Thursday, May 15, 2008

Lost: 4.12 “There’s No Place Like Home, Part 1”
Before I go any further, some of you may have heard that a scene-by-scene spoiler of the final two-hour episode on May 29th is already circulating the Internet. I’m disappointed it managed to get out again, but please note this is a spoiler-free blog. I don’t want to know anything, nor do most of my readers, so please please don’t spoil us. Thank you!!

Previously on Lost:
There was a lot of discussion last week about “Cabin Fever” – Is Abaddon a grown-up version of Walt who is time travelling? Is Richard Alpert really Locke’s father? Did Hurley really say Mallomars? – and you can check out the posts on that episode here, here and here. Be sure to check out the comments.

This week’s episode showed the Oceanic Six becoming the Oceanic Six. Four years ago I imagined this to be the series finale – the rescue, the press conference, the reunion with the families. But by the looks of it, this is only the beginning. I imagine the next two seasons will show what happened after Jack began to lose it, and his manic hunt for the island. We’ll probably see a lot more of the Ben/Locke/Widmore stuff and the secrets of the island will be revealed. In the present, Sayid’s trying to rescue the survivors, Jack’s trying to fix things, Juliet’s been given a few throwaway lines, Jin and Sun are gobsmacked to see Michael again, Ben and company are heading to the Orchid where they’ve been beaten to the punch by Keamy and friends, and Frank is promising a helicopter rescue. There is so much going on, I cannot WAIT for the next episode.

This week we knew in advance the group was going to end up at a new station. My seven-month-old son wore his new Lost shirt in anticipation of the show, and he had his ideas of where the station would be. He was wrong, but I’m thinking after a day of being carried around by Sawyer, maybe Aaron could use this station (the poor kid could also use something to eat!) By the way, seeing as we’ll be watching Aaron get older, I missed the boat on getting my son onto the show when he was the perfect Aaron age during the writer’s strike. Now I see I have a second opportunity. I’ll be working on getting the casting people to fall in love with him and want him on their show. :)

“There Are Two People Responsible for His Death”
I think, despite all our hope to the contrary, that Jin really is dead. In this episode, Sun looks shell-shocked when she’s on the cargo plane, and I don’t think it’s because she just left Jin behind. First, she tells Paik that there are two people responsible for his death, with Paik being one of them. That, of course, leads us to wonder... who is the other one? Jack? Ben? Keamy? Michael? Secondly, the fact that Michael, Desmond, and Jin walk into a room of C-4 explosives and send Sun away is NOT good. (Am I a bad person for immediately thinking, “Uh... explosives... DESMOND, GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!!”) Will Jin stay behind and be blown up? Or are we just being led by the writers to think these things, when in fact he’s alive? I’m still holding on to a tiny possibility that he’s alive but left behind, but her anger and sorrow when she confronts her father seemed to suggest Jin is no longer alive.

The Reunion
When I saw Hurley’s ma, I grinned from ear to ear, and then that smile was totally wiped off my face when I saw Paik. I loved that Sun wouldn’t even look at him, and he knows it. Any power he once had over his daughter appears to be gone, and there’s a moment where you can tell by the look in his eye that he knows it. Sun has come back a very different person. I LOVED the look on Sayid’s face when he sees Nadia. And the last we saw of Jack’s mother, she was yelling at him that his father’s downfall was totally his fault. It was nice to see a happy reunion there. It must have been so hard for her to lose both men in her life, and she’s probably replayed that final night with her son over and over in her head. Now she gets a chance to change the ending. Poor Kate... vindictive Diane just wouldn’t be there. I really hate that woman.

The Press Conference
(Did anyone think, “Hey, it looks like they’re at a sci-fi con! Only.... better dressed.”) This scene is interesting, because Decker first confirms that their plane had gone down near the Sunda Trench (which was in the Find815 game), which is not true. Are they in cahoots with Widmore? Secondly, when the Korean reporter asks Sun if Jin had died on the island, Jack looks at her anxiously. Why is it so important that she say no? Do they have a story involving three other people who died, and it’s important that one of those people can’t be Jin? (Before you correct my math, Kate would have been pregnant according to their story, so she and Aaron would both just count as one, meaning there would be three people besides the five.) Also, wouldn’t any prenatal ultrasounds show that if Jin didn’t make it to the island, then Sun was impregnated by someone else? I’ve had prenatal ultrasounds, and they can determine conception pretty much to the day. Clearly the reporters are smelling something fishy, especially with the pointed questions at Kate regarding her being pregnant with Aaron. Why didn’t the police report mention she was pregnant? I don’t care who you are, if you are a size 2, you are SHOWING at six months (take a look at Angelina Jolie pictures right now). And if Kate ever goes to a doctor to have a physical, the doc will probably figure out she’s never given birth. How will they get past the little hiccups like these?

Highlights:
• Sawyer calling Miles “Genghis.”
• Sawyer momentarily silencing Jack by reminding him that things are playing out exactly as Locke said they would. Take THAT, Jack.
• After Jack heads off into the jungle, Sawyer following him while muttering, “You don’t get to die alone.” HAHAHA!!
• Ben to cracker-eating Hurley: “You know those are fifteen years old.”
• “Jesus Christ is not a weapon.”
• Hurley’s parents putting on a theme party in bad taste.
• Ben “admitting” he wasn’t entirely truthful. Ha!

Biggest “GASP!” Moments:
• Sun buying a controlling interest in Paik’s company. GO SUN!!
• Claire’s mother is ALIVE!!!!

Hurley’s Numbers:
Jack says there were only 8 people left by the time they got to the island. The Coast Guard plane is number 1717 (1+7=8). Hurley's crackers were 15 years old.

