The Lost Book Reading Club: Read the books referenced in the show

Do you miss Lost? Are you jonesing for a new book club? Are you slightly obsessed with any scene in the show that includes Sawyer reading? (Or is that just me?) Well, ABC is offering one solution to the no-Lost-'til-January-2009 blues: a Lost-themed online book club.

As ABC explains it, the book club section of Lost's official website will feature a list of "the books that have been either seen or referenced throughout the dynamic four seasons" of the show, and will include "a message board to discuss the titles, a synopsis of each book, along with when and how it was referenced in the show, and an introduction by co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse."

There are many titles I've never noticed in the show, though I definitely recognize some of them. Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, for example, has been clearly referenced in Desmond's storyline, with all the weird time stuff he experiences. Others have been used as titles for specific episodes, like Stranger in a Strange Land and The Shape of Things to Come. Oh, and of course I'll always remember Sawyer reading Are You There God? It's Me Margaret on the beach. Sawyer + Judy Blume? That is my kinda beach day.

Anyway, click here to start checking out the Lost book club for yourself!

Lost: There's No Place Like Home Parts 2 & 3

Wow. And. . . wow. The season finale of Lost was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. It was totally intense and spooky and sweet and gave me some answers. My head is still reeling a little from the two full jam-packed hours.

OK, it's not in chronological order but I just have to type-squeal this: Desmond and Penny! Together forevah! "I love you, Penny, and I'll never leave you again." I was cheering during that moment.

On the other end of the spectrum, definitely cried like a baby while Sun watched the boat explode. Sun's bloodcurdling screams are haunting me.

So, the whole episode I hear about "Jeremy Bentham," who apparently went to see each of the Oceanic Sixers. Kate says to Jack, "When he came to me and I heard what he had to say, I knew he was crazy. But you, you believed him. Him of all people."And Jack responds, "That was the only way to keep you safe, you and Aaron."

Jeremy Bentham also went to see Walt (about whom Hurley remarks, in a bit of an understatement, "Gettin' big, dude.").

I think it's funny when Sawyer calls Jack "Sundance" (a reference to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, I assume), but I laughed out loud at "Kenny Rogers" for Frank Lapidus.

The whispers are back in full force this episode! During the Keamy shootout scene, but also on the boat just before Christian Shepard appears and says, "You can go now, Michael." And then the boat blows up and the screaming begins.

After their whole "miracles!" "no miracles!" argument, Locke insists that Jack lie to everyone back on the mainland about the island. "Lie to them, Jack, if you do it half as well as you lie to yourself, they'll believe you."

Rose calls Miles "shorty"! Miles is so smug and snide, I want Rose to take him down a few pegs.

This exchange between Miles and Charlotte seemed like an SNL parody of Lost:Charlotte: "What do you mean, Get back here?"Miles: "What do I mean?" as he shiftily walks away.

Also: Charlotte's been to the island before, and was maybe born there??

I got to see more of the orientation video. Dr. Edgar Halliwax mentions the Casimir effect, which allows "the Dharma Initiative to conduct unique experiments in both space and time."

My favorite exchange:Locke: "Hey, was he talking about what I think he was talking about?"Ben: "If you mean time traveling bunnies, then yes."

This line: "If you think I'm bluffing, may I remind you how your daughter looked when she bled out, face down in the grass," made it very satisfying to watch Ben wail on Keamy. What an insanely evil dude. Though I guess when his daughter died Ben stopped caring about not killing innocent people. He didn't care at all that he blew up the boat.

It's an interesting little Lost in Translation-type moment when I was not allowed to hear what Sawyer whispers to Kate just before he passionately kisses her and jumps from the helicopter.

So, in the future, Hurley's playing chess with Eko and Sayid appears to take Hurley "somewhere safe."

I love Sun so much. She finds Charles Widmore. "You and I have common interests. When you are ready to discuss them, call me. As you know, we're not the only ones who left the island."

Um, drinking rum while a topless Sawyer washes up on the shore in front of me? That's a lot like a dream I have sometimes.

Ben tells John, "Whoever moves the island can never come back." And then he says, with what sounds like real sincerity, "Goodbye John, I'm sorry I made your life so miserable."

Richard Alpert: "Hello John. Welcome home." Wow, Locke really is the new Ben!

Ben, muttering in the icy place where he pushes the thing and moves the island, "I hope you're happy now, Jacob."

I know it ends up being just a dream, but I want to know what the person says on the phone to Kate just before she catches Claire in Aaron's room. That scene was freaky!

"Jeremy Bentham" a.k.a. John Locke told Jack that a lot of "very bad things" have happened and that they're all Jack's fault.

Then Ben says they all have to go back to the island, but that "the island won't let you come alone." He tells Jack that he has ideas, but they all have to go back to the island together — and that includes Locke's corpse. It's interesting that if they do this, they'll have to drag Locke's corpse around, the way he dragged around his father's.

I have so many questions still! Most of them revolve around who is able to die and who isn't — both on the island and off.

Lost: There's No Place Like Home Part 1

Alright, folks, I'm getting down to the wire on this season of Lost. Technically, this episode was "Part 1" of a three-part finale. I'm getting so close to getting tons of answers I can taste it. Parts 2 and 3 will come in a two-hour special.

One of my favorite parts of the last few episodes has been the merry trio of travelers I've gotten in Locke, Ben and Hurley. I'm going to miss their rapport and bantering when the season's over.

This episode seriously tugged on the ol' heartstrings a few times, first with the reunion amongst the Oceanic Six and their families (I personally lost it when Hurley brought Sayid over to his parents because there was nobody to meet Sayid; also, seeing Kate stand alone with Aaron made me sad). Then later when Claire's mother walks over to Kate and gazes at Aaron (knife enters gut) and tells her "Your son is beautiful," not knowing she's looking at her own grandson (knife twists).

I want to know what Daniel Faraday knows about the Orchid station. He says they used "secondary protocol" and then freaks out and tells Charlotte they must leave the island.

