In 2009, Peter watched through the first five seasons of Lost for the first time, live-tweeting all thoughts as he had them. Nicknames were created, awards were invented and dispensed, and predictions were made. If you’ve never seen Lost (or even if it’s been a while), these may not make much sense.

[[Episode 7]]
God I think this “blackmailing for Ben’s life” idea is a stupid move. Meanwhile, ep starts on Juliet.
Dare I hope: Juliet flashback ep?
Weirdtopian flashback episode would be great. Could answer so many questions I’m dying to hear answers for.
Juliet’s injecting a friend with cancer with…insulin?
Woah, that’s terrible phrasing.
Friend who has cancer is being injected.
I assume she has cancer because…hey! They’re in a city!
I assume she has cancer because of the headscarf she’s wearing.
Also: she’s Juliet’s sister.
So Juliet came FROM a city to the Island.
Benry was born on the island, so I assumed everyone was, that’s why they were there.
Flashbacks have to hit several notes for me to like them.
a) relevant to episode (either directly or thematically)
b) tell us something new.
Let me break it down further. Flashbacks have to
a) Tell us something new, either
i) relating directly to the plot, or
ii) about the character.
b) Be relevant to the episode, at LEAST
i) themeatically (eg in flashback char has trouble dealing with death, someone dies in episode) or
ii) directly relevant to character’s plot, eg Sun’s flashbacks about babies, in the ep she found out she was pregnant, or
iii) (and this is the best one) directly relate to the BIG plot, eg Hurley’s numbers.
The best episodes manage to hit 3+. The worst, 0.
This episode, for example, is hitting a) i) ii) b) i) ii) iii).
It’s a full house. Hitting all five notes that flashbacks should hit.
Last episode, Kate’s flashbacks, hit b) i). That’s all. Bad flashbacks.
Meanwhile, in the episode, SO MUCH has happened.
Jack’s revealed Juliet’s secret plan, Alex has helped Kate and Sawyer, Benry woke up..
I don’t really see the huge advantage of Kate & Sawyer getting back to the other island.
What can they really do from there?
Prediction: -we’ll see the Juliet/Ben conversation later in the season, if not later this episode.
Oooh.
Juliet’s research was related to making a male fieldmouse pregnant.
Another oooh: this medical company’s going to kill her ex.
By the way, we have two islands now.
(and it only took 3 seasons!)
(Prediction: -by 6th season, there are at least 10 islands.)
They need names.
Alex has made reference to her “Dad”.
Prediction: -she thinks Ben is her Dad.
Oh, they just said that. Never mind!
Alex’s boyfriend is in “cell 23”.That’s one of The Numbers.
That can’t be a coincidence.
Sawyer is more soft-hearted the harder Kate gets.
Looks like he’s being brainwashed.
Is this how they make everyone so pro-Weirdtopia?
“We’re good people!” all that bollocks.
“God loves you as he loved Jacob.”
Hadn’t picked them as particularly religious.
Well, not Judeo-Christian religious anyway.
I really, really wish that one of those images had been of a polar bear.
These guys are really really anti-people-escaping-the-Island. Why??
Juliet’s sister is pregnant. I assumed she was working on cancer treatment; looks like “sterile people becoming fertile” research.
Juliet’s ex-husband is called “Ed”.
He is a tosser.
On the phone to his mum: “Because you’re useless.”
HA! Ed just got hit by a bus.
Go literal assassins!
(note: “The literal assassins” would be an excellent group of characters.”)
I’m thoroughly enjoying this episode.
After deliberately nicking an artery, Jack has accidentally nicked an artery. (that’s bad.)
Prediction: Alex jumps in front of the bullet.
Oh! She was running to do so, then Juliet shot the guy with the gun.
Jack saying “Tom, he’s going to die…” sounds just like “Tommy’s going to die.”
Confused the heckaroo out of me.
Prediction: Carl (Alex’s boy) becomes a recurring character.
Also, Theory: Weirdtopians are all infertile, that’s why they kidnap kids.
Super-glad I’m not a surgeon.
I’m fairly careful with my writing, and I still typo all the time.
Not that I was really at risk of accidentally becoming a surgeon.
So, looks like Sawyer and Kate are heading back to the original Island. Still no idea why they were kidnapped in the first place.
Oh, names! The Original Island = “The Island”.
The new, smaller one can be “The Isle”.
Genuinely wondering if there’ll be more islands.
While I’m listing things that I’m glad of, I’m rather glad I don’t have any tumours.
Also that I’m not stranded on an island anywhere.
Jack’s being all “After everything I went through, you owe me an answer!!”
Right, yeah, Juliet’s feeling of guilt are super-strong.
Lots of questions answered in this episode!
-Not all Weirdtopians born on the Island.
-Ethan (& presumably others) can leave at will.
I love seeing how they change people for flashbacks.
Jack and Locke: longer hair.
Juliet: permed hair.
Eko: no beard.
Kate and Sawyer: not at all.
