As you can see on the table above, we’ve compared your votes left on the Episode Threads‘ polls to IMDB and TV.com users’ ratings. Do you personally agree with the results? Sound off in comments!

Related posts:

1. Episode 5.05 “This Place Is Death” – Open Thread
2. “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham” – Open Thread
3. Episode 5.05 “This Place Is Death” Promo #1

Here’s the video:

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video="http://static1.sky.com/feeds/obu_skyone/Lost/series 5/lost initiative/show 2 Wednesday/show_02_download.mp4"
width="640"
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Link: http://sky1.sky.com/the-lost-initiative-episode-2

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1. The LOST Initiative – 01/25 Video Podcast
2. The LOST Initiative
3. Tell Sky1′s Official LOST Fan Show Your Theories!

Sky1 presents the Lost Initiative online show. Iain Lee, Paul Terry and Geeky Tom are here to talk through the amazing series premiere of Lost series 5.

Link: http://sky1.sky.com/show/the-lost-initiative

Related posts:

1. The LOST Initiative
2. SL-LOST Video Podcast: “Because You Left” Recap
3. Episode 5×03 “Jughead” – Official ABC Video Podcast

5.01 “Because You Left” Recap & Analysis (Video 1 of 2)

5.01 “Because You Left” Recap & Analysis (Video 2 of 2)

We will post the recap video of the episode “The Lie” next Wednesday.

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1. SL-LOST Video Podcast – Season 4 Recap/Review
2. New Official LOST Video Podcast
3. Episode 5×03 “Jughead” – Official ABC Video Podcast

Click here to watch LOST: On Location – Episode 1.

Related posts:

1. LOST: On Location – Episode 1
2. Episode 5×01 – Two More Sneak Peeks!
3. Episode 5.01 “Because You Left” Sneak Peek!

******************

Here is part one of a VERY loooong blog post. My Lost brain is in high gear and with two episodes to recap I think I need to break it down. I’m pretty excited about this season and thankful that things are starting to come together. Our obsessive breaking down of the episodes is paying off now in double time. If you can make it to the end of this post, please leave your thoughts and comments and come back tomorrow (or later tonight if I really get to obsessing) for my recap of “The Lie.”

My initial thoughts.

1. Maybe the reason the O6 must ALL go back is because of course correction. If Des hadn’t been late in pushing the button that fateful day then the plane would have went on it’s way to LA and landed safely. This is how fate meant it to be so all 6 must be there to fly back and land safely in order for the course of events in time to put upright again. Therefore, FRANK will also have to be the PILOT because he was originally supposed to be flying the plane (as he told us).

2. However, if the Losties need to leave safely as the original group then that would mean that Dan, Miles, Charlotte and JULIET would not be able to leave with them. I could see Dan and the gang staying to re-start DI but Juliet… if Sawyer grows to care for her (which seems inevitable at this point) and then he has to leave her behind? Ugh, I don’t know how that will play out for him. Seems like it would be a heart-wrenching choice but not really a choice as they all must be saved which means Sawyer could not chose to stay behind with her.

3. Could the baby in the beginning be Miles? He was chosen by Widmore to come back with the “rescue” operation and probably not just because he sees/hears dead people. Seems like when Naomi was questioning Mr Creepy Eyes about why the would chose such a rag-tag group to go with her to the island, there would have to be a plausible reason why. Also, women who have babies die on the island before giving birth. Wouldn’t this make the baby “extra” special if it was born there?

4. There have been many references throughout the seasons about an “incident” on the island. We know that the energy behind the wall being drilled in the Orchid Station, well, according the Candle if it were released, “God help us all.” I think Dan may have caused the “incident” and that is what fried his brain. We know he was there and we know that his memory is mush so it seems possible that he was the creator of the “incident.”

5. I wasn’t sure Dan was hiding his face from Candle (aka Pierre Chang) but I want back and watched the video shown at Comic Con and now I think he was. Dan for sure is the one video taping here (you can hear his voice) and you can hear th baby in the back ground. It makes much more sense now as Dan must have told Candle what was going to happen to DI and the way to save them. But…. he also says something to the effect of changing the past, but he as much as called the construction supervisor an idiot for suggesting that you could change the future. So was the video perhaps made for Locke or for Desmond to see since they seem to be the two that might be able to alter the future?

6. If Dan was “traveling” to the island then it would make the scene with Dan and the supervisor amusing as he says, “Did you hear that? Time travel, how stupid does he think we are?” Dan just has this look on his face and nods… Context makes all the difference, doesn’t it?

7. Ben tells Locke that he is sorry for making his life so miserable. At first glance we think it’s a reference to island life. But what is Ben is really referring to Locke’s “whole” life? We know Richard has been around 3 or 4 times in John’s life prior to the island so it’s definitely possible that it was their version of the Truman Show, orchestrating events and making sure Locke was on the right path.