Ahhh, Sawyer with the baby, hot guy with a baby, hot guy with a baby! My ovaries kicked into overdrive a little there.

I get annoyed with the exchanges Jack and Kate have sometimes, especially when she thinks he's doing something foolish and he doesn't care. It never really makes a difference what Kate says to him, and it's getting old.

"That sonofabitch is stubborn. Hold up! You don't get to die alone." God I love Sawyer.

The island gets a name! Membata, whichis Indonesian for 'doubt' or 'uncertainty'.

I was curious about how they'd explain away Kate's non-pregnancy before the flight. Guess they'll just dodge that one for now.

Sayid and Nadia are so beautiful together. I don't know yet why Nadia gets killed by one of Widmore's men in the future? Nor do I have any theories?

Ben calls moving the island "both dangerous and unpredictable. It's a measure of last resort." So, "moving the island" is. . .really going to happen?

OK, Sun's dad is one shady dude. I think he might be involved in some way with either Widmore or Oceanic or both. The brief conversation I saw between Sun's dad and the other two men, discussing what sounds like some kind of heist or fraud ("Whoever did it used five different banks") seems significant. I don't think they would include this scene if it weren't somehow meaningful.

Also, GO SUN! "This morning I bought a controlling interest in your company. So you will now respect me." Love. Her. So. Much.

Also again: "Two people are responsible for [Jin's] death. You are one of them." Who do you think the other one is?

Hugo's parents' jokes about island life and that island party theme are so hilariously misplaced.

I saw the numbers again! 4815162342 on the dashboard of the car Hurley's dad (good ol' Cheech) gives him.

So now Jack knows that Claire is his half-sister. I want to go back and watch flashbacks to Jack in the Sidney airport to see if I can spot what he wrote on the cocktail napkin for his father's eulogy. I don't recall ever seeing details of what he wrote. I just can't remember this.

Lost: Cabin Fever

Oh, I just love the Locke flashbacks! And this one is especially cool because it begins before Locke is even born, which I thought was awesome. There are so many clues and connections between Locke and the island that started way before he got to the island — before he even ended up in the wheelchair.

I loved the beginning of this episode. The young Locke's mom putting "Everyday" on the record player, bopping around, getting ready for her date with a man who her mother scolds her about for being "twice your age, Emily." ("So what, Mother? Jealous?") Such a good setup.

Starting with Locke's birth we can see from the start that he's a fighter, a special person. Throughout his life it seems that he was being drawn to the island, one way or another (Richard Alpert going to his house, the high school teacher pushing him to go to science camp at Mittelos Laboratories, where Juliet was recruited to do reserach) but that he never accepted his "destiny" — until he got to the cabin.

So, Ben understands that where he once was "the chosen one," now it's Locke's time. He watches Locke as he dreams about Horace, and later tells him, "I used to have dreams."

I originally thought Horace's nose is bleeding because that's something that happened when he died. But here's another theory: maybe his nose is bleeding because he's traveling through time, and his nose bleeds just like Desmond's did in "The Constant."

The scene in which Alpert asks Locke to choose the items that belong to him "already" is so tense and interesting, but it baffles me. "You sure the knife belongs to you John? You sure of that? Well, it doesn't." Why do you think Alpert rushes away after Locke chooses the knife?

There is an idea that this process Alpert utilizes with Locke is "very similar to how the new Dalai Lama is selected."

Sayid: "The only way to save our lives is to get those people off the island."Hmm. . .

Ewwwwwww corpses make me so nauseated.

"You can't be the prom king. You can't be the quarterback. You can't be a superhero." The superhero line is funny because, Alpert's introduction to the little kid John is almost word-for-word from The X-Men: I'm Richard, John. I run a school for kids who are. . . extremely special, and I have reason to believe that you might be one them."

I love that Frank Lupidas and his lively, bushy eyebrows.

Best line of the night goes to Ben: "Those things had to happen to me. That was my destiny. But you'll understand soon enough that there are consequences to being chosen. Because destiny, John, is a fickle bitch."

I knew the guy pushing the chair was going to be Matthew Abbadon. I just knew it. He tells Locke that he should go on a walkabout, and ends things with, "When you and I run into each other again? You'll owe me one."

Eeeek, this time bending thing — with the doctor showing up on the shore with his throat slit "before" he's killed on the boat — is hurting my brain a little bit.

Love the part when Ben says, with his eyes all creepy, "The island wanted me to get sick. It wanted you to get well. My time is over. It's yours now."Hurley: "Yeah, I'm cool with you going in alone, too."

Even though I've known for a while that it's probably Christian Shepard sitting in that cabin, I was still afraid of the creepy shadowy guy sitting in the dark. And then Claire's calm, smiling face! Aaack! Now we know that Christian isn't Jacob but he "can speak on his behalf." He confirms that Locke was "chosen" to be there, and says that Aaron is "where he's supposed to be, and that's not here." This makes me think of Hurley's comment to Jack in the future that Jack "isn't supposed to raise Aaron."

The one question that matters: "How do I save the island?"

OK, I laughed out loud at the Hurley-shares-a-candy-bar-with-Ben bit.

Finally: Move the island?

Lost: Something Nice Back Home

So, I watched this episode of Lost and turned off the TV and. . . immediately forgot what happened in the episode. Why? Because nothing really happened in the episode! I was so excited when Hurley brought out the note and read it to Jack because at least that was somewhat intriguing. Most of the other stuff was Jack stressing out and the Jack-Kate-Sawyer and Jack-Kate-Juliet love triangles which, in my opinion, is getting tiresome. Anyone else slightly bored by this episode? I do have one interesting theory however.

Here's my one theory for this episode, though I might be reaching a bit because I'm craving anything juicier than just some soap opera storylines and cryptic messages from dead Charlie: When Jack is looking at X-rays, I wondered if they were his own, and if Juliet did something to him during the operation. Yeah, I know, I know, unlikely. But I feel like we're trained at this point to look for conspiracies where there are none.

