Girlfriend of the Week

I know you have been wondering where the GOTW has been and well let me tell you:  I have been working on this. This is just about every girl that has ever been on Lost.  There are a few that I just could not find a picture for, but this is just about all of them.  You will notice the old ladies and the young girls are on here as well.  I did not discriminate.

After the jump is a list of every one of these girls.



Alexandra Krosney
Alice Evans
Alicia Rae
Allison Janney
Andrea Gabriel
Andrea Roth
Angelica Perreira
Anne Bedian
April Grace
Ashleigh Ann Wood
Bai Ling
BarbaraVidinha
Beth Broderick
Brittany Perrineau
Brooke Mikey Anderson
Carrie Preston
Cynthia Watros
Diana Scarwid
Elisabeth Blake
Elizabeth Mitchell
Emilie de Ravin
Evangeline Lilly
Faith Fay
Gabrielle Fitzpatrick
Grisel Toledo
Ivana Michele Smith
Jackie Maraya
Jenny Chang
Jenny Gago
Jill Kuramoto
Joanna Bool
Julie Ow
Julie Bowen
June Kyoto Lu
Katey Sagal
Katie Doyle
Kelly Rice
Kiele Sanchez
Kiersten Havelock
Kim Dickens
Kimberly Estrada
Kimberly Joseph
Kristin Richardson
L. Scott Caldwell
Lana Parrilla
Lela Loren
Leslie Ishii
Lillian Hurst
Madeline Carroll
Maggie Grace
Marguerite Moreau
Marsha Thomason
Mary Mara
Mary Ann Taheny
Maya Henssens
Meilinda Soerjoko
Melissa Farman
Michelle Arthur
Michelle Forbes
Michelle Rodriguez
Mira Furlan
Mirelly Taylor
Molly McGivern
Monica Dean
Natasha Goss
Paula Malcomson
Rachel Ticotin
Rebecca Mader
Reiko Aylesworth
Robin Weigert
Roxanne Day
Roxanne Sarhangi
Sabrina Carlye
Sally Strecker
Samantha Mathis
Sandra Le Bat
Sarah Farooqui
Sheila Kelley
Sonya Walger
Sora Jung
Starletta Dupois
Sung Hi Lee
Susan Gibney
Susan Duerden
Susse Budde
Suzanne Krull
Suzanne Turner
Swoosie Kurtz
Tamara Taylor
Tania Kahale
Tania Raymonde
Terasa Livingstone
Tess Yong
Thekla Reuten
Tomiko Lee
Tracy Middendorf
Vanessa Branch
Veronica Hamel
Wendy Braun
Wendy Pearson
Yunjin Kim
Zoe Bell
Zuleikha Robinson

That is a long list.  Hope ya enjoy...

Unanswered Questions

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Watch this video and just laugh at all the funny questions that were never answered during Lost.  Like I said, further proof that they had no clue where thing were going and were just making shit up as they went along. 

Another Lost Video

This is a video of the opening scene in reverse with an inset of the final scene.  It is actually pretty cool how close they mirror each other.

Wheel of Time Casting: The Guys

This one should make the ladies happy.  Again, this is not all the major guys from the books, but instead just some of the major guys.  I did not include any of the White Cloaks yet because I plan on doing them and some others together.  Also, I am sure at some point more characters will be introduced, so whatever. 

Tam al'Thor
Rand's father during the first few books.  Although as he travels about the world, we start to get the hint that this might not be the truth.  Then we learn that he was adopted by Tam.  The man seems like a simple shepherd at the beginning, but then we find out that he possesses a heron-marked blade, which means he is a blade-master.

Also, he ran away as a young man and joined the army and became a blade-master.  This is a good thing for Rand because the Flame/Void trick he teaches Rand, which helps Rand focus during archery and other tasks (like sword play), also helps him focus saidin.

We need a bigger guy, who plays the kind of quiet, gruff, but also very likeable father.  He needs to be believable as a farmer, but also as a warrior.  He needs to be good looking enough that all the ladies of the Two Rivers want to play match-maker for him.  How about Nathan Fillion?  That dude is just so damn cool.  Let him grow a beard and he would be perfect (he should probably just be in every movie at this point).

Gawyn Trakand
The brother of Elayne.  He is supposed to be her protector and whatnot.  He is also in love with Egwene (and she with him).  He looks a good bit like his sister and he is a pretty damn good swordsman.

During the White Tower problems, when they oust Siuan, he kills a couple Warders (his teacher actually) and forms a small army called the Younglings.  I also remember him as the cocky kid who finds Rand at the palace and keeps cracking jokes about him.

I figured Alexander Ludwig would be a pretty good choice to play Gawyn.  He has the looks and in some of the movies I have seen, he has the cocky/brash attitude.

Galad Damodred
You cannot mention Gawyn without talking about his half-brother Galad.  Actually, Galad is also Rand's half-brother, and the two look a little bit alike.  Here is really all you need to know about Galad:  women think he is sexy.  I mean every woman out there.  He and Gawyn practice without shirts and all the Aes Sedai stop and watch him.  He has a thing for Egwene, but she does not have a thing for him.

Later he joins the White Cloaks and almost has his mind blown when he finds Elayne and Nynaeve.  Apparently he will always do the right thing.  To the point of idiocy.  He swears to get his half-sister back to Andor, but he also swore to bring in any Aes Sedai...this kind of thing can make his head explode.

Anyways, when you think of a sexy guy out there, who do you picture?  How about Paul Walker?  Plus, some people claim he looks like my pick for Rand.

Gareth Bryne
One of the greatest generals in the world.  He was the leader of the Andoran armies, but then when Rahvin came into Morgase's life, she pushed him away and banished him out of Caemlyn.

During his banishment, he runs in Siuan and follows her to Salidar, where the rebel Aes Sedai convince him to build and lead an army against Tar Valon. 

I picture him as a stoic individual, with a great mustache or goatee.  Who better than Tom Selleck?  Plus, have you seen him in Las Vegas?  He could definitely pull off that smug, know it all, who torments Siuan.

Thom Merrilin
This guy shows up in the Two Rivers as a gleeman.  He is basically an entertainer who will perform during the festival and then leave town.

He gets caught up with Rand and the gang and never looks back.  We later learn that he was a court bard in Andor and used to sleep with Morgase.  He pretty much teaches Rand a ton of cool things and even saves his life by taking on a Half-man.

Nowadays he is seen most of the time with Elayne and Nynaeve.  He is also good friends with Mat, who likes to play Stones with him since Mat's luck skills have no effect on the game.  So who could play a character like Thom?  Someone with a huge personality and an awesome mustache?  People always mention Sam Elliot, but he is a bit too old. 

