Photos
Video
'Lost': The great puzzle
I know what you were thinking, Lost fans. You were sitting there, with your remote control, your beverage, your bowl of popcorn, and you were thinking, "Bai Ling better be nowhere near this flash forward." Luckily, your fears didn't come true, but while "Something Nice Back Home" was miles better than "Stranger in a Strange Land," it seemed to move at a snail's pace in comparison to last week's rocket ship of an episode. That's not necessarily a bad thing: whereas last week sought to cram in as much mythology as possible, this episode sought to fill in the narrative gaps between Island time and post-Island time. Different agendas, different pacing, different results.
How such a different tact fared depending on your perspective of Jack, or rather, your perspective on Jack/Kate, the slightly more stubbled/drug addicted version of Ross to the much more confused/more prone to wearing shorts 24/7 version of Rachel. (Honestly, Future Kate doesn't own pants! Did no one else find this weird besides me?) Island action and future action were not so much built on guessing the outcome of the events (we know Jack will survive the surgery, we know Jack/Kate have a future falling out), but rather constructed around how those particular events shape future actions/interactions. And, most important of all, the notion that there are higher powers guiding everything ran rampant throughout the episode.
Looking at Jack's appendicitis: what's really important here was not the tension surrounding Jack's fate, but the reason why Jack got sick at this particular moment. Rose doesn't get much screen time, but bless her heart when she does, because she gets to be a voice of reason. Who else would assign a particular significance to the timing of Jack's illness but her, a recipient of the Island's healing powers?
And looking into the future: what's really important isn't so much that Jack's engagement to Kate failed. From the moment we saw Kate in the shower, we knew this relationship was doomed to end up just outside LAX. What's important is that the same forces we saw back in Season 1's "Raised By Another" are still in play. I don't know about you, but I plan on rewatching that episode, which might turn into one of the key overall episodes in the show's history when all is said and done. In both past and present, there are forces at work literally shaping the lives of those on the Island as well as off.
It's worth it to think about the narrative structure of the show as a key to understanding these "forces" I keep mentioned. We have a show in Lost that consistently dares us to define a singular "now." It used to be easy: everything on the Island is "now" and all flashbacks were previous to those events. But now, with the introduction of flash forwards and Faraday's assertion that time itself on the Island is relative, what we watch week in and week out are events stretches out literally over decades that could only happen in one particular way because that's the only way in which they DID happen. As such, the show's narrative structure calls into focus the unyielding, unrelenting forces at work here.
Now, defining these forces is naturally difficult. Some could call it "fate," others "destiny," others "the Island." Characters on the show have carried on this debate as well as the viewing audience, but I'm less interested in defining it precisely than to state what I innately feel to be true: that there is not one general force at work, but multiple forces constantly accounting for, if not downright countering, the other. It's yin and yang, it's black and white, it's matter and anti-matter, it's Linus and Widmore, and it's many more things. But whatever it is, it's not singular, given all that we've seen; even though we've seen events inexorably play out in one particular manner, that's not the only way in which things could have happened.
Here's something to chew on: we know the Oceanic 6. We know who gets on, and who gets off. Think of events on the island in Season 4 as one long played-out drama performed by marionettes pulled by unseen puppet masters to get those particular six off the Island. As such, it's worthwhile to think of Jack's sickness not as a way to get Jack off the Island, but Jin in a position to understand Faraday's crush on Charlotte coupled with Charlotte's knowledge of Korean. THESE are the facts that lead to Jin getting off the Island, and this would NOT have happened had Jack gotten sick. Think about the ridiculousness of Claire surviving a bazooka attack on her bungalow. Her survival can be better understood as a way to go wherever notChristian wants her to go.
And when I say notChristian, I don't merely mean that all we saw was a vision of Christian Shephard. That, friends, for what it's worth, was NOT the real vision of Christian Shephard. Have we ever seen a vision of him in anything other than crisp suit and white tennis shoes? These dueling images of Christian (on the Island, in Jack's private clinic) only highlight the multiple forces at work on our Lostaways. And somehow, at the center of a lot of this tension, is Turnip Head himself, Aaron.
