Lost from the beginning (NO SPOILERS)

[OdoWanKenobi]

The Long Con:

Um....whoa. They got me.

As we start out, Sun is attacked. Most blame the Others, but I came to the same conclusion as Kate (which hurts to say) that it was Ana Lucia trying to make people afraid. The fact that it turned out to be yet another move in Sawyer's eternal quest to make everyone hate him blindsided me, You glorious, devious bastard. He played everyone perfectly. Sawyer being in charge of all of the guns is a terrifying thing. Seriously, if there was anyone on the island that should NOT have that power, it's him. I wonder why people that would possibly inclined to use the guns like Jack and Locke had the power. Would it not have been rational to give the code only to people that would never use them? Someone like Hurley or Sun. I guess Jack and Locke just fancied themselves the only trustworthy people. Well, it's going to bite them in the ass, now. And Charlie! He's truly going down a dark path. I can't believe that in the course of just a couple episodes he's become one of the least sympathetic characters on the show. He's reaching Kate levels, here.

What does our flashback show? Sawyer is really good at his job? Did he actually develop feelings for the woman in a con where the ruse was the he developed feelings? It doesn't really work to try to humanize him here after the royal bastard moves he just pulled on the island.

Last thing of note, is Sayid doing his Macguyver thing to the radio, and him and Hurley listening. They pick up a radio station playing Glen Miller. Doesn't seem important right now, but little mysteries like this almost always seem to become more important later.

 

[Trippy]

Loved that episode! I had the Sawyerism "There's a new sheriff in town boys; ya'll better get used to it" as a sig line for months

And the look on Locke's and Jack's faces was priceless

 

[DonIago]

This one's been on my "must rewatch at some point" list practically since I first saw it.

Of course, with the complete collection coming out in August...

 

[McCoy]

Cannot wait!

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

One of Them:

Man, a lot of stuff happens in this episode!

This is a pretty big island, huh? Two months since the crash and new people are still popping up. This time, we meet a guy named Henry Gale. Rousseau caught him in her trap, and then proceeds to shoot an arrow through his shoulder when Sayid cuts him down. Both seem convinced that he is one of the Others. Thus, torturer Sayid makes his return. Sayid's eventual breakdown about burying the one he loves didn't really make the impact on me that I'm sure the writers wanted. Part of that, I think, is that I never really bought the relationship between Sayid and Shannon. It didn't interest me, so this really doesn't. As for whether Henry is telling the truth, ah who knows? I'm sure we'll find out eventually.

The fight between Locke and Jack over the door leads to a tease of one of the big questions: What will happen if they don't put in the numbers on time? Locke doesn't manage to get them in quite on time, and the clock starts turning red, with some symbols that look like hieroglyphics on it. That's a bit unnerving. Can't wait to see what's up with that.

The flashback is decent. We see Sayid's descent into hell. I thought he turned traitor a bit quick, though. Even with the footage the Americans had of the attack on his town, wouldn't Sayid be a little suspicious? Maybe it has something to with being overpowered by Clancy Brown's awesomeness? How can you say no to that guy? Also, was he just re-accepted in to the Royal Guard without any questions regarding the fate of his superior officers, what he was doing while in American custody, why they let him go? I mean, news of this stuff does travel.

It's clear everything here is leading toward a major confrontation between the crash survivors and the others. Sayid seems ready for war now. He says he has no remorse over torturing Henry, so he knows he's lying. He also goes and eggs Charlie on down his dark path. Wrong thing to do.

Sawyer has a "kick the dog" moment here. Though in his case, it's "kill the frog." Totally unnecessary. Are the writers trying to make me hate him, just as I was starting to like him? Oh wait...maybe that is the point. He's acting like the biggest douche he ever has because everyone on the island likes him, now, and he can't take that.

Coincidence watch: Sayid met Kate's father. There's no end to them, is there?

 

[McCoy]

Hard to forgive the frog thing. Agreed about Clancy Brown; why isn't that guy a leading man? Also agree about Sayid and Shannon. I never stop rolling my eyes about that one.

 

[Hunter X]

I hated the frog thing when it aired, but not because of any fuzzy feelings for frogs. I hated it because it was just a repeat of season one's Sawyer vs. The Boar storyline, only with Hurley instead of Kate and pointlessness instead of pathos.

However, this episode marks a real turning point in the show, and I always look forward to it for that reason.

