Best Hour of TV Ever

Lost

By Kat | Thursday, September 22, 2005 | 12:33 pm | 94 Comments
cast

OK everybody, we are about to embark on another season of what may be my favorite show ever. Last season saw some of the best writing and acting around, especially the pilot, the episode where we discovered Locke was wheelchair-bound before the crash, and the one where Boone and Locke find another downed plane. (Wow, Terry O’Quinn! Look at you sneaking up and becoming my favorite cast member!) Having said that, the show could also be disappointing when they weren’t bringing their A-game. It threw clues and new mysteries at us left and right with essentially no payoff, and the writers will be hard pressed to provide answers to everything, especially answers that mesh. I mean, sure, there’s polar bears living on this tropical island. And OK, there’s a free-willed moving column of black smoke that tried to pull Locke underground. I can accept those things on their own, but I want to know how they fit together to explain what the hell is happening on this island.

Neither of these occurences were explained in the premiere last night, but I’m okay with that. Why? Well, check out the title of this post. Lost even managed to surprise me, the ultimate jaded viewer, with their revelation of what exactly was down the hatch. I think I had my first TVgasm last night.So, because the opener was so good, I’m going to give you a stream of consciousness reaction to the first three minutes of the show: We hear beeping, and a man’s eyes fly open. He walks over to this old, War Games-style computer. It’s huge and clunky with a black screen, but it looks like he’s sending an email from it. Maybe he just likes things retro, though, because his apartment has all this mid-century furniture and decor, but we can definitely see a brand-new washer and dryer and a fancy blender, so we know it’s pretty close to present day. Now he’s picking out a record to play on his tricked-out (as it were) old school stereo system. Is one of the characters a hipster? Maybe one of the other castaways is a music executive from Echo Park. Hee. Wait, is this Sawyer? They don’t show his face but he’s big and has longish hair. Must be Sawyer before the crash, then.

Actually, now I’m not so sure. This guy is way more ripped than Sawyer. Aaaaand now he’s injecting himself with a big ol’ helping of steroids. Sweet. So, professional athlete? Oops, earthquake! The whole house shakes, so he….WAIT A SECOND! Wait a damn second! Is this the hatch? Holy poop, I think it is! What?! The guy starts freaking out and running around. He changes into a snazzy uniform (which I can respect. If you’re going to start shooting people, you may as well look good doing it), then grabs a gun and starts fiddling with dials on the walls. The lights go out, wall fixtures change direction, and we slowly pan up….to where Locke and Jack are staring into the dark hatch. Dudes. Somebody lives there. Not what I was expecting. And, may I say, a far better choice than any mystical nonsense they could have tried to throw at us.

Now, it occurs to me that some of you may be new to the show, or maybe just need a refesher course on last season. If not, just scroll down a few paragraphs. Here’s a quick(ish) rundown on the main characters from last season: Jack is the reluctant leader of the group; he was given that responsibility mostly because he’s a doctor and seems pretty unflappable. He had gone to Australia to get his alcoholic father, who turned up dead – the body was on the plane, but only the empty coffin turned up after the crash, which led to Jack having visions of his father walking around the island for a while there. Sawyer is one of two anti-Jack characters. He’s a hothead and is Jack’s competition for the affections of Kate, who is perhaps the worst character ever written for primetime television. Nothing redeeming about her. She’s also a murderer and a bank robber, which means she has more in common with Sawyer (a con man) than Jack.

Locke is Jack’s other competition; here it’s for the loyalty of the castaways. While Jack wants to be pragmatic about keeping people safe and trying to get off the island, Locke believes in destiny and says the island chose them to come. He would believe that, as where he was once confined to a wheelchair, he regained the ability to walk when the plane crashed (it’s still a mystery why he was paralyzed – he was NOT paralyzed from the kidney donation surgery he had for his long-lost manipulative biological father; if you try to offer that theory in the forums or comments section you will feel my verbal fury). Let’s see, who else? Jin and Sun are a mafia couple from Korea whose backstory at this point isn’t as interesting as everyone else’s, but we can forgive them because they are two of the prettiest people ever put on god’s green earth. Oh, and Jin doesn’t speak any English. He left on the raft at the end of last season with Sawyer and Michael and Walt, the father-son duo who were reunited for the first time since Walt was a baby, when his mom died. He was kidnapped off the raft by The Others, and it was very sad. The Others have some sort of obsession with children.

Walt had left his golden retriever Vincent on the island (Vincent might be some sort of magic doggy) in the care of Shannon, a spoiled princess basketcase whose step-brother/secret lover Boone died last season. Now she’s taken up with Sayid, a deeply conflicted Iraqi solider who is one of the most useful castaways. He knows all about radio transmissions and codes and stuff. He was kidnapped briefly by Rousseau, a crazy murderous French woman who’s been on the island for 16 years. She’s into kidnapping, as she also stole the baby of Claire, the pretty Australian single mom who was also kidnapped while pregnant, though she doesn’t remember anything about it (like I said, The Others have a thing about kids). Charlie, a heroin-addict has-been rock star, is in deep like with Claire, and has become friends with Hurley, a lottery winner who is the most likely culprit for causing the crash (if you want to go that route), since he won the lottery using the numbers 4 8 15 16 23 42 that are all over the island, and his life has been hell ever since. Finally, there’s Ana Lucia, who we only saw once, in a flashback to the airport bar with Jack. She was to be seated in the back of the plane, and we haven’t seen her on the island yet. She’s a regular cast member now and it’s easy enough to find out what her role will be, but for those of you who like the suspense I won’t go into it until she makes an appearance again.

Dang, that was longer than I meant it to be, but trust me, that’s the bare bones plot summary. OK, on to the show!

Jack and Locke (along with Kate and Hurley) of course have no idea yet of what’s going on in the hatch. They have enough to deal with up top, anyway. Hurley is in full freak-out mode, muttering the number sequence and talking about the “hole of death,” etc. Jack and Locke are ignoring him, the better to start fighting immediately. Locke is what you might call impulsive, and wants to go down the hatch right away, even though it’s the middle of the night. Jack argues in favor of going back to camp to let the other castaways know what’s going on. Kate says something irrelevant, per usual.