8. Another possibility of what the “incident” was… the wheel somehow gets exposed. Dan knows it’s buried in the wall in the past when they are digging. Maybe Dan is the one who blows out the wall and exposes the wheel since he knows it has to do with time travel and he is obsessed with time travel. Candle says it would release something horrific if they kept drilling in the wall. The contractor knows where to place the detonators and doesn’t believe in time travel so I’m sure it would be easy for Dan to talk him into blowing up the wall.

9. Did the island somehow get moved ahead just a few minutes in time and that is why it can’t be found? Does the electromagnetic events (like Desmond’s turning the key) somehow correct the island in time and that is why it could be found and seen?

10. In the first scene with Locke after the donkey wheel is turned, why does just Locke move in time? He is standing there talking to Richard and The Others, why didn’t they move? All of the Losties on the island moved together (Sawyer and the gang) why not Richard’s group?

11. Do attorney’s and their associates really go to people’s houses to collect blood? Seems first of all like a qualified skill, something a phlebotomist would do. But I agree with Sun, the attorney wouldn’t show up to the house in private, they would have her somewhere public to do the test. I also think Ben could have easily have put these attorney’s up to scaring Kate so she will do what she knows best, run. Where better to run to and take Aaron so no one would find her then the island? After all, outside of Aaron, what does she really have back home?

12. Kate still keeps a picture of Jack and Aaron on the table? How many of you out there that are broken up with your child’s parent keep a picture of them on your front table? I can see keeping it in your kid’s room and keeping albums of pictures, but out by the front door? Someone is obviously still carrying a torch for him.

13. Thinking back a few seasons, remember that Eko and Jin and walking through the jungle and come across some of the Others and they are traipsing through the woods with no shoes on? Now we see Sawyer with no shoes on? First of all… OUCH! Second, instead of looking for a shirt, why wouldn’t he be more interested in shoes? I’m not complaining…

14. I like the way Sawyer is playing surrogate for the viewers and asking the questions about time travel. I agree with Dan that I doubt someone like me could fully grasp it, but the explanations we have are somewhat understandable.

15. Dan says the island is dislodged from time and skips like a record player. This reminds me of Danielle’s message that had been also playing the same message over and over for 16 years.

16. Ethan comes across this guy in the jungle who says Ben appointed him to be their leader, then the guy disappears right in front of his eyes. Ethan goes back and tells the Others. X-years later here comes the plane and who is on it, John Locke! Yes, I’m sure that when Danielle caught Ben in her net he WAS coming the meet John!

17. Speaking of disappearing people, could time travel have something to do with the “dead” people we’ve seen on the island? When Christian appears to Jack, could it have been the Others somehow projecting him to the future (would explain how he just disappears)? There was also Dave, the black horse, Walt (although he’s not dead), Locke’s mom, Boone, Ana Lucia, and Yemmi.

18. This also brings me to the idea that time travel might have something to do with the Whispers. I haven’t been able to hammer out a complete theory on this yet as the Whispers are actually talking about the people so if they were phantoms of real people slipping by in time I’m not sure why we wouldn’t also see them.

19. Another thought, remember the guy Lenny who was in the institution with Hurley who kept repeating the magic numbers? I’m thinking this guy was also a worker on the island who was around during the “incident” and it also fried his brains.

20. Three years later and Sun is still wearing her wedding ring.

21. This is weird, it looks like the word “chicken” was photoshopped and put the right way in the puddle. It’s a reflection so shouldn’t it be backwards or distorted? I don’t think it means anything besides the writers or editors being silly. Also, Hurley is on the run and wanted for murder but they still take the time to pick up chicken. Priceless. Then Hurley’s line to Sayid, “You know maybe if you ate more comfort food, you wouldn’t have to go around shooting people.”

22. Every time I saw Sayid and Hurley together I kept hearing the theme from the Odd Couple. Neil Simon couldn’t have come up with a more mis-matched duo then these two!

23. Locke is the only one that can stop the time from moving or so we would believe. When Sawyer asks who can stop it the next flash is to Locke.

24. How does Richard find Locke? Unless there is some predictable way that time moves and Richard understands this. Then he would have calculated based off of when Ethan came back to the camp and spoke of shooting the mysterious Locke. Kind of like when Desmond told Penny to be home on Christmas Eve 2004 because he was going to call her.

25. Now the issue of the compass and Locke dying. The compass may not be the “same” compass that Richard showed Locke when he was a kid, but it has to have significance to that scene. Here is a link to a clip of the scene. I hate to bring up the time loop theories (go back to season one, there are lots of them out there, including by me), but it could somehow come to play here. Time loops back around so Locke can correct it? But why would Richard say the knife wasn’t his “yet?” This is still a mystery to be unlocked (no pun intended).

26. Does Locke really die? Ben never answers. Right after Jack asks Ben it flips to Hurley’s dad watching Expose, the show Barbie was on. Ken and Barbie were bit by spiders and *looked* like they were dead but they were only paralyzed. With no traceable heart beat they thought they were dead. Maybe Locke has to look like he’s dead because the island won’t let him back if he’s alive. The writers have said that Ken and Barbie were more than just an annoyance and somehow an integral part of the story, could this be it!

