The Substitute

Let's talk about LOST! The Substitute.

(Click the pics!)

Locke drives down the street of his little happy neighborhood. Paralyzed Locke loads himself in the wheelchair onto the chair lift, lowering himself to exit the van but it gets stuck.



He uses the red joystick trying to jar the mechanism but to no avail. Locke then pushes the chair off the lift in hopes of a smooth landing but he is thrown from his chair. Then the lawn sprinklers turn on. John is not angry about the comedy of errors, as a matter of fact he seems a bit amused. Helen comes out and turns off the water. She takes soaking wet John inside.

John is in the bath looking at two color swatches for the backs of chairs for their wedding. We hear Helen is on the phone asking someone “How long will that take?” as the wedding is in October. Helen tells John she’s sick of caterers and bands and picking out fabrics for chair backs, “What do you say we just get my parents and your dad and do it shotgun style in Vegas?”
John-“No, you deserve better than that, Helen. We can do this. I know we can.“
John shows Helen the choice he made in fabric color {green} then Helen remarks, “That one?”


John- changes his mind, “I meant this one.” {Blue}
Helen feels he’s a very sweet man; which John already knows.
Helen inquires about the conference.

John takes a sip of his coffee and tells her it was boring. {mug} Helen looks at a business card she found in John’s pocket and asks who Dr. Jack Shephard is.
John-“Oh, I met him at lost luggage when I went to fill out the forms. He... he lost something too.”
Jack offered a free consult too. Helen gets excited that he’s a spinal surgeon and suggests John call him but John feels the doctor was just being polite.
Helen-“So what? I mean... what are the odds of you just running into a spinal surgeon? I mean, who knows? Maybe it's destiny.”
John smiles-“Maybe it is.“
John seems to think.

{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}

The smoke monster operates quickly, clicking, ticking, cranking, moaning, flashing and rushing high and low on its way across the “Island”.   Its sequences are glitched and seem to jump from one terrain to another until it arrives at broken down Dharmaville where it navigates its way through the tiny village and stops at its desired destination, Sawyers house. Sounds of breaking glass and loud music are heard.   Smokey hovers outside the window for a few seconds and then flashes, cranks and hurries high and low through the jungle until it comes upon the knife it was looking for and Locke acquires it.

Locke uses the knife to cut down a hanging canvas cradle that contains frightened Richard.
Locke-“Alright Richard, time to talk.”


Locke sits in the wheelchair waiting in an elevator to arrive at his level/floor. {Note No Smoking} The elevator dings and Locke exits, wheeling himself to his cubicle. At his desk he looks troubled and sad.


Randy enters, welcomes the Colonel back and compliments the nice tan John got while at the conference in Australia.



Randy asks if he “missed us”.
John-“Sure I did, Randy.” Randy asks about the conference.
John-“It was okay. I didn't really learn anything."
Randy-“No?"
John-“But um... I made some good contacts, though."
Randy-“Really? That's interesting. See uh... Ken Fisher called and said you had to cancel your lunch with him."
John-“Right, right... I was a little under the weather that day. Probably jet lag. {He grabs a green binder on his desk.}
Randy-“Really? Cause then the seminar people called and said you hadn't picked up your credentials. I did some checking... and it seems you didn't attend a single event. Since we sent you to Sydney on the company's dime... where the hell were you?"
John-“Look, Randy... I'm really sorry. Why don't we just call it my vacation week?"
Randy-“I thought you wanted that vacation week in October. You know, for your wedding."
John-“Please, Randy... look, I know I shouldn't have lied. But where I was... it's personal. And I... and I really don't want to talk about it."
Randy-“Okay, John. Hey... you're fired.” He salutes John and walks away.

{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}

Locke gives Richard some water and apologizes for hitting him in the throat and dragging him off the beach but he had to do something.   Richard just wants to know what he wants.
Locke-“What I've always wanted. For you to come with me.”
Richard-“Why do you look like John Locke?”
Locke-“I knew he'd get me access to Jacob. Because John's a candidate. Or at least he was a candidate... “
Richard struggles to stand up; he doesn’t understand what a candidate means.
Locke-“Didn't Jacob tell you any of this?”
Richard-“Any of what?"
Locke-“Oh, Richard... I'm sorry. You mean, you've been doing everything he told you all this time and he never said why? I would never have done that to you. I would never have kept you in the dark.“
Richard-“And what would you have done?”
Locke-“I would have treated you with respect. Come with me and I promise I will tell you everything.”
Richard won’t go with him.
Locke-“Are you sure about that, Richard? Because people seldom get a second chance...”
Richard-“I'm not going anywhere with you.”


Locke sees a young blond boy a few feet away. He is dressed in Other’s garb, no shoes and blood on his arms.
Richard doesn’t seem to see the boy.
Locke is now nervous, “I’ll be seeing you Richard. Sooner than you think.” And he walks away.

Ben enters the statue {fire pit is illuminated and white} notes the covered dead men and Ilana who is alone and crying. Ilana wants to know what happened.
Ben, who feels there’s a chance she won’t believe him but still shares with her that John Locke killed them, turned into a pillar of black smoke and killed them and Jacob right before his eyes. Ilana asks where Jacob’s body is.


Ben-“Locke kicked him into the fire and he burned away.”


Ilana walks over to the ashes, takes a small sack {Similar in color to one of Helen's swatches} and gathers ash to put in it. Ben asks if she knows why Locke carried Richard out into the jungle and Ilana replies, “He's recruiting.”





Locke walks through Dharmaville {Not smokies his way through} and walks into Sawyer’s destroyed house.
A record is playing Search and Destroy. Locke enters Sawyer’s bedroom where he finds him dispirited and drinking. Sawyer thought Locke was dead to which Locke replies, “I am.”
Sawyer pours two sloppy drinks and shoves one at Locke {who only licks the spilled drop from his finger but doesn’t drink} Sawyer toasts to being dead. Locke feels Sawyer’s taking it extremely well. {What, that he/they’re dead?}
Locke-“That I’m here.”
Broken and drunk Sawyer replies, “I don't give a damn if you're dead. Or time travellin' or... the ghost of Christmas past. All I care about is this whiskey. So bottoms up! Get the hell out of my house.”

Locke informs him it isn’t James’ house; he just lived there for a while but it was never his house.
James-“Who are you? Cause you sure as hell aint John Locke.”
Locke wonders what makes him say that.
James-“Cause Locke was scared… even when he was pretending he wasn’t. But you…you aint scared.”
Locke seems intrigued by James’ observation and doesn’t admit or imply he’s anything other than “Locke” or not, he only says, “What if I told you I was the person who could answer the most important question in the world?”
This amuses James and he wonders what question would that be.
Locke-“Why are you on this Island?”
James-“I'm on this Island… because my plane crashed. Because my raft blew up. …cause the helicopter I was on was ridin' one too heavy.”
Locke tells him that’s not why he’s there and if he goes with him he can prove it. Curious James is interested so he’ll go put some pants on. {Fine, but leave the shirt off! Can I get an Amen, ladies?!}
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Locke wheels himself with his box of office effects to his car in the parking lot. Locke does not park in a handicap space and gets upset when the yellow Hummer is parked too close to his car making it impossible for him to get to mechanical side door and chair lift for entry. In frustration Locke throws the remote control key fob on the ground. He bangs on the Hummer causing the alarm to trigger. Hugo comes along with his remote control key fob, cancels the alarm and asks Locke what he’s doing. Locke is a bit fired up.
Locke-“What am I doin'? What the hell are you doin'? Did you ever park a car in your life? You're practically in my spot!”
Hugo apologizes and shows him there’s a handicap spot over there.
John-“Yeah? Yeah, okay... but I don't have to park there! I can park anywhere I want! You need to stay inside the lines!”


