More LOST Finale Disection from YouTube

Here are a couple of more clips posted on YouTube that answer some questions about the LOST finale.

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What did Sawyer tell Kate before he jumped out of the helicopter? We were all pretty sure that it had something to do with the errand that Kate was doing for Sawyer in "Something Nice Back Home." This audio enhanced video confirms the theory that Sawyer asked Kate to find his daughter.



In the scene right before Kate saw (ghost?) Claire with Aaron, she received a phone call that was garbled and backwards. Here is a clip of the scene played in reverse to reveal that the call was telling Kate she must return to the island before it's too late.

"There's No Place Like Home" Alternate Endings

I am still digesting the Season 4 finale of LOST but it was revealed on Friday morning that two alternate endings were shot in order to keep the final revel a secret in case anyone on the cast or crew decided to talk before the show aired on Thursday night. See the alternate endings below:

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"There's No Place Like Home (Parts 2 & 3)"

Well, here we are...we find ourselves at the end of another season of LOST. This end is sweet but of course a little bitter. We had a fantastic season. We had a season that rivaled the first in originality and drama. We had what might be the best episode yet of the series ("The Constant") as well as some pretty interesting developments in the future for our Losties. WE learned a little more about the pasts of some of our most important characters (John Locke) while we learned about the future of Others (Ben Linus). Despite the near ruin of the writers strike, I'd say we got some of the best network television I have ever seen. And it all culminated in tonight's finale.

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Let me begin with the extended scene from the re-airing of "There's No Place Like Home (Part 1)." As confirmed by the producers in their last audio podcast, the re-run of Part 1 contained an extended press conference scene with the Oceanic 6 and addressed the initial survivors of the crash that dies prior to rescue. In "Eggtown," Jack testified that there were eight survivors of the initial crash but only six were rescued. I, and many others, overlooked the obvious when we counted Aaron as one of the initial eight. Of course he was not born yet, so that gave us five final survivors with three that died before rescue occurred. The question of who the other three were was answered in the extended press conference. The other three survivors of the crash were Boone, Libby and Charlie. Although this was interesting and I'm ultimately glad that it was addressed, my question is: if you are going to lie about who survived but died before rescue, why would you pick the three deaths that were hardest on the Losties? I found it to be a little too cute for these three to be the other "survivors" of the crash when there were plenty of randos to choose from such as Scott, Steve, Nikki or Paulo. But enough about that!

Parts 2 and 3 of "There's No Place Like Home" were not a perfect finale to a season, but it is hard to follow-up last season's "Through the Looking Glass." I hope that the series finale of LOST is as good as "Through the Looking Glass." But I digress. This finale certainly started out with a bang as it picked up right where "Through the Looking Glass" left off. Very nice! Kate is still not convinced that they must return to the island and we still don't know who's in the coffin, but we learned immediately that his name is Bentham (sp?).

I had a bad feeling about Jin from the set-up in Part 1, but I was still convinced that Michael wouldn't be killed so soon after he was brought back to the show. But it was very cool when Christian showed up to tell him that he was done and could go. Very cool. So is Jin dead? I think so. It would be very hard to convince me that we survived that explosion and sinking of the freighter. Sad that it was, it was very necessary to complete the story arc that began in
"Ji Yeon."

On the subject of completing story arcs, I must say that this finale really tied together so many threads that were started during this and previous seasons. It was pretty amazing actually considering what we are used to on LOST. From how Ben ended up in a parka to how the Oceanic 6 finally united, this episode really put a nice bow on a whole lot of loose threads.

Speaking of loose threads, how about Desmond and Penny finally reuniting? I guess we couldn't expect Desmond to die or else there is no sense of urgency in Ben's threat to Charles Widmore that he would kill Penny in retaliation for killing Alex. I was glad to see Desmond and Penny finally getting back together, but it was not as compelling as their phone call from "The Constant."

