I Am DB

Alright fellow Losties:

Because I am mildly obsessed with the show and often feel the need to collect my thoughts in writing, I’ll be sharing my reaction to any episodes that leave me with something to say. It may take almost a week, but hey, obsession is a time commitment. It also may seem like a waste of time but this is the kind of crap I think about.

Read on if you’re interested, and be aware that spoilers abound…

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
If you’re good with names, the list of cast members in the show’s opening credits can provide some interesting clues about what’s to come. Most of us know, for example – at least, I hope we know – that Matthew Fox is Jack, or Emile de Ravin is Claire. But perhaps less well-known are recurring names like Mira Furlan and L. Scott Caldwell, who play Rousseau and Rose, respectively. If you see the name Frederic Lane in the opening credits, you can expect an appearance by Edward Mars, the FBI agent who chased Kate all over the world…and then died from a crash-related head wound. Nestor Carbonell’s name means we’re going to see Richard Alpert, the mega-mysterious Other who seems not to have aged since Ben was a kid. And one of the most frequently seen guest star names is John Terry, who plays Jack’s father, Dr. Christian Shephard. You might have noticed Terry’s name appear in the season premiere credits, but did you see Jack’s father anywhere in the episode? I didn’t. Or so I thought. I checked out a few websites afterwards and all of them indicated that the briefly glimpsed man in the rocking chair, whom Hurley spied in the mystery cabin, was in fact the good Doctor Shephard Senior.

I’ve re-watched the scene a few times, and I couldn’t tell, even when I paused the image. The figure, though obscured in shadow, is apparently Jack’s dad…or at least, it’s John Terry (the picture below – clearly tweaked to make the figure more discernible – does appear to show Terry). More on this scene later.

Other things that interested me about the opening credits:

-Dominic Monaghan’s name was still listed among the regular cast, rather than as a guest star. I’ll be anxious to see if his name is still in there this week. If it is, does that mean that Charlie’s beyond-the-grave appearances are going to be a frequent occurrence? Perhaps to other castaways besides Hurley?

-You may have noticed that Harold Perrineau’s name was back in the credits, even though Michael will not be reappearing for a while yet. Also, three new names were listed among the main cast credits: Rebecca Mader, Ken Leung (neither of whom were seen in the premiere), and Jeremy Davies, who we met at the episode’s end when he parachuted onto the island.  There is also a fourth new regular, although I’m not sure why his name was missing; he’ll be played by B-movie legend Jeff Fahey. These new cast members comprise part of the alleged rescue team. (Another rescue team member was listed in the guest star credits: Fisher Stevens, who was heard but not seen as the voice on the other end of Naomi’s satellite phone).

-In other guest star news, Lance Reddick will be a recurring figure as that shady “Oceanic attorney” Matthew Abbadon, who visited Hurley in the institution. What’s up with that guy? He definitely scores an 8 on the Creepy Scale. From what I read online, “Abbadon” has some none-too-sunny connotations. Whatever that guy is up to, it can’t be good.

CABIN FEVER
Back to the cabin. Remember that really weird scene last year when Ben brought Locke to Jacob’s cabin? Well things just got really weirder. So there’s Hurley, walking through the jungle, not far behind Sawyer, Desmond, Sayid and Juliet, when all of a sudden he’s not anymore. They’re somehow far out of earshot, and Hurley comes upon Jacob’s cabin…in an entirely different location than it was when Ben took Locke there. Hurley goes to investigate, peeking through an open window. He sees a man sitting in a chair – played by John Terry, it seems – rocking back and forth. Suddenly, an eye pops up right in front of the hole Hurley is gazing through, scaring the big dude half to death. He retreats from the cabin, which disappears…and then resurfaces behind him.

File this under “WTF?!?!”

It’s worth noting here, since I was dwelling on the importance of credits, that John Terry was not listed in the credits for the episode last season when Ben took Locke to the cabin, so whoever briefly appeared as Jacob in that scene, it was someone else. But there is a bizarre connection between the two cabin sightings. When Ben and Locke were in the cabin and Jacob started to go crazy – shaking the joint, smashing glass, and tossing Ben against the wall – there was a quick cut to an extreme close-up of an eye. I thought that the eye was Locke’s, since the next shot was a wider view of his face, before he got up and ran out of the cabin. But now I think that the eye we saw in the Locke/Ben scene is the same eye that pops up in front of Hurley. I freeze-framed both of them, and they look the same. Don’t ask me how or why…it was something unique about the arch of the eyebrow, and a vague “crazy-guy” glint. I can’t put my finger on it, but I think they belong to the same person. And if I’m right…whose fucking eye is that?!?!? Is it Jacob’s? Is there someone else there, with Jacob?

THE OCEANIC SIX
People are assuming, based on what we know so far of post-island life, that Jack, Kate and Hurley make up half of the Oceanic Six. But do they? The Oceanic Six must be survivors who got off the island in a very public manner with lots of press. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that only six people got off, does it? Or that Kate and Jack are part of the Six? Okay, Jack probably is – there were references to his newfound fame – signing autographs and such. But Kate is still a fugitive, as far as we know. If she had any control over the situation – which she probably didn’t, but if – she would likely not have returned in a flash of publicity. On the other hand, in last season’s finale, Jack talks about the golden pass for unlimited free flights that Oceanic gave them, mentioning it as though Kate had one too. So okay, she probably is one of the Six, but I think there’s a shade of reasonable doubt.