Oooh! Juliet was as much a prisoner as the rest of them.
Great episode end.
Great episode in general.
Most likeable: Tempted to go “Sawyer” for consistency, but probably Tom.
Least Likeable: Danny.
Most Intriguing: Alex.
All Weirdtopians, coincidentally.
[[Episode 8]]
Next episode!
“Previously on Lost” deals with Desmond waking up naked, the Hatchplosion in general, and Desmond’s psychic powers.
Prediction: (obvious one)
-Kate & Sawyer get back to the Island this episode.
Hurley just called Desmond “Desmondo”. Cutest nickname yet?
Hadn’t forgotten about Eko’s death :(:(
but had forgotten that Smoke-Monster killed him.
“Smoke-Monster” is too long; needs a nickname.
For someone who was clearly established as being unable to swim, Charlie sure does love running out into the ocean.
Desmond’s psychic powers just saved Claire’s life.
He is also being quite territorial towards Claire. Poor Charlie. 🙁
Have decided to nickname the smoke-monster “Desmondo”.
Not really a whole lot shorter, but definitely a whole lot cuter.
Claire only just kissed Charlie, didn’t she?
Stupid law of TV romances.
“Happy couples are uninteresting. Break them up.”
Or, if you’re Joss Whedon, Law of TV Romances:
“Happy couples are uninteresting. KILL ONE OF THEM.”
Oh Charlie.
The writers must have a serious hard-on for him this season.
“Thanks for helping Claire. To not drown.”
Characters that have been so much cooler this season than in previous seasons:
-Charlie
-Sawyer
-Desmond
Characters who have much cooler nicknames this season than in previous seasons:
-Benry (Ben/Henry/Frank)
-Desmondo (the smoke monster)
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but my favourite flashbacks are the ones which flash back to times on the Island.
Examples:
-the episode that followed Group B.
-Desmond’s flashbacks to pre-start-of-season Island times.
-I’m sure there are more.
So, apparently turning that key transported Desmond into…his life that could-have-been?
With full memories? Don’t understand.
Prediction: -this “hallucination” or weird flashback or whatever it is ends when Desmond is in the shower, thus his nudity.
“Delivery for 815” –
I assume 8 and 15 are two of the Numbers? From memory: 3 8 15 16 23 42.
Diehard fans are reading this and cringing.
This is actually really interesting.
This seems to not be a hallucination, but a flashback, and Desmond has always had his psychic powers.
Awesome!! Desmond has found Charlie busking on the street.
CROSSOVER. Crossovers are my favourite part of flashbacks.
Desmond: “We were together on an island!”
Charlie: “We are on an island mate. This is England.”
Oh nicely done. It seems that this flashback/hallucination is both and neither. It’s like living in a memory. So cool!
Throwing your tie down in anger is a great move.
Partially for visual effect, partially because of the symbolism.
See also: Out of Sight.
House is the absolute master of subverting your expectations, but Lost does it really nicely at times as well.
Like just then:
Desmond: “I know the future! Team x wins by two goals, John comes through that door!”
They don’t, he doesn’t.
Oh wow awesome.
Random shop-lady: “No, give it back. This is wrong, you don’t buy it, you give it back.”
Random shop-lady is getting my pick for Most Likeable character.
There is absolutely no competition.
“That man is wearing red shoes.”
Are hot chestnuts genuinely sold on street-corners in England?
I really hope that this episode somehow ties into Number Fever. They seem strangely connected.
Random shop-lady: “Pushing that button is the only truly great thing that you will ever do.”
Well. That’s a downer.
Pushing the button, or failing to push the button that once so that the plane crashes, I wonder?
Prediction: (he’s pulling down different backgrounds)
-one of them is the Island.
Aww, it wasn’t.
Okay, Prediction: -the photo has something weird and creepy about it. The photo in the background?
That last prediction didn’t make sense, but it looks like it was wrong anyway. Desmond’s decided to fulfil his destiny, and is breaking up.
Ha!! His waking-up shot is the same as the first one of the season. (and extremely similar to a recurring shot from Life On Mars)
This still doesn’t really explain how he has psychic powers in the future. Also it doesn’t explain how they survived the Hatchsposion.
Most Likeable: Random Shop-woman.
Least Likeable: Desmond’s love’s Dad.
Most Intriguing: Desmond.
His psychic skillz are super-interesting and intriguing.
Oh noes! All of these flashes have been to save Charlie’s life! Just like the guy in the red shoes, he’s destined to die?? 🙁
Episode end. I wonder if that’s why he’s been getting such great lines lately; a final hoorah before he dies? Hopefully not.
I have been corrected: “FOUR 15 16 23 42.” So close!
[[Episode 9]]
Still no sign of Michael or Walt this season, or Desmond’s lover (except flashback).
Prediction: Desmond’s lover appears in the next 3 episodes.
Jack has just listed all of the Others’ evil deeds.
First mention this season of hanging Charlie or kidnapping Claire.
