You spin me right round, baby, right round, like a record, baby

My brain hurts – but in a very good way. I can’t tell you how many times I exclaimed “What?!?!” as I watched Lost last night.

I thought that the first episode was better than the second, but that the second was elevated because of its great ending. (I’ll go with grade of A for the first, B for the second and A+ for the ending of the second.)

Before I get into the bits and pieces of what I liked and a bazillion new questions I have, I’d just like to say how awesome it is to have a show like Lost that trusts its fans, that knows that someone who has never seen the show and started with last night’s eps would be totally lost (heh) if they watched. It is not dumbed down and it fosters thought and in an era where the trend seems to lean toward procedurals and reality shows, Lost, even when it’s not at its best, is always welcome.

Also, because I’ve been feeling petty lately, I’d just like to say to all of you fools out there floating around the ethers of the Internet that gave up on Lost during it’s season 3 “troubles”: Suck it – you don’t know what you’re missing. And I love being right!

So onto last night’s two hour premiere…

Once again, another great season-opening scene. It seems that Pierre Chang/Marvin Candle/Mark Wickmund is a bit more important than I originally thought. I do wonder how far in the “future” the opening scene of the season was and if we’ll get back to that before the end of this season. I would assume that the Pierre Chang video from Comic Con this past summer happens after the events in this opening scene, and that it all but confirms that Faraday was the voice we hear off-screen during this video.

Speaking of Faraday, I really can’t believe that he knows as much as he does. I mean that book of his always seemed important, but wow. It also seems that he is a bit more lucid than he ever was last year; much more confident and in control. I wonder if this is the result of the validation of his notes and his work or if something happened when he moved in time that clicked everything into place. Or maybe he just figures, there’s really no point in hiding anymore.

Maybe the Dharma Initiative did something (the ‘incident’) that intertwined them with the Island and made them a ‘part’ of the Island.

Could Richard be the ‘mouthpiece’ of the Island – a manifestation of its consciousness? This could explain why he doesn’t age. Perhaps whatever the DI did changed what was supposed to happen and the Island has to course correct. That is why Richard went after Locke at a younger age. Perhaps he went to him hoping that he could bring him to the island earlier to prevent future events. Because John did not choose the correct three items, Richard became frustrated, perhaps thinking that the Island could not be saved. He thinks that John is the savior of the Island, but he has to do it the “right” way. This wording really isn’t working for me, but I can’t think of another way to describe it – maybe I’ll come back to it later…

Could the Island be unstuck in time just like Desmond? Its consciousness keeps moving through time?

Could there be a specific event that happens in the future that the Oceanic 6 HAVE to be there for? That may be why the Island is “skipping”; it can’t reach its predetermined event and if it doesn’t reach that event by that specific time, that could mean catastrophe/end of the world.

Another thought about the nature of the Island: Maybe if you arrive on the Island, you become part of the Island until it is ready to let you go – and it did not want the 6 to go, so that is why they have to come back. If this is the case could the whispers on the Island be manifestations of all the people that have come to the Island through various times?

A few random thoughts before I get into more questions:

- Sayid’s fight in the safe house was awesome to watch – very visceral.
- The producers have said that this is the “season of Sawyer.” I am cool with that. Josh Holloway had some excellent scenes last night – in particular, the scene where he pretty much assaults Faraday. (The grabbing of the shirt and the slapping.)
- So Ana Lucia shows up and they actually use her well – another happy surprise. It was almost nice to see her again, and the Libby comment was just creepy and sad. Her showing up caught me by surprise, even though I read a few months ago that she was going to cameo.
- I figured it was Sun who called Kate – I’m glad they didn’t drag that out.
- Snarky Ben is awesome. Snarky Ben had a few good lines, but my favorite scene with him was the scene with Jack and the pills.
- Ben didn’t say if Locke was dead, so I’m guessing that the Island can revive him.
- I liked all the small references to the “past” of the show: the near miss between Hurley and Kate at the gas station, hearkening to the first few seasons’ flashbacks; Hurley’s dad watching Exposé on TV.
- Ben actually defending Jack to that butcher lady – another surprising move by Mr. Linus. And he actually seemed genuine.
- As always, it was nice to see Vincent.
- Loved Sawyer’s delayed “…bitch”
- Before the fire arrow attack, it seemed like something was going to happen to Frogurt, but I definitely did not see a flaming arrow to the chest coming. Since they are in the past, I’m guessing that the attack was orchestrated by the natives of the Island and not the DI.
- I don’t really trust Sun. At all.
- A very sweet moment between Hurley and his mom when he tells the true story of their survival and she tells him she believes him. Hi story was funny, though maybe a bit too self-referential for my tastes.
- Hurley’s thrown hot pocket was pretty funny. And his smirk while being cuffed by the cops was very Ben Linus-esque.
- Of course, the reappearance of Ms. Hawking was probably the best moment in both episodes. I do hope she has a bigger role to play because I get giddy every time I see her. (Even if it is just in a picture frame on Brother Campbell’s desk.)
- For the first time, I’m a little worried about Ben, he doesn’t seem in control and there were moments when it looked like he was actually nervous and worried himself.
- I’m also worried about Jin. I truly thought he would still be alive, and I guess I never really expected a quick resolution to his fate, but the freighter was clearly out of the radius since it didn’t time travel. So, if he is still alive, this is what I think happened: the blast of the freighter shot his body into the radius of the island. He was then transported back in time like Faraday and the other people on the Zodiac were. He then swam to shore and was captured by the natives or the Dharma Initiative. I just don’t think he could still be in the ocean, treading water and still be alive.

