Get Ready: Three Minutes

The finale of LOST, season 2, is almost here, and we got our setup episode last night with Three Minutes. Got any thoughts about how everything will shake out? What did Walt mean when he said the others were "pretending?" Do you still think there are 2 groups of others? Is Vincent addicted to smack?

We'll be podcasting this weekend, so get us your comments by posting here, sending us an email, or calling our automated audio comment voicemail at: 206-666-2278.

...we've got a lot of speculation to do this weekend.

Update: FYI, we're recording the podcast on Sunday so keep your shorts on! Seriously, keep them on.

Comments

[Vinny]

When locke took off his cast it reminded me of the episode when he was poking his legs with sharp objects and couldnt feel anything.
How come the door slamming on his leg hurt?

anyway,

great episode.

[Challabuck]

Great episode...and finally a flashback structure that's totally integrated into the A plot. One thing I gotta ask: am I insane or did I see Desmond hanging out in front of a tent in Othercamp? They panned superfast by him, but that hair of his is awfully distinctive....

[Vinny]

O yea, Charlie shouldve kept some heroin, it couldve been usufull, like it was for libby.

Someone Please explain the hanso commercial i saw after the LOST. i tried calling the number but i couldnt make out what was being said.

[Nathan T-Smith]

Ok so this episode fully sucked as lost episodes go but that ending was quite cool. Hope you guys have got some good speculation about the season finale. My personal thought is that Desmond or Kelvin will be on the boat, possible looking for libby.

Found the scenes with Walt really strange not sure what they have been doing to him but I think that all of those others either work for Dharma or are linked with Dharma in some way. Maybe they dont really uinderstand the nature of the experimants they are doing much like in the Pearl hatch.

Would like to know which hatch was theirs on the map I know the sea is not really mapped out but it didnt look like there was one that close to the sea justa thought.

Finally dont know how many of you will be podcasting this week but you should definatly all make predictions for the season finnale (not spoilers you have read please) and see which one of you has the best eye for seeing whats about to happen.

Here is my speculation, I still feal charlie may well die, he had his moment of redemtion chucking the heroin into the sea. And my other one is that if our group goes looking for Walt with Michael maybe the others will turn up on the beach to get more 'good' people and the whole thing with the list they gave Michael is just to get them out of the way.

Cheers and thanks for a great podcast last week it worked well having only two people I thought, seemed morer uniformed and prepared to me. Keep up the great work and make sure we get some podcasts over the summer cos Ill definatly miss lostcasts if they aint around to speculate. Stay Lost Nathan (from UK)

[seoulo]

Why would the others want those four people -- Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley -- when they pretty much could've taken three of them in the jungle, back when the search party was looking for Michael. Heck, they HAD Kate tied up and had Jack and Sawyer surrounded. I understand the bargain to get Fenry out, but leading those four principals into a trap makes no sense ... for now, anyway.

I guess all our questions will be answered next week! Or at least a lot of them!

[Preston]

Alright there! I'm in the UK and I've been listening to ya Podcast for a few weeks and always check out the comments pages! I love reading this stuff.

Wanted to say thanks for the Podcast, I really do love it!

As for the final, I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy the ride :O) I sooo can't wait to find out why the plane crashed, the only thing is it's gonna be murder over the Summer waiting for season 3.

As for the Boat, it's gotta be Desmond, I bet he went out in his Boat but you can't escape this Island. Looking forward to ya new podcast! Cheers, Kev

[Katerina]

So Ms.Clue told Michael if he fulfilled her requests she would let Michael and Walt go free? Hmmm either she will force them off the island without ever seeing the other Losties or the promise won't be fulfilled because Walt seems to know too much.

And of all the people, why the heck do they want Jack, Sawyer, Kate and HURLEY? At first it seemed like the same people that were confronted by Zeke when they were searching for Michael, but Hurley?

In the boat, that has to be Desmond. I mean on the official podcast they said that the last episode would be Desmond flashbacks....but why is he coming back? He was able to leave the island? Where was his boat all that time he was manning the hatch? Did he figure out the world was okay after all and is going there to tell the Losties a way to get out (well we all know that can't happen bcos Lost would end). So is this another setup by the Hanso Foundation?

I didn't like this episode too much...I mean it seemed a bit unrealistic that only Saiyed thought Michael was compromised.

Oh and from the previews of next episode, for some reason Eko will leave the hatch or in some other way be unable to get to the computer in time? Wonder if those theories about the Others storming the Losties at base camp will be true. Oh and why the heck did Locke and Eko not explore the Pearl hatch more? It doesn't make sense.

[Megan]

Hi, I have a couple questions and I was wondering if anyone knew the answers...

1. Why is no one interested in where Charlie got the vaccine? And for that matter, where is it that he says he got it from? I can't make it out. It's really bothering me.

2. Okay this is more of a comment than a question, but the writers must have thought they were so clever having Sawyer ask about a last name when Jack is talking about Libby, but meaning Ana Lucia. They deliberately set that up and then sidestepped the issue.

3. It has to be Desmond on the boat, and I'm willing to bet that he's on Libby's boat, assuming the rumours that there will be a flashback where we see Libby giving/lending Desmond her boat.

So I guess that was one question and 2 comments, but if you have any ideas about the vaccine, I'd be really interested to hear it. Keep up the good work.

-Megan

[rob]

Echoing what was written above:
"Finally dont know how many of you will be podcasting this week but you should definatly all make predictions for the season finnale (not spoilers you have read please) and see which one of you has the best eye for seeing whats about to happen."

Also, I do think Charlie will die and Desmond is on the boat.

[biolite]

Yeah, Desmond will return just in time for the season finale! Though it's a very convinent return since Michael was asking for a boat.

I think if anyone is going to die next week it will probably be MIchael...as discussed before he is almost beyond redemption. I hope it's not Charlie, he's had a rough season. Charlie IS pretty annoying but he's not nearly as annoying as Claire.

Have we seen the return of old Locke? He cut off his splint and was walking again...

Interesting to see The Others' camp. It proves and disproves the 2-others theory. It seems like there is one group of others that are living in huts, dirty, ragged clothes and Zeke is a part of this group. At the same time, behind the scenes, is the dharma group and Zeke is ALSO a part of this group. My guess is that Dharma has been capturing the "good people" that end up on the island and intergrating them into this new soceity. At the same time, however, they are also running these other experiments within the hatches. Alex being a converted other found out about these experiments and freed Claire as she felt sympathy for her.

Ms Clue was interesting, (if I got her name right). It's an anagram for muscle ;)

Anyway, looking forward to the podcast and the finale next week!

Idle speculation for next week. An irritated and frustrated Locke destroys the hatch computer! When the countdown hits zero, that magnet winds up and brings down another plane.

[I_Love_Sayid]

Hey, love your show.
So last night's ep was great, everything i thought to be true seemed to be turned on it's head. If you haven't read the Bad Twin, what I have to say may be a spoiler...

After reading the Bad Twin, I was convinced that there were 2 sets of others that were in oposition to each other vying for their place on the island do to it's seemingly mystical energies:

One which would be centered around an Elios Foundation type settlement (naturalists - hense the tatered clothes and bare feet). This group would be funded by Zander's connections to his family's business (The Widmore's), and working toward ridding themselves of posessions, farming pearls, connecting psycically, and doing yoga. In the book it seems that Zander is a bit devious in aquiring money for this project but that it is actually for a greater good.

The other consisting of a group of people involved in projects concocted in the minds of rich idealists (Alvar, and Old Man Widmore perhapse)searching for utopian perfection of men and society. Their less organic way of using the island power would be in direct oposition to Elios creating a modernist/postmodernist struggle towards a common truth.

It now seems that this is not the case and that there is, in fact one group. The shere magnitude of the canvas tent settlement seems to suggest that Zeek n' Co. are staginging the entire isle-billy thing and not just occationally masquerading as them. Perhaps the pearl settlement that Zander was actually involved in was not a benign spiritual humanistic endeavor and rather a way to help the Hanso Foundation fund this project with Widmore money. Perhaps his father funded his false projects knowing that his money was going back to the common cause...or..Perhaps Zander had to trick his father into giving him the money because he is working on these projects with the maniacle Middlewerk instead of Alvar(his father's friend)who we all now has gone missing.

Or, Bad Twin could be nothing more than a work of fiction as stated in the Hanso Foundation propagana ad.

[Sobaika]

Here are my thoughts on the list of four:

It seemed pretty obvious why they wanted Jack, Kate, and Sawyer since those are three major players on the island (and weird that they knew Sawyer's real name AND weird because I never understood why Kate is a major player, all she seems to do is climb things and follow the boys around whenever they go into the jungle and they let her because she is pretty) but people kinda seem thrown when it comes to Hurley. There's been a lot of speculation as to the common links between the 4, the major one being that they have all seen things. But others on the island have seen things as well (Sayid saw Walt before Shannon was shot) and aren't on the list.

Hurley's money is something people are throwing around as a reason but I think it's because of his connection to the numbers. Those numbers are obviously important to the Others and the hatches and things, and he has the most direct connection to them. Any other ideas?

[dark_thommy]

I thought it was kind of a mediocre episode... here some thoughts:

The torches lit to imply that there were many others, is a setup.. they are mechanical in some way.

If Micheal is somewhat needed by "the others" to get more info about Walt. What did they know from Walt before the crash, if they brought him to the island for a reason, they must have done some proper research. So therefore I am confused of what DO the others know about the Losties..

I am also confused by "the list", I don't see a link, the only coincidence is that the 4 were involved with the 2 murders, and made them a group through that.

If we get to know why the plane crash, does this involve also why some people survived? And is Walt little Mr. Unbreakable??? It seems a dangerous option to get test persons to the island, by means of plane crashing.

Not a real constructive contribution, but hope you touch upon these issues in the cast.

[lostlaw24]

I know that this is a little delayed, but in the previous podcast you were discussing about the dreams on the island, and I may be wrong, but the 2 people who have had dreams, Locke and Eko, have been confronted by the black smoke. Maybe somehow this is related, who knows. Last episode was a needed set up and I believe that Charlie has found redemption and will die.