Did You Notice?:
• Michelle Forbes rocks. I was so happy to see Cain at the beginning of this episode.
• The plane lands in Honolulu, according to Decker, so for the first time Hawaii gets to play itself on this show.
• I’ve never noticed how many of the survivors are only children... Sun, Kate, Jack, and Hurley have no siblings. (Same with Sawyer, Jin, Claire, Locke, Ben, Walt... Boone and Shannon are only step-siblings.)
• Clearly The Orchid is a need-to-know station, because Juliet had no idea what it was.
• Sawyer calls the Others camp “New Otherton,” which is the first time it’s called that on the show (it’s what the crew has been calling it on set).
• Kate lied about Aaron’s age (the younger they say he is, the less pregnant she would have been before the crash). She says he’s five weeks, when in fact he’s a little over two months.
• Decker says they were found on day 108, and by the Lostpedia timeline, we’re currently on day 97.
• Just before Sayid kisses Nadia, he blinks, as if to check if he’s dreaming. What a tiny but perfect gesture.
• When Sun ascends the staircase, it’s the same camera angle as when she ascended to ask her father for money to pay off Jin’s mother. But now she’s in a completely different power position.
• Mr Tron and Ladytron were apparently rehired (remember the bundle of money they accepted in “Tricia Tanaka Is Dead” to leave the place?)
• Mrs. Reyes has moved her own personal Jesus from the centre of the table to her dresser... or maybe she has two of them.
• Jack wasn’t at Hurley’s birthday party.
• The co-pilot at the beginning of the episode kisses a rabbit’s foot for good luck, and later Hurley’s dad hands him keys with a rabbit’s foot on them.
• Several times throughout this episode, someone looks at Aaron’s face and he’s a picture of serenity, and they seem to calm down after doing so.
• Clearly Jack and company won’t be seeing Christian before they leave the island.
• The Flame station had also been rigged with C-4 explosives, just like the freighter.

So Many Questions...
• Where were the Oceanic Six coming from at the very beginning? They’re all in very nice clothes, and have had time to coordinate their story. Were they coming directly from the island, or did Oceanic stop somewhere first to clothe them and allow them to sit and chat alone? (This is the mom in me, but all I could think of was how weird it must be for Aaron to finally wear clothes.)
• What has happened that makes Jack want to lie?
• Are the five survivors the ones who have come up with the lie, or is Oceanic blackmailing them somehow? Is Oceanic telling them to use the elaborate lie for some reason?
• The plane they’re on at the beginning is a Hawaiian Coast Guard plane.
• How does Daniel know about the secondary protocol?
• Daniel flips through his journal and finds a page where he’s written about The Orchid Station, and says we have to get off this island right now. It seems to only ring a bell with him, and he needs to flip through his book to confirm his suspicion (we’ve talked here before about his apparent memory loss). I think it’s pretty clear that The Orchid is a time travelling station, so did Dan somehow end up there at some point? Has he been to the island before? Another thing: he’d written earlier that if anything happens to him, Desmond will be his constant. Shouldn’t he be staying a little closer to Des?
• I thought Hurley had decided he could make his own luck in “Tricia Tanaka,” and the catharsis he has with the whole VW van barrelling down the mountain scene was him proving to himself that he’s not cursed. So why is he so freaked out by the numbers still? I could see him getting upset when all of the numbers are on his odometer, but why does he tell the reporter that he doesn’t want his $150 million? Didn’t he decide that money was NOT the curse after all? Will we see the numbers one more time, and they’ll send Hurley over the edge again, erasing any progress he may have made?
• Notice that Ben doesn’t answer Locke directly when he asks who he’s communicating with. So who was it, Richard? Richard and company are in the jungle nabbing Kate and Miles... did Ben tell them to do it? Or is he communicating with someone else?
• Paik is yelling at two men who seem to be talking about someone stealing money from the company (they mention the person did it through 5 different banks). This is probably just a scene set up to show loud, blustery Paik, but you never know if it might be relevant later on. It would be pretty funny if it were Ben or someone time travelling and siphoning Paik’s accounts.
• How much money did Oceanic pay out? I was under the impression that Paik’s empire was huge, but if Sun was able to buy a controlling interest, did Oceanic pay them all $100 million or something?? Or is Paik’s company smaller than I thought?
• Did anyone else hear gunshots as Hurley was walking up to his house?
• Who really put the odometer to those numbers? Something tells me Hurley’s being manipulated to end up back at the institution. Could Widmore be involved? Did Charlie reset them?
• Who rigged the ship with the C-4 explosives?
• What is Ben’s plan?

Next week: No episode next week, but please tune in: I have a Lost announcement to make.

In two weeks: Ben’s given himself up, Sayid and Kate are with the Others, Jack and Sawyer are with Lapidus, Locke’s about to go into the Orchid station, Sun’s standing on the freighter deck, and Michael, Desmond, and Jin have to defuse the explosives. Should be an exciting week!!! (No preview on stupid CTV. Argh.)

UPDATE #1: Oops, a reader confirmed that the writers seem to have forgotten about Hurley's brother Diego. So did I. Also, a few people speculated that Paik's people are actually talking about Sun buying up shares through five different banks, which makes perfect sense to me.


UPDATE #2: Here is the ABC preview for the finale, for all those poor Canucks like me who were denied by stupid CTV:



UPDATE #3: I was just watching the episode again, and during Hurley's birthday party, you can see a Geronimo Jackson album on the DJ's table. HA! You have to look really carefully. It's on a tilt beside him, and you can only see the band's name on the album cover when he lowers his arm.

60 comments:

Jonathan said...

In case you missed it, last week Hurley said Mallomars. That ought to clear things up for you.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the excellent write up on this newest amazing episode! :)

Jonathan said...

Hate to give away next week's episode, but I can confirm that the episode will contain Jack, who will be on an island, and he's going to be trying to get off the island, and he will be trying to help others get off the island too. It's also going to include Hurley, who will not have lost any weight since arriving on the island, and he will seem confused and possibly frustrated. There's a lot more that I could say, but I think I've said too much already.
Sorry for ruining the episode for you.

Anonymous said...

Hi there! Here are some questions I thought about while watching.

Will Frank really take Jack and Sawyer to the freighter?

In Daniel's note pad, he shows all formulas and one of the DHARMA signs. Does he know exactly what the ORCHID is?

Why does it seem that John isn't moving into the orchid too fast after Ben's instructions? Is he waiting for a specific signal?

Does the #15 (the cracker years) have any significance? 15 is in 815, 1+5=6 (Oceanic 6).

Sun says Oceanic's payments were significant. Was this so they keep their mouths shut and lie for some reason?

When will Kate get caught up in the lies with Aaron?

I still want to see what the deal is with Claire. This show just keeps getting better and better!

Anonymous said...

Great recap Nikki, but Hurley does have a sibling. The writers seem to have forgotten all about poor Diego, though.

http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Diego

Anonymous said...

I think Paik's men were talking about Sun, as in the person who bought controlling interest in the company. Since the transactions would naturally raise suspicions, I'm sure that he would have known that the takeover was in the works, he just had no idea it was his daughter!

KeepingAwake said...

What is transmitting from the boat and to whom are they transmitting?

I think the fact that the crackers are 15 years old means something. perhaps that is the last time the Orchid Station was used? Perhaps to move the Island, although I don't see why they'd move it 3 yrs before the Purge? Maybe it was used for some other purpose 15 yrs ago...

