And Now the Time Has Come, So My Love, I Must Go
"Lost: Ji Yeon" (S4/E7) Recap / Daniel Carlson
I yelled at the TV on no fewer than three separate occasions while watching “Ji Yeon,” the seventh and latest episode of Season Four of “Lost.” After a dip into more conventional flashbacks that provided character color but lacked the bombshell revelations of the rest of the season, “Lost” just came roaring back with a fantastic episode that once again showed just how compelling, jaw-dropping, and downright amazing this show can be. “Ji Yeon” played like a grand-scale soap opera, complete with the requisite startling revelations and unexpected reveals, but it was also wonderful in the way it used the series’ flashforwards to heartbreaking effect. As if the first few episodes of the season weren’t enough, “Ji Yeon” adds to the pile of evidence that the show’s fourth season just might be as good as its first.
The episode opens with Frank strolling along the deck of the freighter when he’s confronted by Keamy, who flexes his muscles and asks Frank if he’s “ready” before warning him not to be late. Maybe they’re gonna execute someone. Frank keeps walking and eventually makes his way below deck, where he meets Regina. I recognized Regina as Zoe Bell, a stuntwoman/actress whose roles include Death Proof, so I figured that her life would probably take a turn for the worse before the episode ended. (I was right.) Frank points out that the book she’s reading — Jules Verne’s The Survivors of the Chancellor — is upside down. Frank heads into the sickbay where Desmond and Sayid are still being quartered against their will and gives them a few cans of lima beans for sustenance. Frank says the captain is still pissed that Sayid and Desmond busted into the communications room, and when Sayid responds that they’d assumed Frank was the friendly helper who left the door open and enabled their escape, Frank denies any involvement. Then again, we know it’s Ben’s man on the boat who left the door open, and the smart money is on Michael being that man. Frank says the sat phone is busted and that no one’s been in touch with the castaways on the island. Sayid repeats his desire to speak with the captain, but Frank just gives him a creepy look and says, “No you don’t.” Back on Hell Island, Sun and Jin are talking baby names next to the campfire. Sun says it’s bad luck to talk about it, but Jin says he likes the name Ji Yeon and is confident they’re having a daughter. Sun likes the name but doesn’t want to talk about it until they get home.
First flashforward: Sun is packing a travel bag and watching “Expose” (featuring the now-dead Nikki, who bit it last season in a really underrated episode) when she feels a pain in her abdomen and buckles a little. She calls for an ambulance and manages to say, “I’m pregnant, and I think something’s wrong,” before clutching her belly. Meanwhile, Jin is running through town before he pops into a gift shop to buy a large panda. He tells the clerk he’s in a hurry to get to the maternity ward, then answers his cell phone and says he’s on his way before ducking back out onto the street.
Out on the ship, Desmond wakes up to find Sayid tucking in half-heartedly to a can of lima beans before tossing it away in disgust. Someone slips a mash note through the vent in the door that reads, “Don’t trust the captain.” Sayid tells Desmond about Ben’s claim to have a spy on the boat, which is met with an understandably worried silence. On the island, Sun wakes up Jin and anxiously explains that Kate and Jack have returned. They go visit Kate, who tells them all about the poison gas plant and Charlotte being a pain in the ass. Sun asks if the people on the freighter will actually help, to which Kate replies, “In all the time they’ve been here, they’ve talked about a lot of things, and none involve rescuing us.” Way to keep up morale, freckles. Sun hikes over to Daniel, who’s playing with something electronic, and introduces herself before laying it all out on the table. “I’m two months pregnant,” she says. “So, are you here to rescue us?” Daniel just kinda shuffles his feet, so Sun asks him again, and Daniel says it’s not up his call before running out of info. Sun thanks him coldly and walks off. Over at the breakfast nook — seriously, the absence of a hope for rescue really motivated the castaways to get building — Jin tries out some more English with Jack, though he says he understands it better than he can speak it, which is an awesome set-up that is paid back later on. He also says that Sun and Sawyer have been helping with his English, admitting that Sun is a better teacher, though I’m dying to know what kinds of elementary school insults Sawyer has been teaching Jin. Sun comes over and gives Jack a medical update on her pregnancy before instructing Jin in Korean to pack food for two days and get ready to leave: They’re going to Locke’s camp. It’s not clear yet why Sun thinks they’ll be safer farther inland, what with the smoke monster and Locke being generally unstable, but whatever.
To prepare for the trip, Sun roots around in Juliet’s tent, looking for more of the prenatal vitamins she’d been prescribed. Juliet is rightly suspicious of Sun’s sneaking about, and asks what happened to the rest of the pills, since Sun should have 20 or so left. “You planning a trip?” Juliet asks. Sun reveals that she’s going to Locke’s camp, which makes Juliet more upset than anything else she’s ever heard. Juliet repeats her warning that pregnant women die on the island, but Sun doesn’t believe her, using Claire’s successful birth as evidence that Juliet is lying. But come on, Sun, don’t forget that Juliet is talking about women who get pregnant on the island, not ones who show up that way. You know this. You learned this when you and Juliet hiked through the jungle to find the medical equipment to determine the health of your baby and the date of conception, since if the kid was a result of the affair you had then it would survive but serve as a reminder of your infidelity, whereas if it’s Jin’s child, it will (somehow) reinforce your renewed bonds of marriage but also ensure the child’s certain doom. You cried when you learned all this. I have the DVDs if you want to watch. Anyway, Juliet’s apparently pretty forgetful, because she lets Sun get away.
Second flashfoward: Sun is wheeled into the hospital, breathing hard and beginning to panic. The nurse wheeling her in confirms to another that Sun is indeed a member of the Oceanic Six (the roster of which will definitely be discussed later). Once Sun is taken to her room and placed in a bed, the nurse begins to remove her jewelry, but Sun protests about having her wedding ring removed. The doctor comes in — a fill-in for Sun’s regular doctor, who’s unavailable at a conference, though whether this will ever mean anything is not clear — and checks on Sun. He says that the baby is in distress but that he will do everything he can to fix the problem. He asks Sun if she wants to contact anyone, and she mutters, “Just get Jin,” after which her medication and stress overwhelm her and she starts to pass out. Out in the city somewhere, Jin answers his cell phone and says once more that he’s on his way. While he’s talking, a guy cuts him off and hops in the cab Jin had hailed, where he’d tossed the stuffed panda before answering his phone. To top it off, Jin drops the phone in the confusion, which is then run over by a motorcycle. He rains some curses down on the cab before returning to the gift shop to buy another panda. The only one left is behind the counter, reserved for another customer, so the manager tries to sell Jin a dragon instead, since it’s the Year of the Dragon. (Hello, clue.) But Jin forks over enough cash to buy the panda, taking it in anger and leaving.
Back on the island, Kate is showing Jin and Sun a decent little map she’s drawn that will guide them to Locke’s camp at the Barracks; apparently there was notebook paper and a supply of Bic pens in the Swan station. Kate tells them she’ll have to tell Jack about their relocation or defection or whatever it would be called, though she says she’ll give them a good head start. They hug, and it looks like the episode is going to be mainly about Sun and Jin’s journey and realignment when Juliet comes striding up looking for trouble. Sun tells Juliet to take a flying leap, but Juliet just looks at Jin and asks, “Do you understand your wife’s medical condition right now?” She tells Sun to translate, and Sun refuses, but you can tell from the wary look in Jin’s eye (and composer Michael Giacchino’s cues) that he does indeed understand the language better than he can speak it. Juliet tells Jin that Sun will die unless she leaves the island in three weeks, but Sun just leads Jin away. Juliet follows them and warns Jin of the danger Sun is in, but he simply says, “Wherever Sun go, I go.” They’re almost free, almost away, but Juliet is nothing if not determined to have this thing go her way, and she drops the first of the episode’s multiple bombshells when she tells Jin that Sun had an affair. It’s a moment that’s awesome and terrifying for the sheer unpredictability it adds to the episode, and all the air seems to go out of the room. Juliet tells Jin that Sun thought her baby was another man’s, and Sun walks up and slaps Juliet right across the face. Hard. Sun and Jin share a horrible look of mutual devastation, and Jin walks away. And like that, the story takes an abrupt left turn.
