Comments on: You can’t cast away what you’ve already lost

By: Pauline

Pauline — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:54:19 +0000

Just as you thought of me when I had made the assertion that MIB and Smokey were not the same being… As I was watching tonight, I thought of you J, when Miles explained how his abilities worked and especially when he told Ben about the Diamonds with Nikki and Paulo.

Wondering what your take on that was.

Also… loving the immediacy of the show this season… we ponder a subject or question and bam… next episode it’s answered as if Lost had turned into a giant, confusing Magic 8 Ball.

By: Pauline

Pauline — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:13:01 +0000

Hey J,
I like that you remembered Miles saying that his ability doesn’t work the way most would assume talking to ghosts would… The way we see Hurley talking to ghosts is definitely the “hollywood” version. But the way it really happens would be so hard for a television program or movie to portray. Of all the psychics I know or have talked to, they all see, feel, hear things differently.
I know I’ve mentioned recently that I’ve got some psychic abilities… and hopefully this won’t make you folks think I’m a nut…. but for me, it happens in different ways… sometimes I hear words, sentences, conversations, or just names… others I’m shown things as still pictures and other times I see scenes where things are happening. Most things I “see” are like recollections of memories, only they aren’t mine. I also feel emotions, physical pain and sensations. And sometimes it’s just a creepy feeling that someone is standing really close and staring at me. But it’s all closer to what happens with Miles than it is with Hurley.
I guess if Darlton is going for Hollywood you might conclude that Hurley is the REAL psychic in traditional terms and that Miles is perhaps hearing stuff from Alt World. Though, if you think about it… don’t ALL psychics communicate with other dimensions? I mean, the dead aren’t really on the same plane of existence as us, right?
That kind of makes me wonder about Hurley’s “psychic” abilities. Ghosts have only directed him to do things that Jacob wanted him to do… Charlie, Ana Lucia, and most recently Jacob himself.
So… as far as Miles and what is really going on there? I don’t know, I’m still on the fence about whether he can communicate with Alt World though I’m leaning that way… but IMO, he is the real psychic and Hurley is just being manipulated by Jacob (both the living and dead jacob.)

By: John Cabrera

John Cabrera — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:11:00 +0000

Well we assume he was “talking” to a ghost. But he may very well have been accessing/watching/hearing/feeling the events of a similar parallel universe in which the money was also stuffed in the same location. Or where the Dharma dude at the Swan site died the same way. If I remember correctly, Miles was able to sort of hack into the experience of feeling the man’s filling rocket through his skull. If that event happened in the parallel universe (which I’m assuming it did) Mile could have easily been “seeing/feeling” it as it was happening. In fact, every time he uses his powers, he does it in a way that isn’t so much “talking” to them as “trying to understand what happened”… “hearing” them, if anything.

And Miles always says that his power doesn’t work the way most would assume talking to ghosts would. And many events in the parallel universe are very much the same.

By: lizz

lizz — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:04:25 +0000

Well, people that have died. Maybe not ghosts per say, but he did give that spirit in Long Beach a pretty kick-ass shakedown.

By: John Cabrera

John Cabrera — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:53:17 +0000

What makes you so certain it’s ghosts, Lizz?

By: lizz

lizz — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:11:54 +0000

led not lead. stupid grammar.

By: lizz

lizz — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:11:55 +0000

Oh, hot damn! I love the idea of Juliette’s words being a big batch of misdirection… However, I’m quite convinced Miles can talk to ghosts and not people in other dimensions.

Regarding Sayid, my issue is more the crappy writing that lead up to his killing spree in the alt universe. I’d be more impressed if he was shopping for his tank tops at the Grove and they didn’t have it in ultra black, ultra tight, so he flipped out and killed all the guys at Nordstroms… WHO HAPPENED TO BE ON THE FREIGHTER. (Then met Jin, who was trapped in a fitting room.) Okay, maybe not, but it seems just as random.

