I'm also glad they didn't make John a murderer/cop-killer, but I'm still surprised he would be involved in drugs. (It may explain his attitude towards Charlie, but so far we haven't seen John using.) Between this and Jack's backstory in Tale of Two Cities, we're seeing the dark side of the characters (*if* you consider producing weed a bad thing anyway). Jin skated by; he was involved in a shady deal, avoided acually doing it, but the consequences were the same as if he did.

I'm not sure if this story takes place after the first two or concurrently. There was enough time for Hurley to walk back but I don't recall how long a trip that was.

And how many times have they begun with an 'eye shot,' now?

I didn't see the 'Eko talking' as a vision but rather as the Island speaking to John through Eko.

I have to admit, I didn't recognize Boone at first. I thought it was the hitchhiker for a moment.

No major revalations...again.

Wondering what's up with Hurley's deja-vu....

I think this one is meant to be concurrent with The Glass Ballerina at least. I read that the air order with that episode was swapped, so it might make sense.

Wondering what's up with Hurley's deja-vu....

I thought he was just avoiding telling Charlie that Desmond predicted Locke's speech before it happened.

Josh, that's my interpretation of the Deja Vu as well.

Well I'll have to watch it again. But it wouldn't be out of character for the Lost writers to foreshadow the next Hurley flashback. Perhaps we'll see someone standing by himself throwing stones into the sea then.

This is not the first time I've seen this sort of thing --

When a mute character has to write to communicate, they write only one sentence or word on a piece of paper, then flip it over or tear it off to write the next one. Considering the Losties' limited resources, this seems like an incredible waste. The Nick character (Rob Lowe) did the same thing in "The Stand".

I can see how, for continuity reasons and legibility on TV screens why they do it this way, but it just seems incredibly dumb. (NPI)

I'm almost starting to wonder about Locke always hooking up with younger, attractive men. Boone, Charlie, Michael. Not that there's anything wrong with that! Granted, he was involved with Peg Bundy, but still...

When a mute character has to write to communicate, they write only one sentence or word on a piece of paper, then flip it over or tear it off to write the next one. Considering the Losties' limited resources, this seems like an incredible waste

Yeah, I thought about that too. Why didn't Locke write in the sand when at the "church"?

In Locke's vision, Sun is speaking Korean. Considering it's his vision, how can that be possible? Shouldn't it just be gibberish at best?

"Boone, Charlie, Michael." Oops, I meant Eddie.

How long did it take John to build that sweat lodge? By the time he was done, it was still daylight and day continued as he went after Eko.

And was there some particular reason that he built inside the skeleton of Locke’s church?

What exactly was Locke ingesting when using the sweat lodge? Was it a drug, as Charlie indicated? If so, where did he get it? Has Sun been growing something other than foodstuffs in her garden?

Why are Boone’s eyes dark instead of blue when he appears before Locke? And why is his hair so different? If Ian Somerhalder’s hair was different, why didn’t the director/costumers/makeup artists have him wear a wig?

I agree with Josh. Thank God they didn’t make Locke a murderer. Having killed someone wasn’t exactly incompatible with what we had known about Kate and Sawyer up to the point where their kills were revealed, but I didn’t like how they make Charlie a thug who beat up Sun, and I was really afraid they were going to do that with Locke. As it is, I was surprised that they made him a member of a marijuana commune, and I’m curious what happened after his confrontation in the woods with Eddie.

So Desmond’s a precog now?

Influx, what’s “NPI”?

I also thought Locke was going to write in the sand when he picked up the sand to indicate “the island”.

Luigi: And was there some particular reason that he built inside the skeleton of Locke’s church?

We all know, of course, you meant 'Eko's church.' :-)

Influx, what’s “NPI”?

No Pun Intended. I know it's not a Nitcentral Glossary term but I thought in context it would be clear.

LN: And was there some particular reason that he built inside the skeleton of [Eko]'s church?

My guess is some of Eko's supplies were lying around and he used those to throw up his little teepee.

LN: What exactly was Locke ingesting when using the sweat lodge? Was it a drug, as Charlie indicated? If so, where did he get it? Has Sun been growing something other than foodstuffs in her garden?
Not the first time we've seen him make a drug. He sent Boone on his very own vision quest.