Hugo-“I'm really sorry. They were supposed to reserve a spot for me, so... you know, I just... parked here.”
John-“I haven't seen you before. Do you work here?"
Hugo-“Actually, I own the company.”
They laugh, introduce themselves to each other and shake hands. Hugo asks John what he does there.
John-“Actually... nothing. My boss just fired me."
Hugo-“Oh? Who's your boss?"
John-“His name is Randy. But uh…”
Hugo-“Randy Nations? Yeah... that guy is a huge douche. Want me to talk to him for you?” John declines the offer.
Hugo-“Tell you what, John. I own a temp agency too... {takes a pen and paper from the box and jots something down} Call this number and tell them that Hugo said to hook you up with a new job, pronto. And chin up. Things are gonna work out.”
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
The body of dead Locke lays on the beach. A spider {Bug} is on his head and crawls away.

Armed Frank remarks that Locke’s getting pretty ripe. {For picking or what?! lol.} Sun informs Ilana that everybody went to the temple.

Ilana feels that’s the safest place on the island and they should go there too. Sun shows concern for Ilana but doesn’t want her to assume she’s going with her. Ilana knows Sun wants to find Jin.
Sun-“What do you know about my husband?"
Ilana-“I know that if he's on the island... and if he's alive... then he'll be at the temple. Let's get moving!”
Sun-“What about John? We need to bury him.”
Ilana sighs.

On their trek through the jungle Locke asks James what he was doing alone in that house. James admits he was drinking.

Locke wonders where are the rest of his friends are and James tells him they’re at some temple somewhere. Locke asks why he isn’t with them. Sawyer stops the questioning and suggests they don’t talk anymore. They both hear something and see the blond boy standing in the jungle.
James-“Who the hell's that?"
Locke-“You can see him?"
Sawyer-“The kid? Hell yeah I can see him.”
The kid runs off and Locke chases him. Locke trips on a roots/vines and falls. The kid stands over him and tells him, “You know the rules. You can't kill him.” {Who?!}
Locke-“Don't tell me what I can't do...{the kid shakes his head no and walks away} Don't tell me what I can't do!”

Purple shirted James calls out for, “Locke! Locke! Look, whoever you are, you got about twenty seconds and then I'm outta here!“
Petrified Richard pokes out of the jungle with both hands up and asks James “Where is he?”
Sawyer wonders what the hell he’s doing there.
Richard-“Where is he?”
James-“Locke? He ran off into the jungle after some kid.”
Richard-“We need to go! Now!”
James-“Go where?“
Richard-“To the temple! Let's go! Let's go!”
Sawyer-“You know what? I've been to the temple and I think I'm stickin' with Locke.”
Scared Richard tells him that man is not John Locke! Sawyer already knows that.
Richard-“Then why are you with him?”
Sawyer-“Because he's got answers. He says he knows why I'm on this island. Unless you wanna tell me why I'm here, Richard..."
Richard-“Don't be naive! He's not gonna tell you anything, he's gonna kill you!”
Sawyer-“If he wanted to kill me he could have done it a dozen times already...”
Richard-“You don't understand what you're dealing with! He doesn't just want you dead, he wants everyone dead! Everyone you care about! All of 'em! And he won't stop…”

Richard hears footsteps in the jungle and runs away. Locke shows up asking James who he was talking to.
James-“Nobody. You ever catch up to the kid?”
Locke-“What kid?”
James-“Right... let's get on with it, shall we?”
Locke agrees.
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
A bizarre purple shirted woman sits behind a desk and asks Locke “What kind of animal would you describe yourself as?”

{Note the posters use the word "DREAM"}

John-“Excuse me?”
The Woman-“What kind of animal would you describe yourself as?”
Confused John doesn’t know what that has to do with this. The woman tells him to just say whatever comes to mind but John doesn’t answer.
The Woman-“ Would you describe yourself as a people person?”
John is confused and uncomfortable and asks to speak to her supervisor. The woman leaves to get her and Rose walks right in. {This woman walks out of the room kind of droid-like. lol}
Rose-“I'm Rose Nadler, the office supervisor. What can I do for you?”
John-“Uh... what you can do, Mrs. Nadler, is spare me the questions about what kind of animal I am and hopefully place me in a job."
Rose-“Absolutely. What kind of placement are you looking for?”
John-“Well, I see here that you have a listing for a site coordinator...“
Rose-“Construction site coordinator. Uh... I'm not sure that's a good match.”
John-“Well, if experience is the issue, I have…”
Rose-“Experience isn't the issue.”
John-“Look... Mr. Reyes told me if I came down here I would be taken care of.
Rose-“And Mr. Reyes is my boss, so if he said that, I can make it happen for you. If you want to work construction, you got it. “ John thanks her.
Rose-“I'm not finished. I will send you down there tomorrow and then, the day after, you will be back in my office. Look, Mr. Locke... let's try to be a little more realistic. “
John-“And what do you know about realistic?”
Rose-“I have cancer. Terminal cancer.”
John-“I'm sorry... “
Rose-“When the doctors first told me, I had a hard time accepting it. But eventually... I got past the denial part and I got back to living whatever life I've got left. So, how about we find you a job you can do?”
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
On their trek through the jungle James asks Locke if he reads book.  Sawyer and Locke walk through the jungle. Locke does read.
James-“My favorite's Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men. You know that one?”
Locke-“Nope. A little after my time...” {Published 1937}
James-“It's about these two guys, George and Lenny. Lenny's kinda slow... causin' George problems... so George walks him into the woods and tells him to look out yonder and picture the pretty little house they're gonna live in one day. Then he shoots Lenny in the back of the head.“
Locke feels that’s not a happy ending and James agrees. James points a gun at Locke.
Locke-“What's on your mind, James?
James-“I'm wonderin' what would happen to you if I put a bullet in your head.“
Locke doesn’t even falter,” Why don't we find out?”
James-“What are you?”
Locke-“What I am is trapped. And I've been trapped for so long that I don't even remember what it feels like to be free. Maybe you can understand that. But before I was trapped, I was a man, James. Just like you.”
James is having a hard time believing that.
Locke-“You can believe whatever you want, that's the truth. I know what it's like to feel joy... to feel pain, anger, fear... to experience betrayal. I know what it's like to lose someone you love. So if you wanna shoot me, shoot me. But you're so close, James. It would be such a shame to turn back now.”
Locke walks into the jungle. Sawyer concedes and follows Locke.

Ben and Ilana carry Locke’s body in a fabric cradle to the Lostie’s beach camp cemetery.  Ben asks her why she had to bring him to the statue in the first place. Ilana felt the people there need to see the face of what they're up against.
Ben-“And what’s to stop what they're up against from changing his face?”
Ilana-“He can't, not anymore. He’s stuck this way.”
They arrive at the overgrown Castaway cemetery and Ben and Frank dig the hole while Sun and Ilana tend to Locke’s body.
Once they put Locke in the ground Ilana asks if anyone wants to say anything, “Didn't any of you know him?”
Ben steps forward, “Alright, I know him. John Locke was a… A believer, he was a man of faith, he was… a much better man than I will ever be. And I'm very sorry I murdered him.”
Sun looks a bit surprised at his last remark. This is the weirdest damn funeral Frank has ever been to. They toss dirt into the grave.
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Locke is laying on the bed; the alarm is going off. It’s 6:15.  John quietly goes through the motions of his daily routine as a paralyzed man.







He sits in front of his small circle mirror looking a bit lost in thought and dials up Dr. Shephard’s office.




The woman-"Hello, Dr. Shephard's office? Hello? Can I help you?"
Locke has second thoughts about making the call, "No, no you can't." And hangs up.
John tries to fluff off who he was on the phone with to Helen but then reveals he was calling Dr. Shephard. {Which one?} This pleases Helen and she asks when John will see him. John is not going to see him and blurts out that he got fired. The doorbell rings. {The home is filled with images and representations of flowers; orchids, roses, etc.}
It's the Oceanic courier to bring the lost luggage.
"Sign here to accept your delivery."