It’s flashback time! New viewers, this is something you’ll want to get used to. Lots of flashbacks going on in Lost. At least they seem to have done away with the Thoughtful Look of Impending Flashback that we’d see last season every time a castaway starting thinking about the past.

Anyway, back to Jack’s flashback, where he’s in the ER—oh, check out that hair! That has got to be a shout out to Party of Five. That is some hilarious mid-‘90s coiffage right here. OK seriously, on with the show. Two people are being rushed into the ER after a car accident. We know intuitively that the woman is Jack’s future wife, who we’ve seen in flashbacks before; he’s apparently divorced now. The new tidbit we learn here is that he made a definitive choice to save her life over the life of the other driver. There’s no real reason given, though there is a slight hint that Jack is a dirty hippie when he asks about “the driver of the SUV” before he lets him die.

Back in camp, Charlie is telling people that Rousseau is nutters and there’s no reason to be afraid of “The Others” she keeps going on about, since they can’t possibly exist. Shannon is running around freaking out; she already managed to lose Vincent the dog. She and Sayid run off into the jungle and spot Vincent, but get separated as they run after him. Alone, Shannon starts to hear the whispering voices that a few others, including Sayid, have already heard. I don’t think we’re supposed to be able to hear exactly what they’re saying, but I personally have really bad hearing. Did any of you manage to hear something distinct?

Shannon turns around, and standing behind her is a completely drenched Walt. Now, there’s no way that kid escaped four adults on a boat, so this does not bode well for him. No dead kids! I can’t handle it! He just stands there and shushes Shannon, and then whispers something. Again, I have bad hearing, but I think he says something like “there’s no one going through,” but his mouth doesn’t match the words. When Sayid runs up, Walt disappears. I really hope he isn’t dead. I mean, what other option is there, really, but that makes me very sad. Walt was a nice little kid, and it wasn’t his fault he had some sort of mystical powers that could kill animals and crash planes…Hm. Might have to rethink that.

Back at the hatch, Jack and Locke are arguing again, some more. Turns out the hatch had the word “quarantine” stenciled on it. Jack makes fun of Locke’s belief in destiny, and Locke laughs at Hurley’s overwhelming terror. Then he corrects Kate’s grammar. You know, I’ve been viewing Locke as kind of a scary-devil-guru-type guy, but I’ve decided to change tacks—he’s just a harmless old grandpa, looking for a little adventure. This is a fun new way to think about him.

In the other direction, Hurley tells Jack about the numbers, and how he won the lottery with them and they’re cursed. We already knew that his grandpa died and his house caught fire, and here we get to learn about a new catastrophe that befell him: “The chicken joint that I worked at got hit by a meteor….well…actually, a meteorite.” Oh, Hurley, you are a ball of humorous sunshine. He even got Jack to laugh!

Nevertheless, Hurley feels that Jack wasn’t sufficiently sympathetic to his plight, and tells him to work on his bedside manner. Which of course leads to a flashback, where Jack tells his future lady that she’ll probably never walk again. She’s all, “…oh,” because really, what else can you say; then Jack’s dad (also a doctor, at the same hospital) calls him out for being kind of a dick to the patients. That’s enough of that, back to the island!

Shannon is telling the gathered crowd about seeing Walt, and there is much murmuring amongst the extras. Then Jack et. al. show up and tell the crowd about the hatch, and there is more murmuring. I would have to say that if there is a weak spot in this episode, it’s the crowd scenes. I know they’re hard to pull off, but hearing five minutes straight of “rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb” got pretty old. But then I was happy again when I realized Sayid and Shannon were passing the time with a friendly little ‘fro competition.

Locke approaches the group with a line of cable he got from the crash site. He’s going into the hatch, and he’s going now, Jack’s leadership be damned! Ooh, Jack is pissed. This is the first overt insubordination he’s been faced with, and now Mr. Reluctant Hero isn’t sure how to take it. And when Kate decides to go with Lock, Jack gets kind of sulky. Locke decides that he’ll belay Kate down the hatch first, since she’s smaller. Hopefully he’s trying to kill her, too.

Locke’s hands get all torn up as he lowers Kate down. In all fairness, it’s quite clear that he doesn’t have any nefarious plans for her. He stops the rope when she screams and asks if she’s OK. And for the first time, I had a feeling for Kate that wasn’t sheer hatred, since the actress actually managed to look scared rather than just vaguely bored and pretty. Looks like someone’s been taking some acting classes!

Right when Kate’s about to get to the bottom, the lights coming up from the bottom of the hatch turn off. From the top, Locke calls out to her, but instead of a reply a huge beam of light shoots out of the hatch. Once again, Locke really does try to save Kate by pulling up the rope, but something much stronger than him is pulling the rope from below. The skin on his hands is ripping off, and eventually he collapses.

Now I don’t think Jack and Kate have any sort of cosmic connection, but all of a sudden he’s rushing off to the hatch. Maybe it’s Jack and Locke that have the connection? When he sees that they’ve disappeared, he heads down after them. This leads to a flashback, where Jack is running stairs in a stadium at night. Another guy comes charging up behind him. Slap my ass and call me Sally, I do believe it’s the man from the hatch. Same hair, same body type. Jack stumbles and the man comes over to help him. He looks like a pumped-up Pee-Wee Herman. He also has an accent, Scottish or Welsh or something that American girls will find sexy. “See you in another life, yeah?” he says as he runs off. Oooh, foreshadowing!

Back in the hatch, Jack is venturing in deeper with the flashlight in one hand and his gun in another. He sees a pair of boots and starts to really freak out. I’m not sure why it’s the boots, of all things, that give him the shakes. The mural on the wall isn’t helping either. It seems like it’s new; there’s paint jars on a table beneath it. I could make out a sun with ‘108’ written on it it, and a woman who I bet is Rousseau. There’s also an arrow pointing upwards, a ’42,’ some small houses, and the word ‘sick.’ There a lot more, obviously, but that’s all I could make out.

