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Episode Recap: The Shape of Things to Come
“He changed the rules.”
Well, I don’t know what the rules were before, but apparently, they did not include murder. And apparently, all bets are off on that account.
For anyone who was still wondering who the bad guys are, some of them certainly became a little more obvious tonight, while the moral code of other folks is still very much a gray area. Though I was never a huge fan of Alex (or her boyfriend or crazy mother), I thought her cruel, meaningless death was made even more heart-breaking by the fact that the last words she heard were those of the man she knew as her father completely disavowing her. Yes, Ben was doing what little he could to try and save her, but it was also clear that he was unwilling to sacrifice his ultimate mission, even for her. (And after she so kindly set off the Code 14J warning/telephone call!) If Michael Emerson is overlooked during Emmy season this year, something is terribly amiss. I have rarely seen an actor convey so much emotion with just a slight curl of his lip or change in his intonation. This episode was truly a showcase to what a central player he has become to this mystery.
Speaking of mysteries, a few big ones were cleared up tonight while another was set in motion. We now understand how future Sayid came to be in the employ of future Ben. Sadly, it seems that Sayid’s long-awaited post-island reunion with Nadia was short-lived and avenging her murder became the impetus for his career as Ben’s hired gun. Apparently, their business relationship commenced in October, 2005 when Ben seemingly time-tripped (?) to Tunisia and spotted Sayid on Iraqi television mourning his wife. (By the way, the name Ben used to check into the hotel was Dean Moriarty—click here for some interesting info about this particular alias.) In addition, we learned that Ben does have the power to summon the smoke monster from his man-of-mystery room, though what it actually is or how it operates remains unknown. And while we are on the topic of that room, does it serve as some sort of time portal or is it simply where Ben stores his time travel necessities?
Meanwhile, the body of the freighter’s doctor washed up complete with a slit throat and more questions for the freighter refugees. Was the plan ever to rescue the Oceanic survivors? That’s a big no. Why did Daniel lie about the contents of the coded message? And what the heck do they mean that the doctor is fine. What exactly is the deal with these people? Are they in cahoots with cold-blooded killer Keamy and his fellow mercenaries?
Truthfully, it felt like there was so much story happening tonight it was tough to keep track of everything I wanted to comment on. I loved the first scene with Hurley, Sawyer and Locke. After weeks of hearing, “We’re all going to die,” it was funny to see that Hurley’s expressionless murmuring was instigated by a game of Risk. (Did anyone else catch that Hurley said, “Australia is the key to the whole game?”)
My other favorite moments tonight:
—Ben’s transition from peaceful pianist to Rambo-like warrior, complete with a piano-bench munitions stash.
— Ben telling Sayid, “That should do it,” after Sayid put multiple bullets into the man who murdered his wife.
—Hurley caring for Claire's baby so diligiently while Sawyer played hero for Claire.
—Sawyer’s threat to Locke that hurting even one hair on Hurley’s "curly head" would have dire consequences. (I swear, I'm starting to hope that the big kiss we are all waiting for is those two. I am just loving this friendship!)
—Getting to see Smoky in action as he pulled that soldier into the jungle by his ankles.
Even more questions remain. What is happening to Jack? Why did Ben imply that he cannot kill Widmore? Why did Widmore refer to Ben as "boy?" It seems as if these two have a long history. Did the island pass into Ben's protection during his tragic youth? Widmore said, “That island is mine, Benjamin. It always was. It will be again.” And yet, he seems powerless to get back. And how will Penny factor into all of this, especially now that Ben has shown his cards in terms of his plans to exact revenge for Alex's death. I don't know about you, but I love the pace and the story progression this season and that trend seems to be continuing. I'll be on the edge of my seat until next week, but until then, as Ben would say, "Sleep tight."
Need a Lost fix right now? Check out the Online Video Guide for clips and previews.
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Apr 25, 2008 12:06 AM
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Ohmigod! You killed Alex! You bastards!
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Apr 25, 2008 12:19 AM
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Poor Alex, at least now she can be with Karl. Ben was awesome as usual, he is an awesome actor, you are so right he can convey such an array of believable emotions in just one scene its amazing.
oh whats happening to jack- he's got appendicitis. i kind of figured that out halfway into the episode, but it juliet mentions it in the previews for next week.
