Through the Completely Screwed Up, Cracked and Slightly Tinted Looking Glass

Holy freaking crap. How do I even begin to tackle this one? So much happened, and, truly, overall, I think that this was one of LOST's better episodes. And here's why: it was able to stay true to form, namely being an enigma shrouded in mystery, bubble wrapped in secrecy, and sent via super secret overnight mail to obscurity, ambiguity, and vagueness (thank you, thesaurus!), and still leave us wanting more. But what we got, oh, what we got.... it done good.

"Through the Looking Glass" was, what Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse surreptitiously dubbed "The Rattlesnake in the Mailbox," a complete game-changer. But, as always, we must start from the beginning.

The episode opens with a super-scraggly, haven't-seen-a-barber-in-years Jack flying on an Oceanic plane, shaking, claiming to be in dire need of yet another drink. When I first saw the scene, the first thing I noticed was that Sun and Jin appeared to be sitting behind Jack. But given the "game changer" that happened in the end, that wouldn't make any sense, now, would it? But, moving on. On the plane, Jack comes across the obituary of ... someone. (Um, so how many of you have been turning your laptops sideways and trying to glean something from that screencap? Guilty.) Now, even though we have no earthly (or otherworldly, for that matter) idea of who this person is, s/he is apparently significant enough to drive Jack to suicide after reading it. But, as luck (or fate) would have it, right before Jack is about to take the leap (literally), there is a car crash on the bridge upon which Jack is currently perched, and whammo, another thing for Jack to fix.

At this point, back on the ranch, the Survivors have begun their hike to the radio tower, leaving Sayid, Jin, and Bernard behind to deal with the intruding Others. At this point in the episode, I'm already going nuts because I swear I'm hearing music underlying the entire show so far. And, with the exception of The Cranberries "I'll Stand By You" underplaying during Jack's suicide endeavors, I can't make anything in particular out. But it's so definitely there. Whether or not this has any significance to the show still has yet to be determined. My husband (grrrrr, I'll get to him later) claims it must be a technical glitch, probably with local programming. I might buy this theory, except for the fact that NOTHING on this show is coincidental. I was, in fact, so distracted by this that I didn't notice Juliet kissing Jack (oh, no, she din't!!! Hell to the no!) until it was over (rewind!). So, I apologize in advance if there are things I didn't catch because I was so freaking distracted by the Crazy Music. (And I'm not even pregnant anymore!)

So, two ka-blooeys later, and things didn't quite work out the way the survivors had hoped: Jin missed his target (hmm, this has happened before has it not?), and as such, the three of them get captured by the Others who weren't blown to smithereens. Eventually, Hurley comes to the rescue (thank god, I was getting seriously pissed about all the fat jokes! Poor guy, just wants to help!!!) via his Dharma van, careening onto the beach and wiping out those who remained. Oh, and Sayid went all Republican Guard, and, with his arms tied behind his back snapped the other dude's neck. (So badass... just call him Jack Bauer.... or Sayid, whichever you like better.) Sawyer, who at this point is a forlorn, I-no-longer-have-a-purpose-now-that-I-have-fulfilled-my-life-goal-of-killing-the-guy-who-murdered-my-parents, gets the final dig, shooting Tom after he surrendered (bad form, Sawyer!) for "taking the kid off the raft." Done and done.

Speaking of "the kid," is it inappropriate of me to think that Walt is now hot? Um, probably, but even more disconcerting is this: the producers have made no effort whatsoever to disguise the aging of Malcom David Kelley (Waaaaaaaaaalt!!!) I mean, the funky camera angle, perhaps, to hide how freaking tall the kid is, but nothing to the voice, etc. Walt appears to a wounded (both physically and mentally) Johnny Locke, chillin' in the mass grave with the Dharma folks, himself contemplating suicide. Waaaaaaaaaalt nixes that idea, tells John to get off his pathetic bum, and get to work, whatever that means.