Have to agree with James that the kerfuffle about the 5 banks has something to do with Sun's purchase of the controlling share in her father's company. She was trying to obscure that she was purchasing massive amounts of shares...

And I think she may feel that SHE is the other person responsible for Jin's 'death'.

They seem to be strongly hinting that Jack is still not in the Island's good graces as he is bleeding quite a bit. Bet he'll collapse in the next episode, especially since he said the surgical site is infected...

pecantree said...

Good episode(well,they're all good aren't they?)yet not great like last weeks - hang on the edge of the popcorn bowl - great. I know the writers have to flesh out certain people, issues, etc. For me tonight's show was sorta - okay, the Oceanic 6 (5, really since little Aaron can't talk)answered questions. I didn't catch anythig we haven't already been told, though.
I felt sorry for Kate not having a loved one at the terminal to give her a hug. Still, she does have Aaron and is indeed hugging him. That's gonna be tough on Aaron to start the bottle after having the "real stuff" for so long from Real Mama - maybe not; I don't remember the difference myself after 45 years!
Great scenes, as usual, with Ben, Hurley, and Locke. Wonderful banter thrown by each of them. Could Ben have bugged his eyes out any farther than he did to Locke at the Orchid Station? Yes, he does seem to always have a plan.
My wife and I laughed and had to rewind it 3 times - Ben (Lemur) Linus - Ha, just thought of that one!
Poor Dez Brotha is reduced to tossing down the rope ladder and not much else? I miss the stationary bike - riding, protein shake - swilling bloke who punched in those numbers every few minutes.

Doesn't Jack's mother resemble Kate? She looks like Hil Street Blues' Veronica Hamel to me.
Priceless Jack reaction to Claire's mother's revelation that Jack has/had a half sis.

Loved Hurley answering when the reporter asked about the 6 looking so well fed and was that directed at him, dude!

Why didn't Kate tell Claire's mum(I couldn't stop looking at the facial growth on her)she had a grandson?!?

Ahh, Richard Alpert, I hoped I'd see you this week. He doesn't even have to talk to ooze intensity. He replaces Sawyer and Jack for me as Most Attractive Man in the show. Of course, he could actually be so so much older if he's time tripping. Back to the fatiguey sleeveless outfits for the Others. I don't wan to wait 2 weeks for the next Lost because Grey's Lobotomy(mine) has a finale. However, I'm thankful tonight's Lost was enjoyable and I'm excited about the Final Two!

Brian Douglas said...

Nikki: I’m still holding on to a tiny possibility that he’s alive but left behind, but her anger and sorrow when she confronts her father seemed to suggest Jin is no longer alive.

It is posible that Sun only THINKS that Jin is dead. And I think the other person she blames is herself.

Nikki: Poor Kate... vindictive Diane just wouldn’t be there. I really hate that woman.

Couldn't she just still be in the hospital and not able to make the trip? Given Kate's reactions in this episode and in her flashback, I doubt that's the case, but I'd thought I'd throw it out.

Nikki: Decker says they were found on day 103, and by the Lostpedia timeline, we’re currently on day 97.

I thought she said 108 myself.

Nikki: Clearly Jack and company won’t be seeing Christian before they leave the island.

Why? Wouldn't they still have the funeral if they did so? Everyone else thinks he's dead.

Nikki: What has happened that makes Jack want to lie?

Well, we landed on an island with a smoke monster, ghostly whispers, a cabin that moves around, and ghosts of dead people on it. But it's no longer there because the island moved. Yeah, that would go over well.

Nikko: How does Daniel know about the secondary protocol?

I was wondering that as well, especially since Charlotte had no clue. But then since he's a physicist and time travel expert, maybe they had to bring him in on it.

Nikki: I thought Hurley had decided he could make his own luck in “Tricia Tanaka,” and the catharsis he has with the whole VW van barrelling down the mountain scene was him proving to himself that he’s not cursed.

I was wondering this as well.

Nikki: Notice that Ben doesn’t answer Locke directly when he asks who he’s communicating with. So who was it, Richard?

Ben implied it was the Others, but then, this is Ben.

Nikki: Who really put the odometer to those numbers? Something tells me Hurley’s being manipulated to end up back at the institution. Could Widmore be involved? Did Charlie reset them?

I'm wondering if those numbers were there all along, and Hurley just now notices them.

Nikki: Who rigged the ship with the C-4 explosives?

The obvious answere is Keamy.

TWO WEEKS! Stupid Gray's Anatomy.

Anonymous said...

I think the "gunshots" you heard when Hurley was walking up to the house was in fact Hurley's beater of a car sputtering as the engine died.

Also, Hurley said mallomars last week. grin

Anonymous said...

15 years old biscuits...hmmm i agree with KEEPINGAWAKE, perhaps that was the last time the station was used. i am beginning to think that initially when the Dharma initiative set out, Widmore was involved, either as a financial backer of the project or otherwise, thus why he knows about the stations, and other island secrets. Perhaps some falling out ensued and the others decided that it was unsafe (as he seems out to exploit what he has learnt) and move the station, and eventually purges the island of all the Dharma personnel. This leaves the Others and what they are up to or protecting (Jacob the 4 toed alien? lol)a mystery once more. But as luck would have it, the plane crash (caused somehow by the island) and his daughter's never ending search for Desmond led him one step closer to the island and he discovers its new location. Now he is seeking to have it all for himself. A couple episodes back Ben tells Widmore(in the future)that he will never find the island. Perhaps it is better hidden than it was the last time.

Anonymous said...

I love your baby's shirt. Awesome.

I can't believe I didn't see the obvious way Jack would find out about Aaron - Claire's mom. I had tunnel vision in thinking he would have to find out from Christian.

No episode next week explains why there wasn't a trailer on CTV - was there an American trailer?

I'm thinking something may happen to Hurley's parents that drove him over the edge. He crashed the car that his father had so lovingly fixed for him. It's possible someone had set the (is it odometer? I don't drive) but it's also possible that it's the Island playing with him.

I think the other man who killed Jin is Michael. I have no empirical evidence.

Veronica Hamel is Jack's mom, pecantree. Her name was in the credits. Though I wouldn't have known her if you hadn't reminded me she was in the episode.

It's 2:40 AM. I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep until I read your post. The power of Nikki!

Anonymous said...

Regarding your comment about them looking like they're at a convention - I saw photos from that press conference on another site before the episode aired and thought they were from a LOST convention.

Nikki Stafford said...

Dara: Good question about Frank. I'm really hoping he's one of the good guys.

Fletcher: I forgot him, too! Poor Diego...

