LOST: Season 5 Episode 6 - 316

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, blog post over. NAMASTE, see you next week!













Whew.












Okay, I'm kidding obviously. But I'm still trying to digest everything we just learned in that episode. Answers galore, and a brilliant beginning to the episode mirroring the pilot episode. Well a brilliant beginning, middle and end to the episode. Just great all around! I was almost upset that I had to feverishly jot down notes the whole time instead of just sitting back and enjoying the episode. But that's what Thursdays after work are for!

Without further adieu, I present to you my best attempt at recapping what Ms. Hawking was talking about and then getting to the rest of my normal disjointed thoughts! Here we go!

Pilot Episode Redeux

If you didn't watch the "Previously on LOST" prior to starting the episode, you may have thought the sort-of delayed Analog to Digital transition screwed up your cable feed and sent your TV back in time to 2004! Because we opened up on Jack's eye with him lying in the jungle in a suit! Wait a minute, something is different. This is NOT the pilot episode! He's back on the Island! How awesome is that?! Just when you think they're going to abandon character-centric stories forever, it's like we start the show all over again with Jack on the Island. The details to be filled in over this season and possibly next probably in re-energized flashbacks. Geniuses these writers. That's all I can say! After this opening sequence, the entire episode essentially ends up being a Jack-centric flashback to who ends up back on the Island and how they got there. So anyway, Back to Jack! He's in the jungle. He seems disoriented for a second. But then you see a hint of a smile (he did it!). And then in the distance we hear Hurley scream. Jack, like in the pilot, begins to run to go start fixing things (oh how he misses running in the jungle!). Confusion ensues....

• When Jack wakes up, we see a piece of paper in Jack's hand with the words "I wish" on it. We wonder if this is going to be something that won't be explained until next year sometime. No fear, we just have to wait until the end of the episode!
• Jack arrives at the waterfall where Kate and Sawyer found the briefcase with the guns way back in season 1. He sees Hurley unable to keep afloat in the water, hanging onto a Guitar case for dear life. (hmmmm...Hurley plays guitar? Maybe he packed a video game system with a couple guitar hero guitars in there hoping he could plug in at a DHARMA station? Or maybe he brought it upon a certain ghost Charlie's request? I just thought of that. There was after all a guitar on Flight 815! More on this in a bit.)
• Oh and Kate is there too! Unconscious. Jack is tired of performing CPR to everyone. Kissing Kate back to life just isn't the same as kissing Charlie and Desmond I guess. So he just kinda shakes her and tells her to wake up. And BAM.....Kate's awake! Jack is one miracle doctor! He can even make paralyzed future wives walk again and dance at weddings!
• The 3 of them wonder how they got there......as do we kids....as do we.... Stay tuned!
  

The Lamp Post
(46 Hours Earlier)

Professor Hawking's Class in Session



You'll have to forgive me if I get too wordy in this section below. But there was a massive brain dump in 15 minutes worth of time. I felt everything was essential information! But I will try my best to put my spin on it! We last left Jack, Sun, Ben and Desmond with Ms. Hawking at the church with a zillion candles. Ms. Hawking informed everyone "We better get started." Well, she immediately takes them down into that crazy science filled basement of hers. Or was it hers after all? "THIS is how they found the Island!!!!!"