By: Hanna

Hanna — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 10:34:13 +0000

I’m still wondering about the French team at the Temple last season. Remember how one the guys said that Smokey is a security system for the Temple? Was the guy lying and indeed infected making Danielle the one not being infected? Or the other way around? And where does it leave Smokey, did the ‘security system’ just mean that Smokey didn’t want them to go inside the Temple and discover who were inside? Why keep the Temple people a secret? Or if Smokey indeed was the security system, was it Jacob or MIB? And what happened between the 80s and 00s that made it so that Smokey couldn’t enter the Temple? Okay…I’m confused.

By: Valerie

Valerie — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:11:53 +0000

John I’m loving your take on this episode… I had a few thoughts first this episode made me think that the deals either made with Flocke or Jacob are fulfilled in the altiverse/sideways…(originally Claire wanted to give up her baby and now she’s keeping him, Nadia is alive, even dugan is spending time with his son who for all purposes should be dead) The next is and I know it really this really belongs to the Locke episode but… If baby Ben blew up on the island in the 70′s and he was not on the sub with the rest of the other kids… How did he get off the island to be with Locke at the school. Now obviosly we are still not sure of what the altiverse/sideways is or what it means in the timeline but all the others and dharma peeps who were meant to be in the 70′s on the island should basically cease to exist in this new altiverse/sideways. Is the Ben we know now a product of the time travel of our losties 70′s action or mearly in another timeline all together. What does Ben being in the sideways tell us?

By: Karla

Karla — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:34:08 +0000

I loved this episode.. how badass was it when FLocke rallied his troops at the temple.. everyone walked out to join him.. the satisfied look on his face was proud accomplishment & made me say to myself, yeahh now lets go kick some jungle ass!

By: Karla

Karla — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:24:24 +0000

The statue looks like a giant game piece doesn’t it

By: John Cabrera

John Cabrera — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:38:24 +0000

P, I think you’re right that “It worked” is likely not referencing what we assume it is. But I’m of the camp that believes Miles is not speaking to dead people. I think he’s seeing, hearing, communicating with those who are living in the Alti-Verse. My guess is that sometime this season, we will actually witness Juliet in the Alti-verse utter the phrase “It worked.” and it will only indirectly relate to what we originally thought she meant.

By: Pauline

Pauline — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:34:22 +0000

OOH… sorry but one last thing. Off topic too… sorry! but while I’m putting 2′s and 2′s together… Something that has been bugging me about Flocke going home. and who ultimately is manipulating all this time travel stuff and if the happy ending would be everyone off the island rather than Jack becoming the new Jacob or whatever.

You know how FLocke has become “I wanna go home” guy? And how he has recruited Sawyer to help him go and is telling Sawyer that he can go home too?

Well… is there any sort of connection with Juliet’s comment: “I wanted you to be able to go home. I wanted to make it so you never came to this damn island [Juliet starts crying] … it didn’t work.”

and her post death comment to miles: “It worked.”

I know we all assumed she was talking about the creation of the Alt Universe… but what if she’s talking about FLocke getting everyone off the island?

By: Pauline

Pauline — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:22:57 +0000

Sorry if there was an implication that what you were saying was that Sayid is evil. That last little comment was just me being sad that currently Sayid appears to be all Darth-id. And that makes me sad.

I was more interested in you idea of this seed. And why is it that Ben is reacting differently after talking to FLocke and killing Jacob. The two did the same thing so why is it that…. oh. Wait.

Sayid has always been an avenger of sorts. Sure, he kills but usually with good reason (if there is such a thing.)
Then there is Ben… who has always played the victim.
Basically… Sayid is a person who owns what he has done… which we see in Alt World by how he says he doesn’t deserved Nadia. He may not like the stuff he does but he knows there is a dark side in him that he’d like to surpress.
But Ben is more like… “why me” guy… I only tried to do good, dude but everyone is always against me, wah wah guy.

Where… why do I always seem to talk myself out of confusion when I am typing comments on your blog. See? I talk to myself too.

Anyway… I just want Alt World Sayid to stay good and swing over with Alt-Jack, Alt-Locke and the rest of Alt-crew, to the island universe and save them all from themselves. What? I’m confusing myself.

P.S. working on a fun Lost/Star Trek comparison pictorial that I think you’ll find satisfying given your “island starship” theory.

