ABC/MARIO PEREZTonight's episode of Lost was full of absurdly gaspworthy moments, none of which we'll spoil up here, but if you have your Ajira Airways ticket in hand and your seat belt is fastened, you can flash into this Lost Redux, where we'll figure out what happened in this Oceanic Six-centric installment of Lost.
We discuss the shocking appearances of certain characters we love, point out a few Easter eggs, and, oh yeah, I'll tell you exclusively how the Losties may have majorly misplaced Sawyer, and it has nothing to do with the fact that he wasn't even in this episode...
WHAT WE LEARNED
There's No Place Like Home: In the words of Kate Austen, "We're back." Lo and behold, to get back to the land of Oz, you just implement drunk Jack's wackadoodle plan of getting on a plane and hoping for it to crash! According to Mrs. Hawking, the key was to replicate the circumstances of their first crash as closely as possible and then just ride along a certain flight path identified by the pendulum over the energy cell at the Lamppost Station. (Uh, sure, lady.) But luckily for the kiddos involved, the replica didn't have to be perfect, which explains why Aaron (who was present, albeit itty-bitty, when 815 crashed) could be left behind.
Over the Rainbow: Despite the fact they may be dragging some innocent flight attendants with them, I was honored and proud to watch the Oceanic Six as they experienced a little in-flight turbulence on Ajira 316 and still flew directly into their oncoming fears. Our brave little toasters are going back to the Island! They don't have to—they are safe and rich back in the real world—but they're like Navy SEALs, and now that they have a choice in the matter, they're not leaving their friends behind!
¿Donde Esta Desmond? Desmond has done his dream-induced duty and is now returning to the loving arms of Penny. Do you think that reunion sticks, or is Mrs. Hawking right about the Island not being done with Des? Post in the comments.
They Totally Totally Told Each Other So! Boy, Jack and Locke are still so angry at each other! Locke's suicide note was, well, one big fat guilt-complex-inducing rendition of "I told you so," and Jack was crankypants squared when he was left alone with "Jeremy Bentham." Can't we all just get along?
Easter Eggs: (Attention, English professors: Next time you're trying to explain "intertextuality" to your students, just bring up Lost, and they'll get it right quick...)
- Ben was reading James Joyce's Ulysses, which is, of course, a psychedelic Irish novel that had a few Easter Eggs of its own and was based on the ancient myth of Odysseus, a lost sailor who is kept from his love, Penelope, by a series of wildly unbelievable but nonetheless thrilling adventures.
- Commenter Jules tipped us off to a C.S. Lewis nod: "Did anyone notice The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe reference with the Lamppost Station? They came out of the wardrobe at the lamppost, and it was where they knew they could get back to their world." Holler!
- Christian Shephard's white shoes/black shoes situation continues the show's flirtation with those constrasting colors.
- Jack's seat number was 8C, and the flight left from gate 15.
Some Burning Questions: This was a good old-fashioned Lost episode. You can tell because of how we are left with tons of new questions after the fact! To wit:
- How did hero Hurley learn of Ajira flight 316 from his jail cell, with time to spare to buy up all the seats? (God, that dude is awesome.)
- Why did Hurley bring a guitar? Was it to re-create Charlie's presence on the original flight, or is it for Charlie on the Island?
- Why is Sayid in cuffs, and how did he learn about the flight?
- Are passenger Caesar (Saïd Taghmaoui) and Sayid's escort Ilana (Zuleikha Robinson) just unlucky schmucks who are about to land on Lost Island, or are they undercover O6 escorts sent by Team Hawking?
- What kind of magical childcare did Kate find for Aaron?
- Who beat up Ben Linus and why? I mean, beating up Ben is all in good fun, but it's hard to get the drop on the dude, so who done it?!
- If there was no crash of Ajira 316, did the Losties just flash out of the plane, and if so, how is that going to be explained short of an episode of Fringe?
What's Love Got to Do With It? Did Jack come to Kate's house, or did Kate show up in Jack's bed at his house? So confused. Somebody 'splain to me in the comments? Meanwhile, weigh in on the Jate in this ep in the poll below:
Jate Poll
NOTABLE QUOTES
"We're on the same plane, Jack. Doesn't make us together." —Kate
"Wait a second, we're not going to Guam, are we?" —Frank J. Lapidus
"FRANK!!!" —The audience, reacting to identity of the pilot of Ajira 316
"How can you read?" "My mother taught me." —Jack & Ben, although if you recall from a previous episode: Ben's mother died in childbirth, although she later popped by now and again to haunt him as a ghost. In short: Ben lies and/or this show is kuh-razy.
"JIN!!!" —The audience, at the end of the episode, reacting to Jin's Dharma-van drive-by
WHAT'S TO COME
Sawyer to the '70s?! I'm told Josh Holloway may be sporting some serious muttonchops soon because he'll be stuck in a different decade (the era of Geronimo Jackson, bell bottoms and disco). Word is, he'll be away from most of the other Losties. And get this—according to my ABC source, he'll be there for years!
This can't be good news for you fans of Kate and Sawyer, right?
Though I am hearing he will have one friend with him. Guesses?