4.10 - Something Nice Back Home

Title’s significance: Bernard advises Jack to think of “something nice back home” during the surgery.

Recap: Remember how Jack wasn’t feeling well last episode? Turns out he’s having appendix issues, for which Juliet advises immediate surgery. While traipsing through the jungle with Sawyer and Claire, Miles gets a vibe that Rousseau and Karl are dead and finds their bodies, but Sawyer pushes to get back to the beach pronto. Juliet sends Sun, Jin, and the scientists to The Staff for surgical supplies; in typical do-gooder fashion, Jack wants to talk Juliet through the surgery. Sawyer’s riled up about Miles’s repeated contact with Claire, but when they find Frank in the jungle he tells them to hide from the approaching Keamy. As the surgery gets underway, it’s too much for Jack, so Bernard chloroforms him against his will. While in the jungle, Claire awakes to see Christian holding Aaron, and Juliet comes clean to Kate about her kiss with Jack, saying she thinks Jack’s in love with Kate. In the morning, Miles reveals to Sawyer that Claire skedaddled with her dad, but curiously she’s left Aaron behind. Flashforwards reveal that Jack and Kate are hooking up off-island, but more interestingly Jack’s seeing visions of his long-dead father. Jack visits Hurley, who theorizes that the Oceanic 6 actually died; Hurley reveals that Charlie has been speaking to him, sending a message that Jack isn’t supposed to raise Aaron. Jack’s not buying it and asks Kate to marry him; she agrees. At his office, he hears the smoke detector go off and is visited by his father again. Kate makes a mysterious phone call, which troubles Jack and drives him to drink until he lashes out about Kate’s promise to Sawyer, Aaron’s true parentage, and the fact that they shouldn’t get hitched.

Thoughts: There’s a critical flaw with flashforwards – characters can’t be put into life-threatening peril. We know that Jack’s going to be fine, so it’s difficult to muster up any suspense during this appendix issue; what’s more, Jack-centric episodes already have a tendency to leave me cold, so the flashforwards don’t really alleviate my boredom (least of all when Jack cries – again). Kind of makes you long for the days of “let’s fix a car,” don’t it? If anything, we can start to ask why the island didn’t heal Jack’s appendix – I think the island doesn’t want him to leave with the freighter people, which almost seems to make too much sense. We get a clue in this episode (as we’ve suspected by now) that the smoke monster has something to do with the apparitions of dead people – see the scene in Jack’s office, when the smoke alarm herald’s Christian’s arrival.

Favorite moment: Daniel telling Charlotte, “You have a really bad attitude.”

Characters introduced (in order):

• ERICA, a fellow doctor

What we learned:

• Jack’s appendix is removed.
• Charlotte speaks Korean.

Questions:

• Why was Jack allowed to fall ill?
• Why is Miles so interested in Claire?
• What actually powers the locations on the island?
• Who was Kate on the phone with?
• What promise did Kate make to Sawyer?
• As of this flashforward, has Jack found out that he’s Aaron’s uncle?
• Why would Claire so willingly abandon Aaron?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Aaron’s position off-island without Claire helps us know that the writers haven’t forgotten about this important plotline, but how will it show up in Season Six?
• As of Season Five, we still don’t know what would have possessed Claire to leave Aaron behind or what exactly the apparition of Christian is (or if it’s even the same apparition, since he’s dressed differently than he usually is).

4.09 - The Shape of Things to Come

Title’s significance: At first I thought it was another “LOST being metafictionally clever” moment since the rules have apparently changed and the incident with Keamy and Alex represents the way things are going to be. But it’s apparently a reference to an H.G. Wells novel written as a history book from the future.