[dark_thommy]

kicking the 'ol heroine addict is not a real good redemption.. i mean who hadn't done this in RL.. :)

I think there must be more with him and claire.. This is atleast what i am hoping for because Charly seems much more fun to watch then any of those rag dudes :)

[James Wicks]

Vincent on smack? I don't think so, but his master plan to get Charlie back on it failed, clearly!

There was a shot of Vincent and Michael together and my first thought was "The two main bad-guys on the island together again!"

That dog is evil I tell you! I'm sure it's the main psychic on the island, and was communicating it's wicked plan to Michael!

Getting back to the actual episode. It was not one of the best of the season, but there were some genuinely emotional moments, which we haven't had for a while. And it was at least interesting to see that michael was telling the truth about "the others".

Looking forward to next week, and I have a feeling some of our losties might be switching sides next week!

James

[snow]

I don't think the others will let Walt go, since he knows a lot and Ms. Clue threatened to throw him in the "room" again if he kept talking. Walt seemed scared of these people. If they let him go, he would tell Michael about what was happening to them . . . and if they were by some stroke of luck able to sail out into the ocean and be rescued by a boat or coast guard, surely Michael and Walt would tell people back in the States what they had heard and seen. I don't think Walt is going anywhere. He seems central to the project . . . and an interesting subject for the others' experiments. Just a thought.

[Andres]

Walt said they were pretending To live in huts wearing rags? I don't know why they would pretend to live in the huts. It's not like they weren't mysterious enough. They obviously have a hatch where they have nice clean syringes and zip-lock bags. So the rags seem unnecessary. Also, what's up with the guards by the hatch door. Who are they guarding from, the losties, or the people in the huts?

Also, Ms Clue asked if Michael had seen Walt somewhere, when he supposedly was half-way around the world? what's that about, is Walt able to project himself in some kind of ESP way? Or is here where the twin thing comes into play? Walt has especial traits. It reminds me of The Matrix (Ms Clue = Oracle, Walt=The One).

The tests they are doing, does it have anything to do with the tests in the Dharma Initiative orientation videos? Or are these completely different tests?

I do think this throws out the idea of the two Others groups. Though I don't dismiss the possibility of there being more groups of people in the island, unrelated to the Losties or Others. Also, who ever said it was an island, has anybody actually gone around the island full circle? Funny nobody seems to care to explore the island. for all we know there could be a Beaches Resort on the other side of the island with para-sailing. lol.

[So]

Maybe he "others" don't want the "four" maybe they want the group thats left on the beach and this is just a way to get the characters with the guns (protection) away from them.

I find the comments made by Ms.Clue about Walt interesting.

Has Walt ever been seen somewhere he wasn't supposed to? Remember when he was on the milk carton? How was he missing if he was with his family? Maybe Walt isn't Micheal's real son.
I'd like to see how you guys feel about that. Is it related?

When Walt said they are pretending, i'm assuming he knows that they are faking everything. Make up, beards, costumes. The whole "village/camp" is staged.

After Micheal left they probably all went inside the hatch and changed to regualr clothes.

[mynamesnotannie]

I'm worried about Kate collapsing in the previews, as if she were shot..?

Locke looked at the funeral scene, cut off his brace and walked away. Reminiscent of him regaining his legs after the sacrifice of Boone's life. Were the ladies a sacrifice too?

I think the boat is vacant and was sent by the Others as requested by Michael. Perhaps a signal of good faith that they will pay up on their other half of the bargain (Walt) if Mike leads the four back.

Also, I put my tv on mute so I can read what is said, and when Ms. Clue asked Michael (something like) "Are you his father?", it read "Are you his fate?"

[I_Love_Sayid]

Why the isle-billy farce?

1.Perhaps the initial experiment required the test subjects believe they are separated from technology, society, civilization and beyond salvation ala a forced Lord of the Flies scenario. Even if the Losties were not meant to discover their disguises and the ruse was uncovered, the variable of the controlled setting needs to be perpetuated for it to be considered scientifically useful.

2.Perhaps the canvas settlement is a front for anyone not part of the experiment who happens on the island.

3.Perhaps Biolite was right and the canvas settlement largely consists of people who are also part of the experiment and are also being manipulated by Zeek n’ Co. although less remotely.

4.Bad Twin Spoiler: Perhaps the canvas settlement is the Elios pearl farming community front for the Dharma initiative ala Bad Twin.

[Chris in Jackson, MS]

A different type of episode than ?, but still a great one I thought. Really cool to get Michael's perspective on the same events we saw unfold in Hunting Party. A few thoughts:

1. Others- I'm trying to think back, but I believe this is the highest number of others we've seen at one time; I do find it interesting that they are going to the trouble that they are to stage their tent village. Did anyone catch the two guys holding the fishing net? They looked like they had no clue what to do with the thing.

2. Ms. Clue- laughed out loud when she said her "name"; seems obvious to me that they led Michael to them in order to get info from him about Walt and to get a blood sample. Wonder if it struck Michael as odd that they took a blood sample? Does he think they have a fully operational lab set up in one of the tents?

3. Walt- the first thing that struck me was that while everyone else was in costume, Walt was still wearing the same thing he had on when he got captured- those sneakers really jumped out at me.

4. I think the others are entering and leaving the island as they please, probably to a nearby island, probably wherever the Pala Ferry goes.

5. Sayid- thank you for seeing through Michael's pitiful attempts at manipulation.

6. Jack- I'm really liking Jack more and more lately. Loved the look he gave Michael when giving Ana Lucia's eulogy.

7. Charlie- been nice knowin' ya.

8. Desmond/boat- I wonder if Michael thinks this is his boat; I wonder if it's related to Michael's request; just seems strange that Michael would request the boat (I assume he's talking about the seabilly boat) and then a boat comes sailing up out of nowhere.

9. The List- is Michael finishing Ethan's job? Or is this a modified list? Locke was with the original hunting party, but his name is not on the list. Hurley? Best guess is his connection to the numbers.

10. SPOILER ALERT- Previews for next week- I watched the previews frame by frame, and there' a lot going on next week. Looks like Jack and gang find a big pile of notepads and air tubes. What does that say about the Pearl Hatch? The blast doors lower again with Ecko trying to get out. Looks like Jin is sailing the boat. Before that, looks like Jack kicks in the door to the boat. Locke destroys the computer. And what the HELL was that Dharma key?

[mynamesnotannie]

Yurt.

The canvas tents are called yurts. I always wanted one on my property out in the woods. Rent The Story of the Weeping Camel. The family lived in the Mongolian desert in a yurt. Beautiful film.

[I_Love_Sayid]

It would seem odd to me to kill off Charlie or Kate.

So much has been put into their character development over the last 2 years and they have been central characters since the pilot.

Also, lately it seems that they've fallen away from really being significant. I agree that poor Kate has been reduced to a girly tag-a-long with nothing really individualistic to contribute to the pissy boys club. As for Charlie, his constant need to be someone's side-kick has become a bit depressing.

I think they aren't being set up for a dramatic enough death scene to suit their significance to the series. I think, or I hope, they will both gradually rise up to become leaders in their own ways. Charlie will build the church and become a minister and Kate will free herself from under Jack's domineering thumb and become the leader of the losties.

[Matthew]

When Zeke captured Michael, and said hurry up so and so is behind us. what did he say? I coughed and didn't hear it. Either he said his friends (michael's and the losties) or that another group of others were beind them or be there soon? Thanks.

[Sorry]

1. Michael to Ana-Lucia: "Sorry!" Shoots her in the gut.
2. Eko to Locke: "Sorry!" Headbutts him.
3. Alex to Michael: "Sorry!" Hits him with a gun.

Appologetic crowd, no?

Predictions: I think Sayid is going to die. Ms. Clue made it clear no one else is supposed to come with Michael, so his plan to intervene may save his friends, but cost him his life. Also in a recent Newsweek article about Lost in which the reporter visited the set during the filming of the last episodes, Sayid was the only actor who refused to talk to the reporter (he was 'sick') which lead the reporter to speculate he was next to kick the bucket.

Also: I think the button/ magnetic field are the cause of the plane crashing. Maybe Desmond forgot to push it, causing the plane to crash (which will be revealed in a flashback). The lockdown occurs so the magnet will attract the food drop.

[Matthew]

Also last podcast when you said everything that Walt did was for a reason b/c he foresaw everything and "the end", how is this true? How did burning the first raft help out? Then going on the 2nd raft then being captured. If he left on the first one, he still would have been captured probably. Also by saying he wanted to leave then changing his mind all of a sudden, I just don't get it. How what he foresaw was beneficial for him and the losties?
I dont think what Walt did has any lost connection or meaning. I read by Cuse and Lindelof that not everything in the show has a connection. Just burning the first raft was to get more viewers and create mystery, that is what i atleast believe.

[Mark B]

I think Michael is really being taken by the Others. Is he really that stupid ? They clearly won't give up Walt no matter what Michael does -- he (Walt)is totally central to the Others experiments. Michaels demand for the boat was a demand for the boat we saw at the end of season one not the sail boat -- he won't get it or Walt no matter what happens. The Others will be expecting a 'hunting party' and will be ready. I don't think anyone will die though it looks in the promo like Kate gets shot but she may just be taken down by a bolo like Michael was. Chalie could die -- I always suspected Domonic was in the show as the 'well known actor' to get people to watch.

Walts "they are pretending" comment leads me to believe that as has been said before the Others camp is a cover and bigger things are going on either inside the tents or more likely in the hatch.

Ms. Klugh is spooky and reminded me of the Oracle in the Matrix -- she even spoke the same way. Also she looks to me like someone out of Ekos flashback-monster thing.

I guessed Michael had a list of people that the Others needed -- all the deal with Hurley must come and Sayid (the one person I'd take for sure) couldn't. However I can't work out why they didn't take Sawyer, Jack and Kate when they had the chance (when they originally went after Michael). The Others could have knocked Locke out and taken the rest. They had Kate after all. Also the episode did not really explain why Micheal shot Ana -- initialy I thought that is what Ms Klugh was going to ask him to do. Was it just so that he could let Fenery go ? Surely Micheal had not reached that desperate a state ?

They took his blood to do a DNA test -- if he is Walts father then he will be used for some experimentation.

