Initial Reaction to "What They Died For"

The Penultimate. It was everything I'd hoped it would be. Everything is finally starting to make sense now. This episode really set up the finale. It was even funny, which is something that I was not expecting at all, but also enjoyed a lot. I think that I'm finally starting to see the big picture and have idea of just how all of this is going to come together. Don't get me wrong, I still have no clue how it's going to end, but the options are becoming clearer more now than they ever have before. This episode also made a lot of things from last week's "Across the Sea" make a lot more sense to me. So, listen, haters. You were wrong. Admit it. Thank you. Now, we can be friends. So, let's talk about "What They Died For" because I can't wait to discuss it. This is going to be a long post.

From Lostpedia

3.05 The Cost of Living

1. Eko and Yemi steal food, a nun makes Eko give confession for stealing.
2. There is a close-up of Eko's eye, Sayid is back and he checks on Eko, who is unconscious, Hurley says he's been like that for a couple of days. From Lostpedia
3. Eko is having a dream of his brother, Yemi, scenes from The 23rd Psalm, confession, becoming a priest, the drug plane, Yemi in Eko's tent, with a lighter.
4. "It is time to confess, to be judged, brother. I will be waiting. You know where to find me." Yemi appears to light Eko's tent on fire. From Lostpedia
5. They save Eko from his burning tent, Eko says "My brother," then disappears.
6. Ben is wearing a robe, he asks Jack to go for a walk, gives him a robe to wear, Jack asks if it hurts, his neck, numbness in his fingers and toes, like pins and needles, but permanent, tumor on his spine, aggressive, no more walks, Ben says he has no idea what he's talking about, Jack says it must be his mistake.
7. Jack goes to funeral with Ben, Juliet says she hates funerals, Colleen on water, fire, Brenda Lee's I wonder plays on the loud speakers. From Lostpedia
8. Ben asks Juliet about x-rays and Jack, she says she didn't tell him.
9. Sayid and Locke talk about finding Jack, Desmond says he's pretty sure that the computer in the hatch was used to communicate with other stations.
10. Locke wants to go to The Pearl and find Eko and use the computer to try to communicate with the Others.
11. Soldiers from the runway, where Yemi was shot and left in the drug plane, take Eko back to Yemi's church, where Eko finds a photograph of him and Yemi when they were young in Yemi's bible, he tells a woman that Yemi was called away, down South, emergency at refugee camp, says he will take Yemi's place there, in London too.
12. Eko and the monster, he sees a bloody man, afraid of him, then an alter boy that says "confess."
13. Locke, going to The Pearl, he asks people to go along, Nikki and Paulo.
14. Locke tells Desmond that Eko is heading for the plane that crashed on top of The Pearl station, Desmond says it's a coincidence.
15. "Don't mistake coincidence for fate." Locke
16. Eko washes his hands with holy water, the alter boy says he's not supposed to do that, that Father Yemi wouldn't, but Eko says that he is not Yemi.
17. Men arrive at Yemi's church, they're looking for him, but the boy's mother says the shipment is late, vaccine from Red Cross, they keep 20% and give the rest to Emeka and his men, for protection, Eko says that he's not afraid of them, but Emeka kills a blind woman, says he'll be back for the vaccine.
18. Eko stops at a stream to put dirt on his wounds and he sees the smoke monster, it leaves and Locke arrives with everyone else at the stream.
19. Juliet brings Jack a cheeseburger, Ben wants to talk to him, alone, doctor-patient confidentiality.
20. Ben says that they had a wonderful plan to break him, wear him down, gain his trust, he'd choose to do what they wanted him to, he'd get invested, Juliet resembles his ex-wife, plan was shot when he saw the x-rays, wants him to want to save his life, wants him to think about it, 2 days after he found out about his tumor, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky.