James: That's a really good point, and I think you're absolutely right.

keepingawake: The Orchid definitely looked like it was grown over with plants, like it hadn't been used... but I wonder if Ben's been using it and no one else, and that's why it looks so untouched. I'm assuming it's his way off the island.

pecantree: I agree about Aaron and the bottle. It's all I could think about every time I saw him. "Is anyone feeding him?? With what?" Poor little guy. Though... he doesn't seem to be worse for the wear. He's definitely a mystical baby (but aren't they all? Haha)

And you're right, that IS Veronica Hamel from Hill Street. I KNEW she looked familiar to me, and the moment you said it, I thought, THAT is where I know her from.

Nikki Stafford said...

Brian: Good point about Diane being in the hospital. But since she's been such a terrible mother already, I wouldn't count on it.

Re: Christian: I think they all would have looked a little more freaked out at the funeral had they seen Christian walking around the island espousing words of wisdom. Instead, Kate, Hurley, and Sayid just had looks of warm sympathy on their faces. Jack wouldn't have been able to stand up there and talk about dear old dad the way he did had he thought the guy was undead.

Re: lying about the people being dead... yes, talking about a smoke monster would raise eyebrows, but you're saying he couldn't say there was a group of military types who came onto the island and is holding everyone hostage and we need to get back there? Something else is up. There is a LOT of stuff Jack could say that would be legit and believable, starting with the fact he knew most of the people.

Don said...

concerning Daniel being aware of things and stations on the island...being that he's an apparent time traveler and already bearing witness to Desmond being one as well (and who knows how long he'd been doing that?) and knowing they're each others constants, would it also stand to reason that they've shared information which each other in passing thru time, like Daniel did earlier with Desmond? Perhaps Des did the same with Daniel?? Des was a part of that island for a long time, who's to say he didn't know about the Orchid station? and my man Brain Douglas...good ear on the "gunshots"...i initially thought gunshots as well, then remembered hearing his beater fart a few times. people, next episode is gonna ROCK!!!

Anonymous said...

This is Sarah in MI:
I think what is transmitting from the boat has something to do with Keamy's armband???
I lean towards that since Des found it while looking for the transmission.
Maybe if something happens to Keamy, the boat blows, not the weapons he has with him.
In which case, they all need to get off that boat, as I'm thinkin' Keamy's going down.
Great re-cap, thanks! : )

Mark in Columbus said...

My 7-month old daughter has the same little Dharma shirt, "The Changing Station."

Eric Antoine Scuccimarra said...

• Where were the Oceanic Six coming from at the very beginning? They’re all in very nice clothes, and have had time to coordinate their story. Were they coming directly from the island, or did Oceanic stop somewhere first to clothe them and allow them to sit and chat alone? (This is the mom in me, but all I could think of was how weird it must be for Aaron to finally wear clothes.)

They did not leave on the boat. Either they were picked up in some other fashion and dropped off or they drifted on the boat's wreckage. My guess - Penny swoops in and saves the day and drops them off somewhere in line with their story and takes Desmond away.

• What has happened that makes Jack want to lie?

Maybe leaving everyone else to die? Or live on the island for the rest of their lives? 6 of 48 people made it off... That's got to be hard to explain, and live with.

• Are the five survivors the ones who have come up with the lie, or is Oceanic blackmailing them somehow? Is Oceanic telling them to use the elaborate lie for some reason?

I don't think Oceanic has anything to do with it. They came up with the lie on their own. Oceanic maybe did some tweaking to make their story jibe with what is currently known about 815, but the cover story is their own.

• How does Daniel know about the secondary protocol?

Daniel seems to know a lot about Dharma. Either Widmore or Abaddon or whoever they are working for tipped Daniel off about it. The Orchid has to do with the island's unique properties so it seems natural that Daniel, above all others, would know about it.

• Notice that Ben doesn’t answer Locke directly when he asks who he’s communicating with. So who was it, Richard? Richard and company are in the jungle nabbing Kate and Miles... did Ben tell them to do it? Or is he communicating with someone else?

Ben told them to meet him at the Orchid. It was Richard and co.

• How much money did Oceanic pay out? I was under the impression that Paik’s empire was huge, but if Sun was able to buy a controlling interest, did Oceanic pay them all $100 million or something?? Or is Paik’s company smaller than I thought?

This is a good question... $100 million wouldn't be able to buy a controlling interest in a start-up that's about to go bankrupt. However a controlling interest doesn't necessarily mean that she bought half of the company. If no other shareholder has more than 10% she could have bought 11% and consider that a controlling interest.

The top 5 US companies have market caps between $200 and $500 billion. That's right, billion. I can't imagine Oceanic paid more than maybe $250 mm a person. So this part doesn't make too much sense.

• Who rigged the ship with the C-4 explosives?

Keamy. It's tied to the device strapped to his arm which is tied to his heart rate. It's part of his end game scenario. Ben is going to tell him that Richard and his men have guns pointed at their heads, Keamy is going to say that if he dies the ship blows up. Who is on the ship that anyone cares about I don't know.

• What is Ben’s plan?

See above.

Anonymous said...

Hey everyone.

Just a quick "numbers" thing.

There were a few numbers tossed around during the explanation of what happened to the Six. The day that they actually make it back to civilization on their found boat is 108.
4+8+15+16+23+42=108

Anonymous said...

Does anyone else think it might be Christian who is in the coffin? Jack's "eulogy" was something he said he had a lot of practice with, just like all of their rhetoric. Maybe they know he's alive, and when he really dies, it tears Jack up because it was his dad, but it doesn't bother anyone else (Kate's "Why would I go to the funeral") because they know who (Jacob/Jacob's spokseman) he really is. Just a thought. Right now, it makes as much sense as anyone else.

Tim said...

One reason I think Jin is alive - they really seem to be going out of their way to show he is "Learning English" (in 100 days no less). I don't see any other reason for this other than to have him be able to communicate once Sun is off the island.

Also - the Others have at least 10 people with guns. Keamy has what - 5? Why don't they just take them out? Why does Ben have to let himself be captured (for like the third time)?

Anyway - great blog Nikki!

Tim said...

Also - why wasn't Kate's step-dad (the miliatary guy) there to meet the plane?

Would Kate really have been able to walk around free to go to Hurley's b-day party and not arrested immediately? She is someone that the FBI has devoted significant resources to apprehending after all.

Anonymous said...

I think maybe Hurley's B-day party was after the trial...Kate was apoloziging for Jack not being there, as if they were a couple. Maybe things had already been resolved, if that all happened before Nadia died?