Recap: The freighter’s doctor washes up murdered on shore just as Keamy forces Alex to deactivate the sonic fence. Ben barricades himself in his house after learning that the mercenaries are coming, and a rocket blows up Claire’s house just as Sawyer goes to rescue her. Fortunately, Claire’s okay, but Ben says that Jacob is the only person who can save them – and only Hurley knows how to get to him. Miles appears, bringing Ben a walkie from the mercenaries, who demand Ben’s surrender. Ben reconsiders when he learns that Alex is the hostage, but when he claims that Alex means nothing to him, Keamy calls his bluff and kills Alex. Ben retreats to his closet office and summons the smoke monster, which kills most of Keamy’s team. Daniel sends a Morse code message to the freighter asking after the doctor, but a reply says that the doctor is fine. Sawyer, Claire, and Miles abandon Locke’s team. In his flashforwards, Ben somehow appears in the Sahara and, after dispatching a few Bedouins, rents a hotel room. Ben visits Sayid during Nadia’s funeral, claiming he can find the man who murdered Nadia. Sayid agrees to help Ben in punishing Widmore. Ben breaks into Widmore’s penthouse and promises to kill Penny as revenge for Alex; the two also argue about who should possess the island.

Thoughts: Really just a knockout episode, and I wonder why Ben doesn’t get more centric episodes. Again, I’m surprised this episode wasn’t written by Damon and Carlton, since there’s so much of mythological significance in this episode – particularly the face-to-face between Ben and Widmore, which confirms a long-standing suspicion that the two are interconnected in some profound way. Michael Emerson is really an outstanding actor, and he shines in every one of his scenes, each of which is more emotionally wrought than the last. (Of sidebar but peculiar interest: Ben notes that Jacob knows the truth about the smoke monster – could it be his nemesis?)

Favorite moment: The standoff between Ben and Keamy, the alarming outcome, and Michael Emerson’s absolutely fabulous reaction. That, or the final showdown between Ben and Widmore.
Characters introduced (in order):

• ISHMAEL BAKIR, apparently Nadia’s killer

What we learned:

• Ben arrived in Tunisia in 2005.
• Nadia is dead.
• Sayid is working for Ben to avenge Nadia.
• Keamy’s team killed Karl and Rousseau, and Keamy personally killed Alex.
• Widmore “changed the rules.”
• Daniel reveals that he was never going to take anyone off the island.
• Jacob knows about the smoke monster.
• Widmore claims that everything Ben has, he took from Widmore.

Questions:

• How did Ben get all the way to the Sahara?
• What happened to Ben between December 2004 and October 2005?
• How did Nadia die?
• What’s this business about rules?
• How can the doctor be fine if his body just washed up?
• Just how far back do Ben and Widmore go?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Hurley says, “Australia’s the key to the whole game.” Is there some significance to the fact that the plane took off specifically from Sydney?
• I didn’t notice it the first time, but Claire suffers some head trauma in this episode. Could this be the reason she ends up seeing Christian later on in the season?
• Ben mentions “rules.” What are the rules, who made them, and what are the consequences for breaking them?
• After this episode, I’m dying to see some kind of final epic battle between Ben and Widmore – and either way, the survivors of Flight 815 come out the losers.

4.08 - Meet Kevin Johnson

Title’s significance: Quoting last episode’s reveal and Tom’s line about a passport, this episode reintroduces Michael into the plot as a member of the freighter crew.

Recap: Most of this episode is a flashback, showing us what Michael’s been up to since we last saw him in Season Two. Despondent over how he came to leave the island, Michael tries to kill himself but fails, hallucinating Libby at his hospital bedside. We learn that Michael has been living under a false name, leaving Walt with his grandmother. When Michael attempts suicide again, Tom appears, telling Michael that the island isn’t quite done with him. Tom contracts Michael to join Widmore’s freighter and blow it up. Just as Michael moves to detonate the explosives on the freighter, he’s stopped by another vision of Libby but learns that he’s been conned by Ben, who only wants to hurt Widmore and not the others on the freighter. At the barracks, Locke lets Miles explain the freighter’s mission – capture Ben and kill everyone else – while Ben tries to gain the trust of Locke’s team by confessing that Michael is his spy. On the freighter, Captain Gault refuses to let anyone leave the boat while Ben asks Alex to join The Others at The Temple. Sayid attempts to turn Michael over to Captain Gault (don’t be so indignant, Sayid – you’re gonna end up working for Ben, too) as Rousseau, Alex, and Karl make their way through the jungle toward The Temple. They’re stopped, though, by gunfire that claims Karl and Rousseau; shaken, Alex calls out that she’s Ben’s daughter.