• We are informed that the DHARMA Initiative called this station the Lamp Post. Woa...an off-Island DHARMA Station! That confirms why the DHARMA-like computer was in this station as well. We can assume that they called it the Lamp Post as a literary reference to C.S. Lewis's novel "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" the first published book in the Chronicles of Narnia. The Lamp Post served as a gateway between the real world, and the magical land of Narnia. We know the writers love getting C.S. Lewis references in there. Much like Charlotte Staples Lewis's name and her introduction (which we learned last week was a re-introduction) to the Island. Very much like when our 4 protagonists return to Narnia in " Prince Caspian" (Book 2). Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked!
• Jack asks Ben if he knew about the station. He says no. Jack asks Eloise (nope, I don't like it yet. I'll keep calling her Hawking!) if Ben is lying. She says Probably! Ahh, "Ben Lying" jokes are a delight aren't they? You can't help but think there is more to his lying though. Lots of discussion last week was with people being infected by the Smoke Monster (like Rousseau's crew). Surely it can't be just them that were infected. John Locke came in contact with Smokey, and was crazy ever since. We know Ben knew how to SUMMON Smokey, so he may have come in contact before. And man, does he know how to lie! Could be all coincidental. But I just don't know!
• Taped to a Chalkboard full of formulas, we get a glimpse of a U.S. Army Photo from 1954 (the assumption would be this picture was taken when the military was doing their H-Bomb testing) The date on the Photo? September 23, 1954. 49 years 364 days before Flight 815 crashed on the Island. Should we be looking into that? Eh who knows???
  
• We learn from Hawking that the room was constructed years ago over a unique pocket of electromagnetic energy which is connected to similar pockets all over the world. (this sounds similar to that crazy FAITH HEALER that Rose went to see in Australia who talks about there being different energies all over the world) The people that created the Lamp Post, however, were only interested in ONE pocket. Dum dum dummmmmm Yes my friends, THE ISLAND!
• First they gathered proof that it existed (I'm guessing the 1954 Photo helped a bit!) They knew it was out there somewhere but they just couldn't find it.
• Then a "clever fellow" decided to build the Pendulum. I'm going to guess it wasn't Focault himself! The theory was that they needed to stop looking for the Island where it was SUPPOSED to be but where it was GOING to be. The new tidbit we learned tonight? The Island is ALWAYS moving! huh? Then what did Ben do when he pushed the crazy Donkey wheel? Did this have no relevance to making the Island disappear? Or did the Island always used to move, but then SOMEONE "froze" it in one place in time and space? AKA DHARMA? (possibly even Daniel Faraday?). And once Ben thawed chipped away at the ice...the Island started moving again? I know I know. I making no sense. But that room was not as COLD when Locke was in there as it was when Ben was in there! There has to be a reason for the temperature!
  
