Observations: Episode 3.12-Par Avion

Due to a lack of time and a trip to Texas, I don't have too many observations on top of the live posting below (click here for that post).

For more HD screenshots of this episode, check out the Flickr album for this episode, Par Avion. And for HD sizes of the screenshots below, just click on the picture.

1) As speculated, Claire's father is Christian who is Jack's father but will they find out?

2) How tall were those security poles? They seemed very tall until Kate dropped off the limb without too much trouble.

3) What exactly happened to Mikhail? That was strange. Any ideas of your own or that you've found? Comment below...

4) What's going on with Locke? Is he for the survivors or has he been compromised by the Others? I think he's still on the good side.

5) When Claire said she said that she wanted her mom dead (in the last flashback when she's pregnant), maybe she has powers and it happened. Or maybe it's all part of Dharma's plan. I like the idea that there is someone or some corporation is running all the "accidents" in the flashbacks. Maybe it's just wishful thinking or maybe it's not...

That's all for me. What did I leave out? Comment!

Next week's episode, The Man From Tallahassee, airs next Wednesday, March 21, at 10/9c on ABC and it looks quite promising as Locke episodes are often the best.

Until next week...
-Kevin C. Burns

*Delayed* LIVE Posting: Episode 3.12-Par Avion

Tonight's "live" posting of notes and thoughts about Episode 3.12, titled "Par Avion", will be delayed until later tonight (maybe around 11:00PM) due to my love of the Mavericks and a prior engagement. The episode will still air at 10/9c on ABC but my "live" posting will not be posted until I begin watching the episode around 11:00PM. Thanks for reading. See you around 12/11c tonight.

11:30PM-Time to start!

6 minutes in-Weird start to the episode. Interesting though. I guess Desmond had another premonition. And Claire thinks that birds can help. It's kind of silly and if it ends up in the rescue of the survivors, it will be disappointing. Liked the sequences between Locke, Kate, and Sayid. "No, I like dogs."

16 minutes in-Poor Claire killed her mom. So maybe the bird idea does have a chance. How much of what the Russian said is true? Did the electromagnetic pulse kill all communications? Surely they had a backup plan because people will fail. I wouldn't want the whole project to lie on one person pushing a button every 108 minutes. How do the Others get inside the boundary they created with the poles? What do the poles do?

27 minutes in-Wow. That was incredibly weird and disgusting yet gripping and amazing. The blood spurting out underneath the ear was interesting. Screenshots from that should be sweet. Why does Desmond not want Claire to catch the birds? Does it relate to Charlie's possible death? How does that tie in? How old is Claire in the flashback? She looks young, maybe teenager. What happened between Aunt Lindsey and Claire to make her not so nice? Perhaps Jack's dad supplied the funds or pulled strings for Claire? Maybe she's his daughter? But the timeline is a little skewed. Back to the show...

36 minutes in-Well there ya go. Claire and Jack are siblings. A theory long discussed has been proven. Why did Locke take C4? Did he know the Flame would blow up thus he blew it up intentionally to prevent the removal of him from the island which might put him back in a wheelchair? Locke is certainly intriguing, I'm liking the mystery around him returning. You think you know him then he does something like this. How are they going to get over the security system? Good episode so far. Solid not amazing...

49 minutes in-I'm not sure I'd have the faith to climb the tree and over the sonic security system that makes you bleed beneath your ear. I guess Desmond is still trying to save Charlie and Charlie seems willing to sit back and let Desmond save him. How long can it continue?

End of episode-How much time has progressed in the hospital? Is Claire's mother still alive as she is on the island? So they found Othersville. How do they plan to enter without endangering themselves? Will they fault Jack for playing around? Can you blame him since that security system is there?

Next week's preview looks amazing, though most of the previews are overhyped, I'm not sure that the preview will be what the episode is but a John Locke episode with answers is more than welcome by me. It appears that Locke didn't go to save Jack but to find the Others. Perhaps blow some of them up? Can't wait for it!

If you missed tonight's episode or wish to see it again, watch a free encore at ABC.com

Next week's episode, Episode 3.13, titled "The Man From Tallahassee", will air at 10/9c only on ABC.

Observations: 3.11-Enter 77

After a week off, because I didn't really have anything to say last week, we're back, a day late, with this episode's observations. Before you go on, if you haven't seen this week's episode, watch it, before you read these, for free, at abc.com or buy and download it from iTunes.