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Apr 25, 2008 12:29 AM
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I enjoyed the episode, but I'm hindered by the fact that the deaths are just going overboard at this point. 3 anonymous Losties, Alex, and Nadia all among the dead "good guys" tonight, plus apparent confirmation of Rouseeau and Karl's deaths (I had hoped Rousseau was still alive).
The trouble with everything that the show has set in motion is that they're making it very hard to believe we have a happy ending in store for us. I loved the episode, love the show, and have no desire to complain ever, but I am very upset about the deaths of Alex and Rousseau. Maybe I'm supposed to be, but I still don't like it.
Bummer.
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Apr 25, 2008 12:36 AM
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I'm still deciding if I like the new timeslot. Lost is like Thanksgiving dinner: you need a few hours to digest everything. Images of guys in camo getting dragged to their death are not conducive to a good night's sleep.
I don't like overly flirtatious Kate. When she maneuvered out of her blouse and smiled at Jack it seemed too desperate.
Jack is taking prescription pills? You know what that means……his kiss with Juliet made him sick! She probably has mono.
There's something very disconcerting about the houses in New Otherton not having locks. Especially considering how many people love to barge in without warning.
Ben waking up in the middle of the Sahara with a parka and no parachute is beyond creepy. But you have to admit, the man is a master at adapting to any situation within a matter of seconds. It is always strange to see this same man basically running for his life. When Big Bad Ben is afraid you know something big is about to go down.
I wonder why we got a concrete date in this episode. That has to mean something. Do Ben's “trips” usually place him in a different year?
I can't believe Sayid ends up with Nadia and then she dies. I thought it was strange that she would have a traditional burial, since she was considered a traitor to her country. That's why she was on the run for so long.
Alex dead? I don't know how to respond to that. But Ben claiming she was a pawn might just have some truth to it. I originally thought the “He changed the rules line” was a reference to Jacob and the whole death/non-death thing.
What the hell is Ben doing keeping Smokey locked up in his basement? Or did he just summon it somehow? I don’t understand why you would have a fence that keeps Smokey out, and then have a device that calls it.
How does Bernard know morse code but Kate doesn't?
I never thought Sayid's story arc could become even more tragic. His love for Nadia is what drove him to give up his career as a torturer and seek redemption. He ends up losing her, and at one point believes she has died. Eventually he reunites with her and then she is murdered. Now her death has caused him to revert to a way of life that he had abandoned and made peace with.
Charles looked very different in this episode. He was unshaven and he looked much older. I never thought about it before, but it must really burn him up that Desmond found the island by accident. He said Des was unworthy and a loser, but Des succeeded where Charles could not. I can't wait to see what Ben's vendetta leads to for Penny and Desmond.
Is it possible that Hurley's interaction with Jacob is what starts his mental breakdown? We know he had issues before, but maybe the Jacob thing starts to make everything else unravel.
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Apr 25, 2008 12:40 AM
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Wow, I hope you don't have your heart set on a happy ending. I'm expecting one for Lost as much as I am for BSG. Which is not at all.
Maybe I have a sick sense of humor, but I thought it was almost funny when Sawyer kept on telling people to get inside and they kept running out and getting shot. Talk about redshirts.
I'm starting to need a timeline here, because I'm trying to figure out things based on what year it is and it makes my head hurt.
I second Emerson's Emmy nomination. Amazing performance as usual. I love the fact that there's this conflict between 2 'bad' guys (Widmore and Ben) and the fact that we now almost root for Ben after everything he's done is pure genius on the part of the writers. But he better not mess with Penny and Desmond! For me, they're the heart of the show (next to Sun and Jin) and I could take tragic consequences for almost any other characters but those two.
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Apr 25, 2008 12:43 AM
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Hello everyone. I felt that tonight was another excellent episode.
I love how Dr. Ray apparently is alive on the freighter though dead on the beach due to time differences. At least that's what seemed to be implied with the morse code. Sometimes we learn of people's deaths and then find out through flashbacks how they happened. Now we see a dead body in the present and then should quickly find out what happened only it's still pretty much the present.
