"Lost" season finale recap: Why I hate the emergency broadcast system

Before I get into my recap of the "Lost" two-hour season finale, let me tell you a quick story. Last night, I came home from my monthly book club meeting (yes, I read. Don't act so surprised) and settled in with my hubby to watch the "Lost" finale on our DVR. Everything was going along swimmingly, until about 20 minutes from the end. It was the scene where Locke and his crew were at the Four-toed Foot and Richard comes over to talk to Locke. Only, I never heard what he said, because, at that moment, our cable system had apparently chosen to run a test of the emergency broadcast system. That's right -- the entire audio of that scene was replaced with the boops and squawks of an emergency test. ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Luckily, the sound came back in time for the episode's final scenes. But I missed that whole moment. I hope it wasn't too important.
Anyone want to fill me in?
Anyway, let's down to the nitty gritty of recapping last night's finale. It sure was a doozy. We met Jacob; got a look of some of our Losties as kids; learned a little more about the Shadow-of-the-Statue crew and, of course, might have suffered the loss of two beloved Lost characters (oh Juliet and Sayid -- I'm hoping against hope that you'll both survive) and definitely saw the gruesome demise of a less-than-lovable character (Good-bye Phil! Hope all those metal spikes plunging into your body didn't hurt too badly!).
Below are some of my thoughts on the finale. This will be a bit quick, as my computer has crashed twice already, and I'm pretty sure I'm typing on borrowed time. But feel free to post your own questions, ideas, musings below.
* So, after I boldly predicted to everyone I knew that Jacob would turn out to be Jack Shepherd, it turned out I was wrong. Like, really wrong. Like, "Jacob is not only not Jack, he's some random dude we've never seen before" wrong. Growl. Jacob was played by Mark Pellegrino, probably best known for playing Rita's horrible ex-husband Paul on "Dexter." In the opening scene, some skeevy looking dude (whom I finally recognize as Silas from "Deadwood" after reading it in Nikki Stafford's blog), approaches Jacob. They talk about new people coming to the island. Silas (the show hasn't given him a name yet, so I might as well stick to that one) tells Jacob that all the island visitors ever do is "come, fight, destroy, corrupt." Jacob seems unmoved, stating that "it only happens once. And everything that happens before is just progress." OooooKaaay. Have no idea what this means. And, honestly, if I were trapped on an island with a dude who talked in riddles, I'd want to kill him, just as Silas wants to kill Jacob. But he can't, for some reason. Why? We know there are certain people who can't be killed. Ben, for instance, can't kill Charles. So, are Jacob and Silas the original Ben and Charles? Who knows? But look -- they're sitting under the statue through this whole conversation. And it's the whole statue. Not just the foot! Cool.
* During that conversation, Silas swears he'll find some "loophole" allowing him to kill Jacob. Which he does. It turns out, Locke isn't really Locke after all. We learn, after a painfully long time, that the box the Shadow-of-the-Statue crew is carting around contains Locke's corpse. So who is the beatific guy wandering around leading the mission to kill Jacob? Why it's Silas! This is the loophole. He takes Ben to Jacob, after talking Ben into killing Jacob. Doesn't take much, as Ben has a festering bitterness about never having seen Jacob. Still, I wonder why Ben didn't pick up on something off about the exchange between Jacob and Silas/Locke inside the foot statue. Ben is usually so perceptive, and there was definitely an odd dynamic going on here. Well, maybe Ben was just really stoked to kill Jacob at this point and didn't care what other issues were at play.
* Just want to take a brief moment to talk about the scene where Silas/Locke talks Ben into killing Jacob. He makes mention of all of Ben's sacrifices and all of the service he's given to Jacob, a man he's never seen. During this speech, Silas/Locke really makes Jacob sound like God. But what is Jacob? Is he a God? He, apparently, had the power to make Richard ageless. We saw in the flashbacks that he was all-knowing. He knows about Hugo's visions (more on that later). He knew, obviously, that Nadia was going to die. It seems he knows everything. How? Who or what is he? And what will happen now that he's gone?