Well, apparently that means killing Naomi, who has finally been able to get that stupid phone working. Another standoff between the Man of Science and the Man of Faith ensues, with the former coming out the victor. Main of Faith retreats into the jungle, probably to go sulk to Jacob. Jack makes the call, talks to someone who promises to get on with the whole saving-the-survivors thing.

Now, we could just end it there, and it would have made for a pretty boring season finale. But, then you've got the whole "Rattlesnake in the Mailbox" thing, that promised to be such a game-changer, you'd end up leaving LOST for 7 months (& months!!) continually repeating ".... Whaaaaaa?!" Which would have been really great, except for the fact that freakishly insightful husband guy ruined the whole thing with over an hour left in the show. Yup, that's right, He figured out that the flashbacks were not, in fact, flashbacks, but flashforwards.

It appears that Jack, after having left the island, wants nothing more than to go back. In fact, as he tells Kate in the final scene, he uses his golden pass from Oceanic Airlines every Friday night, flying to Tokoyo, Singapore, Sydney, anywhere, pretty much. He wants to crash, prays to crash, longing to just go back. Which begs the question: WTF, man?

Throughout the episode, and in particular, the flashbac-- forwards, there is mention of Jack being a hero. "Twice over," apparently, as the new Chief of Surgery notes. Think back to the part of the show where Jack was trying to get his prescription refilled, and the guy behind him calls him a hero, citing what we think to be the car accident thing (P.S. Was that kid Zach, the infamous teddy-bear clutcher?!), but what is probably the whole "how they got off the island" thing.

So, as usual, I have no idea what happens with this show. Alls I know is that we have to wait until January or maybe even February until things get rolling again.

Finally, a moment of silence for The Hobbit. I must admit, with as much build-up as we got slapped in the face with "You're gonna die, Chahlie," "I can't save you this time, brotha," etc, I honestly didn't think they'd go through with it. But go through with it they did, and Charlie Pace bit the big one. Just when we thought it wouldn't happen, when Charlie entered the code (more code entering, sheesh! We can't get away from it!!) and started a nice little dialogue with Penny Widmore, ultimately finding out that Naomi is a liar-liar-pants-on-fire, and that it's not Penny's boat floating offshore, Patchy shows up, grenade in hand, and drowns Charlie. So... uh... did Mikhail die, too, since it would seem that he, too, was right there when the grenade exploded? You would think so, but since it seems that nothing, not even a sonic fence or an arrow straight to the heart, can kill that guy. So I don't really know if he's dead. Charlie, on the other hand, pushing up daisies. Now, I realize I've been demanding his death for pretty much the entire season now, but I have to admit, my heartstrings were tugged as I watched Charlie sacrifice himself for the greater good, and cross himself (with the wrong hand) before taking his last breath. So good.

Finally, (again, I know, but I mean it this time!) questions to ponder for the next 7 or 8 months:

• Who was in the casket, and why was s/he significant enough for Jack to want to commit suicide, but also someone for whom Kate had an obvious sense of hatred/disdain, etc?
• Who is the "he" that Kate had to get back to? Sawyer?
• Is Waaaaaaaaaalt still alive? Or is he another of the island's apparitions? (i.e. Yemi, Kate's horse, etc.) Is it Jacob in another form?
• If you had just seen your daughter for the first time in 16 years, would your first words be "Will you help me tie him up?"
• Was this, truly, a "game changer?" Will we begin to see "present day" in the future, and will the island be in flashback? (I'm so confused!)
• How will Charlie's death resonate throughout the camp, and will it come back to bite Desmond in the arse if Claire finds out he knew about it all along?
• What does Jack do that is s "heroic?"

Well, so long for now, dear readers. Please do check back here once in awhile, as I'll update whenever something intriguing comes along. So long, farewell, auf weidershcien, goodbye....

**YAWN**

Sorry for the delay in getting this one out. I'm currently in Providence, RI on family business, so you'll have to excuse. Short post this week, kids, so sorry.