Again with an Alice in Wonderland reference (Jack is reading it to Aaron). Alice in Wonderland pops up in various ways in the show, and at least two of the Jack-centric episodes have been titled after the book ("White Rabbit," "Through the Looking Glass"). In this episode, the words he reads to Aaron seem significant: "Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle."

Jack always seems to have this smug, cocky, inflated sense of grandiosity. As he's reeling from pain on the island, he says "I've gotten us this far," (just you, Jack? Really?) and he later tells Kate that he "saved" her (which, admittedly, might be what happens in a future episode, but still).

I do like how Jack's beard has become an indicator of time and his emotional state in this season.

Sawyer has become so tender toward Claire lately. It's so sweet. I love that he tells Miles, "You got a restraining order. Twenty feet."

Yay for Rose and Bernard. I'm always happy to see them. I do wonder about what Rose points out: that the island is supposed to heal people, not make them sicker. But maybe that's some kind of indication that some people should stay on the island while others should leave?

Why is Sad Hurley so much sadder than anyone else being sad?

Finally! Hurley reads the message from Charlie. "You're not supposed to raise him, Jack. Charlie said someone's going to be visiting you, to. Soon."

That was really sweet of that pilot, Frank Lapidus to protect Claire, Sawyer, Miles and Aaron like that. As one of the few tense moments in the episode, I thought it was great.

All that moment of Jack proposing to Kate did for me was make me want to watch more of The Office. It's a beautiful diamond, though.

I knew something was up with that Charlotte, listening in on Sun and Jin's conversations. She's a shady one.

Anybody else kinda miss Ben in this episode?

So. . .Christian Shephard is everywhere.

I respect that Juliet admits the kiss to Kate. It's a noble thing for her to do, really. Makes me like her again.

It's so strange to see Kate and Jack chatting normally on couches in a house.

Sawyer chose to stay?

So instead of dying, Claire might simply disappear with Christian Shephard?

Lost: The Shape of Things to Come

Holy cow, this episode was crammed full of so much stuff. Murder! Betrayal! Smoke monster! It was like an entire movie in one hour-long episode. A busy, confusing movie. I can't say I totally enjoyed this epsiode entirely (though I am psyched that it's back!), but I loved the ending when Ben raised the stakes a few more notches.

I love that that clip of Hurley saying "We're all gonna die" which I've been seeing in previews for weeks was actually just him . . playing a board game.

"Calm down, Chicken Little. The sky ain't fallin' just yet." When Sawyer said this to Hurley, I just thought it was a funny little nickname moment, though this is a reference to a character who believes disaster is imminent.

Of course Ben can play the piano in a creepy trance. Also, I kind of loved it when Widmore called Ben's eyes "horrible." They really are.

Ben's flashforward takes place in October 2005, which is a year and one month after the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. In this one episode, the jet-setter is seen in the Sahara Desert, Tunisia, Iraq and London.

I love it when characters make remarks that could be quips about the entire series in general, like when Daniel Faraday says, "'When is kind of a relative term."

I completely thought this would be the episode when Claire dies (leaving Aaron in Kate's care). And then, it wasn't.

Why'd that guy murder Sayid's wife? And now we now how Sayid came to become Ben's killing machine.

"She means nothing to me." I can't repeat the obscenities I was yelling at the screen during this moment, but OMG. Ben is massive jerk, changed rules or no. His daughter died hearing that she meant nothing to him and was just a pawn. His status as that villain everyone loves to hate was changed to just hate.

And Alex wasn't my favorite character by far, but her death was incredibly sad to me.

Oh, so they brought back the smoke monster. Sad, crazy smoke monster. Anybody else giggle a little at the vaguely Yeti-like noises it makes as it wreaks havoc? I have a hard time taking that particular plotline seriously.

I don't care too much about the dead guy on the beach. It seemed like he existed in the story simply to make this exchange happen:Jack: "Were you ever going to take us off this island?"Daniel: "No."

Sawyer is so protective of everyone in this episode. Saving Claire, shielding Hurley from Locke. Love that Sawyer.

Widmore has nightmares?

Ben can't kill Widmore?

What exactly were "the rules" that Widmore changed? And where is Penny hidden that Widmore thinks Ben won't find her?

So, there's a lot to chew on here!

Lost: Meet Kevin Johnson

Can you tell how much I'm loving that I've gotten so much Desmond time this season (see image)? He didn't even have that many lines in thi sepisode, but I just had to use this picture. Sigh.

This whole time when everyone's wondered where Michael went to and what he was doing, he was back in the U.S.! He was just living his life, Walt was fine and everything. Crazy.

So, Ben gets Michael off the island and back to New York, so Michael is not part of the Oceanic Six. Once I learned that, I had this hope that Sayid would be in the same situation (not in the Oceanic Six) and I'd still have another member of the Six to figure out. No such luck. And according to the final preview thingy at the end there, they said that we now know all the members of the Oceanic Six — and they flashed an image of Aaron. I guess he does count.

What's super cool about this episode is that it sets up the possibility for a number of people to get off the island, courtesy of Ben, as long as they work for him. This — and the flash-forward device they've started using — provides more options when creating storylines, rather than just being stuck on the island and seeing peoples' flashbacks. I like it.

For whatever reason, I totally thought Claire would be the one to die. I never suspected Rousseau, but then again, I often forget about her entirely. It's a shame she died, I really liked her.

Poor, tortured Michael. I feel for the guy, he's so miserable and haunted and he can't do anything about it.

That Miles had some sassy lines! He's fast becoming another character I love to hate.

There is something so fishy about the whole thing with Ben sending Rousseau, Alex and Karl into the forest. He gives Rousseau such a meaningful stare when he says, "Your mother will protect you," and he'd been glaring at Karl just before he gave them the map. I almost think that he arranged this somehow in order to get rid of Karl because Alex is "his." In the jungle when Rousseau is telling Alex to take her hand and that she loves her, her eyes are full of tears, like she knows what's coming. The whole thing is sad and eerie.

