S

P

O

I

L

E

R

A

L

E

R

T

*

*

*

*

“Recon” Lost Episode 8 Review

This Is Your 8am Wake Up Call

At camp Claire, Sawyer makes a cup of tea and goes inside the shelter to wake Jin up, Jin asks how long he has been asleep and Sawyer replies that he figured Jin could use the rest. Sawyer tells Jin that Claire and Locke have gone but will be back before sun up. Jin pleads with Sawyer to leave as he wants to find Sun. Sawyer says no because he wants Man in Locke to get him off the island and he promises to help Jin find Sun. They hear something outside and go to watch Man in Locke, Sayid, Kate, Claire and the other people from the Temple return. Sawyer and Kate say hello to one another.

In Sideways LA, Sawyer is in bed with a woman who refers to him as Jimmy. In a very similar incident to the con Sawyer has previously played he remembers he has to attend a meeting at nine o’clock and the clock currently says 8:42am. He reaches for his briefcase and its spills open and money falls onto the bed. He tries to explain to her that he is heading to a business meeting, when she puts on a robe and pulls a gun on him accusing him of being a con man.

Sawyer answers that he isn’t a con man and that he works for the police, that the room is bugged and surrounded by armed police. He says they have no interest in her and want her to take the briefcase to her husband who is currently in hiding. She calls his bluff and cocks her gun, Sawyer then says the codeword “LaFleur” and the door bursts open and police charge in ordering her to put the gun down. Miles comes in and throws a police badge to Sawyer and tells him to put some clothes on, Sawyer says ok and calls him partner.

Claire’s Squirrel-Baby Looks Like Jar-Jar Binks

On the island Claire is packing ropes and knives when Kate joins her, she looks oddly at the make-shift baby in the bassinet, Claire explains that this is where she has lived and the make shift baby was all she had. Kate makes and “Ewwww” face. They go outside and Man in Locke asks them to gather around and says, “I know that everyone is tired. It was a long traumatic night for all of us. And you all have a lot of questions, I know, and I will make myself available to answer them. But first, right now we need to keep moving. We have to take advantage of the daylight.”

Cindy asks what happened to the rest of the people at the Temple and Man in Locke explains that the black smoke killed them, Zach and Emma look upset so Man in Locke comforts them and promises to take care of them. At the mention of Smokey, Claire grips Kate’s hand. Is it fear or protective? Sawyer approaches Kate and asks if Jack, Hurley and the rest of them made it out ok and Kate says yes, he then asks about Miles to which Kate answers that she doesn’t know what happened to him. She asks Sawyer if he is with Locke now and Sawyer replies by saying he isn’t with anybody.

In Sideways LA, Sawyer is sitting at a desk, the name plate reads “Det. James Ford, LAPD.” He is on the phone ringing various people named Anthony Cooper, and asking them if they were in Alabama in 1976. Miles comes over with two coffee cups – one white, which he gives to Sawyer and one black, which he keeps; and Sawyer hides the piece of paper with all the Anthony Cooper names on, Miles however asks who Anthony Cooper is and Sawyer lies to him saying he was an old school buddy who is going to hook him up with some LA Lakers tickets. Miles asks if Sawyer reconciled with him in Palm Springs last week, and after a brief moment of confusion Sawyer says yes. Miles then tells Sawyer he has arranged a date for him and when Sawyer objects he says, “What is your deal, Jim? Do you want to die alone?” Sawyer agrees to the date and Miles asks for a Lakers ticket. Sawyer says he won’t be able to get Miles a ticket and Miles asks Sawyer if there is something he is lying to him about, Sawyer brushes it off and Miles walks away.

Sawyer’s Recon Mission

On the island Man in Locke is leading the group through the jungle, he says they’ll make camp up ahead and could be there for a couple of days. Sawyer interrupts him and questions when he was planning on leaving the island, they go to talk in private. Man in Locke tells Sawyer he forgives him for interrupting and then confesses to Sawyer that he is the smoke monster, Sawyer asks why they didn’t just join Man in Locke and he answers that they were convinced they were protecting the island from Man in Locke, when in fact all he wants to do is leave. He says it’s either kill or be killed and he doesn’t want to be killed.

They come out onto the beach and see an outrigger, Man in Locke tasks Sawyer with a recon mission to travel to the Hydra Island (I don’t recall it being called that previously) and report back what he finds about the plane and to see if there is anybody there who may wish to harm them. He tells Sawyer he doesn’t worry about Sawyer’s safety because he is the best liar Man in Locke has ever met and he could tell them anything and gain their trust and then when they have access to the airplane they will be able to leave the island. They push the outrigger into the water together and Sawyer leaves on it.

Date a Redhead/Die Alone

Back in Sideways LA, Sawyer goes for his date, he is in a fancy restaurant and meets up with Charlotte Staples Lewis. They discuss what they do for a living and Charlotte tells him she works in archaeology, Sawyer refers to her as being like Indiana Jones and asks if she has a whip. She gives him a naughty look and for a minute you think that it’s gonna get nasty. She questions why Sawyer became a cop and after trying to brush her off he finally confesses that he reached a stage in his life where he was either going to become a cop or a criminal and he chose to become a cop. Charlotte seems really interested and moments later they are back at his apartment in bed. They make love and Sawyer leaves to get her some water, she asks to borrow a t-shirt and Sawyer says they’re in the top drawer. As she opens the drawer she finds a file named Sawyer and opens it to see a picture of a family consisting of Mom, Dad and Son, she picks it up and looks at it and opens the file to return the picture but sees a newspaper story headlined, “Local Man Kills Wife, Self, Survived by Nine-Year-Old Boy.”Sawyer returns angry that she is prying and demands that she leaves immediately, she picks up her clothes and walks out, Sawyer picks up the picture.

Hydra Island… Now With 700% More Death, Carnage, and Flies!

On the island, Sawyer reaches the Hydra Island and passes the cages he and Kate were locked in and had sex in. Kate’s dress is still in the cage and Sawyer picks it up., but he doesn’t sniff it.
Meanwhile, on the main island Kate asks Sayid if he believes Locke and Sayid replies that he does, Kate asks him if he is ok and Sayid replies that he is not. Suddenly Claire pulls Kate backwards and attacks her with a knife to her throat, Sayid just watches as they struggle not moving while Kate implores him to help her. Man in Locke pulls Claire off and Kate picks up a rifle and looks set to hit Claire with it. Man in Locke explains to Claire that Kate did what she had to do with Aaron after Claire disappeared, Claire objects and Man in Locke slaps her across the face and says her behavior is completely inappropriate. Claire looking stunned follows his orders to distance herself away from Kate. Man in Locke asks Kate if she is ok and he looks genuinely worried when she replies that she is not. Man in Locke walks over to talk to Claire.

On the Hydra Island, Sawyer finds the Arija plane, he notices a trail where something has been dragged and follows it, and he sees a group of dead bodies. It obviously smells really bad as it’s covered with flies and Sawyer covers his nose and mouth. He sees a woman running and tells her to stop before catching her. She pleads with him not to hurt her and says she is the only one left.

The Not-Yellow Submarine

At the precinct desk in Sideways LA, Charlie’s brother Liam is at the police station asking about his brother, he turns and asks Sawyer for help but Sawyer brushes him off and says it’s not his department. Miles asks Sawyer to join him in the locker room and when he does Miles shoves him against the lockers and tells him that he ran his credit card, and Sawyer wasn’t in Palm Springs he was in Australia and he wants to know why. Sawyer tells him it’s none of his business, and Miles agrees and says they’re no longer partners. Sawyer looks at his reflection in the mirror and then punches it.