There's really nothing to talk about this week. All in all, "Greatest Hits" was pretty boring, and, I thought, a poor way to head into the season finale. A few points of order, however:

• It's good to have Jack back.
• Claire, while still obnoxious and annoying, wasn't that bad this week.
• I thought Jin was a fisherman, how is it he's good at shooting things?

Finally, (sorry!!) I have to admit that The Hobbit actually tugged on the heartstrings this week. Who knew?

Looking forward to the finale!!

B.Y.O.T. (Bring Your Own Theory)

As the self-proclaimed (and nationally recognized) Queen of All Things LOST, I bring you this first installation of B.Y.O.T. Those of you who recognize my status as Better Than You When It Comes to LOST, have, week after week, tuned into breegetslost to read my theories and ramblings on the show. The tables have turned, my friends, the tables have turned. Here, now, are YOUR thoughts and theories (in my words, your thoughts):

~After reading my most recent posting on "The Man Behind the Curtain," Ma thinks that I'm right. (Well, obviously!!) Sawyer will be the one to bite the big one and join our other dearly departed on Boone Hill. She also thinks that Kate is pregnant with his child. Well, so does everyone else, so that's not really groundbreaking; HOWEVER, as Ma notes, it will certainly make that love triangle interesting again, with Jack torn between new lady love Juliet, and pregnant-with-another-man's-child Kate. Or, alternatively, Juliet will be the one making the journey to the great beyond, taking into account the show's apparent pattern of killing off the newbies. Then, we're just back to the original love triangle.

~Now, I couldn't bring myself to get into the whole "LOST experience" thing this past summer as JW did. (Now that, my friends, is commitment!) So he knows a whole lot more than me about the Dharma Inititaive, etc. What I do know is this: Last season, (I believe) we saw Sawyer reading Gary Troup's manuscript, Bad Twin. Apparently, Gary Troup was on 815, and on his way to making it big in Hollywood. Now, there's been much speculation on the name Gary Troup itself, being an anagram for purgatory. JW's theory combines a couple of popular theories. We've discussed on this blog the "alternate universe" theory a few times, and coupling that knowledge with this interesting little tidbit, as well as the fact that "Jacob," of whom we recently caught a glimpse, resembles our friend John Locke just a bit too much, gives us this sound theory:

Everyone on the island has a "Bad Twin." Or at least, someone they could have been in an alternate universe, under different circumstances. And they are brought to this island, which, in fact, is Purgatory to fight for their survival and place in the universe.

I like it!

Now, these are only the theories that have been brought to my attention recently. Call to mind ACOG's theory from back in "Flashes Before Your Eyes." It's certainly something to consider now that there has been speculation on the fact that Suddenly Susan appears not to have aged a day over the course of Ben's childhood! ACOG, you can see the future!!

Then there are the keep-you-guessing tidbits they keep throwing at us that we (more than likely) blow out of proportion. Take, for instance, the ash surronding Jacob's creep hut: a nod to the whole idea of the phoenix rising from the ashes, (and maybe that Hurley bird from last year's season finale was a phoenix?!)? Or yet another biblical reference: "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust?"

Now seeking other theories!! Come on, kids, let have 'em!

Jacob's Ladder

Right off the bat, I must apologize to anyone on the East Coast who might have been awakened by my "?!!!?!?!?????!!!!!!!!!!!?!?!?!???!???!?!?!????" emails that reached you around 2am (JW!), but, hey, that's what happens when I'm 3 hours behind you!!!

With that out of the way, we'll get down to it:

Oh. My. God. They didn't really kill off Locke, did they? They can't.... right?! Locke is .... well, he's Locke. The Man of (albeit spasmodic) Faith. What's going to happen to the Man of Faith vs. Man of Science, Locke vs. Jack dynamic now? It's going to be Man of Science vs..... ? I mean, did it all just end anyway for Locke inside The Pearl station (I think) when he and Eko saw those TV monitors and then just gave up on everything? No more hatch, no more button... no more faith? To John Locke, the island was everything he ever wanted: it healed his broken body, and all he ever had to do in return was believe that "everything happens for a reason." He said it himself! He can't really be dead, though, right? He was still alive (barely) when the episode ended! Ooh, but then again, so were Nikki and Paulo. And Mikhail.... Crap!