* Quick question here -- we know that Bram and most of the Shadow of the Statue crew were together off the island. But how did Ilana join their ranks? Was she always with them, or was she working separately for Jacob until she got to the island? And what happened to her? Why is her face all covered in bandages when Jacob comes to see her?
* Also, let's reflect quickly on Jacob's other visits. He pays for Kate's shoplifting; gives Sawyer a pen to write his death threat to Anthony Cooper; apparently revives John from the dead (or near dead) following his push from the window; distracts Sayid while Nadia is killed; witnesses Sun and Jin's wedding; talks Hurley into getting on the plane and hands Jack a snack. Why? What was the point of all this? And, did I miss something, or was Jacob not in Juliet's flashback at all? If he wasn't there, why did we get a flashback of her? Was it to show us how disillusioned she is about love? To demonstrate that she wasn't always so tough, and was, in fact, much more sensitive than her sister Rachel? It didn't fit. What was up with it?
* During their visit, Jacob tells Hurley that he isn't crazy. So, are Hurley's visions of the dead really messages from the island? What did Jacob mean? And why did he give Hurley the guitar case? What it Charlie's? Why did Hurley have to carry it? Was it the whole "proxy" thing? That meeting was by far the most intriguing of the bunch.
* OK, let's take a time out from all the Jacob talk to point out something very, very important that we learned in this episode: Rose, Bernard and Vincent are all still alive. YAAAAAAY!!!!!!! I'm so happy. It's been so long since we've seen them, I'd thought the worst. But there they were. Happily living in the jungle, and wisely disconnecting themselves from all this hydrogen-bomb-detonating-Ben-Linus-shooting-incident-preventing nonsense. Good for them.
*Another moment a long time in coming: the knock-down, drag-out brawl between Jack and Sawyer. Grueling. Horrifying. Awesome. Enough said.
*If no one else has said it before, let me be the first. Dharma minibus = Hurley's Batmobile. That is all.
* Running out of time, so let me get through the rest of this quickly. Miles is the first to point out that, maybe, Jack trying to prevent The Incident actually causes The Incident -- something many fans have guessed about. However, the episode took an unusual turn when Jack dropped the bomb down the hatch...and it didn't explode! And then, The Incident went full boar. Metal was everywhere -- including in Phil's belly. R.I.P., you sniveling son of a bitch! But, tragically, Juliet gets tangled in some chains and the magnetic forces pulls her down the hatch. Sawyer tries to save her, but can't and she falls to the bottom. Where, of course, she detonates the bomb. And the episode ends. No! Unfair! Unfair! What happened with the bomb? What happened after Ben stabbed Jacob? What happened to Sayid, last seen bleeding to death alongside the minibus? Must I wait until next year to learn the answers?
Bastards!

"Lost" recap: We're off to see the Jacob

Last night's episode of "Lost" was perhaps the most head-throbbingest (no, that probably isn't a word) of the whole season. About three quarters of the way in, my husband turned to me, sighed and said lamented that the show always gets super complicated right before the season finale. Too true.
Yet, even with all the complicated time travel stuff, it was still a pretty solid episode, featuring the return of Sayid (everybody together now: Woooooo-hooooo!), the ever-increasing confidence of John Locke, the ever-increasing anxiety of Ben Linus, the growing complexity of the Jack-Kate-Juliet-Sawyer love quadrangle and not one, but two Richard Alperts. Oh -- and it looks like we might get to see Jacob sometime soon. Yay! With all this going on, it probably doesn't matter that all the time travel gobblety-gook gave me a migraine. Here are some more of my thoughts on this week's episode of "Lost," titled "Follow the Leader."
* We pick up where we left off, with Eloise shooting Daniel, only to realize that he very well could be her son. Turns out, Daniel is absolutely dead (for now. Sigh. You just never know on this show, which is getting to be a problem). Kate and Jack are found peepin' in the bushes, and the Others aren't pleased. But Ellie has some sense of what's going on. She remembers Daniel from when he told her to bury Jughead back when she was a teenager. Here's a question -- if she remembered Daniel, why was she so quick to shoot him? Well, regardless, she regrets her actions now, particularly after seeing that Daniel was carrying a journal inscribed with her handwriting. Desperate for answers, Eloise looks to Jack and Kate for help. Jack tells her of Daniel's plan to undo everything -- including his murder by his own mother -- and Eloise seems to be on board. Kate, not so much.