Sun catches up to Jin on the beach. She tries to explain herself and starts crying, but Jin just gathers up his fishing gear and walks away. At this point, Bernard, who has just zero social skills, or at any rate isn’t paying enough attention to notice that Sun is in tears until it’s too late, comes up and asks with a grin, “Going fishing?” Bernard eventually figures things out and tries to apologize and excuse himself, but Jin just tells him to grab a pole and come along. Out on the outrigger, the two men sit quietly, Jin lost in an emotional hell, Principal DewittBernard wondering what to do. He strikes up a conversation about married life, and about how every decision now takes twice as because “you gotta talk them into it.” Bernard tells Jin about Rose’s cancer and how the island has apparently cured her, which is why he figured she’d want to stay with Locke and the other permanent islanders. When Jin asks why they sided with Jack, Bernard doesn’t miss a beat before responding, “Because it was the right thing to do. Locke is a murderer.” He then goes into a discussion of karma that’s somewhere between Oprah’s praise for The Secret and some freshman’s half-assed notes from a survey in world religion and philosophy, but the real meat of the scene is the implied nature of the society that’s taken root and divided the survivors in a little more than three months on the island. Staying with Jack, going with Locke; these aren’t just ways to kill time but statements about what kind of people they want to be.
Out on the ship, Desmond and Sayid are still imprisoned in the sickbay, listening to a repeated banging on the pipes. Sayid says the sound isn’t mechanical, but whether it’s somebody banging in Morse code or just hammering away out of boredom or insanity isn’t revealed. The doctor, Ray, walks in and tells Sayid and Desmond that the captain would like to see them. They head topside and find the chopper gone. Sayid asks where it is, and Ray just says that Frank is “running an errand,” though he doesn’t specify. Maybe Frank had to go drop the body he helped sacrifice earlier into the ocean. Sayid asks Ray what Frank is doing on the island, and while Ray keeps stonewalling, Desmond sees Regina walk by one level up, covered in heavy chains. She climbs the wall of the ship and jumps off, plunging to a certain death. (Told you.) Desmond shouts for help and everyone runs to the side of the ship to peer over, including a black guy with a hoodie obscuring part of his face. (Told you.) Desmond and Sayid shout for rope, but the captain appears and says, “It’s over. She’s gone.” He orders everyone back to their posts as he strolls down to meet Desmond and Sayid. “I’m Captain Gault. I suppose you two have a few questions.”
Sayid asks what the hell’s going on and why Gault didn’t help Regina, who’s currently drowning. Gault gets right back in his face and says he didn’t order anyone to help because he “didn’t want to lose any more people.” Gault tells the men that his crew has been experiencing “heightened cabin fever” brought on by the ship’s proximity to the island, adding that he can’t turn around because there’s a saboteur on board who’s screwed with the engines. Once the ship is repaired, Gault’s orders aren’t to rescue the castaways but to move to safer waters. Sayid says, “I don’t suppose you’ll tell us who gave you those orders.” But in another great little moment, Gault just shrugs and says, “Sure I will. Charles Widmore.” Desmond is blown away, but the episode director Stephen Semel is smart enough not to play the moment as a big reveal for everyone, just for Desmond. After all, “The Constant” and “The Other Woman” spelled out that Widmore was the one giving the orders, so to act as if Gault’s admission was big news would be out of sync with the viewer’s knowledge. Desmond tries to wrap his brain around the fact that his girlfriend’s dad owns the boat while Gault leads the men to his cabin. He shows them a flight data recorder — a black box — that he says comes from Oceanic Flight 815 and was recovered from the ocean floor by a salvage vessel and bought with Widmore’s considerable wealth. Gault also says that the wreckage was staged, which again is something we’ve known for a while but which is just now entering the reality of the castaways. Gault says the black box, the wreckage, and the bodies of all 324 passengers have been found, and asks Desmond and Sayid to imagine the kind of motives and resources that would enable such a cover-up, as well as where to find 324 dead bodies for personal use, before concluding (pretty damn abruptly), “And that, Mr. Jarrah, Mr. Hume, is just one of the many reasons we want Benjamin Linus.” Um, OK.
Back on the beach, Juliet and Sun have an uncomfortable talk. Juliet apologizes for what happened, and Sun says that it wasn’t Juliet’s place to stop them from leaving. Juliet tells Sun that she needs to get off the island, whether she believes it or not, and then proceeds to describe the sickness and eventual death that will take hold of Sun if she doesn’t make it home soon. Juliet reminds Sun that her death is the baby’s death, which makes Sun’s decisions Juliet’s responsibility, since Sun is Juliet’s patient. Why Juliet didn’t just make the argument on the grounds of human decency instead of the Hippocratic oath is beyond me, but it seems to work.
Third flashfoward: Sun is in labor and breathing hard. The doctor says that a C-section will be necessary, but Sun refuses. The doctor tells her that the medication makes a natural birth difficult, but Sun says she doesn’t want the baby to arrive until Jin shows up. She sees a man in a suit walk by in the hall and calls out to him, but it’s not Jin. Before the doctor can resume his argument, the nurse reports that the baby is crowning, so after a few seconds of pushing, Sun gives birth to a daughter. The doctor places the baby in Sun’s arms as she begins to cry.
Back to the freighter: Ray escorts Desmond and Sayid to the new quarters they’ve been given. Sayid says the captain was “surprisingly forthcoming,” and Ray says, “Yeah, he tells it like it is. Just don’t piss him off.” Awesome bedside manner, Ray. Ray opens the doors to a horrible, dingy little room that’s lit by a prison light that makes the roaches scatter. Plus, there are huge bloodstains on the wall from where someone either committed suicide or was executed. Sayid and Desmond don’t say anything, but if I had a choice between being locked in a sickbay with a couple of cots or sleeping in a crime scene still splattered with DNA, I’d go with the sickbay. Ray gets pissed when he sees the stains — not surprised, just pissed — and mutters, “That shouldn’t still be there. Damn it.” Desmond and Sayid are officially having a bad day. Ray turns to see the black guy with the hoodie down the hall and he calls out to him: “Johnson, is that you? Mop this up.” Johnson pushes his mop away from everyone and says, “Sorry, I gotta go up on deck,” only he says it in that weird tone of voice where you’re trying to speak lower than you do in real life. (cf. Ben’s meta misdirection for the camera at the end of “The Economist.”) Ray shouts at Johnson to get down there and mop up the huge bloodstains, and Johnson turns and walks toward Sayid and Desmond, entering the light with a slow-moving inevitability that underscores just how awesome the moment is, even if it was somewhat logically predictable: Johnson is actually Michael, and he does not look well. So now we know that Michael — who hasn’t been seen since “Live Together, Die Alone,” the Season Two finale — is indeed the man on the boat, and this brings up a whole load of interesting new questions: When Ben let Michael and Walt go, did he immediately dispatch someone to re-apprehend them, or did the island’s natural ability to screw with time and space make it impossible for Michael to escape? And what happened to Walt? Was he psychically manifesting an image of himself when he appeared to Locke, or was he actually appearing and disappearing again as, apparently, Harper did to Juliet? Why isn’t Michael yelling like a madman and shooting people? What kind of leverage does Ben have on Michael to force him to be his spy? Anyway: Sayid stumbles a bit when he sees Michael but doesn’t give up the game, introducing himself as if they’d never met, probably because Sayid has seen Glengarry Glen Ross and knows you never open your mouth until you know what the shot is.