I like how Sawyer is protective of Claire and showing leadership qualities, which he's had for awhile. With the 6 off and Locke probably having his own agenda Sawyer will probably be one of the people looked up to the most amongst the remaining group of him, Bernard, Rose, probably Jin (I still don't think that he died)Claire (obviously separated from Aaron but maybe still alive, Juliette, Desmond, Michael,Faraday, Charlotte, Miles, and maybe Frank.
It sucks that Alex died because it was a big deal to see her after learning that she was kidnapped as a baby, then see her finally reunite with Danielle. Plus she was very helpful to the losties in aiding them with various situations. Still...that's the nature of the show and I'm over it. She said that Danielle is dead but I'm still not 100% sure about that. Either way I'm sure that we'll somehow get more info on Danielle's history whether it's through her flashback (if she's alive) the flashback of another character that witnessed her events (Alpert maybe?) or through information that we as the intelligent viewers that we are can use to piece everything together.
It was nice to already see why Sayid is working with Ben. It's tragic that he waited so long to be with his love only for her to be killed. Again though, that's the nature of the show and the tragedies like that are compelling, to me at least. The Ben/Widmore interaction was pretty cool as well. I'd like to think that Ben ultimately decides not to kill Penny if he ever gets a chance. Even if he does, I'm confident that we'd still get an emotional reunion scene with her and Desmond at some point.
As of now the o6 are in four different areas. We know that Sawyer and Aaron seem to be heading for the beach but it will be interesting to see how Hurley meets up with them, how they meet up with Sayid, and how only 6 end up leaving, especially when I'm not so sure that it's the freighter people that bring them back, based on their evil nature, Abbadon's "are they alive" question, and other things.
I'm hindered by the fact that the deaths are just going overboard at this point.
Understandable but where the on island deaths are concerned, it definitely helped emphasize the danger that is posed to everyone. I realize that less deaths could have had the same effect but at this point the redshirts for example were expendable. They were important for many reasons but not any longer. They're not wanted around Locke, Ben, and Hurley since they have a mission and we don't need to see them heading back to the beach and just standing around while Sawyer, Claire, and Miles converse. There's also no rational reason for them to be left behind, especially with Keamy on the hunt, so their deaths were a must imo.
So I agree that it's kind of overkill but also feel that it was a good idea.
they're making it very hard to believe we have a happy ending in store for us.
I agree but at the same time we were never promised a happy ending and I personally stopped expecting one a long time ago. I originally had the most basic assumption that the ending of the entire series would be some people getting off of the island and us knowing that life goes on and that would mean unknown happiness.
Once I saw that people were already off of the island long before the series ended and that it clearly wasn't the key to happiness I stopped believing that the ending would be happy. I do expect a satisfying conclusion to the series and like you I never have complaints so I know that I'll probably be thrilled with the ending but it'll probably be more intriguing of an ending than happy one.
]Is it possible that Hurley's interaction with Jacob is what starts his mental breakdown? We know he had issues before, but maybe the Jacob thing starts to make everything else unravel.
I have no doubts that an interaction with Jacob is coming, I'm just not sure if it leads to a "breakdown", He was distraught about seeing Charlie's ghost, and has to have a lot weighing on his mind about the lies that he's forced to tell but overall I'm not so sure that he had a breakdown rather I think that a big part of him being at the hospital is cause it's a safe place to get away from other burdens.
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Apr 25, 2008 12:52 AM
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On the island, the time is somewhere between Christmas Day and New Year's 2004. Does anyone know the exact date? I know it was Christmas Eve in Desmond's episode but I don't know how long it has been since then.
You'd think Jack would at least guess that he might have appendicitis--he is a doctor! I guessed it as soon as I saw him rubbing his back and taking medicine!
Was that Scott/Steve that got killed third of the three "redshirt" Losties? Too bad! He's been there since the beginning and I can never remember which one was which and previous episodes have shown neither could Sawyer. It might not have been him.
I think Jack knew that Bernard knew Morse Code. I think I am supposed to know why Bernard knows Morse Code but I don't remember. Anyone remember?
P. S. Sawyer was awesome tonight--taking care of Claire and worrying about Hurley. Hurley was pretty great, too, with the baby--that was just adorable!
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Apr 25, 2008 1:01 AM
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think Jack knew that Bernard knew Morse Code. I think I am supposed to know why Bernard knows Morse Code but I don't remember. Anyone remember?
