Michael

I will do my best today (and tomorrow in the pre-EP post) to avoid the elephant in the room (i.e. the ridiculous number of significant plot spoilers already leaked for tomorrow’s finale) and stick to what I consider to be interesting analysis and rumor heading into tomorrow’s finale:

Doc Jensen’s “Who Is in the Coffin?” Odds-On Favorite is… Ben!

Ben
Jack said he was neither ”friend nor family” to the deceased: Lost’s biggest baddie fits. While it’s unlikely Ben’s passing would inspire Jack’s suicidal thoughts, the über-Other does represent McBeardy’s best shot at his dream of getting back to the Island. Sayid — Ben’s hitman for hire — would stay away lest the funeral might be a trap designed to kill him, too. 4 coffins

The big question that has been on everyone’s mind for an entire year - though Ben and Michael are probably the most plausible, I would probably lean towards Michael at this point - would definitely like to get your thoughts!

Death & Destruction - There is speculation that at least 1 and possibly 3 original characters will reach their demise tomorrow night - that is a relatively high body count even by Lost Season Finale standards - aside from Jin and the casket cadaver I am not really sure who these could be, nor do I care to speculate further. The real question is - if it were up to you, what 3 characters would you get rid of tomorrow night? Dark humor is appreciated!

Spectacular Smooches

Soooooooooo, if nothing else, tomorrow night you will see not only one, but two spectacular kisses during the finale! Who cares about smoke monsters, moving Islands and time travel anyway!

I have to be totally honest – I am not a fan of Michael the character, and that is a testament to Harold Perrineau and how he has been able to turn Michael into such a reprehensible character on the show. To recap, Michael, the ever reluctant father, was last seen striking a deal with Ben to get himself off the Island and reunite with his son. And all he had to was kill two people and sell out the rest of his friends in the process – all in a day’s work I suppose…

Which leads us to tonight and one of the most highly anticipated episodes of Lost in the last two seasons. What exactly was the deal he struck with Ben? What happened with Walt? Did they make it back to civilization? Where is Walt now?

And finally, how did he end up on the freighter as Kevin Johnson?

Spoiler Warning

ABC’s Official Show Description

“Sayid confronts Ben’s spy on the freighter, and Ben urges daughter Alex to flee Locke’s camp in order to survive an impending attack.”

Though most of the episode will be Michael-centric, we will definitely see some interesting things happen with Locke’s crew as well.

Episode Preview

As usual, a few sneak peeks: Sneak Peek 1 | Sneak Peek 2

It’s pretty crazy to think there was a contention of people out there who thought that this particular episode was a let down after the season premiere - I could not disagree more. This episode rocked, and I cannot remember a better infusion of new characters into any show I have ever watched. I thought the acting was incredible, especially by Jeremy Davies as the character “Daniel Faraday” (is he really that awkward/goofy or is that just manipulation?) and Ken Leung as “Miles” (ghost whispering kicks ass, as long as it does not involve Jennifer Love-Hewitt). There is a ton to digest from this episode, but here are a few things I found interesting:

*A Little Lost Fandom Love: Lindelof/Cuse winked at us twice during this episode and most of you caught it - Locke asking “What is the Smoke Monster ?!?” when Ben was in secret-revealing mode and Locke again referring to Walt as “different, taller” - then getting sarcastically ridiculed by Sawyer

*Find815.com Tie-In: The beginning of the episode was a total overlay of what happened at the conclusion of Find815, with the discovery of the plane and the corresponding news coverage

*The New Characters: It is a bit premature to pinpoint exactly what is happening, but I picked up on two streams of thought coming from the excellent commentary that accompanied the post from yesterday:

A) Ben really does hate these people, and Michael could be his “man on their boat” - Makes sense because we have seen Walt but not Michael and it would be just like Ben to force Michael to continue carrying out his evil deeds to ultimately release he and Walt from the Island

B) We are in for a major twist and these people are on the Island to help Ben regain control (or at least Charlotte is) - Another distinct possibility given the all too convenient placement of Charlotte’s bullet proof vest and Ben’s thorough knowledge of who she was. And how about the DHARMA Polar Bear fossil? More theories on that?

