What Kate Did, and Where Claire's Been

Holy mother of Aaron, she's back.

Numerous signs in last week's episode pointed to a full-blown reappearance from Miss. Littleton, but whether it was because I was so caught up in the magnitude of 'wtf' that I neglected to pick up on them, or whether the powers that be had not yet deigned to confirm that these were indeed signs, I'm not sure.

Initially, it all followed on fairly routineley from last week. As I said in my last article, Kate jumping in the same cab was a precursor to her continued future involvement with Claire, and more importantly, with Aaron – as fate deems she must. So even when Kate ditches Claire at the side of the road, we should already have known that Kate would be back, cuddly orca and all. Throughout the rest of the Alt-verse portion of this episode, we see the beginnigs of a bond forming between the two women something akin to what they shared on the island, and by the end of the episode, Kate has Claire's credit card: a woman of Kate's talents should have no trouble tracking Claire down again with the information that such a thing provides. And she will, I promise.

What really made me slap my hands on the table in front of me and send me into a paddy of gobsmacked shock (because this is, after all, what I do on a regular basis) was the final ten minutes of this episode. The previous thirty minutes had danced around the testing of the resurrected Sayid, and whether Dogen's intentions towards him were noble. Of course, they were, but not in the way you might immediately think.

It's pretty clear already that the infection – the infection, of which Danielle Rosseau was so scared, the infection that she claimed had changed Robert, Brennan and Lacombe after their encounter with the smoke monster – will be a major plot device this season. It's worrying enough for Danielle to kill her lover, and for Dogen to attempt to poison Sayid, and with the revalation that Claire was also infected, we just know some more people are going to be taken by it.

And in the final scene, with Jin at the mercy of Aldo (shut up Justin!), came her reappearance-proper, all eyes of thunder and full of wrath.

Claire has been one of Lost's biggest unanswered mysteries for me, but now things are sort of falling into place. Her disappearance has thus far gone unexplained: all we know is that she wondered off into the jungle following an apparition of her father, Christian. By know we're well aware of the ability that Jacob's nemesis posseses – to appear in the form of dead people. He appeared to Mr. Eko in the form of his brother Yemi, to Benjamin Linus as Alex Rosseau, his adoptive daughter, and most recently as John Locke. Each of these appearances has been closely followed by the appearance of 'ole Smokey in all it's – or should I say say his – vengeful glory. We can say with almost certain authority that Cerberus and Jacob's nemesis are one and the same.

Although the appearance of Christian has never been linked directly to the smoke monster on-screen, there are still strong reasons to think that this apparition is also Cerberus in disguise, not least of all the personal connection: Yemi to Eko, Alex to Ben, and Christian to Claire? Now that we know Claire has also been infected by the smoke monster, we can begin to make some assumptions about the company she has kept since she disappeared.

Remember her shock appearance in Jacob's cabin upon Locke's visit there? Christian, who was also present, gave Locke some seemingly benevolent instructions, and we assumed that his assertation that he was speaking for Jacob was the truth. It was, in fact, more likely that this was Cerberus in disguise once more. The ring of ash that surrounded Jacob's refuge, which we now know is a protective measure against the smoke monster, and which had been in tact on previous visits, was now incomplete, most likely disturbed by Hurley. Moreover, we briefly hear Jacob's voice, pleading with Locke to “help me”. I think Jacob was in trouble here, but something prevented his nemesis from harming him at this time – the law Cerberus eventually found a loophole in, in all liklihood.

I believe this all has something to do with Aaron. The family connection is there, but what else? I love me some theories, and one of my favourites regarding the importance of Aaron (because he is important, trust me) is that he is crucial to the balance of power between Jacob and the Man in Black. With Jacob now dead, it's clear that something has changed, but what?

The reason that Aaron is special, as the theory goes, is that he has something to do with safeguarding Jacob. Some believe that Jacob, or his spirit, is able to live on through those born on the island, or even that he can be completely resurrected through them. Aaron was born on the island, and as such is a very rare case, due to that fatal malady that affects women who fall pregnant on the island. Before Aaron arrived, he had the possibility of Ethan Rom, and if my guess is correct, there were many others before Ethan.

If this is true, then Cerberus most definitely does not want him on the island. And if the Christian connection is to be believed, then he has tried his damndest to get the little chap off the island for good.

Just before the Kahana exploded, Christian appeared (heralded by whispers, which as we know is a trait of the smoke monster) once again, this time to Michael, just before the bomb was about to go off, and told him he could leave. This was slightly mysterious as far as Michael is concerned, but in relation to our cause, his calm and composure could be interpreted as pleasure in a job well done. Aaron, safely aboard the helicopter and destined for a return to civilisation, was as good as gone.

