Episode Recap: Lighthouse

Welcome to this week's episode, during which I'm live-blogging ... we'll see how that works!

• Woah, Jack has a son?! And an angsty one too ...
• LOVE the island tic-tac-toe game
• Are they seriously going to introduce a NEW character at this point, or is Jacob talking about someone we already know coming to the island?
• A new book: The Annotated Alice. I wonder, does this mean going to the island is like going down the rabbit hole?
• Claire has clearly lost track of time ...
• And it seems that Hurley didn't have any paper handy ...
• I'm guessing that the "secret passage" leads to the same cave that the Locke-Monster and Sawyer went to last week - what do you think?
• Ok, so, no, it leads to the jungle ... darn.
• What what that in Claire's cradle - a teddy bear or a dead critter? Either way, creepy.
• Claire: "Oh no, I'm not by myself."
• (Kiddo now wants to know why the black guy thinks Claire is going to kill him and Jin.)
• Kate: "Jack?! I almost shot you."
• Off-island Jack isn't a big drinker - now THAT'S a nice change.
• He IS a rather clueless dad though.
• And now Jack's mom learns about Claire ...
• Claire's been talking to her father and her "friend" ... I wonder if both of them were manifestations of the smoke monster?
• Ah, we're back at the cave with the skeletons from Season 1 (I think, right?)
• When Jack grabbed the rabbit statue I thought he was going to break into his ex-wife's house ... but he was just going for the key.
• Jack's son saved his dad's message from Australia ... maybe there's hope for their relationship yet.
• Hurley's comments to Jack about being "old school" as they're walking through the jungle are hilarious!
• Jack: "I came back here because I was broken, and I was stupid enough to think this place could fix me."
• Wait, there's ANOTHER temple?! Oh, no, it's just a lighthouse ... ?!
• EEW! Claire just hacked the Other guy in stomach with an axe. I totally didn't see THAT coming.
• Jack: "It doesn't say anything on your arm about the door being jammed?" HA!
• Jack's son is a fabulous pianist, and it's making daddy cry. (Yes, Jack is crying ... are we really surprised?)
• Woah, Dogan is at the music conservancy ...
• Poor Hurley is exhausted after climbing to the top of the lighthouse. And it has taken me until now to realize that this might in some way be connected to the "real world" Lamppost station.
• Did you notice all the names on the lighthouse dial?
• How do those mirrors work?! I want to know what the deal is!
• Oh yeah, breaking the mirrors is REALLY the best solution to this whole situation. Way to go Jack.
• Aw, Jack and his son are bonding ... YAY!
  
• Hurley: "That was your plan? I think it backfired man."
• Jacob: "You can't warn them Hugo. I'm sorry, it's too late."
• Jin obviously wants to get back to the temple and away from Claire ... I think I would too. Poor Claire, I always loved her character and now she is so ... um ... creepy?
• I was right - the Locke-Monster is Claire's friend!

Ok, so, questions for everyone ...

• In previous seasons, who else besides Jack & Claire saw Christian Shephard? And who else saw dead people? I'm wondering who the Locke-Monster has been influencing ...
• Why doesn't off-island Jack remember having his appendix taken out?
• Is crazy-Claire the same as crazy-Rousseau, or are they each a different kind of crazy?
• Who do you think Jacob is trying to bring to the island?

That's all I've got - let's hear what you all came up with!

(And let me know if my live-blogging was fun or irritating.)

Tonight's Episode (aka This Week, I'm Ready!)

Heather J. here, just to assure you that, unlike last Tuesday, I DO remember that LOST is on tonight. I'm planning to watch it after my book club meeting (at 6:30pm) and before I call in to That's How I Blog for the 20-Minute Book Club portion of the show (around 10:00pm). I've got a schedule!

Be ready with your recaps and your comments first thing tomorrow morning because I WILL have a post here with my thoughts on the show. ;)

Episode Recap: The Substitute [Updated]

UPDATE: I finally watched the episode last night and I thought it was GREAT. An official recap would be rather redundant at this point but I there's one thing I want to mention: the long ladder going down the cliff face and to the secret cave was right out of THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (reviewed here) ... I'm just waiting to see the secret passage that leads to the bottom of a lake!

Dear Losties, I have a confession. I completely forgot that LOST was on last night. *gasp* Not only did I not watch it, I didn't record it either! *sob*

My hope is to watch it online tonight. If I do, I'll come back and add my thoughts here. But until then please link to your recaps in the comments.