K J Gillenwater said...

I also am hoping Jin is alive. If they have to move the island...it could either be moving it to a different location or moving it through time. Both of which would mean Jin would be lost forever to Sun. But why would he stay behind? The only thing I can think of is that they separated or that he had to give up his spot in order to save Sun.

I would like to think that the very last episode would be some returning to the island to meet back up with loved ones...but I suppose that is too much to expect.

Nikki Stafford said...

Don: I agree... the next 2 hours will be amazing. Like pecantree said above, this episode didn't offer a lot in the way of discussion points (at first I thought, what the heck will I write about?? But I can ALWAYS find stuff to write about) and certainly didn't create as many questions as last week's nailbiter, but it's all exposition leading to next week.

Sarah in MI: I agree; I think the explosives definitely has something to do with Keamy's armband.

humanebean said...

Fascinating episode ... just by coincidence, I had been watching Season 3 on blu-ray before the broadcast and viewed "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" again. So many lines of comparison with 4.12! The rabbit's foot, Hurley's car, Hurley's direct connection with the numbers ... the list goes on. Just watching the first 15 minutes of this episode helped reinforce why the finale had to be 3 hours long ... so many plot strands to weave.

Well, here are things that jumped out at me from part one of "There's No Place Like Home":
1) I was really struck by the mood of the Oceanic 6 on the plane. Very strange. They seemed almost unnaturally calm for what they had been through/were about to go through. Sun's comment, "We are in shock, Jack" notwithstanding, everyone seemed ... different, almost casual. You could probably chalk this up to each person retreating into his/her thoughts to ready themselves but still ... I think we will understand this much better once we see what immediately presaged this moment. And - interesting comment by the pilot about his rabbit's foot, needing it "with what we have back there" ... he seems really spooked.

2) That press conference: I agree, Nikki that the reporters were suspicious. In fact, I found them almost antagonistic - not just in the questions asked of Kate but overall. The whole charade seemed so staged that the scene itself played out awkwardly. As for Sun's struggle before answering the question about Jin, I think she feels she will never see him again. Not that he is necessarily dead, mind you, but given the island's "movement" perhaps the Oceanic 6 fully believes that the other survivors are .... gone.

3) Hurley, perhaps always the most sensitive of the group, seems to begin unraveling almost immediately. After being flippant at the press conference, he grows paranoid quickly upon returning home and completely freaks out when he sees the numbers on the car's odometer and triptik. He runs away from the car and yet we know he will drive it later on an errand, when he first sees Charlie and then leads the cops on the wild chase that opened Season 4. Is he experiencing "side effects" of their departure from the island?

4) That locker enroute to the Orchid station fascinates me. Fifteen-year-old crackers? Hoot! I keep coming back to Danielle when I try to sort out the timeline of past events. Was her scientific team the last threat to the island's existence? Did it occasion the last visit to the Orchid? I'm betting that Ben put those items in the locker - or was accompanying someone on the trip that put them there. Richard?

5) Faraday and the Secondary Protocol: we've seen that he makes notes in his journal as events unfold and refers to them constantly. I agree with Nikki that he's travelled to the Orchid before. Then again, someone put together the Secondary Protocol ... they could have trained Faraday as to what he would find on the island ... just as he knew of the Tempest Station ... or, was he remembering that, too?

6) Sun's masterful takeover bid for her father's company: a powerful and satisfying scene. This definitely mirrors her earlier tentative, vulnerable approach to her father to borrow money to pay off the extortion attempt by Jin's mother. Boy, have the tables turned now! But ... where did she get the money? If the Oceanic settlement couldn't be enough .... who else do we know that seems to have unlimited supplies of money? Is Ben somehow involved in this? Is he the "second man" responsible for Jin's death? Or is that Michael, whom Sun accused of working for Ben?

7) I've said it before and I'll say it again. Frank Lapidus is the MAN. He will fly the Oceanic 6 off this island ... but to where? I look forward to next season's Frank flashback (or other explanation) as to why he was replaced at the last minute as pilot of flight 815. Was he the only crewmember to whom this happened? I recently viewed the episode where Cindy the flight attendant was seen by Jack while he was caged at the Hydra station. Pressed as to why she was with the Others, she replied, "it's not that simple, Jack". Is she more than just a flight attendant?

8) I agree that Keamy's monitor device is wired to the explosives on the freighter. But, don't fret Nikki! We will have Desmond in our lives for some time to come. While the Oceanic 6 may believe that most left behind are dead and gone ... we will see them next season. Desmond and Penelope storyline has a future.

9) Little things: the look on Charlotte's face when Faraday was loading the Zodiac boat for the first trip to the freighter. The look on Sun's face when Kate delivers Aaron into her arms before racing back into the jungle. The look on Locke's face as Ben advances towards Keamy's troops outside the Orchid. The look on Sayid's face as he and Kate are surrounded by Richard and .... who are these others? OUR Others? The 'Hostiles'? I didn't recognize any faces besides Richard.

10) I don't know which dark period agonizes me more - the two week wait for the powerful conclusion to this season or the interminable delay until NEXT season arrives. Thankfully, there is so much more to be gained by going back to view older episodes. I am continually amazed by how my understanding of the richest storyline on TV is deepened by a new interpretation of older events ... and how this, in turn, changes my perspective on what is yet to come.

That's it for now. I have to get back to tinkering with my device. If I can just find 1.21 jigawatts somewhere, I could be watching the rest of the finale in no time ...

Nikki Stafford said...

Sarah in MI: Whoops, that posted before I was finished. In my post, I mentioned there had also been C-4 in the flame station. Any chance they’ve been put there by the same person? Could Keamy have figured out the time travel function and he’s already been here once? Keamy says he’s going to torch the island, but he’s also holding the freighter folk at bay to make sure no one leaves. Could the armband have a double function?

Anonymous: The only reason I don't think it's Christian in the coffin is that there was an obit that said he had a teenaged son. And, that there was an obit, period, where Jack knew who it was. Considering Christian slept around, he COULD have had a teenage son, but I doubt it. They seem to suggest he "plants his seed" for a certain purpose, like creating Aarons. ;)

Tim: I think the reason Jin is speaking English is because Daniel Dae Kim is English, not Korean, and he was really struggling with the language. But I HOPE you're right, because I don't want him to die! As for Kate walking free, I've been asking that same question since we saw the flashforward at the end of last season... I just don't see why she wasn't cuffed and taken away immediately.

Anonymous: It's hard to say where things fell in this timeline, but the birthday party was definitely before the trial, because Aaron's a baby at the party, but a 3-year-old at the trial. I'm assuming the party happens very soon after they land. There must be a reason why Jack didn't come to the party.