Thoughts: LOST tends to do these episode-long flashbacks pretty well, and “Meet Kevin Johnson” was no exception. This episode was still very much of interest, even on rewatch, and I’d actually been looking forward to it for a while on the way to it. Michael gets a little bit of character depth, and it’s great writing how his presence on the freighter both ties into existing plotlines and explains in new material what happened since he left the island. And the final scene is so jarring – a character of such major mythological import being snuffed out by an unseen killer – that it’s chilling.

Favorite moment: The scene in the alleyway between Michael and Tom. (The Arturo scene, though, isn’t exactly something viewers will forget any time soon.)

Characters introduced (in order):

• MAMA DAWSON, Michael’s mother, now raising Walt
• ARTURO, Tom’s boyfriend

What we learned:

• Michael is Ben’s spy on the freighter.
• Michael told Walt what he had to do to get off the island.
• The island won’t let Michael kill himself.
• Tom was gay after all.
• Widmore staged the wreck of Flight 815.

Questions:

• Was it just a guilty dream, or did the island really manifest Libby to Michael?
• Who shot Karl and Rousseau?
• Why doesn’t Captain Gault seem upset that Michael sabotaged his equipment?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Widmore. Island.
• Is there really a difference between Ben and Widmore?

4.07 - Ji Yeon

Title’s significance: Ji Yeon is the name Jin wants to give to the baby.

Recap: Flashbacks cover Jin’s work trying to get a stuffed panda for a pregnant colleague of Mr. Paik’s. On the freighter, Sayid and Desmond are prisoners for breaking into the radio room. Sun interrogates Daniel about whether the freighter is going to rescue them, and when she returns she tells Jin that they’re going to go find Locke. To prevent Sun from leaving, Juliet tells Jin about Sun’s affair with Jae Lee. Bernard and Jin go fishing and share belief in karma – “we must be the good guys, huh?” On the freighter, Regina commits suicide, but Desmond and Sayid meet Captain Gault, who says that his crew is suffering from cabin fever and that his ship is being sabotaged; Gault also confirms that it’s Widmore’s boat and reveals that he’s trying to figure out who faked the crash of Flight 815, suggesting Ben manipulated the staged crash. Desmond and Sayid meet “Kevin Johnson” on the freighter – it’s Michael! Sun reveals that she doesn’t want to go with Locke anymore; instead, she wants to find any way she can to leave the island. In the flashforwards, Sun gives birth to her daughter Ji Yeon and visits Jin’s grave with Hurley.

Thoughts: This episode is so dastardly in that it really screwed with our heads about the whole flashback/forward thing. In that respect, it was a delightful little twist, but as for the rest of the episode, it’s fairly unremarkable with the brakes firmly on and with little to move the plot forward other than the reveal that Michael is aboard the freighter, making him another potential candidate for being Ben’s man on the freighter.

Favorite moment: Bernard and Jin fishing.

Characters introduced (in order):

• CAPTAIN GAULT, menacing freighter captain
• JI YEON, Jin & Sun’s daughter

What we learned:

• Sun is one of the Oceanic Six.
• Michael is on the freighter.

Questions:

• What’s the source of the banging pipes noise?
• Is Jin really dead?
• What the deuce is Michael doing on the freighter?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Nothing really of mythological significance that hasn’t already been harped on before on this blog.

4.06 - The Other Woman

Title’s significance: Juliet is “the other woman” in so many ways here – in a relationship with Goodwin, as Jack’s other woman, and as a member of The Others.

