'Lost:' Not Entirely Truthful

I'm just glad the show has hit its stride again this season. I feel bad for those who cynically hopped aboard the shark-jump bandwagon last season and stopped watching; they've missed out on some great television.

Sun looked quite angry with her father...glad she stuck it to him!

Lost 'jumped the shark' before last season. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in denial.

Farraday is Charlotte's dad. I swear.

That's all I got right now.

Why isn't uber fan Matt doing this ? No offense

Based on the press conference, Jack said there were 8 people (baby wasn't born yet, so of those "8" only 5 made it) who made it off the plane...meaning, we should find out about 3 more survivors who are killed.

I feel that the numbers are the underlying, non stop, "creepy" thing that will stay with the show throughout. The numbers haunted Desmond, and them moved to Hurley, who as we see goes insane because of those numbers.... I like reoccuring themes, and I like how Hurley can not avoid them, causing his insanity.

If the island isn't safe, and the ship isn't safe, then why don't the losties head over to the second island where the Hydra station is for sanctuary. Just a thought.

I loved watching Jack's face squirm while he processed what Claire's mom was telling him, you could physically see him make the connection from the mom to his dad to Claire to Aaron to himself - it was quality.
As for Ben, I think we'll find he's always acting in the best interest of the island, and conswquently "the world" since the island has powers that could be exploited to hurt mankind. Whether that makes him good or bad is another issue, doing a bad thing for a good reason is a moral dilemna.

I think it's time to start wrapping up the show and getting more answers. I'll give it one more season, but I'm starting to get bored and I'm wondering if we'll ever even find out the answers to all these unanswered questions! Or if the writers even know what these answers will be yet...

I agree that with each episode I am a little more confused than clear about what is going on. But one of the things I love about this show is, in addition to the mystery/sci fi aspect, it really has some thoughtful moments. I was struck last night by the Oceanic 6 and how bittersweet their home coming was. Each of them seemed to have "lost' something in the bargain or the arrival highlighted for each what they had lost- Jack, his father; Kate, her family b/c of her crimes; Sayid, his reunion with Nadia is poignant for us, because we know he will lose her. Anyway, enough philosophy. I don't know if Ben is a good or bad guy but I do love him. He is such an interesting character. at the end, what was in the below deck room on the freighter? Explosives? If the ship blows up, then obviously Sun gets off. How did she get Jin's body to bury?

mike riley, you really are missing out. The things that are happening this season have been unexpected and riveting. Too bad 4 u.

Some comments in answer form to Joanna's questions:

1) Were the numbers on Hurley's odometer there for a reason, or just for kicks? (And how cool was it to finally see the numbers again? Rhetorical question.) As one commenter indicated, the number do seem to play some underlying theme, although they haven’t been addressed for awhile. What that theme is, who knows?
2) Was it me, or did one of the extras on the freighter rescue raft look uncannily like Horace Goodspeed? I didn’t pay much attention to the extras from the island who got to the freighter. I basically think they will all be killed, and the Oceanic 6 will get off the island through some other means during the season finale.
3) Is Sun truly taking over her father's company for revenge, or does she suspect that he's connected to the island? (Corollary question: Is Jin really dead?) The Jin issue is a tricky one. Either on the mainland Sun is telling some kind of story about Jin for some reason, or she really believes that he did die back there – which doesn’t mean that he did die, just that she believes that he did. I tend to think she believes he died.
4) How coolly-executed was that creepy fake-out surprise party? (Also rhetorical.)
5) Is Richard Alpert leading Ben's group of Others, or some other group of Others? There is only one group of Others – the ones that Alpert is associated with, and that Ben sent up into the mountains a couple of episodes ago. Some of them are “original inhabitants” of the island who don’t seem to age and some of them are from Oceanic 815 (Cindy, the children, etc.) My question is, where is the eye-patch guy who killed Charlie and kept coming back from the dead? He’s on the island somewhere, but we haven’t seen him this season.
6) Does Ben orchestrate the "rescue" of the Oceanic 6? Or just take advantage of it afterward? Maybe Ben inadvertently orchestrates the rescue or something; hard to say. More importantly, how did he get into the middle of the desert that we saw him in a week or two ago? You know that Ben must have more than one way to get off the island.
7) Is Ben really one of the good guys? I’d be surprised if they go in that direction. It would appear that the final two seasons will be about the “mainland” people and the ones left back on the island. The mainland people may be drawn into the war between Widmore and Ben, but they may use their financial resources (they’re all well-off from the settlement) to band up with Penny Widmore to find the island (which moves around?) and rescue their comrades. At any rate, I’m totally intrigued. Let’s hope the season finale is as mind-blowing as those of the past two years!