There’s also some sort of magnetic force down there, that attracts the key Jack keeps on a string around his neck. You guys, I can NOT do justice to how creepy this is. Just as Jack discovers a mirror on the wall that is tracking his movements, “Make Your Own Kind of Music” by Cass Elliot starts blasting. I have chills! I love it when happy songs are used to creep people out; I don’t know why exactly but there’s something really effective about it.

Jack stumbles into the control center of the hatch. There’s even more cheesy-looking equipment in there, recorders and enormous computers and whatnot. Just as he’s about to type something into the computer, Locke steps in and orders him not to. Did Locke know the whole time?! No, it’s not what you think! There’s a gun to Locke’s head! And sure enough, the man holding it is the guy from the stadium. It’s unclear whether the crazy guy recognizes Jack, but Jack sure recognizes him.

I realize now that there wasn’t much to say about the middle half-hour of the show. Not much happened other than a little more backstory on Jack, and the Walt apparition, but the beginning and end MADE this episode. What did you all think? Were you as surpised as I was by an actual human living in the hatch? Do you like the direction this is headed? Also, if anyone has any theories as to what Walt said to Shannon, I’d love to hear them. But please, no spoilers. My esteemed colleague EdHill will be taking next week’s recap, and we’ll be alternating throughout the season. Let the comments speculation commence!

About

94 Comments

  1. 1
    Betty
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 12:44 pm

    Uh, nice attempt at a recap, but where’s the funny? My intern could have written something more witty and he’s bordering on retarded.

  2. 2
    Heather Toupin
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 12:46 pm

    Being the geek that I am, as soon as I saw the number “108″ I grabbed a calculator and added up 4 8 15 16 23 42. sure enough…it adds up to 108….creepy.

  3. 3
    Tim
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 12:47 pm

    The boots Jack saw were Kates. We were given a clear shot of her feet before she went down the hatch and I actually thought, wow she’s got some nice boots on. LOL.
    Also the accent was Australian I believe and the guy is definitely NOT as ripped as Sawyer.

  4. 4
    september
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 12:54 pm

    someone emailed me this (can’t confirm though)

    The part of Shannon and Walt’s meeting in the jungle was discussed on
    a radio show… They were curious as to what Walt said when Shannon saw
    him looking for Vincent. They played the recording and it sounded like
    gibberish. So, they played it in reverse… Walt said something along
    the lines of “Don’t push the button… the button is bad” or “push the
    button – but not while he’s with you”

  5. 5
    pandemonium
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 12:56 pm

    The words Walt speaks to Shannon are played backwards. Someone has reversed them and the general consensus is that Walt is saying either:
    “Press the button; no button is bad.
    or
    “Where’s the button? The button’s bad.

  6. 6
    Copilot
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:01 pm

    Great Recap! You really put some effort into it. Which is more than I can say for the writers of this show. They have no idea where they are going with this plot. I am so frustrated with this show that I find myself yelling at the TV. I understand that great shows take a long time (i.e. many hours of programming) to develop the story. Shows like “The Wire” and the first season of Deadwood on HBO. But as far as I can tell, this show has Lost its plot direction. It’s heading off into way to many directions.

    The other thing that annoys me is the lack of carring that I have for these characters. I mean, think about it. This show is really no different than Survivor in a way. You develop a connection, either good or bad with the survivor contestants (with the help of editing, of course). But that connection is Lost with this show. I could care less what happens to these people at this point. I kind of wish some more of them would ‘blow up’ instead of listen to their pointless banter.

    I commend your willingness and devotion to the show. I will try to follow this for a couple of more episodes, but I don’t have high expectations anymore.

  7. 7
    JM
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:08 pm

    Radio station WMMR in Philadelphia recorded what Walt said to Shannon and played it on-air. It sounds like giberish when played normally but when it’s played in reverse you can clearly hear him say “Push the button, no button is bad”

  8. 8
    AC Slater
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:09 pm

    I couldn’t make out what Walt said either but my wife says he said, “They’re getting closer.”

  9. 9
    HicksPub
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:10 pm

    This morning on “Good Morning America,” they played a deleted scene and it went like this:

    Charlie asked Jack if he knew that Kate went to the hatch. Jack acknowledged that he knew and that although Kate told him where she was going, he didn’t think that she needed to report to him. Charlie responded, “Jack, Think about it, She’s a girl. She probably wanted you to stop her.”

    I thought that it was an interesting tidbit that explained why Jack suddenly felt compelled to run to the hatch.

  10. 10
    Papercuts!
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:13 pm

    Couple things you may have missed:

    Shannon’s dad was the man Jack let die in the ER and he died at 8:15.

    “Make Your Own Music” includes the following lyrics:

    You’re gonna be nowhere
    The lonliest kind of lonely
    It may be rough going
    Just to do your thing’s the hardest thing to do.

    The numbers were on the vial of whatever Desmond injected himself with. Desmond also typed the numbers into the computer before he hit “Execute.”

    Also, Walt’s apperance is what is known as a “crisis apparition.” I’d be willing to bet he’ll appear to Sun next, since he has bonds with both her (she took care of him in Michael’s absence) and Shannon (the dog).

    It appears the plane was brought down using a giant electromagnet.

  11. 11
    Michael
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:24 pm

    Also, the innoculation that Desmond (hatch guy) shoots himself with has the forbidden numbers on it. And I wonder if it is a coincidence that the SUV driver who died has the same last name as Shannon.

  12. 12
    Papercuts!
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:25 pm

    And I forgot to mention the logo. In the pre-credit teaser, when we see Desmond going about his daily activities, there was a logo promintenly placed on everything in the room, including the back of a jacket hanging on a chair. Later, when Jack and Desmond meet in the stadium, the same logo is on the breast of Desmond’s shirt. It looked kind of like the OCP logo from RoboCop, crossed with the logo the government uses for the Pentagon.

  13. 13
    Michael
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:25 pm

    Dang you papercuts! Took all my thunder!

  14. 14
    Heather
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:27 pm

    “And I wonder if it is a coincidence that the SUV driver who died has the same last name as Shannon.”
    There are no coincidences on Lost…..