Someone on another thread brought up a good point. I'll quote her:

"This episode also highlighted my biggest LOST pet peeve. The island glowed purple. The frelling hatch blew all the way to the beach and no one went to see what happened to the place. A shell shocked Charlie stumbled into camp and no one felt like they needed to check things out. Locke, Eko and Desmond never made it back and no one went looking for them even out of mere curiosity. What is up with these people?! I mean at the very least, you'd think Charlie might have wanted to discover what happened, but where was he?... looking like he was having a happy morning with Claire. Hurley made it back from the other side of the island, and no one had seemed to have even thought it might be good to see what might have sent a hatch door hurtling through the air, or see if their fellow castaways have survived. After painful sound and purple glowing, and a hurtling hatch, I would have been in that jungle checking things out. Sometimes the Lostaways drive me nuts.}

Seems like something people would like to know.

When did Locke give Boone a drug? As I recall, he just tied him up, and island gave him that vision.

Btw, from the beginning of this series, I wondered if the creators would just create new characters out of the 40-something castaways, which we would never have heard from before, and whether it would "feel" believable. So far, all the Alpha characters have been the ones that we've met already. When Nikki and Paolo just pop up as new characters in this ep, aggressively talking to Hurley about Jack and the others, it did feel kinda.....I dunno, like they just appeared out of nowhere, rather than they were just there all along among the other 30-something crash survivors. Anyone else get that feeling?

Locke did mash up a paste for Boone, similar to the one he made for himself. That does not prove it was a "drug" in either case, nor that the visions were not "sent" by the island.

Re: Nicki and Paolo -- Almost all of the "alpha" characters are either missing or dead at this point. They almost certainly had to be "beta" characters. I suppose they could have been Steve (or is it Scott?) and Sullivan, or Rose and Bernard, but I guess there were reasons to start featuring new "beta" characters. Still, it might have helped us to better accept Nicky and Paolo if they were accompanied by Claire or one of the established "betas."

Luigi Novi: When did Locke give Boone a drug? As I recall, he just tied him up, and island gave him that vision.

TomM: Locke did mash up a paste for Boone, similar to the one he made for himself. That does not prove it was a "drug" in either case, nor that the visions were not "sent" by the island.

At the end of Hearts and Minds when Boone realizes that his vision wasn't real, he makes the assumption that Locked drugged him. Locke doesn't really confirm nor deny this, but I assumed that that was what it was. Here's the dialogue:

BOONE: What made me see? That stuff you put on my head -- you drugged me.

LOCKE: I gave you an experience that I believe was vital to your survival on this island.

BOONE: It wasn't real?

LOCKE: It was only as real as you made it.

From that, I believed that we were meant to see that Locke did drug him and that he received the vision from the island because of the drug.

Yes, Luigi, I felt exactly the same way about the 'new' charcters (except that I didn't know they were new characters until I read Josh's post about the 'first appearace of Nikki and Paulo on the show,' and even then I had to think back for a few seconds to recall who they were). So far, they were able to add new people to the cast very believably, but this is quite pedestrian. They weren't in any of the airport flashbacks we've seen before (I assume) but they will be from now on. Things like that loosen up the otherwise tight continuity the show has thus far impressed me with.

Thanks for the flashback with dialogue, Josh. I did not recall that exchange.

I felt the sameway Luigi. I watched the episode and I felt that Nikki and Pablo should not know be on familiar terms with Locke and the others. It just seemed like since these characters are knew there should not be an already established relationship between them and the rest of the characters who we have watched for two seasons.

Triggins: I watched the episode and I felt that Nikki and Pablo should not know be on familiar terms with Locke and the others.

I don't know about that, necessarily. After 69 days, 40 or so people would likely be on pretty familiar terms. The fact that the two of them just kind of jump into the middle of things, that seemed a bit contrived. They did a better job introducing Arzt than they did here.

I don't think there this is a true question of plausibility, since these people could've gotten more familiar in between scenes. I also don't deny the creators' need to introduce "new" castaways from the pool. I was just expressing how it felt. It felt kinda weird to me.

Mind you, there may come a scene in a future episode where it may very well be implausible, if they bestoy abilities and expertise on Nikki and Paolo like hunting, tracking or fighting, because then it would bring up the question of why they were never in the Alpha Group during important missions.

"I hid my abilities because I'm an extreme introvert, but now that I've come out of my shell, I realize I'm needed."

"My dog was sick."

"I had to wash my hair."

I'm sorry Josh I just meant that it seemed odd to me see the characters not that they should not be familiar with Jack and the others. It was just odd to me because this was the first time we saw them. Maybe after sometime I will get use to the characters.

Well they introduced three new regulars last season and then killed two of them off at the end. If they hadn't done that, they wouldn't have needed to promote the unknowns.

Yeah, really. Why have 11 when you can have 16?