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Is “Lost” making your head hurt? This season has been on fire, bursting with twists and turns and revelations, as the puzzle pieces finally start to fall into place. All a good thing.

And it looks like people are taking notice. Wednesday’s episode got a nice ratings surprise: It was the highest-rated scripted series of the night, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  

And it sure was a doozy. The Oceanic Six finally returned to the island, and how they got there was out of this world.  

Now it’s time to get “Lost” in the clues:

Windows to the Soul

~The enigmatic Mrs. Hawking explained there are “pockets of energy” all over the world that can be harnessed into “windows” of opportunity to get to the island, which is constantly moving (this is why the Losties were never rescued). According to the magical calculations of a “very clever fellow” (Faraday? Hanso?) and a swinging pendulum, an Ajira Airways flight from LA to Guam will put them in the exact position of the island’s next location. All they have to do is board that plane--and re-create the conditions under which they left.

~The episode opened on Jack’s eye, a device used in many episodes, with the eyes, of course, being the window to your soul. This scene of Jack waking up alone in the jungle mirrors the opening scene of the series’ pilot episode.    

The Gospel of John

~The title of this episode is “316,” which is the flight number of the Ajira jet that transports the Oceanic Six to the island (and departs from Gate 15, naturally).

~John 3:16 is the Bible verse that reads: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

~“We’re all convinced sooner or later, Jack.” Ben recounts the story of Thomas the Apostle, who doubted Jesus’ Resurrection (hence his nickname, “Doubting Thomas,” and Jack is definitely one of those...so does that make Locke the Jesus figure?). Also was Ben praying in the church? Or just plotting while clasping his hands together?

~We learned that Locke hung himself and left a suicide note for Jack, which in typical control freak, stubborn Jack form, he refused to read until AFTER they’re all on the plane. I was hoping it would say, “Don’t come back! This place is DEATH!” but it simply read: Jack, “I wish you had believed me.”—JL

Father Figure

~John Locke is a proxy, or substitute, for Jack’s father (so it’s no coincidence they’re both in a coffin) to get back to the island. As such, Mrs. Hawking tells Jack he has to give Locke something that belonged to his father. Interesting that our "man of science" is now forced to take a "leap of faith." 

~It always bothered me that Christian Shepherd was wandering around the island in a suit and white sneakers…and now we know it’s because Jack didn’t bother to bring him nice shoes for his burial. So for his act of transference, Jack puts his dad’s shoes on Locke’s feet in the coffin.

~The out-of-the-blue introduction of Jack’s “granddad” Ray has to be more than just a plot device to get Jack his dad’s shoes. He was trying to escape an old folks’ home with magic shows for the fourth time. Who is Ray really?

Final Destination

~Despite their adamant refusals, everyone turned up at the airport for the flight back to the island. No doubt Mrs. Hawking had something to do with getting everyone on board (springing Hurley from jail, having Sayid arrested).

~What was really interesting about the flight was how each person reflected one of the other survivors…Sayid was in handcuffs escorted by a marshal, just as Kate was on the original flight. Kate was acting shady in sunglasses, reminding me of Sawyer. Hurley had Charlie’s guitar…the unexplained element is the new passenger (Said Taghmaoui).

An Unlucky Penny?

~“I made a promise to an old friend of mine. Just a loose end that needs tying up.” That’s what Ben tells Jack as he’s leaving the church, and I’m assuming he means the threat he made to Charles Widmore that he would kill his daughter—oh Penny! How unsettling was Ben’s call to Jack when he was bloody at the marina; we know Desmond, Penny and little Charlie arrived by boat. Shades of Hannibal Lector in “Silence of the Lambs,” no?...the pay phone, the old friend…not to mention Charlotte referred to “Hannibal” last week.  

Kate’s Not So Great

~Kate’s moodiness reached new levels of irritation. She and Jack have desperation sex. Kate has morning-after aloofness, Jack has morning-after cluelessness. And oh yeah, what the hell did she do with Aaron? I’m hoping she just dropped the tyke off with Claire’s mom, but when Kate made Jack promise to never ask about the kid again, well that was creepy. (And Jack just says okay? No questions on the whereabouts of his nephew?!) And what’s with Kate’s line: Just because we’re on the same plane, doesn’t make us together?

Guiding Light

~So Mrs. Hawking’s church hideaway is actually a Dharma station called The Lamp Post. It’s another reference to the “Chronicles of Narnia,” in which the lamp post is a landmark that shows the way between worlds and burns continuously without fuel. (It's been noted that when the character was introduced in Season 4, Charlotte Staples Lewis’s initials match C.S. Lewis, the author of Narnia.)  

~In “The Little Prince,” the children’s book referenced two episodes ago, there's “the lamplighter” who lives on a planet that has 1,440 sunsets every twenty-four hours because it turns so fast there is a new day every minute.  

~In last week’s episode, Christian Shepherd was holding a lantern to help show Locke “the rest of the way.”

~Ben was reading “Ulysses” on the plane, which features motifs of lightness and darkness, surrogate fathers and sons, heroes and saviors, and parallels with Homer's Odyssey, among many other complicated things I can’t get into here.  

The Numbers Game

~After the intro with Jack waking up on the island, the caption says these events took place 46 hours earlier. But when Mrs. Hawking tells Jack they all must be on the Ajira flight, she says they have only 36 hours. What happened to those 10 hours?
~Hurley buys up 78 seats on the flight to minimize casualties. Sweet Hurley.
~Lapidus says he picked up the Ajira pilot gig eight months ago.
~Jack is in seat 8C. On the Oceanic flight, he was in 23B. 

Best Moments

~The Oceanic Six (well, five) return to the island!

~The ominous scene at the marina when Bloody Ben called Jack and told him to proceed without him  

~The revelation that Locke committed suicide

~The person behind the wheel of the blue VW Dharma bus (and gun) was Jin

Best Quotes

“We’re not going to Guam are we?”—Captain Frank J. Lapidus to Jack aboard Ajira Airways Flight 316

“You might want to fasten your seat belt”—Hurley to the mysterious new passenger

“My mother taught me.”—Ben, on who taught him to read (his mother died in child birth)

Burning Questions

~What did Kate do with Aaron? What are the ramifications of his not returning to the island with the rest of the O6? (Mrs. Hawking says the outcome is “unpredictable.”)

~Did Ben kill Penny? Or did Desmond beat the crap out of Ben and stop him?

~Did the O6 crash or just flash back to the island? Are we certain they are in the ‘70s? Where are Ben, Sun and Sayid? Are they the new tailies (just as the survivors were separated into two groups after Flight 815 crashed)?

~Why did Mrs. Hawking seem unfazed by Desmond’s desperate message from her son Daniel Faraday?

~The newly buff Jin is probably worth the trip, but why isn't Sun at least a little sad she might never see her child again?

~Who is the clever mastermind behind the Lamp Post?

~The Oceanic Six are back on the island. NOW WHAT?

Did you miss last night’s mind-blowing return to the island? Watch the entire episode of “Lost” on Fancast.com.

Click here to comment: What did you think of the Oceanic Six returning to the island? Are you digging this season or are you more confused than ever? And does the show lack something when it doesn’t feature the island gang (or is that just me missing Sawyer?!)?

Message Edited by Tracy_Phillips on 02-19-2009 09:26 PM