Episode - "?"

Recap: Lost Episode “?”
Air Date: Wednesday: May 10th 2006

This episode probably should have been called “Mr. Eko sees dead people!”

In a dream (or perhaps not), a dead Ana-Lucia comes to Mr. Eko and tells him to help John Locke find the “question mark.” Then his brother, the priest, comes to him in another dream with the same advice. Mr. Eko’s life flashes before his eyes.

Ana-Lucia is dead and Libby clings to life. Michael frets the outcome.

What about Henry? It appears that he shot three people. He’s on the run and Jack wants retribution but that is left to Locke and Eko. Eko and Locke head off into the jungle to find “Henry Gale”.

FLASHBACK: Eko is attempting to make his way to America but is interrupted by his Monsignor to investigate a miracle. We find out that a drowned girl who was dead for two days comes back to life during the autopsy.

Kate tells Hurley about Libby and he races to the hatch to sit by Libby’s side.

Meanwhile, back in the jungle… (I always wanted to find a place to use that phrase) Locke and Eko share a dream in which Locke is Eko!?! This bizarre dream leads them to the discovery of a new hatch (Station 5 –The Pearl). Locke and Eko switch perspectives. Locke believes that he has been wasting his time with useless button pushing while Eko now believes it is the most important thing they can do! What gives?

Inside the Pearl hatch Eko and Locke see two lounge chairs facing nine T.V. screens. They also find and view the Orientation video for Station # 5 The Pearl. There are composition books and a pneumatic tube for sending the composition books filled with data back to the Dharma Initiative.

FLASHBACK: In the airport the girl who was drowned meets Eko. It seems she has a message for him. “Yemi says you were a good priest.” Yemi, Eko’s brother has been dead quite some time but the girl says she met him on the other side.

Back at the hatch Libby tries to tell Jack and Hurley about the shootings but with her dying breath she simply says, “Michael!”


Discussion and Observations

General Discussion and Observations:
1. The drowned girl’s father is none-other than the Psychic, Malkin, that Claire went to visit before flying to Los Angeles.
2. The “miracle” drowned/revived girl confronts Eko in the Airport and Libby comes up to them from behind and inquires if everything is all right.
3. Because Jack needed a painkiller for Libby and Sawyer had the Virgin Mary statues with the heroin in them we now know where Sawyer is hiding the guns. Do you think he’ll move them before Jack needs them?
4. And how angry is “Henry Gale” going to be at our bunch of survivors? Remember, he told Locke that his leader was a brilliant man but unforgiving! A portent of things to come?
5. We find out that Eko was a priest in Australia. Did he study at college or is it a ruse?
6. The “miracle” girl tells Eko's that his brother Yemi said that even though Eko was pretending he was still a good person.
7. Is stepping on a Virgin Mary bad luck? If so, Mr. Eko is in for his share!
8. I thought for sure that Libby’s death would happen in the season finale and that they would drag it out. This is another episode where we see the writers concentrating on moving the story forward.

The Pearl Hatch
Since I love the mythology of LOST (witness my LOST game blog) most of this week’s discussion is going to be about the new hatch [Station 5 – The Pearl] (and who isn’t discussing this now).

