lindelof and Cuse made public their desire for an end date during the TV Critics Assn. press tour last winter (Daily Variety, Jan. 15).
Cuse and Lindelof also wanted an end date in order to mollify critics of the show who worried producers were simply spinning their wheels as they worked through the show's layer upon layer of mystery.
ABC execs had already been talking to the producers about the idea, but they seemed taken aback when Lindelof and Cuse made the conversations public.
Indeed, it would be understandable if ABC execs had been initially cool to the concept of an early end date.
After all, with major hits a rarity in the network game, the rule is to keep hits on the air until every last ounce of success has been squeezed from them (e.g., "ER" or "The X-Files").
And despite relentless media snarking this season -- and the fact that "Lost" has lost a chunk of its fall 2005 audience -- the series is still a top-15 hit that dominates its 10 p.m. Wednesday timeslot in key demos.
In its third season, it's still drawing as many young viewers as NBC's newer, more buzzed-about "Heroes" -- and that's not counting the roughly 2.1 million viewers who watch the show after its live broadcast or via free streaming on ABC.com.
ABC could be establishing a new formula by which nets find success through serving up skeins with more and more audacious concepts but shorter lifespans than the traditional network hit.
Already, the traditional syndie business model -- the one that required studios to produce 100 episodes of a show in order to recoup their investment -- seems to be fading away in an age of instant downloads and universal streaming.
That may be one reason, according to Lindelof, that McPherson and Pedowitz "never argued that the show should keep going and going. The issue has always been when it would end and how far out in front of that ending should we herald it."
Now that the end has been announced, Lindelof promised there would be no attempts to extend or continue the "Lost" mythology on air in some other way.
"There will be no extensions or enhancements. That number (48) is absolute," he said. And "once you begin to see where we're going, I think the idea of sequels and spinoffs will completely go away."
So if he, Cuse or Abrams suddenly come up with a killer plot thread that doesn't fit into the new timeline?
"We'll do it as a radio play," Lindelof quipped.
As for "Lost," show's end game is expected to kick into high gear later this month with the broadcast of the season finale. Details of the plot are under wraps, but a person who has read the script described it as a major shakeup to the plot.
"It changes everything," the person said.
Nothing's official yet, but ABC has all but said that the fourth season of "Lost" won't premiere until January or February of next year.
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
I was just coming in here to post that same story John D. Thanks for the info. At least we know we won't have a 6 program run, a hiatus, then 16 shows. It's set in stone (so to speak) 16 shows per season, starting in Feb. ending in May. Awesome!!!
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
Wowie zowie--tonight's Lost was a grand-slam homerun. Not only did we get to learn about Ben's past (fraud, loser, and, ultimately, psychopath), but we found out how Roger the Skeleton became Roger the Skeleton and what he was doing with all that beer; how the Dharma Initiative bit the dust; and that the Others apparently never were Others at all. (As to who they are, well, there are three seasons left to explain that.) Apparently the Others must have some kind of eternal youth, since in the scene where he's talking to the young Ben, Richard looks no different than he does now. (Of course, Hurley's dad also looked the same in the past as he does now, so maybe this detail will go nowhere.)
I also got a kick out of the Wizard of Oz references--remember, Ben used the alias of Henry Gale--and I thought Locke was shown at his meanest and most cynical. As for the ending: Locke left in an open mass grave to die. . . I'd say he'll no doubt be rescued, but this is Lost. No one is safe.
Man, am I ever keyed up for the season finale!
Vox clamantis in deserto
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
This weeks show was good, Henrys flashback, I thought I'd never see that happen. I'm a bit confused as to some of the happenings on this weeks show though. Who let the gas out at the camp? Who is Jakob and why did Locke have to hear him say something? I'll have to watch the show again I guess, or wait and see if my questions are answered.
*Sidenote, in this weeks TV Guide it talks about the season finale. It says:
that up to 5 people will die (no names mentioned). These will be people we're used to seeing. As HB says, no ones safe. I'm thinking this will happen in the season fianle, when the Others go to war with the crash surviviors (sp?)
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
I wasn't too sure about this last episode. I like learning about Ben's past (like many characters he has father issues), but when we met the mysterious Jacob, I thought it was wierd and kind of cheesy. I mean the guy's invisible. However, Lost has a tendacy for introducing ridiculous storylines and making them better when they develop the storyline more.
SPOILER
Locke is definately not dead! I bet Jacob will help him. Also did any of you notice that Jacob was visible sitting in the chair for a split second when Locke pulled out the flashback. He looked suspiciously like Locke with hair. Unfortunately, I can't find a screencap. I'll keep my eyes open.
Also did any of you notice that Jacob was visible sitting in the chair for a split second when Locke pulled out the flashback. He looked suspiciously like Locke with hair. Unfortunately, I can't find a screencap. I'll keep my eyes open.
Damn, I deleted 'Lost' from my Skybox as soon as I'd watched it. I saw the figure, but didn't think to freezeframe the image. Well, what an extraordinary episode! I jumped out of my sofa on at least two occasions. Once when Ben's mother appeared at the window, again when Ben met the creepily eyebrowed and ageless Richard in the jungle. Richard seems to be a proper Other, while Ben is an outsider. We're obviously going to find out more about Ben, especially what happened to his childhood friend. He was holding a doll she gave him as a birthday present so I'm figuring he lost her somehow. As for Locke, I hope that's not the last we'll see of him. Jack and Juliet appear to have been working together, without letting the rest of the group know what they're up to. And Jacob. Well who knows. Ben can see him, but seemingly not hear him. Does Jacob need rescuing from Ben? Is that what he meant by 'Help Me.' ?:) Outstanding television. I cannot wait for next week's episode.
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
Also did any of you notice that Jacob was visible sitting in the chair for a split second when Locke pulled out the flashback. He looked suspiciously like Locke with hair. Unfortunately, I can't find a screencap. I'll keep my eyes open.
As for Locke, I hope that's not the last we'll see of him. .
Wow--so apparently Jacob was there after all! I noticed on the site you linked to, Mr. M, some people are griping about Jacob's "invisibility" being corny and cheesy. . .however, it seems to me that he isn't really invisible, per se--if you believe, you'll see him, if you don't believe, you'll just see an empty chair. Either that, or it's a hologram. Remember, the Wizard of Oz had a giant floating head too!
Vox clamantis in deserto
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
Wow--so apparently Jacob was there after all! I noticed on the site you linked to, Mr. M, some people are griping about Jacob's "invisibility" being corny and cheesy. . .however, it seems to me that he isn't really invisible, per se--if you believe, you'll see him, if you don't believe, you'll just see an empty chair.