27. I don’t think that Dan means that Sawyer literally can’t meet Desmond. I think he’s telling him he can’t change the past, or shouldn’t change the past. Des obviously hears him because he comes out and asks why he’s making all that noise on the door (to Dan). Plus, if Des is freaked out by Sawyer then he wouldn’t be listening to Dan when he tells him about going to Oxford.

28. Dan tells Desmond he is uniquely special. Then Desmond wakes up and suddenly he remembers the talk with Dan. I don’t think that Dan changed the past necessarily but since Desmond is special somehow Dan created a new memory at that moment. Also, Desmond’s seeing the future is nothing more than like when Dan changes the past by talking to him at the hatch, he suddenly “remembers” the event. Maybe the events are taking place in the future and Des being special all of a sudden “sees” the future while in some “time” it’s actually happening. Des is there to course correct and make sure current events lead up to the future that he is “seeing.”

29. Speaking of course correction, Des stopped Charlie from being KILLED several times but he allowed him to live long enough to push the button and consequently several of the Losties left the island. Mrs Hawkins is the one who introduced the concept of course correction so it makes sense that they all have to go back because of course correction. Whatever is going to happen,they all have to be there. Charlie should have died one of those times and therefore the six would have never left. Now that has to be corrected.

30. And for the record, I think Mrs Hawkins might be Dan’s mother.

Gitsie Girl’s blog: www.gitsiegirl.com

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3. “Because You Left/The Lie” Recap By Jeremiah

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*******************

My name is Chris Kirkman, and I’ve been dissecting Lost since the crash of Flight 815. From deep within my secluded Hatch I peel apart the multitudinous layers each week, mostly avoiding the influence of other sources on the web so that my thoughts remain uncluttered and postulations wholly my own. I don’t promise to explore every rabbit hole on the island, but the journey we do take will almost always be entertaining and enlightening.

Previously, on Lost:
“Okay, you see we did crash, but it was on this crazy island. And then we waited for rescue, only there wasn’t a rescue. And then there was this smoke monster. And there were other people on the island, we called them the Others, and they started attacking us. And we found these hatches, and there was a button you had to push every 108 minutes, or … well, I was never really clear on that.

“But, the Others didn’t have anything to do with the hatches, that was the Dharma Initative. But they’re all dead, the Others killed them … and now they’re trying to kill us. And then we teamed up with the Others because worse people were coming on a freighter. Desmond’s girlfriend’s father sent them to kill us. So we stole their helicopter and we flew it to their freighter, but it blew up, and we couldn’t go back to the island because it disappeared. So then we crashed into the ocean and we floated there for awhile before a boat came and picked us up. By then, there was six of us. That part was true. But the rest of the people who were on the plane … they’re still on that island …”

Thank you, Hurley, I believe we’re all caught up now. Best Lost summary ever.

The same look that anyone who is uninitiated gives me when I talk about the show.

Well, dear readers, this season we’re doing things a little differently. Other than a brief comment about the episode each week, I won’t be offering up an in-depth recap. Unfortunately, it’s just become too time-consuming, and there are plenty Others out there that can sum things up just as well and more humorously than me. No, instead I’ll stick to rooting around inside this strange brain for some off-beat theories and explanations in my usual analysis – something you don’t necessarily see from some of the Others out there. Let’s get to it, shall we?

THE WHEEL OF TIME
You might want to get real comfortable and unscrew the back of your head. There’s a lot of craziness to go over, and this might get a little bumpy.

In essence, here’s the situation: at the end of last season, Ben turned the Great Wheel and unleashed a vast amount of stored temporal energy. In a blinding flash of white light, the island seemed to disappear to the Oceanic 6. To those on or near the island, nothing seemed to happen at first. Gradually, however, the survivors notice that the beach camp is completely gone. Daniel Farraday, who was on the Zodiac landing craft, remarks that the raft “must have been inside the radius.” Apparently he and the others on the craft were close enough to the temporal anomaly that shifted the island to be caught in its bubble. Once on the beach, Dan explains to the survivors that the beach camp hasn’t been destroyed – it simply hasn’t been built yet. Yes, true believers, the survivors have come unstuck in time.

As the episodes progress, we see that all of the survivors, as well as Dan, Miles, Charlotte and Juliet, are “skipping” through time. The Others, however, seem to be rooted to the base timeline of the island and are not skipping about. Richard seems to be aware of the phenomenon, however, as he confronts Locke on one of his trips backwards in time and fills in some of the holes. Essentially, Locke needs to get everyone back on the island or something REALLY BAD is going to happen. In order to do this, Locke is going to have to die. We’ll deal with that later. Right now, we have some string theory to go over.

