UConn James

Actually, as someone wrote upthread, Juliet is in the know from her Other days, but she hasn't specifically spoken about it. The other Lostaways/Freighties who were in the 1954 time-flash should be clued in. Locke definitely knows --- he saw Richard in what was established as '54 and met him in 2004 (Richard gave him the folder on his father and subtly suggested he wanted regime change). The childhood visits to Locke or his memory of them don't matter now concerning this topic, the cat's out of the bag for him. Faraday, Miles and Charlotte all saw Richard in the tent in '54. I don't believe any of them met him in 2004. But Miles has seen not-a-day-older Richard in '74 when he came to the Barracks to discuss the breaking of the truce. We don't know if Faraday knows or has been informed. Sawyer was in '54 but I'm not sure he saw Richard, however he saw their manner of dress so he could probably guess the decade, and again, he saw Richard in '74, (and I believe he knows about the compass) and considering how Sawyer does put things together pretty fast, vouchsafe that he knows Richard doesn't age. There's nothing that says Halliwax is still kicking it in 2004 or 2007, but there's little to say that he isn't. If you believe Miles' mother, it seems he dies not terribly long after this '77 jaunt, maybe in the early-to-mid-80s(?). I wouldn't call Miles' mother a reliable source, tho. We know he at least survives "the incident" (which is the title of the season finale coming up) and the initiation of the DI's security procedures, of course, b/c he references it in the orientation films. They are in the beginning stages of construction of the Swan and the Orchid and he was seen in a film experiencing the duplicate rabbit situation in an operational Orchid. Like I wrote, I think Halliwax may have a vague feeling about grown-up Miles, considering his knowledge of the island. The DI is doing stuff at the Orchid/Donkey Wheel for a good reason. And even if they only know it has broadly to do with the subject of Time, Halliwax should have some suspicion --- if not in '77, then surely as the Orchid experiments start --- that security-dude Miles is an older version of his baby son. And that may be why Halliwax dismisses them off the island, even tho he loves them... b/c it has to happen. There are conflicting reports on who staged the 815 deep-sea crash. Ben says it was Widmore (So, b/c Ben said so, right there, there's a 95 percent chance that there's no way in hell(!) it was Widmore). Widmore, no doubt thinks (don't remember if it's been said) that it was Ben trying to throw off anyone's trail from the island. But, really, what would be the benefit to Widmore staging the 815 crash? I see none other than to quell interest, and Ben benefits far more from this than Widmore. Who needs to be duped? Any search and rescue attempt by the Coast Guard/Navy would be given up fairly shortly, people back in the real world would put it out of mind that it's lost at sea and will never be found.... The only people I see that Widmore would really have is to dupe is the Others, who don't need duping. I am almost certain it was Ben. I only saw once. Faraday was among scientists arriving from Ann Arbor? So, he somehow quietly left the island, went to the U. of Michigan and insinuated himself there for the past 3 years?

Mack.

"The government" that you speak of being pissed is one state rep. If NYS wanted anything to change in WNY re: how they continuously usher out any company that wants to do such dastardly things as bring well-paying jobs and a little economic revival to the area, it could be done. Instead, the NYS govt is anti-business and would rather keep people dependent on govt jobs and govt services. Wouldn't want anybody with too much income --- they might want to spend it on their own needs, get uppity, and question why they need to give so much back to the state. Unemployment all but assures a certain electoral outcome. Anybody not of like mind left (and continue to leave) WNY for places such as those where the company is looking to build in the near future, the Carolinas, Texas, etc. The stupidity, arrogance and incompetence would almost be amusing if it weren't so sad. WNY is like the once-strong man, now a hobo and literally starving to death, refusing ham and bread b/c he's waiting for an invitation to the Waldorf-Astoria. The political agenda doesn't want improvement in WNY, nor are they keen on more than marginal change in NYS as a whole.