As Helen wheels over the silver case she wants to know how John got fired. {Helen's shirt is pink/rose with sentiments of Dharma: Peace, Karma, Joy, Tranquility, lotus flower and Asian characters.
Locke-"I lied to Randy, I didn't go to the conference in Sydney."
He has Helen open the case, she sees the knives and wonders what they are for.
Locke-"My walkabout."
He goes on.
Locke-"My walkabout. An adventure in the outback. Man against nature. But they wouldn't let me go. And I sat there yelling at them, shouting at them that they couldn't tell me what I can't do. But they were right. I'm sick of imagining of what my life could be out of this chair, Helen. What it would be like to walk down the aisle with you because it's not gonna happen. So if you need me to see more doctors, have more consults, if you need me to get out of this chair, I don't blame you. But I don't want you to spend your life waiting for a miracle because there is no such thing."
Helen-"There are miracles, John. And the only thing I was ever waiting for was you. " She tears up Dr. Shephard's card and kisses John.
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
James and Locke arrive at a high cliff that literally overlooks the ocean. James compliments the view.
Locke-"Now we go down."
Sawyer wonders, "Down where?"
Locke-"Down there."
Sawyer-"No offense, but you already died. So this is great that this isn't a big deal for you. But if you think I'm climbing down there first, you're off your damn mind."

It's no problem, confident Locke with his backpack on will go first. And so he does. Locke quickly and swiftly climbs down the narrow ladder handmade from bamboo, tree limbs and rope. Very cautious James starts down the ladder.

Locke switches over to a different ladder to the right. {Tell me that doesn't feel like a video game/Donkey King move.}
James' ladder breaks and it falls but he holds on, ending up hanging right next to Locke on his other ladder. Locke saves James.

They arrive at their destination; a hole in the side of the cliff. {Cave}
James-"What is this place?"

Locke walks over to a work table that has a scale that is (somewhat) in balance (actually a little heavier on the black rock side) with the use of one light/white rock a one dark/black rock.




Locke throws the white rock out of the cave and claims the action to be an inside joke.
James-"So this is what you wanted me to see? A hole in the cliff with some rocks on a scale, that's why I'm here?"
Locke-"No. {Locke smiles, lights a torch and leads James into another cave.} That's why you're here. That, James, is why you're all here."
Locke illuminates the ceiling and walls revealing many names and numbers, many of which are crossed out.





{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}





Switch scene to show Locke sitting in his wheelchair and coaching girls running sprints to speed it up and advising them not to cheat. 

Then switch to Locke is sitting behind a desk in a classroom full of students.  He instructs them to "Open your textbooks to chapter four. Today, we are going to talk about the Human reproductive system."
The Bell rings.

Locke is wheeling himself {brown paper bag on his lap} through the exterior school corridor and asks a student for directions to the teacher's lounge. In the lounge we hear the familiar voice of Ben.
Ben-"Alright, I know I sound like a broken record, but how many times do we have to go over this? If you have the last cup of coffee, you remove the filter and throw it away. Fear not. I will make a fresh pot."
Locke-"Actually, I was just hoping for some Earl Grey."
Ben-"Tea? Now there's a gentleman drink. I don't believe we met. Ben Linus, European History."
Locke-" John Locke, substitute."
Ben-"Well, Welcome."
{Air plane engine/sounds-rumble}
Locke watches James check out the writings.
James asks, "Who wrote all this?"
Locke shares "His name was Jacob." and explains the "was" means he Jacob died yesterday. James noted Locke doesn't seem too upset about and that's because he's not. James asks why all the names are crossed out. Locke indicates they're not all crossed out and shows him a name on the wall. 23-Shephard.
James- "Shephard. That'd be Jack Shephard?" {scene of Jacob touching Jack at the vending machine.}


Locke-"He's not the only one."
James-"Reyes. That's Hugo, right? What's the eight about?" {Jacob touches Hugo in the taxi}
Locke-"Jacob had a thing for numbers. 16 Jarrah. 42 Kwon. I don't know if its Sun or if its Jin. And here, 4 Locke. I think we both know him. Last but not least, number 15 Ford. That would be you."

James wonders why  Jacob would write his name on this wall as he's never even met the guy.


Locke assures him he did meet Jacob, {scene of Jacob touching James at the funeral} "At some point in your life, James, probably when you were young, when you were miserable and vulnerable. He came to you, he manipulated you, pulled your strings like you were a puppet. And as a result, choices that you thought you made were never really choices at all. He was pushing you, James. Pushing you... to the island."
Jacob did this because James was a candidate.
James-"Candidate for what?"
Locke-"He thought he was the protector of this place. And you, James, have been nominated to take that job."
James-"And what does that mean?"
Locke-"It means you have three choices. First, you can do nothing and... see how all this plays out. And possibly, your name {crosses out Locke's name} will get crossed out. Second option: You can accept the job, become the new Jacob, and protect the island."

Sawyer-"Protect it from what?"
Locke-"From nothing, James. That's the joke, there is nothing to protect it from, its just a damn island. And it will be perfectly fine without Jacob or you, or any of the other people, whose lives he wasted."
James-"You said there were three choices?"
Locke-"The third choice, James, is that we just go. We just get the hell off this island. We never look back."
James-"How do we do that?"
Locke-"Together. So what do you say, James? Are you ready to go home?"
James thinks-"Hell yes."













The Substitute is a GREAT episode!!
In  "2004" John Locke is alive and “somewhat” well, and we're seeing a version of things "as if" Oceanic didn't crash or in other words a "substitute" version, but in 2007 he is "dead" on the "Island". {Actually isn't it Jeremy Bentham that died?!} What are we really seeing and what is the purpose of seeing it laid out this way? Is it three completely different time lines from three completely different spaces in the universe or is it a glimpse into three go-around's on the "Island" for John Locke, Jack and the rest?

I think all of the "Oceanic" events are also included in the other experiences that I consider happening in “confines” of the “Island”.     I mean come on we're still seeing a Locke “Flash” that connects/blurs with "Island" events, so it has to be there for a damn reason!!
If Locke is dead there would be no reason for us to see a "Flash" of him in a "what if" scenario. The "Oceanic" Locke admits to not learning anything and seems pissed at Hugo for practically being in his spot, literally. Is Hugo in a position that Locke was vying for?

Locke and "Smoky/Locke" share memories, feelings, emotions, language, {Smokey/Locke} even trips and falls chasing the blond boy, so isn’t it possible it still is Locke just on a whole other level or at least Locke is still in there somewhere.   Maybe the "smoke" feature isn't completely understood by all of us yet.
Speaking about levels, it could seem that Locke didn't see himself paralyzed on some level as he does things like not parking in a handicap spot or jumping the wheelchair off the lift and going on a walkabout.  The current on "Island" version of Locke is no longer afraid. That is a very important thing to note.

I do still think people and things are not what you think.



(The Bagua is posted so you can see if the colors pertain to the story)









Things to note…Questions to ask…
* Could the “X” in LA  X mean experience or that names are "crossed out"?
* Reyes is the boss-Rose is Manager.
* Games. Gambling/Vegas. Odds. Rules. Cheat.
* Bug.
* Drills. Colonel. Military.
* Machine. Mechanical sounds. Ring. Buzzer. Alarm. Clock/timer.
* Purple. Green. Blue. Rose.
* The color blue swatch and the little blue bag Ilana uses to pick up ask look very similar. {according to my TV}
* Locke lies.
* Will the dead and buried Locke stay buried?
* Jacob burned up in the fire. Locke gets fired.
* "You need to stay inside the lines!"
* Death. Rebirth. Karma. Letting go. Destiny.
* Dreams. Imagining.
* Terminal.
* Joystick. Remote control.
* Recruits. Candidates. Lists. Credentials.
* Cards-Business card. {John/Jack} Credit card {Claire/Kate}
* Company.
* Sawyer sees the blond kid but Richard doesn’t seem to see the blond kid. Who is the blond kid in the jungle? Is John chasing himself or someone else in child form? Is the kid just there to remind Locke of the boundaries of the game?
* Rose is married, living in L.A.
* Learn. School. Lessons. Student. Teacher.
* Mind. Head.
* Body. Human reproduction.
* Hugo=ATE=8
* 4 = Four/for Locke
* Jacob touched Jack when he was older but Jack still had choice issues and situations in earlier years that shaped his life as did Sayid, Locke, Jin, Sun and Sawyer.
* Drinking. Drunk. Jack and Christian.
* Christian was on the "Island" in Missing Pieces...what's that about? It must mean something.
* Locke tells James he has three choices and Rousseau told the Castaways' in Exodus part 1 they have three choices: run, hide, or die.
* Richard won’t go with Locke so Locke approached broken Sawyer.
* Have the people on the island been following Jacob blindly?
* Ben controlled the "smoke monster". It did get out and wander the "island". So was he held prisoner in the cabin?
* It's a joke. The island doesn't need protecting.
* How is Ben really playing into the other part of the game duo?
* Hugo and his important role in the entirety of the adventure!
* Are candidates on the "white"/light side?
* The numbers: We see they're associated with certain Castaways, but what does that mean? Okay, they equal 108.
Does this mean there is no Valenzetti equation?
The numbers were broad casted at least for the 16 years prior. {Prior to what? I don't friggin' know!}
Lenny repeated the numbers.
Hurley always seemed directly connected to the numbers.