  15. 15
    Devito
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:31 pm

    I thought this was a great episode and a great recap. You truly articulated the tvgasm I get while watching lost every week.

    “Is one of the characters a hipster? Maybe one of the other castaways is a music executive from Echo Park.”

    You brought the funny just fine.

  16. 16
    Kat
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:32 pm

    Papercuts, I love it! You could get a PhD in Lost-ology.

  17. 17
    Papercuts!
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 1:35 pm

    If you liked that, Kat, you should check out my comments from MYL’s posts (and a couple of my message board posts) last season. I picked up on all kinds of stuff he missed.

    Glad you’re recapping — I don’t think MYL really liked the show so it made for a less entertaining read sometimes.

    Regardless, I love this show.

  18. 18
    madeyoulaugh
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 2:10 pm

    Papercuts!

    I can assure you, I went from loathing the show to being full on addict.

    Problem being it’s a show that requires an extensive ammount of time to cap, time which I sadly dont have.

    That said, if ever your looking for a forum to type, I know some people….

    MYL

  19. 19
    Betty
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 2:15 pm

    Perhaps papercuts should write the recaps? Please????

  20. 20
    Lady J
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 2:17 pm

    My question was why is Walt wet. He seemed to be submerged in water as he was appearing.

    Is Desmond an angel? Did he cure Sarah? Is Desmond the “Man of Faith” in the title? I thought it was Locke, but…

    We knew someone was down the hatch because the light came on when Locke came back while Boone was dying. The question is: why does Desmond stay down there? The injection and the ‘quarantine’ labels seem to tie in with what Rousseau said about her crewmates contracting an aggressive disease and dying off.

    As soon as we realize the guy’s in the hatch it brings to mind the old ‘Twilight Zones’ etc from the ’60s and ’80s where people would go to their nuke bunkers and had no idea that the war was over or it was an accidental meltdown.

  21. 21
    path
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 2:23 pm

    Apparently, the logo is the feng-shui symbol (without the text):
    http://www.fiftythings.com/Images/feng.gif

  22. 22
    copygodd
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 2:26 pm

    this was the first time i’ve ever watched this show. me likee.

    i think jack, in his flashbacks, resembled a beefed-up trent reznor.

  23. 23
    michael
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 2:35 pm

    thanks for the GREAT recap! and also all of the postings with extra insight to the show. :-) I can’t wait till next week!

  24. 24
    Schadenfreude
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 2:38 pm

    I agree that the opening was fantastic. I’m trying to figure out which of the Lostaways we’re seeing (it doesn’t really look like any of them, weird) when I hear the ‘boom’. Then I think, “Hm, no windows, no fresh fruit in the shake…it’s the bottom of the hatch shaft!” Sweet! I was prepared for the writers to jerk us around for two, maybe three episodes before getting someone down to the bottom of the shaft. Hey, it could have been hundreds of feet deep, and Locke and Jack could have bickered for days about whether to explore it or not. I should have known old Obi-Wan Lockobi wouldn’t let me down; he wasn’t going to wait a few hours, never mind a few weeks, to find out what was what after all he and Boone had gone through to get the dang thing open (not to mention the late and mostly unlamented Arse, who also paid the ultimate price). Not to worry that they wouldn’t leave us hanging, though: wet Walt’s enigmatic communique to Shannon notwithstanding, the fate of the crew of the Millennium Falkontiki remains unknown.

    Can’t say that the Jack backstory told me much about him that I didn’t already know (yeah, he’s a driven, joyless android who struggles in his father’s shadow), but, as Papercuts! (#10, #12) and Michael (#11) indicated, there were some tantalizing tidbits re: the SUV driver and the Commonwealth jock. Any bets on who survived the attack on the raft? Sawyer took a bullet, so the Fourth Law of TV Misdirection suggests that he will survive, possibly because the Korean muscle takes a shark for him. And how long will it take for Charlie to bust out that Nigerian smack? Tune in next week!

  25. 25
    pixies
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 2:51 pm

    I toally forgot about the smack and Charlie’s addiction! Great job Kat. I am just glad someone is recapping the show.

  26. 26
    Kate
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 3:10 pm

    I noticed a couple of things that I thought I’d mention:

    1. Desmond wakes up on the top bunk of a bunk bed. Since there are no coincidences in Lost, that has to be significant. Someone else was in that hatch with him at some point in time.

    2. The hatch has ‘QUARANTINE’ stamped on the inside… why put a warning on the ‘dangerous’ side of the door? Since the hatch had no handle or way of entry on the outside and the word ‘QUARANTINE’ on the inside, one would think that the outside world was being quarantined, not Desmond.

    3. The washer/dryer was a Neptune model from 2000. The computer looked like an Apple II from 1978. What’s up with that?

    4. Desmond was training for a ‘race around the world’, right? And he ‘almost became a doctor once’… what the hell?

  27. 27
    callygirl
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 3:34 pm

    I thought Desmond’s accent was Irish, not Australian. Desmond is an Irish name, too.

  28. 28
    Jillian
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 4:24 pm

    Good recap.
    I forgot how much I love this show.The opening scene was the best I have ever seen, well ever.

    By the way, I don’t think Desmond’s accent was Australian. I think she was right with it being Scotish. Thats what I assumed.

  29. 29
    jcc
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 4:45 pm

    great recap. I think you did a wise thing with dialing back the snark because how can you snark on an episode this good? I think the writers learned alot from the mistakes of last season. By starting in the hatch I think they were sending a message that they have a plan and won’t be jerking us around for the remainder of the season. Also Kat I enjoyed how you offered up you interpretations of the murkier areas. I honestly didn’t see the 108. It would be great if we could use these recaps and boards to put together all the puzzle pieces.

  30. 30
    Lady J
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 4:47 pm

    I thought his accent was Scottish or Welsh too. At first it sounded Australian, but he had that curling brogue.