It's heartbreaking to see Michael pawn the watch Jin eventually gave him in order to buy a gun. A gun that doesn't even succeed in killing him.

So, Tom's gay. And he can just "come and go" between the island and the mainland as he pleases. This newfound info makes me want to go back and watch all of Tom's scenes again.

I'm glad they explained where they came up with all those bodies for the fake Flight 815 wreckage, but Tom talking about all that — the cemetery in Thailand, etc. — made me queasy. It's so morbid.

That bomb trick is cruel. "Not yet." I would have laughed if I weren't so exasperated.

"There are people on your boat who are innocent. . . I will not kill innocent people." Really, Ben? Because I'm pretty sure you will.

Again with the "good guys" label: "Then consider yourself one of the good guys."

Sayid tells the captain that "Kevin Johnson" is not who he says he is. I kind of expected the captain to just be like, "Yeah, I know."

Lost: Ji Yeon

So, with this episode of Lost, I started out all excited that we got another Sun episode (yay!). Then there was that part with Juliet that made me scream at the TV. Then the thing happened with the person with the chains (I mean . . . what?!). Toward the end I realized that they'd been totally messing with me, ime-wise and then it ended with. . . wait for it . . . an emotional sock to the gut. I'm still reeling from this.

I have to talk about the time stuff first. Making me think both Jin and Sun were a part of the Oceanic Six — I was racing to figure out what that panda signified — was nothing short of awesome. I am sure I'm not the only one who cursed out the TV upon figuring this out, but also kind of smile? Well played, Lost.

And I thought I was so smug when I figured out that hers were flash-forwards before they even said Oceanic Six. I do have to say, though, I took note of how old and clunky Jin's cell phone seemed.

Also: Yay, Sun is one of the Oceanic Six!

I love that Desmond can't seem to button up his shirt. I'm not being snarky here, I really do love that.

My favorite line: "Don't worry, everyone loves a panda." — toy store clerk, after inquiring about whether it's a boy or girl.

All my newfound affection for Juliet from the last episode is out the window. I don't care how good her intentions are, that is a low blow with telling Jin about the affair. When Sun is getting the prenatal vitamins, Juliet says, "After everything you confided in me, I should at least have your trust." Well, now she's proven that she'll promptly abuse that trust. I don't think her intentions justified her actions.

Also, this was great: Juliet: "Translate for me."Sun: "No."

Why does Kate have to be such a snot-nosed tattletale? "I'm going to have to tell Jack." Seriously?

OK, a woman drapes herself in chains and jumps off the side of the ship.And . . . I stopped breathing for a minute.

I love it when Bernard pops up to say some good-natured things. Who else would you want to go fishing with just after learning of your wife's affair? I think his karma talk is going to prove significant. "See, it's all about karma, Jin. You make bad choices, bad things happen to you, you make good choice, good —" Jin catches a fish. "See that? Now, that's karma. We must be the good guys."

So, this is Charles Widmore's boat, and the captain is determined to find Ben who is responsible for faking the recovery of Flight 815.

With all this other stuff going on, I'm glad it was who we all expected on the boat (Michael) and not someone else in a big twist.

"So I forgive you." I thought that Desmond-Penny episode wrung me out, but no. More tears. More tears!

Awww! Ji Yeon is born!

Hurley — in a suit!

Jin's tombstone states the day he died is the day of the crash, September 22, 2004. This implies that the Oceanic 6 have told the world that he died in the crash and brings up questions about the true circumstances of his real death.

Lost: The Other Woman

Bottom line of this episode of Lost: Sucks to be Juliet. I still don't altogether trust her, but man, she has got it bad on that island. Although I did find her to be really pretty in this episode? OK, maybe I am warming to her. Just a little.

The episode wasn't as gripping as the last episode with Desmond's crazy experiences, but it was more of a fill-in-the-gaps episode, rather than a blow-your-mind episode.

I love how they tried to mislead me in the beginning, when Juliet is explaining to a therapist that she hates to be the center of attention. My first assumption was that Juliet is one of the Oceanic Six — but no. OK, so maybe they only misled me.

There was a time when I thought the driving rain in the forest meant something significant every time it happened, like a motif or something. Now I'm pretty sure it's not that calculated.

How did Therapist Lady Harper get a message from Ben when he's being held captive by Locke?

Goodwin says he got the burn on his arm because he "was pressed up against a transformer." Like, Optimus Prime?

Dan: "So they have Miles."Kate: "Yeah, but he's fine. They're treating him fine." You know, grenade in the mouth, he's really comfortable.

Best line of the episode: "It's very stressful being an Other, Jack." — Juliet

Claire's haircuts are always so fresh and modern.

I love Ben's allusion to the rabbit he used to trick Sawyer into thinking he'd been implanted with a pacemaker. "This didn't have a number on it, did it?" Hilarious.

Lots of private vs. public discussion. Juliet hates to be the center of attention. She doesn't know why Goodwin has a problem with being private about their relationship.

OK, this whole Charles Widmore thing. First off, who is videotaping the incident with Widmore and the "unfortunate" member of Ben's people who got caught? Also, if Ben really did "tape over" the Red Sox game that he showed Jack that one time, then this thing with Widmore happened between that time and right now.

I still want to know why, exactly, Widmore is so invested in finding the island.

Michael Emerson, who plays Ben is simply one of the best actors working on TV right now. Unbelievable.

When Juliet wonders about the children (Zack and Emma), Ben references the lists again. "Who are we to question who's on the list and who's not?"

I always suspected something weird was up between Ben and Juliet. But holy cow he's a psychopath. "You're mine!"

It's just like Jack to be all macho and smug, "He knows where to find me." Barf.