Fortunately, I have a person who would make the role come alive.  When it comes to eccentric, go no further than everyone's favorite nutjob:  Nic Cage!  Let him take a year and grow out the mustache and he would be perfect.

Juilin Sandar
A simple thief-catcher from Tear.  At first he betrays Elayne and Nynaeve to the Black Ajah and they are imprisoned in the Stone of Tear.  He then helps Mat break in and rescue them.

After that he is pretty much by those two ladies side, along with Thom, for many adventures.  Where Thom is great at getting information through nobles and the higher ups, Juilin is able to find things out from the dregs of society.

The people of Tear are described as having darker skin/darker eyes.  I just kept picturing him as Sayid from Lost.  Naveen Andrews would be pretty awesome, especially since we know he can play a pretty bad-ass individual.

Mazrim Taim
A man who can channel.  He has been causing trouble for years, but recently called himself the Dragon Reborn.  He was captured by Aes Sedai, but he escaped before they could gentle him.  He then heard about Rand's amnesty to men who could channel and decided to join him.

He knows how to do plenty of stuff, since he has been channeling for awhile and has yet to go crazy.  He is able to copy something Rand does after only seeing it once.  Rand has him teach the Black Tower men, even though Rand knows there is something off about Taim and that he cannot be trusted.

They describe him as skinny and with a little of an attitude about him.  I kind of picture him to talk a bit like Scar from The Lion King.  Every site I found says that Jason Isaacs should play him (I am guessing that Taim turns out to be a bad guy at some point, since people are not usually creative).  However, I picture Willem Dafoe.  He is a fantastic actor, and he would easily pull off that not-so-trusting guy that is trying to help you role.  I mean, just look at the guy!

Logain Ablar
The monster we hear about in the first book who claimed to be the Dragon Reborn.  He is captured and gentled by the Aes Sedai.  He pretty much disappears until all the crap happens with Siuan.  When they escape the Tower, they bring him along.

He believes he will get his revenge, but instead Siuan uses him to convince other Aes Sedai that Elaida and the Red Ajah set him up at the Dragon Reborn in order to further their own agenda.  Most of the time he seems depressed and pretty out of it.   Fortunately, every time Min looks at him, she sees great things in his future.

Eventually, Nynaeve cures him of being gentled and heals him back to his normal strength.  She is the first person to ever do such a thing.  Egwene later helps him escape and tells him to go to Rand.  I am hoping/guessing that eventually he will square off with Mazrim Taim.

He is described as a big guy, and very king-like.  I picture Eric Bana every single time I read a chapter with him.  Think of Bana from Troy.

Masema Dagar

Speaking of a guy helping Rand.  How about our good buddy Masema?  Funny story, remember how in the first couple books the armies of Shienar are all badass and whatnot.  Then after awhile, you never really hear much about them again.  There was one soldier who pretty much hated Rand, especially when they were searching for the Horn, his name was Masema.  He thought it was bullshit that Rand was named the second in command and all that jazz.

After Falme, Masema realizes that Rand is the Dragon Reborn and declares himself a loyal servant.  Well, at some point Moraine sends the soldiers in search of someone and Masema starts calling himself the Prophet of the Dragon Reborn.  From there, shit gets kind of screwy.

He collects people to him like crazy and pretty much causes chaos wherever he goes.  At some point, Rand will have to send someone to deal with this lunatic.  Who could play a tough soldier, who might be a bit insane?  Christian Bale.  No question.  I can see him now screaming at a queen about her style of dress, using his cool Batman voice...

Uno
Honestly, this guy is such a minor character, but he is great comic relief.  I get the feeling that he is an old soldier, with his eye-patch and scars.  He eventually helps Nynaeve and Elayne escape somewhere and make it to Salidar.  I think he is in Gareth Bryne's army nowadays.

I like Michael Keaton.  I think he could pull off the old soldier thing and the funny, trying not to swear around the ladies part.  Whatever, these are my choices, live with it.  And it would be great uniting all the Batman actors together.  I just need Val Kilmer and Adam West...

Abell Cauthon
Mat's dad.  Not much to really say about the guy.  He is basically a background character who helps Tam during the Two Rivers wars against the Trollocs.  Mat mentions that he is great with a quarter-staff.

I figured you need someone who is a bit of a smart-ass to play Mat's father.  How about Ty Burrell, do you remember him from Dawn of the Dead?  He was pretty funny.  Again, this is another one that you just have to accept from me.

Padan Fain
The peddler who shows up at the beginning and turns out to be a Darkfriend.  Then we learn that things went very wrong for him in life.  He ends up becoming something of pure evil.  I do not even think he has any loyalty to the Dark One anymore, since he likes to kill Fades for fun.

He has one goal and that is to kill Rand and everyone he loves.  He is absolutely insane.  He is described as having a big nose and being a pretty ugly fellow.  He is tall and lanky (I think).  I personally think Adrian Brody should probably play him.  Basically because of the nose thing.


Davrim Bashere
Faile's father and another of those great generals.  He has not really played a major part so far except to offer Rand advice.  I do know that he is described as kind of short, but I did not take that into consideration.  I figured since I went with Middle Eastern for Faile, I should probably do so for her father.

To be perfectly honest, no one really came to mind.  I found this picture of Faran Tahir and figured he could pull the role off, but I am not really all that pleased with it.  Maybe someone else has a better suggestion.

Lews Therin Telamon
The original Dragon.  The guy that went crazy and broke the world.  The most powerful Aes Sedai ever.  Remember how when I described some of the Foresaken, they turned to the Dark One out of jealous and because they were tired of playing second fiddle to Lews?

Unfortunately, minus flashbacksWwe are only going to hear his voice in Rand's head most of the time.  And at times that voice needs to sound like a completely insane person.  So, what actor out there could pull off such an awesome role?  What guy is good looking enough to cause guys like George Clooney and Daniel Craig to be pissed off?  Is there really a question here?  Brad Pitt would knock this one out of the park.

Alright, that is it for this round.  Like I said, there will probably be some more at some point.  Still plenty of characters I have omitted.  Next time it will probably be Aes Sedai.  Should be fun (mostly hot girls!).  As always the drawings after the jump are brought to you by Seamassketches.

2010 In Review

Instead of recapping the entire year, which is never any kind of fun, I will just go over some of the highlights of 2010.  It was a pretty damn good year.

-I finally bought a laptop, which has pretty much been the best investment ever.  Sitting on the couch while writing these posts is much better than sitting at a desk.  Speaking of posts, 2010 was my busiest year with over 300 posts.  That is kind of exciting (or lame depending on your POV).