I can't even organize coherent thoughts after all that. But with that said, as utter baffling as the last five minutes of the episode were (hardly out of the ordinary on this show, I realize), I think "The Man Behind the Curtain" gave us mucho insight on why Ben is The Way He Is... sort of. Let me explain.

Now, certainly, the emotional scarring that stemmed from Roger (Ben's daddio) blaming Ben for his mother's death speaks volumes to the type of man Ben has become. I'm sure that could be a tad hard to deal with. Not to mention living in constant fear of "Hostiles," a term which never seemed to be elaborated upon. (Upon which never seemed to be elaborated? That's not right, either.... oh well.) Teachers with rifles, chaining students in the classroom, "taking positions?" Absolutely the making of future mental cases! So at the very minimum, there are at least a few instances to which we can point as being the beginning of Sir Evil. And it most definitely explains Ben's adamant order to Locke to kill his father; a sort of "if I did it, you can too" demand. And, if we're going to go with the oft-cited-and-equally-oft-rebutted Purgatory theory wherein, once your "issues" are resolved, you can move it on up, (or down, depending, I suppose...) then it only seems fitting that Locke would bit the big one. But then, wouldn't Sawyer have the same thing going (or in this case, coming) for him? Or is he going to be the next casualty? I wouldn't be surprised: the way the producers have hyped up Charlie's death recently, you certainly can't put it past them to pull a fast one on us, make us believe it will be Charlie, then actually have it be Sawyer (or someone else). I did hear it leaked that there will be (I think) 5 deaths during the latter half of this season. Tally: Nikki, Paulo, Anthony Cooper, Locke (wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!), and .... ? Unfortunately, I think my money is on Sawyer. I've heard tell that a Survivor will sacrifice himself for the good of the group, and, given Sawyer's friendly, I-Love-Everyone-What's-Good-For-The-Group disposition of late, I fear the end is near for our beloved redneck.

Like I said, incoherent thoughts. Swarming all over the place...

Um, on to "Jacob's" creepy bungalow. First of all, surrounded by ash?! And what do you think of the whole thing? Is Ben seriously delusional? I mean, we all heard "help me" loud and clear, did we not? And we all saw "Jacob" sitting in that chair (well, maybe not the first time around, but at least our husbands did and rewound it and pointed it out to us.... just saying, is all...) after things started tweaking out. Now, Doc Jensen, whom I find to be highly entertaining, if not just a bit over my head occasionally, seems to be of the thought that "Jacob" is a time-warped Locke himself. Simply because Jacob appeared bald. I think I'll be needing a bit more solid proof, but it's certainly worth considering.

And finally, the $64,000 question: Just whose freakin' side is Juliet on, anyway?!

NEWS!

Hot off the EW Press:

Lost to run three more seasons
ABC has ordered 48 more episodes of Lost, to run over three 16-episode seasons, with the series set to close in 2010. Executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, who signed on to helm the final three seasons, have said in the past that they wanted the show to end after 100 episodes; the new deal ends the series after 120. The producers say they've already planned the end of the show's various storylines and praised ABC for giving them a concrete timeline to work with. ''What we didn't know was how long we had to play the story out,'' Cuse said. ''By defining the endpoint we can now really map out the rest of the series in confidence.'' This season's finale is set to air later this month, and ABC has hinted that the fourth season will not premiere until January or February 2008.

There you go, kids, the light is at the end of the tunnel. Now my question is this: Are the ABC execs and Darlton (Damon and Carlton, duh) planting their tongues firmly in their cheeks by announcing 48 more episodes to run 16 at a time?! Coincidence, hmm?

The Brig

Hunker down, kids, this could take some time...