I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!"
-An excerpt from the last freakin' book in the world you should read a toddler unless you plan on messin' him up good for life, "Alice in Wonderland"
A few months ago, I trotted out my "Sins of the Father" Theory of Lost, which states, in a nutshell, that the actions you see in the show are a response to the baby boomer generation failing miserably to save the world and leaving their children too messed up to save it themselves. (It's a fun read, full of joy and merriment.) It's interesting to watch Jack's reaction to Charlie's message, because you can't really tell if he's terrified that the Island is talking to him, or terrified that he might turn out to be as awful a father as his own. But in that the two visions of Christian both concern Aaron in way or another, clearly Shephard Senior's own failings as a father have manifested itself into one of the competing forces working upon our protagonists. So who, or what, in the world is he? And how the heck did he get out of Jacob's cabin? A great puzzle indeed.
In terms of this unsettled, unfinished energy, enter one Miles, a character I feel was introduced more or less for the sole reason of acting as interpreter between the whispers and the Lostaways. Lost actually filmed a scene for "The Constant" in which Miles listened to the whispers outside the sonic fence, but that scene was cut for running time. Here, tonight, we finally got onscreen confirmation that Miles can indeed understand the whispers. Which begs the question, naturally: what the blippin' heck ARE the whispers? I think the key lies in a bit of dialogue back in "The Beginning of the End":
HURLEY: I may be in a mental hospital, but I know you're dead and I'm not having an imaginary conversation with you.
CHARLIE: I am dead. But I'm also here.
Taking Desmond's "snow globe" analogy from Season 2 and abusing it for my own petty personal reasons, think of the Island as a place where one can die but stick around, if not corporeally than metaphysically. They are cognizant of their surroundings, understand their limitations, but perhaps, just perhaps, have been freed from linear existence and are they themselves either another force at work or in the employ of one of those forces. And that's the way things have worked for decades, maybe centuries, maybe longer. But something's about to seriously change, which is why, possibly for the first time, spirits/forces once merely contained to the Island can now permeate the real world.
(Meanwhile, a short requiem for Danielle Rousseau, the French Mad hatter of the Island's denizens. May your whispers be crazy, and may your back story still be fleshed out when all is said and done.)
Not that you have to be dead to extend your influence in the real world. In true Kate fashion, she agrees to marry Jack and then mysteriously starts doing favors for Sawyer behind Jack's back. If she were a superhero, she'd be Ms. WishyWasher, and every criminal she went after would get away due to her indecision about which item from her utility belt to use. Either Kate's mad because Jack went to Jared to buy the ring, or there's a debt/favor to be paid surrounding Sawyer's reason for staying on the Island.
What Kate's doing for Sawyer is one thing yet to be revealed, along with another semi-whopper: how Jack discovers that Claire is his half-sister, making Aaron his half-nephew...third cousin...bridge partner twice removed...something, but related all same. That's some pretty key information right there, and all the more mysterious because we're back to a "Claire's missing" storyline, which makes me almost nostalgic for other Season 1 items such as "Shannon whining about everything," "WAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!" and "Locke actually being a badass as opposed to nervous confused wimp."
Odds on Claire being found before the Oceanic 6 leave? Approximately 1 in 4,815,162,342. She and Aaron are emerging as central to the mythology of the show, and for some reason, someone or something wants these two separated. Why? Beats me. Other than forming the world's least intimidating iteration of Voltron ever, I'm not quite sure why anyone would want to keep these two apart. But obviously, these two are vital in some way, shape or form down the line.
Let's look at the crucial scene from "Raised" that are potentially key to understanding what's about to go down.
MALKIN: I can tell you, this is important.
CLAIRE: Okay.
MALKIN: It is crucial that you, yourself, raise this child.
CLAIRE: You mean with Thomas? Is he..
MALKIN: The father of this child will play no part in its life, nor yours.