  31. 31
    BOB
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 5:53 pm

    oh my god Kate. I never even thought of that. The QUARANTINE was written on the INSIDE of the door to warn them from leaving the safety of the BUNKER. So, yes, the outside Island may be infected with something… the black smoke perhaps? And remember, Frenchie said when the black smoke appeared their was danger. Not her fake fire on beach, but maybe the smoke snakes in the jungle.

  32. 32
    The Dark Moose
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 6:05 pm

    theory – which I am sure has come up before:

    1) Doctor dude is dead, and this is his own spiritual “journey”, if you will
    2) everyone is dead, and this is some sort of purgatory.

    That would explain a) dead kid? b) Locke can walk c) all the spiritual tension mumbo jumbo back and forth between Doc and Locke, etc etc etc. The plane crashed, there were no survivors.

    Dunno. Just a theory.

    DM out

  33. 33
    dumbanddumber
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 6:37 pm

    Did the French chick really light the fire? I got the impression that The Others were the ones who did light the fire, except that, instead of coming for the baby like Rousseau thought, they cast off to catch the raft and get their seabilly mitts on Walt. Rousseau was trying to take advantage by bringing the baby for them, hoping to get back Alex.

    Did you notice Sayid giving Charlie dirty looks for telling everyone else that the French chick was nuts? It looked like he wanted to belt him.

    I thought of the purgatory theory too … except, how would other characters die, then. I hope that they really can explain it all somehow.

    And I think that Charlie is more useless than Kate…

  34. 34
    chprangel
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 8:33 pm

    How did you guys get that it was Shannons dad who died in the SUV? What did I miss? I was glued to the TiVo! Could you clarify for me please :)

  35. 35
    runswithscissors
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 8:38 pm

    The producers and writers have said on several occasions that they are not in purgatory and that everything is based on science or pseudo-science.And the things that people thought were lame last year, such as how can a plane crash and they only get a few scratches would be explained.

  36. 36
    TWilliams
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 10:08 pm

    I only got into this show last week after my brother bought season 1 on DVD. I am so glad I didn’t have to wait all summer to find out what was down the hatch like all of you others. A show hasn’t intrigued me like this since Twin Peaks and I was only 12 when that first aired and I was still fascinated by it.

    The creepy mural on the wall also had a painted eye followed by an “M” and the word “sick” on it which I don’t fully understand because I believe that the outside is what has been quarantined. Does it mean “I am sick”?

    We also have only heard the SUV victim’s name although we don’t know “for sure” that it is Shannon’s father. The name Rutherford isn’t overly common so I would assume that it is going to be, but we don’t “know” that yet. If he died just over 15 years ago it would make it much more likely.

    Also, we aren’t sure if the injected drug was a steriod. It could have been something to keep him from becoming infected with whatever plague Rousseau spoke of.

    The technology in the hatch is from so many different time periods it is impossible to figure out when the hatch was first lived in. And we also do not know if Desmond is the hatch’s first inhabitant.

    Speaking of the hatch — I am confused by the condition of it. The opening shots show a very clean environment — one that is fairly well kept up. The man does a few dishes that were left in the sink, but the place was kept up rather well. But when Locke is held at gunpoint the room looks old and worn. Granted there could be other rooms in this hatch-hatibat, but it seemed more run down although that delightful music played both at the beginning and the end of the show (yes, perfect song choice for this episode — the lyrics are very fitting for Jack’s situation).

    And my last statement/question for now: the hatch inhabitant at the beginning of the show was very clean — why then did he have filthy fingernails when he was holding the gun on Locke? I don’t think he is that only person down there. A bunk bed wouldn’t have been put into the hatch if only ONE was going to live there. There may be another down there.

    Oops — I lied, one more comment. At the end, Jack kept asking Locke if this was “his (Locke’s)destiny” and wondered if “all roads led to this.” I don’t think he has any idea that his words actually referred to himself. I believe this is Jack’s destiny but I don’t know why yet.

    Damn, I am used to watching episodes back to back — I seriously have to wait any entire week for this now?

  37. 37
    Victoria
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 11:52 pm

    TWilliams: I am unsure why you think Shannon’s father dying 15 years ago would make the Rutherford who died in the E.R. more likely to be her father. There is no way Jack was a doctor 15 years ago. 10 at the most–he is simply too young.

    I am very impressed by the other things that were caught, that I didn’t catch–like Shannon’s dad in the E.R. and the numbers adding up to 108 and so on.

    The only thing I figured out for myself was that Desmond was definitely the guy from the hatch. I knew that from the moment I saw him running in the stadium. That actually disappointed me that I figured it out right away, because “the big reveal” at the end was supposed to be a surprise.

    Clearly, to me that is, Desmond had something to do with Sarah regaining her ability to walk. The surgery was a failure and then Desmond askes Jack, “Do you believe in miracles?” and all of a sudden there is movement in her legs. What if the reason Jack is no longer married is that the “magic” Desmond performed wore off and she either died or couldn’t cope with being paralyzed and just wanted a divorce or even blamed Jack for losing her legs again.

    Can’t wait for next week when we find out about our raft crew–hopefully.

  38. 38
    Victoria
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 11:53 pm

    Oh yeah, and I hope Kate dies.

  39. 39
    BOB
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 11:53 pm

    ALSO when at the end of last season French lady said she heard from “them” that they were coming for the boy, she may have thought baby, when the others (hicks on boat) were actually talking about Walt.

  40. 40
    BOB
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 11:55 pm

    Victoria, Jack is like early 40′s, so 15 years before he could totally be a doctor.

  41. 41
    Victoria
    Posted September 22, 2005 at 11:55 pm

    BOB–I absolutley agree with you. I forgot about that since we didn’t see our raft crew only that astralprojection(?) of Walt.

  42. 42
    Victoria
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 12:00 am

    BOB–do we know for certain that Jack is early forties, because I’m thinking mid to late thirties. I know Matthew Fox is 39, and t.v. show usually use actors that are older than the character they are portraying.

  43. 43
    EdHill
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 4:53 am

    Great show. Great premeiere. that opening was probably the best 3 minutes of tv since “bye bye bitches!”. I love how this show is like an onion you have to keep unraveling.