Does the fact they don't want Locke mean that Fenry was lying when he said his mission was to get Locke -- is Locke not good ? Clearly good does not mean good as in good person -- Kate and Sawyer are not good people -- both having murdered people.

Wonder if the Others are after the leaders of the Losties so that they can convince them that they (the Others) are OK. Or it could be that the Others know that the Losties are coming with guns so will go and get the people they really want from the beach camp.

Sayid knows Michael is lying and I think Eko suspects -- Eko may in fact know where as Sayid thinks he knows.

I thought the scenes that mixed and matched from the Hunting Party were not done very well -- Zeke was pretty different in the originals and the new ones, even the dialoge was different -- no mention of Alex this time -- continuity was very poor.

I wonder;
where Locke is off to -- going back to the Pearl ?? --- he's in next weeks promo so he can't go too far
whether Sayid will follow Jack etc -- couldn't see him in the promo
who is on the boat -- I'm guessing it's Desmond but maybe it's Libbys twin people have been talking about. I suspect the boat could be empty and the person who's it is has bailed out. We'll know (or think we know) who is on the boat but the Losties won't.
what Desmond has been up to -- he is in next weeks promo -- but that could be flashback
if the Others will turn out not to be the enemy after all and there is something else that is the "enemy". Perhaps the guards are stopping something coming out rather than people getting in.

Next weeks (Live Together, Die Alone -- wonder what that refers to -- is someone going to die ?) looks like it could be great -- wonder what the cliffhanger scene will be -- perhaps we see the inside of the Others hatch (though that is how season one ended so I doubt it) -- perhaps someone walks out of it but we don't get to see who until next season(Hanso or Fenery ?). Perhaps Micheal is found out ...

You guys could also predict the cliffhanger ending !

[ian fisher]

I want to know what the "Room" is that Ms. Clue threatened to put Walt in. I have a feeling that it may be an area where Walt's thoughts become physical manifestations ala the Polar Bear. Overall I thought the episode was pretty solid and can't wait for the finale. I also really like the scene between Sawyer and Jack in the hatch.

[Pete]

Hey guys. Yeoman's work again on the last podcast. My girlfriend's got the climax figured out. Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sawyer fall into a trap and are getting the crap beat out of them by the Others. Just when all seems Lost, we flash back to Echo in the hatch, who smiles knowingly while telling Locke "It's time" and stops pressing the numbers. The clock hits zero, all hell breaks loose, and Echo's buddy, the black smoke, is unleashed and comes to the rescue of Jack & crew. Either Walt or Michael bite it (my guess is Michael) and the Losties gain the upper hand, though they're still pretty clueless about just who they're fighting.

I have no idea how either Desmond or Vincent fit into all this, who got Sun pregnant, whether Charlie will die or just what's up with Sayid's jerry curls.

One last thing. Don't want to sound vain, but I hope that people say more than like 10 words about me at my funeral.

[Black Eyed Dog]

Cheers, all--

It seems to me that the "two groups of Others" theory is deteriorating.

Mike meant the seabilly boat--this new boat must be Desmond's (I'm assuming along with the other posters that it's Desmond's...)

The torches surrounding the Losties several episodes ago--that proved the Others were plentiful--appears now, as some had speculated, to be a gimmick to hide the Others's small numbers. Only Zeke, Alex, and one other guy (or was it two?) captured Michael, and as Zeke said, "His friends are right behind him. Get the torches ready." It seems implausible that so many other Others suddenly arrived so quickly to surround the Losties, and the synchronized on/off of the torches also points to something mechanical.

Finally, this has been bugging me the last month or so:

I realize the show in some ways is frustratingly slow in doling out "answers" about the who's-why's-how's, but I read online a while back and again in Entertainment Weekly this week that the producers are now shooting for a 5-6 season run, which means 3-4 more seasons...But what's left to do after the Losties engage the Others in "war"? Are we looking at 3-4 seasons of "war"? (In Entertainment Weekly, one of the producers said season three is going to be about "Us against Them"--That's great, but I don't think a 3-4 season war would be very interesting...

Thanks--keep up the great pod.
Black Eyed Dog

[Megan]

I was thinking about the discussiong we've had before about Eko taking over Locke's place as man of faith, and I think this reinforces that, maybe completes it (although, Locke does walk at the end, so maybe he's not completely out of faith?). Anyways, before when Locke was the man of faith, he would come up with these random stories that would mean a lot to the character he's telling the story to, like his story to Sawyer and Kate in the jungle about his foster-mother thinking a dog was his sister alive again. This is a weaker example, but he gets Claire to help him with the cradle, and at the end it seems like he knew it was her birthday, so it seemed that Locke had some special info. And now, Eko has out-faithed Locke, and he's telling one of those stories to Michael. It seems to complete the role-reversal, or the "Eko-taking-over-Locke's-place" as man of faith.

[biolite]

I would be suprised if Charlie or Kate died. Kate, despite her "tag-along" role, is part of the inner circle of the losties. Charlie isn't part of the big kids club, but he's more of a core character then Sun or Jin. I think his involvement with Claire will be another reason to keep him around.

The List. The only real connection I can see between the 4 on the list is their role within the the losties. They are all part of the core leadership group on the island. And they've all killed people...though only Kate and Sawyer murdered people, Jack and Hurley accidentally killed people. I wonder; now that Locke has started walking on his own, will he become the "Batman" character he was before? Will he rejoin the core group?

At first I thought Walt was playing along with Ms. Clue, making a show to convince Michael to help them. I mean, he was defiant before...but once they showed him Walt his spine melted into putty. They could of asked Michael to eat his leg and he would of.

[Rick]

About the people on the list. Someone mentioned on The Fuselage that there is no real significance to the names, its just a test to see whether or not Michael can do exactly what he is told. Im not sure i buy it, but i think its worth mentioning.

[Korrinn]

how was Sayid the only one who saw through Michael's ruse? I mean come on, 5 people to go up against all the others? even if they only had 2 guns like Michael said, I'm sure they had some other types of defense. Besides, Kate knew about the whole fake beard thing...

Also, on the last podcast, you refered to the experiment where they people where told to shock someone, and they kept doing it, even though the people being shocked appeared to be dead... I thought that was a skinner box... could someone clarify?

also, i dont think that charlie dying would be that suspensful, because we havent seen that much of him lately... i mean we had seen a lot of libby and analucia before they died... charlie dying would be too expected (This IS lost we are talking about come on now)

and if they "others" want good people, what the f%#k would they want with Sawyer... last time i checked, he was an a$$ hole..

thats all for now,
korrinn

[Megan]

One more thought -

I don't understand Jack. He was so ready to accept what Michael said when he came back even though there were obvious holes in his story (the guns, the whole primitive thing, and Jack does know about the beard, Kate told him during one of their treks through the jungle, but I digress). He was also very quick to accept what Michael said about only the 5 of them going, Michael, Jack, Hurley, Kate and Sawyer, even though as Sawyer says, if you're only taking 5 people so you can sneek up on the Others, why those 5? There are better choices. And now, all Sayid has to say is that he thinks Michael is compromised, and a father will do anything to get his son back, and now Jack is siding with Sayid. How suggestible is this guy? Will he believe anything? I mean, obviously we know Sayid is right, but does Jack just believe everything anyone tells him? We know he didn't before, with the button et al, but he just seems to be very easily swayed at the moment.

Anyways I just think this odd and worth discussing. Keep up the good work.

-Megan

[Mark B]

Two things:
1. Since my last post I re-watched the epi. Zeke does say "Alex" but the continuity errors are still there.

2. Just before Zeke yells to Ales to bring Kate out he says "I wish I didn't have to do this" -- does this imply they would have kept Kate if Jack etc had given up the guns.

[Raz Minder]

Quote: "I thought the scenes that mixed and matched from the Hunting Party were not done very well -- Zeke was pretty different in the originals and the new ones, even the dialogue was different -- no mention of Alex this time -- continuity was very poor."

Those were the original scenes from "The Hunting Party," but a lot was edited out because it would have simply taken up unnecessary time. Everything did move along quite quickly, maybe not as smooth as one would like, but honestly, if they replayed the entire scene, it would have taken 10 minutes.

This is something Lost has done many times, i.e., using a scene over and over again, like Jack talking to the airline receptionist about his father's coffin or the first two episodes of this season when entering the hatch.

So yes, dialogue was cut out, but they didn't reshoot those scenes, just a shabby edit job.

-------

I'm off the 2 Others/Groups theory for now. Still possible, but unlikely (though, still would be a good twist somehow).

Some things still fail to make sense to me, especially regarding the importance of the list if Ms. Klugh already knew the names (this is assuming that Ethan never completed a list, which I thought was the case).

Especially knowing James Ford as Sawyer. I suppose they could have overheard when John Locke called Sawyer out on his alias…

-------

I thought it was ridiculous how Jack bought Michael’s plan… but in the end, it doesn’t matter because Sayid figured it out… made for better TV, I guess.

It also led to one of the great Sawyer lines in Lost history: “While Pippi Longstocking and the damn Grape Ape would make fine candidates for the Dirty Dozen, I thought we might want to bring along the red beret.”

I imagine the strategy will be having another group discretely follow Jack and Co.

-----------

I liked how Eko took off his shoes upon entering the hatch for the first time after his converted faith in the button… just like Locke at the beginning of the season.

Great scene with Charlie lobbing Mary statues into the ocean… with Locke looking on; almost a moment of reflection for Charlie… as much as their relationship shattered in “Fire + Water,” Charlie must still remember that it was Locke that helped him break free from his habitual cocoon of heroin use.

Also, Eko’s parable about the boy killing his dog was completely Locke-like; in that he seemed to know exactly what to say, as if he knew the truth about Michael.

And focusing on Eko’s hands cleaning Libby’s blood and then straining the wet towel in the bucket, with bloody water cleansing his hands, was great direction. Self-explanatory.

Subtle things and scenes such as these help absolve the overall mediocre writing from this particular episode.

[Bryan with a Y]

MY BROTHER DIED DURING THE CRASH -- IN THE SEAT NEXT TO ME. ALL I HAVE LEFT OF HIM IS HIS SHIRT. JACK HELPED ME DIG HIS GRAVE ON THE BEACH. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HIS NAME AT THE TIME. HE HELPED ME. I'M SO SORRY.