-I went to a bunch of sporting events this year.  A few in Pittsburgh, a couple in Altoona, and one over at State College.  I also got to enjoy tailgating for the Blue/White game and the Temple game.  I even made a trip to Washington D.C. to see the Nationals and Pirates play.  Speaking of awesome sporting events, I experienced two firsts:  my first Pens game and my first regular season Steelers game.  I also got to see Stephen Strasburg make his minor league debut against the Curve.

-This was also a very sad year since two of my favorite TV shows ended:  Lost and 24.  I actually did a couple of special things to commemorate such great shows (even though 24 constantly pissed me off with some of its stupid story lines).  My Best of 24 was pretty cool (at least I thought so), yet none of you jerks commented on it.  Also, I was so impressed with my Lost GOTW and the amount of work I put into it, and again, no one really noticed.  I think it caused me to die a little inside that no one said how awesome it was...

I will post it again for your enjoyment, only in a slightly smaller version.  Do not strain your eyes too much trying to enjoy all the hotties.

-There were plenty of great TV shows in 2010.  In fact, this year was a much better television than movie year.  Mad Men, Always Sunny, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, Treme, True Blood, Sons of Anarchy, Archer, The Walking Dead, and The League.  Also there were plenty of enjoyable shows like Warehouse 13, Eureka, White Collar, Human Target, and Supernatural.  I am sure I am forgetting some.

-Speaking of movies, what all did I see this year?  Iron Man 2, Inception, Kick-Ass, Hot Tub Time Machine, The Social Network, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Sherlock Holmes, The Chronicles of Narnia:  Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Daybreakers. I really feel like I went to the movies more than this, but I guess I did not.  I think there were a few movies I saw that were just crappy and I did not care about.

-I will not list all the books I read over 2010.  It was not nearly as many as years past, I think my total was only thirteen.  Granted, five of those books were around 1000 pages each, so it was probably about the same amount of reading as previous years.

-The biggest thing to happen in 2010 though was the changes in my life.  I met Lindsey and we moved in together up here in New Germany.  She makes me incredibly happy and I feel like a better person because of her.  If she is reading up to this point, I hope she knows how much I love her.  Sorry to the rest of you for having to read a little personal stuff.

-Now on to the best of list...

Best Movie:  This is a tough one, it comes down to Kick-Ass and Inception.  Many people will say The Social Network was the best movie, and I definitely thought it was good, but I look at it from the stand point of which movie will I watch more than once?  Which of those movies will I stop when I see they are on HBO and watch them from wherever they are in the film.  I would have to say that award goes to Kick-Ass.

Best TV Show:  All those great shows listed above, yet it comes down to two:  Mad Men and Sons of Anarchy.  I could not wait every week to watch these two shows.  And I usually watched the episodes again during their reshowing.  SOA was great, but did not compare to last season and at times I felt like the Tara storyline was dragging on.  MM does not have the action, but it just holds you in it's thrall each week.  It is hard to explain to people why it is such a good show.  Anyways, that was the best show in my opinion.

Best Book:  Only three of the books I read this year actually came out in 2010.  I think the best one of that small group was Are We Winning?  It was a great book and I pretty much recommend it to any baseball fan.

Best Comic Book:  I will not lie, I have not read many comics this year.  In fact, I stopped getting individual issues and decided just to get trades.  Of everything I read, I would say that The Walking Dead is still the best on-going series I read.  Maybe 2011 will be a better year.

Anyways, that is my thoughts on 2010.  Who knows what 2011 will hold for me...

Lost: The End

I am not going to sit here and tell you what happened during the series finale.  You watched it, you should know.  Instead I am just going to tell you what I thought about it.  But first, allow me to explain how I started watching the show.

The end of the summer after it aired I was at Best Buy and saw the box set on sale for $25 or something.  I had heard about the show through Wizard Magazine, and knew that it was something that most geeks were claiming was awesome. 

Kacie and I started watching it and we buzzed through five or six episodes in a row.  Hell, when she went to work I would keep watching episodes and then watch them again when she came home and pretend I was surprised.  It was that good.

Unfortunately, by the time we finished, season two had already started and we decided to avoid and by the DVD when it came out.  Which is what we did, and again it was the same thing, us pulling a marathon of Lost. 

Season three is when I finally started watching it on television.  This is also when I started writing about the show.  Most people think that I must be some kind of die-hard Lostie, who thinks the show is the greatest thing ever.  And that is simply not the case.  Do not get me wrong, I love the show, but I see that it has flaws.  However, I see past those flaws and see the inner-beauty of the show.  Now if only I did that with girls.

Despite what the creators have side, I do not believe they ever had a clue where the show was going after season two.  Hence the reason the DHARMA stuff was introduced and the whole fertility on the island stories.  I think as they went on they decided that it was a little more fantasy than science-fiction.  There is nothing wrong with changing a story in the middle.  Unfortunately there are people out there who cannot accept this, they need to know why there were polar bears on the island.  How can it be moved?  What was the deal with Walt?

These are questions that will never be answered, or have already been answered and people just did not hear them.  The polar bears were on the island because the DHARMA initiative was doing experiments on them.  Sawyer learned how to get their treats, remember?  That is what the creators would tell you.

Other questions, well those are questions that you must answer for yourself.  And that is what I will now attempt to do.  Answer my own questions.

What Happened
If you saw the ending, you know that it ended the way it began:  with Jack's eye.  There will be multiple articles written on what people think this means, aside from the obvious:  he is dead.  The parts in the church reminded me of the Inn in Sandman where everyone waits out a storm.  They are not truly dead yet.  And apparently the Island was the most important thing to happen to them.  It helped shape their lives. 

The show is called Lost.  I am sure you never realized this, and I am sure I have also said this before.  The title does not just refer to the characters being lost on an island in the middle of the ocean.  The first thing we learned from seeing all the flashbacks early on was that these characters were lost as people. 
-Jack:  problems with his dad, cannot accept defeat, control-freak, we could really go on forever.
-Kate:  running from the law and from her past
-Sawyer:  seeking revenge, being an all around jerk

I think that illustrates my point (interesting that the main characters all had some kind of father issue).  These characters were not perfect.  I could really could go on with more examples, but you get the drift (I hope). 

Once on the Island we see that these characters begin to overcome those issues in their own ways.  Kate returns to LA and stops running.  She becomes a mother, we see that even on the island though, she is always very protective of the group.  Sawyer settles down with Juliet, he stops being such a jerk to everyone.

And then there is Jack.  While on the island, Jack becomes a strong leader to the group.  Unfortunately off the island, he falls apart.  Jack knows that his destiny is on the island.  He then chooses to accept that destiny.  He drinks from the cup, he takes over the role of Jacob and he defeats Locke.

From the beginning, we had to assume that it would always come down to Locke vs. Jack.  Remember early on?  Locke believed the island was special and that they belonged there.  Jack thought he was insane.  They fought over so many things back in the early days.  Later, SmokeLocke told us that Locke was an idiot and never got anything right.  That is not the truth, he did get something right:  it was destiny that brought them to the island, and the island did have a purpose for them.  Unfortunately, that person was Jack and not Locke.