So who else? Well, according to Desmond’s flashes last year, Claire and Aaron got off the island, so are they among the Six? What about Bernard and Rose? When the castaways split into two groups, Rose said that she wasn’t going anywhere with Locke (despite them sharing a connection we learned about back in season 2). But this raises another question: you would think that the people who went with Locke would be the ones not leaving the island with Naomi’s crew, but Hurley obviously leaves, so… how does that happen? In addition, I didn’t see Sun and Jin pick a side when the group split. Hurley, Claire, and Sawyer clearly went with Locke (as did non-Oceanic folk Rousseau, Ben, Alex and Carl), while Kate, Juliet, Rose, Bernard, Sayid and Desmond all visibly stayed with Jack. But what of the Korean lovebirds? And Desmond remaining with Jack is interesting, since he returned from the Looking Glass convinced that Charlie’s final warning was true and that Naomi’s people were not who they claimed to be. So why didn’t he go with Locke? And where exactly do the non-815 people fit into the rescue? Even if Juliet or Desmond leave the island, they wouldn’t be counted among the Oceanic Six, would they? These are questions that keep me up nights.

SECRETS & LIES
It would seem a conspiracy is afoot. Bearded-Jack told Kate when they met at the airport that he’s sick of lying. Institutionalized-Hurley thinks Future-But-Not-Yet-Bearded-Jack only comes to visit him to find out if he’s going to tell the truth about something. The truth about what?? What have the Oceanic Six lied about? Does their lie connect to the fact that Flight 815 was supposedly found already, with all of its passengers deceased and accounted for? Have they been bought off somehow? Offered something in exchange for playing along with a fiction? And if so, who’s writing the story of Flight 815 and the Oceanic Six?

KEEP IN MIND…
As a new season gets underway and the plot moves forward, here are some things introduced last season that the writers will hopefully not suddenly forget to follow-through on. These aren’t questions so much as character points.

-Charlie’s “Greatest Hits” note, which he told Desmond to give to Claire. Hopefully it didn’t drift away or smudge when Desmond swam to and from the Looking Glass. Let’s make sure she gets that, and also finds his ring that he left for her in the crib, yes?

-Speaking of which, now that Desmond will no longer be having flashes involving Charlie’s death, let’s not forget that imminent demises are not the only thing the flashes show him. Keep playing up his new “gift.”

-Alex has finally met her mother, Rousseau. So now what happens with them, and where does Ben fit in? (There’s a cool deleted scene on the season 3 DVD set in which Ben and Locke, en route to see Jacob, talk about Alex and Rousseau.)

-Tensions between Ben and Locke pretty much boiled over when Ben… you know…shot him. Taking a bullet to the gut at close range tends to cause a ripple even in the best of friendships, and this bond was tenuous to begin with. Now that the castaways are divided and Ben has gone with Locke, let’s not suddenly forget that those two have some unresolved issues, to say the least.

-In the season 3 finale, Kate pointed out that Sawyer hadn’t been the same since he returned with the recording of Juliet – that is, since he returned from killing Locke’s father, the real Sawyer who he’d been seeking for most of his life. Here’s hoping this detail isn’t dropped, and that the show explores the impact that this complicated resolution might continue to have on our friend James Ford.

-Love Quadrangles – Jack’s kissing Juliet but telling Kate he loves her. Kate’s sleeping with Sawyer but getting jealous of Jack and Juliet. Sawyer’s making his way through all the island ladies (remember his romp with Ana Lucia?) Where are we, Melrose Island? I predict that he will next seduce a grieving, vulnerable Claire. (No. Not really.) Wherever these relationships are going, they’ll only get trickier.

MINOR QUESTIONS
-Before Naomi died, she asked her pal on the other end of the phone to tell her sister that she loves her. Who is Naomi’s sister? C’mon people, this is Lost. There’s no way that was an innocent line…

-Jack accused Locke of blowing up every chance they’ve had of getting off the island. Locke countered that he’s never done anything that wasn’t in the best interest of the group. Okay, so let’s say he was justified when he chucked a knife into Naomi’s back, and really was acting in everyone’s best interests because Naomi and her people aren’t who they claim to be. Still, how does he justify blowing up the submarine? Or the communications barnhouse with the satellite dish? Or destroying the computer in the hatch, for that matter? Locke has made a lot of bad decisions lately – even he admitted he was wrong when he stopped pushing the button and smashed the computer. I’d like to see him follow through on his statement that he’s got a lot of explaining to do.

Also, when Jeremy Davies’ Bearded Rescue Guy parachutes onto the island at the end and removes his helmet, why were Jack and Kate looking at him like they were nervous, or surprised to see him? They were expecting someone, right? Maybe it was just played up as a big dramatic moment – Rescue Finally Arrives! – but the way they looked at  him seemed odd to me.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Great start to the season, with an excellent – dare I say heartbreaking – performance from Jorge Garcia. And I loved seeing Charlie again. By the time we were ¾ of the way through season 1, all I wanted was for Charlie and Claire to survive, get off the island, and go make little British-Australian babies. I took his death hard, so seeing him again provided a bit of consolation. Also, I would have liked to see one loaded glance between Juliet and Ben when everyone met up in the jungle – after all, she totally betrayed his ass – but that’s a small detail. Can’t wait to see where things go from here.