• More Pictures from the Lamp Post (constantly updating coordinates across the globe, and the map of the globe that the Pendulum swings over.
• So Hawking also asks "Why do you think you were never rescued?" I'm confused. Penny followed coordinates based on Desmond's phone call. And she found them right outside where the Island was. So it couldn't have been moving too quickly then! Widmore and crew found the Island (was that with Hawking's help? or because Penny's crew found the Island when the Hatch blew?) I guess we don't have enough information to go on quite yet. Well, at least I hope we don't because I'm still confused! And I think I'm already contradicting my FROZEN DONKEY WHEEL theory with this bullet point right here!
• Anyway, this man and his team created a series of equations (see chalkboard) which tell us with a high degree of probability where the Island will be at a certain point in time. Windows, while open, provide a route back. And Jack and crew's window closes in 36 hours. So there's a 10 hour differential between them being on the Island and the window closing? I'm not even going to bother theorizing on that.
• What I want to theorize on is WHO is this man that created the DHARMA station? Is it Pierre Chang (Dr. Marvin Candle) himself? Or could it be the crazy Psychic in Australia, Malkin? Or maybe the Monk that Hawking is pictured with at Desmond's Monastery? Or someone else? For all we know, it could've been Daniel Faraday! I doubt it's Malkin, but one of the things Hawking said tonight reminded me a lot of what Malkin said to Claire before she got on flight 815. More on that in a second. We need to let Desmond flip out for a little bit.
• Dez is shocked that they are all planning to go back to the Island willingly. He explains to Hawking that he came to deliver a message. That Daniel Faraday needed HER help, not the rest of the lot. (sounds like a phrase a Scot or Brit would say!) Hawking insists that she is helping. And then it came. Desmond explained to them all that he knows Hawking and that he wasted 4 years of his life because she told him he was destined to go to the Island. That it was his bloody purpose. Ahhhhh Desmond remembers previously running into Hawking. When he traveled back in his own consciousness and relived some key moments in his life after he blew the Hatch. "Flashes Before Your Eyes -Season 3"
• Desmond tells Jack that they're being used as part of a game and to not listen to anything she says. Hawking tells Desmond that the Island isn't done with him yet. Desmond says he is done with the Island! Ahhh take that ELOISE! So the big question is, what WILL Desmond's purpose be? We sure got hints of something in this episode, we just don't know what yet! Does Ben kill Penny? Does Desmond beat the crap out of Ben? We're not quite there yet. But the bigger question is...will Desmond have motivation to return to the Island? All signs point to -----MOST LIKELY!
• Break is over! Back to Hawking's lesson. She gives Jack a Binder which has coordinates of where she believes the Island will be in a little more than a day from now. There is a commercial airline flying from L.A. to Guam that will fly right through the window, Flight 316. It MUST be that flight. And right there is where she sounded like Malkin. He told claire it MUST be this flight. Flight 815! Coincidence? Naaa I think this guy was always in on something with getting these people to the Island. Whether Christian paid off Malkin to get her there or Malkin serves a higher purpose, I don't know. Well, here I go rambling again!
• By the way, who had bets that 316 would be the Bible verse referenced on Eko's stick? John 3:16? Well, I'm sure it's no coincidence that they used the same number again! besides the fact that 16 IS one of the numbers!
• UPDATE: Nevermind it was 3:05!
• Hawking's final tip for Jack, Sun and Ben? They need to recreate as many of the circumstances of how the Oceanic 6 got there in the first place. And they need as many people as they can get. If they can't get everyone the results would be unpredictable. How unpredictable? And how does Ben fit into this equation? Does he just get a free ride back to the Island? This is why I started contemplating that Hurley brought the guitar on the plane because of Charlie's guitar being on 815. We don't quite know how Hurley ended up at the airport and on that flight, but could he have been visited by Ghost Charlie?
• There is probably tons to theorize here with the recreation of the circumstances for the flight, but we will continue to discuss throughout the rest of the blog.
• We learn that getting everyone on that flight is basically the mission, but Hawking has another private mission for Jack.

Hawking and Jack

• Hawking takes Jack into her office and gives him a letter addressed to him. She tells him it was Locke's suicide note. ahhhhh So Locke kills himself? It was the most common guess. I'm not entirely sold on it quite yet. We had some theorists on the blog last week that Ben kills Locke after we learned Ben went to see him. Then again, previews for next week's episode shows Locke hanging the noose from the ceiling.
• Anyway, we'll get to that next week. Jack takes the news pretty hard that it was a suicide.
• We learn that Locke is going to help them get back to the Island by acting as a proxy (substitute) for Christian Shephard. ahhh! She instructs Jack to get something that belonged to Christian and give it to Locke. This is when Jack starts to lose his faith again. How could he not? It all sounds absurd!
• Hawking says to stop thinking of how ridiculous it sounds and start wondering whether or not you believe it's going to work. Jack has come a long way since those early days on the Island. The Man of Science now needs to take a Leap of faith!