 

[propita]

I predict that if you were not hooked before, as of this episode, you will be.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

I predict that if you were not hooked before, as of this episode, you will be.

I started out watching the show on Netflix instant, but about 3/4 of the way through season 1, I went and bought all the blu-rays. What's that tell you?

Maternity Leave:

Claire is a character that is really starting to wear thin for me. It's all "My baby! My baby!" Can she do anything else? So, Aaron gets sick, Claire freaks out, and decides a jungle trek is called for. (When is it ever not on this show?) She goes in to the jungle with Kate and Rousseau. By this point, though, what happened in Claire's missing days seems rather irrelevant. So she spent her time in a drug addled haze, where the others sweet talked her, before trying to steal her baby. Then a girl that might be Alex (totally is Alex) helped her escape. It's underwhelming, and doesn't really seem to matter right now.

Down in the hatch, Locke and Jack are still watching over their worst kept secret. Eko continues the fine tradition of Lost characters leaping to accurate conclusion with no prior evidence and asks for an audience with Henry. There, he has a "confession" about the two Others he killed on the first night, and cuts off the two dangly things on his beard, symbolizing his forgiveness, I guess. After this episode, I'm pretty inclined to believe that Henry is one of the Others. He subtlety starts to Yoko between John and Jack. There's a showdown coming between those two for sure, and Henry is sowing the seeds for it.

The Whole Truth:

Damn, that title is misleading. There's no whole truth to be had here at all.

Locke brings Ana Lucia into the fold about Henry. She goes down and talks to him, and gets herself a map to the balloon's location. Locke tells Jack that he went behind his back. More and more hints to a falling out between these two. Ana Lucia takes Sayid (and Charlie tags along) on "Trek Into the Jungle!" again!

Sun's pregnant. But how can this be? The flashbacks show us her and Jin's visit to a fertility doctor. Jin is sterile. The implication would seem to be that Sun had an affair with the man that was teaching her English, but she's spent two months on the island, already. He couldn't possibly be the father. Maybe it is, as Jin suggested, a miracle. After all, this island has let a man that was previously confined to a wheelchair walk again. I just hope Sun doesn't turn in to Claire. Sun is the only female character that I actually like right now. If her entire character starts to revolve around the baby (like Claire's has from the beginning) I'll be sad.

The jungle trekkers find no balloon. Down in the hatch, Henry heavily implies that if he were one of the Others, he would have given them a fake map to an area for an ambush. The way that scene is shot, he practically has a flashing neon "I'm evil!" sign over his head. I think Jack and Locke are starting to believe it, too.

 

[Hunter X]

I predict that if you were not hooked before, as of this episode, you will be.

Sun's pregnant. But how can this be? The flashbacks show us her and Jin's visit to a fertility doctor. Jin is sterile. The implication would seem to be that Sun had an affair with the man that was teaching her English, but she's spent two months on the island, already. He couldn't possibly be the father. Maybe it is, as Jin suggested, a miracle. After all, this island has let a man that was previously confined to a wheelchair walk again. I just hope Sun doesn't turn in to Claire. Sun is the only female character that I actually like right now. If her entire character starts to revolve around the baby (like Claire's has from the beginning) I'll be sad.

I remember some people suspecting Michael as the father, since there was originally an affair storyline planned between him and Sun during season one. This was scrapped, thankfully, because the writers realized that Jin and Sun were better together than driven apart via soap opera storylines. Either way, two months isn't too long to not know that you're pregnant, depending on how irregular the woman's period is, if she thought there was no way she could be pregnant, and other complicating factors. My sister didn't know for her first two months or so.

As for Sun becoming all about "the baybee" like Claire is, I wouldn't worry about that. As you've noticed, time passes rather slowly on this show.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Lockdown:

After the last slowish episodes, the show regains some momentum. I've noticed that show really is at its best when it's making me say "What the hell?" Answers almost never seem to be as good as mysteries.

The hatch goes haywire, and Locke is trapped inside by the blast doors. Thus, he must turn to Henry for help. Sadly, Locke tries to slide under and ends up with his leg pinned in a moment worthy of the same kind of wincing as Sawyer's bullet digging. Yeesh that looks like it hurts. Locke is forced to trust the decidedly untrustworthy Henry with hitting the button. So, Henry goes forth to do so. But then...the lights go out, and a black light goes on, and on the blast door that's currently crushing Locke's leg is....something. I don't know what. Clearly, Locke is just as perplexed by it as I am. What the hell? Actually, I'm loving how they keep piling one mystery up on top of another. It keeps me coming back again and again. I'm sure the answers won't live up, but the journey is the worthier part.

