We heard Jacob tell Hurley that a friend was trying to find the Island.  And who found the Island? Widmore.

The natural question to ask is: is Widmore really a good guy, or is Jacob really a bad guy?

Damon said, “Here’s the story with numbers. The Hanso Foundation that started the Dharma Initiative hired this guy Valenzetti to basically work on this equation to determine what was the probability of the world ending in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Valenzetti basically deduced that it was 100 percent within the next 27 years, so the Hanso Foundation started the Dharma Initiative in an effort to try to change the variables in the equation so that mankind wouldn’t wipe it itself out.” This information, in more convoluted form, was leaked out via the online games rather than explained on the show itself, says Damon, because, “That would be the worst thing ever. We have to make the show for the hardcore fans who care about the numbers, but we also have to make it for my mom, who just wants Sawyer to take his shirt off.”

Here are some things I feel I can predict in the storyline of Lost, and some things that are standing out.

1. I think the “Incident,” we all can guess, has to do with the bomb called Jughead.  I suspect it has some sort of detonation or radiation leak.
2. I think that Pierre Chang will instruct his wife and child to leave the island because he knows that the Incident is coming, possibly because Daniel tells him so.  I think it would even cooler if Miles told Chang to clear them out, for obvious reasons.  Then Miles would have spent his whole life hating his father for doing what he would eventually tell him to do.
3. I think it’s possible that Miles’ mother’s cancer is directory related to Jughead and the Incident.
4. I  use to think that the Swan’s layers of concrete were to encase Jughead.  Sayid said the only time he’d seen that much concrete was at Chernobyl.  But the construction of the Swan in 1977 reveals that the bomb has found another home for at least 20-something years.  Now I think that again, because I think there’s a trick here: the “Hostiles” were the ones who had the bomb in the 50’s.  Perhaps Horace and Chang know the bomb is out there and intend to steal it and encase it at the Swan, evacuating the radiation every 108 minutes.  I’m still foggy on this, but obviously, whatever the Swan’s original purpose is must be explained shortly.
5. I am a little disappointed at how underwhelming the Dharma Initiative is turning out to be.  They were initially described as a team of elite scientists.  Instead, we’re treated to a slew of janitors, cooks, blue collar workers.  Is it possible that only Dr. Chang and Horace know what the heck is going on? Even the Dharma people themselves are unaware? That makes the DI no better than any old cult, which is a letdown.  They were doing high level experiments.  Who is conducting all the research? If the hatches aren’t all constructed yet, when will those experiments begin, because we all know that the Purge is coming, and it has to be before that.
6. It seems unreasonable and irresponsible for the Dharma Initiative to brand everything.  That seems like a colossal waste of both time and money.  And why jumpsuits? Who is going to see them? Why not just t-shirts?
7. We had better see a connection with the DeGroots and Alvar Hanso or I will be one pissed off dude.
8. I think we will see the following things and events explained, and in the following order: the Hatch, the Incident, the Purge, the Statue, the Dharma Initiative, Jacob, the Island.  The numbers have been revealed to be the Valenzetti Equasion variables.  We will never  get an answer to some minor things, but I suspect all major plot points will be explained.  Included in eventual reveals, I predict: Annie, Ellie == Eloise?, Adam and Eve, the smoke monster, the blast door map, Alvar and Magnus Hanso, and where the eff Bernard and Rose have been.  I think it’s possible they may never explain why Walt is “special,” but I bet we learn why Desmond is.
9. I believe in artistic license.  So unlike some friends of mine (wink wink, E) I don’t mind minor mess ups that don’t really affect the greater plot.  There are some weird Rousseau things: in one season, she said the others were nothing but whispers, but certainly, she saw and spoke to Ben.  Okay, so they hadn’t fleshed it all out in season 1.  But I suspect they know where they are going with the big reveals.

Just a few thoughts.  If you’ve got some, feel free to chime in.

Holy cow! So Charlotte’s age has been a big mystery, since she was born in 1979, but clearly, Faraday saw her in 1974.  You know how big of a deal this is!?

It’s not! Holy shit, people, has it come to this? This is a big deal?  This is the first continuity mistake of note on Lost (yes, there are some other very minor ones that I generally attribute to poetic license, like traveling distances over the island in short periods).  That said, it’s just not a big deal.  It doesn’t ruin the plot, it doesn’t change any of the mystery, it’s just a simple mistake that really isn’t that big of a deal.  So Charlotte is a little older than we thought.  Or she got her own birth year wrong.  Whatever.