Ben and Jack

• Sun left and at this point we're not sure if she's going to join them for this crazy journey.
• If I weren't mistaken, I would think Ben was a little jealous that Jack got some alone time with ol' Eloise. He wanted to know what was said, but Jack didn't spill. And when Jack asked who she was, Ben starts to explain the story of doubting Thomas the Apostle.
• I heard this story enough times in religion class growing up, but for everyone who didn't go to Catholic school, Ben does a pretty good job re-telling the story. He initially talks of how when Jesus had to return to Judea knowing he would be killed, Thomas bravely said "Let us also go, that we might die with him."
• But Thomas was most remembered for doubting the resurrection of Jesus. He needed to see it with his own eyes and touch his wounds from the cross to be convinced. And eventually he WAS convinced. Ben explains to Jack that "we're all convinced eventually" This reminds me of "Exodus" (the season 1 finale of LOST) where Locke and Jack have their first Man of Science/Man of Faith debate. Jack tells Locke "I don't believe in Destiny." Locke tells him "Yes you do, you just don't know you do yet." Wow...talk about tying things together!
• Now was Ben talking about the resurrection of Locke? That remains to be seen.
• Of course, then the darker Ben comes back with his comment to Jack while walking out of the church. He said he had a promise to keep to an old friend. We all know he is referring to Charles Widmore. And he's going after Desmond who will lead him to Penny! Oh no! "See you at the airport Jack"

The Preparation

After the big brain dumping of information, we now follow Jack putting the plan in motion. Well, really the plan being put in motion FOR Jack as he tries to have a few drinks!



Grandpa Ray Shephard

• We visit Jack at some flashy bar getting some final drinks in before he's Island-bound. He stares at his drink in deep thought. And he gets a mysterious phone call. "He did what?"
• I'll spare the suspense, Jack goes to a nursing home and finds out his grandfather (Christian's father) Ray has attempted to leave the premises 4 times.
• We enter a Magic show where the magician unveils a rabbit (in no doubt, a writer's shout-out to the DHARMA rabbits, but I don't think we need to look into it more than that.
• We meet Ray, and Jack rescues him from the magic show.
• Okay, so let's talk about this before we learn more about Ray. Lots of rumors going around that maybe the Island is directly related to the Shephard lineage. And maybe since Christian isn't Jacob that perhaps Christian's father might be Jacob. Well, we now see that RAY is off of the Island. But he says certain things during this meeting with Jack that makes you think that he's been there before. He doesn't give off an awe-inspiring aura about him that you would think the almighty Jacob would do. So do we think that this feeble man could be the one and only Jacob? Well I don't know, but I'm just throwing it out there because we've all been discussing the possibility of it. Also, listen to his voice and then listen to the voice from season 3's "The Man Behind the Curtain" when Jacob says "HELP MEEEEEEE" to Locke. Do you notice the resemblance? I could be grasping at straws, but I couldn't help but think they sounded familiar.
• Okay, so Ray (which is what we will call him until told otherwise!), explained to Jack that he essentially wants to leave the nursing facility. Jack asked where the bus was headed, and Ray said that it didn't matter because any place is better than here.
• Ray even packed a bag and told Jack one of these times he'll actually get away and that "they won't ever find me either." Hmmmm, sounds like Island speak doesn't it?
• Ray asks if Jack is seeing Kate still (called her "the girl with the freckles" a shout-out to Sawyer's grandest nickname of all). Jack says he's not seeing her anymore.
• Jack explains to Ray that he might be going away for awhile as he's unpacking the suitcase. Where is away? Somewhere better than here. Touche'. Ray just seems to be "in the know" of what Jack is up to. I mean come on, this scene had to be in there for more of a reason than for Jack to get a pair of shoes!!
• Speaking of, Jack sees that in the bag was packed a pair of shoes, that were NOT, in fact, Ray's. They belonged to Christian Shephard! Any keen eye would have noted here that whenever we've seen Christian on the island, he's sporting a nifty pair of sneakers (or tennis shoes as some people call them) with his funeral suit. (well, that is until he somehow got changed on the island in the latter half of season 4 and this season. Maybe there is a Macy's for Ghosts on the Island?) So Jack has indeed found what he needs to GIVE to Locke.
• Ray explains that Jack's mother sent a box of Christian's stuff when he died. And that the shoes must've gotten mixed in when he packed for a quick getaway. Hmmmm seems awfully convenient! Come on, it seems like Ray was trying to get to the Island, doesn't it?
• Jack asks to take the shoes and Ray with the most serious look ever says "be my guest." I just have a sneaky suspicion we have not seen the last of Ray Shephard!

