Meet Kevin Johnson

In the last episode filmed before the writer's strike, "Meet Kevin Johnson," Lost gives us a little back story on how/why Michael ends up working for Ben on the freighter. It was a good episode and I felt that it provides a sufficient break in the action leading up to the second half of the season.

So Michael can't die
On the freighter, Sayid and Desmond confront Kevin Johnson (Michael) in the engine room and want answers. Michael begins to fill them in how he ended up leaving the island and ending up on the freighter.

It turns out that no matter what Michael would do -- slamming his car head first into a dumpster, putting a gun to his head, attempting to set off a bomb on the boat -- the island won't let him die...at least not until his work is finished.

Michael is haunted by visions of Libby and the guilt he feels for killer her and Ana Lucia, as well as leaving the other 815 survivors on the island. Now, he has a mission to protect the island from the freighter folk. He and Walt had a falling out, since Mike decided to share the haunting information that he killed the two tail-sectioners. What was he thinking?

So what is up with the island's ability to keep Michael alive? Is his mission simply to keep the island safe from Widmore and his freighter or is there more to it? Does his actually mission involve Walt? Did the island not want Walt and his special powers to ever leave?

I found it hard to believe that Michael wanted to die. His whole time on the island was spent either trying to get Walt back/trying to get off the island. Even with Walt not wanting to talk to him, why would he want to just kill himself? I understand the guilt is a huge burden, but he and his son are safe. Like the Oceanic 6, life off the island isn't as great as Michael thought it would be.

The real Mr. Friendly
So Mr. Friendly is a little too friendly. We finally get confirmation that Tom is Lost's gay character. The producers have hinted that we may see a gay character and with Tom's line to Kate earlier in the series about her not being his type, many fans speculated on Tom's sexual orientation.

With that out the way, I found his conversation with Michael more interesting than the other man in the hotel. Tom told Michael that they've been watching him. Of course they let him go, but they never really let him go. The Others (especially Ben) always have a plan. Now, Ben needs Michael to do some dirty work for him...to redeem himself to his boy and make all that guilt go away.

The Others got Michael a job on the freighter and his mission is to kill everyone on it. So how'd they get Michael that job? If Widmore really is their enemy, how can they just position someone on his boat without the captain or crew even meeting him? Do they have someone else on the inside, ie working for Widmore?

Who really faked the 815 wreckage?
Tom provides all the documentation needed to prove that Widmore staged the wreckage of Flight 815. He produced receipts for the plane and showed Michael where the dead bodies were recovered from. So who's telling the truth? The captain told Sayid and Desmond that Ben had planted the wreckage and The Others say it was Widmore. It could be either or neither.

Tom could have simply shown Michael the information that they used to staged the wreckage and changed the receipt to say it was Widmore, but when Ben says that they are the good guys, I think there's something to that. With the way Ben operates, is staging the wreckage something he could do...would the island let him? Widmore seems capable of doing it, but what if there's a third party who has pitted the two groups against each other, like maybe The Economist or whoever Abbadon is really working for (if its not Widmore). More to this tale, there is.

Everyone's lying about something
Michael makes it to the freighter and is greeted by Minkowski and Naomi. When he boards the boat, he meets up with Miles, who is on to him. So what does Miles really know about Michael? He knows that he isn't really Kevin Johnson, but does he know anything else? He's mentions that everyone on the boat is lying about something. So what's everyone's story? What's really going on with the freighter folks?

Later in the episode, Frank is talking with Kevin Johnson about Flight 815. He mentions how cool it would be to find survivors. Does he know Michael was part of the survivors? We already know that he is on to the staged wreckage, but what more is he on to? How much was the crew let in on, Ben staging the wreckage, possible survivors, about the island, etc.? It's interesting that both Frank and Naomi have mentioned the possibility of finding 815 survivors, when the general public is left to believe that they're all dead.

What happens to Kevin Johnson now?
Once Michael finished his story, Sayid grabs him and drags him into the captain's quarters. he reveals Michael's true identity and says that he's been sabotaging the freighter's mission. Sayid was quick to turn Michael in. Does he really think the captain is telling the truth, despite Michael's message not to trust the captain? He is really holding a grudge against Michael to take the word of someone he's known for a short period of time (who also let's his crew kill themselves and throws down with them if they try to leave the freighter). It will be interesting to see what happens to Michael now that he's been caught.