For full, high-definition, screenshots, click on the pictures or go to this album on Flickr: Enter 77


1) Good flashback. I liked that it had a point, tied in well with the continuing story, and taught a lesson. That Sami guy was brutal but I understand where he's coming from. Still, it wasn't too cool to see Sayid being beat up though you knew he would survive.

2) Is the cat's name and appearance a coincidence? Maybe the survivors crashed on the island because people wanted them there and sent them there (the tortured lady sent Sayid) so Dharma or whoever knew about the cat and put that in. Or maybe it is just a coincidence. But the writers don't seem to have many coincidences. Everything happens for a reason.

3) The sky turning purple was brought up twice in this episode. Are the writers just taunting us or will this be explained soon? If the dish hasn't been operable for years, how did Dharma send the food drop? Does Dharma know the plane crash? Will Dharma respond to the "77" entered by Locke? Maybe send a small army or something to secure the project though it's long failed.

4) How much of what Mikhail said is true? You can't really trust him. But if he is telling the truth, why did a group of scientists take one The Others? Why are The Others on the island? How long have they been there? How did Ethan and Juliet get merged in if they were Dharma people?

5) How did Mikhail lose his eye? Maybe while he was in the army?

6) I loved the action this week. I think LOST is getting back to its roots. Gripping characters growing while interacting with new characters and the action that ensues. Great episode.

7) Did Sayid take the whole Dharma manual or just the map? I think it would be cool if ABC put some pages from the manual on the website to make it interactive (like The LOST Experience this past summer)

8) I liked the ping pong game. Ping pong on a beach sounds fun.

Overall, this was a great episode. One of my favorites this season. Too much was given away in the previews last week though. I hope ABC tones it down a little now that they're not grabbing as many new viewers. I don't want to know a whole lot from the previews, just a little to whet my appetite. If you go reading episode descriptions, be warned. The episode after next week's (3.13) has a description that gives away too much. Very disappointed but I guess it's my fault for looking at next week's description.

For more HD screenshots, visit the Flickr album for this episode: Enter 77

Next week's episode, titled "Par Avion", airs at 10/9c only on ABC.

Got something to say or errors that we've made that you'd like to point out? Comment below...

LIVE Posting: Episode 3.11-Enter 77

Welcome to this week's live posting for Episode 3.11 titled "Enter 77". We'll get started in about 5 minutes...

9:07PM-Nice start. Didn't think we'd see that building and the person so soon. Thought it might take awhile. Liked Sawyer's nickname for Paulo ("Zorro"). Since the sky turning purple is often brought up (Episode 3.07 among others), perhaps answers are coming this season as to what happened with the hatch. As mentioned before, if it imploded how did the door fly away to the beach and how did certain things survive the implosion? I'm hoping they show us instead of just telling us. Back to the show...

9:16PM-Sweet. Dharma folks. I guess that takes out the theory that The Others are Dharma leftovers. So where did The Others come from? Is this is a zoology hatch? What does that Iraqi in the flashback really want? Is this Dharma guy Russian? I like the action thus far and Locke taking charge. It looks like Sayid got shot in the same area as Sawyer did. Hopefully he can get to the Doc quicker than Sawyer did and not go in and out of consciousness. I'm guessing Jin will play the ping pong game? Returns...

9:27PM-Wow, loving it so far. Sayid's theory is interesting (that he's one of them), how does he know? Maybe Dharma and "The Hostiles" are tied together. Does make sense though. The Russian man who was a communications officer in the army. How can that just be a coincidence? The most pressing question: Will Locke beat the computer? lol. Great episode so far...

9:36PM-Sweet action. Sayid is awesome. Smart too, figuring out that there's someone else. Wonder how he found the door in the floor? I wonder if he tortured the girl...I liked Hurley's first point domination. Surprised he was the choice to play. But he seems good. Wonder if the mercy rule will come in to play? What happens next with the door? Perhaps in the next few minutes...

9:48PM-Wow. Great segment. What is the Iraqi woman hiding? Perhaps she just wants revenge on a member of the Republican Guard whether he tortured her or not. The Others turning on each other. I guess Ms. Klugh would rather die than be questioned. Locke won the chess game and got some weird prompts. I was hoping for some mainland communication but oh well. What's up with all the explosives? Maybe it's a trap. Or maybe it's been there for years just in case. I think it would be cool if ABC made some pages of the manual available as an alternate reality thing like the LOST Experience was. That would be sweet...