Jack's Apartment (another chance for a drink? naaaa)

• Jack attempts to pour himself a drink in his kitchen and then hears a noise in his apartment.
• Kate's in his bed, crying.
• Kate asks if Jack is going back to the Island and tells him that she is going with him. She seemed very determined to do so. Aaron is clearly missing.
• When Jack asks where Aaron is, all Kate says is "If you won't me to go with you, you will NEVER ASK THAT QUESTION again." And she's clearly upset about it. Hmmmm.....what on earth happened to Aaron? You have to think back to when Dan Norton said "you're going to lose the child." Well, here we are. She lost the child. Was it DAN that took the child? Ben has been kinda busy! Was Aaron killed? That would seem kind of anti-climatic considering Aaron is supposed to serve a higher purpose in the world. Well kids, here's our first piece of NEW Off-Island mystery that will allow room for more flashbacks in the future. Theorize away!
• But for now, Kate decides to have one more night of passion with Jacky boy. Because after that, she's going to be torn again between him and Sawyer! Ahhh the good ol' Days. But I wonder if we'll find out that Sawyer is shacked up with a doctor himself by the time they get back to the Island. Hmmmm. The Love QUADRANGLE continues!
• The next morning Kate and Jack are together for a quick coffee. Kate sees Christian's shoes. Jack explains to Kate the story of why Christian was wearing sneakers in the coffin. When he went to pick up the body he didn't have any nice shoes. His mother wanted to have the funeral as soon as he landed in L.A. and he thought who the hell would see his feet? So the tennis shoes turned out to be Jack's old shoes. Jack requested that they were put on Christian's body because he wasn't worth a nice pair of shoes to him. Just as Kate asks why he doesn't get rid of the shoes, the phone rings. Kate flees the scene and uses the line of the night "I'll see you at the airport"
• Ben is on the phone. Not just any Ben. A clearly flustered and BLOODY Ben! Ben, almost crying, tells Jack he was "sidetracked" and needs Jack to pick up Locke's body. Coffin is at Simon's Butcher Shop on the corner of Grant and Hayes (2 presidents? Eh I'm not gonna look into it!). Ben doesn't explain his predicament and I think we've left room for yet another flashback. Did he fulfill his mission to kill Penny? I hope not! But one would think this would sure motivate Desmond to go back to the Island and find Ben. One thing is for sure, he is definitely bloody! I guess we'll find out eventually! Theorize away folks!

The Butcher Shop

• Jack meets Jill the Butcher and they certainly didn't fetch a pail of water! Jill tells Jack that she knows who he is. We already knew she knew from Ben. So nothing really extra provided here about who Jill is. As suspected, Locke his hanging out in the Meat Locker, "chilling out" (no pun intended). Jill asks what's in Jack's bag (the shoes) but doesn't persist. She goes to get the van for Jack and leaves Jack alone with the body.
• Jack opens the coffin and begins the process of changing the shoes. He starts to laugh while doing it. This was a good time. "Wherever you are John you must be laughing your ass off that I'm actually doing this! Because this is even crazier than you were!" He also gives the suicide note back to Locke telling him he can have it back. He's already heard everything John has to say. "You wanted me to go back? I'm going back." (I guess we'll see what Locke says to Jack next week!) "REST IN PEACE," Jack says and closes the coffin. Chilling stuff, and not because we're still in the meat locker!