    Whats up with the commodore 64 in the hatch? I bet hes got a mean copy of Madden 82 (it can show up to twelve colors!).

    WAlt aint dead. hes got superpowers. He was an apparition of warning. remember, he conjured the polar bear last year.

    I’m becoming more of a Locke fan than a Jack fan. I mean, who died and made Jack king? And that 90′s flashback hair was unwatchable. I dont think I heard a wod out of his mouth i was laughing the whole time.

    I have to admit the reveal of the hatch was an amazing payoff. I thought it would be something stupid like mysterious gears that dont tell us anything. Man was I wrong.

  44. 44
    Tammy Ames
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 6:08 am

    I get all the way down to the end of the comments to post about that horrible wig on Jack and EDHILL, you post about it! I DO believe that Walt is alive, (not well) and did indeed use his powers to get a message accross to Shannon (maybe leading Vincent away on purpose?) but why the backward talk?

  45. 45
    Candace
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 6:13 am

    for some reason i think all the survivors have met Desmond before, and not just Jack. just a thought.

  46. 46
    laska
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 6:34 am

    Right before Shannon turned and saw Walt, I thought I heard “Shannon” being whispered.

  47. 47
    sg-dub
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 6:55 am

    [Disclaimer: I have not watched a minute of this show.]

    Mysterious portals?
    Backwards talking?
    Creepy animal-things?
    Quirky characters?
    Other worldly not-quite-dead people?

    People, people, people… this was done years ago and it was called “Twin Peaks.” And I’m going to go out on a limb and say it was 100x better back then.

    Get your hands on those shows and prepare to be blown away.

    [Disclaimer: Twin Peaks is my favorite thing ever to air on TV. Best. Show. Ever.]

  48. 48
    cynthia
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 7:22 am

    WOW!
    I think that this is some military experiment gone haywire..and Walt is the boy they are after. I dunno why.

  49. 49
    Jill
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 9:20 am

    Does anyone else remember last season with the Boone/Shannon backstory – and Boone either said or alluded to the fact that Shannon had been previously married? Perhaps Rutherford is her married name and tha man that died in the ER, her husband? Someone help me out here!

  50. 50
    jameswoods
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 9:23 am

    Victoria- I totally agree with you-Kate is totally useless and I hope she dies, too.

    I think the accent is Northern English or possibly Welsh. Not enough brogue for Scotish, too much brogue for Ireland. Northern English accents are very close to Scotish, but there is a definite difference.

    BEST OPENING EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  51. 51
    shelley
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 9:31 am

    Okay…i totally have to stop smoking pot before watching this show!

    I didn’t catch a couple of vital peices of info. A) guy Jack let’s die is shannon’s dad B) Jack’s wife is the women he “fixed”.

    Thank you TVGasm bloggers for filling me in!

    Also, haven’t almost all the main cast members been linked together somehow(Jack’s dad talking to Sawyer at the bar, Sawyer seeing Boone in the cop shop, Jack letting Shannon’s dad die etc)??

  52. 52
    palmtree
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 9:37 am

    Okay, I watched the second half of this with closed caption on and it helped. Did anyone hear Kate screaming for Jake when he was in the computer room? I couldn’t hear her with the music playing but the closed captioned showed Kate was in fact calling for Jake.

    Also, as far as the voices and Walt appearing. I thought what if the voices are those of the people that died on the island. They could be trying to warn those that are left.
    Did anyone notice in the beginning when Desmond was at the computer he hit the “execute” button. Maybe I’m not old enough to remember but was there ever a button like that on a computer keyboard before? I am going home tonight and rewatching it on my DVR and I’m pausing it on just about every frame. I LOVE THIS SHOW!

  53. 53
    dahrache
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 10:39 am

    Palmtree, I always watch with close captions. It did show Kate screaming for Jack but I didn’t hear her. I’m not sure if it was in the script but cut at the last minute. It didn’t look like he was supposed to hear her over the music.

    Papercuts, you rock! I feel like I get alot of this show and then you come along and I find out I’m missing so much. Thanks!

  54. 54
    TWilliams
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 11:33 am

    I would like to make one thing clear — all of us that have posted that Shannon’s father died in the ER because Jack saved Sarah instead are simply SPECULATING. We don’t know anything yet — we are just trying to put two and two together. Shannon has never said how and when her father actually died. We just know he died after he had married Boone’s mother.

    And on my earlier post I did mention that this is the first show since Twin Peaks that plays the same kind of mind games. I was 12 when that show first aired although I remember it very well. I would have to say that best 15 minutes of television were the first fifteen minutes of the TP pilot. Truly mesmerizing television starting out with a pan down a slowly rolling river before revealing a dead girl wrapped in plastic all ending with the creepy creepy creepy BOB cowered behind Laura Palmer’s empty bed. Slow motion, beatiful eerie music, excellent acting — David Lynch’s best work EVER. I would say both are superior television although these characters (in Lost, sorry) in no way can compare to those in the quirky town of Twin Peaks. Audrey Horne still rules in my book — it is just unfortunate that season 2 seemed to get away from the writers of that show and it didn’t help that my favorites all got killed –one by a bomb in a bank and one getting her head bashed into a wall and then getting stuffed into a golf bag(perhaps the story was sped up and not explained fully because it wasn’t renewed — who knows, but it was our loss).

    Lost is the best thing on TV in this decade. I can’t believe Twin Peaks was 15 years ago!!!!

  55. 55
    Jack's hair
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 12:40 pm

    On another site, someone talked about Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s philosophy of everyone having a twin. Perhaps the French lady being named Rousseau is not a coincidence, and perhaps the island is a cloning experiment gone bad, and perhaps there are two (or more) “Desmond”s in the hatch, as the man shown in the opening is not necessarily the same man who held the gun to Locke’s head. In fact, he may be trying to save them from the other Desmond.

    Also. BEST. WIG. EVER.

  56. 56
    christopher
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 4:59 pm

    not only is the frenchwoman named Rousseau, but ‘John Locke’? come on, two major thinkers in rational human existence. remember: “nasty, brutish and short.”

