The Long Swim Goodnight

A synopsis of Lost episode "The Last Recruit"

Lost episode "The Last Recruit" aired 4/20/10 on ABC.  A main theme in both narratives was that of main characters being drawn together.  The flash sideways narrative, unlike prior installments, followed multiple characters, depicting their lives intersecting.  In the island narrative, Fake Locke's camp merged with Jack's camp.

Flash Sideways

Desmond crossed paths with Claire, introducing her to his lawyer friend Ilana, who it turns out had been looking for her for the reading of Christian Shephard's will.

Jack crossed paths with Clarie & Ilana when he showed up for the reading of the will, too, and learned that he had a sister.  Surprise!  Jack the crossed paths with John after being called in to operate on him.  (Desmond had run over John in "Everybody Loves Hurley".)

Ben and John shared an ambulance ride.  On exiting the ambulance, John passed by Jin & Sun.  Sun seemed quite afraid of John, for as yet unknown reasons... my guess is that her near death experience (she was shot in "The Package") has caused her, too, to experience flashbacks of the island.

Kate, James and Miles crossed paths in the police station.  Then Miles and James crossed paths with Sayid.  They were after Sayid as they had evidence that he'd killed Martin Keamy and his henchmen in a restaurant.

The Island

Fake Locke and Jack have a walk-and-talk, followed by Claire and Jack having a walk-and-talk, and Jack meeting Claire as his sister for the first time.

Zoe confronts Fake Locke at his camp, demanding that Desmond be returned to Widmore else they will begin a remote bomb assault.  She then orders a launch to demonstrate their ability to carry through on that threat.  After she leaves, Fake Locke orders Sayid to kill Desmond.

Fake Locke sends Sawyer on a mission to fetch a boat and bring it to a rendezvous point.  However, Sawyer is still on his own team and instead arranges for himself and his friends to use the boat to go to the Hydra station island, leaving Fake Locke and his followers behind. Claire tags along as she has abandonment issues.  Jack jumps overboard when he tells Sawyer that he doesn't think they should leave the island.

Sawyer arrives on the Hydra station island with Sun, Kate, Claire, Hugo and Lapidus.  Jin & Sun reunite.  Widmore orders Sawyer and his group held at gunpoint while beginning an bomb assault against Fake Locke right after Jack returns to that group.

Questions Answered:

• The Smoke Monster was Christian Shephard every time someone saw him on the island.  (Now for a fun exercise, think about every appearance by Christian Shephard on the island, with this new information in mind.  Kind of like watching The Sixth Sense the second time.)
  
• The Smoke Monster can only appear as dead people.
• Jack is the last recruit.  I predict he will take Jacob's place.  Though I suspect the episode's title also/mainly refers to Jack rejoining Fake Locke's group.
  

Questions Remaining:

• Did Sayid kill Desmond? (I think he didn't. And that that will be very important.)
• We still don't know what happened to Christian Shephard's body. (Zombie?  Nah.)
  
• Why did Widmore order his people to hold Sawyer and the others at gunpoint?
• Were there any survivors of Widmore's attack against Fake Locke (other than Jack and John)?  (I think there weren't.  They haven't had lines for weeks.)
• Is Claire still crazy?
• What are Ben, Miles and Richard up to?
  

Next week, ABC teases us by repeating "Ab Aeterno", the episode that revealed Richard's back story.  Other than wasting a week, the only reason I can think of is that Richard plays a big part in the remaining episodes.   After that, "The Candidate".

Note: This post's title is a reference to the movie The Long Kiss Goodnight, and to Jack's swim back to the island.

Fried Chicken Dynamite

A synopsis of Lost episode "Everybody Loves Hugo"

Lost episode "Everybody Loves Hugo" aired April 13, 2010. The flash-sideways portion of the episode continued directly from the theme of last week's flash-sideways narrative... that under the right circumstances, people who had been on the island during the normal timeline can experience memory flashes regarding the island.  And Desmond seems to be on a mission to help people experience those flashes.

In this episode, Hugo meets Libby when she escapes from the field trip she was one with people from the funny farm.  Libby began experiencing memory flashes of the island when she saw a TV commercial featuring Hugo (who is a wealthy philanthropist).  Desmond, now on a mission, encourages Hugo to talk to Libby some more, he does, and then also experiences the same kind of flashes (which Desmond observes from a discreet distance).

Then Desmond tries to kill John Locke by running him over at high speed.

Ah, but why, Grasshopper?

My guess is that Desmond somehow knows that the real John Locke is dead, and decided that this one needed to die, too, in order to bring the two timelines together.

Meanwhile, back on the island...

Michael warns Hugo about the need to prevent Richard and the others from blowing up the crashed plane, implying that really bad things would happen if they were to succeed.  So Hugo blows up the Black Rock. Michael also apologizes for murdering Libby.