Ajira Flight 316

In Airport

• We have a scene mirroring season 1 when Jack is explaining at the check-in counter of why he needs to stow a body on the plane. Reason for transporting Bentham to Guam? Jack says they were his wishes. He wanted to be buried there. Recipient of the deceased? Jack will escort the body. Relation to the deceased? He was a friend.
• Jack sees Kate arrive at the airport, looking much more somber than the last time we saw them. It seems like her attitude towards Jack has changed since the apartment. Why? Maybe reality is setting in about what happened to Aaron. Or maybe something else happened since the apartment.
• The check-in guy tells Jack they need to inspect the body and that it's standard procedure. Jack agrees.
• We get our first glimpse of a new character on the show. The actor's name is Saïd Taghmaoui and he will play a man named Caesar. If you'd like to know what the casting call sheet said about Caesar, go ahead and check this site out. We know there will be a woman named Ilana joining the cast too. Perhaps it's who has Sayid in custody (we're not there yet!) And of course, Michelle Dessler (oops...old 24 habits! Reiko Ayesworth) will be joining the cast at some point too!
  


• Caesar tells Jack that he is sorry for his loss. The dude just looks evil doesn't he? He will be onboard flight 316. Perhaps he arrives to the Island in future-land where people are shooting at Sawyer and crew in the boat? Maybe that's where the plane ends up while some people (i.e. at least Jack, Kate and Hurley) end up some time else? I know I'm getting ahead of myself....but I'm starting to think more about this and wanted to get it out there! We know there is an Ajira Airways bottle on the Island at some point in the future afterall!
• When Jack is entering security he runs in to Sun! She says she must be on that plane if there is any truth to Jin being alive. No sign of Ji Yeon, naturally! (not that there was time to get her) Everything is coming together!
• We get a shot of a cop of some sorts escorting Sayid through Security. Sun, Jack and Kate all see it. What on earth happened there??? Maybe they caught him for one of his assasinations? Maybe it happened in Guam and he needs to be tried there? Maybe it's the same reason Sayid cannot stand the sight of Ben again? Lots of maybe's. Sounds like another flashback waiting to happen!
• We see Hurley is through security and reading a new comic book! It's called "El Ultimo Hombre" I did some Google Work and this was a spanish translation for the film "The Omega Man" starring Charlton Heston as Robert Neville, the last man on earth after an apolcalyptic war using biological weapons. Fun!! I think the bigger thing to note is that Hurley has a spanish comic book, similar to what he was reading on flight 815. Someone seems to have tipped him off that he needs to be on that flight, that he needs to make everything as similar as possible to that original flight. It explains the guitar and the comic book. And I'm just guessing it was Charlie! Flashback opportunity!
  
• UPDATE: I totally messed this one up. The comic book was a Spanish version of Y: The Last Man. It is about the only man to survive a mysterious simultaneous death to every male mammal on earth (according to Wikipedia). Also, one of the comic's authors is Brian K. Vaughan, one of the principal writers on LOST. MAN, did I REALLY mess that up! Hope you all will forgive me!
• We learn that Hurley buys all the remaining seats on Flight 316 as he is scared the plane is going to crash. "they can take the next plane"
• Jack and Hurley have a quick discussion. Jack is surprised to see him. "All that matters is that I'm here, right?" Jack is happy he's here. Hurley doesn't look as thrilled.
• They board the plane. Jack is in Row 8 (another number! He was seat 23b on flight 815). Sayid sees Jack and realizes what might be going on. He didn't seem to be in the know before.
• He passes by Sun who looks up at him. He passes by Kate and is happy she made it. Her? again, not so happy. Hurley boards with the guitar.
• Ben is a last minute arrival in a sling. Hmmmm. Ben's face looks all scratched and cut up. It looks like he DID take some sort of beating for sure! Hopefully, Desmond gave Ben a little lesson!
• Sayid definitely looks surprised to see Ben too.
• This is hysterical when Hurley causes a scene saying Ben isn't supposed to be there. Jack calms him down saying this is how it has to be. Hurely says that no one told him that Ben was going to be there. Ben asks who told him to be there. Obviously, we don't get an answer, but we have our theories!
• The flight attendant gives Jack back the suicide note saying that security found it. He just can't get rid of it!
• Jack asks what will happen to the other people on the plane. Gotta love Ben's response...."Who cares?"
• I think I noted this earlier, but Sayid being in custody of a Cop or Air Marshall is helping to recreate the scenario of flight 815 as well.