Lost: The Constant

Wow. This is one of them freaky mess-with-your-head Lost episodes, and I think it's one of the most riveting episodes I've ever seen. They're again playing with the space-time stuff, nearly to the point of causing vertigo. And I like it.

Plus I cried a little at the end. Um, maybe more than a little. Please — tell me I'm not a total sap.

Oooh, Juliet is all sarcastic with the archaeologist lady. "Maybe if you speak real slow, we'll understand what you're saying." Sassy.

I am loving this Desmond-and-Sayid duo. I'd like Desmond to see more of that in my future.

They do really well to disorient me, along with Desmond. These quick cuts between Desmond's experiences — apparently called flashtimes, rather than flashbacks or flash-forwards — are totally dizzying.

The guy in the bed, Minkowski, is so creepy. "It's happening to you, too, isn't it?!" "I was just on a Ferris wheel." Gah! This episode struck me as being similar to older spooky shows, like The Twilight Zone. It's not just mysterious at this point — it's really scary.

However, sometimes this time travel stuff squishes my brains.

I'm starting to like the eccentric Daniel Faraday. His 1996 self had a pretty hairdo. And now I know that his faltering memory might be due due to prolonged exposure to radiation.

Minkowski says they regularly got calls from Penny that they were under strict orders not to take. Why?

So, Mr. Widmore had the highest bid on the log from the ship on the island, the Black Rock (which, among other things stored dynamite, and was also the place where all the Sawyer-Locke-Locke's dad stuff went down). The ship's log was kept secret by, apparently, the Hanso family, and now (er, in 1996 anyway) it's in Mr. Widmore's possession.

Desmond and Mr. Widmore in the bathroom together is kind of funny, but that dude is harsh: "It's not me who hates you." Ouch.

Sayid is so totally desensitized: When that Minkowski guy drops Sayid barely raises an eyebrow.

Aww . . . Penny is Desmond's constant! "I love you, Penny. I've always loved you."Aaaaand crying. Turning to sobs. Okay, end the episode already!

Dan's notebook: "If anything happens, Desmond Hume will be my constant." Love it.

What? - Lost Clip Montage

Even if I weren't such a fan of Lost, I'd find this clip montage ridiculously funny. If you're a fan of the show, this video has probably already made it to you, but it merits another viewing. Or two. All it is — seriously, all it is, for two full minutes — is a series of clips of various characters saying, "What?"

The ones in Korean with subtitles are some of the funniest.

It's just plain silliness. It's like trying to whistle the same note at the same time as someone else — you have to laugh. To see what I mean, click on the arrow below.

Lost: Eggtown

As a general rule, I think I've had enough of Kate's stories, of which I've now had nine. the last episode was so gripping with Sayid's flash forwards, and I found myself not caring too much about Kate's stuff. Well, except for the parts that involved a shirtless Sawyer. Know what I think Sawyer's nickname for Sawyer would be? "Dimples." Anyway, otherwise, it was a fairly interesting episode.

Last things first: Aaron is the son that Kate has been referring to, ever since last season's finale when she told Jack in a flash-forward that she has to go because "he'll be wondering where I am." So does this mean that the Oceanic 6 consists of Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Aaron, and one more person? Or does Aaron not count as one of the six?

In the last episode Sawyer said to Kate, "Nothing awaits you back there but handcuffs," and sure enough, they cuff Kate soon after she enters the courtroom.

Locke: "If I was a dictator I would just shoot you and go about my day." Wow, way harsh. And that whole grenade-in-the-mouth bit was hardcore, too. Locke's losing it. He also claims to now be "responsible for the well-being of this island."

Awww, Hurley: "You just totally Scooby Dooed me, didn't ya?"

I gotta say I'm growing tired of the Kate-Jack-Sawyer love triangle. Of course Jack is going to say on the stand that he doesn't love her. That part is lame. And the whole piece with Kate and Sawyer in bed, quibbling about babies and Jack is just boring. Only thing I needed to know there is that Kate's not actually pregnant — or, at least that's what she says.

Man, I love Sawyer's goofy-looking reading glasses.

Also: I think it's funny that there's Dharma Initiative boxed wine.

I think I shivered a little when Sawyer said, "So just be woman enough to tell me you want to use me for somethin'".

$3.2 million seems like such a random number to toss out there. But I know nothing in this show is random.

What's going on with that helicopter Sayid took with the helicopter guy? Still haven't landed in a day.

Now I know that Dan's memory is faulty, and his remembering two out of three cards is considered progress.

I'm curious to find out who this nanny woman is who greets Kate with such a warm welcome. Hmm?

Lost: The Economist

This episode of Lost left me reeling for many reasons. While I did get to see another member of the elusive Oceanic 6, the episode raised many new questions, and as usual, provided few answers. That said, it was definitely one of the more suspenseful episodes I've seen and had enough twists and turns to keep me entertained for an hour.

Right off the bat, something tells me that the bracelet Sayid stole from Naomi is going to come back to haunt me. The bracelet reads "N, I'll always be with you, R.G." I kinda wish I could just forget about the characters who have already died since I've got so many living ones to follow, but oh well.

Future Sayid is all cleaned up, preppy, and enjoying a country club lifestyle as a member of the Oceanic 6. Based on his golf partner's reaction, Sayid has created a reputation for himself as one of the survivors. Obviously I can't be fooled by his blow-dried hair and fancy threads — Sayid is still just as intense and unafraid of violence as ever, showcased by how quickly he shoots his golfing buddy dead.

New Sayid is quite the smooth talker, and isn't showing any signs of still being in love with Nadia as he gets involved with Elsa. Sad, I kind of miss when Sayid was the torturer/hopeless romantic.

Everyone seems to disagree with Locke, so why don't they just team up against him? I'm especially surprised that nobody has accidentally killed someone else in the heat of passion yet. Namely Ben — Sawyer never seemed to have a problem taking matters into his own hands before.