I can't remember if it was on that site on the other message board I post on. But they say the figment looks like Locke. They defend it by saying the reason Locke didn't see Jakob is because Jakob is Locke from a different time (like the 19th century).
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
Tonight's Lost may not have been a grand slam, but it was at least a triple. (Sorry about the baseball analogies, Brits.) It was a surprisingly touching episode, with all of Charlie's flashbacks comprising the "greatest hits" in what he thinks is a wasted life; and with a couple of nice, warm scenes with Claire and Hurley. Now, I never for a moment thought Charlie was really going to his death--there had to be a twist, I figured--but the scenes of Charlie preparing himself for the end, while not telling anyone what he was up to, were well done and truly moving. Good stuff. And who woulda thought Charlie would end up in what looks like the Liparus's submarine bay, held at gunpoint by a couple of babes?
Looks like the season finale will be a real rock 'em, sock 'em affair, with the "armies" coming face to face. Will we learn of Locke's fate, and what regulars will die? Unfortunately, I'll be "in transit" next week, so I'll have to wait a while until I get the answers myself!
Vox clamantis in deserto
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
Finally I had time to sit down and watch this weeks episode. Unlike you HB I thought Charlie was headed for his death. Of course the second he popped in the submarine bay I thought I saw a human looking down from a second or third level balcony. From there I just waited for somebody to appear. Finally somebody did appear, and to Charlies luck (let's hope) it was two good looking blond ladies. Let's hope these ladies dislike Ben as much as some. They then can help Charlie disable "The Looking Glass" and get him back to Claire. Can't wait for the two hour season fianle.
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
I thought Charlie was heading for his death too. There seems to be a schism developing amongst The Others. I'm assuming Ben became their leader, because Richard and the true islanders assumed that there is something special about him. That would explain why Ben had to remove Locke from the equation, and why he also humiliated him in front of his followers a few episodes ago. It looks like Richard is beginning to doubt Ben, and it would not surprise me if somehow he did something to undermine Ben or get rid of him in the season finale.
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
Hmmm. Not to sure what to think about the season finale. As a whole the show was quite good. We see Jack also had a alcohol and prescription drug problem. But the flashback left little to be desired. Who was the funeral for? Was this a partial cliff hanger to be answered next season? Time will tell.
Also, the show could of left certain things unanswered until next season. Like the fate of Jin, Bernard and Sayed. The only cliff hangers i see are: Was Ben lying? What happened to Mikahil (eye patch dude ) ? Will Desmond get out of the looking glass before it floods?
And finally R.I.P Charlie, you'll be missed.
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
A friend told me about the below spoiler. I highley suggest you don't watch, because if it's legit, it could be a big secret to the show.
Late to the discussion, but I only just saw the season finale. In a word--WOW! I thought this was really worth the wait. The action was exciting and there were quite a few stand-up-and-cheer moments. Who'd have imagined that the trio on the beach would be saved by Hurley in his hippie bus? I also enjoyed the material in the Looking Glass--maybe because it was fun seeing Tracy Middendorf (Bonnie), who usually plays sad drug addicts or cute girls-next-door, beating on Charlie like a drum. But what is it with this show and attractive women? No sooner are two hotties introduced then they're shot down!
As for Charlie--is he dead? Well, Mikhail has a habit of rising from the dead, and it looks like they couldn't kill Locke either, so who's to say he won't be back? But the flashback (or flashforward) might hold a clue. Like Mr. M, I thought we were seeing something from Jack's past--the time between his leaving his Asian girlfriend in disgrace and the death of his father--but by the end it looks as though this is in the future. Or is it? Could it be that in contacting the people on the rescue ship, Jack somehow altered the past? This could explain how Desmond in the past encountered Charlie and knew who he was.
Just an idea. I'm happy, and I'm waiting for season four!
Vox clamantis in deserto
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
Like Mr. M, I thought we were seeing something from Jack's past--the time between his leaving his Asian girlfriend in disgrace and the death of his father--but by the end it looks as though this is in the future. Or is it?
On another message board they all swear it's a flash forward. I refuse to beleive it. i think Kate had a past with Jack. I don't know what to think about the episode The one thing everyone is hung up on is, if it's a flash forward why did Jack say if his father is drunker than he is, you can fire me?
And one little comical moment for me from the season fianle. When jack walked into the funeral parlor he crossed in the middle of the street. Why didn't the cop who passed behind Jack stop Jack and cite him for Jay-Walking?
Some people would complain even if you hang them with a new rope
And just when I thought this series was going onto life support an episode like this one comes along.This was the best season finale I've seen this year.Excellent.
It's definitely a flashforward.The names of the people running the funeral home,"Huffs/Lawler" is literally an anagram for "flashforward".And it's pretty obvious--to me at least--that everything in the flashforward is set sometime after the survivors of Flight 815 returned to the mainland.
In fact,as a few websites have noticed,the phone Jack uses is from 2006 and the newspaper is from 2007.This means that everything in the flashforward is current and that the bulk of the series is actually set in the past--possibly in the late 1990s or very early 21st century.Since Lost has been renewed by ABC until the close of 2010, it may even be that within the series' unique fictional timeline,2010 is the equivalent of 2007 and that the story will end in the series' version of 2007.
Jack talks about the island to Kate and he says that they never should have left.He hopes that somehow,someway,he'll crash on the island again.These sequences couldn't possibly be taking place before Flight 815 originally crashed on the island.And now Jack desperately wants to return to the island.
Some websites feature enlarged images of the funeral notice Jack tears out of the newspaper.Many people have noticed that the name of the dead man is "Jo----entham",and pointed out that there was a famous philosopher named Jeremy Bentham who,among other things, advocated doing the the greatest good for the greatest number of people.We know that there are several characters in the Lost cast who have the same surnames as certain philosophers-among them Locke,Hume and Rousseau,so a name like Bentham would certainly fit right into the writer's theme.
The words in the notice (that are visible) in the enlarged images seem to say that a man from New York killed himself in a loft in Los Angeles.
Who could this man be?Why would Jack,after reading about this death become so emotional that he'd want to commit suicide and even mutter "forgive me"?Quite a puzzle...
Why did no one attend the mystery man's funeral services?Even Jack acknowledges that he wasn't a friend or a member of the man's family.And Kate,when Jack asks her why she didn't attend the mystery man's services says,"Why would I?"-with unhidden contempt in her voice.
Three possiblities leap to mind:
1)Ben's in that coffin.It's possible that upon arrival on the mainland Ben took the name Bentham.Ben was clearly a liar and a psychopath,but he may have turned out to be absolutely correct when he told Jack that coming back was the worst thing that could happen for most(if not all)of the castaways.Maybe once away from the island,Ben's health degenerated and so he killed himself.
