LOST Hiatus Rewatch #3: (11-25-09-12-02-09) Season 4: Epi: 8: "Meet Kevin Johnson"

[ZIA]

LOST Hiatus Rewatch: Season 4: Episode 8: "Meet Kevin Johnson"

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[AChristianShephard]

I watched this last night (im always free after 11 on Wednesdays) and enjoyed it thoroughly, though it does have some problems.

Its a strange layout, 5mins of stuff, 40minute Mike flashback, 5mins of stuff.

I found it suprising how quickly they just got on with Mikes story after his reveal last episode, not sure how the strike effects these things, seemed slightly rushed though.

Damn that looked like Alvar in the hospital bed next to him.

This episode also introduced the whole 'the island wont let you die if it has a use for you' concept which quite frankly is ridiculous.
As is the 'not yet' flag on the bomb.

It's such an amazing show that it can get over rubbish like this but i hope it's not exaggerated next season.

Yours, with great attitude and opinionatedly, ACS ;-)

[ozanna]

Yay, more on the fake 815 mystery !

In a Michael fb Michael is in New York after being sent away on the Other's boat where he bumps into - surprise, surprise - good ole Tom ! Michael has seen a news flash on TV that shows the fake wreckage of 815 has been found with 324 bodies on board. Michael asks Tom what thats all about. Tom tells him that its a fake wreck. A man named Widmore put it down there and staged the whole thing, because he doesn't want anyone else to know where the real 815 is, except himself. Michael tells him to prove it.

Tom shows him a folder with a photo of a cemetery in Thailand with approximately 300 graves dug up and the bodies removed. There is also a purchase order from Widmore Industries for the old 777 'plane he bought as the fake. Tom then tells Michael Widmore is sending a freighter to the island and Tom wants Mike to join the crew in Fiji as a deck hand. Michael asks why would he do that, and Tom tells him that when Widmore gets to the island he will kill everyone on it. All Michael's friends. This is his chance to make up for betraying them in the first place. Michael says he won't go to the island, but Tom says thats cool because he has to stay on the freighter so that he can kill everybody on it.

Of course Tom works for Ben, so this is Ben's side of the story !

So I guess it was Widmore who also orchestrated the crash of the real 815 on the island - the pilot said before he died that they had gone off course and were way off course when they crashed. Funny how Ben was sort of expecting it.

[ZIA]

LOST Hiatus Rewatch:
Week 27

Weds., November 25th-December 2nd, 2009

Season 4: Episode 8
Meet Kevin Johnson


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[World Walker]

This is an episode I had been waiting to see for a long time because I wanted to know what happened to Michael and Walt after they left the Island, and for better or worse, this episode definitively answers that question. There were some pretty dark scenes focusing on Michael’s attempted suicides for the murders he committed in Two For the Road. We get to see a familiar face (Tom) and learn even more about the freighter folk.

The episode’s flashback is unique because it mirrors the flashforwards we’ve seen throughout Season Four. All flashforwards have featured a character that left the Island and this flashback features a character that left the Island (albeit at the end of Season Two). This flashback spans the early days of Season Three over a surreally quick timeframe; we see Michael arrive back in civilization and we see how he ends up on the freighter which makes it to the Island’s vicinity near the end of Season Three. The flashback runs in a long, continuous format like Flashes Before Your Eyes and The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham.

That “previously, on LOST” went back as far as we’ve seen in a loooong time! Wow, it was the “we gonna have to take the boy” raft scene again. And yes, we also get “Waaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllt!” How could we not? :nanabobo:

Hurley’s reaction to Miles confirming the freighter team wanted Ben was pretty funny. “Uhm, we knew that like forever ago…”:D

Miles makes a very astute observation about Ben. Ben’s capacity to bounce back simply amazes me considering all the times he has been threatened, beaten, or nearly killed—his ability to know exactly what to say, what card to keep up his sleeve to keep on rollin’ along. Does Ben just know how to play the game that well, or is he cheating with special knowledge we’re not yet privy to?

Why does The Temple have a Dharma symbol on Ben’s map? We were led to believe throughout Season Five that The Temple was purely tied to the Others. Why would Dharma have drawn a symbol for it? Is it simply a Dharma procedure to use a logo to identify an important landmark, or does the Dharma Initiative have more to do with The Temple than we suspect? If so, there may not be much difference between Dharma and the Others. Again, whatever The Temple is, I believe it holds the key to understanding a lot of the Island’s, or at least the Others’, mystery. There’s a reason they’ve held out on it until the final season. No doubt about that at all.