OH, GOD --I'M SO, SO SORRY

The preceding is the latest Lost diary entry from abc.com . I could not find a mssg board that is discusing this but I find it interesting. I have been reading every new entry that comes out and they seem to be going backwards in time. Either that or they are different entries from many losties not just one. From this latest letter could we not just watch the pilot episode and see if we can spot jack helping to burry somones brother, or would this be off camera like the rest of the enteries. Maybee when you guys are doing spec. episodes this summer you could put one out that pieces together the diary entries and fan's theory's on what they mean.

I changed my name to bryan with a y since that is how they refered to me in the last podcast. ;-p

[Black Fonzie]

I've been wondering about why Mrs. Klugh (or "Clue") wanted Michael to bring those four people, specifically, back to the Dharma camp.

Had a strange idea. Could the list be just a purposely difficult-to-assemble assortment of people given to Michael as a kind of test? The Others are obviously watching, and therefore know something about the community dynamics of the Losties. They must know there are some people on the list who don't often go on trans-island expeditions (particularly Hurley), and that the list omits certain people who always go if they get the chance (particuarly Locke and Sayid). So they must know it'd be something of a challenge. And they'd also know it'd be hard for Michael getting ONLY those four people to come along.

In short, maybe Michael's getting this weird group of people together is another complicated and random psychological test by Dharma to find out if the subject is willing to go through with it, and how he does it. Like pushing the button (presuming the button really doesn't do anything). At least maybe this could explain why Hurley of all people is on the list...

I'm not entirely sold on this idea myself, but it's just a thought.

[Clockworkjones]

I was glad to see that another poser (Sobaika) made the same connection with the four on the list that I had. All of the four have had waking halucinations. Jack saw his father, Kate and Sawyer both saw the horse, and Hurley saw Dave. All of the other visions people have seen have been in dreams, except for Shannon's vision of Walt. And with Shannon dead she wouldnt show up on the list. Why didnt the others take them before? I dont think they were finished observing the losties and hadnt decided who they wanted to take.

Also Ms Clue says to Walt the exact line said to him by Walt's Mom's lawyer "For someone who wants his son back so much, you dont seem to know an awful lot about him." As Artie Johnson would say "Very interesting"

[Todd L]

Megan asked near the top of the comments & I didn't see anyone answer her:
"Why is no one interested in where Charlie got the vaccine? And for that matter, where is it that he says he got it from? I can't make it out. It's really bothering me."

He said he got it off the pallet (the food drop).

Can't wait for the 'cast this week!

[Mark B]

Raz Minder : I know the scenes were the same. I was refering to the Hunting Party Zeke and Three Minutes Zeke. In Hunting Party he looked far more dirtied up than in Three Minutes.

The Trailer for next week .....
I've just finished watching the trailer over and over and here is what I see (I swore I would not do this again after the last time I made predictions based on the promo) ....

1. You can hear a roar at the start before Jack shouts RUN. Is the polar bear back ?
2. Sawyer turns and lifts the gun -- Jack, Kate and Mike and the tubes are in the background
3. Jack-Kate running
4. Light grey pants running -- Desmonds ?
5. Jack shooting a pistol multiple times
6. Eko hits 'Execute' and the counter flips to zero.
7. Charlie in hatch looks around -- someone is in the background holding something. Claire ??
8. Locke says "None of this is real"
9. Charlie diving and an explosion
10. Flashback of Kate on 815 and tailend crashing
11. The sailboat and lots of happy yet confused faces, Jack dives into water
12. Eko in Lockdown
13. Jack kicking the sailboat hatch in
14. Key turning -- there is a DHARMA logo but I can't see it or work out who is turning it but my bet is Desmond in flashback
15. Kate looking around
16. Desmond running -- with a gun ?
17. Sawyer shooting (?) in dense jungle
18. Kate falling in open grassy area -- not shot by Sawyer
19. Jin/Sayid on sailboat
20 Locke swinging axe at computer, Ekos arm appears
21. Jack and Mike looking at the tubes. Kate appears in the background
22. Jack looking up -- I in the actual show he now says RUN.

I am not going to speculate other than to say the trailer is wildly out of order.

[Jeremiah]

Well I think this episode firmly debunks the 2 groups of Others theory. Here's why:

1. Fenry made mention that Ana Lucia killed Goodwin and another "Other". To me this shows Fenry and Goodwin are in the same group.
2. Ms. Clue associates Fenry with the Others, thus also tying in Goodwin.

Ms. Clue, Fenry, Zeke, Goodwin, and Ethan are all in the same group of Others. I really do believe we are dealing with 1 group now more than ever.

[Dark Hurley]

Three things -

1) I believe Michael will either die next week or - when the Losties find out what he did - he will be left to live with The Others.

2) I think the fact that Charlie injected himself with vaccine will come into play somehow. It may keep him from dying.

3) I believe Desmond is on the boat, and - referencing the call sheet spoiler - this is Libby's boat. Perhaps there will be clues to Libby's secret life on board.

That's it for now -

[Beezel]

I really want to know about the gun they use to shoot at Michael with? It flashes by very quickly but it looks like a gun from WWII can anyone with TIVO help me out with this one. It would once again add to the mystery of the others and when they came to the island.

[Coronado]

This was the calm before the storm... a chill episode before the season finale. We know now that Michael was compromized by the others as well as put up to get Fenry out of the hatch, in return for Walt.

It's hard to beleive that Michael was gone for only 14 days... to us it seems that he's been gone for the better half of 6 months. I keep forgetting that there is an "Island Time..." as opposed to our time. Walt was very shaken up it seems. We still do not know what they meant by "tests," I still think that Dharma has been in-active for quite some time and there is something new going on. What did Walt mean when he said "They're not who they say they are... they're pretending..." There was a spoiler that I read on the numbers forum that we will learn of someone next episode with the last name of Widmore... I still think there are two groups of others.

Charlie and Claire's relationship is slowly coming back yada yada yada.

Michaels list... well this is a strange group of people now isn't it? Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley?! No Locke?... they want Locke so why don't they ask for him?... Maybe Widmore wants Locke, but Hanso does not...

SPOILER ALERT!!!

I don't know for sure, but it was said that one more character will die at the end of the finale (or come close to.) Here is the information that I read from the numbers forum regarding the season finale.

POSTED ON THE NUMBERS FORUM BY: CINAECO

"1. The last three episodes we got lined up for May Sweeps is as follows:
Ep # 221 "?" and Eko flashbacks
Ep # 222 "Three Minutes" with Michael flashbacks
Ep # 223 "Live Together, Die Alone" with Desmond flashbacks; 2 hours of finale fun!

2. In the episode "Three Minutes" ...
Walt is back in flashbacks. Michael is a liar alright; turns out he has seen his son. For Three Minutes he was able to talk with him and be with him before The Others sent him off on a mission to do what they wanted him to do.

Which was...

Release the captive prisoner ..... Alexander Widmore.

You heard right, motherf'ckers! The captive Other previously calling himself "Henry Gale" is a member of the Widmore family...

1. In the season finale, Libby will be making an appearance in Desmond's flashbacks as the niece of a mysterious rich business man named Clifford Widmore. Widmore sounds familiar right?? Hehehe.
2. There are three major families added to the mystery of island ... Widmore, Purdue, and of course, ........ Hanso.

3. The season finale has 3 major plotlines:

First ... Desmond reappears.

Desmond (getting some "AWESOME" flashbacks along the way) joins up with Sayid, Jack, Kate, Michael as they all confront The Others at a base set along the coastal shore of the island, with an underground lab leading into the hillside ...... in the center of the hill? A GIANT RADIO TOWER!!!

Michelle says..."It's a f'cking trap!!"
Mr. Friendly, AKA "Zeke" will play a big role in this part of the finale. His REAL name? "I laughed at his name." says Michelle. "He and Josh (meaning Sawyer of course) have a sort of Southern dude showdown during this big ass confrontation with The Others! I'm serious it's mad, man!"

Meanwhile, Mr. Eko rallies a group of trustworthy survivors to him as assistance in gathering up loads of dynamite to blow up the evil hatch. M-Rod reminds us .... "Don't press the button. The button is bad." Eko learns this too.

And then ... we have Locke wrestling with his mixed thoughts and feelings all alone down in the hatch, or Station 3 whateva! GET THIS people ........ Locke learns that he is in fact, part of a DESIGN! It all comes loose when Locke sees a picture HIMSELF in a newly discovered film made by the Dharma Initiative, being described a part of a set of SUPER humans. WHOA...ooookay. Now...Is this The Others, or Dharma, just trying to really mess Locke's already troubled mind? Maybe ... but anyway, this results in Locke going all crazy on Eko and Charlie when the two of them attempt to destroy the hatch. Locke and Eko come to fists and Charlie sets the dynamite! Will the hatch really blow up? Will they all make it out alive??? Michelle says ... "I don't know, but its definitely scary stuff man. Scary *beep* and see."

Soo? What big questions will be answered and what inevitable new mysteries will be opened up???

Well, I can tell you we will be getting many goodies on this:

1. What caused the plane to crash revealed (HINT: It was a one-man job. And we know this man; we will see him as an important part of the finale)
2. Who is Mr. Friendly? Where are all the Others and their prisoners? Revealed and shown in full detail! (We see the effects of some Dharma experimenting; what this is will shock and disturb you)
3. More murals will be shown and with new weird details and hints!
Also....more deaths! Maybe ... Someone is put in a very precarious position with their life hanging when the season ends.
4. What is located at the "?" center of the hatch map (Partly revealed in ep 221, more fully explained in the finale) will be REVOLUTIONARY."

SPOILER OVER

I think that's pretty reasonable, Newsweek released a list of cast members who will NOT die, here is the list...

Sawyer
Kate
Jin
Charlie
Hurley

They say it could be Michael, but I also realized that Jack was not on the list...

