Further Instructions: Comments
I've gotten some great comments after last night's post, so I wanted to actually pull them into a post rather than hide them in the comments section.

Notice how Charlie said "What?" twice when Locke spoke to him outside the cave before going in for Eko? And how Eko wasn't really "looking" at Locke when he spoke? And how happy am I to see Terry O'Quinn back? (I am doing my happy dance.) And my "Nitpick" as Nikki would say, is how they find tufts of polar bear fur stuck in the bushes like it's cotton growing on trees. And yes, Charlie's back and better than ever!

I already commented on this one, but I agree that Charlie said "What?" twice, and it insinuated maybe that ringing in his ear that we heard in "Live Together, Die Alone" might be more serious than the temporary tinitus we all get after a loud rock concert. What will Charlie do if he loses his hearing? That would be the end of his singing and playing guitar... And I agree; the tufts of teddy were a little ridiculous.

The other funny part for me was when Hurley says, "Bear?" He's so awesome. And I agree Charlie was back to his S.1 charming self but without losing what happened to his character in S.2. Go Lost writers!

Hurley brings the funny back to the program. I was a little worried about the fate of his character this season: I mean, he's lost Libby, he JUST found out that Michael was the one who killed her, he thought he was being led to his death, and now he realizes he's not important to the Others (which, while a good thing for him, has got to be a bit of a blast to the ego). But he hasn't lost his sense of humour, because he's funny without trying to be. If you watched him closely, there's a real sadness to him in this episode. Even when he's cracking jokes and holding his hands up to shield his eyes from Desmond's bits and pieces, he's not jovially hugging Charlie hello. I don't think we even saw a hint of a smile in this episode. Hurley's different, but no less likeable.

OK, here's my theory on Locke's paralysis. Seeing as this is after the father issue and before his wheelchair-bound insurance(?) career, the incident that caused his paralysis must happen soon.First factor in a cop, a massive Waco-esque gun stash that was shown for a reason, and the fact that Locke let the cop get away..I forsee a standoff between police (who are brought by Locke's "nephew") and gun-wielding, hippie, MJ growers. In the end, Locke is shot through the spine by his "nephew", causing the paralysis.As well, maybe Locke goes back, says he's "dealt with" the kid, and everyone assumes he's killed him and buried him in the woods, only to be surprised when the ATF moseys down the garden gate. Ensuring chaos, gunplay, and paralyzed Locke.Of course, I could be -- and probably am -- way off base. But it's setting up too nicely. And the guns were shown for a reason...

Very cool analysis. While it very well could play out in something like this, I wonder if it's more in Locke's nature to turn and leave the situation. This is a guy who sat in a car outside his father's house for months rather than walk up and confront the guy, and when his dad told him to go away, he did. I think he'd turn tail and run away from there rather than go back and pretend he'd shot the kid, because Locke knows the kid will be back, and could have him charged for holding a gun to a police officer. I'd like to think the reason he was in a wheelchair was a big, important thing, and not something common like a gunshot wound (common on TV, not common in the sense that I know 6 people with gunshot wounds...) But I think by holding out on us, the writers are expecting theories like yours to start pouring in, and maybe you're absolutely right! After all, in this instance, it means he was in a wheelchair because of a decision that he made, and everything bad that happens to Locke is because of a bad decision he's made.

I think it's significant that Boone had to push him in a wheelchair in the dream. It's like the wheelchair is connected to something HE did... He's responsible for Boone's death, and maybe the fact he was wheelchair-bound in the first place has something to do with this?

OK, maybe I'm nuts, but as I posted on my blog (www.northjersey.com/lost) I really, really HATED this episode. Just thought it was clumsy and poorly written. I love the show as much as anyone, but I think they really let us down last night, especially after "Ballerina" which was terrific. The big news, though: THEY NAMED A CHARACTER AFTER YOU!!!Are you celebrating???

LOL!! Why yes, I am! The writers emailed me in the summer and said they wanted to name a character after me and asked if that would be OK, and I had to think about it first, but then.... no? Not believing it? Damn. Well, in my fantasy world in my head, she's named after me. And if they kill her off in a hail of bullets, then maybe that'll be them getting back at me for not liking Fire + Water so much. hahahaha....

As for not liking the episode, that's OK, I still love your blog anyway. :) I think I loved the episode so much because it just felt like LOST, finally. I mean, of course I loved the first two eps as well, but this one was finally back with the biggest group of characters, on the beach, etc. If you base a show on its flashback, though, I agree with you. This is probably the weakest of the Locke flashbacks. They need to seriously step up on the flashbacks this season and give us something we haven't seen before in these people, and so far they've done that with both Jack and Sun, but Locke was just Locke, and I expect to always learn something surprising and awesome in a Locke ep. And I don't think we did.

Oh, but Nikki, I realize now that they couldn't have started with Ep. 2 because Kate and co. are all in it, so we'd have to know what happened before that. I guess I have to start watching both feeds now to get with you nerdlies! Also, WTF Paolo and Nikki? Just because they need one more hot man and woman on the island? At this point, I don't think I want to care for any more characters. These guys are family.

Sorry, I meant that originally they were going to air them Ep 1, Ep 3, Ep 2, which they totally could have done, since this ep didn't visit anyone else on the island, so it could have stood alone. But they must have looked at it and thought no, people will want to know more about Jack and company right off the bat, and if we make them wait for Locke and the rest of the Losties, it will just make them anticipate it more. :)

And yes, Paolo and Nikki are going to have to prove themselves to us in some way, and they can't make them too invasive in the beginning or it will seem strange. I mean, why did they stay in the background stoking their fires and collecting their wood and we never saw them before now, and yet suddenly they're all, "Hey, Hurley, how ya doin? We need Jack!" So they'll have to be careful with these two, I think.