On the Hydra Island, Sawyer gives the woman a drink and introduces himself, she then introduces herself as Zoe. She says she can’t believe she found another survivor from the plane but Sawyer tells her he’s from a different plane crash. He asks what killed all of the people and she says she was collecting wood and heard screams and when she arrived back at the beach they were all dead, and that she dragged them into the jungle out of the sun. She asks if Sawyer is alone, and he says he is with a group of people and he’ll take her back with him, she thanks the Gods but Sawyer says it has nothing to do with God.

Kate is sitting on the ground sobbing, when Man in Locke walks over and apologizes for Claire’s behavior. He tells her it is his fault for lying to Claire about the others having Aaron, and that Claire’s confusion will disappear in time. Kate says he’s very insightful for a dead man, and he says that nobody is perfect but tells her he promised to keep everybody safe and that includes Kate. When asked, he leads her off to show her where he has sent Sawyer.

Sawyer and Zoe are walking towards the outrigger when Sawyer begins questioning her reasons for being on the plane, she asks questions on whether Sawyer and his people are armed. Suddenly, Sawyer pulls his gun on her and calls her out for being a con woman. She looks defeated and whistles, Men come out of the tree line with guns and order Sawyer to put his gun down. Sawyer drops to his knees and asks them to take him to their leader.

Man in Locke shows Kate the Hydra Island and tells her that he sent Sawyer there, but he brought her out to talk to her, he says that he isn’t a dead man, and tells Kate that a long time ago, before he looked like Locke he had a mother, just like anyone. But she was a disturbed woman and as a result of that caused Man in Locke some growing pains and problems that he is still trying to work through, problems that could’ve been avoided had things been different. Kate asks why he is telling her this and he says because now Aaron has a crazy mother too. Kate has a stepped in dog crap look on her face.

Sawyer is being led through the jungle, he sees some of them putting up pylons that look like miniature sonic fence thingies and they come across a submarine, Zoe tells him to go inside and says that he is waiting for him. They pass a locked door which Zoe makes sure is locked and tells Sawyer it’s none of his business what is inside the room when he asks.

Sawyers Deals

Sawyer arrives home in Sideways LA. He fixes himself a microwave dinner and is watching Little House on the Prairie, Pa is telling Melissa Gilbert about life and Sawyer turns off the tv and leaves to go to Charlotte’s apartment with a sunflower and a six pack of beers. Charlotte tells him to leave and that he blew his chance with her, Sawyer leaves the sunflower by the apartment door as he exits.

Inside the submarine Sawyer is taken to see Charles Widmore, he refuses to shake his hand and accuses Widmore of sending the freighter full of people to kill them all, he also accuses him of murdering the people outside in the ditch. Widmore comments on how sad it is that Sawyer actually knows so little and claims not to have killed the people on the Hydra Island, he asks Sawyer why he has come to the Hydra Island. Sawyer says that John Locke sent him and when Charles Widmore says that John Locke is dead, Sawyer says Charles knows exactly who he is referring to. He then offers Widmore a deal, that he’ll return to the Man in Locke and tell him the coast is clear, then he’ll deliver Man in Locke to his front door where Widmore can kill him. Sawyer says he wants a safe passage off the island for him and his friends in exchange. Despite neither of them really being able to trust the other they shake hands to agree and Sawyer leaves to return to the main island.

Elsewhere, Kate pulls her rifle up as Claire approaches her, Claire says sorry to Kate for her over reactions and asks for forgiveness, and tells Kate that she understands why she took Aaron. The two hug as Claire continues to apologize. Claire breaks down and sobs and Kate comforts her.

Sawyer returns and Man in Locke runs down to him and asks him what he saw. Sawyer tells him that everyone from the plane is dead, and then tells him about the deal he struck with Charles Widmore.. He says that Widmore is hiding something in a locked room on the submarine, and his team are constructing pylons, the type that stops the smoke monster entering. He also says they are heavily armed, but that this knowledge will allow Man in Locke to get the jump on them. Man in Locke thanks Sawyer for his loyalty, to which Sawyer replies that a deal is a deal.

In Sideways LA, as Miles leaves the police station Sawyer beeps the horn of his car and beckons him over. He hands Miles the Sawyer file and tells him the story of his father killing his mother because of a man called Sawyer. He says he has tracked him down and his name is now Anthony Cooper and that he wants to find and kill him. Miles asks Sawyer why he kept it from him and Sawyer tells him that Miles would’ve only tried to talk him out of it.

Suddenly a car slams into them and the driver, wearing a hoodie to disguise themselves, gets out and begins running away. Sawyer and Miles give chase and Sawyer catches the driver. He pulls the hood off and says “Son-of-a-Bitch” when he realizes its Kate and remembers her from the Oceaniac flight.

Its night time on the island and Sawyer asks Kate what’s for dinner as he is starving, Kate replies that its rabbit. She questions why Sawyer is now running errands for Locke, Sawyer says he isn’t running errands for anybody. He tells Kate about Widmore and that his men want Man in Locke, and that he’s just going to lead them all into a big fight, and while they’re busy he and Kate are going to leave the island. Kate counters by saying even if the plan worked they don’t know how to fly the plane. Sawyer tells her they aren’t taking the plane, they’ll be taking the submarine, he calls her freckles.

So what do you think of yet another action packed episode? So many new questions! What is being hidden in the locked room on the submarine? Who is Man in Locke’s mother? And what made her crazy? What a surprise it was to see Sawyer as a cop in his flash-sideways, will he let Kate escape again? Let me know your thoughts.

Once Kenner’s Star Wars kicked open the door to action figure Nir(and, eventually, Nerd)vana in 1977, there were three non-licensed lines that defined and dominated Aisle 7C in the 1980s.  But, once and for all, after all the different permutations and relaunches, which is our favorite?

(more…)

Sure, action figures are the focus around here, as evidenced by the name of the site. If you’re anything like me, though, your collecting habits involve more than just little plastic men. With STAR WARS, DC Direct, Justice League Unlimited, G.I. JOE, Marvel Universe, and anything I can find from my favorite comic books, movies, and television shows, I am definitely an action figure junkie. My hobbies extend beyond toys, though.

(more…)

Dear Matty,

You stopped getting my money last month, so this is for everyone who would still like to do business with you despite your best efforts.

People reported having Moss Man in their cart more than 10 minutes before the sale date.  The earliest instance I found was 11:48am EST.

Starting at 12:00pm EST, customers reported Moss Man as sold out.

At 12:05pm EST, your MattyCollector.com forum representative reported both versions of Moss Man were indeed sold out.

We all know the shopping cart mechanism on MattyCollector.com is meaningless.  You know it too; that’s why you posted a guarantee of FUBAR on 12 March.  So, that’s nothing new.  My questions to you for this month are:

Why were customers allowed to purchase figures prior to the 12:00pm EST on-sale date?

Why, regardless of when the figures are sold, are there so few Masters of the Universe Classics figures available to non-subscribers*?

Why, if there are as few figures available to non-subscribers as there appear to be, are individual customers allowed to order as many of 10 copies of a given figure?

Thank you very much for your attention.  I look forward to your answers below, or somewhere prominent on the Internet.