*hanging my head in shame*

Amy here: You can drop your link in the linky.

LOST 6.3: What Kate Does

Oh so much LOST goodness!

Quick run down of points and then let's hear your recaps!

*Sayid has the infection! The others tried to kill him with poison, but first Jack tried to kill himself!
*Kate was almost still with Claire when Aaron was born, but she still played an important role in getting Claire to the hospital where Ethan was Claire's doctor!!!!!
*Sawyer was going to propose to Juliet and wishes to remain alone even though Kate tracked him down
*Claire is on the island! And she's like...Rousseau, but apparently, according the Others, she is evil.

Okay please share all your thoughts on your blog or in comments!

Party Hardy::LOST style

Hello fellow LOST fanatics. I want to share with you all the details of the LOST premier party I attended on Tuesday night. It was the most awesome party ever...and it was in Colorado!

Our best LOST-watching buddies moved there from our small town near St. Louis, 18 months ago. They have continued to host the same amazing LOST viewing parties that they did when they lived here but we haven't been able to attend...for obvious reasons.

But this is it. The final season. The beginning of the end. We had to go. So we acted like crazy college kids and took off on a road trip. We drove 13 hours straight through the night, stayed for two days, attended the party and then drove 13 hours straight through back home. I have to say that it was COMPLETELY WORTH IT.

I am now totally inspired to host my own super-duper-end-of-the-greatest-dramatic-series-ever-on-television party this May. Maybe you should too. Through careful observation I've determined that there are 3 keys to having a great LOST party:

#1: The Atmosphere.

Last year the party theme was "Dharma". They all ate Dharma food and wore Dharma jumpsuits and labeled everything as if it were one of the Dharma stations on the island. This year the theme was Oceanic Flight 815. So an airport and plane crash theme ruled the day.

Piles of luggage (debris) adorned the front yard and inside the house. We were greeted at the front door by an Oceanic stewardess and then ushered in to the "airport" where we had to present our boarding passes (invitations) and get our pictures taken in front of the Arrivals/Departures board (which unfortunately does not show up in this picture.) (I am Claire. Apparently my stomach looked very authentic because two people asked me if I really was pregnant. Ha!)

#2: The Food.

You can make almost any food fit with the LOST theme if you give it a Lostie name. Serve pulled pork and call it Locke's Wild Boar, etc. That's what I did with the cookies I brought for the party. I made plain sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies and chocolate cutout cookies, printed out some signs to tie them to the show and served them out of a suitcase. The fish biscuits seemed to be a big hit.One ambitious baker colored her whipped cream pie topping blue and her husband made a toothpick raft to "float" on top of the "water". Another party-goer made a lovely chocolate cake with a plane crash right on top.

#3: The Guests

Of course the best part of any party is the people. For this year's theme we were all asked to dress as someone who was on the original flight 815. People really got in to their costumes. And it was fun to watch the pilot again to get ideas for our costumes. Can you identify these characters? From left to right they are: Claire, John Locke (remember he was still in a wheelchair on the plane), Jack (post crash), Kate and Libby.

I thought Charlie looked the most authentic of anyone that was there.

This was the whole crew. Can you spot Hurley and Sawyer? The costume that stole the show was Christian Shepherd. The doorbell rang and we saw our stewardess open the door to reveal Christian's dead body laying on the front porch, white shoes and all. I almost fell over laughing. Look, he remembered his boarding pass, though. Ha Ha Ha!


Watching the 3 hours worth of episodes that night with a huge group of Losties was SOOOO fun. Everyone groaned when new Others were discovered in the Temple and everybody laughed when Hurley told Jacob he was sorry he got killed. We all understood the irony of Sawyer waking up in the custody of yet more Others and Charlie's line "I was supposed to die." It was great to sit around and discuss theories after the show and speculate about the future episodes.
When the party started I knew our hosts, my husband and two other people. By the end of the night I had had long involved conversations with 8 different people about good and evil, smoke monsters, slave ships, nosebleeds and time travel. Where else would that happen?


You've got 16 weeks to plan your finale party. Get to work!

Did anyone else attend a premier party? What did you do? Did you dress in costume? Any other great ideas?

LOST finale date it set ...

and it will be May 23, 2010 from 9:00-11:00pm, with a special recap episode starting at 8:00pm (just like they did with the premier).