* About that. As much as I dislike Jack and Kate, I have no beef with the performances of Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly. Fox in particular does an excellent job of conveying Jack's desperation and arrogance. A perfect example is the scene between Jack and Kate in the Others' tent. Jack explains that, if Daniel's plan works, all their misery will be undone. Kate points out that, if it's all undone, she and Jack never will have met. He seems OK with that, and she's hurt. He points out that, ever since the crash, their lives have been full of misery. It's then that they have this crucial exchange.
Kate: It wasn't all misery.
Jack: Enough of it was.
Heartbreaking, and it poses an interesting question: would you be willing to forgo meeting the love of your life if it would save lives, and if it would save you a lot of suffering? Usually, I don't give a damn about the Jack-Kate relationship (or about any relationships involving Kate or Jack), but this scene put their on-again-off-again romance in a new light.
* OK, let's talk about what would have happened without the crash. Jack's reasoning, as usual, is flawed. Without the crash, Kate would be in jail. Locke would be in a wheelchair. Charlie would be addicted to drugs (but at least he'd be alive, so who knows what to think about that). Still, Sayid might have been reunited with Nadia sooner without the crash, and maybe, in that version, she wouldn't have been murdered. Ana Lucia would be alive. Also, if I recall correctly, Sawyer had some sort of emotional turning point after killing the man he thought was Sawyer (and quickly figured out wasn't). Without the crash, maybe he makes peace with his past, and gets to know his daughter. Or maybe he goes to jail for killing a guy in Australia.
I could talk about this for a while (I haven't even touched on what it would mean for the freighter folk), but let's move on to the present day islanders.
* Regardless of what the outcome would be, it appears that the Jack/Daniel plan doesn't work, because modern day Richard tells Sun that he watch Jack, Kate, etc. die back in the 70s. Sun is deeply dismayed. She's slightly comforted when Locke tells her he's going to fix everything. But then, there's something off about Locke and Richard, of course, notices.
"You seem different, John," he says. The beatific Locke replies "I have a purpose now." Richard is, quite reasonably, freaked out by this.
* I'm gonna dive into Richard a bit more now. So, as Ben pointed out, Richard is not the leader of The Others but a "sort of adviser." Who appointed him? The Island? Jacob? Was he just born a regular guy, and morphed into this strange, ageless guy? Or was he always special? Who is he? Why is there? And why does he always seem to pick men to lead The Others (I'm assuming Charles is the leader in the 70s, since we know he used to be the leader at some point. And if that's true, I'm a little miffed that it wasn't Eloise. She's just as tough as Charles. Why can't she lead? You know what -- let's form an Others female empowerment movement right now! Ok. End of rant).
*Quick discussion of Locke in the jungle with Richard and Ben. How did he know that he would be coming out of the jungle? And why did he tell Richard to tell that Locke that he had to die? I know the Island told Locke to do it, but why? Because it had always happened? And how does a freakin' island talk? What is UP with that?
* Great moment -- Richard offering Locke the bullet that was in his leg. Hee-hee.
* Richard and Ben both are dismayed that Locke wants to see Jacob -- and that he rallies the Others around this cause. Apparently, this is not behavior befitting a leader, and Richard is flummoxed, which he expresses to Ben. Ben smugly states that this is why he tried to kill Locke. That smug smile is quickly wiped off Ben's face when he realizes that Locke's pilgrimage to Jacob isn't about saving the 1970's crew, but about killing Jacob. What? Why? Locke, you don't even know Jacob! How could he have possibly pissed you off to the point where you'd want to kill him?
* Let me mention that I loved the scenes with Locke and Ben this week. For the first time, Ben has no control over a situation and the panic and horror on Michael Emerson's face was priceless. That last moment, when Locke reveals his "I'm gonna kill Jacob" plan, Ben's face is a mask of complete shock, and Emerson does that whole "Good heaven, I just released my bowels" look better than anyone.