Your Friend,

Jasey

(more…)

So, I’ve fallen off the ’ol AFi radar for a while. Not by choice, mind you, but just thanks to life getting in the way. This is an action figure blog and not a therapy session so I will spare those of you kind enough to be reading this the details. Suffice it to say I’ve been engaged in swell activities like packing up my entire collection and moving it to a studio apartment! Anyhoo, I was exploring my newish environs here in downtown Phoenix today and stumbled on a couple geek culture related spectacles. Forgive this dull attempt to ease back into the blogosphere…

(more…)

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

A

L

E

R

T

Dr. Linus Review of LOST episode 7

RUNNING BLINDLY

The episode opens with Ben running through the jungle in the dark away from the temple where a very spooky Sayid has told him he’s beyond saving. Ben falls on his face and then finds Ilana, Frank, Miles and Sun. When Ilana asks about the whereabouts of Sayid, Ben informs her that Sayid probably won’t be joining them giving that he has just murdered Dogen and his interpretator (or as I liked to call him, “hippie”).

Sun questions Ilana saying that she told them they would be safe at the temple, Ilana answers her by saying that’s what she was told. Ben suggests they go back to the beach where Locke is buried and the others agree.

Detention

In Sideways LA, Ben is conducting a history class he writes the word “ELBA” on the board and begins to discuss Napoleon. His discussion, if you listen closely, is very descriptive of our friend Ben. “ELBA is where Napoleon faces his greatest test, because exile wasn’t the worst of his fate. What was truly devastating to him was the loss of his power. Sure, they allowed him to keep the title of Emperor, but without any power, it was meaningless. He might just as well have been dead.” The bell rings and the class is over.

There is a man standing by the door who Ben acknowledges as Principal Reynolds. He looks like he has terminal hemorrhoids. What a happy chap! Principal hemorrhoid tells Ben to walk with him. Ben follows behind like a meek bunny. They discuss a shift in schedule as they walk outside. Principal Reynolds informs Ben that due to budgetary restraints and events above his pay grade some of the staff will have to pull double duty. What a demeaning asshole our principal is. He’s the kind of guy you hope kids put mothballs into his car’s gas tank and jimmie the trunk and fill with cow manure. Ben will be tasked with supervising detention for the week. When Ben challenges that he runs an after school history club Principal hemorrhoid indicates that due to the low number of students attending the history club he sees detention as being more important. As he walks off Principal hemorrhoid thanks Ben in a most condescending way and refers to him as Linus. Ben quietly refers to himself as Doctor Linus

In the faculty room the amazing exploding Leslie Arzt is complaining at a stain on his shirt caused by an incompetent student spilling formaldehyde on him. He complains at the lack of lab aprons and the fact that his lab equipment is some fifty years outdated. Ben and Leslie Arzt begin discussing the poor job the Principal is doing, Locke sitting at another table tells Ben that maybe he should be the Principal, due to the fact he cares about his job, and maybe it is time for a change. Ben says that no one would listen to him, Locke raises his hand and says that he’s listening.

Like A Father To Me

Back on the island Sun, Frank, Miles, Ilana and Ben are moving through the jungle, Miles asks what exactly the smoke monster was, Ben replies saying that it is the same thing which killed Ilana’s friends back at the statue. Ilana steps in and questions whether it also killed Jacob, Ben nods and says it did. Ilana then turns to Miles and asks him to communicate with the pouch containing Jacob’s ashes and tell her how Jacob died. Ben looks like he just did a doodoo in his underwear. Miles gets on his knees and listens, then stands up and says “Linus killed him.”

Ben’s eyes almost pop out of his head and he says this a lie but Miles insists and Ilana approaches Ben and says that Jacob was the closest thing she had to a father, she turns and walks away and the rest follow.

The next morning they arrive at the beach camp and the shelters are in bad shape, Ilana goes off to look for tools and work on the shelters, she encourages others to look for firewood and food. Ben approaches her and asks if there is anything he can do. When she doesn’t answer Ben accuses Miles of lying and refers to the time Miles tried to black mail him. She walks away and Frank walks by and says, “You make friends easy, don’t you?” Poor Ben. He’s the pariah of the group.

Ben, Roger & Alex
Back in Sideways LA, Ben is at home and has prepared a healthy, organic meal microwave meal for his ill looking father, and tells Roger he is trying to keep him healthy. Roger tells him he may be a little late for that, and they begin to discuss Ben’s day at work.

Ben refers to the misuse of his doctorate in history and complains that he has been assigned detention duty. Roger tells Ben that this is not the life he wanted for his son, and tells Ben that the reason he signed them both up for the Dharma Initiative was so Ben was around smart people and that their lives would be so much different now if they’d have stayed. Ben throughout the conversation is maintaining the tubes on the tank of Rogers machine, he turns on the oxygen again and Roger thanks him.

The doorbell rings and Ben answers it to find Alex Rousseau. She questions why he had to cancel history club and he apologizes and says the club is cancelled this week due to him covering elsewhere, Alex says that she has an AP test on Friday and was counting on the tutoring, they make arrangements to meet in the school library the following morning before school begins. Alex thanks Ben and calls him the best before leaving.

Candidates

On the island Sun approaches Ilana to ask how long they are going to stay at the beach and indicates she is keen to find her husband. Ilana says thay she too is very keen to find Jin and explains that she is unsure which of them is a candidate and therefore which of them she needs to protect, or whether she needs to protect both of them. Sun questions why they need protection and Ilana informs her they’re candidates to replace Jacob. Sun looks surprised and asks what replacing him would entail Ilana says that “If you’re the one selected, I imagine you’ll find out.” Sun asks how many candidates there are and Ilana says there are only six candidates remaining. Nobody says how many there were to start with.

Way To The Temple

Hurley is on the ground sleeping and mumbling “cheese curds,” when Jack wakes him up and says they should begin to make there way back to the Temple. Hurley, in typical Hurley fashion, tries to stall Jack remembering what Jacob told him about the bad incident which was to happen at the temple, but Jack insists they leave now. Hurley tries to trick Jack into taking a short cut which will bring them away from the temple. Suddenly, Richard steps out and informs them they’re both wrong and to follow him, Jack asks where he came from and Richard replies saying that Jack wouldn’t believe him if he told him. Richard begins walking away and Jack and Hurley follow. Let’s see… Polar bears, smoke monsters, time travel, seeing dead people. I think they would believe you, Richard.

Dig

Back on the beach, Ben is rifling through a shelter, maybe Sawyers, looking through magazines when Frank approaches and asks him for help collecting firewood, Frank refers to Ben as nostalgic when Ben thinks back to the plane splitting in half and crashing on the island, Frank informs Ben that he was supposed to be the pilot on Oceanic 815. When Ben questions why he didn’t pilot the plane Frank tells him that he overslept. Ben says that the island still got him in the end. Frank chuckles and walks away. Ben is kind of smiling and thinking he’s starting to fit in when Ilana puts her rifle to Ben’s neck and walks him up to the graves to a make shift shovel. She ties a cable around his foot and a tree points the rifle at him and tells him to pick up the shovel and start digging a grave, when Ben asks who the grave is for, she tells him that it is for him because he murdered Jacob.

Horizontal Mamba

In sideways LA, Ben is tutoring Alex in the school library when Alex begins to become stressed about the exam and refers to the upcoming test as her entire life is balancing on it. Doctor Ben says she is being a bit dramatic, she answers back that her mum (presumably Danielle Rousseau) is working two shifts to just pay the rent and could no way afford tuition costs at Yale College. Where is that deadbeat husband of Danielle’s?