1. Is the Pearl hatch the Accelerated Remote Viewing Training Facility that Thomas Mittlewerk talks about in his voice mail message to Hugh McIntyre from the Lost Experience game? The Pearl looks exactly like the ARVTF sounds, a remote viewing station!
2. The log that Locke prints out is very interesting. It seems that the viewers/researchers/workers from the Pearl Hatch are also pushing buttons but it seems not at 108-minute increments. If you look closely at the number the accepted numbers are much closer together in time than one hour and forty-eight minutes. More to come on this when I can study the printed log better.
3. The nine T.V. screens seem to correspond to the all the stations. So, there are nine different locations to remote view and only six hatches (according to the blast door map.) Although, one could argue that the CV locations could be included, and probably are. Also, from the Orientation Videos/films we know that there are only six videos/films: “Dharma Initiative – Orientation – 5 of 6” which should mean only six hatches.
4. The narrator of the Orientation video introduces himself as Dr. Mark Wickman (Wickmund, Wickand) (5 of 6 Pearl) and both his hands work but in the earlier Orientation film (3 of 6 Swan) he introduces himself as Dr. Marvin Candell (Kandell, Candle) and has a bum hand, which later is verified by the writers as being prosthetic. What gives? This would suggest that the “original” Orientation film was actually produced after the video appearing in “?”. Regardless of what name he uses he is, without a doubt, the same person. Why two different names for the different orientations? Obviously, neither is his real name. Why the blatant anonymity? He also says that the Swan inhabitants will “struggle to complete their tasks” but the Swan film only gives them a single task.
5. Who are the de Groots? (University of Michigan scientists.) But what have they to do with the island and the Hanso Foundation? The original orientation film states that the Dharma Initiative was founded in 1970 by University of Michigan doctoral candidates Karen and Gerald de Groot and financed by the mysterious Hanso Foundation, apparently composed of a group of “scientists and free thinkers” from around the world who were brought together at a “large-scale communal research compound” on the island to conduct research in various disciplines, including meteorology, psychology, parapsychology, zoology, and electromagnetism. American psychologist and Walden Two author B.F. Skinner is cited as an influence on the de Groots’ work. (from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dharma_Initiative)
6. Why was the circle near the Pearl Hatch marked with salted earth? And why be visible from the air?
7. The narrator also states that after the eight week time limit is up that the viewers can make their way to the “Apollo Ferry to return back to the barracks.” This can only mean one of two things: A. There is another island located close by where the workers go to relax and/or live, or B. The mainland is close enough to reach by ferryboat. Hmm…
8. The narrator states unequivocally that the Pearl Hatch is for viewing Psychological Experiments.
9. MJS brings up a good point. Are the viewings recorded? If so Locke and Eko could rewind the Swan hatch video and see what really happened when Ana-Lucia and Libby were shot. It seems from the previews for next week that Jack and Lock already know that Michael was somehow involved.
10. The narrator also states that when the composition books are filled they should be rolled up and inserted into the tube for transport back to the Dharma Initiative. Does this mean that they are relatively close to the Dharma and that they too are on the island? P.S. I want a Dharma composition book… they are so cool!
11. Eko and Locke find the Pearl Hatch. The notation on the blast door for “?”: “Designation Unknown? Purpose Unknown? Relation to D.I.H.G. Unknown. Nil Actum Reputa Si Quid Superest Agendum (“Consider nothing done if anything remains to be done.”) Note that it did not take an entire season to get inside and explore the newest hatch.
12. The first thing I thought of when I saw the T.V. screens in the Pearl hatch was the www.subLYMONal.com page (from the Lost ARG). Very similar to my eye!
13. Hopefully, someone has the sense to go over the papers that Eko took from the Pearl hatch. There may be important information there. However, no one seems to be studying the island in depth. Locke would be the most likely candidate but even he, it seem, is only interested in finding the next hatch.
14. It looks like no one has been in the Pearl hatch for a long time. There was dust on top of all the items on the table, the printer was mottled with what look like moss or mold and the paint was peeling off the walls. How long has it been abandoned?
15. Why the Pearl? Easy, one definition for pearl is: a shape that is spherical and small. Pretty much hits the nail on the head.

Mr. Eko’s Flashing Life Sequence
Thanks to the controls on our DVR we were able to slow down the sequence of flashes in Mr. Eko’s “life flashing before his eyes” scene. The images are as follows:
1. The tail section survivors on the beach right after the crash
2. A scene from the jungle with the smoke monster
3. Unidentified floating dead body (in purple striped shirt)
4. The Dharma Swan Hatch symbol
5. Yemi’s (Mr. Eko’s brother) cross lying on the ground
6. The feet of the children, taken by the others, as they walk by
7. The teddy bear carried by one of the children, taken by the others
8. A fire on the beach
9. Nine Virgin Mary statues
10. The burning smugglers plane
11. Mr. Eko’s brother Yemi, when he was living
12. The Dharma Arrow Hatch symbol
13. Eko’s hands holding a copy of the Holy Bible
14. Mr. Eko’s Jesus stick
15. Close up of Locke’s face (with a shocked expression)
16. Mr. Eko and the smoke with his brothers face as a small child superimposed on the surface of the smoke
17. Yemi’s decomposed body with the cross
18. Yemi’s decomposed skull
19. The smugglers plane taking off from Nigeria
20. Truck with soldiers coming to get Mr. Eko in Nigeria
21. A scene of Yemi yelling
22. The Orientation guy (Mark Wickman, Mark Candell?)
23. The Dharma Swan Hatch symbol


SPOILER ALERT***** SPOILER ALERT ***** SPOILER ALERT

Here is a list of the guest stars for the season finale of LOST. This list of guest appearances may be considered spoilers. Reading further may spoil things for you. I warned you……

Malcolm David Kelley as Walt
Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond
Sam Anderson as Bernard
M.C. Gainey as Mr. Friendly
Michael Emerson as Henry Gale
Clancy Brown as Kelvin Inman
Tania Raymonde as Alex
April Grace as Ms. Klugh
Alan Dale as Charles Widmore
Stephen Page as Master Sergeant
Michael Bowen as Pickett
Sonya Walger as Penelope
Len Cordova as man no. 1
Alex Petrovitch as man no. 2
Eyal Podell as young man
Cathy Foy as receptionist
(From the www.thetailsection.com)

Who is Charles Widmore?
So Clancy Brown is both Kelvin (of the Swan hatch) and Kate’s Dad?

Only two more episodes left! Those of you not following the game… should!
Season 2 DVD’s will not be available until October 6th, 2006