21. "Two days after I found out I had a fatal tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky. And if that's not proof of God, I don't know what is." Ben
22. Eko leads to plane, Locke asks about Yemi and Eko attacks him, saying not to speak his brother's name, Locke asks why he's so afraid.
23. They get vaccine every 6 months, agreement with militia, high price on black market, before Yemi, they got nothing, Eko reminds her of Yemi, says that he's a good man too.
24. Eko is selling the vaccine, and is leaving the country, to go to London.
25. Locke asks Eko about the monster, says he saw it once, a bright light, beautiful, while Eko checks the plane, says that's not what he saw, Yemi's body is missing. Locke says maybe his body burned when he set the plane on fire, and he gives Eko the cross he found. Eko looks at the photo of him and Yemi.
26. Emeka and his men come back to the church, figure Eko out about selling the shipment, they're going to cut off his hands, but Eko kills them with a machete, walks out of the church and everyone sees him.
27. They re-watch the Orientation film in The Pearl, Sayid says the wiring is only one way, that it's a closed system, Nikki says there are 6 stations, plays the tape of Dr. Mark Wickman, other monitors, Sayid tries to patch in another station, they see machines, a computer, in another station, a man with an eye patch. From Lostpedia
28. Juliet apologizes, shows Jack a movie, talks to him while it's playing, but there is a message she's relaying to him on the screen, she tells him to do the surgery.
29. "I felt like I should apologize. Say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for bringing you here. And for everything that's been done to you. And your friends. You have to know we were desperate. It was only so that we could save his life. Ben. He's a great man. I know you find that hard to believe but he is. You probably feel like you don't have a choice. But you do, Jack. Free will is all we've really got, right? Anyway, just wanted to put in my two cents. I told you before, you can trust me. I want you to trust me, now, when I tell you that doing the surgery is absolutely the right thing for you to do. It's the right thing because he deserves to live." Juliet tells Jack while the video is playing and she's relaying a completely different message.
30. "Ignore everything I'm saying. Ben is a liar. And he is very dangerous. Some of us want a change. But it has to look like an accident. It has to look like we tried to save him. And that's up to you, Jack. It's a complicated surgery. No one would ever know. And I would protect you. Now tell me to turn off the movie." Juliet tells Jack on the movie. From Lostpedia
31. "Turn the movie off." Jack
32. Eko goes to London, the alter boy asks if he's a bad man, that his mom says he's a bad man, they are boarding up the church, the woman tells him he owes Yemi a church.
33. Eko sees Yemi again, follows him, asks why confession now, he says he doesn't want forgiveness, that he had not sinned, Yemi appears to be a manifestation of the smoke monster, and the monster attacks Mr. Eko, while he starts reciting the 23rd Psalm. From Lostpedia
34. "I ask for no forgiveness, Father. For I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to do to survive. A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man. If I could answer him now, I would tell him that when I was a young boy, I killed a man to save my brother's life. I am not sorry for this. I am proud of this! I did not ask for the life that I was given. But it was given, nonetheless. And with it I did my best." Mr. Eko
35. "You speak to me as if I were your brother." Yemi
36. "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. The Lord is my shepherd." Mr. Eko
37. Locke and Sayid find Eko's body, Eko relays a message to Locke as he's dying.
38. "He said we're next." Locke

