Lost 4x09: "The Shape of Things to Come"

[Temis the Vorta]

Ben waking up in the Sahara (got there the same way the polar bear did?)

In better condition though.

Well the poor bear spent a while wandering around before dying of heatstroke. If the Bedouins hadn't found Ben first, he might have been an archeological site, too.

The doctor thing is weird. Then again, we've had radio transissions from the past before, right? Does that mean the island is in the future, relative to the outside world?

Or the Island exists in one possible future. We've already seen two realities for Desmond, in which he meets Danny in Oxford and in which he doesn't. So to have a reality in which the doctor is alive and one in which he is dead is no problem.

Widmore: "Don't look at me with those weird eyes!"

Didn't he say "horrible eyes"? But Ben's eyes are so pretty. They do look a little like a lizard's.

 

[CrazyMaryT]

Excellent. Best ep yet IMO. If Lost doesn't get an Emmy and Michael Emerson this time around I'll . . .

I want to know exactly how Ben and Widmore know each other. The way Widmore called him boy had a familiarity to it and came off as a huge insult.

I didn't think it would be possible but this show just keeps getting better and better.

 

[Aragorn]

"I'm sorry, Desmond. I have to kill your beloved Penny to get back at her father for killing Alex. But as a consolation gift, here's the top secret government information Jack Bauer promised you but destroyed using the self-destruct option on his PDA."

 

[Temis the Vorta]

One other thing. When they were playing Risk Hurley said, "Australia is the key to everything."

That cracked me up because it's TRUE! I've used the Australia Strategy to win at Risk more than once. (You can defend it more easily than most places, so you grab it early on, use it as a safe base and wait for your opponents to wear each other out fighting. Hmmm.)

At least we know that The Oceanic Six didn't teleport off the island. Or maybe they did and he was unconscious at the time.

Maybe teleportation is the only way you can come and go from the Island (that would explain why it's so difficult to find it) but if you're prepared for it, you can teleport while inside a sub or copter - or if you're not hip to the secret, they knock you out so you'll think you arrived the regular way.

And, TAAAA DUM! Teleportation also explains how all those people on Flight 815 survived what looked like an unsurvivable crash. Technically, they didn't "crash" at all. They just...appeared.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

One other thing. When they were playing Risk Hurley said, "Australia is the key to everything."

That cracked me up because it's TRUE! I've used the Australia Strategy to win at Risk more than once. (You can defend it more easily than most places, so you grab it early on, use it as a safe base and wait for your opponents to wear each other out fighting. Hmmm.)

No way, man! North America is the way to go! I always dominate with that strategy.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Did you notice how Ben was 'steaming' when he landed in the Sahara?

He teleported in a snowstorm and the heat melted the snow on his jacket.

This was an extremely dramatic episode. And I don't even know what the bleep is going on anymore.

It's actually become pretty simple (at least I think it has): the Island, for whatever reason, possesses magical powers of healing, teleportation, time travel, and can probably whip up a perfect creme brulee to boot. That means Dharma, Widmore, the Others, etc are all fighting for control of it. I mean, wouldn't anyone?

How, why, and what those precise powers are remains a mystery but the outlines of the conflict are clear so they can fill in the blanks whenever, and it will work out fine. We don't need to know all the details of Superman's backstory to appreciate a story about him.

 

[Capn Flukie]

^ add to that, the powers that wanna be are using our beloved Losties as pwns in that fight.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

^ add to that, the powers that wanna be are using our beloved Losties as pwns in that fight.

Yeah Flight 815 blundered into the middle of a cosmic battle for control of A) ancient power-sites on Earth (a la the Mystery Spots) or B) some really cool alien tech buried for centuries under the Island.

That reminds me I recently caught part of one of those shows about UFO, some guy was ranting about how Sedona, AZ has an unusually high magnetic field and that's why UFOs are attracted to it. Magnetics again...?

And re-watching the Orchid Video really makes me wonder about the Fake Flight 815 story. If you can have two identical bunnies, why not two identical Flight 815s? I keep feeling like the "they faked it" angle just isn't Lost-ish.

 

[TK421]

Wow, I'm really out on my own here. lol.

I gave it a Below Average.