Can we get to talking about the important things, like where is Faraday in 1977? Where are Bernard and Rose? Why didn’t Sun go back to 1977? Why can’t Widmore come back to the island? And… ahem… four toed statue?!

I think Locke is dead.  He died back in LA, and his body was transported back to the island.  Due to the “unique electromagnetic properties” of the island, his consciousness is able to manifest as “real” on the island, but make no mistake: he’s dead, and can never leave.

…And so is Penny.  Ben killed her before he took the O6 back, as he promised Widmore he would.  How else will Desmond ever be coaxed to return to the island? Why, the promise of resurrecting Penny, of course!  Mrs. Hawking told him the island wasn’t done with him, he was just too short-sighted to see why.

The above does pose a few questions: 

Firstly, who else is dead? Surely, if we can spot some of the dead, other people are also dead.

A few other dead people have appeared on or around the island: Hurley’s friend Dave, Yemi, Ana Lucia, Libby, Horace, etc – all appeared after their “death.”  Were they actually there in consciousness? Or was that just the the smoke monster playing tricks, as many have theorized?  

Heroes has, for some time now, sucked.  Long ago, the writers decided to give up on character consistency, and they decided that they would have the characters stop on a dime and act completely contrary to their previous actions.  Case in point: Nathan, who quickly turned on his fellow mutants and now wants Peter dead, apparently.  I can’t even get into Heroes other than to say it’s such a mess it really should be canceled altogether.

Kyle XY is a show I started watching when I was a sick a few years ago, and I kept on for the mystery.  The problem is: the writers revealed too much too soon, and when the basic mysteries were solved, the second season introduced a worthless character, Jesse XX, as a plot device.  Then the plot become bigger as they introduced “Adam Baylin”, and explained a backstory to Zzyzx.  When that concluded, we learned that Madacorp was behind it all.  When that was done, we learned that it was actually “Latnok” was behind it all.  In other words, the lazy writers just keep making up more complex backstory as they go.  I hate to be a broken record, but compare this to LOST, where a clear vision in the first place prevented sloppy cut-and-go storytelling that leaves everyone confused. The good news is, this show was canceled, so hopefully they can conclude it nicely and wrap everything up cleanly.

Grey’s Anatomy, an interesting show in season 1, has gotten worse with age.  Each season has been less intriguing and more annoying.  Every single character sounds like Shonda Rhymes now, they all have the same affectational pitter-patter sing-song intonation.  I hate Izzie, who was once interesting.  I hate George, who has become an extra.  I hate Bailey, who vascillates between a professional and over-attached.  I hate Meredith, who is whiny.  I hate Cristina, who is a cold bitch.  I hate Callie, who whines and made the fastest jump to Lesbianism ever.  I hate the Chief, who is a total pushover.  Actually, I like little Grey, Shephard, and Sloan, and I’m learning to like Dr Arizona, but mostly because she’s kinda hot.   Either way, this show jumped the shark long ago, and I wish they’d put it to sleep.

Prison Break has introduced more plot twists than any show ever in history, but once you get used to it, it’s kinda fun.  However, it’s carried on for 4 seasons now, far longer than the concept of a “prison break” should have permitted.  I am glad they pulled the plug on this, not because it’s not fun, but because some premises simply can’t sustain forever.

On a lighter note, I originally had called “Fringe” a disappointment, but I must say, I’m feeling good about it lately.  It’s interesting, the characters are getting to be consistent and interesting, and the overall storyline is shaping up like the X Files: small mystery solved each week, large mystery gets more complex.  I hope this show gets even more time to bloom.

One of my favorite South Park clips.

Heroes is a brilliant concept executed as poorly as possible.  It’s of of the worst written, poorest plot-bearing, illest planned, silliest scripted series ever to grace Sci Fi.  Everything about Heroes stinks except the actors and the core concept.  The rest blows.  Let’s examine:

1. Firstly, we’ve got a science problem  

The science of Heroes is always screwy.  Some might argue that there must be a certain suspension of disbelief with science fiction, and I’d agree.  We suspend disbelief about the fact that there, for example, is space travel in Star Trek, but we expect the writers to follow the known laws of physics in space.  We expect the ship to be sound.  And we expect that when the rules are bent, there’s a reasonable and semi-believable explanation.   With Heroes, we have a day long eclipse that occurs everywhere at once.  We have someone who can run REALLY fast who can apparently bring anyone with her at the same speed.  If you can fly, you can apparently lift anything through flight.  

