LOST: Season 3 Episode 18 - D.O.C.

Good morning Losties! I gotta say, I really wasn't expecting a very exciting episode last night. But, to my surprise, they turned a "Who's the Real Daddy" episode into a really engaging story! Of course, that may be kudos to the acting skills of Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet) and the always interesting "force you to read" flashbacks of Sun and/or Jin. Add to that the continuing storyline of Desmond, Charlie, Hurley and Jin in the dangerous jungle with a helicopter crash victim, and you've got yourself ANOTHER bona fide WOW episode! (always trying to figure out how I'm going to fit that into this opening paragraph, aren't you?)

No sense delaying, let's get into the episode! The main thing that was promised to us with this episode would be the revelation of WHO is the father of Sun's Baby. We knew pre-island Jin was an infertile mess, Sun and Jin's relationship was on the rocks and she found herself with Baldy#2 trying to learn English and get some added benefits. Add to this the fact that we learned in the latest Juliet flashback that women who conceive before coming to the island will deliver their babies with no issues (Claire being the proof) and women who conceive ON island will surely die (dead pregnant Others being the proof), the producers built up a great story arc for possibly quite some time to come.


Sun Flashback
Our Flashback follows Sun relatively soon after their Wedding. We have seen flashbacks to how Sun and Jin met and also flashbacks of Sun and Jin possibly months after their wedding, watching their happy relationship crumble up to the crash of flight 815. But the time line of this flashback shows us exactly how Sun set events in motion that would lead to their relationship's demise. We learned some interesting tidbits about Sun's relationship with her father as well as things she kept from Jin. Premise is Sun is confronted by a Woman knowing of the origin of Jin's parents and how it would bring great shame to reveal this information and blackmailing Sun for some dough. Let's dive in!

• If you all recall from previous flashbacks, Jin has always lied about his past life saying that his parents died. He was ashamed of where he came from. Son of a fisherman, never knowing his mother. What we learn tonight is that, from even early on in their marriage, Sun was aware of Jin's father being alive. She met with him discussing Jin and his mother. The reveal here was that Jin's mother was a prostitute and his father wasn't even sure if he WAS actually the father. This seemed to be leading us down the path that Jae actually may be the father of Sun's child. Keep in mind, all of these events take place prior to us seeing Jin return to see his father and ask for his forgiveness, as well as tell him all about Sun (whom he already met). Time lines are fun aren't they?
• We finally learn what kind of business Sun's Father is involved in. That would be Paik Automotives. Of course, it may just be a front for other business dealings of his we've seen in the past.
• After learning of Jin's past and being sworn to secrecy, Sun is willing to get the 100,000 (dollars?) to pay off the mysterious woman. She runs to Daddy. She blackmails her father by telling him she's always known about his "business" and has pretended not to know. She says she'll keep pretending as long as he gives her the money. Sun definitely has a darker past than we thought, doesn't she? Of course, it gets even worse when her father agrees to give her the money as long as she knows that JIN will have to pay back the debt by working for HIM instead of on the Floor of Paik Automotives. Quite a web woven here! To avoid shaming her husband, Sun is responsible for turning her husband into a hitman and causing the turmoil of their relationship which led her to learn English, be with another man, and leave Jin for America. Wow, you don't get that deep on Soap Operas, that's for sure! But as long as Sun and Jin are "MADLY" in love, then everything Sun does is for the best, right?
• And yes, the biggest NON-mystery that most of us probably figured out in the beginning of the episode: The mysterious woman blackmailing Sun turned about to be Jin's mother, trying anything she can do for a quick payoff. But seeing Sun threaten to have her killed if Jin's Mommy continued her blackmailing ways? This showed again the darker side of Sun (reminding us of her shooting Colleen, one of the others). Very Carmella Soprano of Sun, who used her family ties to the Mob to get what she wanted as well.

Sun on Island

The premise of Sun's island adventure is mainly her interactions with Juliet to learn her "Date of Conception (D.O.C.)" and her possible fate.