The Flight

Flight 316 takes to the air, and we have some final moments before we return to Paradise Island!

• Jack visits Kate Jack seems to be starting to become a believer in fate. He tells Kate how crazy it is that they all ended up on that flight. That they're all together again. Kate takes on more of the Jack role in not believing in fate. She says we're all here, but that doesn't mean we're together. Not sure if she was implying that she and Jack are not together or if all of the Oceanic 6 (really 5) are there for different purposes. Could be a dual meaning line!
• Just as Kate is finishing her statement, the pilot comes on the loud speaker. And it's none other than FRANK Lapidus!!! At this Kate looks a little befuddled. If you recall, Frank was SUPPOSED to be flying Flight 815. Is this more of recreating the circumstances?
• Jack finds a way to get the flight attendant to talk to Frank and have him come out to talk to Jack. Looks like Jack isn't the only one who shaved their beard. Frank looked totally different and was explaining to Jack how he picked up the route to Guam awhile back. And while he's talking he looks into the cabin and sees ALL of the oceanic crew sitting on the flight. "We're not going to Guam....are we?" CLASSIC!!! I wonder if Frank ends up on the Island too and when?
• Fast forward to night time. Jack is becoming restless. Ben is reading a book. It's James Joyce's Ulysses. Read all about it at the link. I'm getting tired of doing Book Reports in the blog! (I already went to Ms. Hawking's class!) Feel free to share what you learn!
  
• The best line of the night was Jack asking Ben "How can you read?" and Ben responds "My mother taught me." Ahhhh as much as I want to despise Ben, he cracks me up!
• Anyway, he tells Jack reading is better than what Jack is doing and that's "waiting for something to happen."
• Jack begins to tell Ben about Locke's suicide note and how he keeps ending up with it. He said he feels like Locke NEEDS him to read it. Ben tells Jack essentially to stop feeling sorry for himself and guilty for Locke's death. It wasn't his fault and to read the damn letter!
• Ben gives Jack privacy and Jack opens the letter. It simply says
  
  "Jack,
  
  I wish you had believed me.
  
  - J.L."
  
  Yikes. Talk about holding a grudge! What did Locke mean? Was he told to write this letter by Hawking? Or was it simply that he knows he had to die to get them back and it's because Jack took everyone off of the Island? I'm sure we'll find out more about this next week in Locke's Bentham episode. The producers told us that this episode and next week's episode were written simultaneously and could've been aired either way, but there was information in 316 that would be helpful when watching "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham." I'm guessing it's Locke's "Suicide" and his suicide note.
• Then...the turbulence begins! Hurley tells Caesar to buckle up. Everyone prepares for a crash landing and then....a familiar flashing sound happens. The same light and the same noise that was made when Sawyer and crew were flashing through time. hmmmmm. More on this in the Questions section!
  
  

We're Baaaaaaaaack!

We return to the Island and Jack's eye once again, but this time we have the knowledge of how they arrived there. We see Jack with the piece of the suicide note in his hand again, now knowing it was a suicide note (why did the rest of it not come with him?). We watch him dive in the water and save Hurley again, avoid kissing Kate with CPR techniques. And then we hear Kate ask how they got there again.

• Jack says all he remembers is the flash and then he woke up in the jungle. Did the plane not crash? Did 815 only crash because of Desmond not pushing the button in time that one time? Did everyone survive 815 unscathed because they were destined to complete something on the Island? Ahh tons of questions, and I have more after we get through the recap.
• In the meantime, Jack, Kate and Hurley are wondering where everyone else is. Jack suggests they split up and look for everyone. But before they can get too far, a vehicle is coming their way! Don't know the song was playing but I'm guessing it was something from the 70's or early 80's. It's a brand spanking new DHARMA VAN!
• A man gets out with a rifle and points it at our Ajira 3 (get it? man I'm so creative!). But it's not just anyone. It's JIN! In a DHARMA Suit!