As I said, in 'bringing the funny,' Miles is a very weak substitute for Charlie. Hurley was on a comedic island --- it was like watching Bob Newhart w/o a set-up situation/person. And at this point, we don't want a chuckle nearly as much as we want, to quote S1 Hurley, "some friggin' answers!" Last night was largely a filler ep whose main reveal was guessed a long time ago by all and sundry. You know, I thought we were behind these at this point. Disappointing. But, don't despair too much. We're working toward the end of the season that was to explain "why the O6 needed to come back." Looking at the Neilsens, tho, these last several featuring the O6 in the '70s and getting heavy in time-travel stuff (and the show being head-to-head with Idoltry) have been downright dismal, even when including the number of those who DVR. It's decreased from the previously reliable at-least-13M viewers to 8.5M for "Dead is Dead." Ouch. You can only hope that it lights a fire under some butts. There are 4 eps left in the season and I don't doubt things will start to pick up pace. Especially since the final scene last night was with a newly-minted Faraday, now looking determined and with a purpose rather than a timid stuck-in-the-head scientist type. Have some faith. Nobody but nobody does season finales like LOST.

Not much in the way of reveals tonight. Miles is Halliwax's son, which should have surprised no one who's been paying any kind of attention. Yet another bad dad / father issues story.... Miles was separated from his father when very young (according to his mother, dying of cancer(?) ~15 years after leaving the island's protection). Miles can talk to dead people... we know this... except he can only hear them, he can only do this with a physical body, and the body can only 'tell' him what happened up until the point they died. Football-dad serves as the proxy 'You need to say things while you're alive' and Miles is fighting against this himself for his own father. They tried to inject Hurley for some comedic value. I think this largely fell flat. Only part mildly amusing was Hurley rewriting "SW:TESB" and planning on sending it to George Lucas so he can edit out the crap scenes. And hey, I actually liked the Ewoks! 1) Why might Halliwax not begin to suspect or even ask himself... what are the odds that another Asian dude on Lostaway island (which has time-traveling capacities that he knows of) is named Miles? Didn't ring any bells for him? But then again, maybe it did and he's just leaving the situation be. 2) We saw Ilana's-group guy tried to get Miles to play for their team before the freighter left. If they're not with Widmore, and Ben shot one of them, it's closing the odds down to they are DI (see above post). Interesting also about the body Naomi brought Miles to; he had photos and records of dug-up bodies... yet we still don't know who had the 815 wreck staged. Tho the tone of it suggests it was Ben. 3) The re-appearance of Daniel Faraday. Was it that he was getting off the sub after being somewhere for some time? 4) The building of the hatch... The dead body inadvertently discovered the electromagnetic field, which pulled a filling through his brain. Yipes. 5) Things are starting to unravel for Sawyer. So much for his "plan" crappola. Looked to be the start of a change in leadership tonight, as Sawyer offered a weak thank you to Jack for covering Kate's story... As Mr. Man With a Plan is being shown for being the same kind of reactionary idiot that he called Jack, don't look for Jack to keep erasing chalkboards. Something else is sticking in my craw re: Jack, tho. In the hotel room with Ben after getting Locke's body (how long ago does that seem now?), Ben told Jack that if there was anything he wanted in this life, to bring it b/c he was never coming back. And let's be clear here --- Ben didn't say that Jack "probably" or "might not be" coming back, he said "never." Ben knows things. He knows Jack is going to be staying on the island. As I theorized upthread, I think Jack = Jacob. And the more I fit things together in my mind, the more this makes sense to me. That's about all I've got. No ep next week; it's a refresher course on S5 to-date, which I most surely will be watching. I'm disappointed that ABC is not showing the repeats anymore. My grandmother passed away last night, so I will be leaving for WNY sometime tomorrow. (I'd rather avoid making this a condolence thread. This is not intended as a LAMP. Tho sad, this something that has not been unexpected. Besides, she was a tough old Dutchie and rarely went in for that kind of thing anyway.)

Not saying that this possible new group of DI have been to the island before, or that they've necessarily been in the DI for long, or that Ben would know them from Adam or vice versa. As with Widmore's freighter group, the theory would go that they recently found the island's location and are going there. As when Radzinsky said, "I'm calling Ann Arbor"... there is much more to the DI than those killed in the Purge on the island. Not surprising that she wouldn't blink at "Ben" b/c the DI doesn't know exactly what happened, but whatever the case, that it wasn't good. For 15 years, they've presumably not had any contact from their island-DI group, so you'd think they would figure that something happened re: the Hostiles/Others. They didn't put combo-lock armories in the hatches for nothing. And Ilana, et al. didn't have a big-ass gun locker on the Ajira plane for nothing. They also managed to get it on the plane --- Ajira = Indian airline... Dharma is a Hindu concept....