Last season when we discussed “The Constant,” I described Desmond’s travels through time as a by-product of a personal consciousness being time-shifted. If you don’t remember that, don’t fret – with the developments in the season premiere, we’re going to have to delve a bit deeper. We won’t be throwing anything out, mind you, just adding onto it all. I just hope it all makes sense when the ride’s over.

In our temporal analysis from last year, I talked a bit about the simplistic view of space-time existing as an extra dimension beyond our conventional three dimensions. Now, however, it’s important that we start to look further into viewing time through string theory. Imagine, if you will, that time is like a string. An individual’s personal timeline can be represented as a straight piece of string, with birth at the beginning and death at the end.

Last year, we started out talking about all this in much the same way.

The points along the string represent the individual moments of a person’s lifetime. If you could somehow put the two ends of the string together, life would be a loop.

Now, if you could somehow coil the string – ball it up like a big bit of yarn for the cats – then various moments of your life would intersect or touch another moment. Theoretically, you could jaunt from moment to moment along the string, allowing you to move back and forth along the string within your own lifetime. If you want to know more about all this from a far more entertaining aspect, go catch some repeats of Quantum Leap.

Of course, the string could be messier, with more intersects, looser with less intersects, or more organized, with exact intersects. I like to think of the coiled string as just a bit messy, much like life.

At any rate, Desmond’s experiences from last season imply that it was simply his consciousness that was shifting across the string. He was able to view and interact with moments along his timeline, but his “present” physical self was not transported to that particular moment. Again, this is much like how Sam Beckett jaunted his conscious mind about in Quantum Leap. The survivors, however, seem to be physically jumping back and forth through time. It’s not just their consciousness that is traveling, and all of the survivors and those not truly “indigenous” to the island are experiencing the same phenomenon. How are the survivors jumping and the Others are not? For that matter, how are the survivors shifting physically? How can we reconcile all this? Through some very open-minded thinking, actually.

Much like how magnets and particles attract in nature, so, too, can temporal strings. When individuals come together for an extended period of time, their strings can attract and become entwined, much like a braided piece of yarn. This entwining can occur anywhere along the personal timeline, beginning or end, and can affect the string along its entire width. In Lost, all of our characters are connected in some way or another in the past. Many of them had never met, but their lives had become inexplicably entwined. Some characters are more connected than others, but everyone involved with the island has a connection. The force of the experience on the island has caused all of the survivors’ temporal strings to become entwined. As such, any temporal shift, or “balling up” of the string, would be experienced by the group as a whole. This can explain the group shift, and how its possible to experience something of this magnitude as a whole. To figure out why they’re jumping about through the island’s physical history, though, we have to take it a step further.

When Ben turned the wheel, this caused the island to shift temporally. It was the island’s temporal string that balled up, not the entwined survivors’. However, since the survivors’ strings are somewhat entwined with the island’s, they were pulled along during the shift. If the survivors’ strings were completely entwined with the island, they would have experienced no shift whatsoever. This is why the Others are not shifting like the survivors – the Others have existed with the island for so long that their strings are completely entwined. Now, since the island’s string is twisted, the survivors are essentially traveling along their own “normal” entwined time, but are forced to experience random moments in the island’s history as they pass through portions of the twisted coil.

This analogy can be taken a step further to show how the island has “disappeared” and why, at the end of “The Lie,” Ms. Hawking is trying to ascertain the next logical location that the island will reemerge into the natural world’s continuum. Basically, with the turning of The Great Wheel, the temporal force of the island was so great that it was able to coil its string independently of that of the rest of the physical world. Since the Jump, the island has become dislodged from the natural time flow and will only appear at random intervals in the Earth’s history. It’s possible that this is how the island has existed since the very beginning, and could explain why it has remained hidden for so long. It would explain why The Black Rock is stuck in the middle of the island. It could explain why its indigenous population, namely Richard, doesn’t age normally. It could explain the nature of the very power within the island, and why so many people have sought it out throughout history.

THE CONSTANT
Beautiful Charlotte is dying. Much like the rats that Daniel used and the bunnies of the Dharma Initiative, Charlotte is starting to come unraveled. She needs something to hold onto. She needs a constant.

For Desmond, that constant turned out to be Penny. I believe that this is a by-product of the string entwining. Desmond and Penny’s lives were entwined for so long that Desmond had the force of another string to hold onto. In essence, it kept him from unraveling. In many ways, every survivor left on the island is in need of a constant much like that. Daniel is fairly safe, as he has Desmond as a constant. The rest of the survivors, however, need each other and the island as a constant. In the same vein, since the survivors’ lives are so closely entwined with the island, it may also need them as a sort of constant. This may be the reason why Ben is trying to get everyone back to the island – without them, the survivors and the very island itself could become unraveled.

On another note in regard to Desmond, it’s interesting that he is the one person who Daniel believes “the rules” don’t apply. The rules, of course, are that time is immutable. What has been set in motion cannot be changed. Desmond, however, seems to exist somewhat outside the rules. This may be a by-product of his temporal consciousness shift, or perhaps it can be attributed to his string being entwined with so many important anchors – the island, the outside world, Penny, Daniel, the Dharma Initiative, Jack and, of course, Charles Widmore.