BOOM LOST!!!!

WOW!!! Okay, I think many of us knew that whoever returned was going to end up in the DHARMA Past. We knew that Faraday was going to be back there because we saw him there in the season premiere. We saw him working for DHARMA which suggested he was there longer than for a brief FLASH. We also knew that he told Charlotte not to come back to the Island. Entertainment Weekly also showed us a picture in their feature of Jack, Hurley and Sun arriving to OTHERSVILE (or the DHARMA Barracks) in a time that seemed like the DHARMA age. I've avoided spoiling that for everyone until now! I was intrigued by the photo, but a little annoyed that I saw it! So this is exciting stuff. We are going to experience the DHARMA days first hand. And apparently our survivors played a role in DHARMA all of this time. Should be interesting to how it all unfolds. But there is still room for plenty of questions!

Questions to ponder

• Okay, so are they ALL stuck in the age of DHARMA? Are Sun, Sayid and Ben there too? What about the Ajira people in the future that were shooting at Sawyer and crew? Could it be this Caesar guy and his band of survivors that were shooting at the other boat?
• Update: Duh forgot the most important. WHERE/WHEN is LOCKE and what happened to him???
• The tail section of the plane was FULL of new people. Do they crash on the Island? Perhaps they don't travel back in time like our former Island residents? And they go in THEIR Present time which is the same time that we saw Sawyer, Locke and crew on the boat heading to the Orchid? We saw an Ajira Airways bottle afterall.
• Does Jack and crew ending up in the past have something to do with the UNPREDICTABLE nature of returning? They recreated the flight pretty well didn't they?
• How about Flight 815? If all of the above is true. Were there people on Flight 815 that had been there before? Cindy sure seemed to be comfortable settling into her role as an OTHER. What about Christian Shephard's body? Was it returned to the past maybe kinda like Jack and crew were this time? Would that explain why his GHOST was in the Donkey Wheel Cave before the well and Orchid were built? Or again, can GHOSTS transcend time? Or can SMOKEY who has taken human form before transcend time?
• Did Frank Lapidus end up on the Island too? I hope so....that guy is awesome!
• How long have Jin and crew been in the past at this point in time? Will it have been 3 years for them too so that they've all evened out in age? If that much time has passed, they may have lost hope that LOCKE succeeded in his mission. It seems that the writers have found a way to get us back into flashback mode for everyone. There are plotholes still left out there when the Oceanic 6 were off of the Island. And there could be a lot that happened after Locke turned the wheel that we might not see right away. I could be wrong on that piece though!
• Okay, so with locating the Island in order to return to it. Is this just some convoluted way that DHARMA came up with to find the Island? What about Richard's ability to get to and from the Island? And Tom (a.k.a. Mr. Friendly?)? I guess Juliet getting to the Island via Submarine fits into this equation too. Surely, they're not going to expect us to assume that Hawking's explanation of the constantly moving island explains all of THAT too! Right?

Whew, I have tons of questions and I'm sure I'll think of more in the comments. I'm sorry if I got too crazy with theories for this episode and for my wordiness in some places. But this episode really got the wheels turning. So much information, and the episode was just a great piece of dramatic television also. Like I said in the beginning. I can't wait to go home and just watch it again and just enjoy it for the GREAT TV it was!

Next week's episode should be equally awesome! The story of Off-Island John Locke. From the previews it looks like he'll be able to walk still. Interesting stuff! Hope you all enjoyed my ramblings and I look forward to reading all of yours! Now, for real this time....NAMASTE and See you next week!

Thanks again to Sledgeweb (lost.cubit.net) who provides excellent pictures on their site that I shamelessly "borrow!"