4.13 There's No Place Like Home (Part 2)

Sorry I missed posting about the last episode guys, but honestly I don't think it matters much considering the whopper of a finale we got last night. Again huge props to the writers...starting this episode 1 second after the ending of last season's finale flashfoward was genius. I remember coming to the conclusion that they didn't reveal who had died because it wasn't important, boy was I wrong.

There are so many questions I don't even know where to start, so I guess I'll begin with what we DID learn from the finale. We now know that Dharma knew about the "special properties" the island possesses and was experimenting with time travel in The Orchid station. Ben is still a heartless bastard, no matter how much sympathy was gleaned from the murder of Alex. He got his revenge on her killer knowing full well that would mean the deaths of everyone on the freighter. It broke my heart to see the boat explode with Jin running on the platform toward the helicopter and Sun practically jumping out to grab his hand, IMO those were some Emmy-earning screams she was belting out. I'm still in denial Jin's dead, but I guess that's how I felt about Charlie in last year's finale... As for Sun, I have no idea why she would ever want to partner w/ Widmore in the future knowing he was ultimately responsible for Jin's death. She's obviously become quite shrewd with time and must have something up her sleeve.

So when Jacob/Christian told Locke to "move the island," he really wasn't kidding. It was interesting seeing Ben lead up to the flashforward we saw a few episodes ago; him appearing out of no where in the desert with a bloody arm, now we know how and why he got there. It was also interesting to see how all the events played out to end w/ the Oceanic 6, because all season in my head I couldn't imagine how those specific people were the only ones who got off... Speaking of which, did anyone hear anything that Sawyer whispered to Kate before jumping?

The one moment of relief we got in those 2 hours was seeing Penny lean over the rescue boat's railing as Desmond looked up. Watching by myself I exclaimed out loud "it's Penny!!" and shed a few happy tears seeing them reunited. Of course I lost that feeling with Desmond's foreboding claim that as long as he's got Penny he'll be fine, knowing Ben is seeking to kill her.

One major thing I'm not clear on...why did the O6 have to lie?? In addition to protecting the island and it's people, which I get, did they think Widmore would kill them if they didn't? And why were they making up a name for Locke (which Hurley voiced on the boat) when they thought he was staying on the island? Ben's claim that Jack has to get all the survivors to go back to the island clears up Kate's dream where Claire tells her she shouldn't ever bring Aaron "back", which I think means back to the island. Why do they all have to go back, do you think they can go back in time and reverse all the horrible things that happened from the finale and on? I have a hard time believing this horrible future we've seen glimpses of all season is unchangeable for our beloved Losties...

Out of office...

Hey all,
I'm out of town at a conference most of this week so no time to do a recap of the last eppy. Please post all comments in this thread and I'll read through 'em before doing the delayed post later this week. Thanks!
-SRG

4.11: Cabin Fever

Wow this was a bizarre episode. We got to see more flashbacks of John's past, and two main themes came across from them:
1. John is a miracle baby/man who has defied death on multiple occasions
2. The Island has been recruiting him since birth

We got to see the man who never ages looking in on him right after his birth mother ran out, and visit him years later to give some weird test that John didn't pass at that time (what the crap was all that about??)

On the freighter it seems the captain and the pilot are actually good people. The captain helps Sayid escape on a dingy after realizing the soldiers have a nasty second protocol, only to be shot by the their leader who then convinces the pilot to take them back to the island only by slitting the doctor's throat (um, does that mean now the island is in future time??)

In I think the weirdest ending ever, John finds Jacob's cabin and ends up talking to Jack and Claire's dad...guess she wasn't hallucinating after all. Her relaxed and almost amused demeanor was unsettling though, it was like she was brainwashed all over again. We've definitely noticed that Christian seems to be the tying factor to all of the Losties in some way, this seems to confirm that theory. Locke evidently finds out how to "save the island" from him and from the looks of next week's trailer our Oceanic 6 begin their journey home...along with their ill-fated destinies we've had glimpses of all season. Can their futures be changed somehow or is everything up to fate??

4.10: Something Nice Back Home

Dang, this season just keeps getting better and better! For once we see flash forwards of a happy time, after Kate's trial, to her and Jack living together, getting engaged, and raising Aaron. This goes back and forth with the present time on the island and Jack suffering through an appendectomy (which we obviously know he survives since the flashes are about him, so that drama was kinda pointless IMO). Of course you know with the episode starting out happy it won't end that way...

We progressively see Jack's downfall, which is sadly driven by Hurley's insanity and claims Jack shouldn't be raising Aaron and will get a visitor. Jack starts hallucinating that he sees his dad which spawns his drug and alcohol use along with mistrust of Kate, who he finds out has been doing some kind of "favor" for Sawyer. What we learn from this is the rest of the Losties "chose" to stay behind, as Jack put it, so does that mean none of them (including Jin and Claire) are actually dead? Something does seem to be wrong with Claire though, who throughout the episode is dizzy, woozy and at the end sees her (and Jack's remember) father and goes off into the woods w/ him, leaving baby Aaron on a tree root. I mean the girl's house was blown up, seems crazy to think she'd walk away unharmed, so I'm thinking there might be some kind of internal head wound or something... :-\

Other interesting events in this eppy:

• The helicopter pilot saving Sawyer, Claire, Aaron and the ghost dude from the crazy freighter soldiers
• Jin talking some serious smack to Charlotte in Korean
• Juliette seeming like a total beeatch by telling Kate Jack kissed her, then redeeming herself by stating she knew it was to prove he was actually in love with Kate
• Kate adamantly calling Aaron her son, which I also noticed in the episode w/ her trial...I mean she says it like she really gave birth to him, just seems odd...