What to expect when you're not really expecting

By Chris Kirkman

My, my, what an episode. Although there's not too much to pick apart this week - no ley lines, or global conspiracies, or amateur quantum theories and time dilation explanations - but it was still a solid episode. I like to call these the character episodes, ones which delve much more into the lives of the islanders and non-metaphysical twists. There were no invisible men, Ol' Smokey didn't start grunting and tearing ass through the jungle, and, aside from Dan and Charlotte's little foray into clairvoyance, nothing supernatural went on. You'd almost think things were normal on the island.

Well, almost.

So, since everything's pretty straightforward this week, let's just review, shall we?

Aaron is the fifth member of the Oceanic Six
There were all sorts of twists and turns in "Eggtown" - Kate's preggers! Wait, no she's not. Yes, she is, she has a son! Nope, not pregnant - but in the end it didn't matter because Kate had a son, albeit an adopted one. From the look of things, I'd say Aaron was about two to four years old at the time of the flash-present, which would fit in nicely with it being, well, a flash-present. The main question Aaron's presence in the Austen household brings up is where the hell is Claire? She may very well be one of the ones left on the island that need the "help" that Charlie mentions to Hurley during his special visit. Of course, she could also be dead, but where's the literary fun in that?

On the road with God and Olivia Newton John
Speaking of literary fun, we've got two interesting books in this episode, plus a cultural reference of the Newton John kind. First, the book that Locke picks from the bookshelf is VALIS, by Philip K. Dick. The book centers around an artificial intelligence that has been placed in the minds of every living human by a machination in orbit in order to control humans. Basically, the book is one of Dick's many forays into trying to explain his thoughts on religion and the belief that every culture has a God or gods. The book has an interesting tie to the theme of the show in that the messiah of the book is a two-year-old girl that helps the protagonists to understand exactly what's been going on all the many years. Aaron is probably around two, and he's also been prophesied about - the clairvoyant Claire visits early in season one tells her that she needs to take care of the baby no matter what.

It's hard to make out what book Sawyer is reading in this episode, but it appears to be a late '90s edition of Jack Kerouac's On the Road (I only know because I own that copy). For those of you who have never read it, this book is pretty much an autobiographical account of Kerouac's trips with his friends as they cross America in the mid-1950s discovering themselves and etching into the cornerstone of the country the mantras of the underground Beat movement of their generation. The overarching themes of On the Road are far too varied to cover here, but I think Kerouac would have found a kindred spirit in Sawyer, who is still searching for his place in the world and within his own heart.

Lastly, we have the early '80s queen, Olivia Newton John. Hurley tries to decide between Satan's Doom and Xanadu in his and Sawyer's Dharma bungalow, but the cheesy pop-opera wins out. For those of you who have never witnessed the wonder that is Xanadu, I can only recommend that the most forgiving viewers try to watch it. The plot involves Muses - yes, those of the Greek variety - that come to Earth to inspire musicians, poets and the like. Well, Olivia Newton John plays one of those muses, only she falls in love with the man she's supposed to inspire. Later on, Zeus gets involved and everyone ponders the exact meaning of mortal time and it ends with a big musical number, and ... well, what does this have to do with Lost? I have absolutely no idea. I just wouldn't have pegged Hurley as a disco opera kinda guy. What, you expected more? Okay, fine. It has to do with time dilation. Of a sort. By ancient Greek gods. Four-toed statue? There, how's that for tying things in.

I know that what we're seeing are flash-presents (or, perhaps, a close proximity), but I find it interesting that the creative team is making all the Oceanic Six look much older than their island counterparts in very subtle ways. Both Jack and Sayid are showing salt and pepper in their sideburns, and Kate's been made up to look more severe and a bit weathered, as opposed to her normal island glow.

I'm not even going to start speculating on the missing chopper this week. If you want to know more about all that business, check out my musings from the past couple of weeks on ley lines and time dilation. I'm sure I'll have a lot more ammunition after this week's episode.

And, that's about all I have for this week. I'm out of time and my brain is out of space. If I've missed something or you want to delve further into a particular topic, send me something. Until next time, keep those brains a-churning.

Namaste.