Ben tells her that she is one of the brightest students he has ever had and if it helps he will write a letter of recommendation, Alex stops him mid-sentence saying that she needs a recommendation from someone who attended Yale and that the only person in the school is that pervert, Principal Reynolds aka: principal hemorrhoid. Ben pushes her to explain her comments calling Principal Reynolds a pervert and asks if he has ever been untoward to Alex, she appears grossed out by this and says no but explains that when she was in nurses office one day she saw and heard Principal Reynolds and the school nurse doing the nasty on school grounds. She makes Ben promise to keep this a secret and Ben agrees. But… The timid, nice Doctor Ben has that island Ben look on his face…

In Sideways LA, Ben is conducting a history class he writes the word “ELBA” on the board and begins to discuss Napoleon. His discussion, if you listen closely, is very descriptive of our friend Ben. “ELBA is where Napoleon faces his greatest test, because exile wasn’t the worst of his fate. What was truly devastating to him was the loss of his power. Sure, they allowed him to keep the title of Emperor, but without any power, it was meaningless. He might just as well have been dead.” The bell rings and the class is over.

There is a man standing by the door who Ben acknowledges as Principal Reynolds. He looks like he has terminal hemorrhoids. What a happy chap! Principal hemorrhoid tells Ben to walk with him. Ben follows behind like a meek bunny. They discuss a shift in schedule as they walk outside. Principal Reynolds informs Ben that due to budgetary restraints and events above his pay grade some of the staff will have to pull double duty. What a demeaning asshole our principal is. He’s the kind of guy you hope kids put mothballs into his car’s gas tank and jimmie the trunk and fill with cow manure. Ben will be tasked with supervising detention for the week. When Ben challenges that he runs an after school history club Principal hemorrhoid indicates that due to the low number of students attending the history club he sees detention as being more important. As he walks off Principal hemorrhoid thanks Ben in a most condescending way and refers to him as Linus. Ben quietly refers to himself as Doctor Linus

In the faculty room the amazing exploding Leslie Arzt is complaining at a stain on his shirt caused by an incompetent student spilling formaldehyde on him. He complains at the lack of lab aprons and the fact that his lab equipment is some fifty years outdated. Ben and Leslie Arzt begin discussing the poor job the Principal is doing, Locke sitting at another table tells Ben that maybe he should be the Principal, due to the fact he cares about his job, and maybe it is time for a change. Ben says that no one would listen to him, Locke raises his hand and says that he’s listening.

Jacob Cared
On the island Miles brings Ben some food and refers to his lacklustre attempts to dig. Ben retorts he’s not really all that motivated and attempts to convince Miles to cut him free and he will find a way for Miles to get the 3.2 million dollars he tried to bribe him for in the past. Miles refuses and says he doesn’t need to considering that Paulo and Nikki who were buried alive have $8 million in diamonds on top of them. Ben cannot believe Miles won’t help him considering Ilana is going to kill him, Ben says, “Ilana is going to murder me for killing Jacob, a man who didn’t even care about being killed.”

“No, he cared,” Miles continues, “right up until the second the knife went through his heart, he was hoping he was wrong about you, I guess he wasn’t. Miles walks away and Ilana shoots the ground next to Ben and tells him to dig.

Black Rock

Hurley still following Richard asks Richard if he is time travelling because he looks the same now as he did thirty years ago. Richard says no, Hurley then asks if Richard is like the terminator, or a Cyborg, an exasoerated Richard says no and explains that Jacob gave him a gift. But, it’s not a gift, it’s a curse.

Jack asks Richard what he knows about Jacob and Richard replies saying that he knows Jacob is dead. They walk into a clearing and see the Black Rock, Richard explains he lied about going back to the temple and that he had just come from that way and everyone there is dead. He tells them he doesn’t know what happened and explains that he didn’t see Sayid or Kate and they might have made it out alive.

Hurley tells Jack that Jacob hinted to him that something bad was going to happen, Richard becomes interested and tells Hurley that whatever Jacob said to him that Hurley should not believe. Richard says he is going inside the Black Rock to die.

Artz Wants Aprons

Artz is working in his classroom when Ben persuades him to hack into the school nurses email account to look for inappropriate emails between Nurse Kondracki and Principal Reynolds. Ben tells him of the relationship between them and that he is looking for emails to use as leverage to get the Principal job.
Arzt agrees to help in exchange for a better car park spot and lab aprons and modern equipment, Ben agrees. Arzt says that the sweater vest Ben wears fooled him and that Ben is a real killer. Ben gives him a surprised look.

Time To Die

On the island in the Black Rock Richard goes inside and studies the chains, Jack asks him if he has been here before and Richard says he has but in his whole time on the island this is the first time he has returned. Hurley joins them as Richard opens a box of dynamite, he tells Jack he is unable to kill himself and asks Jack to light the fuse for him and that the fuse is long enough for Jack and Hurley to escape. He throws down one stick of dynamite to display that it will not blow up.

Jack asks him why he wants to die and Richard replies, “I devoted my life, longer than you can possibly imagine, in service of a man who told me that everything was happening for a reason. That he had a plan. A plan that I was a part of and when the time was right he’d share it with me and now that man’s gone. So, why do i want to die? I just found out my entire life had no purpose.”

Hurley pleads with Jack to not do it but Jack lights the fuse on the lantern and then sits across from Richard, he tells Hurley to leave and he’ll follow him out. Hurley sees the flame get closer to the dynamite and runs off saying if Jack changes his mind he’ll be like a mile away.

Richard tells Jack to leave before he dies, Jack chuckles and says that neither of them are going to die, and explains that he has been to the lighthouse and seen the mirror reflection of his house. He realizes that Jacob got Hurley to take Jack to the lighthouse so Jack could see that Jacob has been watching him since he was a child, and based on that he’s willing to bet that if Jacob went to all that trouble, that the island won’t allow for him to be blown up now.

The flame gets to the end of the fuse and fizzles out, Jack laughs and offers Richard another stick of dynamite while Richard stares at the fuse in disbelief. Richard says that since Jack seems to have all the answers what should they do next. Jack says they should go back to where they started.

Smoke and Mirrors
As Ben continues to dig he hears the sound of the smoke monster and Locke appears and asks Ben why he is digging his own grave. Ben answers by saying that due to Locke talking him into killing Jacob; Ilana is going to kill him, so now Locke has what he wants.

Locke answers saying that he doesn’t want Ben to die, in fact when he leaves this island he wants Ben to take charge of things. He motions his hand and Ben looks down and is free of the cable, Man in Locke tells Ben to travel two hundred yards inland where he will find a rifle leaning against a tree, this should allow him to get the drop on Ilana, then to travel to the Hydra station where he will be waiting for Ben. He tells him not to hesitate because Ilana won’t.

Ben takes a look at Ilana before throwing the shovel and running, Ilana gives chase.

Machiavellian Maneuvers

In Sideways LA, Ben confronts the Principal armed with thirty or so incriminating emails about the Pricipal’s relationship and sexual activities on school premises. He demands that Principal Reynold’s resigns and that he recommends Ben for the job, and since the Principal is held in such high esteem by the school board it shouldn’t be a problem.

Principal hemorrhoid mulls over the proposal and then counters that Ben has two options, either the Principal will resign and write a letter to Yale College which would torch Alex Rousseau’s career, or he will not resign and write a good recommendation letter. He asks Ben is the power of the Principal job that important to him.

I’ll Have You

On the island Ben find the rifle and points it at Ilana and demands she drop her gun. Ilana drops the gun and asks Ben what he is waiting for. Ben says he wishes to explain his actions, and that he saw his own daughter Alex die in front of him and that he had a chance to save her but chose the island over her, all in the name of Jacob.
He says that Jacob didn’t care, and admits that he did stab Jacob, but he was so angry and confused and he was terrified of losing the only thing that had ever mattered to him. But he now realizes that the thing that matters to him was already gone and that he is sorry for killing Jacob, and he doesn’t expect forgiveness because he cannot forgive himself.