Recap: Juliet gets flashbacks this week detailing how Ben was kind of nuts about her. During her affair with Goodwin, Juliet learned that the island causes immune systems to attack the fetus, but all Ben really cared about was Goodwin as a rival for Juliet’s affections. Goodwin’s wife Harper wasn’t too keen on any of this, and Juliet started to worry that Ben might hurt Goodwin. Ben revealed that he sent Goodwin on what he knew was a suicide mission because he considers Juliet “mine.” On the island, Daniel and Charlotte disappear from camp, so the 815ers head out into the jungle after them, and Juliet encounters Harper, who tells Juliet that the freighter people are headed for The Tempest, a gas attack station. Daniel and Charlotte meet up with Kate in the jungle and knock her out when she learns they’re being disingenuous. Prisoner Ben (variant action figure) promises to enlighten Locke about the freighter in exchange for “some semblance of freedom.” Jack and Juliet find a roughed-up Kate as Ben shows Locke a video of Charles Widmore – the man behind the freighter. Juliet arrives at The Tempest to find Daniel fiddling with the controls, but he reveals he and Charlotte want to destroy the gas so Ben can’t use it. They succeed, and Juliet reveals she’s afraid for Jack because Ben knows how she feels about Jack. Jack’s not daunted, and as Sawyer and Hurley play horseshoes, they discover that Ben is living in his own house now.

Thoughts: Very intriguing episode, but what’s funny is that – for the first time in a long while (maybe ever) – the flashbacks are more interesting than the main plot of the episode. And, as is tradition on LOST, the Ben/Locke scenes are the best in the episode. This episode gets major brownie points for revealing that Widmore is the man behind the freighter, setting up an important plotline and throwing an element from Desmond’s backstory full force into the main conflict surrounding the island.

Favorite moment: Ben asking Locke of the rabbit he’s eating for lunch: “This didn’t have a number on it, did it?” The ensuing scene is just a masterpiece because Ben is so delightfully manipulative – “I always have a plan.”

Characters introduced (in order):

• HARPER STANHOPE, Goodwin’s wife and Other therapist

What we learned:

• The Tempest is a Dharma station doing gas research.
• “Ben is exactly where he wants to be.”
• Goodwin worked at The Tempest.
• Somehow immune systems are turning against the fetus on the island.
• Charles Widmore hired the freighter team to find the island and kill Ben.
• Charlotte suggests that Ben used The Tempest to initiate The Purge.

Questions:

• How did Harper appear seemingly at will?
• Who does Juliet “look just like”?
• Why does Widmore want to find the island?
• How does Widmore know about the island?
• How does Charlotte know about The Purge?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Widmore vs. Ben.

4.05 - The Constant

Title’s significance: Time-traveling consciousnesses need a constant – something or someone present in both timelines – in order to unscramble their brains.

Recap: (I apologize in advance if the recap is difficult to follow; the episode might be challenging without seeing it.) This episode focuses on the fate of the freighter-bound Sayid, Frank, and Desmond. While traveling to the freighter, Desmond flashes back – physically – to hi time in the military; when his consciousness returns to the helicopter, he doesn’t remember anything about the island. Meanwhile, Daniel tells Jack that there’s some sort of time distortion around the island, and Desmond finds himself bouncing between 2004 and 1996. Desmond meets Minkowski in the freighter’s sick bay and learns that they’re suffering the same affliction. In 1996, Desmond tries to contact Penny before jumping back to the freighter, at which point Daniel tells Desmond to contact him in 1996. He does and uses the information Future Faraday gave him to convince Past Daniel that his story about time travel is true; it turns out that Daniel’s been working on the time travel of human consciousness. In 2004, Minkowski reveals that Penny’s been trying to contact the freighter but that the freighter crew is forbidden from speaking with her. In 1996, Daniel warns Desmond that he’ll die if he doesn’t find a constant – something accessible in both timelines – so Desmond chooses Penny, but her phone number’s been disconnected. Desmond seeks out Widmore, who gives Desmond Penny’s address. In 2004, Sayid works to fix the freighter’s broken radio equipment, but Desmond’s thrown back to 1996 to get Penny’s phone number. He gets the number just in time to make the call in 2004, in which Penny professes her love and promises to find Desmond. Back on the beach, Daniel reveals to the audience that Desmond was *his* constant.