Back on the island, Sun is in her tent when Jin walks in with the fish he caught. “I made dinner,” he says in slow but steady English, and they begin a reconciliation that’s one of the strongest of the show so far. Sun asks to explain what she did, but Jin says it doesn’t matter because she did what she did to the man he used to be, who “withheld his affections” and whose actions, or lack thereof, enabled the affair. Jin forgives her and says he will go to Locke’s camp if Sun still wants to go. Sun says she doesn’t want to go any more because Juliet was “very convincing” about what will happen is Sun stays on the island for much longer. Jin asks Sun for one more favor: The truth about the baby’s paternity. She tells him it is as they embrace and break down. “I thought I had lost you,” she says. “You will never lose me,” he tells her.
Final flashforward: Jin bursts into the hospital with the panda and is directed to the maternity ward, where he stops at one of the rooms to find a man in a suit standing outside. Jin says he represents Paik Automotive and has come to present a gift because he heard the ambassador has just become a grandfather. The guard tells Jin that the baby is a boy before retreating into the room to fetch the ambassador. In his absence, Jin grabs a blue ribbon from nearby flowers and ties it around the panda’s neck before the ambassador emerges. Jin hands the ambassador the panda and says that the stuffed animal is a “symbol of Mr. Paik’s eagerness to do business with the great country of China.” The ambassador replies a thanks, and Jin turns and leaves. A nurse asks why he’s leaving so soon, and Jin says, “It wasn’t my baby.” She tells him he might be a father some day, and Jin grins and says, “Don’t rush me. I’ve only been married two months.” Before the shoe can fully drop, the action cuts to Sun, back in her apartment, putting on the wedding ring that was removed by hospital staff. The doorbell rings, and Sun opens the door to see Hurley clad in a dark suit and smiling. They hug at the door as she lets him in, saying she can’t believe how far he came. Hurley asks if anyone else is coming, and when Sun says no, Hurley replies, “Good. So, where is she?” Sun takes him into the nursery to see the baby and hands her to Hurley. “Wow,” he says, “she looks just like Jin.” Sun’s face breaks a little at this as she agrees, and the pieces now lock into place even as I wish them apart. Not like this; this one hurts. “I guess we should go see him,” Hurley says. The action shifts to a cemetery, Hurley walking next to Sun, who’s carrying her daughter. They approach a tombstone, and Sun sinks to her knees. She looks into her daughter’s face and smiles, but begins to weep as soon as she looks up and addresses the headstone. “Jin,” she says, “you were right, it’s a girl.” She tells him that the delivery was hard, and that the doctor said she had called out for Jin. She holds up her daughter, Ji Yeon, saying, “I named her just like you wanted. I miss you so much. I miss you so much.”
The scene plays out with a just gravity even as the heady mix of the episode begins to replay: This is the first time the show has mixed a flashback and flashforward, structuring the off-island plots so that the reveal wouldn’t happen until the end. They even had a nice head-fake by referencing the fact that Sun is one of the Oceanic Six as she was admitted to the hospital, which would almost make it seem like she and Jin made it home together. Jin’s tombstone is dated September 22, 2004, the day of the crash, which leaves two options: (a) Jin dies on the island but is listed as being killed in the crash because the Oceanic Six make it home and spread the lie that they are the only survivors, or (b) Jin is still alive on the island but is listed as dead because of the Oceanic Six’s cover story. I’m hoping for the latter, but I’m worried it’s the former. Furthermore, since we know now that Sun is one of the Oceanic Six, does that mean every member of the group has been revealed? The confirmed adults are Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, and Sun, but the six would be rounded out if Aaron is being counted. Do you think he counts as a member of the Oceanic Six, or is there one more face left to be revealed? Regardless: The return of Michael, the deepening of Jin and Sun’s relationship even as it’s revealed that it could very well end in tragedy, and the growing disturbance on the freighter all made for a fantastic episode. Well played, “Lost.” Well played.
Daniel Carlson is the managing editor of Pajiba and a low-level employee at a Hollywood industry magazine. You can visit his blog, Slowly Going Bald.
Funny Games | | Pajiba Love 03/17/08
Comments
First??
Posted by: Leacock at March 17, 2008 1:00 PM
I've always felt a semi-hidden disdain for Juliet, and once again she's proven my feelings correct. Revealing Sun's affair was unnecessary, wrong and perhaps a relief of Juliet's own guilt (vicarious confession). I hope she receives her comeuppance swiftly.
Michael = anticlimactic.
Sayid and Desmond: Delightful, marvelous, delicious.
Posted by: Cindy at March 17, 2008 1:00 PM
I'm sticking in the Jin is alive camp.
Anyway, did you notice Sun's birthdate on Jin's tombstone? Apparently we are supposed to believe she is 24 years old. That woman looks at least 30, for sure.
I do not understand the timeline, though. Whenever Sun gets back to the real world, she'll for sure get checked out by a doctor, who will be able to tell her conception date. If Ji Yeon is actually Jin's like Juliet claims, how do they explain the date of conception if they are claiming Jin died in the plane crash? I could understand if they claimed that he was one of the two who survived the crash but did not survive long enough to get rescued, but this is just confusing.
Posted by: Stephanie at March 17, 2008 1:04 PM
Niiice. Baha, I don't even watch Lost. Ah well, I shall cherish the victory like I would any other: jealously and with much throwing of cats.
Posted by: Leacock at March 17, 2008 1:05 PM
If there aren't any flashbacks in the coming episodes featuring my favorite Kiwi stuntwoman I will be forced to drink Jameson until I don't remember this episode. I only hope that if this scenario plays out I will become the best murder police that B-more has ever seen.
Posted by: X at March 17, 2008 1:05 PM
Great episode. I was sad.
I like Juliet. I think she just got desperate there at the end and fired her last shot. She's spent the last X months/years of her life trying to save pregnant women on the island only to watch them die one after the other. I don't blame her if she's a little obssessed with trying to save Sun. You can't expect her to be living with Ben all of those years and not learn a little something about manipulation.
As for the timing, given that the Island appears to be running on wonky Hell Time, I don't think it will be that big of an issue. Doesn't time move more slowly there? If so, that'd throw things off a bit.
I know they tried to cover it with the whole "I understand better than I speak" comment, but Jin always seems to understand English better when it's convenient. That's been going on for a while now. It's a small thing. Not terribly important.
Congrats on being First, Leacock! THAT'S SUPER WICKED AWESOME!
Posted by: ajax19 at March 17, 2008 1:11 PM
Another fantastic episode. Another damned week wait.
Posted by: ian at March 17, 2008 1:12 PM
This was the episode that had me crying. Jin and Sun have always been my favorites, and I've rooted for their relationship since the beginning. Even if Jin is still alive on the island (which is the story I'm sticking to), it is still so damn sad that he's not with Sun anymore, especially when the baby is born.
Leacock - "Firsts" are not a virtue in these parts.
Posted by: katy at March 17, 2008 1:12 PM
Initially I thought this episode was lazy as hell - but reading the recap has changed my mind.