• Thought this was a bit noteworthy. Even though Jack was just looking out for Sun's well-being by asking about her pregnancy (already knowing about the Island Pregnancy effects), Sun became suspicious of Jack's relationship with the others. This also came up again in a conversation between Desmond and Charlie, with Desmond asking if Charlie trusts Jack. Should we be suspicious of Jack too? Well, I think he knows something he's not telling us. Whether that's his Grand plan remains to be seen. I still view Jack as the hero of the show, and I don't think the producers would stray from that winning formula. But I'd also expect the suspicious of Jack to continue up to the finale where hopefully it will all payoff in the 2-hour Jack-centric Story!
• As Jack had informed Juliet in an earlier episode, people are soon going to want answers. First one to want them? Sun! She wants to know what happens to pregnant women on the island. After lots of engaging Juliet/Sun scenes we follow them on the journey back to the medical hatch where there is a secret room (one that Kate, Claire and Rousseau did not find).
• Juliet says this room is where they took expecting mothers to die. And if you recall, we saw this room in Juliet's "on-island flashback."
• So how do we resolve Jin's fertility issue and make a suspenseful episode? Well, add to the LOST Island mythology of course. Juliet informs us that a man's sperm count is multiplied 5 or 6 times on the island. That is some super baby making potentials! Pending she is telling the truth (for now, I'm going to assume she is). And if this is the case, then any woman doing the deed better watch out, because they may end up dead! Ahem, Kate? I'll spare everyone from the Rose and Bernard visual (oops!)
• Okay, we've waited long enough. Fantastic reveal scene with Juliet and Sun both turning their acting potentials up to MAX. Sun finds out that Jin is the father and the baby was conceived on the island. Even though this sentences Sun to certain death, she is elated by the news that Jin is the father. It would seem that Sun has 2 months before she could die. Each season has been about a month plus. So if the show ended in season 5, Sun might still be around. Nice how that works out doesn't it? It also means that Juliet may be sticking around for awhile. And I think everyone would be happy about that. She is fantastic! Love her or hate her, you gotta feel for the woman! (we'll get to her more in a second. I have to vent on something first)
• OOPS! Mathematical Blunder on below bullet. But I'll leave it here because I spent so much time writing it! lol
  
  I'm guessing this is just a mistake by the writers, but it's a pretty big one so we have to consider the possibility that it is NOT a mistake. You know how I love doing Island math when they start mentioning days. Juliet says that the plane crashed 90 days ago. She then says the baby was conceived ABOUT 8 weeks ago (8 weeks would be 56, right? she does say "about" so we're still okay). She then specifies that it was, in fact, 53 days ago. Now remember me harping about Day 48 and this is the day where Ana Lucia shoots Shannon. Remember that Jin is with Michael, Sawyer, Ana Lucia and Eko...rejoining the survivors from the other side of the island. DAY 48. Now, I'm not a math major, but I am pretty sure 90-53 is 47, right??? How on earth did Sun and Jin conceive the baby when they weren't getting the thumbs up from Hurley until the morning of Day 49? This has me thinking into things maybe a bit more than I should. Juliet being able to impregnate her patients without the Male present....the OTHERS being "in town" on Day 47 and 48, Juliet playing both sides to her advantage, Ben telling Juliet "we'll find more women." I mean, am I crazy? The producers told us we would learn who the father is. They promised us! So I have to think it's a mistake. But the facts fit too well for it to be just a coincidence. Perhaps just learning that JAE is NOT the father is enough for now? I guess for now, we have to assume Jin is the father. But if some crazy twists come down the road....remember where you read all of this first!
• Okay, back to Juliet, as she leaves Sun outside the medical hatch, we know she is returning to make some kind of communication with Ben. Turns out she leaves a recording for him. Using last names again she tells Ben that Sun is pregnant, healthy and conceived on the island (perhaps, just what he wanted?) and that she will be getting samples from the rest (Kate, in particular) soon. It would seem that they WANTED to pull Kate and Sawyer closer together and cause "the act" in the Polar Bear cage. With all of the super sperm going around, there should be dead mothers galore! The other key phrase here though was Juliet saying (off recording) "I hate you." It would seem that she does not WANT to be working against our survivors but is being forced to in order to get off the island, just as we expected. I would expect all of this to build into a fantastic and catastrophic season finale!

Camping Trip Gone Wrong

We continue the saga of the Helicopter survivor, Naomi (I don't think they told us her name yet, but that's it in case you wanted to know!). Turns out she was injured on her fall and they are desperate to save her for RESCUE. Desmond's motive, though, is to get information on Penny.

• Let's start off with some fantastic comedy "No One Knows we're here!" followed by Hurley accidentally shooting off the flare gun? Fantastic! Seriously, they better never kill off Hurley or Jin! They are the heart of this show!
• Okay kids, people have been speculating about this prior, but crazy Russian Eye-Patch guy, Mikhail is alive! How? This wasn't explained. He said something, though, to the effect of "I've already died once this week." Perhaps what we saw at the Sonic Fence was not as it seemed? We do know the Others are specialists in ACTING as well (remember the fake beard?). Or perhaps it's the Island's healing powers? Even Mikhail attested to that (which we'll get to in a bit). Anyway, our camping crew makes a deal to let Mikhail go as long as he helps with Naomi.
• Oh yeah, how about Kung-Fu Jin? That was a good time. When did he have time to learn THOSE crazy moves? Maybe Sawyer's old nickname of Bruce Lee wasn't too far off!?
• Okay, so what's up with Naomi speaking several languages? Hurley recognized her speaking Spanish (since he is fluent), Russian Mikhail understands her speaking Italian, and then Jin recognizez her speaking Korean. Don't forget she was carrying a book written in Portuguese! I don't even know where to start explaining this, so I'm not going to try! Just probably something to keep tabs on!
• You know my love for TATOO significance on LOST (if you don't recognize my sarcasm, go back and read my blog for the Jack-centric "Stranger in a Strange Land" episode from earlier this season! Anyway, I found the picture so I thought I would share. Naomi has a strange tatoo of squares with a line through it. Fascinating!
  