Dan conducts an experiment on the island, only adding to the mystery of the space/time continuum. Overall, this subplot paled in comparison to everything else that went down.

It's kind of a letdown to see Sayid fall victim to Locke's trap. Especially since Ben pretty much owns Sayid's soul from here on out.

Favorite line of the episode goes to Hurley: "I saw you snap that guys neck with the break dancing thing you do with your legs . . . I think I'll hang back here." Also, that scene from last season was awesome.

Aww, the scene where Sawyer wants Kate to stay with him on the island is pretty sweet, although it's hard to believe that Sawyer is ready to settle down with Kate and raise island babies and live happily ever after. Plus, I know Kate is going to get off the island so clearly Sawyer's powers of persuasion are going to fail eventually.

Sayid and Elsa's romantic moment gets interrupted pretty quickly when they whip out their guns and start shooting each other. Sayid gets away with the gunshot, only to be stitched up by his new boss — ta da! It's Ben, who is now some kind of doctor?

So, Sayid is working for Ben, but is Ben still running things back on the island? Ben says that Sayid has to "protect his friends," but are those his friends on the island or the ones who were rescued? Who else is Ben asking Sayid to kill? And does he have any contact with the other members of the Oceanic 6? The fact that Sayid still can't figure out a way to outsmart Ben is kind of ominous for the future.

Lost: Confirmed Dead

Now, I don't want to be ungrateful here. These precious few episodes of Lost are some of the only snippets of new TV I've been able to get. But there's always too much happening on this show. There are so many characters and so much crazy stuff going on all the time that to introduce more characters into the mix is just frustrating. Here's hoping these folks are relevant. Really, really relevant.

Firstly, deep sea video footage is hands down one of the scariest things ever. No matter what anyone finds down there, it's haunting. Also, I'm a little surprised that they were able to show a rotting corpse face on the news.

According to the news piece, the Oceanic 815 aircraft was found in the Sunda Trench, near Bali. However, as Frank Lapidus points out, the corpse is not the pilot Seth Norris, who a) has been played by Greg Grunberg in the past, and b) was found, in the cockpit, on the island, before being viciously attacked by the island's smoke monster. Thus, methinks the plane they found in the water is not that of my beloved Losties.

The metal trunk that fell out of the helicopter held gas masks. This seems like an important detail.

By barreling her way onto an excavation site, Charlotte finds the skeleton of a polar bear in Tunisia. The bear's skeleton is accompanied by a collar with the Dharma Initiative's Hydra symbol on it.

I was just talking about Sawyer's nicknames, and now I'm treated to two new ones! He calls Locke Colonel Kurtz, a reference to Marlon Brando's character in Apocalypse Now. Later Sawyer calls Ben "Yoda."

Vincent the dog is back in action! Love that dog. Though I had to laugh when Vincent came through the jungle with Charlotte's tracking device on him. It's like Jack and Locke are playing a camp game, like Capture the Flag or something.

Woah. The Juliet-Sayid sneak attack was pretty awesome. And then Miles sass-talked Sayid! Bold move, Miles.

Best line of the show comes from Sawyer: "Sure. Who are we to argue with Taller Ghost Walt?"

Man, everyone in the world wants Ben dead.

Lost: The Beginning of the End

I'm not going to go so far as to say the Season Four premiere of Lost was worth the wait because that was a really long wait, and I don't want to jinx myself somehow, but this first episode of the new season definitely delivered all the Lost-y goodness Ive been craving for months on end.

Is there a better way to kick off the fourth season of Lost than with a crazy high-speed car chase complete with zooming over fences and crashing into fruit stands? I think not.

Again I got some flash-forwards — this time concentrating on Hurley's experience post-rescue — and they're crazy. Literally. However, the show begins not with Hurley's flash-forward, but with Jack's as he watches the car chase on TV. Also, this flash-forward Jack is way more with it than the last flash-forward Jack was, and he mentions "thinking about growing a beard." So, these scenes are from before the bearded, alcoholic Jack days. Perhaps it's Hurley's funeral Jack attends later?

Now I know that it wasn't just Kate and Jack who were rescued: there's Hurley and probably the three others who make up "The Oceanic Six."

That guy Hurley meets in the mental institution, Matthew Abbadon is a creepy fellow. As is always the case with Lost, a name is not just a name. In Hebrew, Abaddon means 'destruction.' In Job 26:6; Proverbs 15:11 it means 'place of destruction,' or 'realm of the dead.' Many biblical scholars believe Abaddon to be Satan or the antichrist.

Awww . . . Sawyer shows his little softie side again, asking Hurley if he wants to talk about Charlie. "Holler if you need me." Heh . . . I'll holler for ya, Sawyer . . . heh.

The ladies gossip corner with Claire, Rose and Sun is pretty cute; Sun and Claire joshing each other about hospital birth versus island birth, Rose making reference to Claire rewarding Charlie with sex. Bawdy!

The image of the eye is one of the many common motifs in this show. Still, I jumped a mile when that eye popped up in the window as Hurley looked into Jacob's hut. Whose eye is that? And how does the building disappear when Hurley wills it away?

Holy cow, Jack was actually going to shoot Locke in the face! Locke's hurt little expression afterward was oddly comical, though. Maybe that makes me a bad person.

At the mental institution, Hurley paints pictures of an igloo and a bundled up person next to it. Is this just Hurley veering as far away from his tropical island memories as possible — or something more?

I'm curious as to why Naomi covered for the Losties on the phone with George. But I can't say I care that much.

Aw, watching Hurley's big ol' face crumple just breaks my heart. "I'm listening to Charlie. I'm listening to my friend."

And yet again there is a division into two groups. This time it's the Jack vs. Locke round, however, with repercussions extending beyond even the rescue from the island, as Hurley later apologizes to Jack for having chosen Locke's camp.