In an interesting scene relatively early in the episode, Hurley is visited by a teenage Walt. Boy has Malcolm David Kelly grown up. I have been re-watching Season 1 lately and he seems so young compared to the Walt that we saw tonight. The sad part is that he asked Hurley about his dad. It wasn't sad at the time, but by the end of the episode, it was pretty clear that Michael wouldn't be going home to Walt. So what does this mean for Walt? Is his story over now that Michael is dead? I don't think so. I think that Walt will be playing a part in the future of LOST. Maybe even as a character that we know as Matthew Abaddon!

Sun has taken her position in Paik Heavy Industries very seriously. She even made that trip to London to meet Charles Widmore. But was it all about business as usual. I think that it is pretty clear that Sun has plans to use Paik Heavy Industries, with the help of Widmore Industries, to find the island.

Sayid rescued Hurley from the mental instituation to take him "someplace safe." Hurley even asked if they were going back to the island. Sayid assured him that they weren't. So what gives? Is Sayid planning to keep them from getting back to the island? If so, why? It would seem that all of the Oceanic 6 have a reason to go back.

For most of this season, I have been wondering what would finally "spook" Kate into realizing that the island still had power over her. It finally happened towards the end of the episode when she awoke in the night to find Claire in Aaron's room. Freaky! So Claire seems to be carrying on the Shepard family tradition of visiting/terrifying her kids. But the odd thing is that she told Kate not to bring Aaron back to the island. Why not?

Maybe it has something to do with all the bad things that happened on the island after the Oceanic 6 left. I suppose we will find out more about that in Season 5. But no discussion of this finale would be complete without mentioning the obvious. The big twist at the end. The identity of the man in the coffin...the man who met with the Oceanic 6 before his "suicide." The man who's funeral was attended by no one. The man who Jack and Ben both had to see after hours. A man who couldn't possibly be off the island...John Locke. So did he move the island like Ben causing him to also be banished forever. It's no wonder that Jack wanted to kill himself when he learned of Locke's death. I'm sure he was Jack's only hope for return to the island. Oh, this eight months will be fraught with speculation. But before I miss LOST too much, I plan to savor this season as I watch the episodes again and wait for news from the LOST panel at Comic Con. It will be a long hiatus, but we survived last year and together, we can survive this year!

"Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs" Trailer

The trailer for the next direct-to-DVD Futurama movie was released this week.



It looks about as funny as the trailer for "Bender's Big Score" which is to say, not very. I was a bit disappointed down by "Bender's Big Score" and so have set the bar a little lower for "The Beast with a Billion Backs." This trailer does nothing to improve my expectations. "The Beast with a Billion Backs" will be released on DVD on June 24.

Boating on the Bayou with the Benoits

Roxi and I spent Saturday with her parents taking their new boat for a test drive along the Vermilion River here in Lafayette. Roxi's dad, Larry, and I spent the first two hours trying to tow the boat out of their driveway. The problem was that the boat was parked under their carport which is down a hill and under their house. It took some finesse and ingenuity but we finally got it up the hill and we were on our way.

We went to the nearest boat launch at Rotary Point only to find that it was closed. Metal cables had literally been strung across the entrance to the ramp making it impossible to back the trailer into the water. So we made our way to the next boat launch at Beaver Park. Thankfully it was open and we easily got the boat into the water despite the high waters from this week's severe storms. Larry navigated the boat down river around the floating debris, again left over from this week's storms, and we docked at the deck behind the Benoit's house.

Roxi and her mom, Vicky, as well as the Benoit's friends Pat and Maureen loaded into the boat with a cooler full of beer and we took the boat further downriver.





I took the opportunity to call my grandparents who live only a short trip down river from the Benoit's. We made a brief stop at their river front yard that has been dubbed "Raine's Bend" and had a little chat before proceeding further along towards Milton.



After a suitable cruise along the river, we turned around and headed back to the Benoit's house taking in the scenery on the way home.



As we passed back by my grandparent's house, I took the opportunity to shoot this video of "Raine's Bend."



Finally we returned to the Benoit's house, docked the boat and called it a day with a late barbeque lunch.



This is how Memorial Day weekend was meant to be!

