"The Constant"

I don't know if there is much else that I can say about tonight's episode of LOST other than that it is my, hands down, favorite of the season thus far. It was simply amazing. It followed one of my favorite story arcs of the entire series and finally gave us a long anticipated event.

STOP READING NOW TO AVOID SPOILERS!!!!!

As I said, I don't know what to say other than, "Wow!" This episode was something special. I don't know what it is exactly that I like about Desmond so much, but I have always found his character to be very interesting. It is actually quite interesting to think that he was not introduced on the show until the second season and then we didn't really learn much about him until the Season 2 finale. Some of my favorite podcasts about LOST have pointed out that the story of Desmond, specifically with respect to his relationship with Penny, is unique in drama. It is a very romantic story that even men can get emotionally invested in. I have to agree and very little in all of LOST had the emotional resonance of Desmond finally getting to speak to Penny over the phone in this episode. It still has me thinking about how great the episode was.

So what else did we learn tonight? There is in fact a time distortion between the island and the rest of the world resulting a difference in the perception of the passage of time. It took only a short time for the helicopter to return to the freighter while a day had passed on the island. Dan tried to explain to some degree, but as usual Jack cut him off before he could really get into the details.

The time distortion is not only limited to the island. We learned that proximity to the island can actually cause one's consciousness to move through time and experience that past as well as the future. Desmond has essentially been experiencing this since last season, but we learned that George Minkowski from the freighter experienced the same effect due only to his proximity to the island. Unfortunately, he died (and I was just getting ready to enjoy seeing Fisher Stevens on a weekly basis) because he did not have a Constant.

Dan informed Desmond that in order to keep from suffering death as a result of his time tripping, he needed a Constant in both the past and the present. In short, he needed something to keep him in the present. Of course Desmond turned to the one true constant in his life, Penny. He made contact with her in 1996 and made her promise to answer the phone on December 24, 2004. When Desmond's consciousness returned to the freighter, he made the call, thanks to Sayid's handiwork, and we were treated to a truly heartwarming and powerful conversation with between Desmond and Penny. It was so satisfying to see them finally make contact after all that we have learned since the end of Season 2.

I have to say again, that this is by far, the best episode of what is so far a spectacular season and probably one of the best episodes of the past two seasons. I think that the announcement of the end of LOST in three more seasons has given the producers a focus that they have been lacking and has spurned spurred [thanks for the catch Word Cop] them to reinvigorate the series in a way that I could never have imagined. This is what LOST is all about and I love it!

"Eggtown"

We got another good episode of LOST this week but I'm still trying to figure out exactly what the title means. Before I get on with my spoiler-filled thoughts on the episode, I do have some general LOST related news.

First is news of the schedule for the rest of the season. Word is that the new episodes will be delivered after a brief hiatus following the eighth episode of the season. This gives us four more episodes before the short break.

The other news is that CBS has not put the show "Cane" on the schedule for next season. What does this have to do with LOST you ask? Nestor Carbonell should now be free to reprise his role of the mysterious and forever young Richard Alpert. Heck, he may even be squeezed into one of the new episodes that is being written to finish out Season 4!

Now, on with the episode discussion....

STOP READING NOW TO AVOID SPOILERS!!!!!

So Kate is definitely one of the Oceanic 6. The fact that she is seen going to trial and getting a deal nullifies the theories that she was not one of the six but rather living under an assumed name. It was interesting to see Jack on the stand as a character witness and perjure himself by telling the story of how Kate rescued six of the eight (!) survivors of the plane crash and get them to safety on an island in the South Pacific. Kate was not comfortable with Jack lying on the stand. So why is that their official story?

Is it just me or has Locke turned into Ben? He tells Kate that they are not in a democracy and later that she is banished from the Other's village. Plus he put a hand grenade in Miles' mouth. I don't think it's a live one but still it pretty messed up!