* Quick shout out for the shot of Locke's army traveling to Jacob. It was absolutely beautiful and creepy at the same time. Good work, folks.
* Ok, back to the 1970s. Jack, Kate, and Eloise continue their mission, and Kate, dependably, starts whining and wants to bail. An Other tries to prevent her from leaving but is quickly shot by...SAYID! Yay! He's back, and he still, unfortunately, thinks Ben is dead. Kate reveals that she saved Ben and Sayid asks why. Kate is understandably taken aback and utters one of the night's best lines: "Since when did killing kids and detonating hydrogen bombs become OK?" As much as I dislike Kate, I'm with her on this one. Anyway, she leaves and gets caught. More on that in a second.
* I'm running out of time, so I'm going to skip the Others water Olympics (oh, and the rediscovery of Jughead), and discuss what happened in the Dharma camp. When Sawyer doesn't reveal Kate's location, even after being pummeled by Radzinsky, Phil hauls off and hits Juliet, hoping this will get Jim to talk. It doesn't. Eventually, Chang, realizing that this group is from the future (and that Miles is HIS Miles), intervenes and tells Rad and co. to load Jim and Juliet onto the sub. This leads to moment of tranquility between Sawyer and Juliet, as they realize they're about to be free. They exchange googly eyes and "I love yous" on the sub...then someone mentions they found another of the turncoats. Yep, it's Kate. D'Oh! Juliet looks absolutely miserable. Great work by Elizabeth Mitchell in that scene. I wanted to hug her.
* Also wanted to hug Miles, as he watches his father cruelly cut ties with his mom, because it's the only way to get her and Miles on the sub, and off to safety. The look on Miles' face as realizes that he father abandoned him to save his life is heartbreaking. Of course, Hurley realizes what seeing this must do to Miles and offers a heartfelt "Sorry, dude." Nice moment.
Well, that's all for this week. I might be late posting the season finale recap next week, due to a personal engagement, but I promise to offer thoughts on the episode as soon as I can.
That's it for me.

"Lost" recap: My mutha was an otha

Gotta say, I had high hopes for tonight's episode of "Lost." For one thing, it was the series' 100th episode, and many shows try to do something big to mark that occasion. For another, the episode was titled "The Variable," a scientifically-skewed title that brought to mind one of last season's most beloved and twistiest episodes, "The Constant."
Admittedly, it was a decent episode, giving us some solid back story on Daniel and Eloise (and helping explain why both of them seem so cuckoo), and advancing the main plot a bit. Yet it wasn't a spectacular episode -- certainly not up to the standard of "The Constant," but also paling in comparison to the two excellent episodes that preceded "The Variable," "Dead is Dead" and "Some Like it Hoth."
I guess the problem is, though I like (liked?) Daniel, I just don't feel as connected to him as I do the other characters. Maybe it's because he's just so strange and otherworldly -- and not in a badass Ben Linus way. Daniel just always seemed like a cipher to me, an intriguing yet spooky character that I admired but just couldn't warm to. Even Ben, the show's probable villain, is more engaging. I want to know what's going on in Ben's mind because I sense it's a deep, dark, complicated place.
Daniel's mind seems like it's all equations and hypotheses and theories about destiny. Oh, and a deep love for women who will eventually experience terrible suffering because of him... or shoot him.
Still, though I found it underwhelming, the episode provided plenty of fodder for discussion. We learned just HOW close Eloise and Charles Widmore really were; whether Desmond survived Ben's gunshot; and how the assault of Phil will affect the islanders.
Below is a rundown of some thoughts about, observations on and highlights from "The Variable."