He asks her to let him leave to join Locke as he is the only one that will take him, Ilana tells Ben that she’ll still have him and pick her gun up and walks away. Ben thinks for a moment, and then follows her.

Back in sideways LA, Ben, dressed much nicer than usual walks into the principals office. He looks at the name plate on the front of the desk and smirks when Alex comes by to thank Principal Reynold for writing such an outstanding recommendation to Yale for her, Ben refuses to accept any plaudits and as the hemorrhoid returns Ben says he’ll see Alex at history club, and says that they have their old slot back after Principal Reynolds found someone to cover for detention. He leaves the office and Arzt approaches him asking if he successfully outed the Principal, Ben says no and offers Arzt his parking space when Arzt complains. Ben smiles watching Alex leave the Principal’s office looking completely happy.

Upscope

On the island Ben follows Ilana back to the beach, he begins helping Sun with her shelter. Frank carries firewood and puts in on the fire as Miles looks at a diamond in his hand. Ilana is sat alone, crying. They see Hurley, Richard and Jack, and they greet each other and exchange hugs.

Out at sea, a periscope pops out of the water and observes the goings on at the beach camp, and we see Charles Widmore inside a submarine, a man says to him that there are people on the beach and asks if they should stop. Charles says no, and tells him to proceed as planned.

LOST

For the first time, I thought that the sideways segments tied in concisely with the island segments. I always enjoy the episodes where Michael Emerson is the “star.” The episode seemed to go in a complete 360 and leave us not much different from where we started, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Ben is broken. He’s not the same man he once was. That seemed to be the point of this episode. He’s not a doormat. But he’s not interested in power anymore. The only thing he ever cared about is gone and it just dawned on him that he had been deceiving himself since the moment she died. Ben realizes what his lust for power has done and has changed. Call it his path to redemption. The old Ben that you speak of seems to have faded away to minority at this point. I’m a bit disappointed about that too. But it’s to be expected after all of the trama he has gone through in such a brief time period….

I know lots of people don’t like the sideways / parallel story. But I think it’s interesting and what if it is really the end of the story? What if somehow the MIB is defeated in the end and the island is destroyed and sinks to the bottom of the ocean and this parallel story is how all of our Losties actually go on after that? Are we seeing the end of Lost all season long and we don’t quite know it yet?

I was a bit less flippant than I normally am in my synopsis. Maybe it was the episode that toned me down. I dunno…

So what were your thoughts on this episode? Ben has a much improved relationship with his father off the island, and has Ben now redeemed himself and can he be considered to be a good guy now? What are the consequences of him not joining Man in Locke? How did Charles find the island? Was Richard a slave on the Black Rock? Let me know your thoughts.

Does your Retro-Action DC Super Heroes collection suffer from a debilitating condition causing the figures to stoop, bend, lean and otherwise act depressed, listless and hunchbacked?

 Come find out how you can cure this terrible condition just like our friend Hal here!

(more…)

I recently found and bought a new JLU figure at Target (Firestorm).  I was thrilled.  But at the same time, it was obvious I had missed the other new figure that was released with it (Deadshot).  Over the past few days, its been nagging at me.  All the other JLU I’ve barely – or never – seen and not had the opportunity to buy.
 
It started with the pieces shown at SDCC n 2006.  Yes, that long ago.  Many of the 3 packs shown there only appeared at my local Target (Warwick, RI) once.  Some not at all.  If you follow the line, you know their names by heart. 

Then came round 2. 

(more…)

March 5th Update – apparently with this blog the image size tags were not automatically filled in by the software.  The sizes defaulted to 1 as far as image pixel size.  So, the images were visible by me but apparently not by my readers.  I apologize for this, have fixed the images and am re-publishing this blog so it gets noticed (again).  Thanks a lot for your understanding, everyone. 

Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Super Powers Highlight!  Since Toy Fair 2010 has recently passed us by, I thought it appropriate to photograph this piece this week…the Samurai carded sample. It’s unclear as to what this sample would have been used for, but until subsequent information disproves me I’ll continue thinking it was used for Toy Fair in 1985 when the 3rd wave of figures was presented for retail buyers to purchase for their stores.  Unfortunately no documentation exists to confirm it, but then again none exists to disprove it either…and this little boy will continue to dream big. 

(more…)

Howdy all, and welcome to another edition of the Super Powers Highlight here at Action Figure Insider.  Today I’m calling attention to a rarity most people might not know about.  What’s generally known amongst people who collect this fantastic line is that there were three total waves of figures released from 1984 to 1986.  The figures that were among the first two waves all came with a free mini-comic that illustrated a short adventure of the character.  The third wave of figures had no comics, probably due to the second wave of figures performing so poorly on the retail shelves.  Cost-cutting to sell the retailers on the 3rd wave, you see.

The advanced Super Powers collector also knows about at least a few of the more popular foreign releases…namely the Pacipa Super Amigos Riddler from Argentina, the Gulliver El Capitan Rayo from Columbia, and the Super Amigos Cyborg from the same Pacipa line as Riddler.  Most people even have the carded Cyborg in their collection instead of the (mislabeled) "rare" US-released Cyborg.

(more…)

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

A

L

E

R

T

SUNDOWN Review of LOST episode

Previously on Lost, all sorts of stuff happened to Sayid. He got shot. He seemed dead. He drowned. He dead. He alive. Sayid, Sayid, Sayid. I think it’s going to be a Sayid episode.

HONEY, I’M HOME

In sideways LA we watch Sayid get out of a cab at a house in LA. We see Nadia and her children! But not Sayid and Nadia’s children. They call him Uncle Sayid. Uncle Sayid? Inside the house, some dude asks Sayid if he brought flowers for his wife. Sayid says dude can have them if he wants. Turns out it’s Sayid’s brother, Omar.
They sit down for dinner. Sayid is working for an oil company interpreting contracts. His brother takes a call. “Dinner is over,” he says. “This is business.” Nadia looks concerned. Omar leaves, and Nadia asks Sayid if he got her letters. He says he did, but he never wrote back. Nadia’s kids run in with the picture of Nadia that Sayid was keeping in his bag. Busted! Omar looks pissed.
Meanwhile, on the island, Sayid storms into the torture chamber and asks Dogen about the machine that he used to determine Sayid was infected. Dogen breaks it down: each man has a scale, good and evil and all that, and Sayid’s tipped the wrong way. So Dogen thinks it would be best if Sayid were dead. Sayid disagrees.
You don’t know me, homie.says Sayid. Then Dogen flips him! Flips him for real. They get it on. They throw stuff and hit each other with stuff. It’s pretty cool. I’m always amazed at what a great fighter Sayid is. It looks like he’s holding his own but then Dogen throws him on a table and is going to stab him when his precious baseball rolls off the desk and he stops short of killing Sayid. “Go. Leave this place. Never come back.” Sayid leaves.
Outside the outer wall of the temple in the jungle, Smokey Locke and Claire are hanging out. Right at their feet is a line of ash. Claire wants to know why Locke is sending her. He says he can’t go himself. Apparently, the ash still has bad juju for Smokey Locke. Claire says she’ll do it to get Aaron back. Smokey Locke says he always does what he says he will. Claire asks if he’s gonna hurt peoples.

“Only the ones who won’t listen.”