I guess I was just expecting more thriller-style action. I had forgotten what a great soap Lost can be. And Jin and Sun were always my favorite couple.
I think Jin really does die on the island --
Why would Sun and Hurley need to fake a grieving scene between the two of them? Assuming they are both in on the cover-up. (We know Hurley is in-the-know because of his comments to Jack on the loony-bin basketball court.)
I also loved the annoyed, "That shouldn't be there. Dammit." line about the blood spatter.
Great delivery - funny and chilling at the same time.
Posted by: Jenn at March 17, 2008 1:12 PM
Oh, and yes, I do think Aaron counts as one of the six.
Posted by: Cindy at March 17, 2008 1:16 PM
I would say that Sun and Hurley think they can't get back to the island (we know Jack has been trying and hasn't been able to) and who knows if Jin could get off the island on his own, so I would say the grieving scene still makes sense, because they think they will never see Jin again.
Posted by: Stephanie at March 17, 2008 1:17 PM
My only problem with this episode was the big "dun-dun-dun" reveal of Michael as Kevin Johnson. My problem is that everyone figured that out the minute Ben said he had a spy on the freighter. So we went 4 or 5 episodes with everyone being 100% sure who it was and the show kept teasing it out saying, "oooh, there's a big reveal coming up, bet you can't guess who it is".
People are blaming the fact that Harold Perrineau was announced to come back and his name was in the credits, but I think even if all that was kept secret, we would have been pretty able to figure out who the spy is.
So I was let down that it was played like a big reveal when it was so anti-climatic for most of us.
Posted by: Chris W at March 17, 2008 1:39 PM
You are a lot kinder to these episodes than I am, DC. One of the things that separates good TV from great TV (or movies, or anything, really) is whether you want to watch/experience it again. I can still laugh at Ghostbusters after many, many viewings, and the dramatic power of The Wire never lessens when you watch it again. Lost, though, far too often goes for shock value at the expense of real substance. This episode was a perfect example. The flash-back and -forward structure was interesting, but once you know that Jin's section is in the past, there is no reason whatsoever to think about those segments, let alone watch them, again for the rest of your life.
Posted by: Todd at March 17, 2008 1:42 PM
Re: the Michael let down. I felt the same way when Kate revealed (dun-dun-dun) that Rousseau is Alex's mother. I really thought that had already been established.
Posted by: katy at March 17, 2008 1:42 PM
I'm most intrigued by Hurley's comment when he comes to Sun's apartment in Korea. "Hurley asks if anyone else is coming, and when Sun says no, Hurley replies, "Good. So, where is she?""
My curiosity continues to grow about what happened when they actually got off of the island-which is the great thing about Lost! They reveal small details while continuing to build an overall suspense. This is no revelation-they've been doing it since Season 1 (sometimes better than others), but I am always struck by how the simplest comments can add one more layer of suspense.
Posted by: Sarabelle at March 17, 2008 1:47 PM
Michael is the last of the 6. Makes perfect sense, and I'm almost positive the "big death" in this week's episode is going to be his after he gets off the island, in a flash forward (and is the guy in the casket that Jack saw in the season three finale).
Posted by: Kate at March 17, 2008 1:49 PM
i don't think that aaron counts as one of the oceanic six. it seems like they would give that label to people who survived the plane crash, and given that aaron was in utero at the time (whose utero clearly depending on whether you're an islander or in the "real world") and not on the plane's manifesto, i'm thinking/hoping he doesn't count. i'd really like to see the sixth survivor have a more interesting backstory than a two-year old...
Posted by: aprileee at March 17, 2008 1:55 PM
I sobbed like a baby at the end reveal, moreso than when desmond and penny had their mini reunion a couple weeks ago. thats two times in one season i've been reduced to tears!
i think that jin's death(??) kindof eclipsed the reintroduction of michael. honestly, i was a tiny bit disappointed that michael came back as a sickly janitor, instead of the guns blazing scenario that i had imagined. but that's probably why i'm not a writer on LOST.
bravo to this one.
Posted by: sarah at March 17, 2008 1:57 PM
Aaron doesn't count because he wouldn't have been on the original flight manifest. Wasn't there someone that Jack referred to with Kate while they were at the airport under the landing planes (seems like end of last season)? Something like, "Let's go see him." Kate just says, "Why would I want to see him?" Can't quite remember, but I'm thinking that's Sawyer rounding out the Oceanic 6. And, is it just me, or does Aaron look like he's 3-4 years old. On the island, he's only a few months old, right? "Hello, Mommy. I missed you," is not really something a 1-2 year old says...If my timeline's right, why is Sun having a kid 3 years later and how did Hurley get out of the mental ward so easily? I confess, I don't follow along as closely as most of ya'll, but this episode brought up all these questions for me.
Also, when Juliet dimes Sun out to Jin, the first thing I thought was that Juliet sure did pick up some of Ben's manipulation skills.
Posted by: Captain Cliche at March 17, 2008 2:06 PM
Hey, Kate - that could be. Either way, I don't think Aaron is one of the Oceanic Six - he wasn't born when the plane crashed, he wasn't on the passenger list. I just don't see how he'd be considered one of the six.
Is it just me or does anyone else's night get instantly better the moment Sayid & Desmond appear onscreen? I squeal every time I see them.
Posted by: Kolby at March 17, 2008 2:15 PM
I am still asking the question of who is in the casket. Because it was stated at the funeral home that no one had really been there to pay their respects, and the Oceanic Six are big celebrities, so if it was one of them, even if Kate, Jack, etc. were reluctant to go, wouldn't the press make a big deal about one of them dying?
Posted by: Darby at March 17, 2008 2:22 PM
Hey y'all, don't hate. I'm laid up in bed, hacking up very unattractive tidbits, which is the only reason my comments aren't so far down the list you need two buses and a train to get there. So, goshdarnit, I'll latch onto any little ray of light that shines through the antiobiotic-induced haze.
Posted by: Leacock at March 17, 2008 2:29 PM
i was a little annoyed by the whole Jin misdirection (they gave it away too early and there was no additional information to add to the episode), but overall i thought this was a pretty good episode.
i want to hope that Jin is still alive on the island, but didn't the actor get a DUI? that is a kiss of death for characters on this show. either way, i was crying like a baby by the end of the episode. i really like Sun and Jin and i want them to have a happy ending.
i'm still a bit confused on the timeline of the future. assuming that the time distortion on the island isn't that far off normal time, then Sun would have the baby 7 months after the current island timeline. Hurley comes shortly after the baby is born, so, assuming the rescue is in 2 - 3 weeks (Or Sun would die on the island) then the birth should be before Hurley goes into the institution. Jack visits Hurley in the institution before he (Jack) starts losing it, but i still have no idea when Kate's trial takes place (other than before Jack loses it).
Michael could be the 6th Oceanic survivor. i would prefer that to having Aaron be the 6th. Michael could also be the dead person Jack goes to see in the season finale.
i just finished watching series 3 of Dr. Who last night and i still have a bit of a time-travel brain pretzel thing going on, so my map Lost's future is confusing me more than normal today.
Posted by: pq at March 17, 2008 2:35 PM
Aaron is definitely one of the Oceanic Six. Providing of course that I remembers last weeks "Next Time on Lost" correctly, where they stated that we will find out the final member of the Oceanic Six.
Love a show that can make me tear up, and this one was one of the most effective since a combination of erratic hormones and uberdramtic, middle aged ER.