10:00PM-Explosive ending. Sorry, I had to. Liked the last flashback segment. Is that cat exactly the same as the French cat thus being a possible hallucination or island thing (like Kate's horse)? What happens now that the Flame has exploded? Maybe mainland communication could be achieved and Dharma knows. If Dharma had backup plans against the Hostiles, why didn't they weed them out more effectively if they were going to be a problem? Used real soldiers or something instead of scientists? Did all Dharma folks die due to the "war"? Hurley won the game! 21-3, lol. When they named the terms for Sawyer, I was hoping that it wouldn't be forever or too long cause I like the nicknames. We'll see how Sawyer does with the nicknames.

In my opinion, this was a great episode. Close to my favorite of the season, "Flashes Before Your Eyes". Next week's looks good as well. Back to LOST form with great episodes with action and new characters while still growing the original characters.

Next week's episode, titled "Par Avion", airs at 10/9c on March 14, only on ABC.

Missed tonight's episode? You can watch it for free tomorrow on ABC.com or download it for $1.99 via iTunes.

This episode actually has some things to question so observations will be posted tomorrow with HD screenshots.

Until tomorrow,
-Kevin C. Burns

*Delayed* LIVE Posting: Episode 3.10-Tricia Tanaka is Dead

Unfortunately, my local affiliate's commitment to (often sub-par, like tonight's losers) SEC basketball, LOST will be delayed until the end of the game. So I will be anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes behind you so please don't spoil anything. I'll let you know how long I'm delayed once the game is over. So until the end of the game, I'll be muttering how stupid KATV is under my breath...(if you want to, click KATV in the sentence above and e-mail them)

9:11PM-LOST begins 11 minutes late and is not in high definition. But at least it's here...

9:21PM (10 minutes into the show)-Interesting, Hurley as a kid has a thicker accent and darker skin. But that's kind of believable. But there were some continuity errors that I was surprised to see. I thought they would pay more attention to the details. The bones changed directions in Vincent's mouth, there were some shaving cream spots that disappeared without Charlie likely getting it off with the towel. Anyways, back to the show...

9:31PM (20 minutes into the show)-I liked the meteorite. Called it but still cool. So now Kate is calling Sawyer "James" most of the time. And how is it that they're just now finding the Dharma stuff, the car and the dart. I guess it's luck or the other things didn't have relevance. And maybe the dart doesn't. Anyways, Sawyer and Kate are back at the beach for a little bit. Of course, they're probably be leaving soon to go save Jack. Well, Kate at least...

9:41PM (30 minutes into the show)- We found out who Tricia Tanaka, the name in the episode title, is. And that she's dead. I liked the Hurley-Jin-Sawyer scenes. "Dude, I suck at charades, you wanna do what?", "well look who's hooked on phonics". And Kate's going to get help. I'm ready for some action. I think that may be coming up. Back to this one, where does the flashback fit in? Hopefully it's not as pointless as last week's...

9:51PM (40 minutes into the show)- I liked the skeleton jokes. This episode has been funny. A comedic episode before the non-stop action for a few weeks? Is there hope on the island? Will the car live again? The flashbacks are ok but the island scenes are what I've liked about this episode. Kind of a break from the action but that's ok. 20 minutes to go...

10:00PM (49 minutes into the show)- "Let's look death in the face and say 'whatever man.'", The nickname bit was funny. Jumbotron, lol. Redneck Man, that's a pretty tough nickname. Well I guess Hurley's going down that hill, I wonder if Charlie will go with him.

10:11 PM (end of show)- Nothing about this episode would make me think it was incredible. But I liked it. I liked the van and everything. The flashbacks were ok. And the last scene was a good setup for next week. The preview for next week looks great. I'm very glad to see those random scenes from a preview at the end of 3.07 are finally coming next week. I can't get my hopes too high because the previews are often deceptive but I think it will be great.

Observations coming tomorrow. Screenshots will be nothing special because of KATV (read the first paragraph of this post) and partly because there wasn't anything too amazingly screenshot worthy in this episode. Anyways, until next week...

-Kevin C. Burns

Observations: Episode 3.09-Stranger in a Strange Land

This week's observations will be short. There isn't much to observe. Nothing too crazy or mysterious. Just a lame flashback and some story movement.

1) We are now off of Alcatraz as the producers promised we would be. I personally liked Alcatraz but I'm glad we're leaving it behind. But now it reminds me of something, if the polar bears were in the bear cages, how did they get to the mainland?

2) Will Kate and Sawyer find The Others' houses? Are we going to see more of the community?