You can read all the details in the press release at this link: http://scifiwire.com/2010/02/the-end-is-nigh-lost-fina.php

What does that mean for the LOST Books Challenge? It means that all your books need to be read by May 23rd, that's what!

I hope to see lots of book review posts on here in the coming months. (If you need a reminder about how to post your review please check out # 6 in this post, and also the instructions in this post.) Now go get LOST reading!

The Music on LOST

I mentioned in my recap yesterday that I absolutely love the music of LOST. It has always been something I love about the show, it often casts the perfect emotional ambiance and is so very distinct. Someone commented that they hadn't paid much attention to it, so I thought I would highlight a few of my favorite themes.

Lost's music is composed by Michael Giacchino who has worked with J.J. Abrams on numerous projects. Did we not all realize he was also doing Fringe's music in the first episode? You might have also picked up on his music in Star Trek. And he also just won a Grammy for best soundtrack for the Pixar film, UP. You can read more about him at Michael Giacchino music.

Anyway, something unique about instrumental music composed for television and film is the way it is so bound to the story. I love listening to it (I own the Lost soundtracks) and I love the way it brings the story back to mind. It often makes me teary or sets my heart soaring. In this way, in the way only music can do, it interprets and preserves story. It expresses what words and action cannot and never will be able to do. I think it deepens our experience and appreciation for story. So I am thankful that Lost has such gorgeous and emotional music.

I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite themes from the show, but it's actually quite difficult! I do think my favorite theme is the Oceanic 6 theme. I remember being so completely swept away by it the first time I heard it. I also, of course, love Penny and Desmond's theme, The Constant remains one of my favorite episodes of LOST. And finally, in tribute to one of my favorite characters who did indeed die, Juliet, her theme.







How about you? Do you love the music? Do you have a favorite theme?

Episode Recap: "Final Chapter" and "LA X"

IT'S BAAAAAACK! I'm so excited to get back to recapping and discussing LOST with all of you. Woohoo!

As a reminder, here's how we do things over here. Each week Amy or I will recap the episode. Our recaps are usually more like random thoughts on the episode and any questions we came up with. Then we invite you to link to your own recap/thoughts post using Mr. Linky. It's always fun to see what different things each of you noticed in the episode so please do link up, or just chat with us in the comments.

And now for the recaps ...


"Final Chapter"

• Did anyone else find it creepy that Benjamin Linus narrated the recap episode? Of course, I'd rather Ben to Jack, but I'd take Hurley as narrator over anyone. :)
• Although there wasn't anything new in this recap it was still really helpful to me to see things summarized that way.
  
• I'm still confused about Jacob, the Man in Black, and the fake John Locke ... please tell me that we're going to get answers to this soon!
  

"LA X"

• Wait, what? DESMOND is on the plane and it is flying over the UNDERWATER island?!
• Wait, what? Where the HECK is Kate? They're back on the island AND they are back on the plane? Already I'm a bit confused ...
• Hurley is the luckiest guy alive? Say what?!
• Was the timeline actually reset or what? I'm still confused about all this. What year is it actually on the island right now?
• If what is going on on the plane is "true" then how did everyone get to the island?
• Juliette is dead? Ooh, Sawyer is totally going to kill Jack now.
• Kate - you really should NOT be volunteering to help Sawyer bury Juliette. I'm just sayin'.
  
• "It worked." What, exactly, worked? I'd really like to know ...
• Wait now there are OTHER Others? Oi.
  
• I bet all the Egyptian theorists got so excited when they saw that there was an ankh in that guitar case ... and I bet they were in shock when that Genghis Khan/ninja guy broke it in half.
• Well, at least we know the kids from Oceanic 815 are safe. I've really been worried about those kids!
  
• The Man in Black/the fake John Locke wants to go home ... but WHERE and WHEN is home for him?
• "They lost my father." Not funny, but REALLY funny.
• AHA! Everyone on the island is back in the present! YES!
• Richard was in chains? Was that a metaphor or a memory?
  

A few more things ...

• Was anyone else playing along with LOST bingo? The very first thing I checked off was the box for "Your Mind Is Completely Blown". I had so much fun with the bingo cards - my husband thought I was absolutely insane, but I had a blast with it. It was definitely good for a few laughs.
  
• Did anyone notice any new books in tonight's episode? If so, please post them in the comments.
  

That's all I've got ... I can't wait to hear what you all thought!