Two down, who's pulling the trigger?
The war is starting on the island. Ben wants to make sure Alex is safe (or does he?) since she's his daughter and would be a target, so he sends her, Karl and Danielle off to find the rest of The Others at the Temple. While looking for it, they are ambushed and Karl and Danielle are shot. Alex gets up and let's it be known that she is Ben's daughter, in hopes that this will spare her life. With that, Lost is on a 5-week hiatus, and we are left with new questions to ponder.

So who is shooting at them? It looked to be darts and not bullets coming at them. Was it the rest of The Others, who perhaps were told by Ben to take out Karl and Danielle? Was it another group from the freighter or someone never before seen group? There's been rumors of a good set of Others and a bad group. Is this the bad set? I'm not sure which way I'm leaning here, but I think it's going to be a surprise group...the real bad guys of the island.

The promos teased that someone would die and that turned out to be Karl. My thinking is that the audience is supposed to think that both Danielle and Karl are goners, but Danielle has too much backstory to tell. She'll be around for a while. The producers have said that they'd like give more of her backstory in the future, so why would they kill her off now?

Well, now Lost takes a break to film the rest of the season. I am digging the fast-paced action of season 4 and with three episodes being cut, the rest of the season will be even more fast-paced. Lost has been providing answers this year and isn't holding back on the entertainment.

*Photos from Lost-Media.com

Lost: Solved Mysteries

On the Blu-Ray version of the Season 3 DVDs, the producers clear up some of the mysteries that have been solved thus far on the show. Lostpedia has a transcript of Access: Granted and it's a really interesting read for any fans of the show. DarkUFO has a summary of the important information, if you don't want to read the entire transcript.

Mark Brunell Signs with the Saints

Ji Yeon

Lost gave us our first episode with a flashforward and flashback in the same show with last night's Ji Yeon. There were a couple of big reveals toward the end and overall it was a solid episode.

Oceanic 6...fooled ya
Our flashback starts off with a pregnant Sun experiencing labor pains and calling for help. She feels that something is wrong with the baby, and it's later confirmed that the baby is in distress. We learn that Sun is indeed part of the Oceanic 6 when she is admitted and the nurses discuss her celebrity status. The doctor visits her, and throughout labor, her only request is to get her husband there. The doctor says that they are trying to reach him and even after the child is born, Sun thinks she sees Jin in the hallway.

These flashbacks are intertwined with Jin running an errand to pick up a giant stuffed panda for what we assume is his baby on the way. Right away, I felt something wasn't right with these sequences. If Sun is in labor and there a chance something is wrong with the baby, why would Jin even bother to get a gift? All along, Jin's cell keeps ringing, and we assume he's speaking with the hospital about Sun. The twist is thrown in when he finally delivers the panda. Jin is told that the baby was born and it was a boy (Sun had a girl). Then we learn that he is on an errand for Sun's dad to congratulate the Ambassador for becoming a grandfather. Then a nurse talks to Jin about having a baby one day, and he says that he's only been married for two months.

I knew something was different with the Jin storyline here. Lost has been throwing twists at us all season, so I figured there would be one here. It was a fun twist, and makes the show even harder to figure out because not only do we have flashforwards and flashbacks, but we get both in one episode.

So, who's call is it?
Sun confronted Daniel about their mission and if they were there to rescue them. We know now that they are there for Ben, but Daniel and Charlotte seem to have other missions too. Last week, they deposed of the killer gas at The Tempest, but there seems to be more to them. They are on the island for a reason and it has to do with their pasts and their research. Daniel tells Sun that rescuing them is not his call. So who makes that call? The Captain? Charles Widmore? This information makes Sun want to leave Jack's group and head for Locke's camp. She doesn't trust the freighter crew, nor does she trust that Juliette is being truthful about pregnant women dying on the island.