By: John Cabrera

John Cabrera — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:10:07 +0000

P! I’m trying to say that Sayid is not evil! No more than Dogan was. He’s just taken up a different side here. I mean, even all those strange looks he was giving at the end of this episode… how different are they really from the strange looks he’s been giving on this show since season 1?

Good observation on these parallels though.

By: Pauline

Pauline — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:40:54 +0000

Can we talk about Ben’s seed for a moment?

Sayid shot Ben.
Ben’s dad shot Sayid
Ben was healed in the temple waters (in the 70′s)
Sayid was healed in the waters (in 2007)
Ben spent years doing evil deeds in Jacob’s name after he was healed.
Sayid tried to redeem his name after he was healed.
Ben talked to FLocke and killed Jacob for him.
Sayid talked to FLocke and killed Dogen for him.
Ben is now with the A-Team.
Sayid is now cruisin’ with Team Flocke.

What does this say about Ben’s seed? Sayid’s seed? The Temple Waters? How sad I am that Sayid is evil?

By: TheGamesAFoot aka Courtney K.

TheGamesAFoot aka Courtney K. — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:26:38 +0000

That’s RIGHT we HAVE seen strange-scary-mobster-fella before!! He was one of the men Widmore sent to the island to kill/kidnap Ben!

I felt bad for Miyagi when Sayid turned on him; plus, something tells me that spring water is useless now that Lennon bled to death in it (gross).

By: Kelly Jo

Kelly Jo — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:27:28 +0000

I actually dug the ep. All I kept thinking was – it’s not as clear as black and white. Who says one is good and one is evil. I feel like we’ve been led to believe that Jacob is good, but I can’t remember WHY… Maybe he’s evil as the devil himself (he does play the devil on Supernatural – haha) My husband thinks I’m nuts, but I can’t shake it. And you seem to have stated it all much better than I could have. It all depends on what side you are looking at it from.

The whole Jin in the freezer thing… If I remember right he seemed surprised by the money. What if SUN borrowed it – so she could A) escape FROM Jin or B) Escape from Daddy WITH Jin….

Keemie is a bad dude. Sorry to see him die. Again.

It’s so strange what this show does to me. I am SO EXCITED to watch it on Tuesdays and so damned disappointed when the hour is over. I definitely feel the “ramp up” to the end. I’m very nervous about the finale though….

By: John Cabrera

John Cabrera — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:27:21 +0000

Yeah, but Lizz, I think the aim is to dispel this notion that our characters live by a different set of rules in the Alti-Verse. I feel there’s a tendency to believe that somehow this Alti-verse is a corrected (or in some cases deevolved) version of the first-Verse. And I just don’t think it is. These people are just doing what’s in their nature. The whole concept of “infection”, is just a red herring, I think.

And what’s so much more violent or “evil” with Sayid, than all the crazy stuff we’ve seen the characters do. I mean, Locke is one of the more beloved characters on this show… that dude, threw a knife in a girls back!

By: Lizz

Lizz — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:16:25 +0000

I think the secret key of the ep is how/why the stewardess and her little ragged children/servants were all up with Jacob and the Others then quickly switched teams to stand with Flocke. Obviously this chick is sitting on some massive secrets, and I’d kind of like someone to get her to talk. Ironically, the Sayid ep is over…

My biggest problem (and still is, grumble grumble) was the insane love triangle w/Sayid’s brother and Nadia. (Nadya?) Honestly, what kind of idiot brother would be all, “Hey, great to see you bro… Listen, I’m kind of behind on balancing my checkbook or whatever, so could you do me a solid and crack some heads at the bank? If not for me, for the woman you love that I happened to marry and have kids with… Oh you have moral issues with this, well I mean you DID torture people 10 years ago and these are EVIL LENDERS!!” And conversely, what kind of idiot brother would do such a deed, even if they were loan sharks? And yeah yeah, somehow it’s connected to Jin, but it really seemed unnecessary to show that Sayid will do bad stuff in an alt universe too. We get it. Everyone has a price.

Well that and it’s a damn shame Sayid didn’t stab Kate when he had the chance.