2)And if it isn't Ben,then it could be John Locke's corpse.He didn't didn't want to leave the island,either.The island gave him mobility and freedom.For him it was a perfect world.
3)Then again,the mystery man might even turn out to be "Jacob"--the all-knowing leader of the Others.As it stands only Locke has seen him but Jack and the other survivors might also do that at some point during the show's upcoming 3 seasons.
To continue my wild speculations, I'm guessing that Naomi's people aren't really the good people she claimed they are-but will instead turn out to be "the Bad Guys",as Ben would say.Somehow Walt knew about them(perhaps Jacob told him) and he told Locke.That's why Locke killed Naomi.
Penny tells Charlie that she isn't involved with the rescuers-and that's in direct contrast to what Naomi previously said to Jack.Who sent them,then?Possibly Penny's father,who is supposed to be extremely wealthy.Who knows?He may've helped fund the Hanso corperation and the Dharma Initiative.And he might want everyone on the island killed because of what they've learned or he thinks they've learned.So he now wants all traces of these experimental stations removed.
Also, how did Naomi get a copy of the photo Charlie took of Desmond and Penny when it was supposedly the only one in existence?My enquiring mind wants to know.:)
And yeah,Jack refers to his father--but he does that while he's drunk and under the influence of a powerful painkiller that he's popping like candy.In his delirium, he talks about dear ol'Dad in the present tense.Not too unbelievable,IMO, particularly when Jack's in the same hospital he and his father both worked in.And although he really knows better,Jack probably still considers himself a lesser doctor, when compared to his father.
So what actually happened to Jack?Gee...I'm not sure,but I'm guessing that he somehow managed to lose his license.Also that he recieved some small measure of fame for having brought the survivors home--although that didn't go as well or as easily as he'd initially hoped it.It's possible that a number of the people he felt responsible for actually died before reaching the mainland.As a result,Jack suffers from a combination of survivor's guilt plus the guilt a doctor would experience after having lost patients who'd trusted him with their lives.And maybe Jack wasn't even the hero of the hour during this period, but the press and public thought he was,and so he was treated accordingly.Or perhaps Jack really was a hero,but people died anyway.He says that he's tired of all the lies.That might be a reference to the events surrounding the return--like some form of coverup associated with their reappearance from the island.
The doctor calls Jack a hero, and he might be refering to something more than Jack's heroically rescuing the people in the car--like bringing people back to the mainland.
Kate left Jack-possibly for Sawyer or maybe even for the ex-husband she'd abandoned prior to the plane crash.It's also possible that she's using a different name because on the island she was a fugitive who's wanted by the law.Whatever the case,she's no longer interested in Jack.Sadly,Jack really didn't have anyone to return to.His family(that he knows of)is dead and his ex-wife doesn't want to be around him.In this future, Jack's half sister Claire might want nothing to do with Jack either--assuming that somewhere along the way they learn that they're relatives.She might also blame Jack for Charlie's death,for all we know.This provided she even survives.
In retrospect,for Jack-as it proved to be with Locke and Ben(and others, like Rose,for example,whose cancer vanished)-life on the island was the best thing that could've happened to him.It caused him to reach inside himself and become a leader.
At any rate,I think that those flashforwards are only one view of an alternate future-- a potential reality but not the only future for Jack and Kate and everyone else once they return to the mainland.The producers of Lost have said that this show doesn't have time travel in it, but I don't believe them, since Desmond very clearly traveled through time.
What we see of the future with the self destructive Jack and bitter Kate may still be avoidable.I think we'll see several opportunities to change the future presented to the castaways before the series finally comes to a close.
And while I'm guessing,I think that the Temple Ben mentions is near(or in ) that giant four-toed foot.:)
Wow, Wow and once again for emphasis WOW! Charlie met his maker after all. And what a wonderful ending to this Season. For me it was a flash-forward, but it poses so many questions. Jack mentions his father twice. Once when he rages at the other doctor to get Shepherd Senior to see who’s more inebriated and again when he tries to blag a prescription using his father's signature. Jack saw his father on the island in Season 1. That may have been more than the imaginings of a grieving son. There now seems to be the possibility that Shepherd senior is still alive somehow. Desmond had an episode where it appeared he could change his life. Future Jack seems convinced that things should be different. That somehow he and Kate can alter what happened. Now this could be the anguish of a man who has lived through the most interesting period of his life and knows there is nothing left that could ever match it. Jack might just want to go back, because he felt alive on the island. People looked up to him. They didn’t pity him as the doctor and the pharmacist did. Jack spends his time hanging around airports and taking flights to far-off places in the hope that they’ll crash and he’ll end up back there.
I wonder if we’re now going to have a show that revolves around flashbacks, the present (island), and the future and we’ll have to put the pieces together. Such as who is in the box? Could it be Sawyer? Kate mentions a man is waiting for her. That could be Sawyer too. So then, maybe it’s Locke who has died? Jacob? Juliet? Ben? What would Ben have to live for away from the island? He’d just be a little guy with a scary face. The clipping seems to mention the word beam. Maybe it was suicide. It could well be another survivor from the island who couldn’t cope with being away from it. Somebody else we haven’t met yet? We’ve only seen a glimpse of what this possible future entails. I do hope they continue with flash forwards. It’s an interesting narrative development. The question wouldn’t be so much will they get off the island, but who made it and how and what’s left for them now. The lies Jack refers to when he is speaking to Kate may refer to an official version of what happened. Jack and Kate are being forced to be quiet for some reason. Then again, maybe Jack wants to go back because they left some of their people behind. He does say “We” as if he means Kate and him. Did only a handful escape? So many questions. Who have they made contact with? Is Mikhail related to Rasputin? They had to poision, beat, shoot, and drown that mad Russian What will it take to kill him? Oh so many questions. And I really can’t wait till January.
Is Mikhail related to Rasputin? They had to poision, beat, shoot, and drown that mad Russian What will it take to kill him?
What a great question!It's one that's crossed my mind as well.In fact,for all we know,Mikhail may even be Rasputin.I'm becoming convinced that the elderly lady among the Others who is named "Amelia" is none other than Amelia Earhart--the famous American aviatrix who vanished over the Pacific many decades ago.Neither she nor her airplane have ever been found.And I don't think Lost's Amelia is Ms.Earhart simply because they share the same first name,but rather because the airport shown in the episode which introduced her("A Tale of Two Cities") is called the Herarat Airport.Herarat can be read as an anagram for Earhart.Maybe this is all an intended diversion or just a coincidence, but there don't seem to be many of them on this series.