Lost: Through The Looking Glass

If there's one thing that's consistent about Lost, it's the ability to deliver spectacular season finales. This episode was no exception to this trend, delivering 2 hours of intense action that will for sure have fans scratching their heads and scrambling to decipher until the fourth season kicks off in January.

I wonder if, according to this flash forward, Jack never finds out that Claire is his sister. You'd think that if they knew, she could give him a little moral support.

I'm betting that nobody showed up for Ben's funeral and that Kate is with Sawyer now. Then again, there really could be a number of different inputs to this mysterious combination.

So Naomi turned out to be working for the wrong team - I totally called this! Just saying.

I know Charlie had to die, and I saw it coming, but I still found it to be pretty heart wrenching. I'm just glad he got to be a hero and went down in a blaze of glory.

I'm still not sure what to make of the visions of Walt. Especially now that Walt has gone through puberty in the off season.

Jack and Juliet share one of the worst kisses in TV history, not to mention it made almost no sense. And then he nonchalantly tells Kate he loves her? Since when is Jack so carefree with his emotions?

So is Mikhail undead or what? This is the second time he's been killed, only to come back virtually unscathed.

Gotta love the little snippet of pregnancy scare they throw in there for Kate and Sawyer, just to keep it soap opera-y.

Even though I'm not sure about Juliet yet, I have to admit that her banter with Sawyer is pretty entertaining.

Now that so many of the Others are dead, what are the Losties going to do with the rest of them?

It's interesting that there were 2 scenes of almost attempted suicide in this episode, and they mirror each other. Jack finally gets off the island, doesn't know what to do with himself, considers suicide. Locke loves living on the island, but in desperate moment, doesn't know what to do with himself and considers suicide.

Jack's "man of science" versus Locke's "man of faith" is showcased throughout this entire episode. The interesting thing is that Ben seems to be somewhere in the middle of these two.

I feel the need to give Hurley a huge shout out for proving himself and saving the day, even if it was quickly overshadowed by Sayid channeling the spirit of Jack Bauer and breaking some guy's neck using only his legs.

At the end of the day, Ben just wants to protect the island. He and Locke have a lot more in common than they think; I'm wondering if they are going to team up against the Losties in coming seasons.

Soup of the Week & Lost: Greatest Hits

This is so simple and good.

Beer Cheese Soup

Chopped onion
Butter
2 cans Cream of Celery Soup
1 cup beer
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Dried parsley flakes
Paprika
3/4 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed

In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter. Stir in soup, beer, milk, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and paprika. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Heat through (do not boil).

Lost: Greatest Hits

This episode, which is centered on Charlie facing his imminent death while another showdown between the Losties and the Others approaches, is high on the sap factor and low in action. That being said, it's still a great lead-in to the finale, and it managed to hit home a bit with the softy inside me.

Whenever Lost starts off with a running-through-the-jungle action sequence, you know a good episode is probably in the works.

"Why does everything have to be such a secret? How about some openness for a change?"- Thanks Charlie, I couldn't possibly agree more.

Even though Rousseau has cooperated with the Losties in the past, it usually took some convincing. I'm wondering why she's suddenly so willing to go along with with their latest plan of attack on the Others. Maybe it's because some of the Losties have helped Alex and Carl?

I might be one of the few people who actually really enjoys Charlie.

Something about the way Naomi has been blended into the island dynamic doesn't seem right. Shouldn't they be pumping her for more information of the outside world?

I'm intrigued by "The Looking Glass" which is a pretty obvious reference to "Alice In Wonderland." I have a feeling there is going to be a lot of revelation in the next episode.

Charlie's flashbacks weren't particularly revealing, but I have to admit that they made me feel kinda warm and fuzzy inside. As did his moments with Claire - they may not be the most interesting couple, but they're a lot less whiny than Jake and Kate, that's for sure.

So Rose and Bernard are back and Bernard is already an important part of the latest plan. Personally, I thought they were somewhat interesting last season but now I'm alright with them being MIA.

So Jack says he's been the leader for the past 90 days, but Naomi said that Charlie has become this revered rock star and that DriveShaft's greatest hits CD has become huge. In 3 months? This seems like either a very subtle hint at the possibility of time being slower on the island, or a mistake of the writers.

Is it just me, or does it seem like sometimes Jin understands perfect English, and at other times, nothing?

The whole DS ring thing was pretty cheesy, but again, the girlie girl inside of me kinda loved it. However, the geek inside me couldn't help but to think about the "The Lord of The Rings."

Charlie randomly saves Sayid's girlfriend, Nadia, in London. Gotta love the tangled web of connections between all the characters.

I'm glad Sayid stood up to Jack. It's about time someone put him in his place.

The Losties have endless amounts of time to kill on the island, but they never once tried to follow that cable to the middle of the ocean?

Knocking Desmond out was very heroic of Charlie, if not incredibly dumb. Pretty sure he's going to regret that decision.

I think I held my breath almost as long as Charlie did, but I was happy to see him survive, even though there was a gun pointed in his face at the end of the episode. Needless to say, I'm on the edge of my seat for the season finale.

Lost: The Man Behind The Curtain

This episode of Lost was the episode I have been waiting for: the long anticipated back story of Henry Gale/Ben. It was sometimes slow and often infuriating, but an incredibly revealing episode, to say the least. It also needs to be said that it ranked high on the "Lost" scale of moments that made me say "WTF?!"

Was I the only person who half expected Emily to give birth to some weird alien spawn in the opening scene? Maybe it was just the eerie music playing, or maybe I just secretly wanted island babies to be superhuman.

I was kind of surprised and disappointed that Ben was born in Oregon. I don't know why, considering he's almost never been an honest kinda guy.

The palpable shift in power between Ben and Locke is awesome. I love that the Others are all about Locke now, and it gives me hope that maybe the Losties and Others can all get along someday after all. Although that probably wouldn't make for great television.

"The Man Behind The Curtain" is Ben. Hey, does anyone else remember who the man behind the curtain was in the Wizard of Oz? He was a total phony, and kind of a wuss. Sometimes I wonder why Locke just doesn't kick his ass, like he did Charlie. And his father. And Mikhail.