UPDATE: More pictures from our boating day courtesy of Larry and Vicky.



After a long day in the heat on the river, Roxi and I had to steal a little nap before the barbeque.

"There's No Place Like Home (Part 1)"

Tonight we began the three-hour trek to the end of the fourth season of LOST. Unfortunately, we have to wait for two weeks to see the second and third acts of this finale. And it's a real bummer because this first hour was really just an appetizer setting the palate for what looks to be an explosive two-hour finale.

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I really don't have a whole lot to say about this episode because, like I said, it really only spent this hour setting up what will happen in the next two. We did get to see the Oceanic 6 make their triumphal return to the real world. Jack made sure to remind them of their need to stick to "the story." So will we learn why it is so important to hide the truth of the plane crash in the next episode? I sure hope so because it is really baffling why they would all keep this secret.

Speaking of secrets, I like that Jack finally got to learn about his half-sister Claire. His reaction was one of utter horror. It has made me reconsider my assumption that Claire is dead. She must still be alive on the island for Jack to feel the way he appears to when Claire's mom spills the beans. And how did she wake from her coma? Did the Island have anything to do with that perhaps in an attempt to start Jack on his long progressing of wanting to return?

It was also nice to see Sayid meet Nadia after the Oceanic press conference. It is sad to know that her days are numbered though. And it was not surprising to see Hurley encounter the numbers so soon after his return. The only thing missing was for Jack to see Christian, but I suppose that's coming. It was also very satisfying to see that Sun bought a controlling interest in her father's company and will now be in charge. Will she use the Paik-Widmore connection to help find the island again in a future season? That's my guess.

As far as the on-island story goes, I guess the big question is how are the Oceanic 6 going to all be in one place to achieve rescue? Right now, Sayid and Kate are with the Others, Jack is with Sawyer looking for Hurley, Hurley is with Locke at the Orchid Station, and Sun and Aaron on the freighter.

Speaking of Sun, I think Jin is going to die on the freighter. All those explosives have to be hooked up to Keamy with that thing on his arm from last week. My theory is that if Keamy is killed, that device will set off all the C4 on the freighter. And I think that will ultimately happen in the next episode destroying the freighter and killing most of the people on board. I think that Sun and Aaron will escape on a lifeboat and then she will be reunited with Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid who were all picked up by Frank. Unfortunaely, my theory has Frank, Jin and possibly even Desmond dying. I don't know what LOST would do without Desmond's very compelling story, so I'm hoping I'm wrong about him.

And what about Michael? I still think that he's in the coffin from last season's finale. He will escape the destruction of the freighter but will commit suicide from the guilt of feeling responsible for Jin's death (remember Sun told he father that he was one of the two people she held responsible for Jin's death).

It's going to be a long two weeks, but the next time I write, we'll know who is in the coffin!

"Cabin Fever"

It's going to be a long week. I don't know if I can wait another seven days for the next installment of LOST. Then again, it will be enough time for me to think about what I just saw and to read other analyses. But what will I be thinking about?

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There are several questions that come to mind after seeing "Cabin Fever." They are, in no particular order:

1. Why is Christian a conduit for Jacob?
2. Is Matthew Abaddon really Jacob?
3. What is going on with Claire?
4. What will happen that makes Hurley regret ever choosing to go with Locke instead of Jack.
5. Does Abaddon work for Widmore, "the Island," or someone else?
6. Is something bad about to happen to Desmond?
7. How are they going to move the Island?

Of course there are many more questions, but these are a few of the ones that I can't stop thinking about.

I found it very interesting that we are being led to believe that people have been watching Locke for his entire life, evaluating him and subtly pushing him towards his destiny on the Island. Will we learn something similar about Jack in a future episode? I would be surprised if Christian was not always grooming Jack for his days on the Island. But back to Locke. I found it especially interesting when Richard Alpert visited a young Locke and gave him the "Dalai Lama" test. It was even more intriguing when Richard stormed out after Locke chose the knife.