CLAIRE: So what exactly are you saying?
MALKIN: This child parented by anyone else, anyone other than you --- danger surrounds this baby. . .
CLAIRE: Danger?
MALKIN: Your nature, your spirit, your goodness, must be an influence in the development of this child.
CLAIRE: If Thomas and I don't get back together I'm putting this baby up for adoption. I just wanted to find out what would give the baby the happiest life.
MALKIN: There is no happy life -- not for this child, not without you.
CLAIRE: I don't. . .
MALKIN: It can't be another. You mustn't allow another to raise your baby.
This is much more than "Jack's a drunk and Kate never wears pants" in terms of a warning. As the only child born on the Island in...God knows how long, maybe EVER, Aaron himself might be the vessel than unleashes whatever spirit(s) on the Island has long been contained by the "snow globe" surrounding it. This would explain the dire warnings by the psychic, the visitations by spirits in the future, and most important, Aaron' enormous freakin' head. No kid with a head that big isn't completely evil.
But seriously, as a way to tie everything up here: the psychic's vision, while true, wasn't written in stone. Obviously, Aaron DOES get raised by another: two in fact, and things aren't looking exactly up for anyone involved in that household of pain and pills (or beyond for that matter. The psychic simply tapped into at least two visions of things to come, two variations depending upon variables yet to be enacted. Futures that can be molded, and once formed, nearly impossible to unmake. And if this psychic could see all those future permutations, then others can as well. Those are the people truly guiding the actions of Lost, and it's up to the Oceanic 6 to find out who these people are, what they want, and what they can do to make things right again.
Easy, right? Exactly.
What did you make of Jack's future relationship with Kate? What's Kate doing for Sawyer behind Jack's back? Why do you think Jack got sick on the Island when he did? And what do you make of the sudden centrality of Claire/Aaron after being on the narrative sideline so long?
Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude.
I also thought that this episode did not do much to the other part of the story-line ... but we did get to see Jack propose to Kate ... that he was living with her and Aaron ... we saw his father more than once, and we are now sure that Danielle and Carl are pretty much dead ... and found out that Charlotte speaks korean and that Jin made her promise to get Sun off the island ... and Sawyer made a choice and Jack saved Kate, but we do not know what happened there for Jack to say what he said ... oh and Juliet told Kate that he kissed her to find out if he was not in love with someone else ... did I miss anything else???
Next week's preview looks interesting enough though ...can't wait!
Erwin | May 1, 2008 9:59:23 PM | #Isn't it strange how you write a post about the initial lostaways not playing a central role in the overall story of Lost, and here we have a nearly purely lostaway centric episode?
I thought of a couple of things during this ep:
First, was it a coincidence that a SMOKE detector is what lead Jack to see his father? Maybe Ben isn't the only one who needs a Darka. As far as Kate's mission, I'm thinking she's doing something for Sawyer's daughter. We know he left money for her and Kate knows her mother, so maybe they are all related.
When Jack went to see Hurley, he was told that he wasn't supposed to be raising Aaron. But, the message said nothing about Kate. First, the psychic said only Claire could raise the baby. Then he said she had to get on 815 to meet the adoptive parents. Maybe the psychic knew she would meet Kate, who would be the only other person capable of raising Aaron (now in LA). And, could Aaron have a little bit of Walt in him? There has to be a reason Miles would want to hold him.
Oh, and what's up with Danielle really being dead?
A-Rob | May 1, 2008 10:03:57 PM | #Things that intrigued me:
We learn that Sawyer chose to stay behind and asked Kate to do him a favor before she left. My guess is that she was talking to Cassidy on the phone. I think Sawyer wanted her to reconnect with Cassidy and Clementine.
Jack tells Kate he "saved" her. From the island? Or was he referring to her trial?
I noticed both times that Jack saw his dad, the same lady interrupted him. Could she be connected with Abaddon?
I believe Miles was more interested in Aaron than Claire. I think he senses something special about him.