Well, yes, obviously. Not quite sure what you're saying. Ilana and this crew are in 2007, tho, and taking back the island from the Others 15 years after the Purge. Presumably, the Ben-less Others are still hiding out somewhere. Is it possible they're still in the Temple? (And is that what's "in the shadow of the statue?) Dunno where Bernard & Rose are. Since all the Lostaways we saw went through the timeflash, you could conclude that R&B timeflashed as well and are hiding it out in '77, to become "Adam&Eve" in the caves, as many hold to (Lindelof and Cuse have been asked about this and said only, "Be careful not to rule anyone out." The assumption that they timeflashed to '74-'77 could very well be incorrect, tho. In the same manner as only the O6 timeflashed on the plane, suppose R&B could have been left behind in 2004. Also, Sawyer's security group did scour the (DI-controlled part, at least) island for 3 years and didn't find anyone. Yeah, I think a lot of people wouldn't be OK with Vincent dying. Jack Bender (the show's principle director) is a confessed dog person. I believe it was his call to put in Vincent swimming after the raft/Walt in S1, to give the dog-people audience that moment. I'm not ashamed to say I always well up in that scene. It was a great touch.

Preview copy: LOST 5.13 - "Some Like It Hoth" [sic] - (Miles-centric) - Ben is taken from the infirmary which raises suspicions about a possible security breach. Also in the episode, a reluctant Miles is forced to work with Hurley when he's asked to deliver an important package to a top Dharma official. The U.K. preview is a little more liberal, and a couple of notes of my own... Yellow-fonted: "After young Ben is reported missing from the infirmary, suspicion mounts among the Dharma Initiative that there are traitors in their midst and Sawyer's lies about the castaways look set to come undone." Naomi makes a return appearance (since this is a Miles ep, most likely, it will be their 'conversation' after she was knifed by Locke). Pierre Chang, too, is listed in the credits (possible there will be a reveal that will surprise exactly no one that Miles is Dr. Halliwax's son from the season-opening scene). Jeremy Davies (Faraday) is also back after a several-ep absence, in steps leading up to why he was at the Orchid construction site. Link I think the group with Ilana et al. are Dharma coming to reclaim the island, and it doesn't look like there's much to hold them back c. 2007.

Watch that "nationally televised" part.... It is conceivably so, but not practically.

It's something that you're concerned about this... most people these days are quick to burn bridges at any difference (real or perceived). As such, I'd probably leave a small card in the door with what stuck suggested, '.... I respect that you have an opinion that differs from my own. I regret the elevated tone of the conversation and my abrupt departure. I look forward to our dinners together and hope that last night does not impact their continuation' etc. Maybe attach it to a bottle of vino or something as a token. And then, in the future, steer clear of the subject. Understand if you don't want to post specifics... what was the argument about, broadly?

RIP, Mahhhk.

Whatever the reason, it doesn't seem to be something that he's concerned with. Much as Ben has been shown to struggle for, grasp onto, and now seems bereft (as punishment) of control, Richard is focused on what the Others are on the island to do. It's easy to question, 'If Richard is so task-oriented...' but don't mistake his goals. Being a leader and being a person who is driven to get results are often not the same thing. In my experience with office-life, these traits are rarely, if ever, combined in one person/entity. Indeed, many people view them as mutually exclusive. ----- Just something I've been thinking about Ben.... His ability to snatch guns away is uncanny. Took the revolver from Locke and shot him with it. Took one from (Who was it? Karl?) and shot (at) Naomi. Took the shotgun from Caesar and shot him with it. Any others? Now, this all goes into Ben's natural malevolence / being a sneaky-bastard.... but is there anything more into how he can do this? And generally how he can manage to do so many things? Like Eloise Hawking says, and Faraday's experimentations proved, the island is always moving in time.... e.g. 30 minutes behind the payload rocket, doctor's body washed up before it happened on the ship.... Is there some way Ben knows how to move through / utilize these (micro) time-changes?

That one's only been around since St. Francis.

I've heard this before with the addendum, "but if you do... !@#$ up BIG!" As to the thread topic, the best I've received and, in turn, given was, "Put her in your rearview mirror and make her get smaller."

