Huh? Wha--? WTF???

The rest of the ep, though: GOOOOOODDD!!!!!

Rose's line to Jack about "living togheter, dying alone" was really nice.

My heart was pounding throughout the sequences with the Losties and Ben and with Charlie.

Even if they hadn't revealed that the killing of Sayid, Bernard and Jin was faked, I would've speculated that they could come back for the same reason Mikhail kept coming back, and Locke's legs healed, etc.

Wow, Hurley saved the day in way that was nicely setup in a previous ep, and without seeming contrived! Well done!

Was not a fan of Jack's beard. Looked pretty darn fake to me.

When I saw Malcolm's name in the credits my eyes bulged. Yay! And they used Island Vision Walt so his aging kind of makes sense.

Great lines:
Charlie: "Tell [Ben] I said 'hi'."
Ditto with Luigi on Rose's "Live Together, Die Alone" line.
Rousseau: "Will you help me tie him up?" Awwwww, I've been waiting for that moment since Maternity Leave and it did not disappoint. Hilarious.

Mikhail just refuses to go down. Like Kenny, Apophis, Michael Myers, he's just going to keep coming back. Though I have to think that now that he's killed Charlie he might be getting his just desserts at some point.

Aw, poor Charlie. That was a great scene, though. By far the best death scene, IMO.

Big wow about that ending. I was hoping that Des would make it back in time even though there was little hope of that. I can't wait to see how all of this plays out.

I did wonder why Charlie decided to stop the jamming before he got the SCUBA gear. It wouldn't have made a difference, but he didn't know that.

You know what Naomi's duplicity really means? That Sayid's initial instincts about someone he's just met were right yet again.

I'm surprised that that gun Locke uses still works. Should it be, after so many years exposed to the islands elements?

Maybe I am missing some subtle concept of fluid dynamics, but this has been bugging me all night.

After Mikhail blew out the window, wouldn't it have taken several minutes for that entire underwater station to flood? That seems like more than enough time to get the scuba gear on and get out. I was just baffled as he was rushing to slam the door. It's like why not sprint for a tank and a regulator and then swim for it?

The only thing I thought of was that maybe breaking the pressure bubble (by smashing the window) would cause the air to quickly escape, and the water in the "pool" to quickly rise. That doesn’t sound right to me, but maybe. Even so, I'd hardly expect Charlie to be so well versed in physics that he could make such a quick decision.

Great episode, though--I'd say the best ever. I was actually cheering out loud when Hurley showed up!

I did wonder why Charlie decided to stop the jamming before he got the SCUBA gear. It wouldn't have made a difference, but he didn't know that.

Moreover, why didn't Charlie just step through the door before he closed it? It's because Desmond's prediction made him think he had to die, but in fact he could've made it. I'm sure he, let alone the the two of them, could have closed the door with that small amount of water that started to come in.

And why did Mikael telegraph what he was about to do? He didn't know Charlie had a pseudo-deathwish. From his POV, Charlie would have left the room and close the door before the explosion even happened.

Did anyone else think bearded Jack looked rather Islamic?

...or find it interesting that future-Kate wasn't doing time?

Great episode. Fortunately I looked at the schedule early enough to see that it was a two-hour show.

I really wish they'd spread out some of this stuff over the season instead of hitting us with it all at once. It's a bit much to absorb.

I think the body in the casket was Michael. Kate said, "Why would I go to the funeral?" Considering that he killed Libby and Ana Lucia (and I think that was common knowledge?), and betrayed the other Losties, I can see why she'd say that. But why would reading an article about it cause Jack to want to jump off a bridge?

Got caught totally by surprise by the flash-forward. And although I mentioned last time that the old age makeup for Roger Workman was outstanding, Jack's "beard" was really bad.

OK, I can accept smoke monsters and magnetic purple explosions and whatnot, but I can't believe that an 8-track is going to keep playing after 16 years of constant use, or that the two Looking Glass inhabitants didn't notice a water trail that Desmond must have left after leaving the moon pool and hiding.

Charlie could have escaped, but chose not to. Remember, Desmond said he "had" to die in order for the others to be rescued. Although, the jamming signal had already been stopped and he had achieved his goal -- perhaps he could have saved himself anyway.

I was glad that Jack took to pummelling Ben -- it's about time! Thought maybe he should have broken his leg or something since he didn't kill him -- the better to prevent his escaping.

Locke had plenty of time to explain to Jack why he shouldn't send the signal, but it was that old "keep the viewers in the dark" syndrome. Totally unnecessary.

Wish I'd recorded it -- would like to look at this ep again.

Charlie got pretty lucky with the code (although it's nice that he was given a starting reference number). Is "lovin good" three numbers, or only two (with one repeated)? Seems like "lovin" would be a tied note, rather than articulated.

Hurley joins the ranks of Lostie killers now. And doesn't it seem rather implausible that a VW bus could handle the jungle and the sand so well?

Ah. So it was a flash-forward. I get it now. I should've paid closer attention to the dialogue. (Just read Wikipedia).

Someone at Peter David's blog mentioned that Hoffs Drawlark, the name of the funeral home, is an anagram for "flash forward".

Influx: Wish I'd recorded it -- would like to look at this ep again.
Luigi Novi: You can. Right here.

Influx: Locke had plenty of time to explain to Jack why he shouldn't send the signal, but it was that old "keep the viewers in the dark" syndrome. Totally unnecessary.

Yeah, I bet that would have gone over well.

Locke: You see, the island told me-
Jack: Go away, John.

---

quote:

Did anyone else think bearded Jack looked rather Islamic?

...or find it interesting that future-Kate wasn't doing time?