I loved last night. You'd think the suspense would be gone since we know who gets off the island. It only makes one want to know more. Last night the survivors were scattered all over the place. How do they get back together? And what happens to Desmond who was not on the Oceanic flight and how does Ben get off the island? Where is Claire? Did I miss something? Do Sawyer and Locke die or stay behind? I do always have more questions than answers, but I like that.

Thanks Joanna for your post. I don't care who blogs on it :), just glad to see the blog because this is one Lostie that can't get enough ! Okay, so random thoughts:

While I am not a huge Jack fan (huge Sawyer fan - so funny), every time he hits the mainland, his stories and the way he carries himself with the other survivors makes me so sad. You know if they are focusing on Jack - you are going to get teary and Michael Giacchino's awesome score knows how to sell it.

Also, while last night's episode was good, I thought they almost wrapped up some of the loose ends too quickly, i.e Jack finding out that Claire is his sister. I have always been one that has been along for the ride, don't really need the answers.

In regards to the non-Oceanic Six and Sun's answer to the Jin question : (, I found it interesting that none of the survivors ever mentioned the island. It was all about how they either died on the plane or never got off the plane. I also found it interesting to see Sayid (love him !) take such a back seat to Jack in regards to them all "towing the company line."

Something I found surprising was that the folks on the beach (especially Juliet who usually has some b*lls) were so willing to let Faraday go off on the dingy and transfer people.

I read on buddytv (www.buddytv.com - great resource) an interview with "Darlton" where the producers gave some spoilers and one thing they elluded to was that while the numbers will remain a constant in the series we will never know their meaning. Poor Hurley, he can't get any peace, dude.

Finally, two questions: Who is the other person responsible for Jin's death and wasn't Richard Alpert Dharma person that survived Ben's termination of that colony? The latter makes my head spin.

when exactly did Lost jump the shark, mike? odd comment, really. seasons 1 and 2 were brilliant. people think shows "jump the shark" when they get to be about a year old these days; everyone wants New New New; Now Now Now. god forbid a group of hardworking producers who have had a great vision for this series from the very beginning actually demand a little patience from its audience so they can tell the story the way it was meant to be told.

that said, i love season 4 and can't wait for the season finale, and im looking forward to season 5.

Cortney S is getting bored? What shows are you watching that the rest of us are missing?!

Courtney - the show has an end date - May 2010 I believe. This is no X-Files. We will get answers, eventually.
Stick with it!

For me Lost started up the ramp in season 2 and jumped the shark in season 3. The 1st season was brilliant. Season 2, with the hatch was okay, but suddenly no one told anyone else anything - it all was a secret. "Hey! There's a modern day area with electricity where we're cooking, washing clothes, taking a shower, and you're crapping in the sand and washing in the ocean." The beach group should have hung Jack and Locke then and there. The "others," what a waste. By 5 or 6 shows into season 3 we didn't like anyone (except Sayid), and didn't care what happened to them.

Okay, some let's get something straight: "Richard Alpert" was NOT part of Dharma; he was on the island LONG before The Dharma Initiative - see the show 2 weeks ago where he quizzed a young John Locke back in what appears to be the late '50's/early '60's, about which items were "his". He also pre-dated Ben on the island, since he's the first person Ben runs into after he runs away from his abusive, alcoholic father who works as a handyman for Dharma. My opinion: "Richard Alpert" is a survivor of the grounding of The Black Rock who - like now Michael - cannot die (or age) because of the island's hold on them. He time travels - like Ben; and is probably the one who taught Ben HOW to time travel in the first place! And, what about "the list"? We haven't heard about that lately, either. Wonder when that's going to make a comeback! BTW, any ideas on why Widmore told Ben a couple of episodes ago, when Ben "visited" him @ night in his bedroom, that Ben had gotten all of his wealth by stealing it from him (Widmore)?