2. Second, we’ve got a motivation problem

A “volume,” which runs about half a season, takes 13-16 weeks to unfold.  But it occurs in much less time for the characters.  And yet, they go through major emotional changes in a short span.  Just look at Sylar.  He went from villian to man seearching for redemption to soon-to-be loving father to angry to ruthless villian in the span of this story.   Why would he change so quickly? His actions make no sense.  Going from “No, Sylar, I *am* your mother” to ‘I’m working for Dad’ to ‘I’m going to kill Angela’ was too rocky and didn’t give the character time to understand his own actions or emotions.   Let’s not even get started on Mohinder, who makes no sense at all, or Angela, or worst of all, Arthur, who could have avoided this entire series by simply making Nathan not investigate Linderman in the first place, which means no need for Angela to kill him, which means no revenge, which means no Pinehurst, which means no Nathan vs. Peter.  Which leads me to…

3. We’ve got a logic problem

Aside from things like “Why is Sylar changing his motivations so quickly?” there are much bigger logic flaws, like for example, ”Why does Clair hate her father one minute but then love him the next ALL SEASON LONG?” Sorry, but this is central to the show.  The Bennetts – Clair and Noah- are core characters.  So making their emotions so whimsy is not just a character motivation problem, but rather a major logic flaw.  These characters are inconsistent.  Is Clair a cheerleader, a kid, or a company warrior? How can someone work for this elite “Company” with no real training other than smacking a stick around for a few minutes? Why does Clair – and Noah – think  that regeneration abilities makes someone a natural for fighting this huge “war”? 

4. We’ve got plot problems

What was the point of the eclipse? Why did they make a big deal about the catalyst if it was resolved so readily? Where would the catalyst gone had Hiro not shown up to take it?  Why did Parkman have to have the spirit walk? What about HIro? These things were required for nothing other than killing time.  There was barely anything happening this arc.  When you introduce information and plot points that have no real value to the story, it’s your first clue that your writers are in over their heads.  Suckage. 

5. Lastly, we’ve got a concept problem

This concept is so brilliant, the idea of following “specials” around.  But the implementation is flawed, because you’ve decided to commit to your cast.  This concept would have been awesome if, as we followed each volume, we moved to new, interesting characters.  A built in reboot every half season.  But unfortunately, now this show is like any other serialized drama, and I don’t trust it.  I don’t believe Sylar is dead.   I don’t believe Arthur is dead.  I didn’t believe Hiro was stuck in the past, I don’t believe we’ve seen the last of Hiro’s dad.  I don’t know if I believe Meredith is dead.  Elle might be dead, but she was always peripheral.   So nothing is believable, and I’m not ready to be burned again.  

Yeah, I’ll end up watching volume 4, but not because it’s a good show.  Because no one can turn away from a good train wreck.

Steve: Lame, But He Knows It, Thus, Cool

Lately, due mostly to Noggin’s schedule change, she’s been watching a lot of Blue’s Clues.  At first, I hated this show.  It’s about as dumbed down as a show can get, at first glance.  But lately, I’ve been realizing something: I’ve picked up a lot of sign language in passing glances. 

Blue’s Clues is not that interesting.  As a show, it’s really basic, and not very interesting.  Unlike, say, Sponegbob Squarepants, where after 40 seconds, if the kid walks away, I watch the rest, Blue’s Clues is completely boring.  I’ll happily shut it off.  And yet, when she is watching, I love that she’s getting the sign.  

I have to admit that I like Steve much better than Joe.  Steve  was natural with sign language.  And he seemed genuine, if possible.  He was a normal dude, just chillin’ with his animated dog Blue, who apparently, would only communicate via elaborate clues to a master puzzle.  The whole thing was very normal, in an “I have an animated blue dog who leaves me clues to answer simple questions which I figure out whilst signing and then track in a notepad for future reference” kind of way.  

Steve was also a very routine oriented guy.  Same shirt, every day: none of this new-fangled several colors nonsense.  Also, he didn’t grin all the time like a complete tool. 