But back to Rasputin.Perhaps on the island,actually both of them--the one with the Flight 815 survivors and the one where the Others lived--time is relative,affecting everyone differently.Because of that these people age at very different rates.Maybe Rasputin didn't die--even after having been poisoned,shot,stabbed and drowned.Perhaps instead he survived all of his assassination attempts, and another body was buried in his casket.Maybe well-placed revolutionaries arranged for his escape in order to be rid of him.Maybe he somehow found his way to the island and joined the Others, or was even there before they arrived and then insinuated himself into their company.Perhaps he is almost immortal.
In fact there might be several historical figures living on the islands.Jacob--who all the Others defer to,may be one as well.
I love the idea of Earhart being on the island. {[] All we need now is for Glenn Miller to turn up. I'm still reeling from that finale. I'm convinced now that the common criticism of Lost, (that the writers are making it up as they go along,) is unfounded. I think they know exactly what they are doing and have the next three seasons and an ending planned out.
Just a thought about Claire. Desmond said that after Charlie died, Claire would leave the island on a helicopter. Can we presume that she will go with Naomi's people? She has a baby, so she would be first in line to be taken off the island. I suspect Ben is telling the truth for once. That Naomi's people are a threat. Obviously something went wrong, as future Jack is a drunk, who very nearly swallow-dived onto an underpass, before deciding to save that woman and her son. Although given that he pulled them out of a burning car, he may have been trying to find a heroic way to die.
Willie, time slowing down is an interesting theory. It would explain Richard looking the same. And here's a thought. Jack says to the other doctor, who's clearly trying to deal with him as carefully as possible, "Do you know how many years I've worked at this hospital?" That begs the question how old is Jack at this point? How many years have passed? That's a long shot I know and one that can be easily shot down. His ex-wife looks much the same as before. What would be interesting is if the last season focused on how they are trying to cope with life after returning home. You would still have flashbacks to the island, as a way of filling out the blanks.
I suspect Jack is no longer allowed to practice medicine. We never see him in his work-clothes and he clearly is not going to be allowed to operate on the woman he saved. I suspect the other doctor was humouring him. Jack probably turns up at the hospital on regular occasions as if he still works there. The other doctor (I forget his name) has obviosly been warned about Jack, but told to treat him kindly bacause he's a hero.
I love the idea of Earhart being on the island. {[] All we need now is for Glenn Miller to turn up. I'm still reeling from that finale. I'm convinced now that the common criticism of Lost, (that the writers are making it up as they go along,) is unfounded. I think they know exactly what they are doing and have the next three seasons and an ending planned out.
Just a thought about Claire. Desmond said that after Charlie died, Claire would leave the island on a helicopter. Can we presume that she will go with Naomi's people? She has a baby, so she would be first in line to be taken off the island. I suspect Ben is telling the truth for once. That Naomi's people are a threat. Obviously something went wrong, as future Jack is a drunk, who very nearly swallow-dived onto an underpass, before deciding to save that woman and her son. Although given that he pulled them out of a burning car, he may have been trying to find a heroic way to die.
Willie, time slowing down is an interesting theory. It would explain Richard looking the same. And here's a thought. Jack says to the other doctor, who's clearly trying to deal with him as carefully as possible, "Do you know how many years I've worked at this hospital?" That begs the question how old is Jack at this point? How many years have passed? That's a long shot I know and one that can be easily shot down. His ex-wife looks much the same as before. What would be interesting is if the last season focused on how they are trying to cope with life after returning home. You would still have flashbacks to the island, as a way of filling out the blanks.
I suspect Jack is no longer allowed to practice medicine. We never see him in his work-clothes and he clearly is not going to be allowed to operate on the woman he saved. I suspect the other doctor was humouring him. Jack probably turns up at the hospital on regular occasions as if he still works there. The other doctor (I forget his name) has obviosly been warned about Jack, but told to treat him kindly bacause he's a hero.
John,I'm thinking that time seems to be almost elastic on the island, because it certainly seems to be affecting different people in different ways.For example,one writer in TV Guide pointed out that despite the big change in his diet,Hurley doesn't appear to have lost any weight at all.And Sun's hair is longer now than it was in the pilot-as is Daniel Dae Kim's and Josh Holloway's.Conversely,Jack's hair seems to be growing more slowly.Small things,but still noticable.And while his whiskers are grey/white on the island,on the mainland,Jack's beard and moustache are almost a solid black.That may not be a mistake made by the makeup people.
Maybe while we experience time in a normal manner, on the islands time is on a continuous but controlable loop no one can accurately determine.We know that Ben came to the island as a boy and that he reached adulthood.As he appeared before Locke,Walt seemed to have aged at a normal rate.The island's first-born,Rousseau's daughter Alex, seems to have aged at a normal rate too, as has her boyfriend Karl.But then again,as you note,Richard could easily be a rival for Dorian Grey,considering how youthful he looks after having spent so many years on the island.Hmm....
Then there's the concept of time itself and how the show seems to be handing it.In the flashward, Jack uses a phone made in 2006 and the newspaper he picks up on the plane is supposedly dated 2007(according to the various members of those websites analyzing the enlarged images of Jack and the paper).If this is indeed the case,and accepting that the flashforward is set in 2007,if we look back by about 6 years-say from 2010(when the show will come to an end),then Oceanic Flight 815 could have gone down in 2001--and everything we've seen/will see on the island is a flashback!:o
Yikes!My head hurts...
To the best of my knowledge,the series' first episode never establishes the exact year the plane crashed.So,taking that into consideration,in "Real World" terms,possibly less than what we would consider a chronological year has really passed on the island thus far.Imagine the shock for the returning survivors once they learn about the amount of time that passed in the outside world while they were gone.
How old is Jack?Hard to determine because he doesn't really look appreciably different from the way we usually see him-even with that beard.And Kate doesn't look any older either(although she looks prettier without the mainland makeup-IMO).Perhaps,they were generally unaffected by time as a direct result of having lived on the island.And while this condition may not be true for all of the survivors, Jack and Kate could be aging as slowly as Richard does.Maybe Jack's ex-wife Sarah is aging gracefully.Wait a minute.Sarah's age may be important after all.The California-based Sarah is supposed to only be a few years younger than Jack,but she doesn't appear to have aged much,either.This particular age differential may prove to be a clue in determining the exact length of time Jack(and Kate and the other returning survivors)were actually on the island.I'm guessing 5-6 years at the most.But only as time is measured off of the island.
I firmly believe that Jack no longer has his license, and that's one of the reasons he made himself into a version of his father.In such a continually intoxicated state he would clearly too dangerous to permit in an operating room--under any circumstances.For all we know,Jack may have even botched, or come close to botching, surgeries before being removed from his position.But because he was once a great doctor and because of his herioic past--this assuming that he was accorded a measure of credit by the media in rescuing and returning some of the survivors,along with saving the lives of the two people in the car accident--Jack definitely deserves respect.But that said,in his condition,he'll never practice medicine again.
