Messages in a Bottle: LOST Thoughts #10

So that's what Walt's been up to... I was a little bit worried that after all of this, we'd never see the little rugrat again. But, cast your worries away, Walt is definitely alive, still on the island, and still played by the talented Malcolm David Kelley. Whew.

On last night's episode of Lost ("Three Minutes"), Michael finally caught a glimpse of the missing Walt, Claire and Charlie shared a moment, Vincent played doggie mailman, Eko moved into the swanky bachelor pad that is the hatch, and Sayid proved that it wasn't just his swarthy good looks that made him such a good military officer.

Michael is determined to rally a group together to go after Walt and hysterically insists that they need to leave right now. Just them--Michael, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley--and no one else and they need to leave immediately. Ana-Lucia and Libby's bodies still lay on the floor; they haven't even been buried yet. Hurley is beside himself and Jack finally insists that they have to bury their friends before they can even think about following Michael into the jungle. Either Michael is more convincing than I thought or Jack and the gang are really thick; it's blatantly obvious that something fishy is going on here. Especially as Jack keeps catching Michael away from the hatch and somehow misses him burning a small piece of paper... Hmmm.

While Hurley and Kate dig graves for Ana and Libby, Michael attempts to clean up the mess he made in the hatch. Well, just the blood on the floor anyway. Eko offers to help and the two begin a discussion about forgiveness and Hell. Eko tells a story from when he was a priest in a small parish in England about a young boy who beat his dog to death in order to protect his little sister. Eko said that God would forgive him for what he did, as long as he knew he had done wrong and asked for forgiveness; but the boy was more concerned about whether, if he went to Hell, the dog would be there waiting for him. Ah, Eko, you've turned into an accomplished storyteller. Now if only you could see the similarities between your story and Michael's.

Some of the castaways other than Jack and Locke finally get some screen time this week. Jin and Sun even make an appearance when they see Michael stolling along the beach; both are overjoyed to see their old friend but Michael is standoffish, suspiciously so, but much of that can be blamed on the fact that he's desperate to get Walt back. And poor Sun and Jin are so out of the loop that they didn't seem to know that Michael had returned, much less that Libby and Ana-Lucia were dead. Michael explains that they were murdered (naturally) and I half wanted Sun to say, there was an Other being kept prisoner in the hatch all this time? Man, there are a lot of secrets to keep track of on this island.

Meanwhile, after his spiritual awakening last episode (about the work being done inside the hatch), Eko decides to stop building the church and instead follows this latest set of visions that clearly push him to take over Locke's gig as hatch supervisor. He has a weird Zen-like calm about him as he sits in front of the computer, watching the numbers tick down, and doesn't seem all that surprised when his cross floats up into the air as he walks by that HUGE magnetic thingie.

Charlie, unfortunately, isn't so calm as he feels betrayed by Eko's decision to cease the church building. (That Charlie, always needing to be someone's disciple.) He tries building the structure by himself but--this being Charlie after all--doesn't have much success. And then Vincent comes strolling by with one of those Virgin Mary statues in his mouth, which he drops right at Charlie's feet. Charlie follows him back to Sawyer's not-so secret stash and discovers several of the statues which Sawyer took from the armory. Will Charlie start using heroin again? Nope, he's Hoody Charlie no more, as he tosses the statues, one by one, into the ocean as Locke looks on, proudly. (Hmmm, was this a test?)

Charlie and Claire seem to be on the road to reconciliation, as Charlie brings her and the baby a medical case containing a supply of that mysterious vaccine that Desmond was so obsessed with, enough for her and baby Aaron to have for quite a while (they're supposed to take it every nine days). Claire almost seems ready to forgive Charlie for, you know, nearly drowning baby Aaron in the ocean and, watching Hurley nearly break down at the funeral service for Ana-Lucia and Libby, even takes Charlie's hand in hers. Aw, isn't love sweet?

Locke (who this week seems to have stolen Eko's vow of silence) sits apart from the group during the funeral, before cutting off his leg brace, stepping on his crutches, and walking away down the beach, in the opposite direction. Hmmm, he's healed already, just like Rose thought. So how can he still have doubts about the island's power?

The Lost Flashback of the Week belongs (rightfully so) to Michael as we learn just what he's been going through the last 14 days, after knocking Locke unconscious in the armory, stealing a gun and some ammunition, and taking off Rambo-style into the jungle (again) in the hopes of rescuing Walt. Computer Walt tells him to head north and he'll know he's there when he sees a large rock with a hole in the center. Michael takes off and it's not long before he comes across an Other whom he catches, er, answering Nature's call (how convenient). Michael tries to get some info out of him but is ambushed by Zeke, in full-on Bushwalker-Other disguise and beard. They take him captive and drag him through the jungle, but soon discover that the castaways are following him... They arrange that nifty torch circle to scare the gang and snatch Kate, forcing Jack to hand over the guns.

We learn that Kate was right there next to Michael with a sack over her head as Michael allows himself to be gagged (if he says a word, he'll never see Walt). He's gagged by none other than Alex, Rousseau's daughter, who--during a minute alone--asks how Claire is doing, if she had the baby, if there's anything wrong with the baby. Michael's confused and rather concerned, to say the least. Jack and the castaways retreat and the Others force Michael to continue walking, day and night. (Hmm, so Alex is still living with the Others, even after she helped Claire escape. She's clearly not one of them--not entirely--so what's her agenda?)