It seems that Christian (or whomever he represents) wants to seperate Claire from Aaron, but does he also want Jack to end up raising him too? Maybe Kate ended up with him to protect him from Jack.
Shari | May 1, 2008 10:08:16 PM | #I would give this episode a 7 out 10. It was better than 'Eggtown' but definitely not as good as 'The Constant' or 'Shape of Things to Come'.
It seems to me, we (in someways) learned that Jin and Sawyer are alive and still on the Island in the future. Sawyer choses to stay for one reason or another, and Jin makes a deal with Charlotte to ensure Sun makes it off the Island.
As far as the favor Kate is doing for Sawyer. It's my guess that it has something to do with Cassidy and their daughter Clementine.
Due to her relation to Christian, it does feel that Claire is taking a more central role in the war of the Island. I'm willing to bet we'll see Claire in Jacob's cabin once we see it again.
It would seem by what Jack said to Kate ("You're not even related to him") that he knows Claire is his half-sister at this point.
I tend to believe that the Island is punishing Jack for trying to leave. This is why he is hurt, because he 'still has work to do'.
Shaggysteve | May 1, 2008 10:10:07 PM | #A-Rob
Get out of my head! LOL
Shari, looks like you're my constant.
A-Rob | May 1, 2008 10:15:57 PM | # Good call A-rob, I didn't think about the SMOKE detector. I didn't like this episode as much as last week, but still a very good episode. Glad to see Rose back and Miles wearing the hood made me think about Charlie overlooking Claire. Thought the Smoke Monster would do more damage to the guys, but can't wait to see next weeks episode.
Did anyone else think that someone else did Kate's voice in the shower. When I heard the voice it didn't even sound like her.
I'm not so sure that the important of Aaron is completely related to the island. In "Raised by Another" it was explained that the reason Claire was on the plane was because the psychic tricked her into it, so that then she would have to raise Aaron. If the psychic wouldn't have done that, he wouldn't have been born on the island, and so I don't feel the "danger" surrounding Aaron stems from the fact that he was born on the island.
Billiam | May 1, 2008 10:21:49 PM | #Alex was born on the island.
Trisha Carlson | May 1, 2008 10:32:14 PM | #So Danielle says, yes. But 1) Alex never left the Island, and 2) something about Danielle's back story still doesn't sit quite right. As mentioned above, I hope we still get her back story in some way, shape, or form, when all is said and done.
Ryan | May 1, 2008 10:35:38 PM | #So because I'm a huge dork for Lost and for baseball, I read the article in the newspaper Jack is reading about the Yankees/Red Sox game (image at lostpedia: http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:Yankees_Red_Sox_article.jpg)
Anyway, it mentions Robinson Cano hit 2 homeruns against Curt Schilling, so I looked it up, and last August 30th, Cano hit 2 HRs against Schilling. So unless the writers just picked a random Red Sox game story to use as a prop, the setting for the flash-forwards tonight is right around the end of August/beginning of September, 2007. Interesting to note that would place last season's finale at some point in the (audience's) future, as the finale was aired in May, 2007.
Normally I'd assume I'm reading too much into a prop, but this is Lost we're talking about, so you never know. Maybe someone much smarter than me can figure out what all this means in the time travel context. Also, one final note, under the Red Sox game description is a boxscore for an Astros/Angels game, and the Astros and Angels did NOT play on August 30 last year, the last time they played each other was last June 20.
Chris | May 1, 2008 10:46:37 PM | #I'm still watching the episode (TiVo ftw), but for those of you wondering, this week's flash forward takes place in late August/early September, 2007.
I know this because according to Wikipedia, I can see that the Yankees won a 3-game sweep of the Red Sox, ending in a 5-0 score on Game 3, on August 30th, 2007. The paper Jack was reading was from the day after, August 31.
Other Sean | May 1, 2008 11:21:47 PM | #Damn, someone beat me to it. Oh well.
