I'm still grinning about this episode. Forget all the hoopla over the Dharma business or The Others or saving Jack... Forget that a plane full of people crashed on a (semi)deserted island and the bad luck that haunts the survivors.
I loved the VW van! My parents had a couple of Hippie vans, actually. I could FEEL what it was like to race down that hill and pop the clutch to get the motor running. I traveled cross-country with my mom and brothers in a 1970 VW van. It was dark green with a white top and outfitted with curtains my mom had made. There were so many times on that crazy trip that we would have to find rest stops on a hill just so we could get a rolling start to back on the road again.
Great memories, man.

Anyone catch the Jaws reference -- Sawyer singing the song that Quint, Hooper and Brody were singing when they were out looking for the shark -- right before all hell broke loose!

"Stranger in a Strange Land" really sucked me in.
I kept looking at the time because I was afraid the episode was going to end any second, and there were so many things I wanted to understand. (And of course, KNEW I wouldn't... but that's part of the charm, right?)
A few questions were answered, but so many new ones replaced them.
We know:
•   Juliet and the Others do not live on the island where they're keeping Jack. That's just where they “work.” Of course, all of that should be in past tense now, since they abandoned the island and headed for "home." Where-ever that is.
•   Cindy, the stewardess from Flight 815, is okay and has some pretty healthy-looking kids.
But what was she there “to watch?” An execution? Too bad. Jack saved the day.
•   Sawyer is completely and undeniably in love with Kate. She’s the woman he’d “name stars with.” So what’s her deal? So… she wants to rescue Jack. Does that mean anything more than just that? Honestly, who could walk away from a friend in a dangerous situation and just forget about it?
•   The Others steal children “to give them a better life,” according to Karl. But what does that mean?
But here’s what really stood out for me:

We were having trouble with our web server and large files, so I had to split the podcast into two segements.

• You can link to it (and Subsribe to get the latet updates) in iTunes HERE
• Access the XML HERE
• Download Part 1 HERE
• Download Part 2 HERE

Here ya go, click the pic:

OH, and Johna sent the boats!

(Yes, and our mailroom guy was freaking about sending something that big to England! :) Johna)

WARNING: THIS IS A STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS ENTRY BECAUSE I AM SWAMPED.....BUT READ IT... DUDE.

I'll see you in another life brother...

I'm a little thrown now - this goes with one of my theories that the flashbacks were parallel time, but I am still not sure that is what is going on. So, now the question is -- are they really flashbacks or are they really parallel times? Only Desmond is aware that he is back in time however. Everyone else's flashbacks were simply, well, flashbacks!

Here's what Television Without Pity had to say about Charlie's preordained death:

And get this: Desmond's been trying to save Charlie. Because the universe wants to kill Charlie. Hee! My question: since Desmond knows the future can't be changed, why's he knocking himself out? The universe will have its way. Course-correcting, dude. Sorry, Charlie.

Get the full TWOP breakdown here.

Loved it. Great episode, full of intrigue and quirky humor, bringing us back to the Lost I fell in love with.

Some first impressions:

Straight talk: My relief was immense when Locke simply said "The island killed him" when talking to Hurley and Charlie about Eko's death. I have had it with the complications that result when people on this show hide or distort their experiences. What a relief that there is no weak cover story to keep up with in light of Eko's grim demise.

Beautiful back story: Desmond and Penny, what a great love story, even if Desmond is swayed too dramatically by the cold-blooded father instead of fighting for with what is right for both of them.

I love stories where people can be seen as being on a journey to reach for greatness or to realize their true potential. Still, I think Desmond was in fact being swayed onto the wrong path with the message he was receiving that pushing the button was his chance to accomplish something of consequence. Desmond and other Losties often seem to be easily manipulated when it comes to not being "good enough" in some fashion, so I wouldn't necessarily buy what any apparent messenger of fate (that's you, white-haired ring-bearer) is selling.

I love Hurley. He cracks me up with his "Dude!" this and "Dude!" that. But he really doesn't have much to do with this blog entry... So here goes.
Okay - Desmond Hume is just one Hot Scot. Omigosh... the flashback or do-over or whatever it was of his real life ... whew. Somebody got a fan? He's a hottie.
Okay, okay. I'm back now.
I absolutely loved this episode. Fantastic. I really appreciated how some things came full circle in this one show. The "coward" comment. The whiskey brand. The photograph.
We've all had experiences of dejavu, but Desmond's took us on a journey of what was, what is and what will be. And then, there's fate. The absolute truth of one's life that cannot be changed. It might be deterred momentarily or delayed, but the meaning of one's life -- or death -- will find a way to be realized. That is such an amazing concept to me... that our lives' paths are already written... in a way.
"The universe has a way of course-correcting," said the lovely white-haired lady who became the scary witchy woman. Desmond's Greatness was to go to the island and save the world by turning the key. All that said, what's ahead for Charlie? We know he's going to die, at some point. I'm sure there's something hidden here. I haven't had a chance to research MacCutcheons, yet. I wonder if there's something to that. I'll get back to you on that... And can somebody help me with the significance of the numbers? I'm sure it's obvious, but I'm not getting it right off: 1:08 on the clock.. and "Delivery for 815."

I'm not totally finished with tonight's episode (02/14), but what a complete freak-out.

The show is back to jaw-dropping weirdness and I love it.

Desmond's seeming ability to fortune-tell (time-travel) plays into last week's secret message (see prior post) and the producers hinting that the "hatch event" may have something to do with time-distortion.

Awesome.

More tomorrow.

UPDATE: WOW! Charlie destined to die! Could Desmond be wrong like he was with the Soccer game? This episode ROCKED!