WALKING THE WEB OF ATLACH-NACHA
A few miles back, I talked at length about ley lines, their mystical significance as powerful intersect points along the Earth, and how they could tie into the exact location of the island. Some believe that ley line intersects also tie deeply into temporal phenomena, which would make a helluva lot of sense in regards to Lost. I’m not going to dig deep into this subject again in this analysis, but I’ll leave you all with some visuals to get the ol’ brain juices going for next time.

Hey, it’s Ms. Hawking! Wait … uh … are you Daniel’s mum? Maybe? No?

Never mind that Daniel question … hey, what’re you working on there?

Oh, I see! Very interesting … that looks sort of familiar …

Just a little trifle I worked up from awhile back … there are many, many more ley line intersects, but these are the major ones.

And, what the heck … let’s just throw this little scribble from Daniel’s notebook into the mix, while we’re at it.

WRAP IT UP
That about does it for this week. There’s plenty left to talk about – What happens if Ben can’t get everyone back to the island in 70 hours? Will we ever really learn how all this ties into The Button? Which Leap will be their next leap home?

Also, is Ms. Hawking…

1. A Time Lord
2. A Timecop
3. A Leaper
4. Crazy, Wild-eyed Scientist?

I’ll be back next week with the usual insane ramblings about whatever temporal shenanigans the show is up to, as well as a look at some important figures in time travel, as shown above, for all of you interested in a little extracurricular viewing. Until then, keep thinking good things and let me know if any of you have epiphanies.

Namaste.

*******************

Visit hobotrashcan.com to see Chris’ weekly LOST drink recipe!

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You might know television personality Al Trautwig from the Knicks game, but he’s also an avid fan of “Lost.” He stopped by the MSG.com office to talk about his theories on Season Five’s premiere:

Source: msg.com

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The Chicago Tribune has published a must read Q&A with Damon Lindelof, where he answers to a few questions about the Season 5 premiere and gives some hints of what’s to come:

We saw the island skipping through time in the season premiere — is it going to stick with a few time frames, or keep traveling a lot in time? Will that aspect of things get toned down a little?

Lindelof: All we can say is, whatever convention we’re using in the premiere episodes — nothing in the show is season-long.

There are actually sort of three acts to the season. The first act is the first seven episodes, the second act is eight through 13, and the final act is 14 though 17.

Every time that you think that the show has settled into, “Oh, is this all about the Oceanic 6 trying to get back to the island and the island is skipping through time,” it changes. But we don’t want to tell you how it changes or what frequency it changes. All we can say is, there are a lot of twists and turns this year.

The question that bothered me most, or gave me the biggest headache, in the season premiere had to do with Faraday knocking on the door of the hatch. Desmond answers the door and they talk. How come Desmond doesn’t remember that encounter the whole time? How come he doesn’t recall that encounter at the hatch door with Faraday from the time it happened up to and including when we see him in the season premiere, which is years later? Why wasn’t that incident a memory for him?

Lindelof: A) That’s a very good question to be asking, and certainly not one that we ignore. B) Listen carefully what Faraday is saying to Desmond, in terms of why he believes this information he’s telling Desmond is going to transfer.

Finally, something happened to Desmond way back at the end of the second season of the show, something incredibly significant. Which imbues him with a certain power, for lack of a better word, that nobody else on the show has, and that was demonstrated regularly throughout Season 3, in terms of what happened to him at the end of Season 2. This makes him a bit of a wild card.

What we would advise you, and the fans whose heads are hurting, is to say, if you apply common sense rules to Desmond’s memory and cognition as it moves through the show, you will drive yourself crazy. But if you fundamentally accept that his consciousness can bop around in time, and where it lands is more an aggregate of destiny rather than logic, you will be able to sleep a lot better.

We’re told that bad things happen once the Oceanic 6 left the island. When will you get into that? Is that also Season 6 territory?

Cuse: Part of it unfolds this season, part of it unfolds next season. … We were talking before about keeping the show on a character level, that’s really what it comes down to. Yeah, the island is skipping through time, or our characters are, but what are the consequences of that for them in terms of their survival, in terms of their relationships, in terms of whatever their ultimate destiny with the island is? Those are the pertinent questions.

I just wanted to ask you a lightning round of quick questions, if I could, about various characters this season. Pierre Chang/Marvin Candle — is he around this season?

Lindelof: All we’re willing to say is that the season premiere is not the only time that he appears in the season. We’re showing you that scene for a reason, and in the spirit of what the show does, sometimes we show you a scene, and you think understand the context of that scene, but once you watch [a version of it] again a year later, it has an entirely different meaning. We will be seeing Dr. Chang again.