"Namaste" is how the Dharma people greet each other. Wonder if they have any other cool catch phrases.

Horace mentions the "island's abundant, diverse...wildlife." Well, that's one way to gloss over "smoke monster and polar bears."

Young Ben is all about little Annie, and clearly he's still affected by her in real time. However, we never find out what became of her, or whether or not she was gassed like the rest of the members of the Dharma Initiative. Something tells me we may find out.

So Mikhail survived because the fence wasn't turned up to the highest voltage. Lame! Why would the fence ever be on lower voltage? Also, didn't he claim that he survived because the island provides special healing powers? (By the way, tell that to Boone!)

I can't wait until I learn more about Alex and how she came to be Ben's "daughter."

Trying to sort out the "who's who" of the Dharma Initiative hurts my brain. So Ben goes to school, lives in the community — but is his part of the island in cahoots with experimental guys like Kelvin, Desmond's hatch buddy?

Ben sees his dead mother, like Jack saw his dead father, and Shannon saw Walt. I've tried to make connections between these three incidents, but Walt really throws me off the track by being alive and all.

So Ben's dad is an alcoholic and blames Ben for his mother's death. Ergo, Ben has serious daddy issues.

Juliet changes sides more times than anyone I've ever seen.

So Richard was once a "hostile/native" but he looks like a hippie. He doesn't seem to have really aged from Ben's flashback to real time, unless the "Lost" producers expect us to believe that a haircut ages a guy a good 30 odd years.

Did Richard and the hostiles coerce Ben into killing his father and the rest of the Dharma people or was it the other way around?

The whole Jacob extravaganza was really irritating. I didn't find it creepy, intense or mind-blowing. I was just really irritated. Also, I think it would've been awesome if the writers had just made Henry Gale insane.

So Ben kills his father, takes over and becomes leader of the others, can talk to what may or may not be an imaginary friend. Locke kills his father (kinda), starts gaining respect of the Others, can talk to Jacob too... this doesn't bode well for Ben, which is why he went and shot Locke. However, I don't believe for a second that Locke is a goner.

Lost: The Brig

This was the episode I have been eagerly anticipating for almost a month now, and it was definitely worth the wait. Locke took me on a roller coaster ride of intensity and revelation, while keeping me guessing from start to finish.

Let's start off with a major theme that's been prominent lately on "Lost" — I have NO idea who is good and who is evil anymore. It seems like everyone has secrets and everyone is out for themselves entirely at this point.

Locke is growing to be more and more like Henry Gale with each episode. They both oscillate between trying to keep their cool, eerie exterior and exposing their inner anguish. There's a yin and yang type situation between them (e.g. at the beginning of the episode Henry is in the wheelchair). It's hard to tell who is manipulating whom, and I love how they expose weakness in each other.

I'm not sure if I believe any of this hell/purgatory stuff. It sounds like a theory the Others want to plant into the minds of the Losties, and I'm wondering if the Others got to Naomi and brainwashed or bribed her before the Losties found her. This would explain why Desmond never saw the actual helicopter she fell from.

Why would the Others leave their cozy little community to camp out in tents?

I love that Henry tells Locke that the Others need a gesture of "free will," and then promptly demands that Locke kill his father.

It makes no sense that Locke's father would egg both Locke and Sawyer on. In Locke's flashbacks, we always see his father begging for Locke's help whenever he needs it. This makes me even more sure that the Others are pulling all the strings, and are behind the purgatory theory.

I don't believe a single word Naomi said. I think she's entirely full of crap and not to be trusted.

I'd like to know how Locke managed to get his father into the Black Rock, what with his father's razor sharp teeth and all.

What is the deal with Rousseau? She used to be super suspicious and paranoid, and now she just strolls into the Black Rock, gets some dynamite, and heads out? What is she going to blow up? I really hope I get some more information about her character before this season is over.

I find it interesting that the Others think Locke is "extremely special," and that Richard the doctor wants to spend more time with him. Didn't they also say the same thing about Walt, and then let him leave the island entirely?

As you know, I don't really like Kate, mainly because she always fails to use common sense. The scene where she runs and tells Jack that nobody trusts him was a cringe-worthy, desperate attempt to get him to like her again. Also, I'm not sure about Juliet. I know that all those manipulative side glances at Jack are designed to make the audience hate her, but I haven't got a gut feeling yet.

When all is said and done, the last few minutes of the episode gave me the chills and made really excited to check out the rest of the season, which is all I can ask for from a show like "Lost."

Lost: D.O.C.

Being such a big Sun & Jin fan, this episode was a huge treat. And it wasn't just any Sun episode, but one in which she kicked some butt in her flashbacks.

Several other crazy things happened.

Okay, last things first here: the Power Ranger lady from the sky "Naomi" says they found the remains of Oceanic flight 815 and nobody survived. So, either she's lying, or the finding of the remains was staged, or there are alternate universe/time bending things going on here.

Let me get this straight: On this island, pregnant ladies die and men have the sperm of superheroes?

Mikhail (Eyepatch Guy) is alive! He's alive!

At first I thought maybe it was Jin's superhuman sperm count making him so violent toward Mikhail, but then I remembered that he used to do that sort of thing for, you know, his job. Dirty Dancing popped in my mind when Sun went to ask her dad for money but couldn't tell him what it was for. Maybe I've just seen that movie too many times.

Speaking of the lady of the hour, I really admire Sun. She tracks down her father-in-law, and then actually honors his wish to keep the "shame" from Jin. Then she's totally hard nose in the way she gets her dad to give her the money (though I guess that's how Jin came to be doing the dirty work for her father). Finally, she gives the money to Jin's mother, but not before telling her what's-what.

From which "other women" does Juliet intend to take "samples"? Still not sure what to make of Juliet - can she trusted or is she a snake??