In the cave:
4 – Locke
8 – Reyes
15 – Ford
16 – Jarrah
23 – Shephard
42 – Kwon {Jin or Sun? Both?}
313 – Littleton {Claire? Aaron?}
Although all of the above could correlate to only the males.
Gone:
195 – Pace

Vocabulary and Research…
* Substitute: Proxy-
alternate, agent, alternate, assistant, auxiliary, backup, changeling, delegate, deputy, double, dummy, equivalent, expediency, fill-in, ghost writer, locum, makeshift, pinch-hitter, procurator, recourse, refuse, relay, relief, replacement, representative, reserve, stand in, standby,sub,successor, supply, surrogate, symbol, temp, temporary, understudy, vicar.
Acting, additional, another, artificial, counterfeit, experimental, false, imitation, mock, near, other, provisional, pseudo, second, sham, simulated,tentative, vicarious.
* Scale (weighing scale)
- symbol of justice. metaphor of matters being "held in the balance.
- Libra is represented by the balanced scales- September 23- October 22.
* Buddha(from the ancient Indian languages of Pali and Sanskrit) means "one who has awakened".
* Dharma's two meanings-
1). the teachings of the Buddha which lead to enlightenment (The Universal law of nature)   
2). the constituent factors of the experienced world (The characteristic of elements)
* Chakras: There are 7 primary Chakras
- Muladhara-Base or Root Chakra (ovaries/prostate)
- Swadhisthana- Sacral Chakra (last bone in spinal cord *coccyx*)
- Manipura- Solar Plexus Chakra (navel area-gut)
- Anahata -Heart Chakra (heart area)
- Vishuddha- Throat Chakra (throat and neck area)
- Ajna-  Brow or Third Eye Chakra (pineal gland or third eye)
- Sahasrara- Crown Chakra (Top of the head; 'Soft spot' of a newborn)
* "Candidate" is a derivative of the Latin "candida" meaning White.
* Conference (sports), a grouping of geographically-related teams.
*  Boss an employee's supervisor, a leadership or executive position in an organization or group.
- In video gaming, is an enemy-based challenge, a particularly powerful enemy or opponent in a video game.
- Boss: a character in the Transformer universe.
- Yahoo! Search BOSS (Build your Own Search Service)
* A credential is an attestation of qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant de jure or de facto authority or assumed competence to do so.
* “Search and Destroy” by The Stooges
* “Search and Destroy” also known as 'Seek and Destroy', is a military strategy.

* Reminder- John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704), widely known as the Father of Liberalism was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Locke's theory of mind is often cited as the origin of modern conceptions of identity and the self. Locke was the first to define the self through a continuity of consciousness. He postulated that the mind was a blank slate or Tabula Rasa. He maintained that we are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience derived from sense perception. The Lockean self is a self-aware and self-reflective consciousness that is fixed in a body.







Something I feel is important to touch on is we learn that Jacob took away their free will and we're led to believe that "Locke" gives people choices.
This season we learned "Smoky" took Locke's form so he could gain access to Jacob. But couldn't it be that Locke "believes" he assumed that role. That's important!

I feel we may have seen this "not scared" John Locke before, possibly going back to season one but more specifically the example I'll use here is from season 3...
In episodes like The Man behind the Curtain Locke wants to be brought to Jacob. Locke even calls out Ben {who by the way poured two glasses of whiskey for him and John} about not having access to him and threatened to get Richard to take him to Jacob.

With The Substitute I want to believe Locke when he is talking to James about joining him but I am very cautious because I remember back in the episode  The Brig,  Locke used Sawyer as a loophole/cheat to kill Anthony Cooper and get what he wanted...access to Jacob.

Two sides, one light, one dark, both on a quest to win the game and find balance.  This war game is going to get ugly and I still have to wonder who is coming to get in the middle of all of this.

Did the con man James just get conned by the con man Locke?  Is it possible that Locke is truly trying to align himself with a team that can help him regain his freedom?
Locke may just be "changing the combination" again. It is obvious Locke wants to be done with all of this and go home.  Hell at this point he could be a friggin' ET or a Prawn or maybe a hybrid of some kind and wants to go home.

This episode showed yet again the principles of enlightenment and Dharma. It was all over the place. I'm still puzzled by how that layer of the story is almost never addressed by the fans.
Learning to let go of the old you and discovering a way to live life as the new you...Finding peace and tranquility between your mind, thoughts, challenges, heart and body...You seeking balance on all levels...isn't that all we ever really want?

Love to all who are “LOST”™

Disclaimer: I never claim to know everything about the show and my thoughts by no means make me right! The things I share here are my views and/or opinions. I don't claim to catch every single detail either! You all know I hate spoilers! And I stand clear of reading certain sites as to not take me off my own course of research. The one thing I don't need to do here is rehash all of the obvious clues from an episode, we all know what they are. Understood? Good! Let the fun begin! I'll only note things that I know come up as clues later, but need to be noted when they first show up and things I find that will be of importance! It will get very exciting as we progress into the story.

Numbers.

Let's talk about LOST.    Numbers.

(Click the pics)


Waves are crashing.
Jin {Handcuff. Holding a group of long wires/twine} is trying to communicate to Hurley to hold the bamboo together so he can tie it.
Hurley misunderstands him thinking he wants to make snowballs.



Michael interjects, "He wants you to hold the bamboo tighter...I think." {Come on, he understands Jin.}
Jack walks over to see how things are 'coming', "As long as nobody sabotages this one as well huh?"
Michael assures him he has people standing guard 24/7, "Nobody gets near this with or without intent to burn."
Michael mentions to Jack the chances of a passing ship spotting this raft out there are pretty slim, they could use something to send out a distress call to any ships that might be close, "Like an S O S."
Jack will ask Sayid but even if he can make something like that he's not gonna have anything to power it with.
Hurley-"Didn't Sayid say that crazy French chick had batteries?"

Sayid, "Absolutely not!"
Jack isn't asking Sayid to go, he'll do it.
Sayid- "No you won't."
Upset Sayid asks them, "Do you really think that she would give up something she needs for survival to a total stranger?"
All Jack is asking his how to find her.    Sayid explains he was brought unconscious to her camp, when he escaped he was disoriented, "I don't know how to find her."
Hurley-"Don't know, dude, or don't want to?"
This annoys Sayid.
Jack says Sayid has her maps and her papers and he thought they were pointing to something.
Sayid-"Well I was wrong."
Jack suggests maybe they're pointing to her.
Sayid grabs up the papers in anger, "I don't even know what these papers mean!  For all I know they can be the ravings of her disturbed mind!  Song lyrics mixed with equations!"
He hands the papers off to Hurley.
Sayid shows Jack a map, "If this map is pointing to her then you should know she resides here in this area.  She gave it a name, Territoire Fonce.   Shannon translated it.   It means Dark Territory.   Does that sound like a place you'd like to visit?"
Jack-"So you won't help."
Sayid didn't say that; he'll build the distress beacon but he suggests they find another power source. He feels there must be something in the cockpit.   Jack says they're not going to the cockpit.
All the while Hurley is starring at the numbers on the small sheets of lined notepaper.