Source: Chicago Tribune

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Here’s a new message from The LOST Initiative for all SL-LOST.com readers:

We’re big fans of sl-Lost at the Initative HQ! Keep and eye out for them on our show! In the meantime, what did you think of the Premiere? Send your thoughts, comments and theories to Sky1′s official LOST fan show! Email – lostonsky1@sky.com, and if you want to be on the show, you can Skype chat directly to the Lost Geeks.

Email us now Losties! lostonsky1@sky.com. Then watch the show online this Sunday at sky.com/lost!

Namaste!

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2. The LOST Initiative
3. LOST Is Yahoo’s Most Anticipated Show of 2009

Please note that the images on the gallery site are not in order, the image hosting site has messed up the order. We’ll try to fix this error for next week’s episode.

5.01 Because You Left (HQ Screencaps)

Click here to view 547 HQ screencaps of this episode.

5.02 The Lie (HD Screencaps)

Click here to view 389 HD screencaps of this episode.

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Source: Nielsen

The two-hour “Lost” debut (11.4 million, 5.0/12) was down 25% from last year in the adult demo. The heavily serialized and increasingly complex drama was expected to drop, though this is a steeper percentage than one would have liked. Also, last year the series debuted in a superior Thursdays-at-9 p.m. spot while taking advantage of reduced competition because of the writers strike. The show drained a couple tenths throughout its two hours. Its lead-in, a “Lost” recap show (8.5 million, 3.3/8), did quite well, actually placing second at 8 p.m. after “Idol.”

Source: thrfeed.com

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Please give our new recapper Jeremiah a warm welcome!!!

********************

Let me say this before I get started: tonight was a lot of Lost. I’m writing this having only watched each episode once, so if I miss a few details or get a few wrong, mea culpa. The show has the same pace this year that it ended with last year, meaning there’s lots of ground to cover in each episode. Hopefully, one episode per week will prove to be a little more manageable.

Because You Left

Rating: 5/5

Lost’s fifth season, if the first episode is any indication, is going to be a bumpy ride. The island – or maybe just its’ 2004 residents – has become, like Desmond, unstuck. It (or they) jump from the past to the future in an instant, causing some very strange side-effects.

We start with Pierre Chang, circa 1980, tending to his child (which opens a whole can of worms that I’m not going to get into here) then filming the unseen Arrow orientation video before being called to the still under construction Orchid. The chamber that contains the donkey wheel is so hot that it melts the bits they’re using to drill through the rock. Obviously, the freezing over comes later.Behind that wall is a nearly limitless source of energy, Chang tells the foreman. Drilling any further would destroy it. As he leaves, Faraday passes by him with his head down. He seemed, to me, to be trying to hide his face. Rather than being a temporally displaced volunteer, I think that he somehow infiltrates the Initiative in the future-past. It’s also interesting to me, though not really surprising, that the donkey wheel pre-dates Dharma. Must have been the island’s four-toed denizens that built it.

Sawyer, Juliet and the rest of the survivors waiting on the beach believe that everyone died when the freighter exploded, including the Oceanic 6. It gives them an interesting motivation for season 5 and makes me a little miffed that something that basic never even occurred to me in the 8 months since last year’s finale. After the flash, they quickly realize that the camp and all its’ supplies are gone. Faraday asks to be taken to a landmark in an effort to determine how far back they went. Juliet tells him there’s a station just 15 minutes from the beach. On their way to the Swan, however, Fate intercedes and moves them forward to sometime after they blew up the hatch. Temporarily. Time quickly shifts again to a point just after the plane crash (I’m conjecturing here. I think that if Inman had been inside the hatch, he would have answered the door.) Sawyer says that he’s going around back to get clothes, food, and guns from the Swan. Faraday tells him that, since he didn’t do that the first time, he can’t do it now. You can’t change the past, he says. And he was apparently right, as Sawyer’s pounding went unanswered. When the rest of the crew decides to head back to the beach, Faraday says that he left his bag at the hatch. He checks something in his notebook, then goes back to knock on the Swan again. This time Desmond opens the door. Daniel tells him to go back to Oxford and find his mother. He says that Des is uniquely and miraculously suited to do this.

If Daniel is right and you can’t change the past, then why did Desmond answer the door when he knocked and not when Sawyer did? Has all of this happened before? Was Daniel on the island shortly after 815 crashed and did he speak to Desmond then? Following Faraday’s logic, it’s the only explanation. I think a more appropriate thought is that Daniel is a liar, or a teller of half-truths. The past can be changed, at least in a moment to moment way. What other reason could there be for the existence of Ms. Hawking and the rest of the Chronology Protection Agents?

Locke, meanwhile, is dealing with this time turbulence almost by himself. After the island moves, he is alone. Richard and the rest of his merry men have vanished. Mr. Make It Rain heads for higher ground and a better vantage point. Just then, Eko’s plane nosedives into it’s final resting place. He follows it hoping to find survivors. As he makes his way up the cliff he is shot (in his right leg, natch) by Ethan. Ethan does not recognize him. John tells him that Ben has appointed him as the Others new leader. Ethan says that doesn’t sound likely and readies himself to kill John. Before he can, though, the island moves again. Richard finds him this time and removes the bullet from his leg. He tells Locke that he was the one who disappeared, not the Others, and that it’s only a matter of time before it happens again. He says that the only way to stop the time shifts is to bring back the ones who left. And, in order to do that, John must die.