The substance abuse may also be an example of Jack suffering from survivor's guilt;having failed to save the lives of all of the people--survivors and patients alike--he considered as entrusted in his care.Then of course,there's the incredibly frustrating inabilty to somehow find his way back to the island.This circumstance eats at Jack night and day.
I think Jack's father really is dead,but who knows?Maybe he IS alive and maybe HE is/was Jacob!
And yes-let's see Glenn Miller!Maybe he'll pop up in the very last episode.This series certainly does look like it has a plan and that the writers are moving towards a definite ending.I'm anxious to see what comes next.
Mr MartiniThat nice house in the sky.Posts: 2,707MI6 Agent
To the best of my knowledge,the series' first episode never establishes the exact year the plane crashed.So,taking that into consideration,in "Real World" terms,possibly less than what we would consider a chronological year has really passed on the island thus far.Imagine the shock for the returning survivors once they learn about the amount of time that passed in the outside world while they were gone.
Actually, Lostpedia has something interesting. Check this out:
September 2004 Day 1 to Day 9
October 2004 Day 10 to Day 40
November 2004 Day 41 to Day 70
December 2004 Day 71 to Day 101
January 2005 - To date there is no on-screen info about any events in January 2005.
We know as we watch the program the show isn't in real time. Remember the program that aired sometime in season 2 (or early in season 3)? It's when Ben had Jack in the glass cell. Ben rolled in a TV and showed Jack who won the World Series. When Jack saw that Boston had won the World Seires, Jack was in shock. That show aired sometime in 2006. Boston won the World Seires in 2004
Lostpedia also has the crash date as September 22nd 2004.
Whenever I get confused about something I go to Lostpedia. Here's the link for the timeline:
To the best of my knowledge,the series' first episode never establishes the exact year the plane crashed.So,taking that into consideration,in "Real World" terms,possibly less than what we would consider a chronological year has really passed on the island thus far.Imagine the shock for the returning survivors once they learn about the amount of time that passed in the outside world while they were gone.
Actually, Lostpedia has something interesting. Check this out:
September 2004 Day 1 to Day 9
October 2004 Day 10 to Day 40
November 2004 Day 41 to Day 70
December 2004 Day 71 to Day 101
January 2005 - To date there is no on-screen info about any events in January 2005.
We know as we watch the program the show isn't in real time. Remember the program that aired sometime in season 2 (or early in season 3)? It's when Ben had Jack in the glass cell. Ben rolled in a TV and showed Jack who won the World Series. When Jack saw that Boston had won the World Seires, Jack was in shock. That show aired sometime in 2006. Boston won the World Seires in 2004
Lostpedia also has the crash date as September 22nd 2004.
Whenever I get confused about something I go to Lostpedia. Here's the link for the timeline:
Comments
I'm really excited for the last couple episodes, and I'll be checking back here more often. Cheers. {[]
Interesting episode. Great ending. Were we really given an answer to why they are on the island. ?:) I don't think the writers would reveal the truth so early. Purgatory was one of the first conclusions people jumped to when the show first aired, so I doubt it's that simple. This pushes me towards some kind of conspiracy involving the Dharma Initiative. I suspect the girl is telling the truth about a plane being found, but it's not the plane the passengers were on. All in all, this is getting more and more intriguing. Highlights so far include:
Hurley picking up parachute girl's phone and saying 'mom?'
Jin Tae Kwon Do-kicking Wishmaster in the face.
Gratutious bikini crotch shot of Evangeline Lilly a couple of episode's ago.
And Brother Desmond drunkenly singing football songs while still a monk.
My theory: the crashed plane was apparently seen only by underwater cameras. If the Others can get dossiers on everyone on the flight they can easily put a mockup plane on the ocean floor.
Anyway, this most recent episode was a winner. We've seen too little of Locke this season, so it's great to see him again. . .although I sort of miss the spiritual man he used to be. He was really at his worst, essentially forcing Sawyer to commit murder because
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117964371.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
In a potentially paradigm-shifting play, ABC has agreed to let the producers of "Lost" set an expiration date for the series -- three years in the future.
Skein will now wrap after the production of 48 additional episodes that will be divided into three, shortened 16-episode seasons. Final episode -- the show's 119th -- will air during the 2009-10 season.
In conjunction with the advance order, "Lost" showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have inked hefty new multi-year overall deals with ABC Television Studio to continue with the series until the end. Duo had made setting a wrap date for the show a condition for staying.
Lindelof and Cuse had wanted "Lost" to end after two more seasons. They're essentially still getting their wish: The 48 episodes they'll produce over the next three years is the same number the show produced during its first two seasons.
ABC execs, however, came up with a way to keep "Lost" on its sked for three more seasons. What's more, the 16-episode arcs will run without repeats (a la "24"), allowing the Alphabet to make the show more of an event.
"In considering the powerful storytelling of 'Lost,' we felt this was the only way to give it a proper creative conclusion," ABC Entertainment prexy Steve McPherson said.
"I always said that we would allow the series to grow and give viewers the most compelling hour possible," he added. "And, due to the unique nature of the series, we knew it would require an end date to keep the integrity and strength of the show consistent throughout, and to give the audience the payoff they deserve. "
McPherson also acknowledged that getting Lindelof and Cuse to reup "was critical to me and the network."
ABC Television Studio prexy Mark Pedowitz shared that sentiment.
"We wanted to make sure we had the team responsible for its success in place for not only the run of the show, but so that each of their future series creations have a home at the studio after 'Lost,' " Pedowitz said.
J.J. Abrams, who co-created "Lost" with Lindelof, defected to Warner Bros. TV last year and has been focusing on a new slate of TV and film projects, including the revival of the "Star Trek" franchise for Paramount Pictures. He told Daily Variety that he fully supported the advance wrap decision.
"It is the right choice for the series and its viewers," he said via an email message. "It takes real foresight and guts to make a call like this. I applaud ABC and Touchstone for making this happen."
Lindelof and Cuse, who are putting the finishing touches on the third-season finale, released a joint statement praising what they termed "a bold and unprecedented move for ABC" and thanking McPherson and Pedowitz for making it.
Cuse added that he hoped more shows will be able to follow the "Lost" lead and declare an end date.
"I think for story-based shows like 'Lost,' as opposed to franchise-based shows like 'ER' or 'CSI,' the audience wants to know when the story is going to be over," Cuse wrote. "When J.K. Rowling announced that there would be seven 'Harry Potter' books, it gave the readers a clear sense of exactly what their investment would be. We want our audience to do the same."
Cuse confirmed that devising an exit strategy for "Lost" was key to reupping with ABC Television Studio.