3) If Ethan was a great surgeon, why would Ben send him to the survivors' camp as a spy?

4) What exactly did Cindy mean when she said "it's not that simple" when Jack asked if she was kidnapped? Perhaps she's one of them? And the kids are indeed alive, but what do The Others do to give them a better life?

5) What was the point of the flashback? I didn't like it.

6) What is that symbol branded on Juliet's back? If it's covered by her clothes, what's the point? Why not put it on her arm or ankle?

That's all I've got, got anything to add or theories for the above? Comment below.

Link to MSNBC's LOST Revelations: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6867118/

Until next week
-Kevin C. Burns

LIVE Posting: Episode 3.09-Stranger in a Strange Land

Welcome to this week's live posting for Episode 3.09 titled "Stranger in a Strange Land". Interesting note about the episode title: It could be from Scripture (Exodus 2:22-"And she [Zippo'rah] bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land." King James Version) or from the title of a 1961 science fiction book by Robert A. Heinlein (the book's title was based off the Scripture).

As always, your comments are welcome at any time. Come back tomorrow for my observations gathered from watching the episode again and reading what people across the internet think.

8:45PM-15 minutes to go. I'm currently enjoying last week's episode, one of my favorites. We'll get it started at the first commercial break.

9:06PM-Nothing too exciting in that segment. Not surprised that Sawyer won't turn around (it happens when you read the episode description). Kind of surprised that they're taking Juliet to a cell. Maybe they don't know Ben told her to help them escape. Or killing Pickett was the wrong thing to do. Maybe she didn't like him from past experience?

9:17PM-First flashback experience: lame. But you can't think of each segment by itself but as parts of the whole. Just like the first six episodes of this year. They're part of the whole season. Anyways, poor Jack. Moved to the bear cages for working on Ben. I wish he wasn't so stubborn and would help but I understand. Carl waking up was cool. I like the idea of him becoming a key character. And he confirmed that The Others don't live on "Alcatraz". That will be interesting if they find The Others' homes. And one last thing: how many more people are on top of The Others. First, it's Mr. Friendly (Tom) on the boat and we think he's the leader. Then it was Ben but he himself referenced that a "he" was higher than him. Now it's the strange old woman. Back to the episode...

9:25PM-Short segment there. So "the sheriff's" name is Isabel. When can we expect some backstory on her? And Jack lying for Juliet was just precious, lol. He won't help her by helping Ben but he'll help her, possibly saving her life. One last thing: What does his tattoo mean?! I guess we'll have to wait to find out in the episode...

9:38PM-Good segment. So Isabel isn't in charge but is just the sheriff. There are some Others I kind of like and then there are those I don't like. I kind of like Ben and Juliet and Alex, of course, unless she isn't considered an Other. Anyways, I'm ok if Isabel gets killed in some sweet action. I want Juliet to survive and make it back to Miami to see her sister. Anyways, the flashback is still disappointing. Maybe things will turn around. And Cindy said that it was more complicated than her being kidnapped. Does that mean she's one of them and purposely left?

9:50PM-I still don't like the flashback. The episode has been ok. Nothing too great yet. What does "marked" mean? What does this measure do for Juliet and Jack's relationship? Is Ben going to walk again? If Ethan was a great surgeon, why would Ben send him to investigate the crash survivors (Ep. 3.01)? Unrelated to the segment, but if The Others don't live on Alcatraz, how do they take care of the prisoners at night? If no one is watching the cameras, Kate could have escaped...Back to the episode for the last segment...

10:00PM-And LOST ends instrumentally. I loved the music. The episode was ok. Nothing too exciting. A good episode, a great episode, then a so-so episode. And of course, ABC is saying next week's is "can't miss", they're trying to lure viewers back. I'm becoming more calloused to the previews now. The executive producers don't like them because they create a false hope kind of. Anyways, back to this episode. I didn't like the flashback. I didn't like Isabel. I liked they got off "Alcatraz". And I liked Juliet and Jack possibly aligning. Where did they get that big boat? Is that the same one they captured Walt with? Is Jack going to be a part of the community now. Living in Ben's house to take care of him, becoming kind of like Juliet. A "stranger in a strange land" perhaps...

That's all for tonight. Observations coming tomorrow...

Next week's episode, Episode 3.10, "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead", airs at 10/9c on ABC.

If you missed this episode or would like to see it again, you can watch it for free at ABC.com or download it for $1.99 on iTunes.

Your thoughts?