Joe: Thinks He's Cool, Is Actually D-Bag

But Joe sucks.  Joe is always giving a stupid, goofy grin that deserves a slap.   Unlike Steve, who seemed generally laid back did a great job of hosting a kid’s show, Joe was a trying-too-hard pretty-boy who spent his time hosting Blue’s Clues living in Steve’s big shadow.  Aside from having a much more polished and “I wanna be an actor” finish, he was so effortful in his performance that it came off as both condescending and tiring.  His silly oversmiling and unnatural “side running” is so odd looking it leaves me wanting to take Steve out for a beer, just for not sucking so much.  

I think Joe is an actor thrilled to have a gig, trying so hard to be good at it, and yet, coming off as so desperate it makes me roll my eyes.  Every emotion is so overplayed I’m sure my 14 month old must mutter “What a sodding twit” under her breath. 

Either way, Blue’s Clues, despite being entirely blowsome as a TV show, is pretty decent as an education tool, largely due to the amount of ASL mushed into the show.  If your kid has to watch something, you could do a lot worse than Blue’s Clues, which is likely why a show that ran from the mid nineties through 2005 or so is still aired several times a day.

What is it? It is the moment I’ve been waiting for.  The moment when House realizes his inane behavior is getting unrealistic and unbearable.  The House character is getting boring to me because he shows no growth whatsoever, never learns any lessons.  He’s just a miserable old sack. And the show was losing steam, until last night, because it’s become so formulaic that Cracked magazine took a well-deserved swing at it.  

So, I’m hoping that last night, as the SWAT team blew away the walls of the CAT scan room and House, for a moment, was unsure whether or not his plan had backfired; as House began to understand that his silly actions may have led to Thirteen’s unnecessary death; as House suddenly understood (I think) that he had behaved like an idiot, that maybe we have the catalyst for the first real growth of the character.  I wish – I wish so much – that perhaps the character would show some emotional reaction to the fact that he endangered not just others’ lives, but others’ lives quite recklessly.  

House shouldn’t suddenly become a softie, and he shouldn’t suddenly be a new character, but the same way you drive a little slower for awhile after you think you might be getting a ticket when you pass a cop, he ought to have a little bit of extra thought about his actions, a pause before acting like the cold moron he normally is.  Because any human would, after an event like that.     

Unfortunately, I don’t expect it.  I think next Tuesday will open credits on the same old House.  Too bad.

Firstly, Peter, Sylar, and Parkman’s dad, at a minimum are all extremely powerful, yet none of them really “use” their powers, even when it would make sense.  Sylar, for example, didn’t hear something whispered just 20 yards from him, yet it was explained in season 1 that he had super-hearing. Hiro makes the dumbest mistakes in the world, and doesn’t use his power to fix them (like going back in time to just not open the safe, or better yet, putting a fake version in his hand before Daphne swiped it.)

The entire story arc often feels like a bunch of ninth graders writing a “wouldn’t it be cool if” story, without really laying out the entire storyline.  Peter is impetuous and rarely thinks before acting – not in a realistic way, but in an “it’s a good plot device” kind of way.  Nathan’s family just… evaporated.  Hiro digs up Adam Monroe rather than just zapping him out of the coffin, which, by the way, is how he got him in there.

The truth is, the massive cast, which includes useless Mohinder, pointless Maya,  and  wants-to-be-interesting-but-just-isn’t Parkman needs to be trimmed down.  And why ignore cool characters like The Haitian? The last truly great episode was “Company Man” in season 1.

Although I’ll still watch it for now, Heroes is just, sadly, not that good of a serialized drama.

Boinga!

Unfortunately, having a baby around means that I often find myself watching shows such as “The Backyardigans”.  As someone who has, since I was very young, considered myself pretty in touch with music and appreciative of true musicians, I am strangely compelled by much of the music found in these shows.  For every ten terrible songs, there’s one or two good ones that are so catchy you’d never believe it.  But if you dig deep enough, you’ll find some interesting lyrics hidden within.  Lately, I’ve had several Backyardigans songs in my head, but one of them, the Alicia Keys’ backed “Almost Everything Is Boinga Here” has got me a little worried.  Let’s examine:     

Austin: Boinga’s a word we don’t understand.
Mommy Martian: Well, words are different in Martian Land.
Pablo: Well, we don’t know your language yet.
Austin: Maybe you could teach us?
Mommy Martian: Sure, you bet.
Baby Boinga: Boinga!