Likewise, I was giddy with excitement during Abaddon's appearance at Locke's rehab center and their discussion of the walkabout. So did Abaddon know that the plane was going to crash on the Island? Did he know how long it would take Locke to decide to go on his walkabout? Was Locke the only one on the plane that mattered? Obviously not since Christian Shepard's body needed to be aboard. So how did all of these "important" people end up on this particular flight?

Meanwhile, on the freighter, I am getting very worried about Desmond. A few weeks ago I would have thought it improbable for anything bad to happen to him as his and Penny's story is so very touching. But after the unbelievable carnage over the past few weeks, I find myself very nervous about Desmond's well being. It would appear that all the "bad" people are off the freighter with Frank, but still, I don't have a good feeling about Desmond. But I suppose tension is key as we begin the three-part finale next week.

The biggest questions of the episode were of course related to Jacob. I was really expecting to see him this week and for all we know, we did. Abaddon made one last very cryptic statement to Locke before they parted ways at the rehab facility. He said something to the effect of, "You can thank me the next time you see me." That is very badly paraphrased, but it really makes me think that Jacob and Abaddon could be one and the same. But we don't know yet. For now we are left to ponder why it is that Christian is the front-man for Jacob. It is interesting to note that he introduced himself only as Christian to Locke. To do otherwise would have probably made Locke's head explode. Of course it almost did when he saw Claire in the cabin. And boy did she looked weird! Is she still alive or is she already dead? I have heard a theory that she died in the explosion two weeks ago and that she has been one of the walking dead ever since. It is indeed a very intriguing theory!

Sadly LOST is winding down for another nine months, but this three-part finale should be very impressive and full of things to obsess about during the hiatus. Tonight's episode was very good and I expect no less in the coming weeks!

UPDATE: Big news this morning as it has been announced that Seasons 5 and 6 of LOST will each contain 17 episodes rather than the 16 each previously announced. That coupled with the "14th" hour to make the three hour finale this season corrects the loss of three hours this season due to the writers strike. So this season will end with 14 episodes and the next two will end with 17 each. This way, I hope they have enough time to adequately tell the remaining story.

Festival International 2008

Festival International was last weekend here in Lafayette and Roxi and I walked between the stages on Saturday night shooting a little video along the way.

New Orleans Bingo Show!


Hot 8 Brass Band


Yerba Buena

"Something Nice Back Home"

Season 4 of LOST delivers again! With only four more hours left in the season, the pace has no time to let up as the drama was amped up again this week.

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Danielle is dead?!? Jack is with Kate!?! Christian makes contact...twice!!!

It was quite an episode as we filled in a lot of blanks about the future not to mention the past (?) on the island. Jack's appendectomy went off without a hitch (his death on the island all but impossible assuming that linear storytelling is what is going on). Post-rescue Jack was able to come to terms with whatever was bothering him about Kate and now lives with her...but not for long. Is Kate ready to settle down? Maybe, but is Jack ready to be a guy without any emotional baggage...not at all. So is Jack's dad dead or not? I don't know, but Christian really seems to be more important all the time.

Meanwhile, Claire saw Christian too...in the middle of the night...in the middle of the jungle...and he was holding Aaron! So again, is Christian alive? I can't figure it out at all but I love it!

I also loved when Jin confronted Charlotte when he realized that she understood his Korean. As much I like who Jin has become, I enjoyed seeing the "gangster" Jin from the past. The stage is set for Sun's escape from the island without Jin.

I was seriously bummed to find out that Danielle is actually dead. I really thought that she was going to be wounded and that we would get the long-awaited flashback. Although Damon and Carlton have said that even if Danielle were dead, we could still get her story, I wanted a lot of meat to her flashback. I have heard that we will learn more about her, but I wanted it to be through her eyes and memories, not of someone else. But you can't always get what you want. I suppose I have to put my faith in the LOST team and hang on for the rest of the season.

So where is Claire? Did she leave with Christian? Or was it the Smoke Monster? I need more information and I need it now. But I realize that I must savor what we have left of Season 4. It will be another long hiatus and I have to enjoy what I have while I have it! It looks like next week is going to be really good!!!