Stranger in an even stranger episode

Um, does anyone else feel completely let down? Now, as we all know, I'm not one to diss an episode wherein Jack is the main focus, but Wednesday's "Stranger in a Strange Land"... well, um.... let's just say..... yeah, dude, it sucked.

Sigh. And after all that build up. I know I've said it before, but this time I mean it: I will no longer put any stock in those freaking teasers. "3 of LOST's biggest mysteries REVEALED!" My ass.

So, yeah, not much to report in on this week. Cindy and the Kids were back, but we already kinda sorta knew that. When Jack asked her "... then what are you doing here?!" (in just that same small-to-big fashion), she replied that they were there "to watch." Watch what? Yep, we don't know either, but my guess is that they have all been subjected to the room 23 brainwash, and are now "one of them," there to observe the law at work i.e., to view Juliet's trial.

Seriously, for such a highly-publicized episode, it's super disappointing that absolutely nothing happened. Next week better step it up. I do always enjoy a Hurley episode, and here's hoping that he delivers...

"Flashes Before Your Eyes"

Good grief! The sheer volume of "easter eggs" in this episode would be enough to keep me blogging for hours! But, as Aaron's naps usually afford me AN hour, at most, we'll have to do this quickly.

First, I must direct you to this blog: http://www.meghansdailylife.blogspot.com/, and you must leave this person many comments, telling her that Jack and Kate rule the world, and that if she wants to fight, she can bring it on. That is all.

Secondly, I've been thinking about some of the new theories that have come out of the woodwork recently. As you have already noted, Meghan, as well as many others, are jumping on the Wizard of Oz theory, given as how many little easter eggs have guided us in that direction:

• Henry Gale is the name of Dorothy's uncle, and
• he arrived on the island via hot air balloon.
• Last night, the guy with the "ruby" red shoes was crushed, ala the Wicked Witch.
• Oz is commonly thought to be a dreamland, or a purgatory of sorts, and once Dorothy comes to terms with her real life and realizes that "there's no place like home," she is able to return to her reality.

I just don't buy it, though. Instead, I prefer Doc Jensen's theory on black holes. And that theory, I think, was more in tune with last night's episode.

Last night's "Flashes Before Your Eyes" reminded me a lot of "Dave" (S2) in that, at the end of the episode, all that you're left thinking is "... did that really happen?!" Was last night's episode, the majority of which was flashback, even a flashback at all? In much the same way that Hurley's imaginary friend, Dave, leads us to believe that this whole thing is merely a part of an insane man's daydreams (hello, Saint Elsewhere), the dozens of little things in Desmond's "flashback" point to the same conclusion. (Well, not that Desmond is insane.... whatever, you know what I mean.) Let's review some those things:

• Desmond's clock reads 1:08 when he wakes up from his little spill off the ladder.
• Both Penny and her father have art reminiscent of the mural in the hatch.
• Desmond's microwave makes the same sound as the countdown clock.

And I'm sure there are many, many more that I missed. But here are the things I want to talk about: First, go back and listen to what Desmond's "best mate," Donovan, was saying to his student before 'ol Desi showed up to take him out for a pint. (P.S. Does anyone else feel the strange urge to speak in an English accent today? I sure do...) He was saying something to the effect that running the same experiment 10 different times will yield 10 different results. This made me think of "The Butterfly Effect," the movie with Ashton Kutcher. It's along the same vein, too. Kutcher's character is able to go back in time to change the events that led to the death of his girlfriend, but by doing that, he sets off a whole other chain of events. "Back to the Future" has the same thing going for it, with the whole disappearance of Michael J. Fox's family from the photo he has... we've seen it all before. Bottom line, (as Desmond realizes in the end) even if he would have done things differently, even if he would have tried to be with Penny, "the universe has a way of course-correcting itself," as we found out from the creepy ring-shop lady. (Whose clocks, if you notice, all read 8:15.)

Nonetheless, in spite of this "course-correcting" mumbojumbo, Desmond seems to be attempting, in vain, to save Charlie from his own death. (Grrr, just let the hobbit die!!!) And this is where the lyrics of the song Charlie was singing on the streets of London come into play: "Because maybe / You're gonna be the who saves me." Is Desmond gonna be the one who save Charlie? God, I hope not.

Speaking of songs, not only did we hear "Make Your Own Kind of Music" in the pub, reminding us of hatch days chock full 'o button pressing past, we also heard Sarah MacLachan's "Building a Mystery" as Desmond was getting ready for his ill-fated interview with Mr. Widmore. I think that was just the producers winking at us. Bastards.

And finally, no blog is complete without bashing Claire. Honestly, who goes for a swim fully clothed?! And, for the love of Jack Shepard, where did those God-awful bangs come from?! I'm so mad at Desmond for saving Claire... or Charlie... or whoever, since they seem to both be being saved a whole lot recently. (And P.S. is Charlie really that much of a fool in love that he, as a self-admitted non-swimmer, would go try to save the drowning blonde fool?) Hopefully, the universe will course-correct itself and out us all out of our misery soon.