Re-cap:

-Michael was gone for 14 days
-He spoke with Walt
-Walt is shaken up by everything
-They aren't who they say they are... they are pretending...
-The Others greet people by testing their blood... (Weird)
-The camp could be real... or fake
-Ms. Clue sounds like some sort of doctor
-We know Michael was compromized
-Zeke knows how to use a weapon
-Sayid knows what is going on and has a plan
-Ana-Lucia and Libby were burried
-Locke's leg has healed
-Michael will do anything for Walt
-They see a boat.. and all Sun can say is "Boat... boat!"
-This was the calm before the storm episode

P.S.

There is also speculation that Fenry and Desmond will join the cast full time next season.

Stay LOST.

-Coronado

[Coronado]

This was the calm before the storm... a chill episode before the season finale. We know now that Michael was compromized by the others as well as put up to get Fenry out of the hatch, in return for Walt.

It's hard to beleive that Michael was gone for only 14 days... to us it seems that he's been gone for the better half of 6 months. I keep forgetting that there is an "Island Time..." as opposed to our time. Walt was very shaken up it seems. We still do not know what they meant by "tests," I still think that Dharma has been in-active for quite some time and there is something new going on. What did Walt mean when he said "They're not who they say they are... they're pretending..." There was a spoiler that I read on the numbers forum that we will learn of someone next episode with the last name of Widmore... I still think there are two groups of others.

Charlie and Claire's relationship is slowly coming back yada yada yada.

Michaels list... well this is a strange group of people now isn't it? Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley?! No Locke?... they want Locke so why don't they ask for him?... Maybe Widmore wants Locke, but Hanso does not...

I don't know for sure, but it was said that one more character will die at the end of the finale (or come close to).

Re-cap:

-Michael was gone for 14 days
-He spoke with Walt
-Walt is shaken up by everything
-They aren't who they say they are... they are pretending...
-The Others greet people by testing their blood... (Weird)
-The camp could be real... or fake
-Ms. Clue sounds like some sort of doctor
-We know Michael was compromized
-Zeke knows how to use a weapon
-Sayid knows what is going on and has a plan
-Ana-Lucia and Libby were burried
-Locke's leg has healed
-Michael will do anything for Walt
-They see a boat.. and all Sun can say is "Boat... boat!"
-This was the calm before the storm episode

P.S.

There is also speculation that Fenry and Desmond will join the cast full time next season.

Stay LOST.

-Coronado

[Jeremiah]

Anybody else notice as Alex and Ms. Clue asked questions of Michael they didn't really wait for answers before moving on to another qustion almost as if they could read his mind for the answer? Alex asked Micahel questions he was gagged and yet she seemed to somehow confirm Claire was ok, had the baby, etc. Weird.

[Sean V.]

On the official LOST podcast for this week they said this episode would make us sympathize with Michael more and understand why he did what he did. Although this episode had the opposite effect on me because I hate Michael even more now. I thought that maybe The Others had told him to shoot Ana-Lucia for payback for killing two of their own or developed this plan for Ferny’s escape themselves, but as we saw that wasn’t the case, therefore my dislike of Michael has grown even stronger. There were plenty of other ways Michael could have freed Ferny without killing anyone. Michael is just acting blindly and without any sense especially considering how even Ms. Klugh pointed out he doesn’t even really know his own son. Speaking of Ms. Klugh she looks a lot like of one the women that were seen in Eko’s memories when the Monster was reading him, I’ll have to wait until screen caps are up for this episode to compare even further. Overall I thought this episode was pretty much filler and we didn’t really learn that much more. Although after this episode I think the two groups of Others theory isn’t plausible anymore. We now know that everyone from Mr. Friendly/Zeke to Ferny to Goodwin and the Others we saw at this camp are all connected and working together. I also didn’t like how the flashbacks were handled in this episode, they felt clunky. I don’t think we should be getting filler episodes this close to the end of the season, but the season finale looks killer. It was interesting the people that The Others wanted, especially Kate since they could have taken her before. I’m sure glad Sayid was around this episode, I was getting frustrated that no one seemed skeptical of Michael’s intentions, even though I know we should be use to stuff like that happening on LOST, such as curiosity amnesia. Anyway, can’t wait for the finale. Stay LOST!

P.S. Vincent is totally on the smack, I mean how else could he have lifted the top of off Sawyer’s stash hideout? Even though he could barely get his nose under there when he went back with Charlie.

[Bryan with a Y]

Jack: So finally, we're all in agreement about what's going on with
the others. Locke?
Locke: [steps up to blackboard] Ahem. OK, here's what we've got: the
Widmore Corporation, in conjunction with the saucer people --
Jack: Thank you.
Locke: -- under the supervision of the reverse vampires --
Kate: [sighs]
Locke: -- are forcing the others to go to bed early in a fiendish
plot to eliminate the meal of dinner. [sotto voce] We're
through the looking glass, here, people...
-- plagiarized from another show

[Peter Brichs]

So, was I the only one who noticed the extremely lame "painted palm-trees"? At about 13 minutes into the episode, when Jack & Michael are walking from the hatch to the beach.

when freezeframed like this: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/BizarreFreak/bscap0009.jpg it looks pretty normal... but when the cameras moving you can see it pretty well.

Anyways, greetings from Denmark. FYI Denmark is almost up to date with the episodes - next week we get the episode "?". Some of us danes have watched the newest episode, of course, but...yeah.

Great podcast, keep up the excellent work, guys. Looking forward to hear about your plans for the break.

Stay L O S T

[DanFromTheUK]

Hi

Long time listener first time commenting though.When Michael was being escorted through the 'others' camp we saw this lady:

http://www.lost-media.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&album=1075&pos=381

Is it me or is this lady the same as the one driving the boat:

http://www.lost-media.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&album=486&pos=1023

Keep up the good work.Great podcast.The best out there.

Dan

[biolite]

Clockworkjones: I like the waking hallucination theory. However I thought that Sayid saw Walt right before Shannon was shot. I'm not sure, but I think Charlie also had a waking hallucination in Fire + Water. Again, I'm not 100% on the charlie hallucination.

That being said, I think the theory is still correct. Sayid could of lied to make shannon feel better ;)

[sam]

ok, so I have been tryin the password on Hugh's bio, oh I don't know, 4-20,000 times, and it will not work. It the password themouthpiece, or am I just being stupid and can't figure it out. SOMEONE HELP!!!!!!!

[Will]

From "The Reckoning", Goodwin's list was of "good people". So presumably this list is also of those the Others want because they are "good people", which is the only reason I can think of that they want Hurley. Against this, the "security system" appears to have pronounced Locke and Eko to be Good People (and in my opinion, programmed Eko with the dream commands). Since Locke is not on the new list, perhaps they no longer trust the monster's judgement after getting the report from the False Inspector Gale?
They have probably also given Walt the GP line, which could explain "They're not who they say they are". "They say they're 'good people', but they're not."
Questions:
Is FIG "Him"? If not, where was He? Back at the Staff?
Early in the episode, Michael surreptitiously burns a paper, implying that it is the list. But I thought we saw Klugh burn it after he had time to memorize it?
Vincent is a product of DHARMA experiments in modifying animals for "remote viewing", and has been "reporting" to them the whole time. Come on, he was the first thing we saw in the first episode. As the Communists used to say, this is surely no coincidence, comrades.
And Michael sure made a mess of things. Jack or Sawyer would have first demanded to see Walt BEFORE answering any questions, then demanded "What assurance do I have that you will keep your word?"

[DnG]

@sam

try this (with the spaces between): the mouth piece

@episode

i was a lil' disappointed in the episode! it dragged a bit too long and the others/others camp weren't as exciting as i believed it would!

one can argue it's the "calm before the storm" (the storm is DEFINITELY coming ;)), but i'd rather have a strong run of last episodes (the last 2 episodes were awesome!)!

but the ending was great with the funeral and THE BOAT! :)

STAY L O S T

[Tina]

It appeared to me that Klugh/Clue? stuck "The List" in Michael's pocket. I don't think she burned it.

Isn't it funny how the "other" just happened to have a syringe and clean baggie in his pocket to draw Michael's blood? Pretty good considering they want us to believe they are living in those huts...

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but when Michael was captured, it was dark out. When they arrived at the others camp, it was light. I guess that must have been a pretty long walk?

[Rey]

i duno if this has been said but Ms clue said to miachel if he had seen walt in places he shouldnt have seen him. During the time away with him. My guess is that walt appeared to his dad while he was with his mom and stepdad. and thats why Miachel cares for him so much because he probably saw him frequently just like shanon. She tried to actually find walt even though she wasnt that close to him other than taking care of his evil dog.

because really if miachel had not seen his son for 10 years I dont think he would care as much as he does.

[Rok]

people seem to forget a few thing about folks:

first, michael is not what you would call "cerebral." he took a 48-hour rifle class with an ex-Wal-Mart clerk, and then managed to immediately get himself captured, and he's also the one who said "i'm building a boat, so who's coming with me?" he just doesn't think things through really well. and stop holding that "you don't even know your own kid" crap against michaels' character. burns me up just like when ms. clue and his wife's attorney throw it in his face. yep, the mother takes him away for a better life, then michael gets run over by a car, but somehow it's HIS fault he never saw his son? B-f'n-S.

i am surprised no one has brought up Michael throwing up in the woods. my wife commented that maybe the others needed michael to go get the four on the list because he was already sick, whereas the others couldn't risk contamination anymore.

didn't anyone else feel like walt was trying to tell his dad some coded clues in the three minutes? like "how's vincent?" certainly, it's his dog, but maybe walt was trying to tell his dad to watch vincent more closely? i swear, that dog is the key to everything, since it was the FIRST thing jack saw on the island.

and people, stop getting down on jack's leadership abilities. remember he didn't even WANT this crappy gig. it was the all-wonderful ex-box-company-paper-pusher locke that convinced him to take on the role (which made it all the more galling when locke told jack in season one "when do i answer to you?") jack's fatal flaw is that he cannot stomach having people's lives in his hands. he gets so caught up in what his decisions might wreak, he goes with whatever sounds good at the time.

charlie's not going anywhere yet. i think his redemption is still a long road ahead, because he still blames his brother and his family for doing this to him, when it actually was all of his own choices all along.

we all assume the guards are keeping people OUT of the new hatch. what if they are, in fact, keeping something IN from ESCAPING. just a thought.

anyway, gotta go,

[Chris in Jackson, MS]

OK, I think Damon was messing with us about the cigarette still burning in the Pearl Hatch; I have the HD version Tivo'd and went back and watched the scene frame by frame. The cigi is NOT burning, at least there is no smoke coming from it at all. The pieces of whatever sitting next to the cigi appear to be pieces of dirt.