HELLO GOODBYE HELLO

In sideways LA, Omar wakes Sayid up, and Sayid freaks out. Turns out Omar is in trouble. He borrowed money for his business from some bad dudes and now they want a piece of everything. Sayid says he’ll pay them, but Omar wants Sayid to put the hurt on them and convince them to leave him alone.. Sayid declines. Omar says he knows what kind of guy Sayid really is. But Sayid says he’s not that guy anymore.
At the temple, Sayid runs into Miles on his way to banishment. Sayid doesn’t understand why Dogen brought him back to life for this crap. Miles says they’re not the ones who brought Sayid back. He says Sayid was real dead, for real. And that Dogen and Hippie dude were as surprised as Miles was to see Sayid come back.
Claire chooses this moment to stroll into the Temple. Her friend wants Dogen to come to him. Dogen says her friend will kill him if he leaves. Claire tells him to send someone that her friend won’t kill. Cool, says Dogen. He tells hippie dude to go get Shephard and Reyes. Funny thing is, they’re gone and the Others can’t seem to find them. Dogen is pissed and tells hippie dude to look harder. He then asks Sayid to hang for a hot second.
Back inside the Temple, Dogen tells Sayid that Dude Known As Smokey Locke is evil. “Evil incarnate,” in fact. He gives Sayid a short sword or knife to kill Smokey Locke from some box he had burried in a potted plant. He tells Sayid that the person will appear as someone Sayid knows, someone who is dead. He tells Sayid to plunge the knife deep into Dude’s chest, as opposed to brushing Dude’s hair or clipping Dude’s nails with it. He tells Sayid that if Dude speaks before the plunging part, it’s too late. Sayid want to know why he would do all this for Dogen. “You said you’re good. Prove it.” Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Back in sideways LA, Sayid is hanging with the niece and nephew. He says he’s only there for a couple more days, than off to Toronto. They want Uncle Sayid to stay as they board the bus for school. Nadia runs out to tell Sayid that Omar, is in the hospital.
They rush to the hospital. They walk by Jack! But Jack is not their doctor. Their doctor tells them that Omar has a punctured lung and stuff. Turns out he was mugged, i.e., beat up by the thugs he borrowed money from. Nadia tells Sayid to go home and take care of the kids, not find those thugs and kick ass. Sayid is like OOOOOOOOOOOOOKAY.
Outside the Temple, Sayid runs into Kate. You leaving, Sayid? He tells her to talk to Miles. She does. Miles surprises her with the news that Claire is back. “She just strolled in here a couple hours ago, acting all weird,” says Miles. “Still hot, though.” Kate wants to see for herself.
In the jungle, Sayid is surrounded by the rustling of trees and other dramatic stuff that we’ve come to expect from a Smokey Smoke Monster arrival. No surprises in this episode so far. Smokey Locke appears. “Hello, Sayid.” Sayid lets him talk first! Then Sayid plunges the knife into Smokey Locke’s chest.
It didn’t work.
We rejoin Sayid and Smokey, who gives Sayid his knife back. No hard feelings. Smokey asks Sayid what he knows about him. Sayid relates the evil incarnate thing. “Well, sorry for you,” says Smokey. Why? Smokey explains that Dogen knew this crap wouldn’t work, and thought Smokey would kill Sayid. “Shame on you for being talked into it so easily,” says Smokey the Guilt-Tripping Monster.
So what do you want to talk me into, then, asks Sayid. Smokey wants Sayid to deliver a message. Why not Claire? Because it would mean a lot more if it came from you, says Smokey.

Then Smokey gets into deal-with-the-devil mode and asks Sayid, you know, what if you could have whatever you want. And Sayid is like, that’s not possible. And Smokey is like, what if it is. And Sayid is like, what I want died in my arms. And Smokey is like, I feel you, but what if I could fix that for you, playa. Sayid is like, I’m all ears.

Is this the most predictable episode ever?

LOAN SHARK
Back in sideways LA, Nadia returns to her house to find Sayid fixing a vase broken by the boomerang he brought to them from Australia. Good news: Omar is okay. Sayid says he can settle their debt, but Nadia says that’s O’s problem. Nadia asks Sayid why he pushed her toward his brother, especially Sayid is still simpin with her picture on him all the time. Sayid says he doesn’t deserve her. I’m a loner, Nadia. A rebel.
Temple time! Sayid returns from his Smokey meeting with a message for the people: Jacob’s dead, there’s a (Smokey) man who’s going to leave the island, go to him by sundown or die. Dogen’s like, this story sucks. The stewardess from Flight 815, Cindy, isn’t loving it either.

In other news, after putting the hurt on hippie dude, Kate finds Claire. They exchange hellos. Claire says she’s here for her baby. Kate’s like, ah. I took him. I took him off the island. You weren’t around. I raised him. It’s all good. He’s super cool. I want to get you guys back together. Claire is not feeling this story! Kate wants to rescue Claire, but Claire says she’s not the one who needs rescuing.
“He’s coming, Kate.”
Who’s coming? Most Predictable Episode Ever!
After Sayid’s speech and the news about Jacob, people are leaving the Temple left and right. Hippie dude, who has recovered from Kate’s assault, tries to keep them there, but who’s going to listen to a hippie? C’mon son.
Back to sideways LA, a black SUV with super dark tinted windows comes for Sayid, and Andre Agassi gets out to threaten Sayid and the kids. Actually it’s Omar from the freighter (not to be confused with Omar, Sayid’s brother – you’d think the writers could come up with more than two arabic names). Sayid goes along with him. They drive to a dark, sketchy kitchen. Some guy is there, making eggs. “Want some eggs?” That guy! Is! KEAMY!
“Martin Keamy.”
“Sayid Jarrah, but you already know that.”
“That I do.”
Keamy gets his Christopher Walken/Frank White on here. He asks how Omar is doing. He’s being a tough guy. “It’s a dangerous world, Sayid. You know that cause you’re from Iraq.” Totally. Keamy talks greazy for a bit, until Sayid can’t take it anymore and starts shooting and killing these fake-ass gangstas. You know how Sayid gets down for his. Soon, only Keamy is left. He offers to forgive the debt, but Sayid doesn’t. He shoots Keamy, too.
Then he hears noises in the other room. Sayid investigates and it’s! Jin! He’s tied to a chair and looks like Keamy’s boys were working him over before Sayid sent them to hell. Sayid asks what the deal is, but Jin can’t speak English. Remember? Okay, the Keamy thing was not predictable, points for that one.

WTF
We see Dogen chillin by the Dirty Water Pool of Life as Sayid stop by to hang. “You let him talk to you,” says Dogen. Sayid says he stabbed him in the chest, then let him talk. But Smokey talked first, technically, so I wonder if that matters.
Sayid asks Dogen why he tried to have him killed, not once but twice. Dogen decides to open up a bit. Turns out he was a successful businessman in Osaka, he got wasted one Friday night after work, he picked up his son from baseball, he got into a car accident, he killed his son. Then a guy told him he could save his son if he came to the island and never saw his son again. That guy was Jacob.
“Jacob drives a hard bargain,” says Sayid. Dogen says he figures that Smokey offered Sayid a similar bargain. Yup. Dogen asks Sayid if he’s going to stay or go. Stay, says Sayid. Then in the most unexpected moment of the episode, Sayid drowns Dogen in the water. Hippie dude stops by. He’s frantic! He says Dogen was the only thing keeping Smokey out of the Temple. “I know,” says Sayid. Then he slits hippie dude’s throat and leaves him and Dogen in the pool. Good riddance to any characters we didn’t meet before Season 6!
Guess what time it is. It’s sundown. And you know what that means. Smokey Smoke the Smoke Monster of Smoke is here and ready to get busy.
As Smokey starts the predictable business of beating and killing people while making all sorts of noises, Kate and Miles flee in separate directions. Kate goes after Claire. Miles runs into Ilana, Frank and Ben. Ben goes after Sayid, who’s not interested in leaving.
Ilana finds Jacob’s secret tunnel and gets her crew to safety in the nick of time. But not before Miles tells Sun that Jin is alive and in the jungle looking for her.

