I'm not dead yet.

Looks like the episode title, “This Place is Death,” was no idle threat.

Discussion of death, life and everything after the jump. SPOILERS AHOY.

Charlotte, we hardly knew ye. I thought for sure, when she talked about possibly meeting Daniel in the past, he was going to play the “I’m your constant” card and she would be fine. I guess not.

And with Charlotte dead, who will translate for Jin? Not the guy “from Encino.”

Yes, Charlotte was a kid on the island. Now, who’s her father? What’s up with her mother denying the island’s existence and telling Charlotte it didn’t really exist. Very Alice-ish.

Now, what’s up with The Sickness? Guess it wasn’t any of the things mentioned here last week. Either the Smoke Monster/Jacob/someone at the Temple brainwashed Rousseau’s crew or Rousseau’s great at overreacting. Of course, her husband (?) did pull the trigger on her, so let’s hope there’s more of an explanation soon.

Wasn’t it great to see Smokey again? So, it’s the “security system for the Temple?” Does that mean the Others can control it, since that’s where Ben sent them last season? And nice to see Smokey dish out some kharmic justice to Blond Frenchy.

Who was broadcasting the numbers? Dharma? The Others? Was this already established a couple seasons ago? (if only we were one of those lucky journalists who got the episodes ahead of time. We would certainly come off a lot smarter if we could look everything up with a few days advance notice.)

Was that an editorial cheat with Sun and her phone call? Shouldn’t we have seen that last week?

Let’s hope Locke fixed the Island. The ever-quickening flashes are now just a smidge annoying.

A friend mentioned tonight that he thinks Sun/Jin is now a bigger romance than even Desmond/Penny. I don’t know about that yet, but it’s certainly leaps and bounds over the Jack/Kate/Sawyer/Juliet conflagration.

Three cheers for Ben for finally going off on someone. That was almost a “Duck! Rabbit! Duck!” moment in the van.

Hey Jack, three years late for that apology.

Locke just can’t get a break, other than the nasty compound fracture. I guess he arrived being unable to walk and he’ll leave that way too.

Did we see the most inopportune time-jump ever tonight?

Was that Locke going down the Rabbit Hole?

Once again, what’s up with Christian Shepherd? Is he a ghost? Resurrected? Being possessed by Jacob?

And when Christian/Jacob tells you to do something, you better do it. And don’t listen to Ben either.

That wedding ring is probably going to be a really big plot point moving forward. Did Locke just give it to Ben? Did Ben kill Locke for it? Etc., etc.

And the mystery of Faraday’s mother is solved. Love the giant Foucault’s Pendulum.

Thought unrelated to the plot: Does the music seem more “Hitchcocky” to anyone else?

Next week: Windows as travel method? Will this be like the Madame du Pompadour episode of Doctor Who? Might we see Sayid riding a horse crashing through a giant mirror or window? We’ll see.

13 COMMENTS

  1. Hmm, is Charlotte Ben’s daughter with Annie? Could explain why Charlotte was sent away, and why Ben would want a daughter (alex) Also she couldn’t remember her mother’s name, which indicates we might have recognized it. If Farraday told ben she would die as well, then he would have sent here away and never want her to come back.

  2. “Thought unrelated to the plot: Does the music seem more “Hitchcocky” to anyone else?”

    You know, the few episodes I’ve seen of Fringe this year I’d find myself thinking of Lost because of that distinct “Bad Robot program string dominated soundtrack” But now that you mention it, last night had A LOT more of a Bernard Herrmann influence sound then normal.

    And that’s not a bad thing.

  3. I am enjoying this ride while it’s still on the air. I’ve got a bad feeling when LOST wraps up there will be a huge void that few if any will be able to fill. I look forward to someone, will do a LOST encyclopedia when the series ends. I think that will be great reading.

    This season has been a lot of fun so far. I think they are doing a wonderful job in the subtle changes with Sawyer.

    Beau Smith
    The Flying Fist Ranch

  4. Oh, and speaking of the show’s music. I mentioned a couple of months ago in my column that while watching the DVD set of THE INVADERS: First Complete Season, that LOST uses in tribute some of the key dramatic music from The Invaders. A really nice tip of the hat there.

    Beau Smith
    The Flying Fist Ranch

  5. Re: Charlotte’s dad–

    I think it’s significant that her only languages besides English are Korean and Klingon.

    Meaning, of course, that her dad is really Commander Koloth, jaunting back to the LOST world as a tie-in to the DEEP SPACE time-jaunt back to TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES.

  6. All of this time, I’ve sort of thought of the island as a benevolent force, but now I’m starting think that its not such a positive entity. Maybe the island is bad news after all.

    The return of Smokey was bad ass. Did Russo and Jin ever meet up in the present day?

  7. “Was that an editorial cheat with Sun and her phone call? Shouldn’t we have seen that last week?”

    I don’t believe so…as I recall, she never got out of the car before the previous episode ended, she just looked in her purse at a gun.

  8. Yeah, Michael Giacchino’s score cues during the whole Jin/Team Rousseau/Smoke Monster sequence were quite Herrmann-esque, weren’t they? I hope those cues wind up on the Lost season five score CD.

    Favorite lines from last night: undoubtedly Miles’ “He’s Korean; I’m from Encino” and Christian/Jacob/the island’s “Since when did listening to [Ben] get you anywhere worth a damn?”

  9. “Did Russo and Jin ever meet up in the present day?”

    Yes. Not sure what season the episode is from, but she sees Jin on the beach and says “I saw you disappear!”

    My favorite line from last night was after Locke told Jack’s ghost dad that Ben turned the wheel he responded with “That. Wasn’t. What. You. Were. Told. To. Do!”

  10. Richard, Rousseau’s line was in last night’s episode, I think.

    I definitely enjoyed last night’s episode, although two more female sacrifices. (Nadine never even got a line, did she?) It seems like things are getting solved and events are happenings, not jsut more mysteries, and it’s an exciting feelings.

    Charlotte was surprisingly moving in her death scene, and like everyone else, I enjoyed the music cues, esp. the “Noble Death Theme” that crops up every time that happens!

  11. Oh and PS: I just remembered what I disliked the most about this episode: couldn’t they have given the 1980s Frenchies 80s clothes and haircuts? That would have been so cool. I know ther eis only so much you can do on a TV budget, but one mullet (as worn among the French to this DAY) would have ment so much.

    I watched about 10 minutes of LIFE ON MARS afterwards and the lack of period detail just ruined it for me.

    I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. IF GARTH MARENGHI CAN DO IT, ANYONE CAN.

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