Thoughts: I think this is an episode that could have been really bad and really confusing if it hadn’t been written by my favorites, Damon and Carlton. As it was, the episode was surprisingly easy to follow and extremely entertaining, definitely one of the best of Season Four and perhaps one of the best of the series thus far.

Favorite moment: It's so tough to pick a favorite moment in this episode, mostly since this episode was just full of one memorable moment after another.

Characters introduced (in order):

• MARTIN KEAMY, militant member of the freighter crew
• OMAR, Keamy’s partner
• RAY, the doctor on the freighter

What we learned:

• Transportation on and off the island involves some kind of temporal displacement.
• Daniel was a physics professor at Oxford.
• Daniel’s fritziness is related to his experiments with radiation, and Desmond is his constant.
• A constant “fixes” the scrambled brains of time-traveling consciousnesses.
• Widmore purchased a journal from The Black Rock at auction.
• Temporal dislocation killed Eloise the rat and Minkowski.
• Penny is Desmond’s constant.
• Penny knows about the island.

Questions:

• Why does the island only displace some people and not others?
• Who’s Eloise?
• Why can’t the freighter communicate with Penelope? Who told them not to?
• Who sabotaged the radio equipment on the freighter?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Desmond yells repeatedly, “I’m not supposed to be here!” But the very nature of the island and the interlinked destinies of those who come to it suggest otherwise. In fact, Mrs. Hawking even says that the island isn’t done with Desmond, so we need some closure on this plotline ay-sap.
• Constants? Anyone?

4.04 - Eggtown

Title’s significance: Yeah, I’m gonna let Carlton cover this one, as quoted from Lostpedia: “Really, we could spend a lot of time talking about the titles that don't make sense, but the title "Eggtown" referred to the fact that Locke fixed a couple of eggs for Ben at the beginning of the episode, and then there's also the episode had a lot to do with Kate's pregnancy, and pregnancy involves eggs, and so that was the other kind of, sort of metaphoric significance of the title "Eggtown".”

Recap: Locke’s holding Ben and Miles prisoner, and Kate and Sawyer are playing house just swell, but Kate refuses to move in with Sawyer. Jack introduces Daniel and Charlotte to the beach camp while Kate demands to see Miles, learning his location by “Scooby-Doo’ing” Hurley. Miles tells Kate that he wants to speak to Ben and won’t tell her anything until he does. Meanwhile, Jack is having difficulties hailing the freighter on the sat phone but refuses to concede that Locke might be right. Kate asks Sawyer’s help in freeing Ben, but Sawyer goes to Locke and tells him about her plan to bust Ben out, so Locke darts to the boathouse – it’s empty, since Kate has Miles with her and is bringing him to Ben. Miles tells Ben he’ll lie about his whereabouts for $3.2 million, but Ben isn’t quite willing to play ball as Kate learns from Miles that the feds are still after her. When Locke realizes he’s been tricked, he’s peeved and excommunicates Kate. Charlotte calls the freighter and learns that the helicopter never made it to the freighter. Kate’s flashforward finds her facing her court date with her mother as the star witness; her lawyer Duncan Forrester advises her to play up her character by using her son, but Kate refuses. Forrester calls Jack into the courtroom as a character witness, but this upsets Kate and she calls a halt to it. Her mother Diane comes to her and asks to see her grandson in return for not testifying, but Kate refuses point blank. But when Diane can’t testify for medical reasons, Kate takes a plea bargain for probation and travel restriction. We learn at the end that Kate’s “son” is actually Aaron.

Thoughts: Not a really spectacular episode, but I’m loving the whole “Locke leading The Others” thing, partly because Terry O’Quinn is such a spectacular actor and also because it’s tied in with my whole theory about Locke being the savior of the island. Though the flashforward wasn’t very interesting, it introduces a major plot point that should be disconcerting to anyone who’s been paying attention – Aaron isn’t being raised by Claire.