Holy freakin' crap, that was a lot to digest! Last night's Locke-centric "The Brig" had so much going on, so many layers (Layers! Onions have layers! Ogres have layers! Onions have layers.You get it? We both have layers.), that it's hard to know where to begin. But, Maria from The Sound of Music told me once that "the very beginning [is] a very good place to start, so I'll take her advice on that one, and we'll go from there...

Sorry, Skaters, this whole thing is just building up to break down. There's absolutely no way Kate and Sawyer can be truly together on this one. Mostly because Kate wears the pants and can't even be bothered to spend the night, but also because of that nagging little problem this island has with killing off people who have resolved their issues and come to a self-realization. So you know what that means... buh bye Sawyer.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love me some Sawyer, but the way LOST has been snowballing of late, something's about to go down, and it's going down swinging. I'll call it here and now: Kate is pregnant with Sawyer's baby. I also wouldn't be completely surprised if Juliet is pregnant, too. Jack's? Wouldn't that just piss Kate right the hell off, huh? Prepare for more than a mud wrestling contest in the jungle should that happy little scenario come to pass.

Before I get to my expounding theory on what the heck is going on, I'll hit some of the other highlight's from last night's show. It appears that Charlie, Hurley, Jin, and Desmond managed to sneak Naomi back to the beach, and are currently in the process of... chatting her up? So what? Are they just planning to chit chat until that gaping wound in her gut closes? Weird, but anyhoo, Sayid is brought into the loop when Hurley lets him in on their little secret whilst Sayid was digging a hole in the jungle... with a shovel. (Where did that come from and why is he digging a hole? Could it have something to do with Rousseau hitting up the Black Rock for more dynamite? Are they in cahoots, and possibly working on some explosive project together? Things that make you go hmmmmm...). So Sayid goes into interrogator mode, asking Naomi (is it just me, or can you just not spell that name without having to seriously think about it?! mad face.) the who, what, when where, why, and hows of her arrival on the island, and questioning her story of the discovery of 815 off the coast of Bali in an underwater trench 4 miles deep (number alert!). And, well, he doesn't get much out of that other than a look at Naomi's super-advanced-probably-modern-and-not-so-much-2004 radio...phone...thing.

Um, just a few things on that enlightening little exchange. Uh....LIAR! I'm still of the mindset that Naomi is an Other. I mean, she just has to be! She just happens to have a flare gun in her pack, and, after it's set off, The Guy You Thought Was Dead just happens to show up? Nuh-uh, I don't think so. Also, the point of origin on that radio thing appeared to be on the West Coast of North America. So, what I gather from that, if I'm to believe any of what Naomi says in the first place, is that "her company," the one Penny Widmore hired to aid in her search of Desmond is a Los Angeles-based operation? And just what does that have to do with anything?! I don't know!

Then Kate gets involved. Seriously, just stay in your tent, Kate. You think you're helping, but you're really not. She comes upon Sayid and Hurley diddling with the Future Phone, and determines that she should Take It Up With Jack. Stellar idea, Kate, just stellar. Jack then refuses to leave Juliet out of any conversation (... now, that's just rude), pissing The Fugitive off even more than she already was, so she blurts out the whole thing, right there in front of Other Blonde Plant, not forgetting to omit the whole "No one trusts you" piece. Now, seriously, what did that accomplish, Kate? That's right, hang your head in shame, and depart, tail between legs. Because all you got out of that was the affirmation that Jack and Juliet are co-conspirators. You didn't need that. Wipe that incredulous look off your face. You had it coming.

Now, on to the meat of the episode: Sawyer and Locke. Now, I won't rub it in your faces that I TOLD YOU SO, but I will accept your multitudes of praise and worship of being the All-Knowing, Greatest LOST Blogger, Queen of all things LOST Champion of the World. That should suffice. Ahem, so yeah, Locke's dad is the real Sawyer. Who knew?! (I did! I did!)