In flashback land, Locke ruins his life for some money. He can't catch a break, can he? We're still missing what the biggest question about his past is, though. Namely: how he ended up in that wheelchair.

Outside the hatch, Sawyer gets taken down a few pegs by Jack trouncing him at poker (I'm sure Jack in Thailand will be a future flashback.) Then in the jungle, Jack and Kate come across a food drop. Now, where did that come from? The balloon trek also comes up with some results, surprisingly. I was really expecting some sort of ambush. Sayid drops a bombshell when they get back to the hatch. Henry Gale isn't Henry Gale. Henry Gale is dead. Dun Dun DUUUUUUUN!

 

[Starbreaker]

(I'm sure Jack in Thailand will be a future flashback.)

Haha... yup. A completely useless one.

 

[Orac Zen]

Given I've never been a regular in this forum (thanks mainly to the stupidity of the network that screened the show here) I tend to not visit it much, but I hope you persist with this thread, OdoWan. Even though you've joined the ranks of the Kate haters (unfortunately ), I'm enjoying seeing the show from the start all over again through the eyes of a poster with your smarts and insight.

One thing you said in an earlier post made me bite my tongue out of my head - or whatever the typing equivalent of that might be. It was a literal moment for me. I hope you revisit that post when you've seen another episode or two.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

One thing you said in an earlier post made me bite my tongue out of my head - or whatever the typing equivalent of that might be. It was a literal moment for me. I hope you revisit that post when you've seen another episode or two.

You, me, and everyone else. I nearly died laughing. You'll understand soon enough, OdoWan.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Dave:

Also known as: Hurley talks to himself for 40 minutes. He starts seeing his old friend from the mental hospital, Tyler...I mean Dave on the island, and spends most of the episode chasing him. Hurley is a really messed up guy. He makes the conscious choice to change himself, then relapses into imaginary friend-ville once he sees the food drop. It's like he has no control. I can understand why he snapped. Hurley "hulking out" on Sawyer was a fantastic cathartic moment. Jerk got what's been coming to him for so long. Hurley also mentions that nobody lives in the caves anymore. I had noticed we hadn't seen them in a while, but I can't remember if we ever heard what drove everyone to abandon them. Hurley gets lucky in the end though. Libby brings him out of his breakdown, and she seems ready to take a chance on him. But what's this? Flashbacks show us that Libby was in the same hospital...as a patient! Wow, an amazing coincidence on Lost. Never seen that before.

Hatch stuff now: Locke is out of commission. I think it's great how the viewers know why he angrily turns down a wheelchair, but Jack and Kate don't. NotHenry continues his lies, that Sayid sees right through. Actual answers are not forthcoming, though. Then NotHenry goes and does something that shakes Locke's very core. He tells Locke that he never pressed the button and nothing happened. The counter just reset itself. Locke beginning to doubt himself is a scary thing. This is a guy that from the beginning has been the most positive. The on the knew he had a destiny, and had been brought here for a reason, which he believed to be the button. If that's not true, if this is only a ploy, then his entire foundation is shaken. NotHenry really knows how to get in people's heads.

S.O.S.:

Also known as: Filler

Ok, maybe that's a bit unfair of me. There are some important character moments here. With the mysterious symbols on the door, and the questions about NotHenry, this just seems like it's hitting the brakes a bit. Bernard tries to get people together to make a big S.O.S. sign. Aren't we past that by this point? He acts like a jerk and turns everyone off. The flashbacks mark the first time we've seen anything about either Bernard or Rose, though. I think this is also the first time we've seen flashbacks for a non-regular. They're newlyweds! How about that. She's dying of cancer. So on their honeymoon she takes him to see Scorpius, who has brought advanced Peacekeeper healing techniques with him. Er...wait. He's a spirit healer in Australia. Nice to see Wayne Pygram working, though. He can't help her. The island can help, though, just as it helped Locke. There are people here on this island that really do have it better. Rose is cured of her cancer, Locke can walk and is now an alpha male. Rose is her usual sagely self whenever someone is having a crisis of faith. This time, though it's Locke. Good to see that this isn't a one off thing. There's real character development going on for him.