Favorite moment: That opening scene between Ben and Locke is magnificent, and not just because of Locke’s rewatch-minded line, “You might catch something you missed the second time around.” Emerson and O’Quinn are quite clearly the two best actors on this show. That, or Locke putting a grenade in Miles’s mouth.

Characters introduced (in order):

• DUNCAN FORRESTER, Kate’s lawyer
• MELISSA DUNBROOK, Kate’s prosecutor

What we learned:

• Locke is holding Miles prisoner in the boathouse.
• The Oceanic 6’s story claims that only eight people survived the plane crash.
• Ben knows who the freighter people are working for.
• Kate’s record is still open with the feds.
• Kate’s mother has outlived medical estimates.
• Daniel’s been having memory problems.
• Kate’s not pregnant.

Questions:

• Why is Locke holding Miles prisoner?
• Who were the two that allegedly survived the crash but aren’t considered part of the Oceanic 6?
• Why is Miles willing to lie about Ben?
• Why does Miles want $3.2 million on the nose?
• What happened to the helicopter?
• How did Kate get a hold of Aaron, and why would Claire let him leave the island without her?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Aaron’s not being raised by Claire. As of Season Five, he’s still not even on the island. Isn’t this going to pose a major problem?

4.03 - The Economist

Title’s significance: In the flashforwards, Sayid is helping Ben eliminate people who work for a mysterious and seemingly villainous “economist.”

Recap: While Frank prepares to return to the freighter, Sayid promises to bring Charlotte back in exchange for passage to the freighter, and he brings Miles along. Sawyer tries to convince Ben to divulge the name of his spy, but Locke knows Ben won’t talk; after learning that Jacob’s cabin has moved, Locke directs his team to the barracks. Jack sends Kate with Sayid and Miles, while Daniel conducts an experiment that suggests the island is temporally dislocated. Kate and Sayid find Hurley in a closet in the barracks; he says Locke left him behind after he argued about taking Charlotte as a hostage, but after finding a hidden compartment in Ben’s home Sayid finds that he’s walked into a trap when Locke appears in the house. Sawyer invites Kate to join him at the barracks, but she expresses anxiety about “playing house.” Sayid offers Locke a trade – Miles for Charlotte – and he returns to the helicopter with Charlotte in tow, securing a seat on the ride to the freighter. Flashforwards reveal that Sayid is one of the Oceanic 6 and that he’s assassinating people, including Peter Avellino. In Berlin, he meets up with Elsa and starts going out with her, but we learn quickly that this is tied in with his headhunting gig. After what seems like a touching romance, Sayid attempts to save Elsa, but she shoots him when he threatens the economist. We learn at the end that Sayid is working for Ben.

Thoughts: This was a pretty cool episode, getting all the freighter people back together (well, sort of), and the momentum keeps going. On a related note, this is probably my favorite character-centric flashforward, if only because of the last-second reveal that Sayid is working for Ben.

Favorite moment: Hurley bemoans Miles’s attitude and says, “Oh, great, the ship sent us another Sawyer.”

Characters introduced (in order):

• PETER AVELLINO, employee of “the economist” assassinated by Sayid
• ELSA, romantic interest for Flashforward Sayid (variant action figure), working for the economist

What we learned:

• Sayid is one of the Oceanic 6.
• Ben has a secret compartment filled with bogus passports in his home.
• Sayid has a list of people he is supposed to kill, and the economist is on it.
• The economist is not an economist.
• Sayid will end up working for Ben.
• Ben makes it off the island.

Questions:

• Who is R.G.?
• Why did the beacon have a lag time before landing on the island?
• What’s Locke’s interest in Miles?
• Who is the economist?
• What’s the significance of the bracelet that Naomi and Elsa both have? – Damon & Carlton say none, so okay.
• Why is it important that Frank stay on the exact same bearing to leave the island?
• Why would Sayid work for Ben?
• Who is on Ben's list?
• Assuming he's not posing as one of the Oceanic 6, how did Ben get off the island?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• This episode expands on Ben’s idea that the island is under attack, but more importantly we get a sense that Ben is fighting back against Widmore. Yet the nature of this conflict (and the victor, of course) has yet to be revealed.
• This episode also introduces a curious facet of the island – the light doesn’t scatter quite right, and the payload doesn’t land on time. Um, why?