Also, how about the possibility that Fenry is still in the hatch?

[sam]

DnG, you rock, thanks. Also, did anyone notice that persephony was typing something very small in the upper left hand corner as you were clicking on the falling things?? I just saw it as it was fading.

Stay LOST,
Sam

[Matt Lafferty]

Two quickies from me:

Rok: Holy smokes, it's both a great point and very funny when you said that Michael "took a 48-hour rifle class with an ex-Wal-Mart clerk."

Chris: I completely agree that the ciggy isn't burning. A comparison: just because Zeke wears a dirty beard, we think he's a poor old boy... but we're wrong; just because the creators say it's a question mark and a burning ciggy, we want to accept it... but don't!

Don't forget: the writers poked some good fun at us with Sawyer reading "Are You There God?" and Henry asking why they never asked questions. Who's to say that they aren't still poking little fun--or trying to literally make something out of nothing (like smoke where there isn't) for a few giggles? After the Widmore sign that no one could see, I seriously doubt that they would make a mistake like not have a burning cigarette--guess what, to make a cigarette burn, you light it for two seconds. Or if that doesn't work, you get your digital smoke monster team to put some little white poofs of smoke.

HERE'S MY THEORY: the Other camp, which we can't quite figure out because they look all ratty but have syringes, plastic bags, and psychic Walt's (well, maybe just one psychic Walt, but since he can appear in two places at once, he is kinds two...), is a big mystery.

A giant question mark, if you will.

We understand what the Swan and Arrow hatches connections are with Dharma and Hanso. We understand what their designations are. We understand what their purposes, or possible purposes, are.

As for the Other camp, it's designation is unknown. It's purpose is unknown. Due to the questions surrounding the lack of activity with Dharma, the Other camp's relationshp to Dharma and Hanso is unknown. Indeed, all we do know is at the Other camp they presumably have Walt--Walt being a mystery that is central to the plot of the show.

It's a question mark whose designation, purpose, and relation to other points on the island is unknown, and a question mark that is central to the show. Do I need to draw a map? Wait, someone else did: the show! The show gave us a map with a giant question mark in the middle of it, and that is where Michael was, Walt was taken, and the season finale is heading towards.

Later, alligators!

[Challabuck]

More on Desmond.... Could this not be him in the camp?

http://www.lost-media.com/modules.php?name=coppermine&file=displayimage&album=1075&pos=380

Likely not but you know that shot was there to play with us.

[jg]

A few "Others" things I noticed: 1) They are threatened by something. The threat must be able to be harmed by guns. (guarding the Hatch). 2) They are not a happy group. No greetings or even talking among the residents of the camp. There was a lot of suspicious looks. 3) When capturing Kate, the "Other" referred to distance in "clicks". Obvious military sounding terminlogy. 4) The "Others" camp was at the base of a hill. On the hill was a wall with a window. Attention was drawn to it. A ruin?

My speculation: 1) Seemed like a group of paranoid/oppressed people cowed into submission by a paranoid leader (Kurtz?). 2) Since the "Others" really are bad people, they can't negotiate the smoke monster's territory safely because it can see their hearts and will kill them. They have learned to walk quietly in the jungle lest they arouse the smoke monster.

[Rok]

hey matt, while i agree that it's dumb to have something critical like the burning cigarette not visible, especially after the gaff of the widmore construction sign, they have also mentioned how ridiculously short their timeframes are on these episodes, since they have to keep them in such secrecy. i think int he last podcast, they said they were going to have the whole thing in the can in two weeks. with the cast and plotlines and special f/x, that's lietrally INSANELY short. i dunno. right now, if the producers affirm or debunk something in their podcast -- and they aren't doing their goofing around stuff -- i take it as truth.

chris, i LOVE the idea that henry just has everyone THINKING he's left the hatch, but he's still in there. just one more deception from not-henry-gale.

it's truly bizarre why the others are dressed down so poorly in their own camp, where they are likely not being spied upon by anyone else, yet behind closed hatch doors, they're all cleaned up. who the heck are they "hiding in broad daylight" from?

at first, i thought from the preview that the smoke monster was back, but then it makes no sense that they would be firing their guns at it. maybe michael SEVERELY underestimated the number of others who were hidden in their underground bunker?

and i guess charlie is immune to whatever disease is supposedly present (though we've seen no symptoms except MAYBE michael's throwing up) for the next nine days. which, apparently, can be half of a television season. but charlie's friggin' insane to just try out an injection on himself.

well, just two more hours of programming until we get to sit and agonize over our cliffhanger. how much you wanna bet jack's dad is mixed up in all of this DEEPLY, especially since jack brought it up with sayid while they were walking (just to remind us, and newcomers to the series, that he was dead).

oh, did anyone try out www.letyourcompassguideyou.com? i did. can't say i learned much, but the server traffic was so bad, it made it difficult to explore/try out.

[Megan]

Rok - I think you have some really great points. I just wanted to say that I don't agree with the "clicks" meaning they have to military, or connected to the military. I'm not saying the Others don't have military connections, I just don't think this points to it. I'm from Canada, and "clicks" is just (slightly old) slang for kilometers, and I'm pretty sure it is for miles as well. If anything the older slang points once again to the fact that everything on the island seems to be dated circa 1980. Anyways, that's my two cents.

-Megan

P.S. Here's a crazy thought: Maybe, the Others are a group of Canadians (see Ethan) who are planning to take over the world by learning how to live in tropical weather, and the island is their training ground. I'm sold. This is the best theory ever. Haha.

[Michael]

For some reason, I get the impression that there is an "inner circle" among the others. Maybe Zeke, Alex, Ms. Klugh and the few that were with them are the scientists and the rest in the camp are people who have been taken. This would explain why the inner circle dresses down....they don't want the rest to know their true identities. They are observing the rest while pretending to live among them. Just a thought.

[Tyler in Los Angeles]

This was the one of those weeks in which my precious hour of Lost flew by. I haven't felt that way since the first few episodes of season 2. I really enjoyed it, from Sawyer's concerns about Jack and Kate to the interigation of Michael and Ms. Clue threatening Walt. Speaking of 'the Room,' does anybody remember an early interview with Evangeline in which she said that some of the rooms in the Hatch would turn out to be really nasty? Well its about darn time. I'm not buying Eko's behavior just yet. Why didn't he explain what was going on to Charlie? I like Charlie's response to him.

Throwing the Virgin statues in the ocean off an island that doesn't let anything escape? Charlie isn't going to die because he isn't finished with his drug just yet. If anyone will die it will be Michael or Walt. Final thought on the season finale: in classic Stephen King fashion, it will finish in the middle of the conflict to come and we'll be left to speculate for months and months.

[Bazooka Joe]

Season one of Lost was great with only a few episodes that were clunkers. Unfortunately the second season of Lost has a lot more clunkers, which is disappointing. I'm still hooked but I wish more of the episodes were consistenly great from start to finish.

Here are some of the things that bothered me about "Three Minutes."

Why in the hell did Micheal kill Ana Lucia? Unless a scene was witheld in the flashbacks in this episodes, no one told Michael had to kill anyone. He just had to bring Kate, Hurley, Sawyer and Jack to them. Seems like a cheap way to add drama to the show.

Another thing that bugs me is why Michael felt he had to lie to ensure that Kate, Hurley, Sawyer and Jack come with him. When Michael asked Miss Clue what he should tell his fellow castaways she said it didn't matter. Sure, he could have made up a story like she suggested but it wasn't a requisite.

If it didn't matter what he told our castaways then he could have been honest. "They have my son and they said that if I brought you four and only you four to them they'd give me Walt back." Then everyone could come up with a strategy on how to deal with the situation.

Again, unless we're missing out on some vital information I think this is another weak plot device.

On a side note, ever since Charlie's dream sequence/breakdown episode I've been less impressed with his character. It's not so much that Charlie isn't interesting but more to do with some awful writing

I think what made season one work was that nearly all the characted behaved in believable ways. You could understand their thoughts and motivations in a chaotic situation which helped me to suspend my disbelief when things got freaky. Now all the characters are flying off the handle and behaving in ways that are not so believable causing me to roll my eyes rather than grip my chair in suspense.

[ewelina]

this was so stupid part of lost...i cant believe that someone made something like that. i love lost, but i dont know if it was lost a few days ago. who wrote that part? my god...shame shame shame

[Cameron]

I have to agree with Sean V. This episode left me really hating Michael. Much more than that, I hate Zeke, Henry and the group of others for what they are doing and have done. Ethan can go to hell as well if he is not already there - the direct opposite of my feeling after 'Maternity Leave'.

I just kept thinking while I was watching: 'the only thing I am going to post on the LOSTCasts comments sections is a list of who needs to die right away, and it ain't going to be a small one.'

Which brings me to my point. Many podcasts back, I seem to recall Brian or Matt Jones observing in a general way that LOST maybe draws on/comments on the global situation post September 11. For me Sawyer's comment 'well at least now we get to kill somebody' is straight out of the sentiments of the days, weeks and months that followed September 11.

I think this episode, and therefore a good part of next week was and is going to be about revenge, and in particular, the aftermath of revenge. If so, this will be a very interesting and important shift from the themes of 'fate' and 'faith' which have been so central in LOST up to now.

[Evan]

Hey guys, so, anyone notice what Ms. Clue said to michael, "DID WALT APPEAR ANYWHERE HE SHOULDN"T HAVE BEEN?"
I.E. Shannon seeing him...

[Mark B]

Couple of corrections to my promo listing ....

6. It's not Ekos finger on the button. It's a white finger. However Eko does look up and we cut to the counter flipping to zero -- though this clearly is NOT a regular countdown unless the counter is going backwards.

7. The person in the bacvkground when Charlie looks round is not Claire. Black hair. white shirt. Could be Jin ? Or Desmond ?