Now, I used to not like Sawyer much at all, but, in all fairness, the island seems to have taken his um, manhood? But you know, not like that. I mean, he is the island's resident man-whore, but the whole hardened-criminal, the selfish, egotistical, "every-man-for-himself" Sawyer has gone soft. (Wow, this metaphor is getting worse by the second!!!!) That Sawyer has been replaced with a cute, easily-duped, thinking-about-other-people-for-a-change GIANT FREAKING TEDDY BEAR. And I don't like it one bit! And... where was I going with this train of thought? .... Oh, yeah. So all I'm saying is The Old Sawyer would have at least put on some freaking shoes before agreeing to follow Locke through the jungle to kill Ben, whom Locke has apparently kidnapped, and who is currently being held in "The Brig" of our favorite old, dilapidated slave ship, The Black Rock. (I blame Kate... if she wasn't such a man, Sawyer would have happily cuddled all night.)

But it wasn't Ben. It was good old Anthony Cooper, Locke's Daddy dearest, who is 100% convinced that he's in hell. In fact, dear old Dad even gets the auspicious "Line of the Night" award with "It's a little hot for Heaven!"

OK, I apologize for jumping all over the place, but before we get to That Scene, we have to talk about the "flashbacks" in order to get the proper perspective. (And it's my blog, so I'll do what I want, anyway. Neener neener neener.) So, immediately following the big revelation that "the magic box" held not the Smoke Monster (sorry, Ian) but rather, kidney-stealing Pops, Ben shrugs off Locke's utter confusion and invites him to go off to "an old place" with the other Others. So Locke bids adieu to Kate, packs his tent, and off they go to... a valley. (Yeah...) Stewardess Cindy helps Locke with the pitching of his tent, mentions that everyone's really happy he's there, since they've all been waiting for him, then Tom shows up and tells Locke that Ben needs to see him. OK, later Cindy! Off to Ben's tent, where The Evil One is listening to Juliet's report on Sun's ultrasound, and Locke is told that he's going to have to kill his dad. Oh, OK. Wait. WHAT? Yeah. So after Locke is put to the test which he ultimately fails because, let's face it, the guy's already got some serious Daddy issues, and killing the guy probably won't just fix things, the Others seem all disappointed-like, and leave Locke and Daddy (who's been strapped to a post looking all King Kong-esque and vaguely reminiscent of the whole four-toed statue thing this whole time) behind with instructions not to catch up until the deed is did, and when Locke tells Ben "You can't leave me," Ben fires back with "Don't tell me what I can't do, John." (OH, NO HE DIN'T...)

OK, seriously, these Others are pretty twisted. But to me, something that's even more interesting is the fact that they, themselves, are not murderers. Think about it. Not one of them, with the exception of Juliet, has killed anyone. Granted, Ethan almost killed Charlie, but the annoying hobbit's still alive. Not dead. Juliet was branded for killing one of her own, but no one else has contributed to the death of another on this island. Weird. Even stranger that they would make Locke do this twisted rite-of-initiation thing, when it seems to be so in contradiction to their "values," or whatever. So anyway, Locke can't do it, and is clued in by Suddenly Susan (what's his name again?!) that Sawyer might be the one whose help could be enlisted.

So Locke runs and gets Sawyer, and now we're back to the boat.

Whew. And to think I'm only halfway done....

Now, Johnny Locke read up on Sawyer (thanks to a file written in French provided by Juliet's recruiter guy) and knows ahead of time that his father was the one who killed Sawyer's parents, and that Sawyer has spent the better part of his life vowing vengeance and killing people that he just thought were the real Sawyer. Like that guy in Sydney. Ooh, yeah, thanks for bringing that one up, Johnny, Sawyer's reallllll proud of that. So anyway, Locke gets Sawyer to the Black Rock, and locks Sawyer and Daddy in the brig together (hahaha, get it Locke locks...ahem). They get to talking, and amid the whole "the island is hell" talk, it comes out that the Artist Formerly Known as Anthony Cooper has had a previously alias of Tom Sawyer (who, it could be mentioned, is perpetually barefoot, not unlike our version of Sawyer) and has, indeed been to Jasper, Alabama, the site of James Ford's parent's murder-suicide. (It should be noted that Jasper, Alabama is just a wee bit northwest of Birmingham, Alabama, but, more importantly, is the name of the town in GEORGIA where Josh Holloway grew up. Just for the record.) Lo and behold, this guy the one and the same who conned James' mother for her money and slept with her before James' daddy found out, killed her, and then turned the gun on himself.