Channels are being switched on the TV.
It's Hugo sitting on the couch eating some chicken from a Mr. Clucks bucket.   His mother calls from the kitchen that she hopes he isn't watching those g-string mujeres again.   While Hurley's mom wants him living there, he wants his privacy respected. {Channels show dancing, exercising, hockey, cop chase}
Hurley lands on the channel to watch the Mega Lotto drawing.   His religious mother comes in complaining, "Look at you...It's Saturday night, a grown up man sitting at home watching TV. You should go out and try to find a nice woman.
Hurley-"I'll get right on that."
Mom wants him to eat better because he's gaining weight.    Annoyed Hurley watches Mary Jo, the Lotto girl, display the winning balls.







The Mega Number is 42, "And that makes tonight's Mega Lotto Jackpot drawing, 4 8 15 16 23 with the Mega Number 42."

The winner has won a near record Jackpot.  {Jack.lol}
The TV announcer is heard saying, "That's right, Mary Jo, because this is the 16th week without a winner."
Hurley faints. {Crashing/Smashing glass can be heard.}











Sayid is sleeping while Hurley is sitting there watching him.
Sayid stirs.
Hurley-"Hi. You awake?"
Sayid-"I was just wondering that myself."  {Well, are you or aren't you?}
Hurley is there with the maps and papers that the French lady wrote.   Sayid wants to know what Hurley wants since it's the middle of the night.
Hurley- "I couldn't sleep.  And I got curious.    You and Shannon...you guys have been trying to figure out some of this stuff and...I was wondering, what...you know...you guys figured out...about this stuff."
Sayid's still laying there, "What stuff?"
Hurley's curious about the numbers she wrote down a bunch of times, "Got any idea what it means?"
Sayid thought at one time they may be coordinates of some kind.
Hurley- "Coordinates...yeah. When you first found her, the French chick, you said you saw a wire or something in the beach and you followed it and it led you to her."
Sayid corrects him, "No. It led me in to a trap she set."
Hurley assumes the place is probably close.  Sayid asks why he's so suddenly interested in Rousseau.
Hurley says he's not, "I'm just making conversation, dude.  Sorry if it's a bad time."
Hurley puts the maps and papers back and says goodnight.

Walking from the tent we see Hurley hid one of the large papers under his shirt.

Camera flashing {Boom mics, video cameras}:
Hurley and his family are in the middle of a large press conference.    News/media are there to inquire about his winning the Lotto.   KSVU 8 asks how he came up with the winning numbers, "Any significance?"
Hurley says they kind a came to him.   Another reporter wants him to introduce his family.  Hurley introduces his bashful beauty mom, Carmen.  Then introduces his very excited brother Diego and his wife Lisa.
Diego-"Yeah! We're rich!"
Hurley tells the press to ignore him, "He's an idiot."
Hurley really wants them to meet the greatest guy he knows, his grandpa Tito.  Grandpa Tito's worked three jobs for 52 years.   He's 70 years old and the closest he's been to a vacation is when they put a pacemaker in him four years ago.  The first thing Hurley's gonna do with the money is finally give him the rest he's earned, "That's all it's about for me. To be able to do things for the people I care about.   Cause I really put my family through a lot recently and umm...well this way I can make it up to them.  You know, maybe even buy my mom a new house.  Maybe after uh, my grandpa comes back from his cruise he can...get to do some of the things we've always wanted too."
Grandpa Tito grabs his left arm and collapses. {You can hear the camera's continue flashing.}
{Flash Whoosh}
At the cave Hurley fills up water bottles.
Charlie walks over, "Hey, man."
Hurley is startled, "What?! I'm not doing anything."
Charlie- "What?"
Hurley-"What?"
Charlie's just saying good morning.  He asks if Hurley's going anywhere.  Hurley is loading the bottles of water into his backpack, "Well, yeah. I just thought I might take a walk. Uh...maybe scope out some new fishing area."
Charlie wants him to hang on; he'd like to "come with."
Hurley tells him he could really use some alone time right now.  He lifts the pack and the pack opens up spilling the bottles on to the ground.   Hurley puts them back in and tells Charlie, "I'm a big guy...I get dehydrated easy."
Charlie seems baffled by Hurley's behavior.

Waves crash:
Claire sits on the beach.  Locke calls for her; he's wondering if she's free to help him with a little project. "I'm building something, I could use an extra pair of hands."
Claire is nearly nine months pregnant; she can barely waddle over the beach.
Locke-"Can you hold a saw?"
Yeah, she can.
Locke-"Can you move your hand back and forth like this?" {He makes a sawing motion.}
She "possibly" can.
Perfect. He holds out both hands to help her up.
Claire asks, "So what exactly are we building?"
Locke doesn't answer.

At the cave Sayid angrily asks Jack where the map is, "I told you it won't help you find her.   Jack tells him to slow down; he doesn't have the map.
Sayid- "What makes this worse is you won't even do your own dirty work.   You get Hurley to do it for you!...He was in my tent last night quizzing me about Rousseau, about numbers she wrote, how I came to find her."
Jack doesn't know anything about this.  Jack asks firewood carrying Charlie if he's seen Hurley.
Charlie- "A couple of hours ago.   He was heading out for a walk.   Acting like a loon, I might say."
Concerned Sayid realizes Hurley's going after her.   Jack's disappointed.

"When are you gonna be back?" Shannon asks Sayid.
Sayid feels they can catch up to him before nightfall, "Why? You worried about me?"
Shannon- "So what if I am?"
Jack yells over asking Sayid if he's ready.  Sayid takes his backpack and tenderly touches Shannon's face, "I'll be fine."










Hurley treks across the beach {Rap tune plays}
{Flash Whoosh}
The rap tune continues playing loudly.
Well off Hurley drives a yellow Hummer H2.   His mom is the passenger.
The tune continues playing and mom says loudly, "Hugo turn that noise down!"
Hugo turns down the volume,"Sorry."

Mom wants to know where he's taking her; she doesn't like surprises.
Hugo thinks she'll like this one; she deserves something good since Grandpa and that at the funeral Father Agular got struck by lightning in that freak storm, and Diego moving back home after Lisa left him for that waitress.   Hugo feels that ever since we won the lottery they've had bad luck like the money is cursed; although these Catholics don't believe in curses.

Approaching the surprise for his mom, Hugo has her blindfold herself with a red bandanna. They pull up to the curb and Hugo carefully helps blindfolded mom out the hummer.  Mom asks why she has to wear this, she can't see anything.
He tells her to take off her blindfold and take a look at her new dream house.
Mom slips on the curb and hurts her ankle.    Mrs. Ryes removes her blind fold, {He told her she can take off her blindfold} and as she's crying out in pain then she smells smoke.   There is a fire in an upstairs room of the new home.
Hugo calls 911 and before he can finish dialing, two cop cars pull up and draw their guns on him. "Drop the phone! Move away from the vehicle!"
Hugo tries to tell them it's the house.
As Hugo's getting cuffed he says to him mom who is blessing herself, "No such thing as curses, huh, ma?"
The mustached cop tells Hugo he has the right to remain silent....