Fake Locke is surprised to learn that "the package" is Desmond, especially when Desmond isn't too sure why.  But I think Fake Locke does.  Fake Locke then goes on a walk-and-talk with Desmond, and pushes him down an empty well.  Just like happened to Joseph.  Hmmm...

Sawyer was impatient.

Sayid is getting suspicious.  And is still acting oddly.

Little Jacob shows up to taunt Fake Locke.

Jack realizes that he doesn't really need to be in control of things anymore.  Then is surprised at seeing John.

And every one Fake Locke needs in order to leave the island are now together in one place.  Bwuhahahaha!

Next week... "The Last Recruit".

Note: This post's title is a reference to the movie Napoleon Dynamite, Hugo's financial success with a fried chicken restaurant chain in the flash-sideways, and to the use of dynamite as a plot device.

The Traveling Scotsman

A Synopsis of Lost episode "Happily Ever After"

Lost episode "Happily Ever After" aired April 6, 2010.  My prediction was half-fulfilled... Desmond did call at least one person "brother" but it was a Hobbit, not Jin.

"Happily Ever After", I must admit, was not what I was expecting.  I'd assumed the episode would follow the narrative format of most of this season's prior episodes... jumping back and forth between what's going on on the island and in the flash-sideways.

I'd also assumed that the episode's title was meant to imply that Desmond and Penny were happily together in the flash-sideways world.

Instead, the episode more closely followed the format of "Flashes Before Your Eyes"... nearly the entire episode took place in the flash-sideways narrative.

Another shared aspect between the two episodes occurred when Desmond meets Eloise.  In both episodes, she acts like someone who a) knows what's really going on with Desmond, and b) aside from that knows much more than she's willing to tell.

I'd read elsewhere that the show's producers had promised that there was a lot more to these flash-sideways than merely depicting what people's lives would've been like had the island sunk 30 years ago. And that the flash-sideways would get tied back to the main island narrative.  "Happily Ever After" is the first episode, I think, to have revealed clues as to how the flash-sideways and the island will tie back together.  And why there even is a flash-sideways.

Well, enough analysis... time for the synopsis.

• Desmond wakes up and tries to kill Charles.
• Jin asks what's going on.
• Desmond is then dragged literally kicking and screaming into a wooden shack in which someone had just been accidentally electrocuted.
• Jin asks what's going on. Yes, again.
• Charles flips the switch to power the giant donuts Desmond is sitting in between, at least until he breaks his chair and begins kicking and screaming, because then he's no longer sitting.  But he's still between the donuts. Mmm... Donuts... Then there's a flash of light, like when Ben moved the island.
• Charlie drives Desmond into the water and shows him a note written on the palm of his hand, "Not Penny's Boat".
• I decide I'm getting tired of hearing "You All Everybody".
• Desmond later has a vision of Penny.
• Daniel tells him he's in love with a red-haired woman he's never met.
• Penny shakes Desmond's hand causing him to faint.
• And Sayid tells Charles' team to run away and tells Desmond to come with him.

Next week on Lost, "Everybody Loves Hugo".  My prediction... this episode, possibly, revolves around Hugo.  Maybe.

Jin, the Watch, the Hitman, and the Confrontation

A Synopsis of Lost episode "The Package"

Lost episode "The Package" aired March 30, 2010.  As expected, this episode revealed in its flash-sideways segments why Sayid found Jin in a restaurant walk-in refrigerator at the end of the episode "Sundown".  I did not notice whether the refrigerator contained any pepperoni, which I also had expected to be in there. At least some, anyway. (I really like pepperoni. Don't you?)

We also learned why there was a lot of cash hidden in Jin's luggage.  What's interesting to ponder... was that amount of cash also hidden in Jin's luggage in the normal timeline?  In both timelines, he is transporting a fancy watch to deliver in person. Hmm...

Meanwhile, back on the island...

Fake Locke goes on a nature hike, some of Widmore's people knock out everyone in his camp with fancy blowdarts and take Jin to the Hydra island where he's questioned about a Dharma map he made 30 years ago, and Sun looses her ability to speak English when a tree refuses to move out of her way while she's jogging/fleeing from Fake Locke.

The episode ends with Fake Locke and Sayid going on a field trip to the Hydra island.  Fake Locke whined to Widmore about him bringing war while Widmore smirked at him from the other side of the sonic fence he set up, while Sayid stayed behind and discovered that Desmond is "the package".

My guess is that Desmond being "the package" has something to do with his time jumping ability.  And may be the real reason as to why Widmore wanted to keep Desmond and Penny apart... he knew what was in store for Desmond on the island and that it would break Penny's heart if they got close.

On the next episode, "Happily Ever After", Desmond learns he's back on the island.  My prediction: he'll call someone "brother" at least once.  Probably Jin.

Audi Super Bowl Commercial - Green Police (video)

From Super Bowl 44.