I think Ben knows exactly what he's doing and is still pulling a lot of these strings. Even though Widmore/Keamy "changed the rules", I believe Ben still has enough information to push his own agenda and reach his endgame. Whether the knowledge was gained through his ability to time travel, or he's lived this timeline before, or Patchy is still doing his research thing, I guess we'll see.

One other comment is that I think it is very cool that the Oceanic 6 are still completely separated at this point. We have two hours of Lost to go until they leave the island, so there is no doubt something monumental is about to happen that not only brings these 6 together in the same place, but shocks and deflates them to the point of misery on that coast guard cargo plane.

I want to know how they are feeding poor Aaron now that Claire is now longer available to nurse him.

I disagree that "Lost" has "jumped the shark." I think this year's shows have been the best since Season One. I am loving watching the various pieces of the puzzle being revealed and trying to figure out how it will all end up. I'm also trying to figure out how they are going to get two more years out of story out of this -- though I'll happily go along for the ride to find out.

We caught up by watching the first 3 years on DVD so the flow is definitely not as great watching the show like the rest of the population but it is still the best show on TV. It works on so many levels and I plan to rewatch seasons 1-3 over the summer to liik for waht i missed the first time around. Historic tv.

Re: Joanna's question #4 - Agreed, and I fully expected Charlie to make an appearance in that scene.

Re: Geoffrey's comment #5 - Mikhail (aka eyepatch guy) is officially dead (per comments by Darlton in a podcast from last year).

Re: the numbers - their actual meaning was explained in The Lost Experience online game that took place between seasons 2 and 3. They were related to research being done by the Dharma Initiative and something called the Valenzetti equation. You can read more about it at various websites (try www.Lostpedia.com), but ultimately the numbers will not play a very important role in the remainder of the show.

The orchid is the Dharma station that allows you to move objects through space and time. This can be seen the orientation video released before season 4. In this video we see two #15 rabbits appear at the same time. The orchid is going to move the island, and the sky will go purple again. This is how Ben and everyone else can leave the island as well.

Interesting theory on Sun and her investment in her father's company - which may or may not be tied to Widmore. www.buddytv.com. Enjoy !

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/lost/lost-easter-eggs-theres-no-pla-19492.aspx

The orchid is the Dharma station that allows you to move objects through space and time. This can be seen the orientation video released before season 4. In this video we see two #15 rabbits appear at the same time. The orchid is going to move the island, and the sky will go purple again. This is how Ben and everyone else can leave the island as well.

A mathematician named Valenzetti calculated a mathematical formula for the end of the world, the 'core numbers' of which are 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42. These numbers occur everywhere, he said, and predict earth's destruction. This finding was presented to the United Nations; they did not believe or care and so discarded it.

Alvar Hanso learnt of this formula and knew that it was correct as it correlated with what the island had revealed to him. He enlisted the help of Valenzetti and many others to form the DHARMA Initiative, the purpose of which was to change these numbers - and so avert the predicted destruction of earth.

Does anyone know the name of the book (old book) that Lost is supposed drawn from? Something about a group that has a plane crash and then finds that they go crazy on the island or something while others find it like a vacation....it was referenced alot during the first and second seasons of Lost. I don't mean, "Bad Twin." Would love to read it if anyone knows. Thanks !

Miss Charlie -- I'm not sure about the book you are referring to -- that centers on a plane crash. BUT, I do remember hearing that the "Lost" creators/writers drew some "inspiration" from an old Irish novel called "The Third Policeman" by Flann O'Brien.

Re: Marcia's comment about Jin's body. You don't have to have a body to create a memorial.

Re: Toeknee: I am watching the series, not playing a "Lost" video game apart from the TV. I feel I should be able to draw my interpretations from the series, not its tie-ins.

I feel Joanna and Matt alike do a fine job on the "Lost" blog entries. Joanna is more likely to reply to email and appreciate her readers.

Thanks, I will have to check that one out as well. The one I am referring to might even have been about convicts that crash on an island. I probably have like three stories mixed up. I read about it on a Lost website ages ago and knew I should have written it down. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

EMC - I found it !!! It is called "Lost Horizon" by James Hilton, written in 1933. Great summer reading for us all :)