[tom]

the four of them all had visions/seen things

kate - black horse
sawyer - boar
jack - father
hurley - Dave/Jin/Chicken man

[Cihan]

Great episode, I really liked Sawyer's comment that Jack was his only friend, heh.

1] Can we please rest the 1 group of others debate, I mean come on, the writers are time and time again showing us 1 group, so thats what we should assume until we have concrete evidence of another group.

2] Since Charlie took that vaccine, does this mean if he doesnt take it every 9 days something bad will happen to him? This would be a great twist, as he would again be dependant on a drug, great character drama right there!

3] Guys, if you'd been through what Michael went through, you might just have shot Ana too. She was the only person in the hatch, he couldnt just ask her to leave, he's been under extreme stress and took the only option he felt was left to him. He could have told everyone the situation, but the risk of it all turning out wrong and losing Walt because of it was too big a risk to take for him. I feel bad for the guy, when he broke down after they tore Walt away from him, it was heartbreaking.

4] I find that fans of this show tend to be groupies of Locke and Eko too easily, as if they're unfallible, hah, I sound like Matt now, but its true. People are like, "If Eko says the button must be pushed then it should be!", but look at the state of him, he just seems completely deluded and manipulated in my eyes. I like the fact that Locke's faith was shattered, hopefully he'll become more pro-active now instead of sitting around waiting for something life-altering to happen. Sitting in a hatch pushing a button every 108 minutes without knowing why is NOT a way to live!

Cihan (jee-han)

[Mark B]

1. I was totally into the whole 2 sets of Others theory now I fail to see how there can be -- all the Others we have seen have connected to each other. However we are yet to see any kids in the camp -- where are they ? In the hatch ? In the tents ? Are the Others Eko and Jin saw the same ones in the camp ? I think so.

2. Sorry Cihan but no Micheal should have realised that the Others are feeding him a line and gone back to the Losties and told them the truth. This is the only way he'll ever get Walt back. If the Others won't even let Walt talk to him they are never going to let Walt go. With Sayid (ex-soldier), Ana (ex-cop), Jin (ex-inforcer), Eko (the only person who really seemed to scare Fenery) along they could have taken the Others from what Micheal saw. If I was Micheal I would have told the Losties about the Others demands sop they could have formulated a proper plan. I suspect Sayid will try to follow the 'Party of Five' to the camp and it'll go horribly wrong. Micheal is now totally unredeemable in my eyes without some huge sacrifice on his part -- so huge in fact he's going to have to die saving someone.

3. I agree about Eko -- he has followed the same path as Locke did from season 1 to season 2 (i.e. action man to button pusher). Though it does look like Ekos button pushing days are numbered so hopefully his faith in the button will be short lived -- though what does the explosion reveal ?

[Alex]

Wow, a LOT of comments...
I for one really loved this episode, a nice mix of character and revelation...

Sawyer opening up to Jack I actually found really sad, I nearly cried it was so pathetic.

Anyone think the Button has some kind of obsessive hold over people? Locke I can understand, but Eko just seems to taken his place...
I dunno, it just seems like a dependency.

Maybe Charlie sees this, as an ex-addict... He fell out with Locke pretty much straight after the Button, and now with Eko...
I really don't understand why Eko is so invested in it, when he knows it is fake...
I can only imagine it's to do with his brother...

I was really hoping Locke's walking along the beach at the end meant he was going adventuring, Series-1-Sayid-style. But, he's back in the Hatch next episode. Oh well, we'll see how that turns out.

[Rok]

Cihan, you may be right on Charlie's new "drug." in fact, when Claire started freaking out about Aaron being sick and went looking for the staff hatch, the baby may have simply been going through "withdrawal" symptoms from not having injections anymore. which may mean we'll see a similar "withdrawal" period with Charlie, which may be worse for older people.

by the way, here's something that you guys may be able to use in your new LOSTCast: way back when they discovered the food in the hatch (I guess it was "Everybody Hate Hurley"), my wife made mention about the story of Demeter's daughter Persephone from Greek mythology. Once, Hades, god of the underworld, captured Persephone and brought her to hell to be his queen (has that tactic EVER worked, by the way?) eventually, Persephone was freed, but had made a terrible mistake... she had eaten a few seeds of a pomegranate while in hell, and Hades said that, since she had eaten of the fruit of the underworld, and it had become part of her, that she HAD to return to him every year. So every year, Persephone leaves the world to take her place as queen of the underworld, and Demeter, her mother, and goddess of springtime and growth goes into mourning... which is how they explain fall and winter.

flash forward to LOST: when my wife saw people eating the food, she was like "NO! don't eat it! you'll never be able to leave!" and with the regular food drops AND the fact that the subversive entity on thehansofoundation.org is NAMED persephone, there are some very strong ties here. is there ANYone on the island who hasn't eaten any of the Dharma food, or taken any of the Dharma medicine? if so, they are high on my short list of people who will actually survive all of this.

[Alex]

That's very interesting actually...
Only problem with that is, I don't think there's ANYONE who hasn't eaten Dharma food or used Dharma medicine on the entire island.
Walt, if he's not getting it from the Others.
Maybe Michael...
Jin is an outside possibility cause he's the only character who hunts for his own food these days... Apart from the odd Mango-picking...

[Katerina]

About the comment on Michael throwing up, to me it was just a connection to him cleaning up the blood-stained floor. To me throwing up would be one of the classic symptoms of guilt. Anyway, wouldn't almost anyone want to throw up after cleaning up the blood of a dead person?

[Katerina]

Oh ya, and one more thing...why the heck was the episode called THREE MINUTES?

[dark_thommy]

@ katherina

Micheal was allowed to speak with Walt for 3 minutes... not that he made that far..mr blabbermouth :)

[korrinn]

the whole "food keeping people on the island" idea seems pretty plausible, it could be that the food is laced with some kind of psychotic drug that makes people more susceptible to control and can alter their under-lying personality... the island could be a testing facility to see if people can still function within a society when taking this drug, and all the stuff that is happening is meant to see how they can react to different stimuli... hence all the stupid button pushing... because i know that if i was on that island, i would be like, well f this... we're on a deserted (ish) island, things couldn't really get any worse...

just wondering, does anybody else talk to the people on the screen and tell them how stupid they are? or am i just crazy?

korrinn

[Katerina]

Ooops thanks Dark Tommy...my bad...I was overanalyzing :D

[korrinn]

also.. throwing up is actually a reaction to disgust, because when the emotion of disgust is aroused, the human body has a distinct need to purge itself... hence the throwing up....

[Preston]

3 minutes cos that's all Michael had with Walt.

Evan I think your right man! The first thing I thought when Mrs Clue said "DID WALT APPEAR ANYWHERE HE SHOULDN"T HAVE BEEN?" was when he appeared to Shannon covered in water.

I was just trying to remember if Michael was around at the time, if he knew Walt had been spotted or not.

[Katerina]

Preston...at the time that Walt appeared to Shannon all dripping in water Michael had still not come back from the boat...it seemed like it was the same night that the boat was captured by the Others. In fact Walt appeared to Shannon again just before she was just as the Ana Lucia was coming back with Sawyer, Michael and Jin to our Losties camp. So basically when Shannon was shot she just missed knowing that Michael and the boat troup were back.

[Eugene]

Three minutes , maybe because Michael was given three minutes to talk to Walt ? That's just my guess

[Rok]

i know we can't read TOO much into previews (the last time we analyzed the clock from a preview, it turned out to be completely fabricated for the sake of the preview), BUT in the preview for next week, the clock does not TICK DOWN to 00:00, it actually FLIPS to 00:00. meaning that someone entered the numbers (or something), hit execute, and the clock flip-flip-flips, and everyone EXPECTS it to revert to 108:00, but instead goes straight to all zeroes. how's that for a curveball? i mean, what do you do then?

i also found it interesting that the computer, AT FIRST, when michael banged away on it, didn't show anything on screen... he kept hammering away on the keys, and then finally it caught. almost like it won't read anything UNLESS someone is on the other end receiving.

so consider this... what if the swan hatch wasn't entering numbers into a computer, but RATHER sending a message of those numbers to someone in the pearl hatch, and they MANUALLY reset the clock from their location, to keep the experiment running. and the "print log" is actually a rudimentary "chat log" (which would also mean that, somewhere in it, michael's messages to walt would be buried in all of the numbers). so whoever is in the pearl hatch kicks on the connection whenever there are four minutes left (or perhaps that's some poor slob's job in ANOTHER hatch... one hatch has been told to kick on this warning signal every 104 minutes (or just 108 minutes, offset by four minutes from the swan) and another hatch has been told they have to reset a clock to 108 minutes every time they get a set of six numbers... jeez, every hatch would become some self-recursive skinner double-blind skinner box, where everyone is feeding everyone ELSE the "cheese" for doing the right task... but to what end??? just to keep everyone busy and distracted???)

[IntaDon]

Hi guys, keep up the good work on these Lostcasts we appreciate your work over here in the UK!!

Me and my mate AMB have come up with a theory of Lost Season2 following the episode 3 minutes...

I think that Locke goes back to the Pearl to try and work out its purpose, Echo stays at the hatch (he believes its his mission now and the magnetic attraction on his cross only serves to reinforce his faith)

He will discover that Henry DID press the button and perhaps the nature of the incident will be revealed by him reading the manuals left in the Pearl.

While Lock is at the pearl he gets visited by the Others who have received Lockes map, they know that someone knows too much and will send some people out after him (perhaps the Smoke Monster?)

I think Michael has asked for the boat to escape with Walt, however the boat that arrives has got Desmond on it and he takes them to the other side of the Island to meet the Others.

I think that Sayid will attempt to follow them or at least he convices Jack that its a setup and the Losties formulate a plan (possibly with Desmond) to get Walt back but not at the expense of getting capture themselves. That way we will have a "showdown" rather than them just get easily overpowered and captured.

I reckon that during the confrontation, Sawyer perhaps captures "Miss Clue" and threatens to kill her unless they tell them whats going on (he's mad cause he's pretty cut up about Anna-Lucia its obvious) he then forces the Others to show them the hatch they are guarding.

This hatch they are guarding turns out to be the focus of the, perhaps only surviving experiment to understand and harness the "special people" like Walts powers.