  57. 57
    Cat
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 5:44 pm

    Sorry if someone already said this but I have to go make dinner: Maybe the scene from the beginning wasn’t happening when they (Locke & Company) opened the hatch–maybe it was a flashback to when the French lady and her team where first on the island.
    But I can’t remember if she knew about the hatch or not. hmmm
    I’m sure that doesn’t make sense but really, nothing does! :)

  58. 58
    suebee
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 7:42 pm

    I read something on a tvgasm post last season that the “others” raft had twins on it. Now, I have watched that scene twice and I still didn’t notice that. If true, it could support this twin story.

  59. 59
    mycerinus
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 10:00 pm

    On the “execute” button…

    In Australia they use “execute” instead of “enter” on kyboards.

  60. 60
    Victoria
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 10:35 pm

    candace (post#45)

    I got chills when i read that! I can’t wait to find out. I wonder if they’ll get Desmond out-probably not if he thinks the quarantine is outside. So much to think about!

  61. 61
    Jack's hair
    Posted September 23, 2005 at 10:55 pm

    I watched some of it again tonight.

    The yin-yang logo is on the refrigerator containing the prescriptions. It’s also on the wall when the guy at the beginning is looking through his telescope contraption…

    Also, there’s a mirror at the bottom of the hatch. No one’s said anything about that. It seems subtle but, when thinking about the twin theory, as well as after re-watching the scene where Desmond meets Jack and basically suggests that maybe he did heal the girl, it pretty much screams alternate/opposite universe/existence. Everyone on the island is there because something in his/her life before didn’t go right. Perhaps the island is like a giant, Alice-in-Wonderland looking glass that has something to do with cloning/duplication. The mirror just lying there seemed too obvious to just gloss over. It could be very symbolic…

  62. 62
    Courtney
    Posted September 24, 2005 at 6:20 am

    I read on some other site about this twin theory and it said if you go to oceanicflight815.com (website they showed at the end of the show) click on the barcode at the bottom it. Type in theislandiswaiting just like that with no spaces a page from some future script shows up and it talks about Jack running into his own twin on the island. Creepy…

  63. 63
    terra
    Posted September 24, 2005 at 9:19 am

    Something that I caught: Desmond also says to Jack, in the clip after Jack falls while running, “You’re running like the devil’s chasing you.” Then he proceeds to seemingly get Jack to “sell his soul” for the “miricle” of having his patient/future wife walk again (we all know deals with the devil are often tricky and will need to be repaid ten-fold).

    Also, in the next clip in the hospital room, Jack’s “little miracle” makes a pretty big deal about Jack stinking….has he been touched by the finger of death – Desmond, who is training to “run around the world” and will see Jack “in another life”? I don’t buy the whole purgatory concept but there are too many allusions to faith & reason to discount.

    Finally, the number sequece is built around the Illuminati/New World Order reverence of the number 23 (many sites & sub-culture books related to this) – the writers are HUGE fans of Robert Anton Wilson….not to brag, but I caught this immediatly in the last season. If the overall plot is related to this concept, this show really is going to be the best EVER for intellectual types!

  64. 64
    suebee
    Posted September 24, 2005 at 11:20 am

    When Claire said her baby was named Aaron, someone asked what that means and she said she didn’t know. I just looked it up. It means “enlightened.” Interesting.

    The Lost/ABC message boards have lots of good discussion about the elements of the show. But you have a wade through a popcorn ad first (close that box and the regular site is underneath). TVGasm is so much better because you don’t have annoying weirdos.

    These people better not all be dead. Don’t do that to us J.J.!

  65. 65
    Lisa S.
    Posted September 24, 2005 at 8:29 pm

    I got it! Walt is special like Desmond. And the “others” and Desmond are trying to replace him with Walt. Desmond works his “miracles” from inside the valt. Just a thought.

  66. 66
    Jack's hair
    Posted September 24, 2005 at 10:17 pm

    I just did the oceanicflight815.com code thing… Very interesting. The page from the script says it’s from episode one, though, so I wonder what that’s about. Though it does seem to take place when Jack runs out of the hatch, so maybe we’ll see it this week? If we see it at all, and it’s not just a red herring…

  67. 67
    Pickle
    Posted September 25, 2005 at 3:45 pm

    In reference to Jack’s hair’s comment about Rousseau and the theory of everyone having a twin. Check this site out that explains the “importance” of the numbers:
    http://www.tvgasm.com/archives/lost/001231.php

    Kind of mindblowing, but intersting in respect to our beloved show !

  68. 68
    Pickle
    Posted September 25, 2005 at 3:50 pm

    Aw crap, sorry guys, here’s the real link:

    http://www.ericd.net/2005_09_18_blogger_archive.inc

  69. 69
    rubyslypperz
    Posted September 25, 2005 at 4:51 pm

    Holy crap, I gotta’ starting TiVo’ing Lost to catch all the little nuances everyone else does. I am a faithful watcher, but never caught the “108″ on the hatch wall, or the numbers on the needle Desmond (?) used. When it came on last week, my daughter and I thought at first that it was a flashback to Locke in his younger years, we figured the age would have been about right, and he probably still had hair in the ’70′s. And when we saw Walt in the forest, we couldn’t tell if he was dripping water or blood, but it looks like everyone thinks it’s water. And Charlie from Party of 5? I mean, Dr. Jack? Wow…….and sorry, but Julie Bowen looked pretty bad without makeup!!!!!

  70. 70
    Tammy Ames
    Posted September 26, 2005 at 7:48 am

    Pickle…very well thought out. And absolutely easy to follow. Thanks so much! You just pissed the network off though. Way to BB6 that one. “Island Of Secrets”

  71. 71
    Jack Caine
    Posted September 26, 2005 at 10:34 am

    Twin Peaks? Then go watch it. As for the idiots already complaining they can’t hold out, I believe it. Patience and the pleasures it can enhance is dead in our “me-me, now-now ass-head” society. I read some of this shit (and the spelling too, did half of you go to school?)and wish I was on the fucking island instead of this nation of dimwits.