What is the Island?
I do believe Jacob when he told Richard that the Island is the cork that keeps evil from escaping into the world.  The Light is the source, maybe where our soul comes from, who knows.  I guess it depends on what you believe in.  The Light is what keeps the world going, if the Light goes out, Darkness will sweep the land and all shall be doomed.

Fortunately, Hurley is now the protector of the island (I loved his conversation with Ben outside the church, where Hurley says how he was a great number two, implying that they had a good time on the island) and as Ben tells him, maybe he does not need to play by Jacob's rules, he can make his own.

No more sucking people to the island in order to play a chess match with a Man in Black over human nature.  Maybe Hurley just let the Island be, hung out with Rose and Bernard, let them live for a long time and then called it quits.  He then had Vincent drink from the cup.  Vincent is now the protector of the Island (in the far away future that is).

Did I enjoy it?
Yes.  I had to think about it for a good bit though.  I am sure that I will watch it again at some point.  Actually, I would love to watch the entire series again.  My initial thought was that it was a little bit too much like C.S. Lewis.   It worked for the show though.  I feel bad for most of the actors though, fans of the show will never be able to watch them on something and not think of them as their characters. 

Except for Locke and Ben.  If they do a show together (I have heard they pitched a cop show to networks), that would be awesome.

Anyways, what did you think of it?  What are some of your favorite moments from the series?

Lost: Episode 616

Let me explain something to all of my avid readers (there are three):  the creators of this show did not have this thing planned from the beginning.  I am guessing they started to figure this stuff out around the fourth season, maybe the third, but definitely not during the first two seasons.

Now that we have that out of the way, let me also say that there will be many questions left unanswered.  Last week I pondered the idea of Jacob and MiB being from the Bible (Jacob and Esau).  Now though, I seriously doubt they will ever tell us his name. 

I also believe that the island will never truly be explained.  People will write books about their theories and whatnot.  Some writers will probably expand the Lost-universe through comics and novels.  Trust me, this is not the end.

On the Island
Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, and Kate decide to head to the well to find Desmond.  Hurley runs into the little kid, who takes the ashes of Jacob and gives them to adult Jacob.  Hurley gets the rest of the group and they can all see Jacob.  They sit around a fire and have themselves a little palaver (as my hero Roland would say).

Jacob explains that one of them must volunteer to become the protector of the island.  Kate asks why her name was crossed out on the cave wall, Jacob responds that it was only a line of chalk through a name.  He did not want her because she had become a mother.  Much to no one's surprise, Jack volunteers.  Actually it was pretty cool the way there was no discussion, no thought.  He just stood up and said that he would do it.  I also loved when he makes the comment about what he is there for, Jacob asks if it is a question and Jack says nope...very cool.

Jacob has Jack drink from a cup and says some weird incantations and then when he is done, he tells Jack that he is like him now.  He gives him directions to the light source and says that he must protect it from the Monster.

Speaking of SmokeLocke...
Widmore and his girl meet up with Ben, Richard, and Miles.  They find out that SmokeLocke is coming to Ben's house, so Ben offers to hide them.  Miles runs away and Richard goes to talk to SmokeLocke.  That goes well for Richard.  He gets tossed aside by the Smoke Monster. 

Ben tells SmokeLocke where Widmore is hiding.  They go inside and SmokeLocke slits the girl's throat.  Widmore starts to tell SmokeLocke why he brought Desmond to the Island, because SmokeLocke promises to allow Penny to live.  Ben shoots Widmore and says that his daughter does not deserve to live.

SmokeLocke and Ben head to the well, but Desmond is not there.  SmokeLocke is glad that Sayid did not shoot him.  Apparently because of his resistance to electromagnetism, he can help SmokeLocke destroy the Island.

Flashsideways
I will sum this up quick.  Everything is starting to tie together.  Desmond is the key, he seems to understand everything.  He helps Kate and Sayid escape jail with the help of Hurley.  He convinces Locke to get the surgery (which he agrees to) and he lies to Jack that Oceanic has his father's body.  He is trying to get the group together for something...

Theories/Thoughts
-I really have none at this point.  I think that Desmond will somehow go into the light, yet he shall come out.  The good guys will win, the bad guys will lose.  I am excited to see how it ends, but I am not really going to spend too much time thinking about it until then.

-It is funny though how some characters are just redundant at this point.  What the hell is Kate even around for?  I mean, she is hot, yet has she really done anything in the last six episodes?  Same with Miles. 

-Jack's tattoo pretty much comes true.  Well that is good, right?

-I am sure people are really over-thinking the Light.  Jacob's mother told us what it is, kind of the heart of the world, everyone has a little bit of it.  Whatever you want to call it.  This is another one of those things that people are probably freaking out over, trying to decide what exactly it is.  What are the properties/rules/whatever else you can think of concerning some light...

Anyways, the episode was very good.  I am super pumped for the finale.

Lost: Episode 615

What a great episode!  It focused on the Man in Black and his brother Jacob.  We get to see their birth and how they they came to the point they are today.  Well we sort of see how they got to where they are now.  I am not going to recap the episode, mainly because if you did not watch it, just stop reading this right now and go watch it on abc.com or something.  Instead I will just give my thoughts and theories.

-As the two babies were born, notice how they were wrapped in blankets:  Jacob in a white blanket, MiB in a black one.  Is it their destiny to be the way they are, or is it free will?  I love pointing out the obvious since this is a major theme of the show.

-I am definitely glad they drifted into English at the beginning of the episode, I really did not want to listen to people speaking Latin the entire time.

-So the real question is:  what kind of power does Mother have?  She said that she made it so that the boys could never harm each other and also she tells MiB that they do not have to worry about ever being dead.  Also, did anyone else think that when she died Jacob seemed to understand more and almost knew what would happen when he threw MiB into the light?

-The island is basically the center of creation, the light being what makes up a person's soul?  Am I the only one who felt that way?

-Is the Smoke Monster a separate being than MiB, who can only take on the appearance of a dead person, or did MiB's soul somehow become entwined with the Smoke Monster?  His physical body died, but he is clearly not dead. 

-Any theories on what MiB's name could be?  I am still saying that his name is Esau.  Evidence, aside from none, well he is hairy.  Actually, in the Bible, Esau was supposed to receive the birthright, but through deception from the twin's mother, Jacob received it.  Mother does tell Jacob that she favored MiB, but that was the wrong choice.  I know, it's a real stretch, but I just cannot believe that there is no connection between the fact that they are twins and one is named Jacob...