* First, we must talk about Desmond. I guess I was so relieved that Ben didn't kill Penny that I didn't realize how hurt Desmond was. I was pretty worried about ol' Des when I saw him being wheeled into the hospital on that stretcher -- partly because it would be sooooo typical of "Lost" to spare Penny, only to murder Des. It was even more stressful when an unusually frazzled Eloise showed up at the hospital and apologized to Penny for her role in Ben's attack. Then, near the end of the episode, when a frightened Eloise admitted that she didn't know if Des was going to be OK, I almost wet myself. Thankfully, Des was fine (though I am a bit worried about little Charlie. Why would Penny leave her son alone with a nurse she didn't know right after she and her entire family had almost been killed. Wouldn't she be hanging on to her tot for dear life?)
* Ok, with Desmond out of the way, we can discuss Daniel. Following his return to the island, Daniel ends up where we always knew he would, in the Orchid, bumping into Dr. Chang. That's, of course, how the season started. Turns out, Daniel was there to persuade Chang to get his people off the island because there was going to be an electromagnetic event that day. The event leads to the building of the Swan, which eventually leads to Desmond's failure to push the button, which leads to the crash, which leads to the arrival of the freighter, blah, blah, blah.
Basically, Daniel later informs Kate and Jack, if he can stop that electromagnetic event, he can keep everything that followed from happening. Daniel also helpfully explains that this is possible, despite his previous assertion that the past can't be changed and that whatever happened, happened.
Apparently, he had not previously taken into account "the variables," i.e. himself and the others on the island. Because of them, things could possibly change. All they have to do is detonate the H bomb and...Ok. I have to stop. My brain is throbbing just thinking about it. Let's move on, shall we?
*Eloise's chilly demeanor and insistence on concepts like destiny make a whole lot more sense now that we know she unwittingly killed her son (or, at least, it appears that he's dead. I won't believe it for sure until his body is buried. Or possibly burned). I imagine shooting your child is more palatable if you believe it serves a higher purpose.
* Quick question -- when did Dan test his time travel experiment thingie on himself? We saw him test on the mouse and knew he tested on Theresa. Did he get sick from testing his mouse? Or did he test on himself in between the mouse and Theresa? Or, did we see him test on himself, and I've developed a case of Faraday-itis that has caused me to forget this incident? Please offer suggestions.
* Still not entirely sure why Daniel is crying when he sees the Oceanic 815 wreck on TV. Is it because, somewhere in his brain he knows the manufactured crash will lead to his mother shooting him? Is it because, somewhere in his brain, he know the crash will lead to the death of another woman he loves? Or has he just gone bat-poop insane?
* So, we've learned that Widmore is Daniel's father. Sort of shoots a big hole in my theory that Widmore was Charlotte's father. I suppose Widmore could be her father too...but ewwwww!!
* Speaking of Charlotte, Daniel finally gets around to freaking out the 1970s version of his red-headed lady love this episode. That led to what was arguably the most touching moment of the episode. Little Charlotte is eating chocolate when Daniel sees her. When she spots hims, she mournfully states "I'm not allowed to have chocolate before dinner." If I'm not mistaken, those were also adult Charlotte's last words. Awww. Poor Daniel looks heartbroken. Must say, though I sometimes find his character opaque, Jeremy Davies is excellent as Faraday, doing his best to pull back the curtain on this enigmatic guy and show us some semblance of a human being.
* Charlotte isn't the only one that Daniel freaked out. When he informs Chang that a) he's from the future and b) Miles is Chang's son, Miles wigs big time. However, I'm guessing his fervent denial that he and Chang share blood only served to convince Chang that Miles is his baby son, all grown up. Then again, I thought Widmore was Charlotte's dad, so what the hell do I know?
* With Phil/Jimmy Barrett tied up in the closet, Sawyer and Juliet know it's only a matter of time until their perfect Dharma life is torn asunder. They gather Jack, Kate, Hurley and Jin and take a vote on whether they should return home on the sub, or go back to the jungle. Jungle is winning when Daniel turns up and suggests a third option: taking a day trip to the Others' camp. Jack is for it, as Daniel has already told him that coming to the island was a mistake. Kate is wavering. Sawyer, looking to sway her, gazes in her eyes and calls her Freckles. Juliet then blurts out the code for the fence and tells her romantic rival (oh yeah -- and Jack and Daniel, too) to scram.