Hurley comes upon a thick power cord in the sand. It runs from the water into the jungle.   He picks it up and calls out for the French chick. {It's not a telephone! Is it?}




 Hurley keeps hold of the power cord and follows it into the jungle.
{Flash Whoosh}








 "I would think you'd be happy, every one of your stocks is up. Your interest in orange futures skyrocketed after those tropical storms hit Florida.
And you are now the majority share holder for a box company in Tustin."
Hugo looks out the window to the street below.   He is in the office of his financial advisor/accountant.   His advisor feels a box company is a lucrative business. "Everybody needs boxes."
Which reminds him Hugo's sneaker factory in Canada was destroyed in a fire last month. Hugo's not surprised.
The advisor thinks Hugo may have read about it, "8 something people died.  But the good news is we over insured it.   It's gonna wield you a windfall of cash.   And when we add in the generous settlement from the L.A.P.D. for your false arrest you almost doubled your net worth in a few short months.  I still can't imagine how the police mistook you for a drug dealer."
Hugo blurts out, "Bad Luck."
The advisor informs him he's not the first lottery winner to feel the money brought him nothing but trouble, "It's all in your head."
Hugo wonders if this guy doesn't believe in jinx's/curses.   The advisor only believes in numbers.  By the way, the advisor wants to know where he got the numbers from, "Somebody's birthday? Phone number?"
Hugo-"Nothing. It's just something that I...."
A light bulb goes on; he has an epiphany, "It's not the money. It's the numbers. The numbers are cursed."
The advisor doesn't buy it.
Hugo-"Dude. Don't look at me like that, I'm not crazy. This is real..."
Just as the advisor is telling him there's no such thing as a curse, a man is falling past their window. {Scream.}
{Flash Whoosh}













Michael in his orange shirt bangs away on building the raft.  This noise is hurting Sawyer's head.
Sawyer is reading A Wrinkle in Time.
Sawyer yells sarcastically over to Michael, "You wanna hit that a little harder?!"
Michael-"Oh I'm sorry. Is my building a raft to get us rescued bothering you?"
At the moment it is. Walt asks Sawyer why he isn't helping.
Sawyer tells Short Round he's helping by keeping watch for arsonists.   Michael feels Walt's got a point; he could pitch in, "Seeing as you already bought your ticket."
Just then one of the tied together bundles of bamboo loosens and the bamboo sticks tumble.   Jin starts yelling at Michael in Korean.   The two men yell at each other. {I still feel they understand each other.} Annoyed Sawyer leaves.
Sun watches the two men yell from further down the beach.   She shares with Kate she feels he's never going to speak to her again.   Kate feels he just needs time.   Sun knows she's humiliated him.
Sun asks Kate, "When the raft sails, do you think he's going to leave with them?"
Kate doesn't know.






Hurley continues to use the power cord as a guide into the jungle. The buzzing sound of flies makes him look up to find there is a dead hanging boar that has been captured by a trap.
Hurley continues on.
He steps on something with a slight metal sound. As he's about to take another step Sayid yells to him, "Don't move!" He's standing on a pressure trigger.
Sayid-, "If you take your weight off it, it will release that. {The other spiked end of the trap. Wow! It's like Indiana Jones!} They need to find something to replace his weight on the trigger.
Hurley asks if he can drop the wire.
Charlie suggests they find a big rock.
Hurley drops the wire and nothing happens.  The guys still insist, "Don't move!"
But Hurley feels he can make it, "I can get out of the way. I'm spry."
The guys start to freak out with Hurley's intention to make a move off the trigger.
Hurley jumps off the trigger and the spiked weapon misses him!
Charlie yells at Hurley, "What the bloody hells wrong with you?!"
Nothing is wrong with him.  {Hurley believed he can cross it unharmed and he did! He has the power!}
Jack asks him what he's doing out here.   Hurley reveals he came to get a  battery.
As if Jack doesn't buy that he asks, "Seriously...what's going on?"
Hurley- "Nada. You guys coming?"
Sayid concedes that they all want to go, but he'll take the lead.
Sayid grabs hold of the power cord.
Charlie feels that's an excellent notion.
{Flash Whoosh}
"Lenny. His name is Lenny...or Leonard"
Hurley is at the psychiatric admissions counter of Santa Rosa Mental Instit.... Hugo doesn't know Lenny's last name but he just needs to talk to him for five minutes.   Hugo watches a janitor climb a very wobbly ladder.
The nurse can't look anything up without the man's name."How many Leonard's are here?"
Hugo wants her to type it in and look it up, "I mean the guy's been here for like...ever.  He knows me."
The nurse tells him their records are private.
Hugo yells out to the wobbly dude on the ladder, "Do not do that right now! Leave the bulb for another time, man!"
Hugo starts to raise his voice to the nurse about needing five minutes with Lenny as a doctor recognizes Hugo.
Hugo-"Oh, hey Doc."
The doctor says its good to see him and asks what he's doing back here. 


In the rec room the doctor mentions to Hugo he doesn't remember he and Leonard being that close.
Hugo-"We hung."
The doctor will leave the gentlemen to it then and he wishes Hugo good luck.

Lenny sits at a table alone dropping the markers into the filthy Connect 4 game.
He is repeatedly mumbling something unclear in cadence.
Hugo walks up to the oblivious twitching Lenny, "Hey, Lenny. Remember me?"
Lenny does not deviate from his obsessive repeating.
Hugo says, "Hugo." {A voice can be heard "Hurley" although it does not sound like Hugo and we don't see this coming from Hurley's mouth.}
Hurley asks Lenny, "I gotta know...What do the numbers mean?"
Now Lenny's mumble becomes clear, "4-8-15-16-23-42" {Note smoke detector over the door}
Hurley drops a red marker into the game and asks Lenny where he got the numbers and is that why he's here.
{Lenny's black cord for his glasses looks more like a wire. BTW, in a mental hospital they would not allow patients to have anything they could hurt someone or themselves with.}
Hugo continues, "Did they do something to you?  Cause I think they did something to me. I think they turned me into a jinx.   Bad news to everyone around me.  And when I tell people I think I'm the cause they, they look at me like I'm nuts. They don't believe me.  But I know...ever since I won the lottery with those numbers."
This statement snaps Lenny out of his repeating world.
Lenny speaks! "You used those numbers to play the lottery?"
Lenny freaks out, "You shouldn't have done that. {He grabs his head} You've opened the box! You shouldn't have used the numbers!...It doesn't stop!...You gotta get away from those numbers! You gotta get far, far away! Do you hear me?! Don't you understand?! You gotta get away from them or it won't stop!"
An orderly tries to restrain the freaked out patient, but Hugo wants answers.
Lenny grabs at his head again.   Hugo asks where he got the numbers.
Lenny happens to be coherent enough to clearly inform Hugo that he got them from Sam Toomey. Sam heard them in Kagoorlie, in a town where they used to work in Australia.
Lenny is dragged out of the room by the orderly.


"It stops here.  It goes into the ground.  This poses somewhat of a problem."
Sayid shows the guys where the wire disappears.
Charlie has something the guys need to see. He leads them to their next obstacle; the rickety narrow bridge that is their connecting path to the other side. They are very high up.

Jack says to Sayid, "You never mentioned anything about a bridge."
Sayid never saw this before. 
Jack notes there's no way she could have built this all by herself.
Sayid-"No. But her team could have. "
Charlie-"Or Ethan's team." {HUH?! WTF?!! WOW!}
Hurley starts to make his way across the shitty bridge, "Relax. I'm just gonna check it out. You guys should stay here."
Jack's freaking out "Hurley! Get back here!"
Hurley-"Dudes! Chill!" {lol. hear the crow.} Carefully, he makes it across. The guys are relieved. If Hurley can do it so can Charlie; he heads across. {Charlie's wearing his black and white Vans.} As he approaches the finish line the bridge breaks but Charlie makes it to the other side.
Exhilarated Charlie is okay.
Jack yells over to them to stay put; he and Sayid will find a way around and we'll meet you there. Screw that! Calm Hurley tells them to stay because there's a path right here... Charlie snaps and yells at Hurley to shut up and listen to Jack to "Stay put! You're acting like a bloody lunatic!
{Flash Whoosh}