The other plotline is perhaps a bit more important, but nowhere near as interesting. Jack and Kate trek into the jungle to call out the others and propose a trade of NotHenry for Walt. On the way, the sexual tension comes back, which really bores me. They wait, and wait, and wait, then Michael comes running out of the jungle and collapses. Huh.

 

[Scott Delaney]

Please keep this up, OdoWanKenobi! Along with many others, I'm truly enjoying reading your impressions as you watch the series! I haven't commented much so far because I'm notoriously bad about letting spoilers slip as my friends are watching shows I've already seen, and I don't want to make that mistake here. That said, I will say that as a general rule Lost never goes more than a couple of flat "filler" episodes before taking off like a shot again, so if you find it's dragging, just keep at it and I suspect you'll be engaged again in no time at all. There's one exception - a six-episode stretch at one point - where to many (though not all) it seems to get mired, but trust me, past that it kicks off again and never really lets up from then on. Hope that's less of a spoiler and more of a word of encouragement...

It's just so cool to hear of someone experiencing this from the beginning, unspoiled - you have many great hours of solid entertainment and intrigue ahead!

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Two For the Road:

Ok, start at the beginning, I guess. Michael is back, and he's not in the greatest of shape. They take him back to the hatch. Also in the hatch, Ana Lucia almost gets herself killed by NotHenry. This, of course, pisses her off. She gets in to a fight with Sawyer over a gun, which of course leads to sex.....and gun stealing. Michael wakes up and says that the Others are nowhere near as strong as they believe and can be beaten. Why the hell didn't Kate speak up, here? She saw the clothes and the fake beard in the medical hatch. She even told Jack that the ratty clothes looked like they were costumes. The Others are clearly very smart, and only let Michael see what they wanted him to see. Or did they?

Flashbacks continue to mount up the coincidences. Is there anyone on this damn plane that didn't meet Christian? Interesting how this bit of storyline is actually more relevant to Jack than to Ana Lucia. We find out why Christian made that last trip to Australia. He came to see his daughter, as he says while yelling at an Australian woman with blond hair. Wait..........Australian, blond hair...could his daughter be?....Nah, that would be too coincidental even for this show. Or would it? Is Jack a new uncle? Moving on, Chrisitan and Ana Lucia part ways at the bar where he meets Sawyer. This flashback makes me wonder: Did Ana Lucia piece together who Jack was when she was flirting with him?

So, back to the world of the present: Hurley and Libby are going to go on a date. Tragically, Hurley forgot the blankets for a picnic. Libby goes off to get some. Jin giving Hurley the thumbs up was a pretty funny callback to earlier in the series. That makes what happens next all the more tragic. Jack decides it's time to get the guns back from Sawyer, and leaves Ana Lucia alone in the hatch with NotHenry. Bad move. She tries to kill him, but in the end can't bring herself to pull the trigger. Why not? She didn't seem to have a problem gunning down the guy that shot her before. She didn't seem the least bit repentant over that, either. Well not that it matters anymore: Michael offers to kill NotHenry himself, and when Ana Lucia hands him the gun, he turns it on her and shoots! Then Libby hears the shot, walks in, and Michael guns her down, too! Then he goes into the armory, and shoots himself in the shoulder. WHAT THE FRAKKING HELL?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Did NOT see that coming. Not for a mile! Holy crap! What is going on? Let's see. It's Michael, so it must have something to do with Walt. Did the Others offer to give him Walt in exchange for rescuing NotHenry? Did he feel the only way to get him out was to kill Ana Lucia? It's clear he just reacted when Libby walked in, and she had never been part of the equation. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dear god, man! He's just crossed the line from slightly annoying to completely irredeemable.

 

[DonIago]

(Monty Burns) Exxxxxxxcellent.

 

[D Man]

The ending to "Two for the Road" is in the top ten if not top five Lost moments for me. The way the whole thing goes down with absolutely no music is just brilliant, considering similar moments in the show are usually pounding with drums and strings and trombones. The LOST title card appearing just as Michael shoots himself seals the deal. I rewound my tape (VCRs still exist!) and re-watched it about 5 times the first time I saw it; I just couldn't believe what I'd just seen.

 

[Trippy]

I remember him killing Ana Lucia, and I thought, wow, well at least I can rationalize that then boom! Libby is shot too and, yes, my mind was effectively blown