These two events coincide nicely. The turbulence of the island moving through time surely prevented Cerberus from acting, but once the body of John Locke came back to the island and the jumping stopped, it was his big moment.

Remember how John was meant to bring everybody back to the island? How it was imperative that he did so? This was reiterate when Jack and Ben took over the mantle, and they thought they were so clever, even remembering to bring John's coffin.

Well they failed. Spectacularly, because Ben's a dumb ass. Because who did they forget?

Aaron.

No Aaron, no resurrection vessel for Jacob, no obstacles for Cerberus. Bye-bye Jacob, hello trouble.

'Let's not start the name calling...'

So, unless you've been living under a rock for the past five years and have no idea why you have come across this blog when you were really looking for tips about how to find your way when Completely Freaking Lost, you will be over the moon with the fact Lost is back (baby!!). We at Completely Freaking Lost have promised to be a lot more organised this time around, with week by week updates regarding the episodes.

So here's the first, at least from me. As my colleague has mentioned we have split the Season opener by realities. Now a lot happened on the island last week, far too much for me too talk about in one meagre post, so I've decided to focus on ONE subject. In fact I've decided to focus on three individual sentences, all three of which was said by the same character. Cerberus.

'Who in Hell is this Cerberus?!' I hear you cry. For those of you who don't know, and shame on you, Cerberus is the name given to the black smoke by the two Dharma agents stationed in the Swan - these two agents drew a map onto one of the walls, on which they had pointed out four 'Cerberus vents'. At Comic Con 2007, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof confirmed that Cerberus was the name Dharma used for the black smoke. I, for one, don't think that the name should not be taken lightly given its placement in Greek mythology. I'll talk more about that a bit later, but first lets talk about the first thing 'Ole Smokey said that set the bells in my head ringing.


1. 'I'm not a what, I'm a who...'

After beating the pulp out of the armed men who stormed Jacobs quarters, we were given the revelation, somewhat predictably, that the 'John Locke' that had returned to the island last season was in fact not 'John Locke' at all. It was Cerberus masquerading as John Locke in order to fulfill some, as yet unknown, goal. Ben Linus asked him what he was and the first of my sentences up for analysis was the reply given. This is a massive answer for us. All throughout Lost we have thought as the monster as the name would suggest. A monster. Not as a person, either mythical or otherwise, but as an entity that could not be defined as human. This, to me, begs a very simple question: is Cerberus a regular person or a figure from religion/mythology? The answer you come up with in turn begs further questions. If Cerberus is indeed just a regular human being then how the Sam-Hell did he end up being able to do the things he does? Is it down to the amount of time spent on the island? Perhaps a failed experiment by some society we're yet to encounter? The possibilities are endless.

If Cerberus is a person or figure from a Religious background or Countries Mythology then, again, we're posed with a lot of options. Like I said earlier the name Cerberus should not be taken lightly, Cerberus was the Greek equivalent to the guardian of the Underworld, and we all know how Lost fans love to make connections to the constant Heaven/Hell/Purgatory hints being thrown at us. Sometimes it seems like J.J Abrams is spinning us a yarn to distract us from the truth, others it seems like 'The Island is Purgatory' is a very believable answer to the big question.

As an addition to this section, I noticed that every time Cerberus was asked for his name he would be interrupted before he could answer. This also seems highly significant and the name he uses for himself will give us massive insight in to who and what he is.

OK, lets move on. This next one has literally been running laps around my head all week long.

2. 'Hello Richard, it's nice to see you out of those chains...'

This simple line was loaded with secrets and the build up to it was just as interesting. Richard notices the flare that 'The Others' had set off and then saw Locke walking towards him, a man he knew to be dead. He instantly knew what he was facing and he looked terrified. Which is unlike Richard Alpert. Considering we have never seen Richard scared, threatened, threatening or injured you have to ask why he looked so terrified. I think that Locke/Cerberus' comment to Richard, in my opinion, means one of two things.

1. Richard was a Prisoner aboard the Black Rock.
For a long time now people have speculated that Richard Alpert landed on the island aboard the ship marooned there, The Black Rock, and that further than just being on the Black Rock he was actually the Captain. But this comment could mean he wasn't the captain at all, but that he was a prisoner in the ship and was set free by Cerberus or Jacob. This theory is given weight by the fact that during the season five finale we see Jacob and another man sat on the beach staring out at the Black Rock at sea. I think the other man on the beach with Jacob was Cerberus and that when the ship crashed onto the Island the two of them searched the ship and found Richard locked up in the brig.