-We at least know who the little kid is that keeps popping up on the island in front of SmokeLocke (and by the other candidates).  Kid Jacob...at least I think that was him.

What else did you folks notice from the episode?

Lost: Episode 614

This was an excellent episode.  All sorts of crazy stuff happens.  In fact, people died!  Without further adieu, let's get to it.

On The Island
Widmore's group has taken Sawyer's group prison and puts them in the cage.  He does this by threatening to shoot Kate, which causes Sawyer to relinquish his gun.  Kate does not believe that Widmore would shoot her, but Sawyer confirms that she is not one of the candidates because of what he saw in the cave.

Jack, Sayid, and SmokeLocke head to the rescue.  The Smoke Monster attacks (why do people shoot at a cloud of smoke?) and pretty much kills everyone.  Jack comes to the cages and helps free everyone.  Sayid took out the fence generator (is the generator outside the fence?  Why did Sayid have no trouble disabling it, yet SmokeLocke could not mess with it?)

They head for the plane, but SmokeLocke found a bomb on the plane and he informs everyone that Widmore wants to load them into a nice closed space and then kill them all.  They decide to take the submarine.  Sawyer tells Jack to prevent SmokeLocke from getting on the sub. 

Widmore ambushes them and it turns into a nice firefight.  Kate gets hit in the shoulder, Jack knocks SmokeLocke into the water, but has to get on the sub to help Kate.  Claire gets left behind.  Once on board they begin to dive, but then they find the bomb from the plane inside Jack's pack with a timer attached for about four minutes left.

Sayid says that if you pull the two wires, the bomb should be disarmed as long as the wires are pulled at the exact same time.  Sawyer is about to do it when Jack says something extremely important.  He says that SmokeLocke has been leading them to this point the entire time.  That he cannot kill them, but he does need them dead, hence the reason he was so adamant about everyone being on the sub.

Jack says that nothing will happen to them, that SmokeLocke is not allowed to harm them, but if they pull the wire, then they will be hurting themselves.  Sawyer cannot take that chance and pulls the wires.  The timer stops, but then goes extremely fast.

Sayid tells Jack where Desmond is located and that SmokeLocke wanted him dead.  Sayid then grabs the bomb and runs away from everyone else.  The bomb explodes and the sub starts to sink.  The explosion causes a hatch to explode towards Frank (it looks like he is dead as well).

Sun is pinned inside the sub, Jin and Sawyer try to rescue her.  Hurley wants to go for Sayid, but Jack says he has to get Kate out because Sayid is dead.  The sub suddenly buckles and Sawyer gets knocked out.  Jack has to get him out of there as well.

Sun wants Jin to leave her, but he refuses.  They kiss and the sub goes down.  They are both dead.  Seriously, four people dead in one episode.  When was the last time four major characters died in one season, let alone one episode?  Okay, maybe Frank is not dead or a major character...

We then see SmokeLocke and Claire watching as the sub never resurfaces and the survivors turn up.  He starts to walk away when Claire asks where he is going and he replies that he is going to finish what he started.

Flashsideways
Locke wakes up after surgery and Jack informs him that he is a candidate for a new surgery that could restore feeling in his legs.  Locke refuses.  Jack obviously cannot let it go and needs to why.  He finds out that Locke's father is a vegetable.  Locke explains that he got his pilot's license and took his father out for his first solo flight.  They crashed, Locke was paralyzed, but his father was a complete vegetable.

Jack uses the same story Locke used at the airport about Christian to apply to Locke's father.  He says that Locke needs to stop punishing himself.  Locke still refuses and Jack says "I wish you had believed in me."  Which is what Locke wrote in his suicide note to Jack.

Thoughts
-Jack must be the greatest swimmer in the world.  He just pulled Sawyer out of the water, and he does not seem to be all that tired.

-I was so glad that Jack was right about the bomb.  It just makes me happy that he is fitting into this role of Jacob.

-I am sad that Sun and Jin did not make it.  I almost cried. 

-In the flashsideways, did anyone catch the scene where Jack offers Claire the candy bar?  Remind you of when Jacob gave Jack a candy bar? 

-Also, in one time-line Jack is trying to save Locke because he is a candidate, but in another time-line Locke is trying to kill Jack because he is a candidate.  I find that interesting.

-Naturally we get another question revolving around the music box.  I do not even want to speculate.

I am super excited for next week.  Apparently we get to see something more about the Man in Black and Jacob. 

Lost: Episode 613

For a series with only a few episodes left, you would think they would really try to bump up the action.  Unfortunately, this episode was pretty lame until about the last five minutes.

On Island
SmokeLocke and Jack have a conversation (well a very short one).  Jack learns that someone must be dead in order for the Smoke Monster to become them.  He also learns that the Smoke Monster impersonated (I guess that is a good enough word) his father.  SmokeLocke's reason was that the survivors needed to find water.  Claire and Jack also discuss how they are brother and sister.

SmokeLocke sends Sayid to kill Desmond, unfortunately Desmond has a few questions for Sayid, such as "what we he tell the woman he loves what he had to do to get her back from the dead.  I am guessing Desmond is still alive.

The plan is for Sawyer and Kate to take the boat and grab the rest of the group to head to the other island.  Sawyer informs Hurley, Sun, Frank, and Jack that they plan to leave on the sub.  They go ahead, but Claire joins them.  Sawyer and Jack have a discussion about the island.  Jack does not feel right about leaving.

Sawyer threatens him and Jack just hops off the boat and swims back to the island.  Once he gets there, he sees SmokeLocke.  Unfortunately, at the other island, Widmore's goons take the other group prisoner and then launch some missiles at SmokeLocke. 

It looks like everyone is about dead, SmokeLocke grabs Jack and carries him into the jungle.  He then tells Jack that he is safe because he is with him now...

Flashsideways
All sorts of boring stuff happened.  Everyone is converging.  Sawyer and Miles arrest Sayid, right after questioning Kate.  Desmond meets with Claire and then she meets with Jack.  Jack leaves and goes to perform surgery on Locke.  Sun passes by Locke and recognizes him (she seems afraid).

Jack seems confident that he can save Locke.  I have a feeling that this will be very important for whatever happens.  I wonder if that will somehow cause Locke to return to the island, which will cause the Smoke Monster to dissipate?  Probably not.

Thoughts
-I really do believe that Jack will end up being the replacement for Jacob.  He believes it himself, especially the way he thinks that SmokeLocke may be afraid if they stay on the island. 

-I wonder if Jack's tattoo will come into play.  "He walks amongst us, but is not one of us."  That sounds like Jacob, right?

Lost: Episode 612

What a cool episode.  Hurley the leader, Desmond being Desmond, and plenty of answers.  Okay, I might be exaggerating a little bit with that last one.