Richard seems to have a good grasp of the big picture. For instance, he knows the Oceanic 6 are alive and well. He gives Locke a compass (shades of Cabin Fever) and tells him that, the next time he sees him, he won’t recognize him. The compass will act as John’s ID. This points, again, to these events having played out before, especially when considering Faraday likening the island to a broken record and Chang’s literal broken record at the beginning of the episode. Perhaps Richard’s memory is simply preserved somehow, while Faraday’s was erased, necessitating his Dharma diary. I think that if I follow that train of thought too far, though, I’ll end up with Daniel working for the Initiative which goes against what I said at the start of this. So I’ll leave that one alone.

Back in the real world, Jack and Ben remove Locke’s body from Hoffs-Drawlar. Jack cleans himself up and gets a suit from Ben. Jack tells him that John never said what happened to the ones left behind, just that they’ll all die if the Oceanic 6 don’t return. “Thank God for second chances,” Ben says, delivering the episode’s best line.

Kate is visited by an attorney requesting a blood sample to determine her relationship with Aaron. He refuses to name his client. She tells him to come back with the sheriff and then does what Kate does best: runs, Aaron in tow.

Sayid brings Hurley to the not-so-safe house. There are two men waiting there for them and Sayid quickly kills both of them, but not before being hit with a tranquilizer dart. Hurley is photographed by someone with a cell phone holding one of the dead man’s guns. The image is immediately broadcast on the news. He is wanted for breaking out of Santa Rosa and going on a killing spree.

Sun leaves Ji Yeon with her mother and leaves Seoul for L.A. At the airport she has an unscheduled meeting with Widmore, who we learn owns Oceanic. Go figure. He feels that Sun disrespected him by speaking to him in broad daylight and in front of his business partners. Sun acquiesces and tells him that they both want the same thing – Ben Linus dead.

The miraculous Desmond wakes up in a sweat. He and Penny are on a sailboat just offshore in what looks like the Mediterranean. He tells her that he was on the island and that they now have to go to Oxford. Apparently Desmond’s “unstuckness” is what allowed Faraday to relay the message, proving, I think, you can change the past. There’s also something odd about Penny but, as it’s spoilerish, I’ll leave that for another time. Those of you who have seen all the previews know what I’m getting at anyway.

It’s interesting to me that Desmond is, so far, the only character we’ve seen both on and off the island. It makes me wonder if Ben meant that the reason he couldn’t return to the island was because, depending on what time it is, he might already be there. It’s far more likely, though, that he was just lying.

This was an exciting and thought-provoking start to the season, certainly better than last year’s premiere. I’ll admit, however, that I don’t find the Oceanic 6 story as compelling as the island story. Don’t get me wrong, I think it will pay off in the end. Right now, though, the O6 are in such disparate locations and head spaces that it will require some serious set-up to prepare them to return. But, apparently, Ben doesn’t have the luxury of time to gather them all together, which leads us to . . .

The Lie

Rating: 4/5

The thing I love most about Hurley-centric episodes is that they’re funny. Most of this show is so serious and dark that we need a little humor to lighten the load. Sure, Sawyer and even Miles provide the island punchlines, but Hugo and his family are all the funny we’ve got in the real world.

After getting away from the safehouse, Hurley decides that the best place for him to go is back home. On the way there, he is pulled over by the police. He thinks. It’s actually Ana-Lucia. “Why did you stop? What if I had been real,” she asks him. She tells him to find a change of clothes and get somewhere safe. “Libby says, ‘Hi’,” she says – this episode’s best line – before disappearing. Perhaps this genuine and witty cameo will earn her some goodwill from all the Ana haters out there.

Hurley’s dad, David, is at home watching Exposé (the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, huh?) when Hurley arrives with Sayid, comatose from the dart, over his shoulders. He tells his dad that they can’t take Sayid to the hospital because he is wanted by the police. Just then, the cops arrive at the house. David convinces them that Hurley is not there. They then start to stake out the house.

When Carmen, Hurley’s mom, returns home to find a “dead Pakistani” on her couch, Hugo realizes something has to be done. He tasks David with taking Sayid to Jack and tells his mom the real story of what happened after the crash. She says that she believes him, even if she doesn’t understand him. David drops Sayid off with Jack and tells him that he doesn’t want him around his son. Jack calls Ben to tell him he has Sayid and is taking him to the hospital.

Kate receives a phone call from Sun, who is now in L.A., and agrees to meet her. She tells Sun about her visit from the lawyer. Sun believes this is Ben’s work, and we all know now what she wants to see happen to him.

Ben goes to Hurley’s house to try to recruit him in the Go Back Squad, but it backfires. Sayid had told Hurley to not obey any of Ben’s orders. Instead of going with him, Hurley runs outside of the house and into the waiting officers’ handcuffs.