Looking ahead to next week, "Stranger in a Strange Land" will unravel the secret of Jack's tattooed past (maybe you'd better not watch, MKO-G), and it looks like Cindy and the Kids will be back. According to the teaser, "3 of LOST's biggest mysteries will be revealed!" Sigh. They had me at hello.

We're not in Kansas anymore. Or Portland, for that matter.

Welcome back, LOST! It's been so long since we've had a truly good episode, one chock full of answers, all the while being all LOST-like and raising so many other questions along the way. Wednesday's show, titled "Not in Portland," was a Juliet-centric episode that gave us some insight into some Other characters. We learn that the strong, ever-complex, whose-side-are-you-on-anyway Juliet was practically a doormat in her past life, psychologically haunted and manipulated by her ex-husband, Edmund Burke (brush up on your 18th century philosophy for some more info on him... while you're at it, you can find out more about John Locke, and French philosophers Rosseau and Hume). We also find out that Juliet is involved in some fertility research that is raising some serious "ethical" questions, and that she is being courted for recruitment by a bio-science research group by the name of Milletos BioScience, a group based in Portland (sort of).

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, Jack, the crafty little fellow he thinks himself to be, has purposely botched the surgery on Benry's tumor, and vehemently claims that he "will LET HIM DIE!" if Kate and Sawyer aren't freed. But, as Juliet, now apparently back on the Other side, points out, getting back to Survivorville will prove difficult, as they are on another island. Woops. But, that won't stop our fearless, post-coital duo from trying anyway! No siree! After a brisk jog through the jungle amid a shower of bullets from the pursuing Danny and Co., Skate is aided (and abetted) by Alex, the slingshot-wielding Other who is pissed that she doesn't know where her boyfriend is. Oh, and she has a boat they can use if they help her find him. Which they do. Karl, the aforementioned bf, is being held in room 23 (number alert) of yet another Dharma building, unwilling participating in a freaky brainwashing rave. They grab him, drooling, and head for the shore. They get thisclose to shoving off, when Danny, who will just not let go of the whole "they-killed-my-girlfriend-Colleen" thing, shows up. He and Sawyer glare at each other for a minute before Juliet shows up, now back on our side, and kills Danny. She tells them to get going, but won't permit Alex to go with them, citing that Alex's dad will be upset if she's not there when he wakes up. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Ben is Alex's father, and Ben told Juliet that if she convinces Jack to finish the surgery, he'll let her go home.

Whew. So that's the skinny on the overview. We've got pre-island Juliet, apparently tortured by the Miami humidty, as evidenced by her fro-y, frizzy curls, as well as some present-time operating room shenanigans orchestrated by Jack and Friends. We've got questions, but, more importantly, we got answers. Up, up, and away...

I LOVE that the show picked up right where it left off. I so often am enraged when things aren't resolved, or at the very least addressed when such a huge lead up is involved. (*cough cough, season 2 finale, cough cough*). Granted, we didn't see anyone other than the players in Otherville, but when you've got a cast of 300 million people, I suppose you have to pick and choose. But anyway, here are my thoughts:

• We've never gotten any confirmation that Alex is Rosseau's daugher. We assume that she is, since Rosseau's daughter was named Alex, but if Benry truly is her father, wouldn't Rosseau have kept Benry to herself when she caught him in that net instead of turning him over to the survivors? Unless Rosseau herself doens't know who the father is, which is entirely possible.
• While I was doing some light research on Wednesday's episode, I came across a theory about Juliet that tickles your brain a little bit. Indulge me: this guy claims that Juliet has powers, in much the same way that Walt had powers. Remember how, in season 1, Walt is studying birds when the same bird flies into the glass door? If we apply that same sort of thinking to Juliet, maybe this guys isn't completely nuts. Subconciously, she wants Edmund to get hit by a bus, as she so eloquently blubbers to the interviewer guy. I think it's a bit of a stretch to think that this company would submit to her every wish and actually ensure that Hubby does, in fact, die via collision with public transportation just to get her to work with them. I mean, think about what was happening right before Edmund was hit: Juliet had just shared the fact that her research or whatever worked, and her cancer-ridden, barren sister Rachel was pregnant. Instead of being happy for her, Edmund begins talking about submitting the research, etc. Juliet gets angry, since she doens't want her sister to be subjected to all that. Call me crazy, but maybe Juliet's anger toward Edmund is manifested by him getting killed by the bus. The thought was already in her mind. A stretch, possibly, I know, but unless Ethan was driving that bus, I don't think Milletos is responsible.
• Speaking of Milletos, whose ultrasound was displayed in Juliet's interview? After Juliet guessed (wrongly) that it was a womb belonging to a 70 year old woman, Mr. Alpert said it actually was that of a 26 year old. Claire? Rosseau? Sun? And why does this company need Juliet so badly?
• Finally, back in present day, Juliet reveals that she has been on the island for 3 years, 2 months and 28 days. If we're still of the thought that it is now early December 2004, that would mean that Juliet came to the island right around September 11, 2001. .... yeah.

Good God, I can't take it. What the hell is going on on this show?!!