On the Island
Michael visits Hurley and informs him that he is making a mistake by allowing Richard to blow up the plane.  Hurley then takes it upon himself to blow up the Black Rock so they cannot destroy the plane.  Oh this all happens after Ilana blows herself up, sorry I forgot about that.  

Richard wants to go back to the DHARMA barracks and grab some grenades, but Hurley says that Jacob wants them to go meet SmokeLocke.  Richard calls him out though by asking Hurley "what is the island."  I guess the cork answer is what he was looking for.  Miles and Ben leave with Richard.  Jack, Frank, and Sun head with Hurley.

Sayid returns with Desmond.  SmokeLocke and Desmond go for a little walk.  They talk about the well, SmokeLocke explains that people used to dig because their compass would spin in these areas.  He also explains that Widmore is only interested in power.  He then wants to know why Desmond is not afraid, Desmond says that there is no reason to be afraid.  SmokeLocke then throws him down the well.

As night falls, Hurley and his group seem lost in the jungle.  They begin to hear the whispering voices, Hurley thinks he knows what they are and walks on alone.  Michael comes to him and says that the voices are those who died on the island and have not moved on.  He shows him the way to SmokeLocke's camp.  He then asks Hurley that if he ever talks to Libby, let her know that he is sorry for killing her.

Hurley meets up with SmokeLocke and says that the others will be down, but he wants a promise they will not be hurt.  SmokeLocke agrees to the deal.

Flashsideways
This one focuses on Hurley and Libby.  Remember, in this reality, Hurley is a successful businessman.  Libby comes up to him at a restaurant and says how they know each other.  Hurley does not have the memories.  He then finds that she is a mental patient.

Desmond visits Hurley and nudges him into meeting with her and maybe hearing her out.  Hurley then takes her out on a date, they get to do that picnic.  She kisses him and he remembers the other reality.  Desmond is watching and drives away.  Later, Desmond is at the school watching Locke wheel away.  Ben talks to him (he thinks Desmond is some molester).  Desmond then hits Locke with his car.  The look on Locke's face is that of everyone else when they have their epiphany. 

Thoughts
-Did Desmond run Locke over because he somehow saw SmokeLocke pushing him down the well?  Makes no sense, but it does explain why Desmond seemed so calm about everything.  Did he see not just Penny, but did he see everything?  Weird.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.  Desmond was not brought to the island because he has some magical power against the Smoke Monster.  Instead, he has the ability to see both realities, in full:  future/past/present.  I like it.

-I am believing more and more that Jack will replace Jacob.  The way he seems to be learning about himself, learning to trust in others, seems like he is being prepared.  That whole good in human nature thing...

-I forgot how hot Libby was, well at least how nice her boobs were.

Lost: Episode 611

I was excited that Desmond was back on the island.  I figured we would get to see something like a battle between him and SmokeLocke.  Naturally I was completely wrong.

On The Island
Widmore zaps Desmond with a nice, heavy dosage of electromagnetism, which killed the first guy, but does not kill Desmond.  Widmore says that Desmond will have to sacrifice in order to save everything or everyone.

After the experiment Desmond seems happy and agrees to help Widmore.  Sayid shows up and kills some dudes, and takes Desmond away.  Does Desmond seem a little bit retarded now?

Flashsideways
This one makes a little more sense than some of the others.  Desmond works for Widmore and is his right hand man.   He is given the task of babysitting Charlie, who is to play music with Daniel Widmore, Charles and Eloise's son, who is a musician.

Charlie and Desmond have both had visions of things from the island.  For Desmond it is his life with Penny and of Charlie drowning showing him the "Not Penny's Boat" written on his hand.  Charlie remembers the love he felt with Claire.  Daniel is able to write down a quantum mechanics equation and he believes that he set off a nuclear bomb.

By the end of the episode, Desmond meets Penny and they agree to go out for coffee.

Thoughts
-Nothing really learned during this episode, except that Desmond wants to meet with all the passengers.  Does this mean that both realities will start to converge?

-Anyone else excited that we get an all-knowing Hurley coming up?  The preview showed him as the one with answers.  That is something I can live with.

Lost: Episode 610

After last week's episode, I was hoping that we would get more episodes giving us answers and a straight-forward story.  Also, I was hoping there would be no more alternative time-line crap.  Unfortunately I remembered the whole Jin being trapped in the cooler where Sayid found him. 

Jack's Camp
SmokeLocke leaves his camp to go visit Sun.  He offers her the chance to join her and be reunited with Jin.  She runs away from him and hits her head.  Ben finds her and she somehow loses the ability to speak English.  Seems like a case for House.

Richard returns to the group and say they need to leave.  They must destroy the plane so that SmokeLocke cannot leave the island.  Sun does not like what she hears and storms off.  Later Jack joins her and says some encouraging words and gives her a piece of paper to write on.  He says that he promises to reunite her with Jin and get them off the island...

SmokeLocke's Camp
There is some kind of saying about when the master is away, the mice will play (I might be mixing sayings here).  My point is, Widmore's group attacks when SmokeLocke leaves.  They use stun darts and take Jin to the other island.

They have the old DHARMA maps of electromagnetic pockets, it seems they were marked by Jin during his days as a DHARMA grunt.  He will not help them until he speaks with Widmore.  Charles gives him a camera of Sun's, which has pictures of their child. 

Widmore wants Jin's help in stopping SmokeLocke from leaving the island.  He says for them to bring in the package, which Jin asks what it is, and Widmore replies that the package is not a what, but a who.

SmokeLocke is upset that they took Jin, so he and Sayid take the boat over to the other island.  Sawyer asks where they are going, and when SmokeLocke tells him, Sawyer asks why he doesn't just float across the water.  SmokeLocke says that if he could do that, he would have left the island a long time ago.  Sawyer makes one of the funniest comments of "yeah because that would be ridiculous."  Cracked me up.

SmokeLocke walks up to the pylons and a group of guys with guns come to meet him.  He says that he wants Jin back and Widmore says that he does not have him.  SmokeLocke then says that "a wise man once said that war was coming to the island.  I think it just got here."

Later, as they are bringing the person out of the submarine to see Jin, we see Sayid in the water.  He gets a good look at the guy, and it turns out to be Desmond.  At the camp, Sawyer asks where Jin and Sayid are.  SmokeLocke asks if he remembers the room they were guarding on the sub, well he does not like secrets.

Flashsideways
I will keep this short.  Basically, Jin and Sun are not married, yet they are having an affair.  Jin is set free from customs, but without the money.  Martin Keemy comes to the hotel room and does not like that they do not have the money.

Sun says that she has money and will pay him.  Mikhail (remember old eye-patch?) speaks Korean and takes her to the bank.  Keemy takes Jin to the restaurant.  He ties him to the chair and then explains to him that he was delivering him the money because Sun's dad found out about the affair and paid Keemy to kill Jin.  Obviously Jin cannot understand a word of it.