Jin's English
On the island, Jin is picking up English rather quickly. He goes from not understanding anything to making complete sentences in the span of a few episodes. It feels rushed to me, but I like that his character has evolved so much.

The ending was touching when he brought Sun dinner. After Juliette had spilled the beans about Sun's affair to keep the Kwon's from going to Locke's camp, it looked like their marriage was over. Jin realized that he was the reason that Sun cheated. He was a bad person and didn't show his affection for her. He has changed so much since being on the island. He loves Sun so much and isn't afraid to show it. His fishing trip with Bernard helped solidify that Jin was a changed man. Karma was on his side and despite all the bad stuff he'd done in the past, he was a good person.

The Freighter Crew & The Captain
Something has been going on with the freighter crew. We knew there was a saboteur on board (Ben's spy) who had already knocked out the communications system. Now someone has disabled the engines. The spy left a note for Desmond and Sayid saying not to trust the captain. When they ask to meet with the captain, they are repeatedly told they don't want to do that. But once we meet him, he doesn't seem so bad.

We are introduced to the captain just after witnessing Regina, wrapped in chains, jumping overboard. Desmond and Sayid try to help, but no one else jumps into action. The captain appears on deck and puts his men back to work. Desmond and Sayid can't believe that no one helped, but the captain simply shrugs it off, saying the crew has been getting cabin fever from being couped up in this location. The captain wants to move the ship to safer waters but can't do so with the engines out.

The captain brings Sayid and Desmond to his room and shows them the black box from their flight. He explains that the wreckage of 815 was staged (another confirmation of something that everyone knew) and said this is the reason they are after Benjamin Linus. So did Ben really stage the wrecked 815, along with 300+ bodies, or is Widmore really behind that too? Where would Ben get a plane and the dead bodies to pull this off? We don't know that much about Ben's off island life, so if he could pull together $3.2 million in a week, he's probably capable of this too.

Back to Regina. What's up with her and the rest of the crew? Early in the episode, she is guarding Desmond/Sayid's room. She seems out of it and is even holding her book upside down. Then she jumps overboard with no explanation other than experiencing cabin fever. Lastly, Desmond and Sayid are brought to their room, and we see that someone committed suicide in there with blood spattered on the wall. What is up with this freighter?

Kevin Johnson
Lost's worst kept secret was finally revealed when Ben's man on the boat stepped forward as Kevin Johnson. Oh, you don't recognize that name? Well, you probably know him as Michael Dawson, aka Walt's dad. Sayid and Desmond playing it cool and don't let on that they recognize Michael, but it had to come as a shock to them to see him again. Next week, we should get more story on how Michael come to be part of the freighter crew, but it was cool to see him again.

Not Jin!?!
The big reveal/twist of the episode is that Sun is part of the Oceanic 6, and Jin is not. After Ji Yeon was born, Hurley came to see Sun and the baby. Hurley's dressed in his best suit, and they set off to go see Jin. You knew this meant that something had happened to Jin. They arrive at a cemetery, and we see Jin's headstone. Sun talks to him and tells him that she wishes he would have been there. She named the baby Ji Yeon, just as he wanted. The moment is somber and both she and Hurley are mournful with their body language. So the question now becomes, is Jin really dead?

The thought never crossed my mind while watching the show that he might still be alive. Just the way they acted and the language they used (Hurley saying they should go see Jin) made it feel like that really was his grave sight. People online has examined the tombstone and the date of death is listed as 9/22/2004, the date of the plane crash. We all know Jin didn't die that day, so did they have to say that he died in the crash and couldn't give details of his real death? Is he still on the island and they are just using the grave as a front to show that he is dead? If he isn't in that grave, then why did Hurley and Sun go there to mourn him? Couldn't they have just talked in Sun's apartment? I just think they would have acted differently at the cemetary if the tombstone was just a symbol or a cover up for people being left on the island.

With this in mind, I think that Jin did die and despite the date being the day of the plane crash, he is in that grave. I think sometimes fans of Lost looked into and analyze everything too much. As the producers said in a recent podcast, sometimes a bracelet is just a bracelet. I think we are meant to question if Jin really died, and with the tease next week that someone will die, could Jin's life be on the line?