"In making this deal, Damon and I had two priorities: defining an end point for the show and keeping the quality bar high," Cuse said. "To do that we are both fully committed to the day-to-day running of the show right up until the very end. It's also why the 16 episodes per year was key for us. Because our show is so mythological, and because, unlike '24,' we can't reset each season, we need the extra time fewer episodes affords us to really plan out the specifics of our storytelling."
Lindelof and Cuse made public their desire for an end date during the TV Critics Assn. press tour last winter (Daily Variety, Jan. 15).
Cuse and Lindelof also wanted an end date in order to mollify critics of the show who worried producers were simply spinning their wheels as they worked through the show's layer upon layer of mystery.
ABC execs had already been talking to the producers about the idea, but they seemed taken aback when Lindelof and Cuse made the conversations public.
Indeed, it would be understandable if ABC execs had been initially cool to the concept of an early end date.
After all, with major hits a rarity in the network game, the rule is to keep hits on the air until every last ounce of success has been squeezed from them (e.g., "ER" or "The X-Files").
And despite relentless media snarking this season -- and the fact that "Lost" has lost a chunk of its fall 2005 audience -- the series is still a top-15 hit that dominates its 10 p.m. Wednesday timeslot in key demos.
In its third season, it's still drawing as many young viewers as NBC's newer, more buzzed-about "Heroes" -- and that's not counting the roughly 2.1 million viewers who watch the show after its live broadcast or via free streaming on ABC.com.
ABC could be establishing a new formula by which nets find success through serving up skeins with more and more audacious concepts but shorter lifespans than the traditional network hit.
Already, the traditional syndie business model -- the one that required studios to produce 100 episodes of a show in order to recoup their investment -- seems to be fading away in an age of instant downloads and universal streaming.
That may be one reason, according to Lindelof, that McPherson and Pedowitz "never argued that the show should keep going and going. The issue has always been when it would end and how far out in front of that ending should we herald it."
Now that the end has been announced, Lindelof promised there would be no attempts to extend or continue the "Lost" mythology on air in some other way.
"There will be no extensions or enhancements. That number (48) is absolute," he said. And "once you begin to see where we're going, I think the idea of sequels and spinoffs will completely go away."
So if he, Cuse or Abrams suddenly come up with a killer plot thread that doesn't fit into the new timeline?
"We'll do it as a radio play," Lindelof quipped.
As for "Lost," show's end game is expected to kick into high gear later this month with the broadcast of the season finale. Details of the plot are under wraps, but a person who has read the script described it as a major shakeup to the plot.
"It changes everything," the person said.
Nothing's official yet, but ABC has all but said that the fourth season of "Lost" won't premiere until January or February of next year.
I also got a kick out of the Wizard of Oz references--remember, Ben used the alias of Henry Gale--and I thought Locke was shown at his meanest and most cynical. As for the ending: Locke left in an open mass grave to die. . . I'd say he'll no doubt be rescued, but this is Lost. No one is safe.
Man, am I ever keyed up for the season finale!
*Sidenote, in this weeks TV Guide it talks about the season finale. It says:
SPOILER
Locke is definately not dead! I bet Jacob will help him. Also did any of you notice that Jacob was visible sitting in the chair for a split second when Locke pulled out the flashback. He looked suspiciously like Locke with hair. Unfortunately, I can't find a screencap. I'll keep my eyes open.
Damn, I deleted 'Lost' from my Skybox as soon as I'd watched it. I saw the figure, but didn't think to freezeframe the image. Well, what an extraordinary episode! I jumped out of my sofa on at least two occasions. Once when Ben's mother appeared at the window, again when Ben met the creepily eyebrowed and ageless Richard in the jungle. Richard seems to be a proper Other, while Ben is an outsider. We're obviously going to find out more about Ben, especially what happened to his childhood friend. He was holding a doll she gave him as a birthday present so I'm figuring he lost her somehow. As for Locke, I hope that's not the last we'll see of him. Jack and Juliet appear to have been working together, without letting the rest of the group know what they're up to. And Jacob. Well who knows. Ben can see him, but seemingly not hear him. Does Jacob need rescuing from Ben? Is that what he meant by 'Help Me.' ?:) Outstanding television. I cannot wait for next week's episode.
Don't worry, because look what I found:
http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/2007/05/11-frames-of-jacob.html
And as for seeing the last of Locke......on another message board it was said that Locke was shot in the area of his kidneys. Think about that.....
I can't remember if it was on that site on the other message board I post on. But they say the figment looks like Locke. They defend it by saying the reason Locke didn't see Jakob is because Jakob is Locke from a different time (like the 19th century).
Looks like the season finale will be a real rock 'em, sock 'em affair, with the "armies" coming face to face. Will we learn of Locke's fate, and what regulars will die? Unfortunately, I'll be "in transit" next week, so I'll have to wait a while until I get the answers myself!
Also, the show could of left certain things unanswered until next season. Like the fate of Jin, Bernard and Sayed. The only cliff hangers i see are: Was Ben lying? What happened to Mikahil (eye patch dude
And finally R.I.P Charlie, you'll be missed.
As for Charlie--is he dead? Well, Mikhail has a habit of rising from the dead, and it looks like they couldn't kill Locke either, so who's to say he won't be back? But the flashback (or flashforward) might hold a clue. Like Mr. M, I thought we were seeing something from Jack's past--the time between his leaving his Asian girlfriend in disgrace and the death of his father--but by the end it looks as though this is in the future. Or is it? Could it be that in contacting the people on the rescue ship, Jack somehow altered the past? This could explain how Desmond in the past encountered Charlie and knew who he was.
Just an idea. I'm happy, and I'm waiting for season four!
On another message board they all swear it's a flash forward. I refuse to beleive it. i think Kate had a past with Jack. I don't know what to think about the episode The one thing everyone is hung up on is, if it's a flash forward why did Jack say if his father is drunker than he is, you can fire me?
And one little comical moment for me from the season fianle. When jack walked into the funeral parlor he crossed in the middle of the street. Why didn't the cop who passed behind Jack stop Jack and cite him for Jay-Walking?
It's definitely a flashforward.The names of the people running the funeral home,"Huffs/Lawler" is literally an anagram for "flashforward".And it's pretty obvious--to me at least--that everything in the flashforward is set sometime after the survivors of Flight 815 returned to the mainland.
In fact,as a few websites have noticed,the phone Jack uses is from 2006 and the newspaper is from 2007.This means that everything in the flashforward is current and that the bulk of the series is actually set in the past--possibly in the late 1990s or very early 21st century.Since Lost has been renewed by ABC until the close of 2010, it may even be that within the series' unique fictional timeline,2010 is the equivalent of 2007 and that the story will end in the series' version of 2007.