• After Mikhail fixes Naomi with some crazy antics (the piercing of the lung and the blood? woaaa...Remember when Jack did that to the Air Marshall? Jack did it with a bit more class!), Mikhail mentions that she will be better in 1-1.5 days, citing that different rules apply on the island. We've definitely seen people heal rather quickly on the island. But we've also seen people carrying injuries for awhile! When Sawyer dug the bullet out of his wound, he was still facing certain death until Jack got the meds to him. Jack was cut up during the plane crash, and he was carrying those cuts for a lot of season 1. Locke, although able to walk, has a scar above and below his right eye, that he received in the Plane crash. And don't forget Ben is not recovering quickly from his surgery. What gives? Does this have something to do with Good People vs Bad People and the LIST? Or even people embracing the island? How does Mikhail know that Naomi will heal quickly? I don't have answers, just like to bring up intriguing questions for future reference!
• While still injured Naomi said something in Italian (I think) and Mikhail tells Desmond she said "Thank you for helping." Seemed kind of fishy. What did she really say? I've read rumors that what she said translates to "I am not Alone." If anyone else wants to try and translate, here is the audio file. So if she did say "I am not alone," who is she referring to? Perhaps Penny? Someone else (maybe one of the Portuguese people in the North/South Pole?)? Or of course, I guess we can't rule out that she is, in fact, another OTHER. But I think we have to assume the producers don't want to hit us over the head too much more with the MIND GAMES being played by the others. Plus, they did say we'd revisit the Penny storyline and figure out what she's been up to. I am going to assume Naomi was sent by Penny to find Desmond (and only Desmond. More on that in a second!)
  
• Just wanted to point out the significance of this Satellite Phone. Once Hurley mentions it, by accident, Mikhail becomes intrigued and tries to steal it. Perhaps he wants to re-establish communication with the outside world? Maybe HE wants off the island himself? Or maybe THAT is what Naomi told Mikhail? (to steal the phone, I doubt that one, but thought I'd throw it out there!)
• And of course, our last bullet must be dedicated to Naomi's final words of the episode (well, and Hurley's last word of the episode). Naomi receives information from Hurley that they are survivors of Flight 815. Naomi recognizes the flight was the one from Sydney. But wait a second. They found the plane! There were no survivors! They were all dead! In the words of the great Hugo....."WHAT??????"
  
  Well duh, because it's Purgatory people! Yes, I roamed the message boards last night laughing at all of the people who started posting messages like "HA HA I TOLD YOU ALL! I knew it all along! It is purgatory!" It really cracks me up how many people still believe this. The producers know this and do it intentionally to mess with people! They have denied since early on in season 1, LOST island is NOT purgatory! But it is a show of redemption, so themes of the show are very similar!
  
  Anyway, my obvious first thoughts are of a "Cover-up" perhaps funded by Widmore, Mr. Paik's Business, the Hanso Foundation, etc... If someone is funding these island experiments, then for sure they don't want people continuing to discuss a MISSING Plane. They need to create a story with evidence supporting finding the plane crash and that there were no survivors. How on earth did they prove the passengers were in fact dead? Where did they find the plane? In the middle of the ocean? Perhaps Naomi will give us more information next week. But I think, if anything, this goes to show that Naomi is NOT there with the knowledge of Flight 815 and to rescue them (pending she is who she says she is and not an OTHER). She was carrying around a picture of Desmond and Penny and was obviously looking for Desmond. We know Penny is looking for HIM and that she knows about the island (due to the electro-magnetic activity discovered by the Portuguese at the end of season 2). It is very likely that she is in the dark about Flight 815 as well. But covering up Desmond arriving to the island? Wouldn't create as much of a media buzz if he went missing. It would seem we need to learn more of Charles Widmore's involvement with the island, if any and how Penny is aware of where to look for Desmond. I'm guessing that's where all of this is heading. But the fact remains, Desmond's presence on the island may be the eventual key to everyone's rescue, if that is, in fact, how the show ends.

Wow, crazy episode, the more I think of it! I love this show! Next week's is the episode that is supposedly the continuation for the Locke/Locke's Dad story, as promised by the producers. But from the preview, it looks like Locke will be recruiting Sawyer to kill Ben??? Something smells fishy here. And if you recall our theory that Locke's Dad may be the ACTUAL Sawyer....then recruiting James "Sawyer" Ford would seem like a great Mind game for Ben to play on Locke AND Mr. Ford. And, I also believe next week's episode has non-traditional flashbacks in store for us. No particular character will be focused on. So it will probably be lots of ISLAND goodness! Yes folks, MAY Sweeps has arrived!

Which means Only 5 more hours of Lost and 4 more blogs left for the season! Seems to fly pretty quickly, without all of the crazy reruns doesn't it? Anyway, that's it for today. See you next week as we kick things into high gear!