Not to end on such a somber note, I'll leave you with a fun Easter Egg that I did not catch in Ji Yeon, but lots of people online did. Check out who was on Sun's TV in her flashforward. Yep, Sun was watching Expose, featuring Flight 815's own Niki.

Next on Lost: Meet Kevin Johnson


*Photos from Lost-Media.com

Saints' Steve Gleason Retires

After battling for a roster spot year-after-year and becoming a fan favorite in the process, Steve Gleason has decided to retire from the NFL after seven seasons with the Saints. Gleason is a special teams ace and has cemented his place in Saints history with his blocked punt against the Falcons in the opening moments of the first game back at the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.

Gleason was a great special teams player for the Black and Gold, but he was a better person for the community. He grew his hair out and donated it to Locks of Love and was always eager to give back to the New Orleans area. He and his future wife plan to have a house in New Orleans, so he will still be around, but fans will miss watch #37 break through the line and dive at opposing punters.

I for one enjoyed watching Gleason play. He never got much of a chance on defense, but he gave it 100 percent every time the special teams unit ran on the field. An injury to his knee forced him to miss last season and that injury and recover process was part of his decision to hang 'em up now. Steve, good luck in your future endeavors and thanks for playing hard for the Black and Gold.

The Constant Revisited

Doc Jenson at EW.com does a great Lost preview and recap. I thought I'd pass along some of his comments about "The Constant," since he clears up a lot of information on what happened and confirms his theories with producer Damon Lindelof.

Here's an excerpt from his article on "The Constant":

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO DESMOND?
In ''The Constant,'' Desmond became ''unstuck in time'' after flying through a thundercloud crackling with strange electricity. He experienced something like time travel, though not bodily time travel; instead, his consciousness shuttled between two different time periods, Island present 2004 and Desmond's past 1996. But here's the tricky twist: Desmond's Island-present mind wasn't the one doing the time traveling. When Desmond got hit with Island magic, his consciousness got knocked off-line and was replaced by his 1996 self. It was this older Desmond consciousness that toggled between present and past throughout the episode. Once Desmond '96 completed the errand of getting Penny's phone number so he could call her on Christmas Eve 2004, Desmond's present-day mind came back online, but rebooted with the new memories created by his time-travel adventure. I know: tricky stuff. But I had the chance to run all this by Damon Lindelof — and he says this interpretation is correct.

THE MINKOWSKI EXCEPTION
Desmond had the time-warp blues, but freighter freak Minkowski had Marty McFly Mania: Due to his own exposure to electromagnetic magic, he began psychically commuting back to a pleasant day on a Ferris wheel. He died desperately trying to zip-line back to this happy day one more time. Coldly poignant, I thought. Notice: Unlike Desmond's time-travel story, Minkowski's present day consciousness was making the trip. Lindelof says this difference was designed to make a very important point: ''As Faraday explains in the episode, the effect is random. Sometimes a person can be displaced by minutes, other times, years. And the direction of the effect is equally unpredictable. Our way of demonstrating this was to give Minkowski a wildly different experience than Desmond was having.'' Lindelof says none of this is arbitrary; exposure to electromagnetism or radiation plays a role. But he adds: ''Looking for specific rules for how all this works will lead you down the path of insanity.''

PARADOX R/X, or ''HOW COURSE CORRECTION WORKS'' To be clear, Desmond's past was different before ''The Constant.'' Before his time-travel adventure, Desmond never met Faraday at Oxford, never got Penelope's digits. As a consequence of changing the past, Desmond's personal history has been ''course corrected'' by The Powers That Be, beginning from the moment he walked away from Penny's apartment. Lindelof says this interpretation is also correct. But here's a Big Question: since scoring Penelope's phone number, has Course-Corrected Desmond lived his life knowing that on Christmas Eve 2004, he MUST be on a freighter in the South Pacific in order to make a call to Penelope if he wants any chance of having a future with her? Lindelof says this is indeed a matter we should be mulling. Perhaps in the future, Lost will give us an episode that replays Desmond's backstory (getting the boat from Libby; killing Kelvin; meeting the castaways) from the point of view of this knowingness.