---

This may already be common knowledge, but I just finished watching Mission:Impossible III. (Yeah, I got it on Netflix, OK? Best of the 3, IMO.) I'm an avid credit watcher, and in the very last section of "Special Thanks to", the very last line before the MMPA logo came up was...

The Hanso Foundation

...weird...

That's what happens when you let J.J. Abrams do multiple things.

And why did Mikael telegraph what he was about to do? He didn't know Charlie had a pseudo-deathwish.

I read it as, "You're going to die, sucker! Ha ha ha! [Evil Laughter]".

Got caught totally by surprise by the flash-forward.

Actually, I *thought* it was a flashforward at first (just not as far forward as it was), then I thought it was a flashback.

I read it as, "You're going to die, sucker! Ha ha ha! [Evil Laughter]".

Of course that was the intenion, but if Charlie hadn't known of the Desmond's prediction, or if he had just been a little quicker thinking, he could have left the room and closed the door before it exploded with the rather stupid warning Mikhail gave him.

Who said villains who do that sort of thing are particularly smart?

---

quote:

he could have left the room and closed the door before it exploded

---

Kevin: Moreover, why didn't Charlie just step through the door before he closed it? It's because Desmond's prediction made him think he had to die, but in fact he could've made it. I'm sure he, let alone the the two of them, could have closed the door with that small amount of water that started to come in.

I think that Charlie was convinced that, for Desmond's vision of Claire being rescued, he (Charlie) had to die. After all, look what happened when Desmond spared Charlie's life in the jungle: his vision of Penelope coming for him turned out to be not quite true. (Yeah, it's debatable whether or not Desmond's actions had any effect on the outcome or not, but still....) Charlie sacrifices himself in hopes that it will save the woman he loves.

Also, my theory is that it's Ben who dies. He's neither a family member or friend to Jack. BUT, the dialogue from the episode makes it clear that Jack wants back on the Island. He even takes weekly flights along the flight travel paths which are mostly likely to be over the Island in hopes that he'll get lucky and his plane will crash back onto the Island. If it IS Ben who dies, perhaps Jack turns to suicide because he views Ben as his last real hope to get back on the island. Maybe he's even been begging Ben to take him back there, but Ben has refused. With Ben dead, Jack knows that he has no way to get back to where he wants to be.

Also, I have a nit with the scene where Jack gets refused oxycodone in the pharmacy--two nits, in fact. First, as far as I know, oxycodone is not dispensed in its pure form. It's dispensed either in a time-release capsule (OxyContin) or in a pill with another painkiller such as aspirin (Percodan) or acetaminophen (Percocet, Endocet). Second, according to the federal Controlled Substances Act, Schedule II drugs (which schedule includes oxycodone) cannot be refilled; they require a written prescription each time they are dispensed. I know this because I was on Percocet for over a year due to cancer pain. Each time I ran out, I had to make an appointment with my doctor and get a new script, with ZERO refills. (Well, the part about needing an appointment is because that's the law in Michigan, but the "zero refills" requirement is federal, not state, so it applies anywhere in the US.)

Finally, why can't Jack write himself a script? Dr. House does it all the time! <g>

Jesse: that soudns logical as well as redeeming charlie for all his past sins. He drowns and cleanses himself to save the virgin mother claire. OR somethign to that affect if you want to go down that whole pathway of imagery. But at the very least it does seem like Charlie sacrificing himself for claire would be somethign the character would do.

As for Dr jack not scribing himself maybe he still is too honest to do so or they have tightened u the laws a lot more by that time.

As for Dr jack not scribing himself maybe he still is too honest to do so or they have tightened u the laws a lot more by that time.

No, Jack's honesty has nothing to do with it. He tried to write himself a script, and the pharmacist called BS, telling him that "you can't write your own prescription".

Jesse: Finally, why can't Jack write himself a script? Dr. House does it all the time! <g>

Derek J.:s for Dr jack not scribing himself maybe he still is too honest to do so or they have tightened u the laws a lot more by that time.

Sorry, that last line of mine was just a joke. For those not aware, Dr. House is a fictional character on Fox's show House. There have been a few scenes on that show (which I no longer watch) in which the "good" doctor walks down to the hospital pharmacy and writes himself a script for Vicodin. Frankly, I thought it was pretty ridiculous when I saw it on that show, and the pharamacist's refusal to fill Jack's script makes perfect sense. She handled it very well.

Finally, I was a little confused about the part when Jack tells the new chief of surgery that he can fire him (Jack) if he's "drunker than [his] father." We KNOW this is a flash-forward, so Christian is dead. (Why else would Jack be so anxious that the pharmacist NOT call Christian's office to verify the second script?) So what's the reference about? My view is that it wasn't meant literally, but in the sense that the hospital (may have) tolerated Christian's drunkenness for so long, so why couldn't they cut his son some slack? Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Ahhh see what happens when you go to the bathroom. Someone needs to develop a recliner with a built in porta-john.

And not beng a pharmacist or dealing with them any more than having to on rare occasions i wasnt aware a doctor could not write a scrip for themselves. Oh well live ya learn.

We have no idea what happens between the events of this episode's island story and the flash-forward story. People may have come back to life before on the island. Christian Shepherd may too. And there's always the possibility that he never died. When we first saw the coffin, it was empty, and maybe never on the plane to begin with. Did we ever see the dead body? Do we know for sure that Jack did?

I'm not betting money on any of this (as usual with this show), but I'm not dismissing the posibility either.

Course I'm the guy who said Charlie wouldn't die. :-)

Kevin: Did we ever see [Christian Shepherd's] dead body? Do we know for sure that Jack did?

Yeah, early in the first season. He was summoned to the morgue to make an ID.