Ben claims The Temple isn’t for the Losties; it’s only for the Others. Does this mean that the Losties are incapable (as Mikhail once said) of entering The Temple? Or does that mean if the Losties try, they would be changed forever like Ben supposedly was when Richard brought him there as a child? Or is it simply a custom not to allow outsiders in the inner sanctum? Again, I think we’ll get considerable clarification on this in Season Six.

Does anyone else think Rousseau looks super different in a clean shirt? This is probably the first time she’s changed clothes in sixteen years. Such a shame she didn’t have very long to get used to it or get to know her daughter any better. :mad:

The shot of Michael’s leaking faucet mirrors the dripping faucet in Jack’s apartment in Through the Looking Glass. Also very reminiscent of Through the Looking Glass is Michael’s first suicide attempt. Just before he hits the shipping container, he says, “I’m sorry,” which is what Jack said just before he tried to jump off the bridge.

That was an ironically cruel song that was playing while Michael was attempting suicide. Also ironically cruel was the visit from Libby carrying blankets while Michael was in the hospital. Was it an Island vision or simply a guilty conscience? I’m leaning toward both because I believe once you’ve visited the Island, the visions can follow you no matter where you are.

Michael looked pretty badly hurt with his neck in that brace and all. How much time did he spend in the hospital? It can’t possibly have been too long, because a mere matter of weeks passes between his escape off the Island (end of Season Two) and his return trip on the freighter (late Season Three).

Michael really didn’t think through getting off the Island. He had no way of explaining how he and Walt were still alive and why they weren’t on the plane. The only thing he could do is attempt to tell the truth, but who would believe that? And if people believed him, they would also learn that he murdered two women. No, Michael didn’t think it through and really put himself and Walt in a bad position.

That was a pretty good stand-in (couldn’t have been Malcolm David Kelly, could it?) they had for little Walt when he looks out the window.

That makes me sad that Michael pawned off the watch Jin gave to him in Season One’s finale to get a gun. That watch represented a strong bond between them from the first infuriated punch to the last friendly embrace.

That was awesome how they brought Tom back for this episode. I knew it was him right away because he has such a distinctive voice. He tells Michael, “The Island won’t let you [kill yourself],” which feeds into the famous debate about Fate vs. Free Will. I believe the Island interfered when Jack tried to kill himself in Through the Looking Glass, as well. These people have a destiny to perform which seems to feed into the Fate category, but Daniel Faraday strongly believes that people can be Variables and thus, agents of free will and change. How will this debate conclude in our final chapter? :hmm:

Tom likes to indulge himself on the mainland, if you know what I mean. Now that his orientation is confirmed, we understand why he told Kate she wasn’t his type way back in A Tale of Two Cities.

Micheal: “So you people just come and go.”
Tom: “Some of us.”

Only some of the Others have the ability to leave the Island. This is an important tidbit. I still believe those chosen to come and go use a device or mystical means tied directly with The Temple for quick traveling. Remember, the sub wasn’t even around before Dharma, and the Others could come and go as they pleased back then, too. Richard proved it when he visited baby Locke in the fifties.

Michael must have been freaked out when Miles offhandedly remarked that his name wasn’t Kevin. How did he figure that one out? Did he hear the residual ghost of Libby calling out, “Michael?” before she was shot? Perhaps the voices of victims who died linger around the one who killed them. Oooh, that’s actually kind of a neat idea, though unlikely.

Ditching phones must be standard “Others” procedure. We see Michael ditch his phone off the side of the freighter. In The Economist, Sayid also ditches his phone after speaking with Ben.

Naomi got in a little tiff with Frank on the freighter. She insisted on flying to the Island first, which Frank thought was a bad idea (and as we found out, it was a bad idea). She told him she needed him to fly the science team to the Island, which explains why he wasn’t on that first helicopter which crashed in the ocean in Catch 22. Speaking of helicopters, there should have been two visible on the deck, but we can really only see one in the flashback. TPTB probably didn’t have enough budget for two and that’s all there probably is to this inconsistency.