Miles and Ben had an interesting, albeit brief, conversation. The shyster came out when Miles offered to lie to the people on the boat and tell them that Ben is dead in exchange for $3.2 million.

I wasn't too surprised that Kate has a son, but I was little surprised to find out that it is Aaron and not a biological child that we figured Sawyer sired. So what will happen to Claire? Does this mean that she is doomed? And does this mean that Aaron counts as one of the Oceanic 6? And how did Kate convince everyone that Aaron was her biological child?

Meanwhile on the beach, everyone is getting a little suspicious of Dan and Charlotte and the fact they haven't heard from Sayid and Desmond in over twenty-four hours. It came as no surprise to me that when Charlotte finally got through to Regina, we learned that the helicopter has not yet returned to the freighter. Did Frank fly the helicopter on a different bearing than they came in on? What happens if you take a different bearing?

What the hell does the title of this episode mean? SO MANY QUESTIONS!

"The Economist"

I am seriously perplexed. I don't know what to make of the direction in which LOST is going, but I like it. It just gets more intriguing each week.

STOP READING NOW TO AVOID SPOILERS!!!!!

So Sayid is one of the Oceanic 6 AND he is a hired killer AND he works for Ben Linus!?!?! I did not see that coming at all. He is going around killing people on a list. So I wonder who the guy was that he killed on the golf course. All of the people on the list are associated with the island but in what way? And who was the economist?

Although they didn't answer it, I'm glad they at least addressed the fact that Naomi had a picture of Desmond and Penny with her considering the "rescuers" stated mission was to find Ben. She seemed so certain that there would be survivors of Flight 815 on the island in her meeting with Matthew Abbadon in last week's episode and there is really only one place that she could have gotten that picture of Desmond and Penny. So was she playing both sides? Penny didn't recognize the Naomi's name when Charlie mentioned it so how is she involved? I don't think that we will see the freighter in next week's episode, but I have a feeling that it won't be long before we see the other people on board.

So Ben did a lot of traveling off the island. I wonder if he killed people when he made those trips or I perhaps he's more of the guy who gives orders. And what about Sawyer admitting that he doesn't want to leave. Kind of sweet to see him tell Kate that he wants to play house on this Valentine's Day episode.

Daniel and Charlotte have other things to do on the island. As the two scientists, they are of course interested in studying the strangeness that is LOST island. It has been hinted to on the show for quite a while but tonight we got a definitive answer that there is some sort of temporal shift between the island and the rest of the world. It is evidenced in the time lag between the clock that Daniel had on the island and the clock that was fired to the island on the missile. I also think that his warning to Frank about the helicopter's heading is also related to the potential for time or dimensional travel. We didn't get to see any of what Charlotte will study, but as an anthropologist/archaeologist, I can't help but think that we will finally be learning about the four-toed statue in the near future!!!

All in all a good episode but I have really loved the ending of each show this season. Seeing Desmond and Sayid leave the island with Frank was something. Desmond looked very happy while it seemed a little bitter sweet for Sayid. And I have to think that Naomi's story isn't over. I keep waiting for her to sit up or something. But what really got my heart pumping was of course hearing that familiar voice of Benjamin Linus before we had visual confirmation that he is off the island and still pulling the strings. He has convinced Sayid to kill for him! I can' t imagine how he did it, and I definitely can't wait to find out!

Here's to the next ten episodes! Hooray for the end of the writers strike!

The Strike Is Over!

The Writers Guild of America voted yesterday to end their strike allowing TV and movie production to resume. There aren't many shows that I have missed but I am glad to hear that there should be between six and ten new episodes of The Office before the season ends. More importantly, there is excellent news pertaining to LOST. Producer Carlton Cuse has said that they will attempt to finish five more episodes before the end of the season. That is three short of the promised sixteen for the season, however, Cuse said that the story arc of Season Four will be concluded as planned despite the production of fewer episodes. Additionally, the three episodes that will not be produced this season will be added on to the sixteen planned episodes of Season Five. I can honestly say that I am happy with this resolution for LOST. I trust the producers' vision and am glad that they will be able to carry it out and that we, the viewers, will get to go along for the ride.

