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

So, get ready for tonight’s new episode!

Episode 5.02 “The Lie” – Rapid Recap

Episode 5.02 “The Lie” – Thoughts & Theories

[audio:http://blip.tv/file/get/Campetin-502TheLieThoughtsTheories468.mp3]

You can also download the mp3 file to your computer or listen to it on iTunes.

Don’t forget to visit sl-LOST.com tonight to discuss the new episode: “Jughead”!

Related posts:

1. SL-LOST Video Podcast: “Because You Left” Recap
2. SL-LOST Video Podcast – Season 4 Recap/Review
3. “Because You Left/The Lie” Thoughts & Theories By Chris Kirkman

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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2. The LOST Initiative
3. Tell Sky1′s Official LOST Fan Show Your Theories!

In the last episode we saw Ms. Hawking using something similar to a Foucalut pendulum to determine the Island’s next location. Here’s a video of a real Foucalut pendulum in action at the Houston Museum of Natural Science:

• The Foucault pendulum was conceived as an experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. — Wikipedia.  Could the Island cause little variations on the Earth’s rotation every time it moves?

• The experimental apparatus consists of a tall pendulum free to oscillate in any vertical plane. The direction along which the pendulum swings rotates with time because of Earth’s daily rotation. – Wikipedia. Is this why Ms. Hawking uses the pendulum, because those little changes on the rotation are registered by her pendulum?
• In 1851 the French physicist Léon Foucault made his most famous pendulum when he suspended a 28-kg bob with a 67-metre wire from the dome of the Panthéon in Paris. This building was originally built as a church. Was Ms. Hawking in a church because she needed big space for the pendulum?

What’s your opinion about all this? What do you think will happen if the Oceanic 6 don’t return to the Island in the next 70 hours? Let us know, leave a comment!

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1. Episode 5×03 “Jughead” – Official ABC Video Podcast
2. New Season 5 Sneak Peek!
3. New Season 5 Premiere Promo

1. I was also thinking back to some unsolved issues. Like the cages that Sawyer and Kate were in – I know they were for the animals, but what were they doing with the animals and why? And the landing strip that Kate and Sawyer were helping to clear rocks for – another plane coming to the island? Is this where the O6 will land, conveniently, when they come back? Kate’s airplane – did she forget about it? She robbed a bank to recover so why wouldn’t she be obsessing if she hadn’t taken it home with her? Will we ever see Libby’s connection to Hurley in the institution? There are so many for them to wrap up!

2. I was also thinking back to when Ben was looking at those dolls that Annie had made for him and Richard comes in. Ben asks something to the effect of “You remember birthdays, don’t you Richard?” Has Richard harnessed the healing power of the island to also maintain his youth? I like sci-fi and I’ll buy into the time travel, but never aging is going to be a hard sell to me.

3. I have more thoughts but I think I’ll save them for the next post after the recap.

4. So the O6 has been off of the island for 3 years. I can’t imagine that the Losties are going to have to suffer for three years with time moving. Remember that Walt had amazing growth and the writers promised they would explain why. Well, if Walt was off the island for years he would have grown quite a bit. But, if that same time frame was island time it would have only seemed like days. So time off the island is moving much faster than on the island. The O6 come back after 3 years but the Losties only think they’ve been gone a few days to a week.

5. Hurley tells Sayid that someday he’ll need his help but he won’t get it. But Hurley goes through great lengths to help him back home. Change of heart or foreshadowing?

6. Ana Lucia tells Hurley not to get arrested. Hurley purposely gets arrested to avoid Ben. I guess we’ll see what kind of ramifications that decision has.

7. Must pay homage to the shirt.

8. Sun is up to something. It’s too convenient that she was in such a hurry to make her plane and then right after Kate goes on the run, Sun shows up! Does she blame Kate somehow for Jin’s death? Is she really trying to help Kate or is she setting her up for some future purpose?

9. Ben’s secret box. Reminds me of when Miles visited the lady whose spirit he talked to, he took something out of the air vent also (but I think his was money). Why was it in the vent – someone must have placed it there before Ben showed up.

10. Ben tells Jack that he’s never coming back once they return to the island. Is Jack really OK with this? I guess outside of his mother we haven’t seen that he has anything left to live for at home but wouldn’t Jack be looking for ways that he could bring them all back home? Jack seems too heroic to just accept that they will all live happily ever after on the island, which makes me think he’s got his own plan. After all, we don’t know what he planned with Juliet before they left.

11. I’m not convinced that anyone is really out to kill Hurley and Sayid. I think they were hired by Ben to scare them and send them right into his trap for the O6 to get them to agree to go back to the island.

12. Jill tells Ben that Gabriel and Jeffrey have already checked in. The flight crew perhaps? Ben then goes on to defend Jack and his drug abuse. Wow, a little empathy from Ben. Not sure outside of his daughter we’ve seen Ben express true feelings (of kindness, at least).

13. Vincent! The one character the writers have promised will live to the end. But with Vincent, there always comes trouble and sure enough, flaming arrows coming their way.

14. That was some crazy arrow shooting at the Losites. The Others were violent but not like this. Had to be the hostiles and my guess would be it was from the distant past. I wonder if the dead Losties bodies will time travel or since they died in that time then they will stay there?

15. “Why is there a dead Pakistani on my couch?” Hurley has the best family!

16. Sun really is not the person we thought she was. I think back to The Glass Ballerina and that Sun blamed the maid for breaking the figurine knowing that she would lose her job. I don’t know if she really expects Kate to kill the attorneys, but she wants her to “take care of them.”

17. Watching the scene again where Hurley tells his mom the whole truth about the plane and the survivors makes me question how more of the actors on this show don’t get Emmy or other award nominations. I’ve watched a lot of the other shows that get nominated and most of them don’t sustain the believability or momentum that Lost has. I watch Jorge and Jeremy Davies and they are so great in this show. Yes, a few of the actors have been nominated (and won, yeah!) but not enough in my opinion.

18. NOW we see hostiles! Wow, cutting off her hand “just because.” And dang it Sawyer, take their shoes!!!

19. Loving the hot pocket thrown at Ben. That thing was hot too, that could have hurt!

20. The cloak and dagger outfit was a little silly here. But the dichotomy between the science and faith was interesting (science in the basement, faith upstairs). Ms. Hawking comes across as a leader in the way she speaks to Ben and he reacts.

Gitsie Girl

www.gitsiegirl.com

Related posts:

1. 5.01 “Because You Left” Recap By Gitsie Girl
2. “Because You Left/The Lie” Recap By Jeremiah
3. New Season 5 Sneak Peek!

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

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

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2. Episode 5×01 – Two More Sneak Peeks!
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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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1. Season 5: You Want Answers, You’ll Get Answers
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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

Are you tired of wearing the same Dharma T-Shirt to all your LOST viewing parties? Well, why not surprise all of your friends this season! Below are some links to a variety of “I Love my Shih-Tzu” T-shirts from Amazon. The first model is available in yellow too.

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2. New Season 5 Sneak Peek!
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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!

Related posts:

1. IO9′s Review of the Season 5 Premiere
2. BuddyTV’s Review of the Season 5 Premiere
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!
2. ABC Makes Up Lost Episodes, Plus More Info About Comic Con
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!

Related posts:

1. TV Squad’s Review of the Season 5 Premiere
2. New Season 5 Promo!
3. Happy Holidays!

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Related posts:

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