Mommy Martian: Almost everything is boinga here,
Just in case you hadn’t heard.
Almost everything is boinga here,
It’s the Martians’ favorite word.

Uniqua: Do you call these hands?
Mommy Martian: Nope, we call them boinga!
Austin: Do you use pots and pans?
Mommy Martian: Yup, we call them boinga!
Baby Boinga: Boinga!

Pablo: We wear hats on our heads.
Mommy Martian: Really? We wear boinga!
Uniqua: Do you guys sleep in beds?
Mommy Martian: Nope, we sleep in boinga!
Pablo: Hey!
Austin: That’s good.

Mommy Martian: Do your birds say boinga?
Uniqua: No, our birds say tweet!
Mommy Martian: Do your flowers smell boinga?
Pablo: No, they just smell sweet!
Mommy Martian: Do you walk on your boinga?
Austin: No, we walk on our feet!
Mommy Martian: Do you sit on your boinga?
Uniqua: No, we sit on our seat!

Baby Boinga: Boinga! Boinga!

Pablo: You certainly use that word a lot.
Mommy Martian: Well, it means a lot of things, so why not?
Austin: Is there anything boinga doesn’t mean?
Mommy Martian: Well maybe there is but not that I’ve seen.
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin: Almost everything is boinga here.
Mommy Martian: We boinga all boinga long.
Baby Boinga: Boinga!

Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin: Almost everything is boinga here.
Mommy Martian: So we boinga this boinga song.
Baby Boinga: Boinga!
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin:Boinga this boinga
Mommy Martian: Boinga!
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin:Boinga this boinga
Mommy Martian: Boinga!
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin:This boinga song!
Mommy Martian: Boinga!
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin:Boinga this boinga
Mommy Martian: Boinga!
Pablo, Uniqua, and Austin: Boinga this boinga
Baby Boinga: Boinga! Boinga! Boinga!

Alright. So let’s take a closer look at few lines, shall we?  Let’s start with this one: “We boinga all boinga long.”  Aside from the fact that – I promise you – way too many dirty-minded people are going to interpret this as  ”we f#@% all night long,” partly because “boinga” sounds a lot like “boing,” which is colloquially used as a cleaner version of “screw,” it proves that the word “boinga” is both a noun and a verb.  Once we concede that Martians use “boinga” as a univeral verb and a universal noun, it contradicts earlier sentences.  

Shouldn’t “Do your birds say boinga?” be “Do your boinga say boinga?” Actually, given the verb, shouldn’t it be “Do your boinga boinga boinga?”   Shouldn’t that whole verse be mostly “boingas?”  In fact, why is the word “do” allowed? “Boinga your boinga boinga boinga” just doesn’t make a lot of sense.  Stupid Martians. 

Let’s assume that we can get over Mommy Martian’s arbitrary use of the word boinga as a replacement for some words but not others.  Why would Martians refer to Mars as “Martian Land?” Have you ever refered to our planet as “Earthling Land?” Of course, because it’s just weird. 

Also, the Martian Mommy seems awfully fluent in English, and yet, she doesn’t know what birds say or how flowers smell.  She can sing an impromptu song, but appears entirely unaware of the words “sweet,” “feet,” “seat,” or “tweet.”   

Also, do you find it a smidge naive that Austin and Pablo seem to believe that they are capable of learning the native language in “Martian Land” in the course of one 2 minute song?  …and do?

This is the line that kills me: “So we boinga this boinga song.”  Please! You can’t convince me that many young moms and dads don’t hear “So we sing this fuckin’ song.“ 

Who said childrens’ songs were boring?

Last week’s pilot episode set up a great premise.  The “translucent” body effect and the mystical “Pattern,” complemented by stone cold Matthew Abadon Agent Broyles left me wanting more.  I suspect the second episode was much more indicative, however, of what this show will actually be.   Read more after the break.

Unfortunately, last night left me a little let down.  The plot was mostly interesting (Caution! Spoilers ahead): a series of murdered women leads us back to Dr Bishop’s ex-colleague’s experiments regarding rapid aging, and the only way to slow the rapid aging, we learn, appears to be pulling the pituitary gland from the brain of these women – apparently while they are awake and tranquilized, for some unknown reason, rather than simply anesthetized - and… doing something with it.  