* Best line of the episode, while arming themselves for the journey to the Others' camp, Kate tosses Daniel a shotgun. The perplexed egghead looks at her and asks "Do you have anything for a beginner?" Ha!
* This light moment is followed by an intense shootout with Radzinsky and his merry band of black jumpsuit-wearing goons. Jack and co. escape and Radzinsky is calling for blood. He heads back to Sawyer's to ask "LaFleur" why he isn't being a better security dude. Sawyer hems and haws bit, but the jig is up when Rad-man finds Phil in the closet. D'oh! Sawyer and Juliet are busted.
* When Jack, Faraday and co. get to the Others' camp, Faraday asks for Eloise. Instead, he finds Richard who insists Eloise isn't there. Faraday then demands to see the bomb. Richard hems and haws, as Daniel sticks a gun in his face and threatens to pull the trigger. A trigger is indeed pulled, but it's Eloise doing the shooting. She shoots Daniel and apparently kills him. As he dies, Daniel gazes at his mother with a look of horror and betrayal. You knew this would happen, he tells her, but you let me come back here anyway.
Sigh.
Tragic. Yet somehow way less exciting than prolonged scenes of Hurley and Miles bantering in a microbus. I'm not sure why.

"Lost" recap: Better late than never

So, due to some personal projects I needed to complete, I had to delay this week's "Lost" recap. Which is a shame, because last night's episode, "Dead is Dead," was probably the season's best yet. It was like a sort of greatest hits; a potpourri of all the things I like best about "Lost." It had showcase moments for my two favorite cast members, Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn. It had a little more insight into the nature of the smoke monster. It had glimpses of Alex, perhaps the only character to bring out Ben's humanity. And it, thank God, finally let us know that the Hume family is OK, despite Ben's "promise" to Charles.
It was so unbelievably awesome, I don't even know where to start. How about the beginning?
* Not to brag, but I totally called that the man who rode up on the horse at the start of the episode was a young Charles Widmore. I don't know how I recognized him, because he didn't look like the teenage Widmore we saw earlier, nor does he really resemble Alan Dale, who plays old Charles. In fact, he looked like a reject from a Lord of the Rings movie. But I figured it had to be Charles. It was the only choice that made sense, given his disdain for Richard bringing little Ben into the camp. Also, there was the small matter of the accent. Dude didn't look like Widmore, but he sure sounded like him.
* This moment, by the way, was a nice start to an episode that gave us tantalizing hints about the relationship between Widmore and Ben. Despite his reluctance to have Ben in the camp, Charles is kind to the boy. How does their relationship become so acrimonious? Did it start with Ben's refusal to kill Alex? Did it start earlier? Did Widmore harbor the kind of jealousy toward Ben that Ben has for Locke? What's up with these guys, anyway?
* And, speaking of Locke, I don't always love when "Lost" repeats moments from previous episodes, but I can never watch that Ben-Locke "welcome back to the land of the living" moment too many times. The "holy crapballs" look on Michael Emerson's face, and the smooth serenity of Terry O'Quinn's voice are just perfect. Then, this episode builds on the moment, by that brilliant exchange in which Ben tells John that he knew he'd come back to life, and John calls him on it, pointing out how surprised Ben looks. "Surprised" being a euphemism for "incontinent." Ben then tells John that believing something and seeing it happen are two different things. Fair enough. But we can tell John doesn't believe him. Neither do we.
* John's obviously right not to believe Ben because, within moments Ben is manipulating Cesar into believing that John is a murderous island native. Poor Cesar. The moment he shook Ben's hand, you kind of knew he was a dead man.
* Back to the John-Ben dynamic. I really loved the evolution of that relationship throughout this episode. Previously, John's been somewhat deferential to Ben. Before dying, John was so eager to be "special" that he allowed himself to be manipulated by Ben so easily. But that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Resurrection John is more confident. He has no far of calling BS on Ben's story about seeking judgment from Smoky about breaking the rules, guessing that the journey is really about letting Alex die. John also leads the way to the smoke monster, and rescues Ben from the temple pit after the moment of Smoky reckoning. John's coming into his own now, and Ben knows it. That's why he's plotting to kill John until the vision of Alex appears to him and warns against it.