Posted by: Draya at March 17, 2008 2:41 PM
p.s. - kevin johnson was the three time nba all-star point guard for the phoenix suns back in the 90's, so it's interesting that michael would choose this name. i dont know why i think it's so interesting, but since almost all the names on lost have a plethora of meaning, i thought it was worth mentioning.
also, the name michael dawson is the same of a british football/soccer player; why all the sports ties to walt's father, lost?
Posted by: sarahhhh at March 17, 2008 2:42 PM
I never cried watching LOST before last Thursday night. The relationship between Jin and Sun has been riveting in a way that no other character's personal story is. I felt so much for these two, struggling in their marriage. The two actors convey the emotions brilliantly.
I was angry about the flashback/flashforward business. I thought it was a cheap bullshit trick to lead the audience on that way...but in retrospect, that is probably what the writers intended: to make the reveal hurt that much more. I dread watching Jin's scenes in future episodes, knowing now that he's not going to make it.
Re: Hurley's beaming "Good." when told no one else is coming...I am more and more intrigued and curious about what exactly has happened with/between the Oceanic Six. I think it's going to be very dark indeed.
Finally--yes, we all knew Michael was coming back; yes, we all knew Michael was going to be on the boat. But what makes all of you so damn sure that it's Michael who is "Ben's man on the boat"? Just because it's so obvious? What show is this we've all been watching...?
Posted by: Jerce at March 17, 2008 2:50 PM
Timeline People.
It's not that confusing. The Flash Forwards, like the flashbacks, are not being shown chronologically.
If anything, the flashforward at the end of Season 3 was probably the latest in time of any we've seen and this last one was most likely the earliest.
Given her pregnancy, Sun probably had the baby not too long after they returned home. That'd be prior to Hurley being re-committed, most likely prior to the beginning of Kate's trial (legal proceedings take forever), certainly before the end of it (when older Aaron is shown), and definitely prior to bearded Jack going crazy.
If I had to guess on a chronology of the flash forwards it'd be something like:
1. Sun's baby
2. Kate's trial (which likely spanned at least several months, if not a year or two)
3. Hurley goes crazy again
4. Bearded Jack goes crazy
It's hard to say where Sayid's fits in considering I don't recall any reference to the other survivors. If I had to guess, probably somewhere between 1 and 4.
Posted by: ajax19 at March 17, 2008 3:03 PM
i don't think that cuse and lindeloff would cheat us out of another "what?!?" moment by having aaron be the sixth oceanic 815 survivor. aaron really isnt a character to be invested in, he's just plot device the same way that victor the dog is (although i do love victor!)
how exciting to have my three favorite characters (desmond, sayid, michael) all crammed together on what might as well be the love boat, as far as i'm concerned.
Posted by: perki at March 17, 2008 3:04 PM
Before this episode aired, didn't we see previews that the last of the O-6 would be revealed? So we've seen Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron and Sun...unless I've missed something (which is entirely possible). I know that Cuse and Lindelof said, when posed the question about Aaron, that they wanted us to wonder/ponder whether he was one of the six. Supposedly they will confirm the list after this episode aired.
Posted by: Cindy at March 17, 2008 3:16 PM
The flash forward/back was well played. How come noone else cashed in their free flights to Korea on Oceanic to see the baby?
Posted by: Brian at March 17, 2008 3:21 PM
Why didn't they come see the baby?
Sayid is busy getting set up as Ben's button man.
Kate is presumably in custody.
Jack is probably too busy worrying about Kate or himself.
Aaron is too young to travel on his own/
Posted by: ajax19 at March 17, 2008 3:26 PM
I like the Morse Code angle to the banging that Sayid hears, considering that Michael is the man on the boat and has always seemed smarter than he's gotten credit for. But, maybe it was just me, I thought that the hammering could be someone trying to mess with their heads (and what beautiful heads they are). If it was Morse Code wouldn't Sayid be able to pick it up pretty quickly? Plus, the timing when Doc Ray popped in was super shady and when he shows Sayid and Des their new digs it felt staged, like he wanted them to see the bloodstains to fuck with them even further. Maybe it's just me.
Many things are pointing to Michael as the last of the Oceanic Six, but there's only one slot open and I don't see him going anywhere without Walt.
Jin is still alive because him, Sayid, and Desmond are a trifecta of hotness that cannot be stopped.
Posted by: jM at March 17, 2008 3:26 PM
Jin...Sayid, and Desmond are a trifecta of hotness that cannot be stopped.
Caution...If we start down the road of "OMG [blank] is/are the hottest guy(s) on the show!" the thread will be derailed and it will never, ever end.
P.S. It's Sawyer.
Posted by: Jerce at March 17, 2008 3:44 PM
I think Walt is dead, dead, dead. I think that the "smoke monster" is comprised of the "souls" of those who have died on the island, and depending on the person being chased/spoken to is how it manifests. Obviously Eko's brother was dead, I'm betting Harper is dead, and I'm thinking "Jacob" somehow controls the monster, and Ben controls Jacob effectively controlling the smoke monster.
If Walt were killed trying to exit the island perimeter, it might've given Michael impetus to come back and try to pry info from Ben, and end up working for him.
Posted by: Sally at March 17, 2008 3:55 PM
Didn't Jack say at Kate's trial that two people died on the Island? That there were 8 plane crash survivors, but only 6 got off in the end? That must mean that Claire is being publicly announced as one of the ones that died, because someone in Australia would remember her as being pregnant getting on the plane, and a baby coming back from the crash would point to her for sure. I keep wondering who they are saying the other one is. Now we know it isn't Jin.
And if none of that makes any sense, blame the whiskey.
Posted by: phantom at March 17, 2008 3:57 PM
Normally, I would ditto Sawyer's hot status but, lately he's been acting more whipped Kunta Kinte.
Posted by: jM at March 17, 2008 3:57 PM
*than Kunta Kinte.
Posted by: jM at March 17, 2008 4:00 PM
ajax19: nice explanations
But I'll reiterate my previous comment. Why does Hurley think it's good that they're all not there? What happened!? Why the (assumed) hate?! Aaaaah! I can't stand not knowing! I'm tempted to self-impose a Lost moratorium until the series finale and then watch them all in a row, but I just can't. It's too good and these recaps would taunt me.
p.s. Desmond = hotness in a hot tub on the surface of the hot hot sun wearing red hot swim trunks
Posted by: Sarabelle at March 17, 2008 4:04 PM
He's still hot.
Not that I would kick any of your favorite three off the porch, either.
Posted by: Jerce at March 17, 2008 4:05 PM
Jerce. I am now picturing all four men shirtless and scrubbing my porch.
Thank you for this.
Posted by: jM at March 17, 2008 4:11 PM
Isn't it possible that the sixth member of the Oceanic Six is Ben with an assumed identity?
Posted by: Kate at March 17, 2008 4:19 PM
This episode left me a sobbing mess. Damn you Lost! That's twice this season!
Posted by: Tanner at March 17, 2008 4:26 PM
I believe Jin will survive on the island. They made a big point of explaining that he can communicate with the English-speaking survivors. If he couldn't, then being trapped on the island with no Sun to translate would be very frustrating, both for Jin and the writers. They already explored the whole "Jin can't communicate without Sun" territory with the Tailies in the first half of Season 3.
I don't buy the "Aaron isn't one of the Oceanic Six because he wasn't on the plane" explanation. If five adults and one infant were rescued from a desert island, was the media going to dub them the Oceanic Five? No way. I don't think they'd care that Aaron wasn't born until after the crash. Six survivors = Oceanic Six.
