Things I Noticed – "Every Man for Himself" by Vozzek69,

Officially, I think season three has started out better than season two. There’s a lot more suspense, and a lot more sense of urgency. We’re also getting a lot of answers (or are we?) where last season we only got more questions. Here’s the major things I noticed:

The Hatch Isn’t The Only Thing Imploding

The Others are vulnerable - finally! This episode took a big step toward showing us the chinks in their armor. Between Jack watering the seeds of discontent in Juliet’s head (much like Ben did to Locke last season) and Pickett watching his wife die, I think we can expect some very big dissention within the ranks of the Others. Ben’s leadership is in question, and his control is slipping. I still think he may have been involved with Colleen (behind Pickett’s back of course) and that may surface later to add fuel to the fire.

Two Days Since the Sky Turned Purple

Mr. Friendly also goes on to say they’re “blind” and that their “coms are still down”. This tells us two things: one, that only two days have passed since last season’s finale, but more importantly, that the Others didn’t expect the sky to go purple. Maybe Ben wanted the hatch to implode due to a lack of entering the numbers… but it seems that Desmond turning the key wasn’t part of their master plan.

Sweet Jesus

Watch the opening scene again, as the camera does a slow pan around Desmond. Watch as the back of his hand comes into view. See that? There’s sand there; a small circle of sand with a darker spot in the middle… as if he had a hole in his hand. A crucification reference. More Jesus stuff.

No Time

As soon as Colleen died, Jack says “Time of Death…” and looks around the room for a clock. Guess what? No clock. Another time reference. This is an allusion to the fact that the Others don’t care what time it is. To them, everything is timeless.

Kate Finally Decides

The big romantic reveal here – Kate loves Jack. Sawyer’s “every man for himself” philosophy was shot down by Kate’s adherence to Jack’s “live together die alone”. And the “I only said that so they’d stop beating you” was like kicking him in the ribs. We see Sawyer at his most vulnerable here. In one episode he gets beaten physically (by Pickett), mentally (thorough the pacemaker ruse), and now emotionally by Kate. Despite all the people crying about how she would be better with Sawyer, I think most people wanted her to end up with Jack anyway. I definitely did. No one wants to see a sappy romantic Sawyer.

Desmond Knows…

Any doubts as to whether or not Desmond can see into the future were stomped into the ground this week, and I’m sure many ‘rational explanation for everything’ people will be grumbling. As if knowing exactly where the lightning would stike wasn’t enough to convince us, the producers also threw in Charlie & Claire’s tent falling apart. But now ask yourself something: While it may seem startling that Desmond suddenly has these crazy powers, are they really all that different from what Locke and Walt did in season one?

Can Desmond really predict the future? Or is he causing the future by design?

Let me explain…

I've theorized (my manifestation theory) that certain things happen on the island because people will them to happen, even subconsciously. Thoughts, doubts, fears, beliefs – these things manifest themselves into existence, from Jack needing (and finding) water and shelter at the caves to Sun needing (and finding) a pregnancy test. I remember once Locke predicted exactly when it would start raining – right down to the second. I also remember Michael telling Walt he would go looking for his dog “as soon as it stops raining”. Walt looked at the sky for a second… and the rain immediately stopped. And don’t get me started about all the die rolls Walt needed (and made) during his game of backgammon with Hurley…

So the question becomes this: Did Desmond really see a future vision of Claire’s tent falling apart, or did Claire’s tent fall apart because Desmond thought it would? Hmm. I’m reminded sharply of The Matrix, when Neo broke the Oracle’s vase. She predicted that he would… but afterward she said to him: “What will really bake your noodle later on is whether or not you would’ve broken if I hadn’t said anything…”

In short, I’m thinking Desmond is now suddenly ‘attuned’ to the island, much like Locke and Walt were. He’s feeling it. He’s not completely sure of it yet, but he knows.

Paulo is a Dummy

Paulo’s an idiot. The 5-iron is one of the most useful clubs in the bag. I like him less and less.




Because We’re Not Killers

Ben reiterated yet again that they’re “not killers”, which made me think to myself – whom exactly have the Others killed? And I was surprised to realize that so far, they’ve killed NO ONE. Everyone will point to the fact that Ethan killed Scott, but we never really saw that happen. Other than that, I can’t think of a single person who died by their hands. Not directly, anyway.

Sawyer – Conned Three Times In One Episode

For someone who cons people for a living, Sawyer isn’t exactly good at recognizing it. That pacemaker story was awful. Anyone could tell Ben was just making it up. The fact he fell for it hook line and sinker was pretty lame, but I was glad they revealed it before the end of the episode. Nothing would be worse than watching Sawyer spend the rest of the season watching his heart rate.

Con number two, I think, was his daughter. There is no Clementine Ford. Sawyer’s ex-mark of a girlfriend made that crap up to lay a guilt trip on him OR because she knew deep down he’d go soft enough to lay out money for her. Whether she was in on the whole warden/$10 million dollar backstory and knew Sawyer would be getting a reward… I don’t know. But I’ll bet we find out next flashback that his ex-girl ended up with all the money he laid out for his “daughter”. Damn, what a sucker.

Finally, I think Ben chumps Sawyer in the final minutes of the episode, too. He shows him the island, yet when Sawyer asks him “Why are you showing me this” he replies “Because to get the respect of a con man, you have to con him”. What’s that mean exactly? Is he conning him right to his face? Is that really the island? Or is that just a mirror image of the island they’re already standing on?

Looking behind Ben we can see the same alarm poles the Others have used all through the compound as well as in their own town, which we already know is on the other (main) island. Just how much construction did Dharma do? The answer to that is: none. But that’s a different theory entirely…

Also remember Ben’s words: “That’s your island”. Why is it only Sawyer’s island if Ben lives on it too? Hmm…

The Island’s Will – And The Definition of Good

Finally, I think we’re getting a clearer definition of ‘good’, at least in the way the Others refer to it. It sure doesn’t mean a person that’s morally good – instead, it’s a person that’s good for a specific purpose.

Someone’s got a tumor on his or her spine, and it’s no big surprise that Jack’s a spinal surgeon. This is nothing new – we’ve always known everyone was brought to the island “for a reason” (except Hurley), even if we didn’t exactly know what the reasons were just yet. This week we found out Jack’s reason… OR… the Others are lying again (which is always a possibility).

Quite obviously, the Others need Kate and Sawyer for something – otherwise they would’ve just ditched them they way they ditched Hurley. When Mr. Friendly points out that Pickett wants to kill Sawyer, Ben tells him “Well he’s going to have to wait”. Wait for what? Probably for Sawyer to fulfill whatever purpose he’s supposed to. After that, I guess he’s fair game.

More and more, it seems the island’s will drives everything – the Others included. I don’t think the Others expected the plane crash, but once they saw it they knew there would be survivors. They knew certain survivors would’ve been brought to that island for a purpose, and they needed lists of names to find out exactly who and what. These were the people “on the list”. These were the good people. This, I think, is our final answer.

And who brought these people to the island to begin with? The island itself did.

I really do believe it was the island that saved the main characters from the plane crash. It was the island that saved Desmond, Locke, and Eko from the hatch implosion. These people had not fulfilled the island’s requirement of them – which is why they’re still breathing. Somehow the island’s will is involved in all this… it’s on much too grand a scale to be a simple human-contrived conspiracy.