Michael Abaddon is EVIL: So, now we know that Naomi was hired by Abaddon as the mercenary to lead all the misfits we met this week - but this episode takes me back to the conversation between The Dark Destroyer and Hurley from last week, when he asked “Are they still alive?” I initially thought he was referring to other survivors of Flight 815, but perhaps he was asking about his crew. I think it is becoming increasingly likely that the Oceanic 6 get off the Island without these new characters, given all the info we are getting fed about the helicopter and its inability to carry much weight.

That’s it for now - the only way this episode could have been any better is if Miles would have parachuted directly into Jacob’s cabin!

Here is the latest installment, in its infinite glory… The infamous Doc Arzt returns to present his sad story related to how he ended up on Flight 815:

I am not sure what to take from this other than the irony and humor associated with Arzt Match.com date gone awry. Enjoy!

In this particular mobisode, we get a little more Michael & Sun interaction, further blurring the lines associated with the question of “Did they or didn’t they?”. In case you have not seen it:

Obviously the suspicion has been there for sometime, but this provides further reason to believe that there could be more to this relationship:

Sun: He’s not the man I fell in love with (referring to Jin).
[Michael hugs her.]
Michael: Maybe he just needs a little time. It’s been hard on all of us. It’s ok. It’ll be ok.
[They pull apart and begin to stare at each other. Michael’s hand is on Sun’s face and as they lean towards one another to kiss, Vincent comes up and barks, ruining the elicit opportunity.]

Again, it will be interesting to see how Michael is interjected back into the story line and how most of the cast will act towards him, now that he is a known murderer and someone that generally turned his back on them. Will Sun have anymore feelings for him, other than contempt?

Video Courtesy of DarkUFO

This definitely contained many more characters than the previous episodes we have seen thus far (Hurley, Jin, Sun, Michael, Dr. Arzt), but aside from comic relief, I’m not really sure what to take from this mobisode, though it was written by Lindelof so maybe there is something here. Arzt mockery of Jack is probably the high point:

Hurley - Hey, if Jack says it’s a good idea, maybe we should, like, trust him.
Arzt - Why? You tell me. Because he’s a doctor? Is that what qualifies him for leadership here? How do we know he’s not a nut case? I want to tell you something. [leaning down and speaking quietly to Hurley and Michael] The other day I’m in the jungle, and I’m taking a leak, and Jack runs through the jungle, crying for his Daddy.

Enjoy!

Another good mobisode, in my opinion. If you have not yet seen “The Deal”, you can view it here.

The premise of “The Deal” centers around a discussion between Michael and Juliet, and the title is an obvious reference to what Michael had to do to save Walt. The dynamic of their conversation is interesting, specifically after Juliet reveals some information about the deal she had to cut with Ben to save her sister’s life. We, again, see Michael’s somewhat self-centered perception of reality come out, in the following dialogue:

Juliet – I guess you are. I made a deal with him too.
Michael – Then why are you still here?
Juliet – Because he saved my sister’s life.
Michael – And where is she?
Juliet – Miami.
Michael – But you had to stay? What’s the point saving her life if you can’t be with her?
Juliet – Wouldn’t you do anything to save Walt?

Michael then just blankly stares at Juliet… I find this interesting because we know Michael’s past, specifically his initial reluctance in which he accepted Walt into his life. This definitely has me even more intrigued with how Michael will be injected back into the storyline during Season 4.

Also, Kristin Dos Santos of E!Online is reporting that advertisements for Season 4 of Lost will be coming to a theater near you, possibly. This is not that big a deal in and of itself, but I do find this particular excerpt from her post exciting related to Season 4:

And by the way, this also means ABC thinks the new season of Lost is so good, it warrants such play. I’ve heard from Alphabet-net insiders that the upcoming eight episodes filmed so far are “crazy good” and will “even satisfy the haters.”

Not that any of us expected less, but this obviously bodes well for what we will get starting in February.