Zeke and the Others continue to drag Michael until he sees a familiar rock formation in the mountains: a large rock with a hole in the center, looking rather creepily like a window. (But to what?) That will have to be a mystery for another day as they lead Michael down into what appears to be a small fishing town, if your average fishing town was located on a scary, monster-infested island in the middle of nowhere. There are a bunch of Others living there, but they seem pretty poorly off, living in canvas tents and teepees, eating dried fish, wearing rags, and looking generally sour and exhausted. Hmm, so Michael wasn't totally lying then about what he saw in their encampment. And sure enough, Michael's other claim was true too: they do have their own hatch as well, which is constantly guarded by two armed men. Like the others, it's another Dharma Initiative station and the logo for this one looks suspiciously like a window, just like that hole in the rocks perched high above them.

One of the Others takes out a syringe and says that he's going to take some blood from Michael (what for?) and jabs him with a needle. (Are they looking for that mysterious infection?) And then a gorgeous black woman comes up to Michael and introduces herself as "Miss Clue" and begins asking him about Walt. Questions like, is he Walt's biological father, did Walt get headaches or infections as a child, did Walt ever appear in places he wasn't supposed to be? Michael doesn't know the answers to any of these questions, as Walt was raised away from him on the other side of the world. Michael demands to see Walt and Miss Clue says that he's here but Michael needs to cooperate first.

Michael is kept prisoner in a hut for a week as Miss Clue continues to interrogate him about Walt, but it's clear that Michael knows none of the answers that she's so desperate for. But she has another use for Michael as there's been a development since they found him. One of their men has been captured by Michael's people and only Michael can free him. If he does exactly what she says, she'll let Michael and Walt go. But Michael has to do one other thing: he must bring four of his people back to this place and it must be these four people and ONLY these four people. She hands him a list (above) that lists Jack, Kate, Hugo (Hurley), and James (Sawyer).

Why these four people? How do they know Hurley's and Saywer's real names? (From the plane's manifest?) Why not Locke or Eko? What is so special about Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sawyer? They've all experienced visions on the island of some kind, but so have Locke and Eko, and even Charlie. So it's not that... but what makes them special? Are they "the good ones"? Or the ones that they want to interrogate or experiment on?

Michael demands to see Walt and Miss Clue says that he's right outside and Michael can have "three minutes" with him. The two are overjoyed to be reunited but Walt spills too much information: the Others are not who they appear to be, they're pretending, they perform tests on Walt, etc. Miss Clue is furious and threatens to put Walt in "the room" for talking. Michael screams out for Walt as the two are separated and swears that he'll come back for him. And then Michael agrees to Miss Clue's demands. He'll follow her instructions, betray his friends, but he wants Walt.. and the boat.

Back in the present day, Sayid wants to join Michael and the group on the rescue attempt and Sawyer invites him along, to Michael's frustration. It has to be just the five of them; Sayid can't come along. It's too dangerous and they have to do this his way. Sayid says that he understands and wishes Michael good luck. But Sayid is no fool and he knows that everything isn't as it should be. Confessing his fears to Jack, Sayid says that he believes that Michael has been compromised and is going to lead them directly into a trap. Jack is stunned but Sayid says that a desperate father would do anything to get his missing son back. They need to be careful and not tip off Michael; they'll need the element of surprise if they want to make it out alive. They have one night to hatch a plan.

As Jack and Sayid discuss their plans, Sun notices something in the ocean. It's a boat and the castaways excitedly turn to see a very large sailboat bearing down on their little beach hideaway. Who's on the boat? Is it the Others? New characters waiting to be stranded? Or a means of escape? We'll have to wait to find out until next week...

Next week on Lost: The two-hour season finale ("Live Together, Die Alone") is finally here! Written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, it looks like a doozy! Jack and Sayid concoct a plan to rescue Walt and confront the Others, while Locke tries to smash the computer to smithereens, someone turns a Dharma swan key, Desmond returns, and we learn what the deal is with that sailboat in the ocean... and what caused Oceanic Flight 815 to crash. All I can say is that it's going to be a long, torturous wait until Lost returns in October...

What's On Tonight

8 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); Will & Grace (NBC); NBA Basketball (WB); American Inventor (ABC); That '70s Show (FOX); Everybody Hates Chris/Love, Inc. (UPN)

9 pm: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS); Will & Grace (NBC); American Inventor (ABC); The OC (FOX); Eve/Cuts (UPN)

10 pm: Without a Trace (CBS); ER (NBC); Primetime (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

10 pm: 5 Takes: Pacific Rim on the Travel Channel.

New night, new time, new episodes. The 5 Takes gang finally returns with a new batch of episodes, this time from New Zealand. On tonight's episode ("Auckland"), the kids leave Australia for another island nation, New Zealand. But it's not all Lord of the Rings-style sorcery and epic battles, as they experience geo-thermal springs, the fun of hydro-Zorbing (don't ask), and dive into Auckland's rich art and music scenes.

10 pm: Waking the Dead on BBC America (or 9 pm for you East Coasters)

BBC America is reairing the fifth season of Waking the Dead beginning tonight, so if you haven't caught one of the very best British mystery/crime series, here's your chance to watch the season premiere: two hours of brilliantly-written, character-driven forensic mysteries. (I don't like CSI or any of the forensic procedural shows, so the fact that I watch--and am obsessed with--Waking the Dead should speak quite a lot about its quality.) On tonight's episode, the cold case team's discovery of a mummified corpse on an airplane soon draws them into the world of global pharmaceutical fraud.