Crow caws.
A house sits in the middle of nowhere.
 Five knocks on the door, an Australian woman answers, "If this weren't in the middle of nowhere, I'd say you were lost."
This is Sam Toomey's wife, Martha Toomey. Sam's been dead for four years.
Hurley shares with Martha that Sam worked with a guy he knows, Leonard Simms. Martha mentions they served together in the U.S. Navy. {File cabinet, ship, binoculars.}
Martha serves tea, "How is Leonard? Still in the service?"
Hugo says he's retired.  He goes on to say that Lenny told him about Sam hearing something. Martha's annoyed he's talking about the numbers.  She reveals that Sam and Lennard were stationed at a listening post monitoring long wave transmissions over the Pacific.  It was a boring job and Sam hated it, "Nothing to do but listen to static...night after night.  Till one night 'bout 16 years ago, there's something in the static.  A voice comes through.  A voice repeating those numbers over and over again. {This makes Hugo jolt like he's listening to a scary story.} A couple of days later we're at the fair in Kalgoorlie and some wally there got this jar, must have been big as a pony.  And its filled to the rim with beans.  Fella is offering 50 grand to anyone able to guess how many beans are in that jar within 10. {Sam used the numbers} The answer was exact, to the bean.  Men had been running the same scam for 40 years.  Nobody'd ever come close, so we won the money. On the way home, a pickup truck blows a tire on the highway, hits us head on.  Lost my leg that night." {What about Sam?}  Barely a scratch. Most people would consider themselves lucky...but not him, he was never the same after that. {Martha presents a blue scrapbook.} He started keeping a record.  Anything terrible that happened to anyone around us, he believed it's all because he used those numbers.   He moved us out here in the middle of nowhere, hoping it would stop."
Hugo asks if they ever found a way to make it stop.
Yep he did.
Martha shares that Sam put a shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.
Martha-"What is it you're looking for, Mr. Reyes?"
Hugo grudgingly admits he used the numbers to win the lottery, "And now I think I'm under the same curse." {To win the lottery, not, and I won the lottery. hmmm}
Martha-"Curse?! There's no curse...You think I'd still have my leg if Sam hadn't have picked the right number of beans?   You think that floods wouldn't have happened?  That homes couldn't have burned down? That people wouldn't have died?!"
{Does she have insight to Hugo's experiences?}
Hugo- "Well...yeah."
Martha tells him you make your own luck, "Don't blame it on the damn numbers. You're looking for an excuse that doesn't exist."
{Flash Whoosh}


Locke is working on his building project. {White smoke billows from the fire}. Claire is sawing away on a branch, she asks, "It's a trap, right? For catching animals?
Locke asks her to pass the cup; he's made glue that he claims he made from rendered animal fat.
Claire-"You made glue?...Wow!You should have one of those shows where you uh, fix up houses for people."
Smiling Locke doesn't think so.
Claire thanks him for giving her something to do, "I'm tired of trying to remember what happened to me out there."
Locke asks how her memory is coming.
Claire-"Bits and pieces here and there. Nothing that makes any real sense."
Locke feels maybe he can help because he's good at putting bits and pieces together."
The both share a smile.

Sayid and Jack carefully try to find their way to Hurley and Charlie.
Sayid stops at an area he feels is familiar,"We're close."
Jack asks how he knows, "I thought she lived underground."
Jack takes a step and trips a wire causing an explosion.
Charlie and Hurley hear it.
Hurley looks up and around curiously.
In the exploded pit, Jack comments, "Some security system. Someone trips a wire and the whole place blows up."
Apparently there's nothing there, no batteries, nothing. Jack doesn't get it but Sayid feels she knew that one day he'd come back and bring others. So she abandoned this place, booby trapped it and moved on.
Jack wonders, "Moved on where?"

In the jungle Hurley calls out for Jack and Sayid.
Charlie asks, "Do you even know where we're going?"
Hurley feels "The blast sounded like it came from this way, I think."
Charlie-"You don't know!"
What does Charlie want from Hurley?
Charlie wants to know "what we're doing in the middle of nowhere.  And don't tell me it's because of some stinking batteries.   One minute you're happy go lucky good time Hurley, the next you're Colonel bloody Kurtz.  It just doesn't make any sense. It's not you."
Hurley-"Dude, you don't know me."
Irate Charlie feels all this time on the Island and Hurley's not told him anything about himself.  Hurley indicates they all have "personal stuff."
Pissed Charlie tells him not to change the subject, "We're lost out here.  Jack and Sayid could be hurt if not blown to bits all because you're acting like some bloody nutter."
Hurley is not crazy and he has his "reasons for everyth..."
Charlie presses him for the reasons because he feels he has a right to know.
Hurley spills it to Charlie, "About a year ago..." His story is interrupted by a shot fired near them! {NOTE: As Hurley is going to reveal what happened a year ago, and you see his mouth actually mouths something. The words cannot be heard because of the perfectly times shot of the rifle.}
They don't freak out.
Hurley-"Is someone shooting at us?"
Another shot is fired and the boys run in opposite directions.

Hurley runs, falls down, and when he gets back up he is face to face with Danielle and her rifle. "You must be the French chick."
Danielle-"Who are you?"
Hurley with his hands up replies, "Hurley...Sayid...that guy you tortured...he...a...."
Danielle-"You were on the plane."
He reaches in to his pocket and says he's getting her notes.  He presents her the small note paper and want her to tell him why she wrote this, "Tell me what these numbers mean, Please."
Armed Danielle doesn't know.
This aggravates Hurley, "What? You don't know. Okay, that thing in the woods...maybe its a monster. Maybe... it's a... pissed off giraffe.  I don't know! The fact that no one is even looking for us...yeah, that's weird. But I just go along with it... Cause I'm along for the ride.  Good ol fun time Hurley! Well guess what? NOW!   I WANT SOME FRIGGIN ANSWERS!"
Danielle lowers her weapon and begins to tell the story, "Our ship picked up a transmission, a voice repeating those numbers. Changed course to investigate.  After we ship wrecked my team continued to search for the transmission source. It was weeks before we found the radio tower."
Hurley asks if the radio tower is on "this Island."
Yes, up by the Black Rock.
Danielle- "Some of us continued to search for the meaning of those numbers while we waiting for rescue. But then the sickness came. When my team was gone I went back...up to the tower...and changed the transmission."
Hurley-"That distress signal we heard."
Yes.
Hurley wants to know if she found out anything about the numbers, "Do you know where they got their power?"
Danielle-"Power?"
Hurley-"They bring bad stuff to everyone around you. They're cursed. You know that, right? The numbers...are cursed."
Danielle recalls the numbers are what brought her here, "As it appears, they brought you.  Since that time I've lost everything.   Everyone I cared about.  So yes, I supposed you're right...they are cursed."
Hurley is relieved, "Thank you. Thank you. You have no idea how long I've been waiting...for someone to agree with me. Thank you. Oh god, Thank you. Thank you."
He gives her a big hug.




Jack tells Sayid they need to find Hurley and Charlie and get out of this jungle, "I just hate that we're going home empty handed." {Home?!}
Sayid is piling up Danielle's lair wreckage. {Burning.}

Sayid finds a scrap of Nadia's photo.
Charlie runs out of the woods announcing someone shot at them.
Sayid- "Rousseau."
Jack asks where Hurley is.
Charlie- "I don't know. He was right behind me and then he just... he just wasn't." {Hmmm.}
Sayid offers to find him but Jack says they'll all go.
Out of nowhere there's Hurley, "Go where?"
Freaked out Charlie asked what the hell happened to him.  Hurley takes a large battery out of his pack and hands it to Jack, "Need a battery."
They're a bit surprised.
Hurley tells Sayid, "She says hey." {How much time could have passed?}




Night on the beach the four men return. Jack pats Michael on the shoulder. Sayid hands the battery off to Michael.

In the dark jungle while still working on his project by campfire, Locke asks Claire if she thought of a name yet.
Claire- "Huh?"
Locke- "For the baby."
Claire-"Haven't really thought about it. I was gonna give it away. You know...for adoption." {Watch Locke}
Locke acknowledges it must have been a difficult decision.
Claire- "Yeah. Well. Doesn't matter now....It's my birthday today."
Locke's curious, "Why haven't you told anyone?"
Claire says she's pregnant, single and on an Island in the middle of nowhere. "Doesn't really matter that it's my birthday does it?"
Locke guesses not, "Well at least your birthdays will be close together.  You and your baby and that's good luck."
That's what he thinks.
Claire- "Do you believe in that...luck?"
Locke says believes in a lot of things.
He's finished the project.
Claire still doesn't know what it is, "OK. I give up. What is it?"
Locke turns it over and reveals its identity; a rocking cradle.
Claire smiles, "It's a cradle."
Locke-"Happy birthday, Claire."
Claire thanks him.