I'm hoping for a Michael flashback this week. I'd explain why they cast Zoe Bell and Fisher Stevens only to kill them off after a few scenes each.
I also find it a bit frustrating that people are complaining that the flashback/flashforward technique was a cheap way to trick the audience AND complaining that they saw Michael coming from a mile away. Do you want to be misled or don't you?
Posted by: wrion at March 17, 2008 4:29 PM
Obviously things are going to go very wrong on a number of fronts before the "Oceanic 6" make it off the island. There will be enough to make them all buy into the lie about what happened about the crash.
As for why Hurley said "good".
Well, the fact that Sayid is working for Ben to kill a bunch of people most likely means something really bad happened to make him go off the deep end. I imagine he wouldn't make for good company.
Jack's pretty irritating in his self-righteous way. I also think Hurley probably still feels guilty for "siding" with Locke. He said as much during his flash forward. I imagine it would be tough for him to be around Jack.
Same goes with Hurley and Kate, but to a lesser extent. It's also possible that whatever subterfuge Kate uses to make the world believe she's Aaron's mother would also make Hurley uneasy.
Hurley's a fragile, gentle soul. Other than Sun, herself, I think there are many reasons why he really would not want to see/be with any of the "survivors" again.
Posted by: ajax19 at March 17, 2008 4:38 PM
I do not think that Aaron counts as one of the Oceanic 6. Mainly because of the funeral that Jack attends at the end of Season 3 that no one showed up to, but also, because he was not on the manifest.
I think the last person is either Michael or in a big twist, Locke. After Locke is somehow forced to return, and looses the ability to walk, I think he would commit suicide.
Posted by: sleater at March 17, 2008 4:39 PM
My theory is that the last member of the Oceanic 6 will be Micheal. I also think his funeral is the one Jack attends in the future, which just so happened to take place in an all black neighborhood.
Posted by: Daisy at March 17, 2008 4:42 PM
Also, Jin is definitely dead. I know this site rarely indulges in the personal lives of celebrities, but there has been a pattern for characters killed off of lost.
Anyone who get a DUI has been killed abruptly!!!
The list include:
~Michelle Rodriguez
~White chick shot by Micheal...GF of Hurley (she received her DUI the same night as Michelle)
~MR. EKO
~And most recently...Daniel Dae Kim (Jin Kwon)
Coincidence? I think not.
Posted by: Daisy at March 17, 2008 4:43 PM
The actor who played Mistereko (whose real name I can neither spell nor pronounce) left the show for reasons of his own, over the objections of the writers and producers. They reportedly had a fairly major story arc for that character, which they had to cut very short when the actor refused to return.
You're right about Ana Lucia and, um, "white chick," but fan speculations aside, I don't think their DUI's were anything but a coincidence.
Posted by: Jerce at March 17, 2008 4:51 PM
I agree ajax19.
I think there's a bunch of reasons that would cause Hurley to make a comment like that. I think another reason is that they become famous worldwide and if they were to all gather together (especially to mourn a fellow "dead" passenger) there would be a media circus.
Posted by: jM at March 17, 2008 4:59 PM
I think wrion is right about the "Oceanic Six". The press would not get as technical with that stuff as we crazy Lost dissecters do. I think Lindelof and Cuse also said in an interview that we would know who the 6 were by now. Then again they also say to take everything that they say with a grain of salt - so who knows? I love ajax19's explanation of the timeline, and I think Sally's theory about the smoke monster is very plausible...As for Libby, when Cynthia Watros got her DUI I believe her part was already completed. And she showed up again later in a Desmond flashback...
Posted by: Darby at March 17, 2008 5:02 PM
I agree with wrion too. I think that Aaron is one of the O6 because that's how the media would handle it. They're looking for a convenient way to label them, and wouldn't nitpick about who was on the manifest or not. Also, they did say we would know all six by this episode. But at the same time, I think Michael was the one in the coffin in the first flash-forward. I think he gets back some other way, and is not considered part of the Six. He's proven himself to be pretty decent at finding his own forms of transportation...
Phantom, I don't assume Claire has to be one of the two who supposedly survived the crash but died, since Kate is claiming the baby is hers. Why would the story concocted by the O6 leave room for people to figure out it's Claire's baby?
Posted by: sarah b at March 17, 2008 5:22 PM
Sleater, that Locke theory is one of the best I've heard about whose funeral it might have been. No way aaron is the 6th. Good work. Have a Harp on me.
Posted by: patchfire at March 17, 2008 5:34 PM
If ABC uses something as a promo, I tend to believe it. Thus, I'm certain that we now know who the Oceanic Six are. I highly doubt the Lost producers have enough sway to include ABC in the conspiracy. The more interesting question now is who the second of those who "died" is, since we know one of them was Jin. I see no indication that Claire is going to be the other one.
In other news, now that I've seen this week's sneak peeks, who are they going to kill this week?! It better not be as tragic as this episode.
And I like the theory that the man in the coffin is Locke. That would be a big twist.
Posted by: katy at March 17, 2008 5:44 PM
katy, why is one of the ones who died on the island Jin? We know they're lying about the whole scenario, and the date on his tombstone was the day of the crash...was there something else I missed that suggests that they Oceanic 6 claim he was one of the survivors who died?
Posted by: sarah b at March 17, 2008 6:06 PM
"And I like the theory that the man in the coffin is Locke. That would be a big twist."
That's who I assumed it was when we saw the coffin.
Posted by: Kate at March 17, 2008 6:16 PM
"Isn't it possible that the sixth member of the Oceanic Six is Ben with an assumed identity?"
I thought this might be the case... siding with Ben in a war against Locke's people would be something I could see Jack doing, would get Sayid on board with Ben for his assassinations, would perhaps explain the fear that the golfer that Sayid shot feels as soon as he hears that he's one of the O6 he would know that these are people that sided with Ben).
I also remember the line where the funeral director asks Jack if he was a friend of the deceased and Jack says, "Not really." I think thta this would apply most aptly to Ben or perhaps Locke, but I suppose he might feel that way about Michael too.
Posted by: Bucko at March 17, 2008 7:08 PM
The flashback wasn't completely useless for rewatching. It wasn't JUST a trick, it also showed the man that Jin was, and the man he is now - mainly, a better man. And a dead man. Presumably. Hubby says otherwise and will continue to do so even if we see a dead Jin body.
Posted by: Stacy at March 17, 2008 7:42 PM
There is a theory out on the interwebs about Locke being made to come back as one of the O-6, losing his ability to walk and committing suicide. I can see that as a possibility. But it seems more likely to be Michael since the person in the coffin left behind a teenaged son.
Posted by: Cindy at March 17, 2008 8:23 PM
I seriously doubt that Locke will one of the Oceanic 6. Following what we saw happened to Desmond in the constant, all but a few Losties, if they left the island, would "jump" between times and would not be able to find their constant and die. If you go back to the season 2 finale, when the hatch finally blew and the sky went purple, there were only a few people who weren't exposed to whatever happened because they were not on the island (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Michael, Sayid, Sun, Jin, Walt, and the Others) I think this made them immune "jumping" and are the only people able to leave the island. Aaron would be okay, because any one of the Losties would be his constant, as they have been around his entire life. Of the losties not affected, 5 are already confirmed, and Jin has been ruled out. I'm almost positive that Michael will be the last one if only for the added dramatic affect (being one of them, but not being accepted by the other 5).
Posted by: Kate at March 17, 2008 9:03 PM
Ps: Was I the only one not shocked by the flashback/flashforward reveal? Jin's phone gave it away right off the bat.