It was the surrounding elements that left me unhappy.  First of all, the eccentricity of Bishop is overkill.  The way he speaks was overplayed, and Joshua Jackson, while believable as the boy genius, had lots of poor dialogue, such as “Can you just speak like… a person?”  Secondly, Bishop’s experience with… uh… everything seems stretched.  I was willing to suspend disbelief that many of these things are possible, but to suggest that he was able to do all of these things, in just the second episode, seems pushing it.   Thus far, he can interview the dead, he can grow a human and accelerate aging, and he can project thoughts on a monitor by pulling the electric impluses from a dead ocular nerve – I’m not making this up.   It’s just too far fetched.   

As far as the characters go, I like Anna Torv’s Olivia Dunham.  But she’s no Dana Sculley, and I don’t know if she can carry the show.  As of now, she and Broyles are the only two main characters, as Joshua Jackson’s younger Bishop is merely “the babysitter” for his convict father, and his father is only available as long as he’s part of the picture.  While we all know they are part of the team, it’s yet to be firmly established that the characters are committed to investigating “The Pattern.”  

The problem here is that this show is poised to fill the same type role as “The X-Files,” but thus far, they have lacked when establishing character authority and credibility.  Franky, I’d rather follow Broyles and the “Massive Dynamic” secretary, as they both seem much more immersed in the mythology than our main characters.  

I’m inclined to stick with Fringe because I like the set-up, not because the second episode was so good.  I think many shows need some time to find their niche and this one may strengthen once the actors get used to their characters, give them some identity, and let them play out and evolve.  I fear that, like X-Files, much of “The Pattern” will never be properly explained and that we will be doomed to years of frustration and unanswered questions, rather than an arching story like Lost, where we expect to have much of the backstory revealed to us.  I suspect that four years from now, we’ll still understand very little about The Pattern except maybe a larger tie to the founder of Massive Dynamics.

So, for now, I will continue to watch, I’ll probably give it a season to hook me.    

(1) Desmond’s storyline has come complete circle and pretty much ended.
Although there’s a lot of bits to be filled in, primarily revolving around Penny Widmore, Desmond got his happy ending. We don’t yet understand his future flashes, but he reunited with Penny, and for that, we’re all thankful.

(2) We know that time travel is a factor here, and that the island, via its unique magnetic properties, can itself move in time.
Does anyone else go “wow!” just having confirmed that? I loved that we’re actually seeing some real unraveling of the mystery of the island. Guys… where are we?

(3) We know how the Oceanic 6 became the Oceanic 6.
So they didn’t get off the island… the island simply went away and left them back in the real world …or something. What we don’t know is why Jack, rather than simply saying “no one would believe this, so we have to lie,” decided to lie to “protect” their fellow passengers. Protect them from what? I think a better explanation was that everything Locke said was coming true, so better to follow his advice.

(4) We know that Locke made it off the island
My new theory: Locke, like Ben, eventually had to move the island himself (after the 6 go back?), and as a result, couldn’t go back himself. But what we don’t know is when. Because with Alpert and even the amazingly youthful final-scene Ben, it’s hinted that they can move about through space-time.

(5) We know that Sayid can kick ass
The fight between Sayid and Keamy was appropriately long but didn’t skimp on action. What an awesomely choreographed scene. Sayid is a badass, but I am truly scared of Keamy.

(6) We know Sun can get scary
Sun not only coldly took over Paik Industries from Daddy Paik, but left Widmore with a little pee stain in his pants.

(7) We know that Miles knows more than he says
We seriously need to focus on this guy. Dude knows much more than he says.

(8) We know that Charlotte was on the island before
Well… maybe. But it’s very clearly hinted that she was born there. Uh… huh? Born there? But I thought we established that babies can’t be born there. We know they can be conceived there though.

Is it possible that Widmore was once an “others” leader and had to move the island too? But why would he age and Locke and Ben not? Is it possible that Jin is alive? How about Michael, who was visited by Christian seconds before he died? What does it mean that ghosts have visited Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Michael off the island, at a minimum (we don’t know if Sayid has been visited by ghost Shannon or anyone else)? How about the ghosts that visited Claire and Locke (Locke saw Boone some time ago)? Who is Matthew Abbadon? More importantly, what’s the deal with Jacob and the lists? That started all of this.

So many questions, so long to wait until we get any answers. But overall, I really liked this episode.