* So, we get a clearer idea of how one summons Smoky -- and it looks like the same process one uses to unclog a drain. A little disappointing. But that cave is creepy. A lot of bloggers have mused on the etchings on the walls. I don't know enough to get into it my self, but I'll direct you to "Lost" guru Nikki Stafford's blog.
* Ok, I almost pulled a Ben-seeing-undead-Locke when Ben shot Desmond down at the pier. We knew Ben was gunning for Penny, but to see him striding toward his enemy's daughter only to be surprised by Desmond was a nice little shock. Ben's taunting of Charles was also suitably creepy. The whole sequence, broken up though it was, was just really unsettling. When Ben confronts a terrified Penny, and apologizes for involving her in the vendetta, it made my stomach roil. Yet there was a nice turn when Ben sees little Charlie, and can't go through with his murder of Penny.
* Speaking of which, this episode gives us a nice little wrinkle in the Ben Linus character. Turns out that this liar, manipulator and murderer has a soft spot for mothers and children. He can't kill baby Alex, or murder Penny in front of her little boy. He even spares Danielle, the mom of his stolen daughter, and tells her to avoid the whispers that signal the coming of Smoky. Why this sympathy for moms and kids? Maybe it has to do with the death of his own mom. Quite possibly, he attributes all his suffering to his mother's death while giving birth to him, and wishes not to bring the same pain upon other kids.
* By the way, the name of Pen and Des's boat is Our Mutual Friend -- named after the insufferably long (and somewhat boring) Charles Dickens novel that Des said he wanted to be the last book he ever read.
* This episode was clearly an emotional one. There was the revelation that Ben truly loved Alex, and felt great guilt over her death. There was that Smoky slideshow of the key events in Ben's relationship with Alex. There was the reunion of Locke and his murder; the tense moment with the Humes; the confrontation between Ben and ghost Alex. Yet this was maybe the funniest episode not to future Hurley. It was packed with great lines. For instance:
-Locke: I was hoping you and I could talk about the elephant in the room.
-Ben: I assume that you're referring to the fact that I killed you.
Or, after Locke complains that the smoke monster is slow to turn up after Ben's summoning:
-Ben: It's not a train, John. It doesn't run on a schedule.
Or this, from Lapidus, after John tells he and Sun that there's a reason that everything's happening:
- As long as the dead guy says there's a reason I guess everything's going to be just peachy.

*Ok, we need to discuss the weird aesthetic choices being made for our Ben this season. First, there was the pimp ensemble he wore in "He's Our You," then his weird pageboy in some of this episode's flashback seasons.
*Just what's going on on the beach? Why was Ilana asking about the shadow of the statue? What does it mean? Has she gone crazy with island sickness, like Danielle's crew? What's going on?
Well, that's it for this week. Next week on "Lost": Miles backstory! Woo-hoo!

"Lost" recap: So Doc Brown WAS crazy!

This week on "Lost" we learned a bunch of important things about time travel. First, if Ben is alive in the future, then it's impossible for Sayid to kill him in the past. Because, somehow this is the way things always were. Sayid always shot Ben. The Six always came back. The future island people always joined Dharma, blah blah blah. That means that, despite what Hurley believes (and what Doc Brown so convincingly told us in "Back to the Future"), Sayid shooting Ben doesn't mean that the people Ben brought back to the island will slowly start to evaporate with the help of poor, 1980s-era special effects.
We learned these very important facts during a conversation between the two great scientific minds of our times, Hurley and Miles. As always, the "Lost" folks found a way to make a subplot that was almost entirely exposition entertaining and informative at the same time. Basically, Hurley served as the audience proxy, desperately trying to get a handle on what it all meant. Miles was a stand in for the show's writers, trying to explain, and generally making Hurley feel like a moron. Until, of course, Hurley asked the same question we've been asking since the first time Ben brought Sayid a sandwich: how come Ben didn't recognize Sayid when the two met again years later?