Night on the beach:
Hurley is drying is shirt over the camp fire.   Charlie comes over and jokes about Hurley cooking his shirt in place of scarce food.
Hurley- "When you find a Laundromat let me know."
Charlie sits down next to him and mentions about before in the jungle, "before we became target practice, you were going to tell me what inspired this little quest."
Hurley tells that his bad luck may have crashed the plane.
Charlie tells him "Don't be daft, how could you possibly..."
Hurley goes on to share with him that "before we came here a lot of bad stuff used to happen whenever I was around."
Charlie questions, like bad luck?
Hurley feels that's a mellow way of describing it.
Charlie tries to reason with him by telling him bad things just happen, "You think you're the only one with baggage?  You know what I was doing when the plane went down?  I was snorting heroin in the toilet. I was such a junkie I couldn't even take a plane ride without having a fix.  I suppose that was your fault as well."
Hurley doesn't answer.
Charlie asks, "So how about it?"
Hurley-"What?"
Charlie just told him the biggest secret in his life, "I thought you'd want to reciprocate."
After a long pause Hurley tells him that back home, "I'm worth156 million dollars."
Charlie, feeling as if he's bullshitting says,"Fine. Don't tell me."
Charlie feels he bared his soul and all he gets are bloody jokes.
Insulted Charlie walks off.

The camera zooms in to show us
4 - 8 - 15 - 16 - 23 - 42 on the HATCH.







Numbers is a great episode!
Hurley's along for the ride. Hmmm...Very, very interesting.
"Hearing and Listening".    The Lostie's have to learn to truly open their eyes, but to also listen.
We need to really observe and listen to everything too.  Are voices and sounds "bleeding through" wires, static or their sleeping minds?   Is Hurley "hearing" something that the rest of the Lostie's aren't?
Hurley's curiosity about the numbers shows me that his role and part in the "Island's" story is very important.    Hurley is in search of the meaning of the numbers two times, in two environments {on "Island" and off "Island".}   It seems to me that Hurley may be realizing that something is being "done to him".  He also feels he's the cause of pain to the people around him.

Let's not forget the importance of the "power cord" here.   There were a lot of subliminal visuals to a power cord and wires all through the episode.  I can't help but wonder not about the power cord that runs into the jungle and disappears in to the ground, but where is the power and the power cord is originating from?  How far away is its source?  If there is power going to and from this "Island", then how can it be an "Island".
Is it possible the power cord/wire is hinting to something else getting powered or connected?
Maybe it is possible the "power" is a metaphor for the "power" they themselves posses to make change; positive thinking or even wishful thinking/believing.

Things to Note...Questions to ask...
* Crazy. Disoriented. Disturbed mind. Loon. Lunatic. Nut. Nutter. Psychiatric. Santa Rosa.
* Unconscious. Sleep. Dream. Awake. Head. Voices.
* Laundromat-washing-cleansing
* Heart. Pacemaker. Heart attack.
* Remember. Don't remember. Memory. Familiar.
* Game. Lotto. Hockey. Connect Four. Scam.
* Teams. Danielle's team- Ethan's team. Are they two additional teams or are they on the same team?
* Move. Don't move.Take the lead.
* Maps. Papers.
* Numbers. Wires. Battery. Power source. Power cord. Transmission. Static. Net.
* Dark Territory. Radio Tower. The Cave. Australia. Canada. Los Angeles.Florida
* Languages. Korean. French. Spanish. Numbers. Translate.
* Curse. Blessing. Good Luck. Bad Luck. Jinx. Believe.
* Blindfold=can't see. Glasses=can see. Disappear.
* Family. Mother, Grandpa, Father, Brother.
* What is real and what is not. What is happening in their heads/minds while sleeping?  Or is it a metaphor for them just to wake up already.
* When Hugo introduced his mom and brother, I don't know why but their two names jumped out at me as Carmen San diego. lol.
* Again, did Danielle carry unconscious Sayid through the jungle and across this bridge all by herself? Yeah, that's what I'm sayin!! Did Danielle have these batteries on her? Her place got blown up, did she take Hurley to her new place?
* "That thing in the woods..."   Hmmmm. Hurley, Charlie, Jack, Sayid and Claire and are all in the woods at this point....Aren't they? But it is Locke that is the "woodsman" to me.
* Claire seems disconnected from the "baby".
* Locke tells Claire he "believes in a lot of things."  Yet in White Rabbit he tells Jack "I’m not a real big believer in magic."
* Connections to Locke.
* Box. Boxes.  Casket/coffin?
* Diego translates to James.
* People die/dying.
* Perception.

Vocabulary and Research...
♦ Hummer H2 has room for six passengers (including driver).
 - Song by Smashing Pumpkins on the album Siamese Dream.
 - A hum is a sound made by singing a wordless tone with the mouth completely closed, forcing the sound to emerge from the nose.  A hum has a particular timbre, usually monotone or with slightly varying tones.
 - A person who is bored makes an ostentatious show of humming to indicate their impatience.Humming can also be used to show feelings of emptiness.
 - Mains hum-electric or electromagnetic phenomenon that causes a low frequency(50 or 60 Hz) audible signal.
 - Humvee, a military vehicle
 - The Hum is a generic name for a series of phenomena involving a persistent and invasive low-frequency humming noise not audible to all people.
 - A hum can be caused by Tinnitus. Tinnitus is also a side-effect of some medications.
♦ OM-(OHM): The tone: make a humming or droning sound. The syllable is taken to consist of three phonemes, a, u and m, variously symbolizing the Three Vedas or the Hindu Trimurtior the three stages of life (birth, life and death)

♦ Carmen San diego refers to a media franchise of educational computer and video games, television programs, books and other media featuring a thieving villianess of the same name. It uses detective work and teaches geography, history, English and math. These all featured silly humor and especially a distinctive style of word play with extensive use of puns, rhymes and alliteration.
♦ Sim-Any simulation game.
 -The Sims: a strategic life simulation computer game. The Sims focuses entirely on the lives of virtual people called Sims, placing the player in control of their virtual "world" and their daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, reading, and bathing. Although players are encouraged to make their own characters, they can choose certain pre-made characters.
- Subscriber Identity Modul or SIM card, a device used to store information in mobile phones.
 -SIM-is a Solid Immersion Mirror for Heat assisted magnetic recording.
♦ Numbers game, or policy racket, is an illegal lottery played mostly in poor neighborhoods in U.S. cities.A scam.
♦ Number codes are used in computing.
♦ In Simulation-brain communications: If one were to effectively communicate with the brain, a code or sequence must be created/discovered to send information between the part of our brain that hears and talks.
♦ WAV a file format.
* There are many kinds of waves. A wave is a disturbance that propagates through space and time, usually with transference of energy.   Ocean waves, Seismic waves, sine wave, gravitational waves, inertial waves, radio waves,wavelengths, brain waves. and more.
♦ Nowhere:  1). The state of nonexistence or seeming nonexistence.  2). Being or leading nowhere; pointless.    3). In or at no place; not anywhere.




Numbers gives us a hint to be careful of a Con/Scam.
I love the line Martha says to Hugo-"Don't blame it on the damn numbers. You're looking for an excuse that doesn't exist."
I feel like the whole experience with Martha was very out of place and meant only for Hurley.   You need to go back listen/read carefully to all of her dialogue with him as it's very important.
There is definitely a blurring of what we see on "Island" and off "Island".  Things seem very integrated.

John Locke, what a guy, making gifts for Claire and her unborn baby.
Don't ignore Claire's first perceptive response to the overturned cradle...Trap! Indeed it is.

They literally and emotionally are in the middle of ...........N O W H E R E

Love to all who are "LOST"™


Don't forget to keep your eye out for the second version of the Lotto Ticket!












Disclaimer: I never claim to know everything about the show and my thoughts by no means make me right! The things I share here are my views and/or opinions. I don't claim to catch every single detail either! You all know I hate spoilers! And I stand clear of reading certain sites as to not take me off my own course of research. The one thing I don't need to do here is rehash all of the obvious clues from an episode; we all know what they are. Understood? Let the fun begin! I'll only note things that I know come up as clues later, but need to be noted when they first show up and things I find that will be of importance.