4.02 - Confirmed Dead

Title’s significance: The rest of the world believes Oceanic 815 to be “confirmed dead” since the plane wreckage was apparently discovered underwater.

Recap: The episode begins with the curious discovery of Oceanic 815 wreckage – in an ocean trench near Bali; the news distresses Daniel Faraday, though he doesn’t know why. Flashbacks continue to explore the pasts of the freighter people; Miles Straume was some kind of ghost whisperer, Charlotte found a Dharma polar bear skeleton in Tunisia, Frank Lapidus (the original pilot of Flight 815) knew the crash wasn’t legit, and Naomi was hired by Matthew Abaddon to protect the freighter team. On the island, Daniel (who is kind of fritzy) tells Jack he’s here to rescue the survivors, but he admits that it’s not a primary objective. Locke leads his team toward Jacob’s cabin, revealing that he’s “taking orders” from Walt. Jack, Kate, and Daniel find Miles, and Kate reveals that Locke is at fault as Miles demands to see her body; Miles communes with the body and learns that Kate’s story is true. Ben tries to manipulate Sawyer by taunting him about Kate, but Locke spares Ben by saying that Ben has useful information; Locke’s team finds Charlotte in a pond and tell her they don’t want to be rescued as Juliet and Sayid catch up with Jack’s team. Sayid tracks Charlotte’s signal, but they find it attached to Vincent, knowing that Locke gave them the slip. Having stolen Karl’s gun, Ben shoots Charlotte, revealing in the process that she’s wearing a bulletproof vest, while Jack’s team finds Frank and his fully-intact helicopter. As Locke tries to kill Ben, Ben reveals that he has a man on the freighter and that he knows the freighter crew are after him.

Thoughts: Really good episode with some stellar introductory work on the freighter characters. The new characters are interesting and pretty well-developed, and we know almost instantly what motivates all of them. Even on rewatch, I’m on the edge of my seat.

Favorite moment: “Karl, now if you’re gonna sleep with my daughter, I insist you call me Ben.” That, or Sawyer’s snide “Who are we to argue with Taller Ghost Walt?”

Characters introduced (in order):

• CHARLOTTE LEWIS, scientist with the freighter crew
• FRANK LAPIDUS, helicopter pilot on the freighter
• MILES STRAUME, the freighter’s ghost whisperer
• MRS. GARDNER, grandmother of a ghost, aided by Miles
• REGINA, woman on the freighter

What we learned:

• “Oceanic 815” was discovered by The Christiane while searching for sunken treasure.
• If Locke had had a kidney where Ben shot him, he’d probably be dead.
• Miles claims to communicate with ghosts.
• “Tell my sister I love her” was just a code Naomi used to tip off the freighter.
• Daniel notices that sunlight “doesn’t quite scatter right” on the island.
• Charlotte refused to believe the story about Oceanic 815.
• A Dharma polar bear made it all the way to Tunisia.
• There are four freighter people on the island, not counting Naomi.
• Frank Lapidus doubted the story of Oceanic 815.
• Frank Lapidus was meant to be the original pilot of Oceanic 815.
• Naomi was hired by Matthew Abaddon to protect the freighter.
• Matthew Abaddon and Naomi know that the Oceanic 815 crash was staged.
• Miles reveals that the freighter crew’s primary objective is to find Ben.
• Ben claims not to know what the smoke monster is.
• Ben has a man on the freighter.