Miles can't answer that. Luckily, the writers did answer it in last night's episode. Due to Jack's sudden decision to get all Locke-like and let the island sort things out for itself (more on that later), Mini Ben is at death's door. With the island's only surgeon flaking out on her, Juliet decides to go to The Others for help. Kate and Sawyer end up taking Ben to Richard Alpert, who tells them that, if he helps, Ben won't remember anything. But he'll also lose his innocence.
Ah. So that's how Ben became Ben. And it's why he doesn't recognize Sayid later. Does this mean we won't see Sayid on the island again? Or does it just mean Ben won't see him? I'm thinking he did recognize Kate and Sawyer. Maybe that's why he held them hostage later. I also think he recognized Juliet, which is why he became all obsessed with her.
Sigh.
In spite of all this head-spinning mumbo jumbo, this week's episode was, like last week's, basically a return to the season one format of using flashbacks to explain a character's actions. This week, we learned how Kate ended up on the plane. While her scene with Claire's mom was touching, I wasn't really that surprised by Kate's actions. Most careful viewers have guessed all along that Aaron is with Claire's mom. I was a bit surprised that Kate has gone to look for Claire. Apparently, her guilt about taking someone else's child -- and leaving Claire behind -- has gotten the better of her.
Anyway, here are some more thoughts on episode 11 of season five, "Whatever Happened, Happened."
* Is it just me, or does Horace make a really unconvincing Tommy Lee Jones? When he started calling for a hard target search of every Dharma station, jungle tree and polar bear cage (I'm a paraphrasing, of course), I kind of just wanted to laugh. Maybe it's the long flowing hair. At any rate, despite the best efforts of the Dharma-ites, Sayid is long gone. We don't see him for the whole episode.
* Once again, "Lost" takes a character that we should hate -- Ben's dad -- and makes him sympathetic. Roger is genuinely nice to Kate, and shows real remorse about his treatment of Ben. When he realizes that Ben stole his keys and helped Sayid escape, he's genuinely heartbroken, and I felt really bad for Roger. I know, I'm a sucker.
* What's up with Jack's new direction? Though it has been foreshadowed over the past few weeks, we finally saw Jack dump his old savior complex for good. He refuses to save Ben, pointing out that, according to Miles, it's impossible for Ben to die. Kate points out that maybe Ben lives because Jack saves him. Jack isn't having it. The island has a way of working things out, he says. Oh, he and Locke are SOOO going to be BFFs if they meet up again!
* Another nice moment in the Jack transformation: Kate says she liked the old Jack better. Jack reminds her that that isn't really true. Nice.
* The Kate flashbacks mostly bored me, but I was intrigued by a few things. When Kate takes Aaron to see Sawyer's mark/old flame/baby mama, Kate's singing "Catch a Falling Star." We know that that's what Christian used to sing to Claire when she was little. It's one of the two musical cues in this episode, the other being good ol' Patsy Cline, who always pops up in the Kate flashbacks. This time, it's Patsy singing "She's Got You" -- a great song, but, personally, I prefer the Dean Martin cover, "He's Got You."
* The other thing that intrigued me (Ok, mostly it kind of made me laugh) was that the woman who finds Aaron in the supermarket is clearly supposed to look like Claire. And she does look like Claire -- if Claire had been assembled by Picasso. Seriously -- didn't her face look sort of crooked or something? Odd.
* Even though I don't like Kate, it was sad to see the parting between her and Aaron. Moms (even fake moms) leaving kids behind always gets me.
* Back to the island. Why did that one Other tell Richard that Ellie and Charles wouldn't like him helping Ben? Has someone else undergone this same treatment with disastrous results? What happened?
* Nice transition from Richard and Ben entering the Others' secret hideaway to grown-up Ben waking up in the future and seeing a very much alive Locke at his bedside. I always coo about the perfect work by Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn, but come on -- they deserve it. The expressions on their faces in this scene are perfect. Ben totally looks like he's going to crap himself. Fantastic.
* As an aside, I just switched from satellite to cable a week ago (didn't want to. Had to. Long story.) and we have this crappy new DVR that always cuts shows off in the previews. So I only saw a little bit of what's ahead next week. Arrrgh!