Other Sean | May 1, 2008 11:22:37 PM | #I like Kate without Pants
bom | May 1, 2008 11:52:51 PM | #I was a little disappointed on you Ryan. Since you started discussing things about parallelism of season 1 events and tonight events, I find it funny how you get to recognize Shannon and not expound the Rebecca Mader - Jin scene.
Upon seeing the scene, I immediately thought Michael - Sun scene when Michael learns that Sun can speak English.
I agree with one of the posters above. I was about ready to pass out when I saw a Charlie looking figure (WITH A HOODIE!!!) over looking Claire. Too bad it was freaking Miles.
Best Lines of the Night:
Miles: Are you his brother or something?
Sawyer: Piss Off. I am the man who's boots will be in your face.
I laughed so hard.
What's up with all mighty Sawyer? I am not liking the whole Jesus Christ Sawyer.
The current Sawyer makes me realize the vision someone (Charlie?) had dressed as the Virgin Mary... LOL. (Ryan, which episode was this and who was Claire with as the Virgin Mary)
James | May 1, 2008 11:53:45 PM | #I paused and played the preview for next week and I juiced out 3 very interesting things.
THESE CAN BE A LITTLE SPOILERISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1) Claire gets back to the beach right before the rescue. She was sitting on the sands with Aaron and Sun
2) Sayid (and possibly Desmond) manages to get back to the island from the boat. I saw Sayid on the beach with Juliet. No Desmond in sight.
3) The guy that was talking to Locke who said he was dead for 12 years. Turns out he had blood dripping from his nose. Reminded me right away on how that boat dude died because he didnt have a constant.
James | May 1, 2008 11:58:28 PM | #Okay, I just finished the episode and read this blog entry, so I'm ready to give my thoughts.
- The Claire Thing
Malkin, as a psychic saw the connection between mother and child, and ya know what? I think one Miles Straum also does. He sure was gazing at Claire a bit intently before Sawyer called him off, dontcha think?
As for Claire going off into the jungle with notChristian, well, I have a feeling that her fate is inexorably tied in with Jack's. Whatever the big event is, one or two seasons in the future, that is Jack's Moment of Destiny, Claire is going to be a part of it.
Also, Malkin and the "powers" are telling Jack that he can't raise Aaron, that Kate shouldn't be raising him, that the only person who can is Claire. After Aaron finds out the truth from Jack's drunken outburst, the stage is set for Aaron to go along with the Oceanic 6 when they inevitably return to the Island, because the only person who can be his guardian is Claire, who is still there.
- Sawyer's Favor
Just going out on a limb here, but I bet Sawyer asks Kate to do something for his daughter.
- Christian Shephard
This guy and his myriad appearances is still one of the greatest mysteries of Lost, but here's the theory I'm leaning towards; when he's in the suit and tennis shoes, he's Good Christian. Sending Vincent to wake Jack; appearing to him on the Island; talking to him in the future; appearing inside Jacob's cabin - these are all manifestation of Christian's spirit, or the benevolent entity using him as a guise. But the version we saw tonight holding Aaron, I have a feeling this is Bad Christian. This is a wicked manifestation, or the evil entity (or Smokey?) leading Claire away as part of its sinister grand plan. After all, this Christian literally seperates Claire and Aaron which, as is becoming more apparent, is the wrong thing to do.
Other Sean | May 2, 2008 12:53:23 AM | #@ James
1) I just rewatched the trailer for next week. The footage of Sun, Claire and Aaron is from the Beginning of the End. Its from the scene where Rose hands Sun a bottle of water, before they start talking about how Bernard and Charlie are heroes.
2) The clip of Sayid and Juliette on the beach might also be old, too. People are packing bags and Juliette's appearance looks far dirtier than tonight's episode, like when she first came to the beach camp.
3) That guy talking to Locke is an apparition of Horace. He was there when Ben's mom died giving birth to him, and later got Ben's dad a job in the Dharma Initiative. Horace died in the Purge, which I think is why the blood was coming out of his nose.
This also means we have an official year of the Purge now - 1992.