Frank’s conspiracy theory about Oceanic 815 was awesome, especially because he was right. :thumbs_up

This episode gives us confirmation that Keamy is bad news during the target practice scene and it was enough to push Michael into attempting to blow up the freighter. Only that didn’t work because the bomb wasn’t real. Why would the Others give Michael a fake bomb? It really seems detrimental to their goals not to kill the people on that boat. Were they testing his resolve? For that matter, why would Libby appear and tell Michael, “Don’t do it,” if it wasn’t even a real bomb? The Others allegedly put in the note which says: Not Yet. Ironically, Michael does end up dying on the freighter in an explosion, but not yet. Is this just a coincidence or do some of the Others (or just Ben) have access to future knowledge? They seem so omniscient sometimes.

Ben really played a dirty trick on Michael by using the Walt’s name. Ben looks like he is still in Dharmaville while talking to Michael on the freighter. This must be shortly before the evacuation we saw in Left Behind. Ben claims that they didn’t give Michael a real bomb because there were innocents still on the boat. Yet this is the same Ben who exclaims, “Who cares?” when Jack asks about the welfare of the regular passengers on Ajira Flight 316. This inconsistency robs him of his seemingly benevolent gesture toward the innocents on the freighter. Why, then, would Ben care if certain people from the freighter survive? Again, he may have knowledge of the future and he knows certain people (Daniel, Miles, Frank, Charlotte) play an important role on the Island. Then again, maybe not. :ImLost:

Sayid made a serious, though understandable, error when he turned Michael in at the end of the episode.

That ending was such an unexpected shock. I was in a constant state of denial about Danielle’s death for quite a while. I could accept Karl being killed like that, but no way was Rousseau going to go down with one measly bullet! No way could such a legendary character have such an end. I kept expecting her to show up and save the day in The Shape of Things to Come. Yet her death was confirmed when we saw her dead face in the dirt in Something Nice Back Home. Rousseau’s death is very poignant, because it illustrates that anything can happen to anyone and it can happen fast. Her death is ironic, because she even told the Losties back in Enter 77 that she’s stayed alive as long as she’s had by avoiding contact with anyone on the Island. The minute she got more involved with the Losties and reunited with Alex was the beginning of the end for her. Danielle began to change and that brought about her death. Truly a tragic and disappointing end for such a great character. :no:

This was a pretty absorbing episode which does a fair job filling in the gaps of Michael’s story while moving the plot forward. :Cheers:

[AChristianShephard]

Nice post WW

Yeah this was a pretty enjoyable episode, LOST has those standout episodes where it changes its formula slightly and this is one of them, jam packed with info, and then, even though its now happened a fair few times the shocking removal of the French Woman.

Plenty more of that to come!

I simply dont know how there gonna explain all this stuff, I mean how can the Temple be anything other than a let down, weve had years to let its significance and wonder build up in our heads and I cant see how they can deliver, on almost anything.

Bet they do though :D

[Dew]

Ah the episode that my avatar came from. Time to catch up with S4. :D

[Dew]

Naomi got in a little tiff with Frank on the freighter. She insisted on flying to the Island first, which Frank thought was a bad idea (and as we found out, it was a bad idea). She told him she needed him to fly the science team to the Island, which explains why he wasn’t on that first helicopter which crashed in the ocean in Catch 22. Speaking of helicopters, there should have been two visible on the deck, but we can really only see one in the flashback. TPTB probably didn’t have enough budget for two and that’s all there probably is to this inconsistency.

Frank’s conspiracy theory about Oceanic 815 was awesome, especially because he was right. :thumbs_up

Frank, the consumate gentleman. I am glad tho that Naomi pulled rank. I would have jumped through the screen and ripped TOQ new body parts. :mad:

Conspiracy theorist. LOL He has a good handle on them. :)

[Dew]

Finished this episode. Michael manages to get himself between a rock and a hard place quite often. He became a pariah with the Losties for killing Libby and AnaL then releasing Ben. He turns on his friends again so Ben gives him a boat and a bearing of 325 and Michael leaves the island with Walt.

Michael is full of guilt. Walt doesn't want to see him and Michael's mom won't let him see Walt. He pawns Jin's watch for a gun and bullets but he cannot seem to commit suicide. Enter Mr. Friendly with the reason why. Mr. Friendly is staying in a very nice penthouse with his friend Arturo. He convinces Michael to get on the freighter will the objective of killing eveyone on the boat, including himself.

He sure looked wary while watching Keamy "shooting stuff." I loved when he went to open the attache and found a bomb. He detonates the bomb and gets a little flag that says, "Not Yet." He is really freaked but no sympathy from me. You made your bed Michael, time to sleep in it.