Now, it must be said, shame shame SHAME on you, AnthonyTomCooperSawyer. James just wanted you to read that freakin' letter, and you go and get all uppity and tear it up in front of his face. I would have killed you too. But it seems to me that he was really rearin' for a killin'. Practically begging for it. Which makes sense, considering he's under the impression he's in hell, and well, just get on with the torture, I guess, yeah? But seriously, poor Sawyer. Makes me kind of sad that following his purging (quite literally...ew) of his issues, he's bound to kick it. Sniff.

OK. Recap done. Moving on to THEORY.

It's Purgatory. It's not Purgatory. OK, then it's Hell. What?! Come on, people, think outside the box here. It's not Hell, either. I'm believing more and more in the whole black hole, neither here nor there theory, personally. Because if what Naomi said was true, that they did find the plane, fully intact, everyone inside, then there's clearly some sort of alternate universe thing going on. And, as noted by Sayid, her phone thing is super advanced. As in not from 2004. We're talking 2008. Time travel? Black hole? I'm thinking yes.

But where does that leave people when they die? Are they then transported from the Island-in-the-Sky (per se, people, I'm not talking Heaven here) to... where? Do they just wake up (dead) on the plane that's underwater? Or is Desmond truly onto something with the whole course-correcting universe, where a flashback isn't a flashback but rather what would have happened under different circumstances?

Furthermore, it can't go unnoticed that recent episodes have been chock full of religious undertones. I've already mentioned the Ruth/Naomi connection, and then there was the obvious one, with Sawyer the Fake mentioning that his mother's name was Mary, but it dawned on me last night about the whole Ben/Jacob connection. We've all accepted as fact that Jacob is the Him to whom Ben referred last season while in captivity in the hatch. We also saw Jacob referred to in two instances this season, the first when Danny dropped the name, saying, "Shepard wasn't even on Jacob's list" and in Carl's brainwashing rave room, where it said "God loves you as He loved Jacob." Jacob, in the Bible, is the father of Benjamin, who is the youngest of 12. That, coupled with the knowledge that next week's episode, "The Man Behind the Curtain" (another Oz allusion!!!) is Ben-centric, might give rise to the idea that Jacob ("Him") is actually Ben's father. But chew on this: the skeleton in Hurley's VW van was Roger, a work man for the Dharma Initiative. I've already speculated that this character would prove to be of later significance to Ben, The Evil One, but I'm now updating this theory. I think Jacob is the man who raised Ben on the island, with Ben assuming that Jacob was his father,but some sort of scandal will prove that Roger, not Jacob, is actually Ban's father. (What's with all the freaking Daddy issues?!!) Finally, I'm still struck by Stewardess Cindy's comment to John that they've "been waiting" for him to arrive. Is John, who heretofore has been the Man of Faith, a second coming of sorts, someone to take over in Ben's death or departure? Maybe. It clearly could be interpreted like that.

Dude. That was intense. This week's episode, I think, got the ball rolling for what is going to be a completely dumbfounding season finale. Granted, there are still 3 more episodes left (including a two hour season finale) for a complete mindf**k to occur, and I don't for a second think that it will be anything less than brain soup. Next week's episode, as I've already said, is called "The Man Behind the Curtain" and is Ben-centric. I'm assuming we'll see Ben's birth on the island, the beginnings of the Dharma Initiative, and the "purge" that we've all head about. Look for Marvin Candle to make an appearance. Also, if you DVR'd (the things that are becoming verbs...) last night's episode, I'd suggest you go back and watch the teaser for next week frame by frame. Many interesting things there that you probably missed if you just watched it in real time.

I'd love some thoughts and feedback on what you think is going on here! Show me some love, people! Until next week, Namaste! :)