Turns out Sun's father closed her secret account (probably used that money to pay Keemy).  When Mikhail and Sun return to the restaurant, everyone is dead.  Jin then fights with Mikhail and kills him.  During the struggle, Sun gets shot in the stomach.  Jin picks her up and she says that she is pregnant.

Thoughts
-Ugh, I hate these alternative time-line stories.  They make no sense.  How could the island sinking cause them not to get married?  How did Jin rise up to his position if he was not married to Sun?  So stupid.

-Miles also had a funny line about Hurley only being able to track Richard if he was wrapped in bacon.  Also, his mocking Sun's lack of English and Lapidus saying "says the guy who communes with dead people."  This was at least a very funny episode.

-Did anyone else notice that Jack never used any kind of language that would indicate he was going to leave the island with them?  He promised to get them on the plane and to see that they were off the island.  Not we, not us, nothing like that.  Seems interesting to me.  I bet that time staring out at the beach has helped show him the way.  He is looking more and more like Jacob's replacement.

-I would definitely have enjoyed more of Sun slowing stripping.

-I am happy that Desmond is back, but how the hell is he the package to stop SmokeLocke?  I really thought it would be Walt, guess I was wrong.  At least we get to hear him say Brotha one last time.

Lost: Episode 609

We finally get the back story on our good friend Richard.  And it was pretty much what I predicted all along. 

Richard's History
Richard's story starts on the Canary Islands.  He accidentally kills a doctor while trying to get medicine for his wife, Isabella.  She dies.  Richard is arrested.  A priest tells him that he can never be absolved for his sins.  A naval officer comes and purchases Richard and asks him if wants to go to the new world.  He then says that Richard is the property of Magnus Hanso.

We then see the Black Rock sailing the high seas and crash into the Island, smashing into the statue.  Richard and some other guys are chained in the hold.  The officer comes down and starts killing them since he figures if they are free they will kill the officers.

The smoke monster comes and kills the officer and then stares at Richard and then leaves.  For a few days, Richard tries to escape, but to no avail.  Isabella comes to visit him, says that they are in Hell and that the devil is coming.  She tries to run, but we hear the smoke monster get her.

Then, the Man in Black comes to visit Richard.  He frees him from his chains and says that he must kill the devil in order to get his wife back.  He gives Richard the knife (the one that Dogon gave Sayid) and tells him to stab him before he has a chance to speak.

Richard heads to the statue and all of a sudden, Jacob comes out of nowhere and beats the crap out of Richard.  He explains that he is not the devil and that this is not hell.  In order to convince Richard, he dunks him in the ocean a few times.  Once they are seated, Jacob explains a few things.

He says that the Man in Black is evil or a malevolence that needs to be contained, like the one in a bottle.  The island is the cork.  Jacob says that he brings people to the Island to prove to the Man in Black that humans are not all corruptable and bad.  Unfortunately, Jacob cannot interfere with them, yet the Man in Black can, so he offers Richard a job to act as his advisor/representative. 

Richard then asks if he can have his wife back, which Jacob replies that he cannot do that.  His next request is for his sins to be absolved.  Jacob cannot do that one.  Richard then says that he does not want to die then because he does not want to go Hell.  Jacob can do that.

Richard then goes to the Man in Black and gives him a white rock as a gift from Jacob.  The Man in Black informs Richard that if he ever changes his mind, the offer to join him is still on the table.

Later Jacob and the Man in Black sit together.  Jacob is astounded that the Man in Black tried to kill him.  Man in Black says that he wants to leave the island and that he will eventually kill him.  Jacob says that someone will replace him.  He then gives Man in Black the wine bottle and says that he will see him later.  Man in Black smashes the bottle and says to himself  "sooner than you think."

Back to the Present
Ilana explains to everyone that Richard will know what to do next.  Unfortunately Richard is now a good bit crazy and says that he needs to go talk to someone else.  He goes back to where he buried his wife's necklace and shouts that he has changed his mind.

Out of nowhere comes Hurley, who says he has a message from Isabella.  Basically she forgives him and he puts the necklace back on.  Hurley then says that Isabella said to never let the Man in Black escape the island or else everyone will go to Hell.

Thoughts
This was definitely a good episode, and the thing that amazes me is how much people over think everything.  People putting way too many rules on what Richard can do and what his role was.  Basically he is exactly what people said, the representative of Jacob.  He does not age and cannot kill himself. 

I really thought that Jacob was going to say the Man in Black's name, but I guess they are holding that one back for a few more episodes.

Interesting sidebar, the actor who plays Jacob, also plays Lucifer on Supernatural.

It was pretty cool to see Hurley as the one who reasons with Richard.  Glad that Hurley has went from bumbling idiot to the guy who knows things and seems to be a major player in this game.  Unfortunately, I do not believe he will be Jacob's replacement.  Can you imagine people coming to the island and Hurley being like "Okay, dude listen up.  You must not be bad, okay?  Cool." 

That is why that Jack is really the best candidate.  Plus he has always been the one to oppose the real Locke at every turn.  I think he would be the right choice. 

Lost: Episode 608

This was a pretty good episode.  Mainly because it focused on Sawyer, which is always a fun and entertaining time.  Oddly enough though, SmokeLocke delivered some of the funniest lines of the episode.

The Island
SmokeLocke sends Sawyer to the other island to do a little recon on what is going on over there.   Before this though, Sawyer confronts SmokeLocke about the smoke thing.  SmokeLocke says that he is the smoke thing and then explains that it was either kill or be killed...and he doesn't want to be killed.  Just the way he said it made me crack up.

Over on the other island Sawyer is captured by Widmore's group.  They take him to Charles and they have a little palaver (to steal a line from Roland).  Sawyer does what he does best.  He cons everyone.  He tells Widmore that he will deliver SmokeLocke so they can kill him, as long as no one else is harmed and they are given safe passage home.  Widmore agrees.

Sawyer then returns to SmokeLocke and informs him of exactly what he told Widmore.  SmokeLocke thanks him for his loyalty.  Sawyer then talks to Kate about his plan to get off the island by waiting until they are killing each other and then stealing the submarine.  Classic Sawyer.  I bet Jack screws it up somehow.

Flashsideways
We see Sawyer with some hot chick and he is about to pull the con we have seen him do before.  She double-crosses him and he says that he is working with the cops.  She does not believe him and he says LaFleur and the cops burst in, led by Miles.  He throws Sawyer a badge and tells him to put his shirt back on.

Turns out that James is a LA detective.  Miles sets him up on a date with a girl that works with his father.  Turns out the girl is Charlotte.  They have sex and afterward she is going through James' drawer looking for a shirt.  She finds a folder labeled Sawyer and inside is a newspaper clipping about his parents death.