Kristin: Wah, I never thought of that... Jin being alive, but never seeing Sun again. I hope you're right with the reunion scenario. I love the angst, but I want some happiness. :)

Anonymous said...

Maybe if Michael stays on the freighter the trigger for the explosives won't work, becasue the island still won't let him die. If so, hopefully this means Jin and Desmond will survive.

Anonymous said...

I'm not reading any comments here, just in case somebody decided to spoil the finale. I want to be surprised, unlike last year!

but I have to say - I LOVE your baby's t-shirt!

the changing station! LOL!!

I just wish I'd still had babies to buy one of these!

oh, and great recap, too!

Brian Douglas said...

Nikki: Explaining that they new the others would also mean explaining what happened to them. It's easy enough to explain what happened to several of the dead survivors: Boone fell off a cliff, Shanon was shot in a hunting accident, Charlie drowned, etc. But when an island full of your friends just disappears?

Anonymous said...

Maybe this has been said already, but I don't have time to read all the comments (schedual so hectic!): Did you happen to catch the overshot of the watering pipes when Ben "surrendered" himself to Keamy? I didn't know what they were at first, and had to pause my TiVo to realize they were watering pipes for the plants. I had thought it was a broken ladder...makes you think of Jacob's ladder, mm?

MW said...

I think Ben is communicating with Marvin Candle.

I love the final scene where they showed every characters in different places, with Michael Giacchino music painting suspense and tension.

Mighty YT said...

For those in Canada who evidently were not shown a preview of "There's No Place Like Home, Part 2," here's a link to watch a preview that was shown during the end credits of the U.S. broadcast.

(If you are a person who likes to remain so completely spoiler free that you don't watch the previews they typically show during the end credits, then you will not want to watch this.)

4.13 Preview

Anonymous said...

My friend Rodney brought up one hell of a good point. In the news coverage of the discovery of the plane wreck, i'm pretty sure Oceanic and the NTSB accounts for all the bodies in the wreckage, right?

so if that's the case, then how do you plan to account for the 6 breathing bodies having press conferences in Hawaii? I mean, i'm sure the writers are paying attention, but i wonder if this little hiccup will lend itself to the storyline? keeping this in mind, it's no wonder the reporters were all suspicious toward the losties....and that's a good point about kate someone mentioned...i don't exactly think the FBI would just let ol' Freckles walk around all smiley like and free when she returned on that plane. best believe the marshals would be right there a-waiting on her...with handcuffs and guns. so the writers, in my opinion, need to pay a little more attention to THAT in particular...and..."don't trust the captain".

OK, I'll bite. I was in the Navy for a while and I've actually steered one of them big ol' gray tubs around in the water a time or two so I'm a little confused as to how in the hell a little bit of radio interference would affect a ship's navigation equipment, even if it DID play havoc (and that's friggin' DOUBTFUL) with an electronic device such as GPS, no captain in the world would rely SOLELY on that, we always have our trusty natural magnetic compass and/or sextant right alongside us for backup. so i'm not buying the captain's BS excuse that he can't maintain course of 305...christ, they did on a friggin' LIFERAFT in the choppy swells of the ocean fer cryin' out loud!!! Something's up with that guy...he's hiding something and it ain't 15 year old crackers. you mark my words, the captain of that ship is a bigger player than we know as yet.

And my man Sawyer needs to get some more scenes man...i know you have pull over there at ABC, Nik...

Anonymous said...

i dont think they are dead...I'm an optimist

Jin is probably alive back on teh island

When Sun said her dad was partly responsible , the other person was probably her

Not in the literal sense, but by leaving him back on the island , she cannot acknowledge that he is still alive..he is dead to the world if their stories are to hold..
she probably feels guilty over being saved and not being able to save him as well...his promise was to get HER of the island...even if it meant that he couldn't

Anonymous said...

Suanne
Sorry to spoil anyone's fun but I do know one thing about the season finale. If you get to see the preview in total you see that Sawyer is on the helicopter. You do not see him clearly, but you can see a bit of his arm when the show Kate in the back, just to the left of Hurley.
We also hear they are running out of fuel and won't make it. We see Sawyer kiss Kate, then the tear down Kate's cheek. So...that means that Sawyer jumps out of the helicopter to lighten the load. A redeemed Hero.
Though that does not mean Sawyer dies. He is a very good swimmer as seen in many episodes. Also we don't know how far from the island they are when he jumps.
Also, is it just me OR how many trips can you make in a zodiac, 5 nautical miles each way on ONE tank of petrol?

The Chapati Kid said...

What a great wrap-up! I love the way you've negotiated all the questions, opening up so much to think about. Here are a few more:

1. Who is the person sitting in the shadows on the rescue plane? "Cain" looks at him before going to talk to the Oceanic 6.

2. Can a 5-week old baby really be that big?

3. Was Hurley driving the Bonneville when he got to his house before the surprise party? It sure looked like it. Or maybe I know nothing about cars.

4. Although it is a matter of perspective, I would have to disagree that Sun looked shell-shocked. In fact, none of them did. They looked pretty ready to go and face the music, and even acknowledged at one point (it seemed to me, ironically) that they were supposed to be in shock. I have to agree with Kristin here -- Jin's made a sacrifice for Sun. Maybe it ties into the island being "moved" by Locke -- maybe the deal is that Sun escapes, Jin goes back to the island, and then vanishes, along with the island and the other folks, and it's impossible to know where he is, therefore he's metaphorically dead. This would also tie in to the fact that Sun REFUSES to answer the question about whether or not Jin died on the island. She doesn't know. The only thing she can say is that he never made it off the plane. So the fact that she will not acknowledge his death in public may be a sign that she doesn't believe he's dead. Now, maybe she'll use her newfound money to find the island? But then why does she tell her father that he is responsible for Jin's death... Argh!

Anonymous said...

Nikki what happened to yor "Getting Lost" write up on WizardUniverse.com?

I miss it.

This is my first time posting here, even though I visit every week since you left wizarduniverse.com.

What happened?

Did you get Lost?

Did Locke move the website on you and now you can not find it?

Did you time travel and miss a week?

myselfixion said...