In the aftermath of rampant Smokey death and destruction, Claire is chillin. Sayid is chillin. Kate picks up a gun, still somewhat out of the loop. Smokey Locke and Sayid meet again. Smokey gives him the “What’s Poppin” look. Claire gives Smokey the “What’s Goody Good” look. Kate gives Smokey Locke the “Locke?” look. Smokey Locke is like, wha? Sayid is like, Holla. Kate is like, WTF? Smokey is like, let’s ride. And everyone marches off into the jungle.

L O S T

The good news is, no more Temple! That means nowhere to hide. We’re back to some wild island rules. And this time, the Smoke Monster has a posse. It’s also interesting to see more and more characters interact in sideways LA. When will we find out the significance of that seemingly alternate universe?
The bad news was that this was a very very predictable episode.

The good news is that next week looks awesome. A Ben episode! Ben episodes are, IMHO, always the best of the season. Can’t wait.

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, the latest release direct to DVD from DC Comics and Warner Brothers came out last week.  Interviews with the cast and creators have been featured at numerous web sites leading up to the release.  Here are a few that covered the event:

Newsarama
ComicBookResources
ComicsContinuum

There was even a premiere which was attended by our own Cesar "Masked Avenger" Zamora.  See his blog about the premiere here!.

The story is basically the main JLA dealing with their evil counterparts.  This story was first told in the Silver Age of Comics, in JLA issues 29 and 30, which introduced readers to Earth 3 and the Crime Syndicate.  The story has been revised and updated a number of times, most recently in the Morrison/Quiety JLA:Earth 2 graphic novel.  In that retelling, a good Lex travels to ‘our’ earth to find help fighting the Syndicate.  Since he came from his earth to a second one, he calls ‘our’ earth, "Earth 2".  For why JL/JLU fans should care, read on …

(more…)

In case you missed it this weekend, Scott "ToyGuru" Neitlich made this response to a question about the furture availability of Masters of the Universe Classics figure stands on MattyCollector.com…

We’ll look into "possibly" bringing them back, but for now we have no plans to do so. They were a bit of a one shot deal.  

The quotes around possibly are his, by the way.  I don’t know what they’re doing there, either.

As for the content of that statement, I don’t know where to start…

(more…)

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

A

L

E

R

T

*

*

*

*

“The Lighthouse” Review

I DON’T REMEMBER MY SURGERY
We see poorly photoshopped photos of Jack and his parents, Jack and his proud papa, Christian. Jack’s there, too. He’s at his house in ATL LA Land. He checks a mark on his abdomen.
His mom calls, following up on his dad’s lost body. Jack doesn’t know where it is Oceaniac thinks it maybe in Berlin. Maybe Christian went to the Kit Kat Club.. Jack asks her when he had his appendix out. She says when he was seven, maybe eight. Dad wanted to take it out but they wouldn’t let him. Jack has to go, ma dukes.
Jack drives to pick up a young boy at St. Mary’s Academy. Jack has a son that is a tween. Did I miss something? When was there ever a kid mentioned before? Jack apologizes for being late. Son seems used to it. He’s one of those silent, angry kids that only ever got time-outs.

ISLAND TIME
At the Temple, Dogen and Jack are hanging out like friends. I guess all that roughhousing brought them closer together. Nothing like swallowing poison to bring people together.
Dogen’s glad Jack didn’t leave, although he would have stopped him anyway, he says. Dogen asks if Jack’s friends are coming back. Jack says probably not. They appreciate each other’s honesty.
In the courtyard, Miles and Hugo play tic tac toe. It’s another tie. Hurley says he wants to eat. There’s no fat joke here, which in itself is a form of fat joke. As Hugo walks by the Dirty Hot Dog Water Of Life, he asks some crouched-down dude if there’s a kitchen or something nearby. Crouched-down dude is Jacob!

Jacob has stuff to tell Hugo, stuff he’s gonna have to write down. Someone is coming to the island, and Jacob needs Hugo to help him find it.

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DAY

Back in Jack-Has-A-Son LA, Jack tries to make small talk with his son David. Jack says he hooked up the cable, the Red Sox are on. David is nonplussed. Jack sees The Annotated Alice, tells David he used to read it to him. David remains nonplussed. Jack tries to talk more, but David shuts him down. Apparently he doesn’t see Jack that often and would rather just get through this visit without all the pleasantries. Maybe he doesn’t remember Jack having a kid either.

I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE SOMEBODY’S WATCHING ME
At the temple, Sayid asks Jack about the pill. Jack tells him that it was poison, explains that the Others think something crazy happened to Sayid, and that’s because it happened to someone else. “Who?” asks Sayid. But Jack doesn’t answer. THE TIME FOR QUESTIONS IS OVER…unless you’re Sayid.
Hugo snoops around the Temple, checking notes from the Jacob conversation he scrawled on his arm, looking at carvings on the walls. He seems to find the right one when Dogen shows up and wants to know what’s doing. “Nothing. I’m just, you know, looking because I’m a fan of temples, and like, history…Indiana Jones stuff.”

Dogen tells him to go back to the courtyard. Jacob appears and tells Hugo to tell him he can do what he wants, he’s a candidate. Hugo tells Dogen he’s a candidate, he can do what he wants. Dogen gets big eyes like Godzilla is attacking the temple. Dogen asks who told him that. Hugo says, “Doesn’t matter. Why don’t YOU go back to the courtyard?”
Ha!
Dogen speaks in Japanese with great disdain and leaves. Hugo asks what he said; Jacob says he doesn’t want to know. Jacob asks Hugo why he didn’t bring Jack like he told him to. Hugo complains about having to write everything down and lie to a samurai, explains the challenge of getting Jack to do anything, but says he’s open to ideas. Jacob smiles. Awesome.

So, in the funniest sequence of the show, Hurley goes to Jack and tells him to act natural. He says to wait ten seconds and follow him to a secret tunnel into the jungle. Jack could not be less interested. Hurley says Jacob knew Jack would say that, and that he told him to tell Jack, “You have what it takes.” Jack get up, mad as hell. He wants to talk to Jacob. Hurley says he’s dead, he just shows up sometimes like Obi-Wan Kenobi, but Jacob will be where they’re going. Now Jack is in.
ROCK-A-BYE-BABY