This experiment is I believe a continuation of the Dharma project but which has essentially been left to fizzle out (or more likely phased out cause it wasnt working that well but some scientists (ie Zeke) realised it had unfinished potential and carried it on in secret)

I know this doesnt exactly explain the food drops but perhaps they are destined for another place (another Island?!) and are misdirected to "our" island via the Electro-Magnet in the Swan Hatch.

I think the "attraction" to the island - ie the Plane crashes, the Hot Air Balloon and Desmonds Yacht are due to the big Electric Magnet in the Swan Hatch and perhaps they have to enter the numbers to stop the magnetic force from building up too much and destroying the island and the experiment.

Desmond originally was working with the Others but got told to do the button pressing and was aware he was being monitored by the Pearl so continued it out of fear, this will explain his willingness to help the Losties when he discovers they are clued up and equipped to take on the Others. (either he drew the map during a food drop in the hope that someone might uncover the truth once he's moved on/passed on - its done in UV in the dark so its not visible by the Pearl security cameras?/Or it was drawn back when the experiment was being closed down to guide the future Others)

When the Losties arrive for the confrontation with the Others they will be stunned to find that one of their party has been a mole all along (possibly Kate, her capture for the trade of the guns seemed a bit too convienant, she "followed" them to the "line" remember against their wishes..)
They will also get help from Alex who will assist them in freeing Walt.

Ok and finally....

Perhaps the series will end with the Losties gaining control of the Others (by either killing Miss Clue or using her as Ransom) BUT then another Plane will crash and throw the Others and Losties into an unlikely alliance as they are forced to collaborate to ward off the new survivors from finding out the secret of the Island and throwing everyone into jepoardy....

Its all set up for Season 3 !!

Cheers!

Don.

[WeakLemonDrink]

Well, I loved that episode and no mistake.

What I loved was that it went some way to justifying the existence of Adrift, as Ms. Klugh said exactly the same words as Michael's wife's lawyer:

"For someone who wants his son back so badly, you don't seem to know much about him".

Interesting connection, me thinks.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the Poscast grealy, especially rh spoiler cast as there's some amazing rumours out there. Especially the one about what the end of season cliff hanger could be...

[Mark B]

Slow day in the office, lots of posts....

Not sure about Micheal being rational or not. I just think it's the classic 'do you go to the cops when someone has kidnapped your child or just pay the ransom and hope the kidnappers don't keep/kill the child anyway' scenario. My gripe with Micheals actions is the way he coldly killed Ana-Lucia just for his own ends (Libby was wrong place wrong time). He did not have to kill Ana. He could have come up with a better plan than that. He could have waited. But like has been said before Micheal is not exactly cerebral and is really on the edge.

My feeling is that Micheal will somehow redeem himself by saving someone (Hurley would be the obvious choice to bring the story line full circle) but will die in the process or at least appear to be dead.

As for the seasons final scene it could be anything -- I suspect it'll be something like the Losties being captured by the Others or certain Losties being in deep peril or maybe the Losties will capture the Others just for the tents to open and more Others be there to capture them or maybe someone will appear out of the Others hatch. We won't be able to tell who it is but you'll get the flashes from face to face with 'looks of astonishment and/or recognition'.

[Cihan]

Mark B: a rational mind would come to the conclusion the Others would not give Walt back to Michael and may even kill him, but as we can see Michael is not thinking rationally, the guy's gone through extreme stress and is running on pure adrenalin I'd say. He's so afraid of losing Walt, he wont risk crossing the Others, even though we both know its probably his best shot at getting his son back. I'm dreading everyone finding out about the killings, the writers will either create a situation where the Losties have to live with a murderer in their midst (island prison?) or they'll just kill Michael off. >_<

[Experiment 626]

I have no idea if this has any bearing on why the Others want Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley in partiicular, but I tried to think of something those four have in common which is shared by none of the other regular characters. What crossed my mind requires speculating in one character's case, but it doesn't seem too unlikely to me -- All four of them have fathers who are dead. Jack's dad died in Sydney, Sawyer's father killed himself, and Kate torched hers. That leaves Hurley ... Well, as far as I know, we've never heard anything about Hurley's dad. We've seen his mom, gradfather, and brother, but no dad. It doesn't seem too far out to think that Hurley's dad isn't alive, given that his mom seems to be a fairly devout Catholic, and devout Catholics aren't usually big on divorce. Yeah, I know -- I can see PLENTY of other ways to explain why we haven't seen his dad; maybe he travels, maybe he abandoned the family, or maybe there was a divorce anyway. Still ... for the other regulars, I can't think of anyone of whom we know enough to even speculate whether their fathers are living. We either know they probably ARE alive (as with Locke), or we just don't know enough to guess.

Oh, by the way -- "Deus Ex Machina" is pronounced "Day-oos ex mock-in-uh" -- NOT "Day-oos ex ma-sheen-uh." ;-)

[Amb]

Having a conversation with fellow lost fan IntaDon, we came up with an interesting idea:

Wouldn't it be great if season 3 starts off from the prospective of "the others"? Hence the losties become "the others"'s "the others" :)

What would be really cool would be following "the others" for time pre crash and post crash - with character developments of Zeke, Alex, Ethan and Henry Gale...

How about flashbacks to their (post-)dharma time (if they are or were dharma)?

And possibly flashbacks to Hanso and the start of dharma and the significance the losties really have!!!

[Katerina]

I don't see another big crash in the future of the series. I mean they have enough on their hands to resolve the rest of the people we still have. Otherwise it would be an unending show and everytime you needed to refresh the cast you'd have another plane crash...like a neverending soap opera.

[Phil]

Interesting episode.

Just rewatched it and noticed that when Miss Clue is asking Michael about Walt she brings up "Phanton Smells". Jack brought this up when talking to Sawyer in season 1 about brain tumors. Brain tumors have been associated with possible psychic ability before.

[Matt Lafferty]

Bazooka Joe,

Part of what makes this site great is it's nice to hear different perspective that are articulate and well argued, even if I completely disagree with them.

Why did Mike shoot Ana? As I see things, it wasn't for a cheap dramatic thrill on the part of the writers, it was because she was the last one left to guard Henry; her death, Michael hoped, would create a "Let's go get them!" reaction that he could mold into getting the four listed Lostaways to the Other's camp (or as I like to call it, The Real Question Mark).

Why didn't Michael tell everyone "the Others captured me in about 4.815 minutes after I left to go get Walt, then they captured Kate, then they surrounded our He-Men Hero Guys and took their guns... SO, let's bring them, plus the girl who was captured, minus the tracker AND the army guy, plus the walking heart attack. You know, for kids!"? Um. I don't know that would have been a good thing for old Mike to share.

Tom,

In "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," Eddie has a moment of brilliance, saying, "That's it! THAT'S the connection!" You, sir, are Eddie valiant, for saying that the visions of the four on the list (kate - black horse, sawyer - boar, jack - father, hurley - Dave/Jin/Chicken man) was the connection. (I'd disagree with the Jin part as it was in a dream (and so was the Chicken Man--or did he appear in "Dave" too?), but hey.) Our esteemed Lostcasts gurus once pointed out that the boar and horse were seen by others in camp, whereas Jack's father was not (this comment was before "Dave). I honestly can't recall if Jack's dad was "looked for" by someone else--you know, someone else looking at the same spot and seeing nothing, but I don't think so. Granted, Libby didn't see Dave, though as with Jack's father, it's possible that whatever the main character was seeing simply moved out of the way (assuming it's a physical thing).

And lastly, Amb,

Yeah, it would be cool to have some episodes from the point of view of the Others... but I think that if Lost did it, it would be a huge mistake. In following with a pro-West slant of the the Matt Jones Post-9/11 Theory, Lost is a sci-fi retelling of our current world. I personally don't care to hear sympathetic stories about radical Islamists bent on destroying Western civillians: hate is hate, regardless of the color of your skin or the name of the being to which you pray. Similarly, the Others are the baddies, and I don't care to hear warm-and-fuzzy stories about what motivates Zeke on a very special, loving level to be a creep. Indeed, if the Matt Jones Post 9/11 Theory is correct, then the idea of two groups of Others is correct: are not moderate Islamic people (and, some would argue, moderate Western people) being negatively impressed upon by those in charge?

To me, the Post-9/11 Theory is the one that works best because it also allows to encompass all of humanity. One week, Henry takes a Christian pose; the next, a Buddist. The show isn't Christian, it's religous, with Christians and Muslims and Buddists and atheists all needing to work together--if not for the forces pulling them apart.

Seems to me (as I wrap up on my soap box!) that without the castaways working together, they will always continue to... Stay Lost.

[Cihan]

I know some people out there dont want politics in their podcasts or whatever, but the fact is politics is relevant to our way of life, so deal with it! :D

Matt Lafferty, doesnt seeing the point of view of the enemy always add more depth to a story, or even real life? To see what motivates a being to hate and act the way they do, is not only good drama, but its also good common sense, echoing that wise phrase, Know your Enemy. If you want to solve a problem, its best to go to the root of it, something world government's, for example, dont seem to understand or want to acknowledge, futily trying to stem a broken tap with a thumb instead of going to the plumbing and fixing a pipe. Or something like that. :)

Personally, I dont believe in the term 'moderation' thats thrown around alot these days, like Steven Poole suggests in his recent book, its a form of 'Unspeak'. You're either a muslim, or you're not. Either a Christian, or you're not, and so on. I think its a sad fact that alot of people are ignorant of what they believe in, and as a result other people pay the price for this misinformation. In this case, going to the root of the problem would reveal a lack of education, and so to fix this case of ignorance which leads to hate and violence, the answer would be to educate and enlighten the youth so they grow up to be responsible and sane individuals.

But I guess we're going offtopic, haha. Basically, I dont think it would suck if we saw the world from the Other's perspective to find out what drives them to do what they do. It would make them more dimensional and less of a cardboard cut-out type villain. This reasoning is what makes our main protagonists so interesting to watch, because we all know they're no saints themselves. Sawyer and Sayid are big fan favourites, because of the thin line they walk and how they deal with the shade of grey in their lives.

I really do hope Lost doesnt go literally with a black/white theme.