The time flashes seem to have subsided slightly on the island, and the survivors use this opportunity to try and score some grub. However, without matches and knives, the boar Miles found is left uneaten. Frogurt (yeah, that guy) is beginning to lose it when the, as yet unbuilt, camp is attacked by flaming arrows. Frogurt – or Neil, if you prefer – is the first casualty. At least one more red shirt is killed. Juliet and Sawyer somehow become displaced from the rest of the group and encounter a group of armed men in the jungle. They are briefly captured and Juliet’s hand is nearly cut off, before Locke shows up, rocks in one hand, knife in the other.

I believe that these men were part of Danielle’s research team, rather than Dharma. Their jumpsuits certainly looked like Initiative attire but their vaguely European accents suggest otherwise to me. Also, I can’t overlook the missing hand plot point. Montand, a member of Rousseau’s expedition, and maybe Chang, suffered a similar condition.

Ben’s real world contacts were revealed slightly. He left John’s body with a butcher named Jill and later met with none other than Ms. Hawking. I found this bit of information pretty surprising. I figured Ms. Hawking was working for Dharma or even Widmore, but not Ben. Using an ancient computer, some chalkboard mathematics, and giant glass-etching pendulum, she was able to determine the island’s temporary location. As in 70 hours temporary. Ben tells her that it’s not enough time. She tells him that it’s not his choice.

Overall, this episode wasn’t as strong as the first, serving more to shuffle the Oceanic 6 into their path back to the island. If you’ve seen the first four seasons, you shouldn’t be surprised. It’s a device the show uses every year – the bulk of each season is just setup for the final episode. This episode was no slouch, just maybe more workman-like in its’ structure. It featured all the main characters, though, and should prove to be a model for the show going forward. I don’t recall, for instance, a single “whoosh”. This year, the story moves from past to present with no sound effects. It’s appropriate considering that the flashback/forward construct of previous years is now gone, replaced with flash-who-knows-wheres. It’s an quick moving and compelling narrative device that should serve Lost well in its’ end run.

-Jeremiah

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Check out Jeremiah’s blog We Are Lost!

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3. EW Reviews the Season 5 Premiere

OK Losties, the Season 5 Premiere is over and now is time to discuss it! What did you think of the two episodes? Post your thoughts and theories! (If you haven’t watched the episodes yet don’t read the comments or you will be spoiled!)

Episode 5×01 “Because You Left”

The remaining island survivors start to feel the effects of the aftermath of moving the island, and Jack and Ben begin their quest to reunite the Oceanic 6 in order to return to the island with Locke’s body in an attempt to save their former fellow castaways.

Written by Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse.
Directed by Stephen Williams.

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Episode 5×02 “The Lie”

Hurley and Sayid are on the run from the cops after stumbling into trouble at the safehouse; the island survivors come under attack by unknown forces; and an old friend offers some shocking advice to Kate in order to ensure that “the lie” remain a secret.

Written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz.
Directed by Jack Bender.

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In a few hours we will post next week’s episode’s promos along with hundreds of HD screencaps and collections of recaps and reviews of these two episodes. We’ll also post a link to the full episodes on ABC.com so you can rewatch them.

Related posts:

1. Episode 5×01 – Two More Sneak Peeks!
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3. Five Episodes With Clues for Season 5

Finally, the big day has arrived! To celebrate, we here at SL-LOST.com have a special line up of events for our readers to get ready for the Season 5 Premiere:

• 6 pm EST – We will reveal the winners of the SL-LOST Awards on a special video.

• 7 pm EST- The final episode of In Preparation For Season Five will be posted.

• 8 pm EST- “LOST: Destiny Calls” (recap episode) airs on ABC.

• 9 pm EST- Episode 5×01 “Because You Left” airs on ABC.

• 10 pm EST- Episode 5×02 “The Lie” airs on ABC.

• 11pm EST- Episode discussion begins on SL-LOST.com.

On Thursday morning, look for next week’s episode promos along with hundreds of HD screencaps and collections of recaps and reviews of tonight’s two episodes. We’ll also post a link to the full episodes on ABC.com so you can rewatch them.

P.S.: How are you celebrating the premiere event tonight?  Are you planning a premiere party, gathering a bunch of friends and family together or are you savoring the evening to yourself? Let us know!

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2. New Season 5 Promo!
3. Happy Holidays!

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1. Season 5 New Promo: Destiny Calls!
2. New Season 5 Premiere Promo
3. New Season 5 Promo!

Thanks to Lost-Media for the scans!

Related posts:

1. Season 5 – Sawyer & Juliet Photo
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3. SAWYER AVATAR NOW AVAILABLE

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1. Season 5 Sneak Peek #4 (Extended Version)
2. Season 5 Sneak Peek #3 (Extended Version)
3. New Season 5 Sneak Peek!

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Source: Movieweb.com

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