Two of my favorite quotes of the night came from Hurley to Sayid:
“Maybe if you ate more comfort food, you wouldn’t have to go around shooting people.” and “I need a cool nickname.”

The other two came from Richard to Locke, and it’s not so much the quotes, but Nestor Carbonell’s delivery (very Ben-esque, actually): “It…points north, John.” (After Locke asked him what the compass does.) I also loved his “What comes around, goes around." in reference to Ethan shooting John.

So back to the myriad of questions:

Are Desmond and Penny married? It looked like she was wearing a wedding ring.

The hand cutting scene very tense. For a second I actually thought they were going to chop off Juliet’s hand. (Good ol’ John Locke.) So they guys that captured them: DI members thinking that Juliet and Sawyer were hostiles?

When Locke looked up at the plane, was that smoke from the newly crashed plane or the smoke monster?

Also, a comment in regard to the appearance of Yemi’s plane…if the Island appears at different times throughout history, maybe that is why the Black Rock is so far off the coast of the Island, so far inland. Maybe the Island crashed into the Black Rock (instead of the ship crashing into the Island) during one of its past movements…perhaps even during the movement that banished Charles Widmore from the Island, and that’s why Widmore is so obsessed with the Black Rock.

Speaking of Widmore, I wonder if we will meet him on the Island since we’re flashing back to the Island’s past…oh wait, I literally just had this thought…what if we DID already meet him…the leader guy that captured Juliet and Sawyer spoke with an accent, right? Holy crap, why didn’t I think of that last night???

Why is Sayid no longer with Ben? Did he just grow tired of carrying out his orders and getting no closer to Widmore?

Who’s after Sayid/Hurley? Not Ben (directly, at least). He seemed to have no knowledge of Sayid and Hurley; could his people (like the butcher) be behind it? Widmore? Someone else? The same people who are after Kate and Aaron? And Sun is right about the lawyers – they want Aaron. Could Sun be behind the lawyers, working with Widmore? I really don’t trust her.

Does Desmond not have to go back to the Island because he is already there? Maybe he can’t go back? The rules don’t seem to apply to Des anyway, so there seems little point in drawing conclusions about him.

Are we supposed to assume that Ms. Hawking is Faraday’s mother? If so, does Faraday know so much because of her? Does Ben answer to her?

As a part of the most recent hiatus ARG (mostly frustrating, not that interesting), one of the things we did learn was that we would go to a new Dharma station this season (the logo looks like a lighthouse). Are we to assume that that is where Ms. Hawking was? An off-Island monitoring station?

In her station, it seems that the Island not only moves in time, but location as well, which could help explain weird things like polar bears on a tropical island.

Also of note is that the station, in which she does scientific research, is beneath a church, in which people practice religious faith. Faith and science working together to solve the Island’s woes like Jack and Locke have to do?

What is the nature of the natives/hostiles? I mentioned before how I think Richard may be a manifestation of the Island’s consciousness; if that’s so, what does that mean for the rest of his tribe?

With this time travel stuff, I can’t help but feel that the skeletons (“Adam and Eve”) that the survivors found back in season one will turn out to be someone we know. My guess right now? Faraday and Charlotte or Sawyer and Juliet.

Speaking of Charlotte, is it ok to say that she is a child of the Dharma Initiative? That’s the conclusion that I drew from her nosebleed comment coupled with last season’s references to her being born on the Island and her looking for it her whole life. (“What DO I mean?” Is still one of my favorite Miles quotes.)

If Widmore broke the rules, as Ben said, perhaps it’s the first time that such a thing happened and that is why Ben is so shocked. Maybe that is why the stakes are so high? Changing the rules was Widmore exerting his will against destiny/fate – something which should never be done.

To expand on the last question, maybe like Faraday said there are things – major things – that WILL happen, but since the rules were broken, it has changed one of these major things and if this major thing doesn’t happen, the world ends – what Ms. Hawking was referring to at the end of the second episode.

So maybe it’s not that time travel CAN’T alter fate, but that it SHOULDN’T. I think that’s an important distinction.

Whew. That was a long one.