+1 A bag of bagels has more confidence and ingenuity than DJ. He is a "player's coach" because he is a pushover.

This is one of the more intriguing questions that's still on the books, in my reckoning. One theory upthread made mention of his initials... Ra. Another might be that he is a reincarnate like Christian Shepard or Locke. But, well, we don't really know whether they "age" either.... And for as long as he's purportedly been there, Jacob --- in the brief flash --- didn't appear terribly old.

I concur. I forget when exactly he told Sun this. But that would indicate that Ben knows that Des is coming to the island, no? A drink of what?

No, I don't do blogging dedicated to LOST (started a blog recently, but to start discussing this show on there at this point isn't feasible, and besides, I'm pretty much blogging to/for myself, as I doubt anyone reads it). My thoughts on LOST pretty much stay in this forum. Some of the more intensive sites dedicated to the show are way too in-depth for me, with the fact that I do require sleep. I'm not so sure I believe Ben's "Dead is dead" line. He's seen things. What about his mother? What about the Others/Alpert asking for Paul's body in return for preserving the truce? That was not for nothing; they do something with it. I don't know what the judgment will do to Ben. He's got a strict order from an entity that he respects; following Locke now is Ben's punishment. The frail way Ben said, "It let me live" suggests that he expected and/or almost wanted to die as well as the final coup that he's not The Guy anymore. Yeah, the O6 have pretty much been sitting around waiting for something to happen. Other than Kate bringing Ben to the Others. Maybe that was the extent of why they were brought back to '77, maybe not. Faraday's foray into the Orchid suggests that they will be leaving '77. Why they had to come back, and where (or when) they go and what they have to do are the big over-arching questions that these last two seasons are covering.

So, I think it would be safe to say that per EH's "the island isn't done with you yet" means they will be back. I don't think it was meant as 'Ben's going to follow you out of here'. Something much bigger in the works for Des. His abilities are going to be key. Five episodes left in this season. A retrospective is set for 22 April. The finale is a two-hour deal on 13 May (counts as two episodes) and is titled "The Incident." Looking to me like Faraday's stealing into the Orchid's construction zone is "The Incident" and what happens following the season-opening scene is basically going to be the last part of the finale. I dunno if I would call it disappointing, but the repetition of this theme is (vis-a-vis how S4 began with the flash-forward scene of Jack&Kate at the airport with the shouted "We have to go back!" and a ways into the finale, it picks up where this scene left off and Kate reverses her car...). Just figured they'd do something totally different. But maybe it will be, maybe by the time we get there, I won't care about the repetition. Man, I was watching a S3 ep in syndication a while back and it's amazing how far we've come since that time. And even so, people have the stones to complain it goes too slowly and the level of interconnections. As in one of the frequent literary references in this series, LOST is a lot like a Charles Dickens novel, each episode a chapter, each character intertwining more as the story goes on, and how his novels were originally serialized in newspapers over a significant time period. The story goes that for one of his apparently most popular stories, people crowded at a trans-Atlantic pier and shouted up to ask those fresh from London what happened at the end, b/c the final serialization hadn't reached America yet.

Critical thinking and keeping your word? That is so three generations ago. Nice guys finish last. Brian Moorman is a chump! [/sarcasm]