Other Sean | May 2, 2008 1:04:52 AM | #You mean Horace Goodspeed the mathematician? Notable because once everyone was killed in the purge, Ben L. stopped and closed the dead Horace's eyes.
Henry 8 | May 2, 2008 2:07:51 AM | #I give this episode a 5 out of 10...I'm just so over the Jack/Kate/Sawyer thing...I wish Michael would have killed those 3.
Hi guys! I finally got consent from the internal review board to do my Thesis project on Lost. I've been in a holding pattern for months while they decided it was okay.
Can you guys help me out with my project? I've attached a short survey that it would be really helpful to have 50 or so people complete. Also i am looking for people who are involved in solving the technical puzzles that lost presents for a specific portion of my thesis...if you or anyone you know has participated in The Lost Experience, the interactive puzzles, or getting into the extremely technical side of things, I would love to hear from you. Please send your response to damitio@hawaii.edu
Thank you.
Chris Damitio
This survey will take between 5 and 20 minutes to complete depending on the depth of your answers and scope of your activities. Approximately 50 people will participate in this survey. There is little or no risk involved in this research project. You may refuse to answer any question and may abandon the survey at any point. By completing and returning this survey you are expressing your consent for Chris Damitio to use the information you provide for scholarly publication or presentation.
How do you watch Lost? (Check all that apply)
Live broadcast Recorded Online DVD Other
How often do you watch Lost? (Check all that apply)
I never miss an episode I watch episodes more than once I sometimes miss an episode but try to keep up with the series I wait to watch a group of episodes in a row I rarely watch an episode other
What is the main reason you watch the show?
I like the characters It is a distraction from real life Philosophical issues
Production values Plot I like the actors It’s funny It’s surprising
I like to discuss it on the web It is like a puzzle game It teaches me useful things about the world It’s innovative It makes me cry other
How else are you involved in Lost?
DVD extras websites podcasts books fan fiction games other
Within a few days of watching do you:
Discuss episodes face to face on the phone text or IM
Read discussions online post online visit show related websites
Read articles in magazines or newspapers visit abc.com watch the episodes or parts of the episodes again
In your discussions about the show do you:
Evaluate the episode quality speculate about mysteries compare episodes to previous episodes analyze images or sound from the episode
Do you think the entire story arc of Lost is:
Planned out in detail by the producers of the program
Written as they go along
Written as they go along using information from fans
Planned out but adapted using information from fans
other
Do you read spoilers? If yes, why? If no, why?
How do you stay involved with Lost when the show is not on or when repeats are showing?
Do you have a theory about Lost? What is it?
Do you agree to the following statement?
I am at least 18 years old, have read, and understand the information on this page, and am willing to participate in this study.
Gender:
Age:
Country of residence:
This is an online survey designed by Chris Damitio, an anthropology student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa to explore how fans of the television program Lost use real world friendships, online forums, and other websites to keep themselves involved in the show during season breaks and events such as the 2007-2008 writers. The sole purpose of this survey is to inform academic research on television fandom and online communities and the results will only be used for scholarly publication or presentation. Any quotations or information obtained via this survey will be reported anonymously, with no attribution to specific individuals- any identifying information will be held solely by Chris Damitio and his advisor.
For any questions please contact
Chris Damitio
damitio@hawaii.edu
(808) 387-0106
150 Hamakua #377
Kailua, HI 96734
If you have any questions about this project, call or write the researcher listed above. If you have any questions about your rights as a research subject, you may call the UH Committee on Human Studies at 956-5007, or write to 2540 Maile Way, 253, Honolulu, HI 96822 (email: uhirb@hawaii.edu)."
chrisdamitio | May 2, 2008 2:15:25 AM | #Well, I'm not reading through all the comments... so don't know if anyone mentioned this...
But Ryan, I think you're wrong about this Flash Forward taking place before Jack and Kate are at the airport at the end of season 3. In that flash forward Jack is working at the same hospital he was working at before the crash. In this flash forward he's working at a completely different place, it looks like a private practice. And saying that Jack and Kate have a falling out and the engagement is off is crazy talk. They show a scene where they're having a fight and he walks away. It's not like this is the end of the series, we don't know if the engagement is off or not.