Why does Jack say at the funeral that he wrote his father's eulogy 10 months ago at the Sidney airport? Aaron is clearly still only "5 weeks" old in that flash forward.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone have any theories about Aaron? Is he another chosen one? What was all that stuff from the Austrailian psychic to Claire about how she had to be the one to raise him? The way the psychic was so afraid and insistent about this made me think of Damien from The Omen, like Aaron could turn out to be some Satanic force, or something if Claire is not the one to raise him. I'm just wondering how all this fits with your earlier post about the similarities between Locke and Ben, and how, possibly they could be two versions of the same person. Jack sure was shocked to discover that Aaron is his half-nephew. And again, what did Hurley's message relayed from Charlie to Jack mean? Are they talking about Aaron?

Anonymous said...

i'm hoping jin is still alive .... but you never know with those lost writers once an actor gets in trouble with the law, they seem to kill them off the show. i just saw Daniel Dae Kim in the news going to court about a DUI charge from last november. could this mean the end?

Karole said...

Ok Nikki, I don’t understand why you are saying in your update #1 that the writer seem to have forgotten about Hurley’s brother. When did the writers forget? You’re the one who mentioned in the “Did You Notice” section that many of the survivors are only children, where are you getting that the writers forgot? And technically Jack is not an only child, he grew up as one, but he really isn’t so I don’t think he should be grouped into your only children theory, nor should Claire.


Nikki said:
Did You Notice?:
• I’ve never noticed how many of the survivors are only children... Sun, Kate, Jack, and Hurley have no siblings. (Same with Sawyer, Jin, Claire, Locke, Ben, Walt... Boone and Shannon are only step-siblings.)

UPDATE #1: Oops, a reader confirmed that the writers seem to have forgotten about Hurley's brother Diego.

poggy said...

As always, great recap Nikki! I loved this episode for what it was - the intro to something obviously BIG... which I hope *doesn't* include a certain Scotsman blowing up with a boat o__O;; actually, I'd hate to have Jin really dead too, even if I've somehow gotten used to the idea. And Michael? Never been too fond of him, but never really hated him either, and I was thinking he was the man in the coffin, so... my last strand of hope is that the island won't let him die yet, and as tons of C4 aren't as precise as a gunshot simply missing the target, I hope that if Des and Jin simply stay close enough to Michael they will be saved too, lol!

Anyway, on to the serious stuff - I scooped various review and nobody seemed to have addressed the issue, but who was Ben communicating with when he used that mirror? Richard and the Others (hey, sounds like the name of a band!) seem to be in another corner of the island where they cross paths with Kate and Sayid... When Locke asks him who is he ommunicating with, Ben just smirks and says, "who do you think?". Well, my guess is...

...he is communicating with himself from the future! Now, this just dawned on me all of a sudden, and maybe I have some kind of bias because it's already been done - those who have seen/read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban see that there's the very same kind of time travel paradox there, with someone travelling back to the past to help themselves from afar. That's what I think Ben is doing. I don't know if he's expecting his future self to show up because he can control the time travel of the mind alone that Desmond experienced in The Constant. Or possibly, he simply is confident that his future self will help (again, The Constant: present!Faraday telling past!Faraday the solution to his experiment). Also, Ben 1 and Ben 2 would be - I think - far away from each other enough not to generate a paradox.

I don't know, really. I just woke up this morning with this idea stuck in my mind and I can't think of another option, lol!

Jazzygirl said...

Poggy, love that idea! Someone else mentioned that how could it be Richard when he's somewhere else surrounding Kate and Sayid? I don't know how close they are but it didn't seem to fit to me.
You are right in the comparison with HP. Hermione throws the rock to distract herself. Perhaps the same sort of deal?
Karole, Nikki was just drawing parallels. Your post seems a bit harsh. And maybe we missed it but why didn't we see his brother in this episode? I have only seen it once so far but I will pay closer attention at the party.

I agree with most people's thoughts about Jin and the island. I did the see preview for the finale and it makes me wish I could jump forward in time to watch it! :) Yes, it does seem Sawyer does something heroic. Maybe that's why they've been building his character up that way? It makes sense to me that maybe they see the island move or disappear. And that's why in Jack's flashforward he says to Kate that they have to go back and find the island. Would also explain all those maps in his apartment.
Yes it does make more sense for Sun to say Jin is dead because if she can't find him, well, then it's like he is, right?
I also instantly thought of the thing about Oceanic first reporting that ALL the bodies were found dead on the ocean floor. How do they explain THAT away? Could be why the reporters are so pushy in trying to make one of them slip up. And I LOVED when Hurley said to the female reporter "Dude was that aimed at me?"
Can't wait to watch it again. At least I'll have some time this week to do so. Couldn't watch last week's before this week. Maybe I'll watch both. I feel like there's just SO much to take in.

Oh and I know you guys have mentioned the C-4 explosives...did anyone else absolutely CRINGE when Jin sent Sun out and she's walking across the deck looking back at where the three of them remained? I really thought the thing would blow right there. My mind was reeling as to all the reasons WHY those three can't die yet. I felt desperate. Suspense writing at its best! Damn writers!

Jazzygirl said...

I KNEW I was forgetting something. I don't think anyone mentioned this? When Hurley was coming home to his surprise party and he picks up the coconut and walks through the house...the whispers come. Now I TRIED to make them out but as usual, no luck.
(Sidenote, Nikki, has anyone this season deciphered any of them?)
Then I figured they may have been from the people in the party whispering that he was coming.
I dunno though....

Redeem...I checked out that link you put in the Evil Dead thread. Very cool!

Mighty YT said...

For those, such as jazzygirl, who may be interested in reading deciphered “whisper” transcripts, there is a page dedicated to just that at Lostpedia!

Jazzygirl said...

Thanks mighty yt. That was cool. I don't usually go to Lostpedia because I hate anything wikipedia. Plus, I'm afraid I'll get sucked into all the other Lost websites and I just don't have time! I find Nikki's to be perfect...great recaps, great comments, no fluff.
Anyway, I went through some of them. I have always thought that it was almost as if there were some invisible curtain these "people" were hiding behind. They still don't make any sense to me. And last week's isn't on there yet but I can understand it takes time to decipher them. :)
What blows my mind about this show is that the creaters/writers had this idea...this master plot...most of which we have yet to learn...and as we know the story is SO complex, complicated, twisted, and has intricate layers and connections. How does one say "Let's 'start' the story...HERE. And unravel it like THIS." Gah!

Anonymous said...

Wow, POGGY, good call with Ben communicating with himself! I never thought of that, but it makes perfect sense. after all, the symbolism of using a mirror to contact your own mirror image is too good for these writers to pass up!
Now, is it just me, or does any episode containing flashbacks of more than one character seem a million times more fulfilling than a regular episode?
I think it's time Grey's Anatomy flat-lined...

Anonymous said...