I believe he did know based on him wanting to speak with Bernard early in the episode. We were supposed to wonder why and I'm guessing that the revealation about him knowing morse code was the unspoken reason why. Like you, I keep thinking that we're supposed to have heard something as to how Bernard knows it, such as army involvement, but don't recall specifics.
On the island, the time is somewhere between Christmas Day and New Year's 2004. Does anyone know the exact date? I know it was Christmas Eve in Desmond's episode but I don't know how long it has been since then.
The Constant was day 96 which was Dec. 24th and at this point it's day 99 or 100 making it the 27th or 28th of December.
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Apr 25, 2008 1:06 AM
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I loved this. AND BEN IS A BADASS. Killing the two guys on horses....pretty cool. I loved Sawyer tonight...although all the people getting pegged off every time Sawyer said, "Get back inside!" Made me laugh a little.
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Apr 25, 2008 1:20 AM
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Thanks, Dysturbed! I am glad to know that I am not the only one wondering about Bernard and the Morse Code.
I still can't believe they really killed Alex! Man! I personally did not believe that Rousseau is dead but I guess she is.
Out of this world theory:
Maybe Widmore is really, really old like everyone is supposing Richard to be and he used to be on the island and now he's not and he can't find his way back, so he's getting sick and getting old, kind of like Bilbo in LOTR once he didn't have the ring anymore.
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Apr 25, 2008 1:37 AM
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I really liked this episode. I mean, first of all, we had smokey kicking some serious tail. Oh, and is it just me, or does he seem WAY BIGGER??? i mean, dude was big, i dunno, maybe the dark just makes things look that way. lol.
I love how Sawyer is all protective of everyone, including Hurley there at the end. Locke sure seems to be making enemies quick. Oh and I guess its safe to assume that everyone who followed Locke is dead after that raid? I mean, we didnt see any more extras after the attack so I assume that they are dead.
I would also like to cast my vote for Emerson to get and Emmy, i mean, dude is awesome. I loved the beginning with him taking out those two men all the way to his cold meeting with Widmore. Oh and while we are on the topic, im thinking that maybe Widmore has some of that anti aging stuff that our buddy Richard Alpert is so fond of. I mean, i took Bens comment about not being able to kill Charles as related to the whole Michael unable to die issue, but it was Widmores claims to the Island always being his and soon to be his again that made me think, you know, maybe it was always his, and Charlie boy is way old. it would be interesting, and I was rooting for Ben all the way until he threated my Penny. Im sorry Ben, but Des and Penny are off limits. That where I draw the line. lol. But overall, this ep goes down as either second or third fav of the season.
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Apr 25, 2008 1:50 AM
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oh, hey jwtrout, I guess you theory isnt all that out of this world, and you beat me to the old widmore theory. lol
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Apr 25, 2008 1:53 AM
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I know that I've brought this up before but I'm interested in seeing how things will work. Thus far island time has gone at a fairly slow pace but there aren't enough years (our time) left for that slow pace to match up to the time that the 6 return. So I'm guessing that at some point within the last two years of the series we'll see a jump in island time to bring everything up to speed.
Maybe the 6 return early next year to the island and then the events that lead to them coming back become flashbacks. (meaning the forwards become flashbacks) and we then characters like Sawyer get flashbacks to fill us in with the island time that we missed seeing (Meaning that what is now the present will become flashbacks as well)
If a non 06 member would be announced as dead upon their return, they could still appear in all of the flashbacks of those who remained on the island. If an 06 member died upon their return or even before they could still appear in other 06 members flashes. So no matter who died a nice role in the series could still happen.
I highly doubt that they'll go that route though am curious what route they will go.
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Apr 25, 2008 1:55 AM
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steelerguy, thanks!  And I agree with you--keep away from Penny!
Dysturbed, do you really think that's how it will go--the O6 going back to the island, that is? I guess I never thought of that. It would make for a better ending of the show but as some have said above, I am not sure they are going to give us a happy ending for this show, although I am holding out hope that they do. I don't enjoy things that don't have ultimate happy endings, so I don't know how I will feel if this show didn't. But you make a good point--there's got to be a time jump sometime.
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Apr 25, 2008 2:04 AM
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