If you didn’t watch this week’s episode yet, make sure you do before reading on….

What an explosive episode (literally)! I have to give it to the Lost writers/producers–they promised Rambo-style action, and that’s what we got. There were elements of everything we’ve come to expect from Lost: gunfire, mind games, love triangles (I mean, did Kate really HAVE to take the strap off her tank top as Jack walked by?), explosions, heroics, time paradoxes (I think?), lies, friendship, jungle (LOTS of jungle), one-liners, and, of course, SMOKEY!

What I really enjoyed, however, was how we were able to get a good peek at Ben’s weaknesses and humanity–not to mention all the amazing talents that he has tucked away for emergency use.

Whoa moments:

-The body of the doctor from the boat washes up on the beach, throat slit. He was fine the last time we saw him…?
- Ben plays the piano. Who knew?
-Why is he wearing a snow jacket in the middle of the desert?
-Ben has amazing combat skills. AND he can ride a horse. Who knew?
-They blew up Claire’s house…NOOOO
-Ben goes to Tunisia–I’m guessing this is a flash-forward.
-Sayid has a wife? Who is dead? Is it Nadia?
-Claire survived! YAY!
-Am I the only one who sees the irony in blowing up one house and politely ringing the doorbell at the next?
-NADIA died! Sayid found her!! Definitely a flash-forward. This is so sad!!
- Ben has a weakness: Alex. Who knew?
-Oh, no! He gambled with Alex’s life and lost–what are ‘the rules’?
-Ben has a secret, mystical portal hidden in his house–carved with exotic symbols and everything. Who knew?
- So this is how Sayid joins Ben’s ‘team.’ He joined in willingly!
-SMOKEY!! He can be SUMMONED. Amazing. Did Ben then cause the death of Eko and all the others who were killed by the smoke monster?
-I can’t believe Alex is dead. Ben actually has a heart. Who knew?
-Faraday lies about the Morse Code. Why? Is he worried about some kind of time paradox/warp problem?
- Ben can pick locks. Who knew?
-Ben vs. Charles: worthy opponents, but it seemed that Charles actually had the upper hand. I would dearly like to know the history of this ‘war’ they are waging…
-Ben is going to kill Penny!! NOOOO she has to be reunited with Desmond!
-The Island ‘belongs’ to Widmore? The plot just became noticeably thicker…

Quotables:

-”When? When is kind of a relative term…” -Faraday
-”You harm so much as one hair on his curly head, I’ll kill you.” -Sawyer
-”Don’t stand there looking at me with those terrible eyes of yours.” -Charles Widmore to Ben

Lost in Hawaii locations:

Gunbattle/massive explosion/Smokey manifestation: YMCA Camp Erdman, Mokule’ia
Beach Camp: Papa’iloa Beach, North Shore
Sahara Desert: Ma’ili Quarry?
Tunisia hotel: Laniakea YMCA, Downtown Honolulu
Tunisia street scenes: HCC
Anyone catch the London street location or lobby of Widmore’s house?

Thoughts??

Who’s ready?

The new episode, entitled “The Shape of Things to Come,” is loaded with promise. ABC’s synopsis says that “Locke’s camp comes under attack, and Jack tries to discover the identity of a body that has washed ashore.” Action, plot advancement, and mystery–just what we’ve been waiting for!

For those looking for a place to watch tomorrow night (don’t forget, it starts at 9 p.m. now) Teddy Wells has once again graciously offered his Smoothie Shop:

Tropical Smoothie Cafe at the corner of Piikoi and Waimanu will stay open until 10:00pm the next four Thursday evenings (starting April 24th) so that all the “Losties” can still come by and watch the newest episodes on our big screen TVs. (Kitchen will close at 9:00pm, however.) We still have a few season IV T-shirts and caps available as well. Call the Cafe at 593-7373 if you need more information.

Unfortunately, I won’t be there tomorrow night as I’m speaking at a scholarship awards dinner. I’ll be dying with suspense, since I won’t get to watch it live! At any rate, make sure to drop by Friday morning for the discussion. =)

Also, anyone interested in helping out a fellow Lostie, Chris Damitio, who is crafting his UH thesis around Lost?

Hi guys! I finally got consent from the internal review board to do my Thesis project on Lost. I’ve been in a holding pattern for months while they decided it was okay.

Can you guys help me out with my project? I’ve attached a short survey that it would be really helpful to have 50 or so people complete. Also i am looking for people who are involved in solving the technical puzzles that lost presents for a specific portion of my thesis…if you or anyone you know has participated in The Lost Experience, the interactive puzzles, or getting into the extremely technical side of things, I would love to hear from you.

Send him an email if you’re interested in taking the survey.

Last, has anyone checked out the new Lost game ABC launched last week? It’s called LOSTSCAPE, and after you get through some nifty opening credits, you can begin play–basically, you have to ‘find’ Lost-related objects on the island. If you find seven (plus a special item) of the 34 items, you can enter the Lostscape sweepstakes; the winner of the sweepstakes gets a free trip to this year’s Comic Con in San Diego.

My favorite Lost analyst, EW’s Jeff Jensen, was just here visiting O’ahu and interviewed some of our favorite cast members. He was even allowed to take a video camera on set (no fair!!), and tried on clothes from the ’secret room’ in Ben’s house at the Other’s settlement.

You can read all about it here. The best part, however, comes on the fourth page: 2 videos with exclusive interviews of Josh Holloway, Michael Emerson, and Jorge Garcia–not to mention footage of Ben’s house, and a peek at where the sub is being stored (courtesy of an inquisitive pigeon). Good times.

Meanwhile, on the web, everyday Losties are also keeping busy during the hiatus. All we’re missing is a compilation of all the times Hurley says, ‘dude’ (although that’d possibly take up an entire hour, so it’s not surprising it hasn’t been done yet):

What?

[youtube GcatQSyRK6c]

Brotha!

[youtube Tq_SURMi1Mo]

…and if you always wished Lost had actual opening credits, check this out:

[youtube 6AARyP3aMmo]
Click here for a higher quality version of this video from its creators at weebls-stuff.com.

Well, it’s pretty quiet out on the Lost front these days. Filming continues in various places on the island, and we’re all still waiting for the 24th so that we can get our weekly fix!!

Thanks to all of you who have been patient with the blog over the past week. Looks like the math and font issues have been resolved. They’ve also put a direct link to the blog page on The Advertiser homepage: it’s right above the ‘in the neighborhood’ section.

Anyway, we’re still working on embedding video, but I have a few I wanted to share. If you recall, I posted a Lost meets Pirates of the Carribean video a few weeks ago–apparently, it was one of a three-part series (Disclaimer: If you like Hurley, I’d suggest that you not watch).

Lost meets Star Wars
Lost meets Pirates of the Caribbean
Lost meets Harry Potter

I know it’s not as good as watching a new episode, but it’s the best I can do.