Come to find that Ben did not kill Penny, tho he tried. I suppose there is some shred of morality in Ben after all; but again we see a connection with him and Sawyer's ways --- e.g. how Sawyer backed out of the con when the kid entered the room. Awesome gets re: the overthrow of Charles in favor of Ben. Penny was born off-island so her mother doesn't seem to be Eloise Hawking... also, they probably would have said it if she were the mother of Widmore's children (it was plural, yes?). Was Des hit? Ilana and her group get guns and say they're in charge now. Presumably, they came from the large crate on the beach? Then, what was that she asked Lapidus? "What lies at the foot of the statue?" Kind of Dharma-esque, no? Yet to see if they are Dharma or more Widmore people. My hunch is Widmore --- when Ben called him it lights a fire, he sees EH and gets the flight info, and gets Sayid (and have they explained exactly how Hurley got out of the pokey and onto the plane?). Really thought the Ceasar character would have a bigger part (he may yet still) as that actor does have a decent resume. But on to the meat of the ep. --- Ben's judgment. Our first delve into the Temple, but we get the bowels of the outer wall rather than the Temple-proper. Just awesome. We'll all be waiting for the screenshots of the support columns' hieroglyphics. Remember that the outside walls made mention of "lift[ing it] up" having to do with Time. When it got to the holes in the floor, I was thinking Indiana Jones and that Ben would have to choose one... turns out to be a grate for the monster to pass through... so, we still do not know where specifically it originates from. And I just don't see how Ben pulling the plug on the drain calls it. Again, we'll be waiting on theories for that. Remember, too, that it was the DI that built "New Otherton" at the spot of the door, so that was not under the Others' control until the Purge. Starting a new graph here to separate things, but still on the judgment. It's like Ben wanted to be found 'guilty' b/c that means he was wrong to have saved Alex, and that Widmore's overthrow was less than legitimate. Now we get back to the shock that Ben had at Alex's execution and why he was so shaken by it --- not only did he lose his 'daughter' but he got some first proof that he was wrong, his reign is now finally over and he must follow Locke. Maybe some of the lying and conniving will stop (doubt it). The king is dead, long live the king.... in a sense, and more senses than one. All the while, Locke seemed to know generally what was going to happen. It was just in the tone of his responses to Ben. Nice line from Locke saying, 'How's it feel to be the running idiot, now?' So, Locke is finally in charge, circa 2007. Any other thoughts? I really need to see this again and my computer is a dinosar sh--box so I can't do the ABC player.

Oh, how ungentleman-like! You really think it would be different now that Obama is the president. That the terrorists would start playing by the rules. Hmm! Let's go study this whole 'Trusting Terrorists Somali Pirates Rambunctious Horn of Africa Floating Scavengers to Follow the Rules' concept some more; I'd say it deserves a $600M federal grant.

Preview ad copy: LOST 5.12 "Dead Is Dead" - (Ben-centric). To atone for sins of the past, Ben must attempt to summon the smoke monster in order to be judged. Hazed, Ben episodes are the business! "The Man Behind the Curtain" and "The Shape of Things to Come" among them. And if Ben is being judged for his actions... I think we finally get to see what happened at the marina. A pretty good link with questions to be thinking about. Ohh! That totally makes sense now that I read it. I would think this (as well as Locke's re-incarnation) has something to do with the Orchid "Dr. Marvin Candle" video with the duplicating bunnies. No replay scheduled for tonight or next week.

Pardon me, but what's the deal with MSU's coach's wife, Lupe Izzo? Why do they have to show her more times during MSU games than they do her husband? Tense moment? Cut to Lupe! In the UConn game, they showed her ~ 10 times. I remember they did this in 2000 as well. (And, to put aside a valid excuse, she's not anywhere close to hot). Seriously, WTF does she have to do with anything?

I can. Said it in the Syracuse thread during the 6OT game... doinking on free throws will be their undoing. Was a problem all year, and even into the tourney leaving points at the line. Our boys statistically gave the least fouls and got the most --- they depended on this ratio too much to make up for their misses and the margin finally caught up with 'em. Add in Thabeet having a sh-- game today --- literally passing the ball right to MSU three times in the paint, by my count, and off the mark lots. Add in Price who's a legend in his own mind. Came up very small today. Others may say it'll hurt to lose him next year, but I bid him a fond farewell. He should've been EXPELLED when he stole the laptops at the library. I believe it was ~ eight students' studies that he f---ed over right near finals time. If one had been mine, well, I won't post on a public forum what I would've done to him. Said he's sorry (that he got caught), well that's all well and good, but I'm an Old Testament kinda guy myself. Any ordinary student would have been expelled. But... he can put a spherical ball in a round hoop. Add in a lot of other guys who couldn't buy a basket.... Add in Calhoun's strategy of bringing it to the basket, this strategy not working very well early, middle and late, and him sticking with it, not going for 3s even when they were down double-digits with a few minutes left... there you go. That BS charge on Adrien vs. their center with ~ 10 min left didn't help. Dude was still moving in as Adrien was going for the basket... 4-point swing and a foul. Both announcers said that was a horrible call. (Hometown call?) As it was happening, I thought right about there was the tipping point where we were going to lose, was just to be determined by how much.