  72. 72
    Antonia
    Posted September 26, 2005 at 12:37 pm

    Hey asshole–go post your hate somewhere else. If you aren’t going to be a productive part of the discussion, then you don’t have to read the comments. I’m sure no one here would be brokenhearted if you wound up on a deserted island.

  73. 73
    matroshak8
    Posted September 26, 2005 at 2:58 pm

    Hey Ya’ll
    not only was the SUV driver’s last name Rutherford, and he died at 8:15,but Jack’s future wife was engaged, and going to see a wedding planner…. now if you remember, Shannon and Boone’s mother/stepmother was a well known wedding planner…. perhaps the person that Julie Bowen’s character was on her way to see?? It was a quick mention on the oceanic815.com website… you can check out all of the characters and thier stories….

  74. 74
    Heather
    Posted September 27, 2005 at 7:30 am

    matroshak8….
    my head is spinning! good leads……

  75. 75
    Tracie
    Posted September 27, 2005 at 12:33 pm

    The electromagnet as the reason for the plane crash would explain why Boone and Jack found that other plane. It was flying too close to this island and got pulled in by accident…or maybe it was intentional. Who knows?

  76. 76
    palmtree
    Posted September 27, 2005 at 3:44 pm

    The whole thing about “There is a book (theory) called “Genetic Mirror Theory and other Natuarlly Occuring Phenomenon,” by Marsille Roussau” I think is all false. I tried to find the book but no luck. A friend of mine found this website on Roussau but that’s it:
    http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jun/rousseau.html
    If anyone can find that book let me know!

  77. 77
    Heather
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 6:35 am

    Yeah palm tree, I think all that stuff about the book/theory is bunk too, i researched it to no avail. I think it’s funny that it says that that guy (Roussau) wrote it “in the year 1988″ like it even makes sense to put “in the year…” in front of a date that was only 17 years ago. I think some dummy just made that up and started posting it all over the place and other people picked up on it.

  78. 78
    palmtree
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 6:53 am

    Thank you mycerinus for clearing up that “execute” button for me!! Can’t wait for tonight’s show and hear what everyone has to say.

  79. 79
    ravingloon
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 3:30 pm

    Am I the only one who thinks a 1867 invention (dynamite) seemed out of place in a seventeenth century type ship (the Black Rock)?

  80. 80
    Jess
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 9:20 pm

    They did explain the polar bear, no? Walt can conjure things up with his mind — like the bird that crashed into the window while he was coloring a bird. The polar bear was there because Walt was reading about one in the comic book Hurley had. At least that was my interpretation.

  81. 81
    Siggy
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 9:57 pm

    Anyone notice the logo on the sharks fin is the same logo as Desmonds logo

  82. 82
    jrsc
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 10:00 pm

    I noticed! I thought I was imagining it until my boyfriend pointed it out too!

  83. 83
    vao
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 10:48 pm

    Interesting thing from tonight, as well. Anyone notice that Michael’s gift to the young Walt (before he left with Mom to go overseas) was a white polar bear?

  84. 84
    Victoria
    Posted September 28, 2005 at 11:06 pm

    I noticed right away that Michael gave Walt a polar bear. Now I can’t wait for Papercuts! to point out all the things I missed.

  85. 85
    palmtree
    Posted September 29, 2005 at 6:51 am

    Hey, anybody have any clues whatsoever on what Desmond meant by “Are you him” and “what did the snowman say to the other snowman?” It seemed that Desmond didn’t recognize Jack. I wasn’t too happy with this episode because I felt it didn’t answer anything from last weeks. I guess next Wednesdays is the one with all the answers, well most at least. Oh I just remembered the end, who the heck are all those people. I guess Jack gets a new love interest now with that girl he was talking to before he boarded the plane. Too weird, I can’t believe it, another week of waiting.

  86. 86
    Siggy
    Posted September 29, 2005 at 7:22 am

    I remember Hugo saying in season one that joke What did the snowman say to the other snowman? Have you seen my snowballs. I’m not sure which episode it was but maybe Hugo is “HIM”

  87. 87
    Siggy
    Posted September 29, 2005 at 7:30 am

    Nevermind wasn’t a joke. Hugo looked at Jin when they were tying Bamboo and makes a comment when he translates what Jin is trying to say. ” Dude, you want to make snowballs”. The only joke was the penguin joke Michael says to walt so no link.

  88. 88
    BarbaraS
    Posted September 29, 2005 at 7:57 am

    I can’t believe you all don’t like Kate. I think she is a great charater! Either with Jack or Sawyer. I do wish Sawyer would get a trim though. That hair is skanky.

  89. 89
    JJ
    Posted September 29, 2005 at 12:17 pm

    When played backwards Walt actually says “Dont press the button, the buttons bad”

  90. 90
    CT
    Posted September 29, 2005 at 12:22 pm

    So why would the shark have the company logo? Just to scare people away from the Island?

  91. 91
    palmtree
    Posted September 29, 2005 at 2:49 pm

    Okay, I’ve been waiting all day for the recap of last nights Lost but no luck so I have to ask this question here. Did you guys notice how when Locke typed in all those #’s on the computer the clock went back to 108. I figure that every 108 minutes they have to reset the system and that keeps the generators going and that’s how Desmond is able to to keep everything running down there. Any ideas? Papercuts! where are you!! :)

  92. 92
    udabear
    Posted October 1, 2005 at 7:49 pm

    did anyone notice that logo on the shark as it cruised by Sawyer swimming for the pontoon? mechanical shark? can’t see tatooing sharkskin…or holding one down long enough to try….

  93. 93
    SBOSTON
    Posted October 3, 2005 at 1:40 pm

    Don’t people think that Walt could be sitting in the boat or in part of the hatch looking at a book or a company (dharma inc)logo or picture with that or a shark it. And Making him appear?! Two Polar bears? A bird (forgot that one didn’t you)

  94. 94
    connieflash
    Posted October 6, 2005 at 11:49 am

    http://www.rpi.edu/research/magazine/winter04/cogsci_2.html check this out and article about building a better brain. Desmond said he was in a solar race around the world

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Human Verification: In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.