Posted by: Kate at March 17, 2008 9:04 PM
Why are we assuming that everyone who doesn't make it back to "civilization" died? Maybe some chose to stay on the island (probably not Jin, obivously) because of its magical healing properties. Why would Locke go back? To his crappy job and being paralyzed from the waist down (of course, that's assuming the magical island healing only happens on the island)? Sure, there's the occasional deadly smoke monster or polar bear, but it's still a tropical island. They got houses, electricity, some contact with the outside world. So Ben is a fucking crazy control freak, how does that make him much different from our government?
Just sayin'.
Posted by: Slash at March 17, 2008 10:24 PM
Man, I really have to hand it to Lost for seemlessly intertwining a flashforward with a flashback.
I'm assuming that either A) Jin is still back on Hell Island...or B) That he really is dead, which I guess are the only two logical assumptions anyways.
Posted by: citizen_cris at March 17, 2008 10:37 PM
Cindy, it makes a lot of sense for the person in the coffin to be Michael if they said that he left behind a teenage son. But, if it is Michael, then that means that Walt also got back since he's referenced as a teen. This would turn the Oceanic Six into the Oceanic Seven, unless they got off the island separately from Jack & co. Anyway, if it is Michael, and Walt got off the island with him, I would expect that at least he would've shown up to his father's funeral since everything Michael did was for him. But Walt does have the crazy island connection that might keep him from leaving.
Posted by: jM at March 17, 2008 11:13 PM
Finally watched the episode. I was pissed off as soon as they said year of the dragon (2000). That was thrown in way too early.
Michael shouldn't be one of the Oceanic 6, he's already using a fake name, fake enough (probably set up by Ben) to get past Widmore's likely background checks. He could definitely be in the coffin, dying under another assumed name. Again, if he were an Oceanic 6 member the media would have covered his funeral.
Ben is 100% not a member of the Oceanic Six. The last thing Ben wants is to become a target for Widmore.
I'm glad this week's episode is about Michael but I'll be pissed if we don't see any of Locke's camp. Miles with a grenade in his mouth and happy -go-lucky Ben stories need to be told.
P.S. With the karma bit I kept waiting for Earl or Randy to pop up.
Posted by: Stew at March 17, 2008 11:26 PM
when did they say the person in the coffin had a teenage son?
Posted by: sarah b at March 18, 2008 12:26 AM
Great episode. We didn't pick up on the Year of the Dragon so were rivetted till the end. Lost is probable the only show I watch that makes me gasp out loud. I'm relieved people think Jin lives - he's a favorite and we were bummed when we thought he was dead. I like Sally's theory about Walt/smoke monster. Maybe - if Walt is dead - Michael is on some kind of guilt trip as a kind of double agent hoping to fuck Ben up and make amends for being a murdering, betraying bastard.
Posted by: Subi at March 18, 2008 1:14 AM
I can't see Aaron as one of The Six - people just don't know about him being who he is, he's just Kate's son. But I'll also accept at this point that he's taken by the media as the sixth member, since he probably came back with Kate (more like a 5+1, but still) in a rescue mission.
One thing, tho: so far, Michael is a man on the boat. He'll only be Ben's man on the boat when that gets cleared up. Imagine the boat was comin, Michael was leaving with Walt and, for some reason, the duo decided to come aboard. Let's see how it goes. Right now, I actually think Michael being that man would be so screamingly obvious that the guys must have been hiding something up their sleeves. Or Ben has Walt, either one...
"Exposé as a really underrated episode" - indeed! I still think it's one of the best from last season. People hated Nikki and Paulo, not without reason, but their demise made for a really funny episode.
Congratulations on not calling Jin's death, like most of the press has been doing all over the world these days. The two possibilities you point should pretty obvious (and mostly considering this is Lost and anything could happen), but people seem to be lacking Obvianol lately.
Posted by: gargumma at March 18, 2008 4:07 AM
JM, I don't think Walt is one of the O-6, though that would be an interesting twist. I think Michael being Ben's MOtB is due to Michael having made a deal for Walt's benefit. I'm guessing that Michael agreed to a deal to send Walt back to a new life (with adoptive parents?) because Michael had little or no other choice. And regardless of whatever deal Michael made with Ben, the real question is: Did Ben follow through with the deal or did he send Walt to Camp Others?
Posted by: Cindy at March 18, 2008 9:18 AM
So when do you guys think the show is going to come crashing to the present and move forward from there? i.e. The six get off the island and we join with them as they reestablish their lives, find out what the heck is going on with Ben and, most tantalizingly, go to flashbacks to explain what happened on the island before the O6 went home. A "rescue" would be a heck of a season finale.
What ever happened to that whole other island and everyone on it? All those kids who will "stop asking" where their parents are. The population sufficient enough to fill an island court room?
Posted by: Henry at March 18, 2008 10:20 AM
Gargumma - I think "underrated" actually means it was good, but didn't get the attention or acclaim it deserved...
Flashforward Theory: this is not the future that WILL be but the future that MIGHT be if certain decisions are made by the individuals...
Thoughts? I just keep thinking this is like one of those books I used to read as a kid - the "Choose Your Own Adventure Books"
Posted by: Kirsten at March 18, 2008 10:22 AM
I don't think it's michael that's in the casket. Jack has always viewed michael as a friend, and even stood up for him when he did all that crazy shiz to get walt back ("what wouldn't you do for your son?") - unless michael goes double crazy (and i cant wait for THAT great performance from HP), and really really screws everyone over this time around, i can't see jack completely hating michael yet, claiming that he's not really a friend to the funeral director.
unless michael kills juliet. then it's on.
Posted by: sarah at March 18, 2008 10:51 AM
Sorry, replying late to a question (really late). The reason people will know that Aaron is Claire's baby is that at least her obgyn will know she got on the plane pregnant. And the U.S. Justice system will know that Kate was not pregnant when she was apprehended in Australia. Plus, if Kate does pretend it's her kid, who is she saying the father is? Jack? Sayid? Hurley?? All pretty unlikely. I think they would admit Kate isn't the real mother, but she still looks pretty good for adopting a poor orphaned infant whose mother died on a deserted island, which is why her lawyer wanted to use him in court.
Posted by: phantom at March 18, 2008 10:52 AM
oh yeah, and michael used to work for the widmore construction company, i wonder if now he's running around in the future/past being charles widmore's crazy assasin trying to cap sayid. that would make for an interesting roller coaster.
Posted by: sarah at March 18, 2008 10:53 AM
phantom, how would they know Kate wasn't a few months or weeks pregnant when she was caught? Her cover story could have been that she got pregnant off the island, and had the baby on the island (just like Claire, but later). One might say Aaron's age wouldn't match up, but we don't really know what's going on with the time discrepancies on/off island.
Posted by: wrion at March 18, 2008 11:58 AM
Phantom - your Aaron theory would certainly fit in well with the crash story Jack told during Kate's trial; it seemed the group made a conscious decision to paint Kate as a hero in anticipation of the trial she would face upon her return to civilization. But if there was an option to stay, and seems that there is going to be, why would Kate choose to leave when she faces such an uncertain future?
Posted by: Henry at March 18, 2008 12:00 PM
sarah b The information about the son was in the newspaper announcing the memorial service.
Posted by: Cindy at March 18, 2008 12:51 PM
Henry, Lindelof has said in a recent interview that season 5 will be about why they need to get back and season 6 about what happens when they get back.
The interview was for the NY Post, but I'm not sure how to post a link here.
Posted by: Cindy at March 18, 2008 12:59 PM
Maybe someone has already posted this theory, but I think Michael is one of the six.