A little more activity this week related to new characters in Season 4 and a few other interesting items to note:

*Jeff Jensen of EW.com reported this week that Jeff Fahey (of Lawnmower Man fame) has joined the cast for Season 4, so that makes 5 new characters that will be introduced during the story arc for the season.

Executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse tell EW.com that Jeff Fahey — a cult-pop fave most famous for The Lawnmower Man and most recently seen in Grindhouse — has been added to the show, joining previously announced newcomers Jeremy Davies (Saving Private Ryan), Lance Reddick (The Wire), Ken Leung (The Sopranos), and British actress Rebecca Mader (The Devil Wears Prada, Love Monkey).

Given the lengthy beard that Fahey is sporting these days, there is a ton of speculation about the character he could have been hired to portray.

*Kristin from E! Online had a few snippets related to Lost on her blog this week:

Thomas in Dallas: Any word on Lost? I can’t wait to see new episodes!

We still don’t get new eps until February (a little fact that makes me sob uncontrollably every time I hear it). However! The coolest cast around just went back to work last week in Oahu, and I’m hearing very good things about the new season! Michael is back, the Losties we love are front and center and the storylines are tighter than, well, I’d say Josh Holloway’s backside but, sheesh, I’m a married woman.

Ginny in Ipswich, Massachusetts: Will there be any cast changes this season on Lost?

Aside from the newbies we announced last week (much thanks to Korbi for that scoop!), Entertainment Weekly is now reporting that Grindhouse’s Jeff Fahey will join the island crew this year. I can also tell you that although I’d heard a while back we’d be seeing a little less of Matthew Fox this season, so far there are no signs of any “Jack-off” days on the production schedule (sorry, I couldn’t resist, I’m 12). So, we’ll see.

So, even though we are still months away, at least we know they are shooting Season 4, that our favorite characters are front and center, and that we will have at least 5 new characters this year that somehow fit into this ever-growing puzzle!

A couple of “Lost” newsworthy items to provide some interesting reading this week:

Entertainment Weekly’s Q & A with Harold Perrineau: Nothing groundbreaking here, but it is compelling to get Perrineau’s thoughts about the secrecy regarding the show:

Have you ever worked on another project with this level of secrecy?
Never. And while it was really fun in the beginning, it gets a little like, Uhh, what am I doing? You really have to stay on your feet creatively, so when the scripts come you can find some way to make it as interesting and current and filled with as much stuff as you can, having just read it a week earlier. So, because I’ve been gone for a year and have no idea what has happened, I’m already gearing up to make a bunch of choices so I can fit all of that into whatever they have him do. You have to be really creative, and that’s kind of fun, figuring stuff out.

Chicago Magazine Article on Jeffrey Lieber: This article is interesting and just basically goes to show you that there are a ton of people out there making money off the hardwork of others. Lieber receives onscreen credit (and $$$) basically because he came up with the archetypes for some of the characters on the show. Beyond that, Lieber’s initial concept for Lost could not have been more different than what Abrams ultimately created and ran with.

I am all for contributors receiving credit (both artistically and monetarily), but this article gives the vibe that Lieber is somehow jaded by that particular experience. I cannot speak for everyone, but I would probably not be watching Lost if it were just some ramped up version of Castaway or Lord of the Flies (which is where Lieber planned to take it). The mythology of the show is what intrigues me most and keeps me tuned in. What about you?

Enjoy!

According to ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson, and after a lot of pressure from the critics in the audience, Harold Perrineau is returning to the show as Michael. According to this article, the news was supposed to be saved for ComiCon, but fanboy pressure prevailed.

From Yahoo’s story about the news:

ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson didn’t offer any details Wednesday of what’s in store for Michael. He also didn’t say whether Walt, the son played by Malcolm David Kelley, will be seen again.

So for everyone who’s been suffering separation anxiety from missing Michael and Walt, cheers to you. Although we don’t know when we will find out what happened to them, or if Walt will be back also, I’m ready to hear the story. So, according to Lost time, it’s been roughly 4-6 weeks since Michael and Walt left in the boat, I think.

Thanks to Aaron and Meathead for the tips.

Update: Another write-up here. (thanks Toeknee)