I didn't understand a thing that was going on. I thought it was a confused mess. Characters seemed to contradict themselves constantly. They're here to kill Ben, then suddenly they're not. then suddenly they are. Oh my God.

Sorry to be the only one to say it, but this week the emperor had no clothes.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I was struck by how Widmore told Ben, "I know what you are." I think what he means by that is the key to why everyone is so keenly interested in Old Lizard Eyes.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

One other thing. When they were playing Risk Hurley said, "Australia is the key to everything."

That cracked me up because it's TRUE! I've used the Australia Strategy to win at Risk more than once. (You can defend it more easily than most places, so you grab it early on, use it as a safe base and wait for your opponents to wear each other out fighting. Hmmm.)

For me, everybody goes for Australia, so I usually let them fight to keep it while quietly taking South America and Africa. Yeah, it's not as easy to defend, but it's pretty decent. I can also attack weak points in three continents and take North America next. Asia is a waste of time to hold on to until victory is almost assured (I'll just take the Middle East to protect Africa and prevent someone from having all of it).

 

[Hunter X]

I think Ben can't kill Widmore the same way that Michael can't kill...well...Michael. And perhaps before, Alex wasn't supposed to be killed either (though if this was true, then why send her to safety?) Anyways, my first thought when Ben said "he" changed the rules was that Jacob/The Island changed the rules of who could be killed or not. But then, the last scene had Ben stating that Widmore was the one to change the rules, suggesting that he broke the rules of engagement...so who knows?

Great episode, either way. Can't believe some comments on other message boards are calling this one filler.

 

[Capn Flukie]

What? Filler?

 

[Rowan Sjet]

I've noticed some poster have already got their entries for the Avatar Contest.

Who's running that show anyway?

Wow, I'm really out on my own here. lol.

I gave it a Below Average.

I didn't understand a thing that was going on. I thought it was a confused mess. Characters seemed to contradict themselves constantly. They're here to kill Ben, then suddenly they're not. then suddenly they are. Oh my God.

Sorry to be the only one to say it, but this week the emperor had no clothes.

Just goes to show how much you were paying attention then. Not once has anyone been there to kill Ben, or said they were. Maybe not understanding a thing that was going on has more to do with you than the episode. Or should that be episodes, considering you're a frequent flyer in the lower grades of the poll?

And the Emperor was wearing a fucking Technicolour Dreamcoat, thank you very much.

 

[Capn Flukie]

And the Emperor was wearing a fucking Technicolour Dreamcoat, thank you very much.

I gotta work that into ltbbs somehow.

 

[Gertch]

I've noticed some poster have already got their entries for the Avatar Contest.

Who's running that show anyway?

Seems the interest just isn't there. But if you'd like to take over, feel free.

 

[Gertch]

At this point, I could just watch Lost forever. There's no reason this premise will ever "run out." Just thinking back to the premiere, the series has evolved to an incredible degree, yet has still maintained a consistent tone that keeps the evolution feeling natural and even imperceptable.

This is totally the truth. It's also one reason I'm still pissed at those that cried and made them cut the number of episodes per season. This ride is an E Ticket ride and I don't care how it ends as long as it continues to give us episodes like this one.

 

[Jaron]

I've noticed some poster have already got their entries for the Avatar Contest.

*whistles innocently*

 

[Klaus]

One other thing. When they were playing Risk Hurley said, "Australia is the key to everything."

That cracked me up because it's TRUE! I've used the Australia Strategy to win at Risk more than once. (You can defend it more easily than most places, so you grab it early on, use it as a safe base and wait for your opponents to wear each other out fighting. Hmmm.)

No way, man! North America is the way to go! I always dominate with that strategy.

Madagascar. It's all about Madagascar!

 

[The Nth Doctor]

That cracked me up because it's TRUE! I've used the Australia Strategy to win at Risk more than once. (You can defend it more easily than most places, so you grab it early on, use it as a safe base and wait for your opponents to wear each other out fighting. Hmmm.)

No way, man! North America is the way to go! I always dominate with that strategy.

Madagascar. It's all about Madagascar!

Madagascar doesn't give you shit! At least Australia gives you 2 armies each turn. North America, on the other hand, gives you 5 and quick easy means to take South America for another 2.