(1) The preview preceding last week's show said the final two of the Oceanic Six will be revealed. This episode focused on Sun and Jin, but as Daniel pointed out, if Jin were one of the six, his tombstone wouldn't read September 22, 2004, the day the Losties crashed on the island.
(2) As she spoke about naming their child, Sun acted as if the conversation on the beach about their daughter's name being Ji Yeon was her only point of reference about Jin's preference. If they had made it off the island together, there surely would have been more conversations as they planned for their new arrival.
(3) Michael was the only surprise character from the original crash revealed in this episode, although I'm not claiming to be surprised and it appears few other people were as well.
(4) Michael could potentially be the man in the coffin that Jack went to Hoffs Drawler to visit, which might explain Kate's flagrant hostility toward the deceased person when Jack suggests she go to the funeral. OH! Just scrowled up to read some of the later comments. How do we know the person in the coffin left behind a teenaged son?
Posted by: Tiffany at March 18, 2008 1:10 PM
OK, one more try since this is the ONLY site I read every day! Any thoughts on this one (per my earlier comment about this being like the Choose Your Own Adventure series of books)?
See, the Choose Your Own Adventure Series was started by Edward Packard, author. His first book, Sugarcane Island focuse on "the shipwrecked reader who travels around the titular island avoiding dangers at every turn. Many of the possible endings feature an unfortunate demise, although escape from the island is possible if the correct choices are made."
Doesn't explain much of LOST, but it gives me hope that the flash-forwards are not "set in stone" (because they are really depressing me)!!!
Posted by: Kirsten at March 18, 2008 2:11 PM
I'm thinking Kate had to have found a way to make people believe that Aaron is her biological son. It would take a huge suspension of belief to assume that a fugitive would be allowed to adopt a kid even if it is said to be what Claire would have wanted.
Posted by: jM at March 18, 2008 2:15 PM
All that the preview said was that "the last" of the Oceanic Six would be revealed. It did not refer to a specific number - one or two. "Last" could be interpreted either way.
I do think that Michael is in the coffin, but I do not think he is one of the Six. He already has a new identity ("Kevin Johnson"). Why would he go back to the old one? And why would the Five escape with *him* of all people? Granted, it could have been a forced evacuation.
I do not have time to scroll back up, but one of you is mistaken about the recall of Jack's and Kate's conversation. Kate asks derisively why she would have wanted to go to that funeral - as if the person is someone she does not like. Jack refers to the person as *not* a "friend." (I think Jack is just feeling guilty and looking for any excuse to self-flagellate and dwell on the island at that point.) The other part of that conversation that I believe you are mixing up is that she says she needs to get back to "him," as he will miss her. That would seem to be Aaron now.
Finally, someone above mentions the conception date being a hangup. Yes, it's a problem for Sun (AND Kate too!) that I'll be curious to see them resolve. In my opinion, time is not moving slower on the island. This is disproven by the fact that Desmond and Penelope speak on the Christmas Eve they had discussed. Time only seems to fluctuate - and then snap back into place - as you are passing through the "moat" around the island.
I do have one theory about Sun that might explain it. Who - if anyone - would have knowledge about Sun's exact date of conception? Only her doctor, who was no doubt asked by her to keep it confidential, as falls under his professional ethics. And who mysteriously disappeared at her delivery? Same doctor. I think someone was trying to tie up loose ends.
Posted by: Darth Corleone at March 18, 2008 5:46 PM
Karen, that's exactly what I said. People didn't like Nikki and Paulo and I'm no exception, but the episode in which they die (and the other castaways discuss what's goin on, and Doc Arzt comes around again) made up for a really funny one. I think it was one of the best of the season, but many fans only see it as just a way to get rid of those two. It was way more than that.
Posted by: gargumma at March 18, 2008 7:59 PM
Random fact: The awesome Grant Bowler (Captain Gault) was in a little tv show called "Outrageous Fortune" here in New Zealand that Rob Thomas is now - reportedly - adapting for American screens.
Posted by: Carly at March 20, 2008 12:09 AM
Are we 100% sure Sayid is one of the Oceanic 6? All the members have either explicitly stated or had stated for them that they're members of the six. I took that to mean that it's possible Sayid and Ben (maybe more) have left the island seperately and secretly and are on some vendetta. Sayid said to that girl he killed "I'll tell you where you know me from", but I don't remember him actually SAYING "I'm one of the six". Further, it was pretty established that the six are SUPER famous, yet no one knew Sayid, no strangers came up to him and said "Hey, aren't you one of the six?".
Posted by: Mike O at March 20, 2008 4:16 PM
p.s. it's possible I missed the explicit part. The thing is, with Lost, if it's not super explicitly stated, I don't trust it.
Posted by: Mike O. at March 20, 2008 4:19 PM
See, I was thinking the same thing as you, Mike O. The only contact that Sayid has in his episode is with the golfer (Avellino) he executes, Ilsa and Ben. Ilsa and Ben obviously already know who he is, but the golfer shows no recognition until Sayid tells him that he is one of the six.
After I've gone back and watched it again, I think Avellino's discomfort when Sayid reveals this is probably due to the fact that:
a) He knows that others with whatever connections he has are being hunted (i'm assuming that these are people who at least have the knowledge that there were more than six Oceanic survivors), and...
b) that Sayid isn't one of the six, who are so world famous that you would have to be an idiot to claim to be one when you obviously aren't. Which means...
c) Sayid must be involved with the people who are hunting down people like Avellino.
If Avellino knows enough to be killed, then he--at the very least--would know who the six are on sight.
Posted by: Munkymack at March 20, 2008 5:28 PM
Somehow I missed this recap when it went up, so here I am at the last minute.
I think Ben is in hiding, off island, trying to take out the Widmore-related folks (through Sayid and maybe others) before they can take him. He can't claim to be one of the six because they'd know exactly where to find him. That then makes me wonder, if Ben got off without the help of whoever rescued the six, who else escaped too? Was the guy in the coffin one of the six or someone else? Maybe it's Ben?!?! No, no, he has a teenage daughter....anyway. I'm also wondering why Jack's dad was in Jacob's cabin? And where the hell is Walt? And the rest of the random kids running around in previous seasons? And when are we going to find out the story behind those four-toed statues?? Oh, Lost, you cruel mistress!!!!
Jerce, it hadn't occurred to me that Michael might not be Ben's man, and now the idea that he is seems so obvious (everybody saw his presence on the ship coming from a mile away, why would the Lost gods let that happen if not for a higher purpose?), I can't believe I didn't see right through it from the start.
Also, hell yes it's Sawyer! I read somewhere that he was ready to give up acting when he got cast in Lost, his realtor's license came in the mail just a few days before. I'll bet that man could sell the hell out of a house.
phantom, that's what I've been saying for weeks about the Aaron/Kate scenario. Although it is a little weird that they (the writers) would allude to him in the court scenes as her son, but not add the "Look! I'm a good person!!" detail about her having taken into her care a poor orphan child while also nursing her co-survivors and trying to survive in the wilderness. Maybe that's a little tidbit for later, something to be revealed in relation to another, deeper "what the fuck" moment.
Uh, I think if I had cable I could be watching this week's episode right now. Thank you, Jebus, for internet downloading!
Posted by: OhRosieMyGirl at March 20, 2008 11:50 PM
"Jerce. I am now picturing all four men shirtless and scrubbing my porch."
Wow, jM. Depending on how this should be read, kudos on a fine euphemism.
Posted by: Cody at March 24, 2008 12:00 AM