Jack talks about the island to Kate and he says that they never should have left.He hopes that somehow,someway,he'll crash on the island again.These sequences couldn't possibly be taking place before Flight 815 originally crashed on the island.And now Jack desperately wants to return to the island.
Some websites feature enlarged images of the funeral notice Jack tears out of the newspaper.Many people have noticed that the name of the dead man is "Jo----entham",and pointed out that there was a famous philosopher named Jeremy Bentham who,among other things, advocated doing the the greatest good for the greatest number of people.We know that there are several characters in the Lost cast who have the same surnames as certain philosophers-among them Locke,Hume and Rousseau,so a name like Bentham would certainly fit right into the writer's theme.
The words in the notice (that are visible) in the enlarged images seem to say that a man from New York killed himself in a loft in Los Angeles.
http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Newspaper_clipping
Who could this man be?Why would Jack,after reading about this death become so emotional that he'd want to commit suicide and even mutter "forgive me"?Quite a puzzle...
Why did no one attend the mystery man's funeral services?Even Jack acknowledges that he wasn't a friend or a member of the man's family.And Kate,when Jack asks her why she didn't attend the mystery man's services says,"Why would I?"-with unhidden contempt in her voice.
Three possiblities leap to mind:
1)Ben's in that coffin.It's possible that upon arrival on the mainland Ben took the name Bentham.Ben was clearly a liar and a psychopath,but he may have turned out to be absolutely correct when he told Jack that coming back was the worst thing that could happen for most(if not all)of the castaways.Maybe once away from the island,Ben's health degenerated and so he killed himself.
2)And if it isn't Ben,then it could be John Locke's corpse.He didn't didn't want to leave the island,either.The island gave him mobility and freedom.For him it was a perfect world.
3)Then again,the mystery man might even turn out to be "Jacob"--the all-knowing leader of the Others.As it stands only Locke has seen him but Jack and the other survivors might also do that at some point during the show's upcoming 3 seasons.
To continue my wild speculations, I'm guessing that Naomi's people aren't really the good people she claimed they are-but will instead turn out to be "the Bad Guys",as Ben would say.Somehow Walt knew about them(perhaps Jacob told him) and he told Locke.That's why Locke killed Naomi.
Penny tells Charlie that she isn't involved with the rescuers-and that's in direct contrast to what Naomi previously said to Jack.Who sent them,then?Possibly Penny's father,who is supposed to be extremely wealthy.Who knows?He may've helped fund the Hanso corperation and the Dharma Initiative.And he might want everyone on the island killed because of what they've learned or he thinks they've learned.So he now wants all traces of these experimental stations removed.
Also, how did Naomi get a copy of the photo Charlie took of Desmond and Penny when it was supposedly the only one in existence?My enquiring mind wants to know.:)
And yeah,Jack refers to his father--but he does that while he's drunk and under the influence of a powerful painkiller that he's popping like candy.In his delirium, he talks about dear ol'Dad in the present tense.Not too unbelievable,IMO, particularly when Jack's in the same hospital he and his father both worked in.And although he really knows better,Jack probably still considers himself a lesser doctor, when compared to his father.
So what actually happened to Jack?Gee...I'm not sure,but I'm guessing that he somehow managed to lose his license.Also that he recieved some small measure of fame for having brought the survivors home--although that didn't go as well or as easily as he'd initially hoped it.It's possible that a number of the people he felt responsible for actually died before reaching the mainland.As a result,Jack suffers from a combination of survivor's guilt plus the guilt a doctor would experience after having lost patients who'd trusted him with their lives.And maybe Jack wasn't even the hero of the hour during this period, but the press and public thought he was,and so he was treated accordingly.Or perhaps Jack really was a hero,but people died anyway.He says that he's tired of all the lies.That might be a reference to the events surrounding the return--like some form of coverup associated with their reappearance from the island.
The doctor calls Jack a hero, and he might be refering to something more than Jack's heroically rescuing the people in the car--like bringing people back to the mainland.
Kate left Jack-possibly for Sawyer or maybe even for the ex-husband she'd abandoned prior to the plane crash.It's also possible that she's using a different name because on the island she was a fugitive who's wanted by the law.Whatever the case,she's no longer interested in Jack.Sadly,Jack really didn't have anyone to return to.His family(that he knows of)is dead and his ex-wife doesn't want to be around him.In this future, Jack's half sister Claire might want nothing to do with Jack either--assuming that somewhere along the way they learn that they're relatives.She might also blame Jack for Charlie's death,for all we know.This provided she even survives.
In retrospect,for Jack-as it proved to be with Locke and Ben(and others, like Rose,for example,whose cancer vanished)-life on the island was the best thing that could've happened to him.It caused him to reach inside himself and become a leader.
At any rate,I think that those flashforwards are only one view of an alternate future-- a potential reality but not the only future for Jack and Kate and everyone else once they return to the mainland.The producers of Lost have said that this show doesn't have time travel in it, but I don't believe them, since Desmond very clearly traveled through time.
What we see of the future with the self destructive Jack and bitter Kate may still be avoidable.I think we'll see several opportunities to change the future presented to the castaways before the series finally comes to a close.
And while I'm guessing,I think that the Temple Ben mentions is near(or in ) that giant four-toed foot.:)
I wonder if we’re now going to have a show that revolves around flashbacks, the present (island), and the future and we’ll have to put the pieces together. Such as who is in the box? Could it be Sawyer? Kate mentions a man is waiting for her. That could be Sawyer too. So then, maybe it’s Locke who has died? Jacob? Juliet? Ben? What would Ben have to live for away from the island? He’d just be a little guy with a scary face. The clipping seems to mention the word beam. Maybe it was suicide. It could well be another survivor from the island who couldn’t cope with being away from it. Somebody else we haven’t met yet? We’ve only seen a glimpse of what this possible future entails. I do hope they continue with flash forwards. It’s an interesting narrative development. The question wouldn’t be so much will they get off the island, but who made it and how and what’s left for them now. The lies Jack refers to when he is speaking to Kate may refer to an official version of what happened. Jack and Kate are being forced to be quiet for some reason. Then again, maybe Jack wants to go back because they left some of their people behind. He does say “We” as if he means Kate and him. Did only a handful escape? So many questions. Who have they made contact with? Is Mikhail related to Rasputin? They had to poision, beat, shoot, and drown that mad Russian
What a great question!It's one that's crossed my mind as well.In fact,for all we know,Mikhail may even be Rasputin.I'm becoming convinced that the elderly lady among the Others who is named "Amelia" is none other than Amelia Earhart--the famous American aviatrix who vanished over the Pacific many decades ago.Neither she nor her airplane have ever been found.And I don't think Lost's Amelia is Ms.Earhart simply because they share the same first name,but rather because the airport shown in the episode which introduced her("A Tale of Two Cities") is called the Herarat Airport.Herarat can be read as an anagram for Earhart.Maybe this is all an intended diversion or just a coincidence, but there don't seem to be many of them on this series.