Questions:

• Who is the woman with Daniel?
• Why was Daniel so upset about 815?
• Why do the freighter people have gas masks and guns if they’re on a rescue mission?
• What is the primary objective of the freighter crew?
• Is Miles’s ability for real?
• How did the Dharma bear make it to Tunisia?
• Why was Charlotte so happy to see the Hydra logo?
• Who planted all the bodies underwater in Oceanic wreckage?
• Why would someone fake Oceanic wreckage?
• Why can’t Minkowski come to the phone?
• Does Ben really know about the monster or not?
• If the freighter mission is to apprehend Ben, why do they need scientists and ghost whisperers?
• Who is Ben’s spy on the freighter?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Nothing of great mythological import here.

4.01 - The Beginning of the End

Title’s significance: Ben warned Jack that contacting the freighter would be “the beginning of the end.” It’s also a metafictional way of letting us know we’ve passed the halfway point of the series.

Recap: As the freighter approaches, the survivors celebrate but worry about where Locke scampered off to. Ben asks Rousseau to take Alex far away, but she refuses, saying Alex isn’t his daughter. Hurley expresses relief that his money will be gone when he gets back as Desmond returns from The Looking Glass with the news about Charlie and the not-Penny’s boat. Jack worries when the freighter people want to talk to Naomi, especially because her body is gone; as the rest of the survivors head to the beach, Jack tracks Naomi. While heading for Jack, Hurley stumbles upon Jacob’s cabin, in which he finds Christian Shephard and which seems to move. Meanwhile, Kate follows a blood trail that leads her to Naomi, who contacts the freighter. Hurley meets up with Locke, and they catch up with the reunited survivors; Locke and Jack come to blows over what’s best for the survivors, who split into two camps: Jack leads survivors (Kate, Sayid, Rose, and Bernard) who believe in rescue, while Locke’s group (Sawyer, Hurley, Claire, and Ben) believes Charlie’s words and doubts that the freighter people are well-intentioned. A second parachutist – a man this time – comes to the island. Flashforwards reveal that Hurley is one of the Oceanic 6 – six survivors of Flight 815 who made it off the island. Arrested by Ana Lucia’s partner for going crazy in a convenience store, Hurley has a vision of Charlie before being committed to an institution. Hurley gets a visit from Matthew Abaddon, who claims to be an attorney for Oceanic Airlines but who asks, “Are they still alive?” Hurley is visited first by Charlie and then by pre-beard Jack, who disagrees with Hurley and claims that there’s no reason to go back to the island.

Thoughts: What a great way to start off the fourth and shortest season of LOST, and it’s no surprise that Damon & Carlton are responsible. Since the Season Three finale was mostly self-contained and only left one big lingering thread, this season kicks off with a brand new focus – the freighter people – and continues the pattern of flashforwards, clueing us in that six people have made it back. But who? How? I’m staying tuned.

Favorite moment: Ben’s nonchalant shrug when Jack asks where Naomi is.

Characters introduced (in order):

• MATTHEW ABADDON, a mysterious figure asking after the survivors of Flight 815
• LEWIS, Hurley’s buddy in Santa Rosa
• DANIEL FARADAY, the second parachutist

What we learned:

• The Oceanic 6 are six survivors of Flight 815 who make it back to the real world.
• Jack is one of the Oceanic 6.
• Kate is one of the Oceanic 6.
• Hurley is one of the Oceanic 6.
• Minkowski’s first name is George.
• There are parties suspicious about the story the Oceanic 6 sold.
• Christian is in Jacob’s cabin.
• Jacob’s cabin apparently moves.

Questions:

• Who else is in the Oceanic 6?
• Why did only six return?
• What makes Ben think the freighter people are trouble?
• Who does Matthew Abaddon really work for?
• Matthew Abaddon asks, “Are they still alive?” Who’s he looking for, and *are* they still alive?
• What’s Christian doing in Jacob’s cabin?
• How can Jacob’s cabin move?
• What’s up with the visions of Charlie?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• In Season Five, Ilana remarks that Jacob’s cabin hasn’t been occupied in some time. If that’s the case, what the heck’s been going on there?
• We still don’t quite know what it is the Oceanic 6 are meant to do when they return to the island. Is it the Jughead plan, or is there something else afoot, some other unexplored part of their destiny?