2. Richard was no longer immortal due to Jacobs death
This theory ties in with something else, the Rejuvenation Pool that the Others have in the temple. It was obviously linked to Jacob somehow and because Ben had a hissy fit and killed him the Rejuvenation Pool is now broken. I think we can cite the spring as the source of Richards eternal youth and now, without it, Richard is weak and vulnerable. Perhaps Richard's 'immortality' granted him the strength to take on Cerberus and now he has lost that strength. He is free of the 'chains' of immortality, free of his dependence on the spring to be forever young and strong.

Again the possible theories and they're ramifications on events are endless. As with everything in Lost. One thing I know for sure is that Nestor Carbonell, the actor playing Richard, is set to feature in 16 of the 18 episodes of this season. So we can assume we'll get a swift answer to what Cerberus meant by his comment.

And finally, the last thing Cerberus said that I think is interesting.


3. 'I'm disappointed, in all of you.'
I have no idea what he meant by this. But I think its worth noting. For me it throws up questions about whether or not Cerberus could well be the good guy in all of this and is disappointed that everyone is opposing him. Perhaps he is disappointed that no-one has helped him in any way and that they have forced into a situation he doesn't want to play out. Perhaps it was a massive red herring and I'll be eating my words next week, given that I have chosen to ignore the whole 'I want to go home' malarkey that everyone else has gone mad over.

As with all Lost season openers, and indeed all Lost episodes, last week posed plenty of questions and gave us lots of answers. I'm literally counting the minutes until I get to watch 'What Kate Did' and do this all again so until next time, Namaste and Good luck.

How LAX Was Far From Lax: Part the First

Aaaand we're back. Last week we saw the return of Jack, Sawyer, Locke (or did we?) and friends. There was a lot to mull over, so you'll have to forgive the lateness of this post.

My fellow writers and I have decided to split this week's 'turbulent' (sorry) double bill between us, but not by episode, but by reality, because this season the writers are not using flashbacks or flashforwards, but flashsideways (flashes sideways?).

The big question on everyone's lips regarding season five's 'explosive' finale was this: did it work? Did the bomb go off when Juliet started wailing on it? If so, did the resulting EMP blast negate the pocket of electromagnetic energy under the building site of what would become the Swan station? Did this prevent Oceanic 815 from ever crashing?

Well, yes. And no.

You see, we now have two alternative timelines. The first bit of new footage we saw in the very first episode was a mirror of the opening of season one. Only the plane doesn't crash: it merely hit a pocket of turbulence, before continuing safely on its way to land at LAX. Wait a minute, that didn't happen. So they managed to save themselves? Season over?

You bet your left testicle they didn't, and here's why. It all hinges on something she-wizard Eloise Hawking said to Desmond way back in season three. She told him that no matter what you try to do, you can't change the past. She is, of course, speaking from experience: she killed her son (as a grown man, but before she even had him).

Although the passengers of 815 seem to have escaped the island, they will not escape their fates. We've already started to see evidence of this. Edward Mars, the U.S. Marshall who had Kate in handcuffs, was originally bonked on the head by some unsecured overhead luggage and received a nasty cut above his left eyebrow. Although he escaped this on the plane itself, when Kate smacks his head into a sink in the airport bathrooms, his recieves a wound – you guessed it – above his left eyebrow. Coincidence? In Lost? Never.

In saving Charlie, too, we see a repeat: this was not the first time Jack has used his mad surgical skillz, utilising naught but a pen.

Character interactions in the airport have thrown up some more evidence to support this theory. John Locke was miraculously healed when he landed on the island. Ironically, one of his fellow passengers was the only man who could have helped him with his debilitating spinal injury – he just didn't need him way back in season one.. Isn't it convenient that now he is 'back' in his wheelchair he meets this same man again. Jack even gives John his business card. The two of them will meet again, and I would place money on it being on the operating table.

One other moment was only fleeting, but as Kate sought to escape Edward, she jumped into a cab with the heavily pregnant Clare. Clare is somewhat incidental, but I believe that Aaron is going to play an important role in this season of Lost, and this moment brought he and Kate together for the first time.

Somewhat interesting are the significant changes we saw. These include Hugo's run of luck (apparently nothing bad ever happens to him now), various changes in the seating plan and Desmond. What the hell was he doing there, brother?

My final bit of evidence is Charlie's gloomy line to Jack: “I was supposed to die”. Yes Charlie, yes you were. But not yet...

The Reduced Shakespeare Company: Lost 1-5 in Ten Minutes

Just a quick one, ahead of our analyses of the season 6 premiere LAX.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company, in their infinite wisdom, have deemed Lost worthy of their epic treatment. That's 140-odd hours of Lost condensed into ten minutes. Brilliant.

You can watch it here. Enjoy, and keep your eyes peeled.