Obviously it LOOKS like they're not going to stay together, but if this show has taught us anything, it's that looks mean nothing on this show. I looked at it more as a way of Jack being able to go back to Hurley and telling him that his life isn't "a little too perfect" as Hurley put it. I see this as being the moment when the three of them start to realize what they have to do, and that they have to work together to get the rest of the people off the island... or to save the island.
Just my two cents, but the fact that Jack is working in a private clinic... to me it's pretty clear that this Flash forward is after bearded Jack and Kate at the airport.
Jason | May 2, 2008 4:03:01 AM | #I didn't think I cared, but I really prefer Jack with Juliet. The fact that she was able to say those things, knowing Jack was awake, made that scene that much better.
As much as this show has been setting up this Linus vs. Widmore broad picture, the protagonist in this is still Jack, and this episode was necessary to build some depth into some hanging issues. I don't know if Jack was indicating that he knew he was related to Aaron, but rather that Kate wasn't.
Somehow, you get the feeling that the endgame for Jack, in the last scene, might not necessarily be bad, but it isn't going to be a dream. My own guess is that a Sheperd was supposed to be chosen, namely, Jack. But with Jack defying the island, it decided to switch to plan B. The problem is, why not take Aaron?
One gets the feeling that the backstory of Sawyer might have to be looked at a bit more. We know he survives, we know he's gonna protect Claire. What is exactly drawing him to that?
Tony | May 2, 2008 4:15:36 AM | #To Jason ... Last night's flash forward does not take place after bearded Jack and Kate converse at the airport where he tells her that they have to go back to the island...
At least not based on the fact that Jack is working in a private clinic.
He still works at St. Sebastian Hospital (you can see this clearly from the building's signage in the lobby).
Hospital Doctors (especially the specialities like neurosurgery) often have external doctor's office's where they do initial consults with patients and they are usually quite fancy). They spend a lot of time at the hospital, though, to do rounds and perform surgeries.
Last nights flash forward is a way to piece together what happens after Kate and Jack leave the island to their complete falling out, eventually leading to the Kate and Jack airport exchange. This was also confirmed by the showrunners at EW that they were going to piece in the story telling of how Jack got to the events at the airport and last nights ep was it.
RLL | May 2, 2008 4:38:13 AM | #WONDERFUL episode.
I can't wait to see how jack SAVES Kate. I don't think he's referring to the trial, because he says it in the context of getting off the Island (a biting "I saved you, not Sawyer:). I also want to know WHAT Sawyer told Kate to do that she felt she needed to keep it from Jack. Could be tying up loose ends with past... who knows.
As far as Aaron being raised by another, I'm not sure how literally we can take that season 1 episode, but if so, then he's sure in trouble. But it seems to me that Kate is IN LOVE with this kid. Jack on the other hand is phychologically breaking down, due in part to Aaron.
If he believe as this stage that aaron is his nephew, that his half sister is lost on an Island/dead, that his father is dead, then I think that the only person he's related to represents a mistake by his father, and a guilt complex for not saving his mother. IT'S TOO HARD TO HANDLE for Jack. That's his breaking down point, and the point where his father steps in to turn the key in his slow breakdown. Just a shame to see it break apart him and Kate. They were stellar this epi.
alison | May 2, 2008 4:43:13 AM | #The FLASH FORWARD took place BEFORE the flashforward from last season's finale.
AS you can see, this is the ep where Jack FIRST starts taking pills. Drinking. It's setting up his dowfall. AND, there's even reference to him growing a stubble (Kate bought him a razor!). If you'll remember, Jack has a MAJOR beard when he met kate at LAX.
The producers have stated that teh flashforwards in these eps are working their way upwards to meet us so that we get WHY Jack wanted to jump off the bridge.
Zap2it Twitter Talk