Jin wakes up at a small camp in the jungle. He calls for Claire, but there’s no Claire there. He props himself up with an oar and looks around the camp. He uncovers something weird looking.
It’s weird. It looks like some animal bones and rags put together. Is this supposed to be Aaron? Couldn’t Claire have made a sock monkey or something? This proves she’s not only turned to the dark side, but she’s nuts to boot.
Claire shows up with one of the Others, Justin, who played dead. She’s acting crazy. Or is Claire kind of on point, I wonder? They’re going out of their way to make us think Claire is crazy and infected, so I have to wonder if they’re tricking us a bit here. Or I’m just a sucker for crazy people who live outdoors.
We join Jack and Hurley in the jungle. Jack sees Kate by the water and calls out to her. She turns on him with her gun out, but doesn’t shoot him. They flirt and make small talk. Kate’s looking for Claire. Hurley tells her about the secret tunnel, but she’s not interested. Jack invites Kate on their mission, but Hurley says she’s not invited. “I’m inviting her,” says Jack. Kate doesn’t want to join, but wishes them good luck finding stuff and heads off into the jungle.
ALT LA, Jack and his mom talk as they comb through Dad’s office. They can’t find his will. Mom says David was upset at the funeral. Jack didn’t know. Mom says bad communication runs in the family. We already know about Jack and Christian, we get it. Mom finds the will; she asks Jack if he knows anything about a Claire Littleton. Jack looks puzzled, as though he knows the name from somewhere, but can’t place it. I bet it’s Jack’s sister Claire from Lost!
Back in Camp Crazy Claire, Justin tries to persuade Jin to free him so that he can snap Claire’s when she returns. Jin thinks about it, but Claire comes back and interrupts. She stitches Jin’s mangled leg up. Claire wants to get Aaron back from the Others. Justin says they don’t have him. Claire says they do, because her father told her, and her friend told her. Your friend? “My friend.” Your friend. Jin is all stitched up. Claire proceeds to walk over to Justin, brandishing her axe which she has just sharpened. “Okay, now it’s your turn.”
OLD SCHOOL
Hurley and Jack walk through the jungle. Hurley apologizes for “wrecking your game with Kate.” Hurley wonders what’s up with those two, he saw a real future there, kids and junk. Jack says he’s not cut out for it, he’d make a terrible dad. Until this episode, we didn’t even know he was a dad.
We’re at the caves! Hurley sees the old skeleton couple and ponders, what if we time-traveled back to dinosaur times? What if those skeletons are us? Jack is preoccupied with his dad’s old coffin. He tells Hurley about the time he followed his father’s ghost into the caves and smashed up the coffin that was dadless.
Back in ALT LA, Jack gets home and sees no David. He calls him on the phone and hears no David. He goes to Mom’s house–who’s Mom? Kate? Ilana? Rose?–but there’s no one there. He checks messages, hears one from himself to David, and one about a conservatory audition.
On the island, Hurley and Jack walk through the jungle. “This is cool, dude. Very old school.” What, says Jack. “You know, you and me, trekking through the jungle, on our way to do something that we don’t quite understand. Good times.” For real! Hurley asks Jack why he came back. Jack asks Hurley the same thing. Hurley tells the Jacob-in-the-cab story. Hurley asks again. Jack says he came back because he was broken, and he was stupid enough to think this place could fix him. “Dude, I’m sorry,” says Hurley. Awkward! They’re almost there.
And now they’re there. The Lighthouse.

THE LIGHTHOUSE
Jack doesn’t get why they never seen it before. “Guess we weren’t looking for it,” says Hurley. Or, maybe the writers just dreamed it up for this season.
Back at Claire’s place, Claire wants Aaron answers. Justin says they don’t have him. Jin tries to calm Claire down. Claire tells Jin that they took her to the Temple, branded her, stuck her with needles and would have killed her if she hadn’t escaped. Justin keeps trying to reason with Claire, but she’s starting to swing the ax around a bit. Jin stops her. He tells her Kate took Aaron, that Aaron is off the island, that Aaron is three. Claire cries a little. Justin asks her to untie him. Nope. Axe to the chest!
At the Lighthouse, Hurley tries to open the door but it’s jammed. Jack kicks the door in on some “beat Jacob’s ass” aggro Jack business. You know how he do.
Back in Mr. Shephard’s Opus, David is rocking his audition. The piano music is drowned out by Lost music and sappy Jack. “Is that your son?” a boy asks Jack. He tells Jack that David is really good. The boy walks over to his father. His father! Is! Dogen!
“They are too young to have this kind of pressure, aren’t they?”
“Yes, yes they are,” says Jack. But Jack can’t keep up with the conversation about David’s gift and how long he’s been playing…because he doesn’t know how long he’s been playing. The script for the ATL is incomplete.
At the Lighthouse, Hurley and Jack are in the old-timey, wheel-and-mirrors lighthouse light control light room. They have to crank the thing to 108 degrees. Crank that Lighthouse mirror! As the mirrors turn, Jack sees weird stuff in them. Then Jack notices that everyone’s name is on the lighthouse light wheel. Including, most importantly, his own. Time to make it all about Jack! He tells Hurley to turn it to his name. Jack sees the house he grew up in as a child! In the mirror. Jack wants to know why Jacob has been spying on him. Hurley has no clue. Jack gets louder and louder as he yells at Hurley about this freaky situation. But Hurley doesn’t know. Jack finally snaps, grabs the telescope and smashes the mirrors! Smash! Smash! Jack failed recess, he does not play well with others and he runs with sissors.
Back in ATL, outside after the audition, David is getting his bike together when Jack shows up. “You were great in there.” David is shocked to see him. Jack didn’t even know he was still playing. David says he made Mom promise not to tell Jack, because Jack got too into it. David says he didn’t want Jack to see him fail. Jack says he took a lot of crap from his dad, that his dad told him he didn’t have what it takes. Jack tells David that he will always love him, that David will never fail. Jack just wants to be part of his life. Things are getting very emotional around here. Jack says he has pizza back at the house. David is like, you a doctor, why we gotta eat old pizza son.
Meanwhile, back at the Lighthouse, Jacob returns to Hugo! Jacob is nonplussed. Hugo is mad as hell that nothing worked out with Jack, the lighthouse in helping someone to get to the island. Jacob just glances over at Jack, who is sitting on the rocks in the distance, staring out at the sea and apparently feeling sorry for himself.
“Wait a minute,” realizes Hugo. “Did you want Jack to see what was in that mirror?” Jacob protests not. “Why?”

“It was the only way for him to understand how important he is,” says Jacob. Hugo says that plan backfired. Jacob is like, nah son. “Jack is here because he has to do something. He can’t be told what that is. He’s got to find it himself. Sometimes you can just hop in the back of someone’s cab and tell them what they’re supposed to do. Other times, you have to let him look out at the ocean for a while.”
Hugo asks if he can get the info up front next time. Jacob explains the need for secrecy. “I had to get you and Jack as far away from that temple as I possibly could.” What? Why? “Because someone is coming there. Someone bad.” Hugo wants to warn them. “You can’t warn them, Hugo. I’m sorry. It’s too late.”

MEET MY FRIEND
Back to Claire and Jin. She asks why he said Kate was raising Aaron. “I was lying,” says Jin. He says it was to save Justin’s life, but that Claire is right, the Others have her baby. “Aaron is at the Temple. I know because I saw him there. But you’ll need me to get to him.”
How’s that gonna happen, asks Claire? “There’s a secret way. No one will see us.” Claire thanks Jin. She also says that if Kate was raising Aaron, she’d kill her.
We hear a voice. “Am I interrupting?”
Holey Smoke! It’s Locke!!
Jin craps his pants. “John?”
Claire hits Jin with the C’mon Son face. “That’s not John. This is my friend.”
Locke smiles at her, then looks at Jin.

Wow! That was a wild ride. The Lighthouse sure was cool, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing that again sometime when we time-travel back to the good ol’ days. And Jin certainly has a interesting crew to roll with. And seeing Jack and Dogen intersect in the ATL was interesting. Plus we had Jacob and Smokey Smoke in the same episode, albeit not interacting with each other…yet. Well, hold on. Do we know for sure that’s Jacob? Could it be someone else? Hmm.

Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Super Powers Highlight!  Since Toy Fair 2010 has recently passed us by, I thought it appropriate to photograph this piece this week…the Samurai carded sample. It’s unclear as to what this sample would have been used for, but until subsequent information disproves me I’ll continue thinking it was used for Toy Fair in 1985 when the 3rd wave of figures was presented for retail buyers to purchase for their stores.  Unfortunately no documentation exists to confirm it, but then again none exists to disprove it either…and this little boy will continue to dream big. 

(more…)