He throws her out.  Later Miles learns that James went to Australia and not Palm Springs.  James explains about his parents and how he is tracking down Anthony Cooper in order to kill him.  Before they can continue the discussion, a car slams into them and someone jumps out.

James chases after the suspect and it turns out to be Kate.

Thoughts
-The story SmokeLocke told Kate about his Mother being crazy and how he went through growing pains.  I kept thinking that maybe SmokeLocke was Esau (from the Bible), but he never says anything about losing a birthright.  There are way too many insane theories out there and most of them are really stupid. 

My favorite idiotic theory:  SmokeLocke is actually Aaron.  Since he had to be raised by Claire's goodness and ended up being raised by Kate, he somehow became the smoke-monster and went back in time to become the enemy of Jacob...worst theory ever.

-Who is locked in the submarine?  My initial thought was Walt.  But then after reading some theories online, I am starting to believe it might be Desmond.  The island is not done with him yet...

That is about it.  At least next week we finally get Richard's story.  I am excited.  As long as the Joker does not try to kill him...

Lost: Episode 607

This was a very cool episode.  Although, let me just say that there are people out there on the internet who over think this show.  I know, this coming from the guy who writes about every episode.  Just go out and check the Lostpedia page, some people just spend way too much time trying to come up with rules and theories...

Ben Linus
The episode focuses on everyone's favorite character, Ben.  Ilana stops Miles and asks him how Jacob died.  Miles says that Jacob was killed by Ben.  Ilana then says that Jacob was the closest thing she had to a father.  Once they get to the beach, she shackles Ben's ankle down and forces him to dig his own grave.

As he digs his grave, he receives a visit from SmokeLocke, who explains that he wants Ben to join him on the other island.  When SmokeLocke leaves he needs someone to be in charge of the island and that someone is Ben.  He releases the shackle (with some Jedi trick) and tells Ben that there is a gun 200 yards into the forest, and that he better not hesitate because Ilana will not.

Ben takes off running and Ilana follows.  He reaches the gun and turns to kill her.  She drops the gun and instead of killing her, Ben starts talking.  He says that he killed Jacob because he was angry about losing Alex.  He realizes now that he lost Alex because he could not stand the thought of losing his power.  He then says that he just wants to join Locke's group because he is the only one who will have him.  Ilana says that she will have him.

Ben decides to join up with Ilana's group on the beach.  It was one of those great redeeming moments in Ben's story. 

Flashsideways
Ben is a frustrated teacher because the principal acts like a jerk about actual education.  His prize member of the history club is Alex.  She tells him that she heard the principal and nurse having sex.  Ben tries to use that to blackmail the principal into resigning so he can become the principal (at the behest of Locke).

The principal says that if Ben does not rescind his blackmail attempt, he will not write a letter of recommendation for Alex to Yale.  Ben decides to forgo the power, and instead see Alex get her dream.  So, in the alternate universe, Ben may not have Alex as a daughter, but he does the right thing.

The Richard Experience
Hurley and Jack leave the lighthouse in order to get to the temple.  Hurley keeps trying to stall Jack.  They then run into Richard, who tells them that the temple is the way he is going.  He instead takes them to the Black Rock.

He informs them that everyone at the temple is dead, and that he did not see their friends.  He then says that he is going inside to die.  Once inside Richard tells Jack that he has not been to the ship in a very long time.  He seems to know his away around the ship.

Richard takes a stick of dynamite and asks Jack to light it because he cannot kill himself.  Jack says okay and lights the fuse, then sits down.  Jack explains that he too has been touched by Jacob and that he should not be able to die as well.  The fuse then goes out.  They then leave together and eventually meet up with Ilana's beach group.

As the show comes to an end we see a sub periscope watching the group on the beach.  It turns out to be Charles Widmore and he says to not bother with them and to proceed as planned.

Thoughts
The big thing that people seem to be discussing online is the rules by which a candidate gets power and how they can kill each other, blah blah blah.

I am just happy that they pretty much confirmed the idea that Richard must have been one of the crew members aboard the Black Rock (he also seems regretful about having been a slaver).  Jacob gave him a gift.  Who cares really what the full extent of the gift was, we now know that Jacob was the reason and not the island, right?

Any episode where I can look down Alex's shirt is pretty much great...

Lost: Episode 606

This episode was much better than last weeks.  Unfortunately, questions did not really get answered.  I feel like the show will end without any answers at all.

The Island
Sayid and Dogen have a pretty awesome battle, which ends with Dogen almost killing Sayid.  He lets him go and tells Sayid to leave.  He does explain that every man has a scale, which balances the good and evil, Sayid's scale has tipped to the evil side.

When SmokeLocke sends Claire in, Dogen sends Sayid out to talk to him.  He gives him a knife to kill SmokeLocke, unfortunately the knife does not work.  SmokeLocke does not kill Sayid, instead he gives him a message to take to the Temple folks.  He then promises Sayid something that he wants more than anything (bring back dead Nadia).

Sayid delivers the message that if the Temple folks want to leave, that is fine, but if not, SmokeLocke will be there by sundown to kill everyone.  Sayid goes to the pool and talks with Dogen.  Dogen explains why he is at the island, Jacob promised to save his son, but the condition was that Dogen could never see him again and must come to the island.

Dogen realizes that Sayid made a deal with SmokeLocke, and then out of nowhere, Sayid tackles Dogen into the pool and drowns him.  The second in command (apparently his name is Lennon?) comes running in and says something like "what have you done, he was the only thing keeping him out!"  Sayid then slits his throat.

The Smoke Monster comes in and kills everyone.  Kate runs to help Claire, but Claire is content in her hole waiting for SmokeLocke.  Ilana, Ben, and Frank show up and they take Miles with them, I think through the same secret passage Hurley and Jack used.

By the end of everything, Kate was with Claire and SmokeLocke.

Flashsideways
These flashsideways are getting odd.  I understand the point is to show how their lives would be different (yet the same), but they make my brain hurt.

You see, in this reality, Sayid's brother married Nadia.  Sayid does not think he deserves her for all the bad things he did.  But again, how does the lack of an island mean this would happen?

Anyways, Sayid's brother owes money to a loan shark, who turns out to be Keamey (remember him?).  Sayid kills everyone and then opens a walk-in freezer and finds Jin inside tied up.  I bet we get an episode where the flashsideways shows how Jin ends up in the freezer...

Questions
-Where is Sawyer?   Is he on some other mission for SmokeLocke?
-What is the point of the gray ash, if the actual reason the Smoke Monster cannot enter was Dogen?
-The idea of the scale is definitely Egyptian.  So what is the islands connection to Egypt?