Just had a closeup of a character we’ve never seen before, an older woman in Weirdtopia.
Jack’s flashback episode.
Nicely set up; showed him in a hut on a beach, I assumed it was his new cell, but was flashback.
Jack’s new cell is literally a cage. One of the ones that Kate and Sawyer were in. At least he KNOWS he’s being watched.
Kate and Sawyer are bickering. Rule of TV romance number 1…
Wow! Having a Weirdtopian in your party means that you can just ask him all the questions you want answers to.
Just ask him. Easy.
Learned so far:
-they live on The Island and work on The Isle
-they give the kids they take “a better life”
-they have back yards
People talk about Lost’s “filler episodes”.
I get it now; not the main episode, but the flashbacks.
Kate/Mal was one, this seems to be another.
Ha!! New slightly older lady is the sheriff.
Literally.
She’s now investigating this murder.
Love the mix of normal/weird on this show.
Looks like these flashbacks are going to be the origins of Jack’s tattoos.
Right, yes. We really needed to see this story.
That was a nice little cameo by all the characters that had been taken by the Others.
The Weirdtopians have cameras all over the Isle; I assume they have cameras all over The Island as well. Would explain a lot.
Just realised that Alex is a stereotypically rebellious teenage girl.
Due to the completely bizarre context, hadn’t made the association.
By the way, a few episodes ago, Kate smashed a padlock off with a rock.
That can’t be normal can it? Weak-ass padlock.
Benry: “We had an excellent surgeon. His name was Ethan.”
Why send your surgeon off to do spy work?
Send someone useless.
Send Tom.
I love how accepting everyone is of Jack just wandering around the isle.
Ditto when they found Kate and Sawyer together.
No one’s ever like “Hey, maybe we need better padlocks.”
It’s all just casual hellos and witty sarcastic comments.
Jesus, Jack’s a violent fellow. Slamming his girlfriend against a glass cabinet when she won’t answer his question.
All pre-Island, too.
Tom’s all “Why the hell did you bring him here??”
Again, no concern that he’s out, just that he’s here.
Nice thematic link between the flashbacks and the episode, if nothing else. Jack has his tattoo, Juliet’s ordered to be “marked”.
Jack’s new tattoo seems to piss off Asians.
It would be amusing if the tattoo meant something antagonistic.
Like “I did your mum. She was terrible. She is a slut.”
Jack is really very pushy in general. I assumed it was because he was stranded, but maybe it’s part of being a surgeon.
Juliet’s getting
Most Intriguing. She’s really a very interesting character.
Most Likeable: Jack, really.
Least :ikeable: Kate.
Kate’s being really annoying this episode.
Though just as I type that, they deal with it.
Sawyer’s being all “It was a dead man’s root.”
The Others are heading back to The Island, back to “Home.”
My housemate has joined me. He just pointed out that Sawyer’s the only one who looks like he’s living on an Island. Long hair, beard.
Having said that, it’s exactly how he looked before the crash. Everyone looks exactly the same, except Hurley who now has a beard.
Locke’s perfectly-shaved head is the one that gets me the most.
Ridiculous!
Episode just ended, on a swell of music as they sail back.
Jack looked at Juliet, and they shared a smile.
It was a nice moment.
Now that Kate/Sawyer is locked in, is some Jack/Juliet going on?
[[Running Tally: All seasons]]
Most likeable: Saywer on 9 (Hurley on 7, Charlie and Jack on 5, Sayid on 4, Jin on 3, Turnip-head Ulrich, Sun and Tom on 2, 11 characters on 1 – Shannon, Walt, Jin, Arzt, Boom, Kate, Anna, the Aussie Psychic, Desmond, VHE, Random shop-woman)
Least likeable: Jin and Benry at 5 (Anna and Michael on 4, Locke and Jack on 3, Jack’s Dad, Shannon, Crazy Danielle, Charlie, Berto and Kate on 2, 11 on 1 – Liam, Locke’s Dad, Sawyer, Arzt, Nathan, Claire, Tom, Bernard, Denise, Juliet, Danny, Desmond’s Love’s Dad)
Most intriguing: Eko and Juliet on 5 (Kate, Locke, Walt on 4, Ethan, Crazy Danielle, Benry and Desmond on 3, Anna, Sawyer, Michael, and Sun on 2, 11 characters on 1 – Sayid, Jack, Charlie, Boom, Shannon, Denise, Goodwin, Tom, Liam, Libby, Mal, Alex)
[[Current season]]
Most likeable: Sawyer on 4 (Charlie, VHE , Jack, Tom, and Random Shop-woman on 1)
Least likeable: Berto on 2 (Denise, Juliet, Benry, Jack, Danny, Desmond’s Love’s Dad and Kate all on 1)
Most intriguing: Juliet on 5 (Eko, Mal, Alex and Desmond on 1)
[[Awards presented: ]]
“The Locke Award” (previously on 7 “Most likeables”)
“The Locke Award” (awarded before he even won any “Most likeables”)
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