But back to Rasputin.Perhaps on the island,actually both of them--the one with the Flight 815 survivors and the one where the Others lived--time is relative,affecting everyone differently.Because of that these people age at very different rates.Maybe Rasputin didn't die--even after having been poisoned,shot,stabbed and drowned.Perhaps instead he survived all of his assassination attempts, and another body was buried in his casket.Maybe well-placed revolutionaries arranged for his escape in order to be rid of him.Maybe he somehow found his way to the island and joined the Others, or was even there before they arrived and then insinuated himself into their company.Perhaps he is almost immortal.
In fact there might be several historical figures living on the islands.Jacob--who all the Others defer to,may be one as well.
Or not...:)
Just a thought about Claire. Desmond said that after Charlie died, Claire would leave the island on a helicopter. Can we presume that she will go with Naomi's people? She has a baby, so she would be first in line to be taken off the island. I suspect Ben is telling the truth for once. That Naomi's people are a threat. Obviously something went wrong, as future Jack is a drunk, who very nearly swallow-dived onto an underpass, before deciding to save that woman and her son. Although given that he pulled them out of a burning car, he may have been trying to find a heroic way to die.
Willie, time slowing down is an interesting theory. It would explain Richard looking the same. And here's a thought. Jack says to the other doctor, who's clearly trying to deal with him as carefully as possible, "Do you know how many years I've worked at this hospital?" That begs the question how old is Jack at this point? How many years have passed? That's a long shot I know and one that can be easily shot down. His ex-wife looks much the same as before. What would be interesting is if the last season focused on how they are trying to cope with life after returning home. You would still have flashbacks to the island, as a way of filling out the blanks.
I suspect Jack is no longer allowed to practice medicine. We never see him in his work-clothes and he clearly is not going to be allowed to operate on the woman he saved. I suspect the other doctor was humouring him. Jack probably turns up at the hospital on regular occasions as if he still works there. The other doctor (I forget his name) has obviosly been warned about Jack, but told to treat him kindly bacause he's a hero.
John,I'm thinking that time seems to be almost elastic on the island, because it certainly seems to be affecting different people in different ways.For example,one writer in TV Guide pointed out that despite the big change in his diet,Hurley doesn't appear to have lost any weight at all.And Sun's hair is longer now than it was in the pilot-as is Daniel Dae Kim's and Josh Holloway's.Conversely,Jack's hair seems to be growing more slowly.Small things,but still noticable.And while his whiskers are grey/white on the island,on the mainland,Jack's beard and moustache are almost a solid black.That may not be a mistake made by the makeup people.
Maybe while we experience time in a normal manner, on the islands time is on a continuous but controlable loop no one can accurately determine.We know that Ben came to the island as a boy and that he reached adulthood.As he appeared before Locke,Walt seemed to have aged at a normal rate.The island's first-born,Rousseau's daughter Alex, seems to have aged at a normal rate too, as has her boyfriend Karl.But then again,as you note,Richard could easily be a rival for Dorian Grey,considering how youthful he looks after having spent so many years on the island.Hmm....
Then there's the concept of time itself and how the show seems to be handing it.In the flashward, Jack uses a phone made in 2006 and the newspaper he picks up on the plane is supposedly dated 2007(according to the various members of those websites analyzing the enlarged images of Jack and the paper).If this is indeed the case,and accepting that the flashforward is set in 2007,if we look back by about 6 years-say from 2010(when the show will come to an end),then Oceanic Flight 815 could have gone down in 2001--and everything we've seen/will see on the island is a flashback!:o
Yikes!My head hurts...
To the best of my knowledge,the series' first episode never establishes the exact year the plane crashed.So,taking that into consideration,in "Real World" terms,possibly less than what we would consider a chronological year has really passed on the island thus far.Imagine the shock for the returning survivors once they learn about the amount of time that passed in the outside world while they were gone.
How old is Jack?Hard to determine because he doesn't really look appreciably different from the way we usually see him-even with that beard.And Kate doesn't look any older either(although she looks prettier without the mainland makeup-IMO).Perhaps,they were generally unaffected by time as a direct result of having lived on the island.And while this condition may not be true for all of the survivors, Jack and Kate could be aging as slowly as Richard does.Maybe Jack's ex-wife Sarah is aging gracefully.Wait a minute.Sarah's age may be important after all.The California-based Sarah is supposed to only be a few years younger than Jack,but she doesn't appear to have aged much,either.This particular age differential may prove to be a clue in determining the exact length of time Jack(and Kate and the other returning survivors)were actually on the island.I'm guessing 5-6 years at the most.But only as time is measured off of the island.
I firmly believe that Jack no longer has his license, and that's one of the reasons he made himself into a version of his father.In such a continually intoxicated state he would clearly too dangerous to permit in an operating room--under any circumstances.For all we know,Jack may have even botched, or come close to botching, surgeries before being removed from his position.But because he was once a great doctor and because of his herioic past--this assuming that he was accorded a measure of credit by the media in rescuing and returning some of the survivors,along with saving the lives of the two people in the car accident--Jack definitely deserves respect.But that said,in his condition,he'll never practice medicine again.
The substance abuse may also be an example of Jack suffering from survivor's guilt;having failed to save the lives of all of the people--survivors and patients alike--he considered as entrusted in his care.Then of course,there's the incredibly frustrating inabilty to somehow find his way back to the island.This circumstance eats at Jack night and day.
I think Jack's father really is dead,but who knows?Maybe he IS alive and maybe HE is/was Jacob!
And yes-let's see Glenn Miller!Maybe he'll pop up in the very last episode.This series certainly does look like it has a plan and that the writers are moving towards a definite ending.I'm anxious to see what comes next.
Actually, Lostpedia has something interesting. Check this out:
September 2004 Day 1 to Day 9
October 2004 Day 10 to Day 40
November 2004 Day 41 to Day 70
December 2004 Day 71 to Day 101
January 2005 - To date there is no on-screen info about any events in January 2005.
We know as we watch the program the show isn't in real time. Remember the program that aired sometime in season 2 (or early in season 3)? It's when Ben had Jack in the glass cell. Ben rolled in a TV and showed Jack who won the World Series. When Jack saw that Boston had won the World Seires, Jack was in shock. That show aired sometime in 2006. Boston won the World Seires in 2004
Lostpedia also has the crash date as September 22nd 2004.
Whenever I get confused about something I go to Lostpedia. Here's the link for the timeline:
http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Timeline
Oops.I should've checked this out when I was looking at the newspaper clipping.Thanks for the correction--I'll be more careful next time.:)