Never Say Never, Dude

Lost finally returned from hiatus on Thursday with an episode that both helped bridge the gap from last season’s focus on The Others and dropped enough nuclear mind bombs on us to keep the fans buzzing on this one all week. Here’s a list of some of the things we learned, some new questions raised and some things that got our panties all up in a bunch. Tell me your theories about this episode and what moments had you on your feet in “Comments.”

Lost 4x01: The Beginning of the End

Good evening Los Angeles, give it up for The Oceanic Six! - The number six showed up in promos for the season, apparently in reference to The Oceanic Six. We know Jack, Hurley and Kate are among the six, but Kate was actually a fugitive before the crash, so did she hide her identity or perhaps even stow away among the six and sneak back into society? Could explain the clandestine meeting with future Jack at the airport runway. Those who made it off the island are keeping mum about the other survivors, for reasons yet to be declared. It wouldn’t be Lost if they didn’t clue us in to something we needed to know, and then leave us hanging.

Cabin Hopscotch - Jacob’s cabin hops around Hurley – not an easy task. When Hurley finally takes the bait, he gets a way freakier peep show than he expected…a lantern, a painting of the dog on the wall, and a chair rocking with a white-sneakered Christian Shephard in it. (Check the screencaps out there.) In the last “Missing Pieces” mobisode released by ABC, we see Christian in the jungle – whose body was being transported on the flight back to the US – on the island just after the crash telling Vincent the dog to wake up his son Jack because he has a lot of work to do. (Image from losteastereggs.blogspot.com)

Peek-a-Boo - We see an eye meet Hurley’s through the window and we lose our shit along with him. Of course we have no idea who else was in the cabin – some options – Jacob, Locke, perhaps Mikhail back from the dead again… (Image from losteastereggs.blogspot.com)

Sharpies come in handy for water scenes – Hurley realizes he’s better off in an institution and jumps at the offer/threat that the detective, Ana Lucia’s former partner, makes. Hurley’s been seeing Charlie where ever he goes, including on the other side of the 2-way mirror in the interrogation room. Charlie has “THEY NEED YOU” written in marker on his hand, before the mirror crashes and water starts rushing in to the room until the detective walks back in and no one’s there. (Image from Lostpedia.com)

A lawyer walks into a mental hospital… - Oceanic’s lawyer, Matthew Abbadon (Lance Riddick, HBO’s The Wire) visits Hurley to offer him an upgrade to first class from the coach class mental hospital he’s in. He asks Hurley, “Are they still alive?” Hurley asks for his card, but Abbadon can’t produce one. Hurley flips his wig and the guy leaves. (Abaddon, variation on spelling, is defined as “a place of destruction,” or “the gates of hell” or as “the destroyer”.) Forgetting his business cards may be just the tip of the evil iceberg with this dude. (Image from losteastereggs.blogspot.com)

“I See Dead People” - Hurley might not be crazy, though. Another patient at the hospital tells Hurley that someone’s staring at him and points off in the direction of the now-dead Charlie. (Though it could have been the random, out of focus guy behind Charlie who we didn’t notice because our brains broke after seeing Charlie standing there.) Charlie tries to convince Hurley to help the people still on the island.

Jack stinks at HORSE – Jack visits Hurley to play a little basketball, and Hurley says to Jack, “It wants us to go back, and it’s going to do everything it can…” IT? Can someone please explain? It seems that it’s pre-Jack flash forward from last season’s ender. Hurley tells Jack that he should have stayed with him, and not gone off with Locke.

It’s not you, it’s me...let's break up – After news gets to the Losties that the helicopter might not bring salvation, the survivors break up into two groups. Locke, who appears to not have been as loony as we thought after the sub explosion, leads a group of people up to the Other’s barracks and relative security. Ben, still hog tied, delivers the line of the night, requesting, “With your permission, Jack, I’d like to go with John.” Jack’s group stays behind to deal with the crew on the helicopter. The helicopter appears to lose control over the island, but a man manages to parachute out. They run to him, he takes off his helmet and asks, “Are you Jack?” The end.