"Confirmed Dead"

The latest episode of LOST is not at all was I was expecting, but it was very interesting indeed. I didn't quite know what to make of it for about the first half but became more and more intrigued as the episode drew to a close.

STOP READING NOW TO AVOID SPOILERS!!!!!!

I was ready to see another flash forward of one of the other Oceanic 6 and was frankly very surprised to start out with a flashback from the newest characters on the show. I also found it very interesting that subtitles were used throughout the flashbacks to give locations. Perhaps it is yet another wrinkle to the new way that the LOST story will be told. In any event it was nice to see that the "Find 815" alternate reality game actually directly connects to the opening of this episode with respect to the underwater cameras finding the wreckage of Oceanic Flight 815.

I was very surprised to get information on these new characters so quickly, but I suppose that too is part of the new way in which LOST will be told, at a more accelerated pace. I don't know why these four people were picked, but Matthew Abaddon seemed to think that they were the ones who must go on this mission. But not the mission to find the survivors of Flight 815.

I loved the scene where Locke asked Ben point blank (pun definitely intended) what the monster is. When Ben said he didn't know, I was cracking up. But the big reveal in the episode is that this team is not here to rescue the Oceanic survivors but rather they have come for Ben Linus. What I found interesting is that the photo of Ben looks like it was taken off of the island. To me, it looked like he was going through a metal detector at airport security.

Of course the biggest surprise was saved for the final moments of the episode. Ben revealed that he knew everything about the team that came to the island. And how does he know this? He has someone working for him on the freighter. So for about ten minutes after the episode, I was thinking about who it could be and it just dawned on me: it has to be Michael. We know that he is coming back to show, and not just in flashbacks or flash forwards; he's coming back to the island. It makes perect sense that it would be Michael in the freighter. We still don't know everything that happened to Michael when he was captured by the Others. When Ben gave Michael and Walt the boat, he told them to follow bearing 325 and they would "find rescue." I think that part of the deal for Michael to get the boat was to be a mole on the freighter. Roxi added to the theory by including Walt. We believe that Walt can project himself as was seen in several episodes in Season 2. So Roxi thinks that Walt projected himself to Locke to warn him about the people on the freighter.

So another good episode is over and we only have six to go unless the writers strike is resolved in the next week. I'm already looking forward to next Thursday!

UPDATE: Michael Eisner announced that a deal has been made to end the writers strike. It should be completed by this weekend and shows should return to production very soon. It is not a done deal until the papers are signed, but any news like this is good news!

Happy Mardi Gras!!!

More on Find Oceanic Flight 815

During Thursday night's premier of LOST, there was much advertising to get viewers to stick around for the premier of Eli Stone following LOST. One of the methods of enticement was a special Oceanic Airlines commercial that would be playing during the show. I did not stick around for Eli Stone, but thanks to the Internet, here is the Oceanic Airlines commercial:

WARNING: DO NOT WATCH THIS CLIP IF YOU PLAN TO PLAY THE "FIND 815" ONLINE GAME.



In other LOST news...the writer's strike might be coming to an end!!! In last week's LOST Podcast with Jay and Jack, John Lachonis (aka Doc Artz) said that his sources are saying that the if the strike is resolved in February, the networks may extend the spring TV season through June. If the right amount of resources are put back into LOST, there is a possibility that as many as six of the eight remaining episodes of Season 4 could be produced. Today Doc Artz's blog added more details based on the recent developments in negotiations. It looks more likely that somewhere between three and six episodes could be completed, but there will be a hiatus in the season to pull it off. This is not perfect based on the plan that the producers agreed upon over the summer, but I would welcome a hiatus if it made more episodes of Season 4 possible.