I'm not sure if this is real (UPDATE: confirmed by Doug, it is REAL) ...

(listen closely for the creepy voices, on-screen text will tell you what is being said)

Wouldn't it be cool if Jack showed up on Grey's Anatomy along with Juliet as a little ABC cross-show promotion? I think they could do it with a flashback, no? We could see him operating on the little girl with her nerves spilling out while Izzie, McDreamy, Cristina and friends watch the surgery. Oh, wait...this is the LOST blog...not the Grey's Blog...whoops! :) Don't tell me what I can't do!

We're podcasting again. Here's Henry, Johna and Doug discussing "Not in Portland": DOWNLOAD HERE

SUBSCRIBE HERE

Also available on iTunes! (click HERE)

I was trying to cut back on the ridiculous amount of junk comments we receive, so I tured on the spam filter.

It looks like it has weeded out everyone.

I've turn it down a notch... so if you have recently commented, try again.

Sorry bout that!

I'm new to the LOST bloggers - so bear with me.

First - I'm so glad to have a true connection to the mainland. Now, things like the polar bear, the hatches with loads of food, Kate's Horse and some of the other - formerly, utterly, SILLY things to me - make complete sense. And for this 'Type-A' person... I like it when dots connect. So we're closer to understanding the origins of the Dharma community of freaks.

The brainwashing scene was extremely disturbing. I couldn't help but think of EGGS though. The creation of life, all the circular shaped objects on the screen, they all tied in - to me, anyway - with the fertility experiment that led to Juliet's recruitment. I also wondered if anything stuck with Sawyer, since he seemed to zone out for a little bit.
I am betting Juliet has been up to some pretty creepy things since she was taken to 'Portland'. We know her experiment caught their attention, so....'Show me the Baby' so to speak. (Random thought: Was the slide presentation shown to Juliet hilarious or what? I KNEW something was up when the guy showed the cheesy 'happy family' photos - and the bicyclists.) But it was a goosebump, hair-stands-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck moment when the guys from 'Portland' showed up at the morgue. Ewwww. Scawy. These guys mean business. For a while, I thought Juliet was one of the leaders on her island. It's clear, now, she's as much of a prisoner as Jack is. And there's no doubt in my mind that Ben will go back on his word, and he won't let her go. He likes to control and toy with people too much.

There's something weird with Kate and Jack. Could they be related? Sort of a Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia kind of love happening there? And Sawyer is her Hans Solo? There is definitely love there. A strong kind of love. It's just a weird love.

And I guess the purple sky caused the plane crash because nobody pressed the button?

That's it from me. I'm missin' Locke. Ready to see him.

Whenever I see Alex charge onto the scene with her slingshot, I flash back to scenes from Return of the Jedi where the Ewoks manage to take down the Empire's heavy-duty weaponry armed with rocks, vines and teddy-bear-like cuteness. If Alex can cause this much trouble with her little slingshot, the Others would do well to keep her away from the actual guns.

Disturbing Ewok memories aside, I really felt bad for Alex, fighting to save her boyfriend and flee only to remain left behind on Other island in the end. I didn't know what to make of the references to Ben as her father -- isn't she supposed to be Rousseau's long-lost, stolen daughter? Do the Others claim the captive children as their own, and she was lucky enough to draw Ben, or is he actually supposed to be her bio-dad?

Here's hoping that Karl will be capable of providing some useful information once the great escape is complete.

I absolutely loved this show! I think it gave us more context of how some of these people ended up on the island and also indicates that there are definitely a lot of wacky experiments going on to alter people and make them conform to the Jacobian society!

Here are some of my observations:

Juliet
So, we found out that little miss Juliet had been stealing drugs for fertility for her sister even in her previous life. So, she had proven that her ethics weren't on the straight and narrow - a perfect recruit for this rogue group of scientists or whatever they are!

The fact that Ethan passed her in the hallway to her sister's flat also was suspicious - either they had been stalking Juliet to recruit her or Ethan was drugging Rachel to get her pregnant...she didn't realize she had fallen asleep when Juliet arrived to shoot her up with a baby. Hmmmm. Remember the whole Rachel bible connection I mentioned last season - maybe not a plot point, but definitely part of the writer mythology.

This episode brought up a ton of new theories and mysteries!

• What really happened when "the sky turned purple" as Mr. Friendly (Tom) says? Why is it preventing everyone from getting off the island?

• What's Juliet's and Ben's "history"?

• Is Mittelos an anagram for "lost time"? Is the island some sort of time anomaly?

• Was Jacob's name in the brainwashing film a clue referring to Jacob, the true leader of the island?

• Were the Others recruited to be on the island the way Juliet was?

• What's the deal with Karl... and the brainwashing film... and the weird drum-and-bass/rave music?

Hey, Hanso is in the brain-washing clip (see previous post)!

Cool!

Here's a pretty freaky scene from tonight's show... ABC has dubbed it a "watercooler moment"

WATCH HERE

After a bit of a struggle I finally found the 'Lost Survivor Guide' show...

Watch Here (click 'Launch' and select LOST... it's to the far right of the episodes)

Hurry before it airs!

Has anyone found the re-cap show promised by ABC?

I see two re-cap shows available on their site, but they look old.

OK, no more ARG stuff.

Just the LOST show and a slightly modified blog.

I don't know what color that nav should be over there >

Tell me.

One more day to go... ABC has yet to post the "Survivor Guide," I will let you know when they do.

Only two more days until a new LOST and a new LOST re-cap show: 'Lost Survivor Guide.'

Even better news, the re-cap show will be available online at wfaa.com/abc (and some other site called Yahoo!) a whole day earlier than when it airs! So watch it Tuesday, here.