3 things:

1-Don: You mentioned the little boat going back and forth to rescue people on very little petrol. I brought up the same point last week. Are the writers so entwined in giving us answers that they think we will overlook/forgive some of these details. I think not! Why do you think this show is so darn popular? WE PAY ATTENTION.

2-I have a feeling the note about trusting the captain may still come into play. Maybe the captain that Keamy offed is not the true captain? Just a thought. Let it marinate a bit and tear this theory apart. Otherwise, yes, the captain helping Sayid/Des and then being killed sort of renders the note moot.

3-Need a little help here. Rosseau. She and her team arrive 16 years ago. The purge happened 12 years ago. What the heck was Rosseau doing for those 4 years the Dharma peeps and the Others were starting a war??? Much to be answered.....

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

In "The Shape Of Things To Come", when ben disappeared into that back room, he may have been time traveling a day or two into the future and doing something to keep the island safe from Keamy.
So, Poggy, this supports your idea that Ben was communicating with a time-travelling version of himself via the mirrors. That's his plan: he knows he can stop Keamy, because he already did something when he time-travelled. (At least, I HOPE this is true. I hate Keamy. Anybody who kills a sweet kid like Alex and tries to blow up my beloved Claire deserves a very special death lol).
Nik, I love your baby's shirt, that's hilarious. Did you get that at a special store, or did you have it made?
Oh, and remember everyone, the finale will start at 9, not at 10, so don't be late!

poggy said...

Guys - glad to know my theory makes some kind of sense, it dawned on me all of a sudden and I really wasn't sure if it worked only in my mind, lol!

@David - thanks for bringing up point #3, that's something that has been bugging me too. Actually, it's Horace's words in Cabin Fever that shatter the timeline, and that's a rather big inconsistency... so it was possibly *meant* to be incorrect? I don't have any clue on why, though :-)

Oh, and point #2 as well? The captain storyline might have been a victim of the strike, or perhaps the "captain" the note referred to was actually the guy Desmond is giving directions to in the last episode. My gut reaction at that scene was "what, how do you know the rest of the crew is on your side?". We know Keamy is there to raid the island and that the "Fantastic Four" are probably on the Losties' side, but I think this proves there might be several separate groups at work on the freighter. I doubt Keamy would simply have left without leaving someone loyal to him behind.

Brian Douglas said...

I thought the note was in reference to not trusting him about Ben being behind the staged crash.

And Keamy did leave someone loyal to him on the boat: the C-4!!!

Brian Douglas said...

Re: The "Fantastic Four"

Daniel = Mr. Fantastic. They are both science geeks.

Charlotte = Invisible Woman. Daniel/Mr. Fantastic's girlfriend. Plus they both have breats and vaginas.

Lapidus = The Thing. Both are pilots, and working class men.

Miles = Human Torch. Both are hotheads with big mouths.

Abaddon: "You are my Fantastic Four!"

Namoi: (cough cough)

Abaddon: "Fantastic FOUR."

Okay, I'll shut-up now.

Jason and Alicia Halm said...

Don't forget - Sun may have been paid for Jin's death as well as her hardship. She was honestly in a unique position to receive more money than the rest of them. That's not to mention that Jack doesn't exactly need the money - maybe he let her have some if not all his settlement (don't forget Hurley doens't want money either).

Nikki Stafford said...

Hey guys: I've been away for the weekend, and unable to comment, but it's great to see you talking amongst yourselves. :) I'll just answer a few things:

Annie: I wish I could tell you there aren't spoilers here and don't worry, I'll delete those comments as soon as they come in, but you're not reading this, so I can't! :)

Don: It's an excellent point, and one I brought up at the beginning of the season (actually, I think I mentioned it in my book) when we see flash-forwards that prove the survivors got back and were famous for it. How did Oceanic explain away the wreckage having the exact number of bodies on it? That is still a question that will have to be answered.

By the way, your post was hilarious, I love the way you write!! I agree, I didn't buy something screwing up the devices on the ship... I mean, if the electromagnetic energy from the island hasn't had any impact, why would something on board be stronger?

Man, what I would give for some pull at ABC... :)

Chapati: You're back!! I've missed you. :) I guess if the baby was giant at birth, it would be pretty big at 5 weeks. But it's hard to say with television. I mean, remember: Claire gave birth and then practically skipped to the beach without any pain, so... yeah.

Jonni: Wizard said they no longer had the money for freelancers, and an intern working there watched Lost so they let him take over the column as part of his regular wages and they broke my season-long contract with them. So I was dumped. :( I'm glad you found me here! I wish they could have at least provided a link back here, but they weren't contracted to do anything like that.

Nikki Stafford said...

Karole: I was referring to the fact that Diego wasn't there at the airport. Of course, I could just be thinking of my own experience. If I thought my brother had been dead for months and suddenly discovered he was alive, nothing would keep me from being right there the moment he stepped off that plane. But maybe Diego doesn't feel the same way I do. That's all I meant. Also, while Jack is technically not an only child, for all intents and purposes he is one -- raised as one, and has only ever been one, since he doesn't find out he had a sister until after she's gone. So I still include him with the only children.

Poggy: Interesting idea!! I love it.

jazzygirl: I, too, thought we were about to see a giant boom, but then I realized, with THAT MUCH C-4, is Sun really safe on the deck? That many explosives would blow up the boat, the liferaft, and most of the ocean. ;) I heard the whispers, too, but I assumed we were supposed to take them as the partygoers.

David in TN: That's exactly why we need a Rousseau flashback! I absolutely want to know what she was doing.

Karole said...

Hi Nikki,
Ok, now I know why you referenced the only child theory. I didn’t realize you were commenting on that because of the relatives at the airport. It makes sense to me now why you thought the writers forgot about his brother. Maybe only so many relatives were aloud to greet them off the plane. That could be a reason why he wouldn’t be there.

I was reading on another site that since the writers strike shortened the season by a few hours, some scenes were cut short. For example, when Sun was asked her question, and she translated in English, we were supposed to see the look on her parents’ faces of surprise that she spoke English. I would pass along the website I read that on but I don’t remember which one it was. If I happen to come across that again, I will post it.

Nikki Stafford said...

Karole: what a great point! Of course her parents would have been completely shocked to hear her speak English, I never thought of that. I'd also heard that quite a few scenes from this one had been cut. I look forward to the deleted scenes on the DVD. :)

Brian Douglas said...

ABC is going to reair part 1 with additional press confrence footage on the 29th. This footage was probably cut because a certain show before Lost runs two minutes later cutting into Lost's air time.

Stupid Grey's frakking Anatomy.