Questions:

1. Was Yemi and manifestation of the smoke monster?
2. Where did Yemi's body go?
3. Why did the smoke monster seem frightened or skeptical of Mr. Eko in his previous encounter with it, but attack him now?
4. Where did the Others get their funeral rituals from?
5. Why would the island want Mr. Eko to die?
6. Is the glass eye found in The Arrow Mikhail's?
7. Again, why didn't Ben just ask Jack to do the surgery?
8. Why do Eko and Locke see two different versions of the monster? Can it appear differently to each person?
9. Why does Juliet ask Jack to kill Ben? If he doesn't, won't Ben die anyway?
10. If Eko had confessed, would he still have died?

Favorites:

1. "Is that supposed to hurt my feelings?" Desmond
2. "I'm not that big on mysteries." Jack
3. "You people have cheeseburgers?" Jack "You have no idea what I went through to make this for you. I killed the cow, processed the meat, baked the bun. And the fries... try rendering animal fat." Juliet "No ketchup?" Jack
4. " I'm telling you this, Jack, because my wonderful plan got shot to sunshine when you saw my damned x-rays and figured out I was dying." Ben

Notes:

1. As much as I liked Mr. Eko, for some reason, I felt completely unaffected by his death. I'm still not sure why, because he's one of the characters I miss the most. It's unfortunate to find out that he was only killed because the actor no longer wanted to be in Hawaii.
2. You still owe Yemi one church, Mr. Eko!
3. The Others appear to be very cult-like in this episode with the funeral.
4. I love the actors that play young Eko and Yemi, who are really brothers.

2.09 What Kate Did

1. Sayid digs the grave for Shannon's body.
2. Sawyer says he loves Kate. Jack hears him.
3. Kate sees a black horse in the jungle.
4. Kate sitting on steps at a house, truck pulls up, lighter, she puts him to bed, gas explosion, drives away on a motor cycle.
5. Diner, Kate is 24, her mom, Diane, is a waitress, Wayne is her dad. Kate took out an insurance policy for the house.
6. "Just remember that you were here and you didn't see me." Kate
7. They have a funeral for Shannon at Boone Hill. From Lostpedia
8. Kate plays Patsy Cline in the hatch. "Why did you kill me?" Sawyer
9. Kate is buying a one-way bus ticket to Tallahassee, Edward Mars finds her, says her mom gave her up.
10. Locke cuts Jin's handcuff off. "Free at last." Locke
11. Kate feels vulnerable and kisses Jack.
12. Michael asks Locke about the blast doors.
13. Eko and Michael watch the Orientation film.
14. "What about all the missing pieces?" Michael
15. Sayid tells Kate that he saw Walt in the jungle before Shannon was shot.
    From Lostpedia
16. Edward Mars is taking Kate to the arraignment, he asks her if Wayne abused her too. They get in a car accident, he's hurt, she escapes, takes the car and drives away, sees the same black horse from the island in front of the car. From Lostpedia
17. Michael asks Locke why he can't put the code in at any time, Locke says you can only do it at 4 minutes. Michael asks if he can take a look at the equipment in the Swan.
18. Eko tells Locke a story about the King of Juddah, Josiah, a temple in ruin, people worshiped idols, false gods. Josiah sent the secretary to treasury to rebuild the temple with gold. "We found a book." An ancient book, The Book of Law, The Old Testament, they rebuilt the temple with it.
19. Eko tells Locke they found a place like the Swan on the other side of the island, and they found a book, with the film strip inside of it, he gives it to John. From Lostpedia
20. Sun leaves Kate with Sawyer.
21. Military office, Sayid on television, Kate goes to see her dad, Same Austen, says she had photos of him in Korea up until 4 months before she was born. Wayne was her father.
22. "I didn't tell you because I know you'd kill him. And your mother loved him. You were 5 years old. I wanted to take you along with me. She wouldn't let me." Sam Austen From Lostpedia
23. Kate thinks she's going crazy, that Sawyer is Wayne.
24. "Can you hear me? Sawyer? Wayne? I'm probably crazy and this doesn't matter, but maybe you're in there somehow. But you asked me a question. You asked me why I--why I did it. It wasn't because you drove my father away, or the way you looked at me, or because you beat her. It's because I hated that you were a part of me--that I would never be good. That I would never have anything good. And every time that I look at Sawyer, every time I feel something for him--I see you, Wayne. It makes me sick." Kate
25. Sawyer wakes up. "Are we saved?" Sawyer
26. Eko and Locke put the film back together.
27. "Somebody made this film. Someone else cut this piece out. We crash. Two halves of the same plane fall on different sides of the island. You're over there, I'm over here, and now, here's the missing piece, right back where it belongs. What are the odds?" Locke "Don't mistake coincidence for fate." Eko
28. Sawyer and Kate leave the hatch, they see the black horse, he sees it too. From Lostpedia
29. Jack and Ana Lucia have a drink.
30. Eko and Locke watch the film again.
31. "Do not attempt to use the computer for anything else other than the entering of the code. This is its only function. The isolation that attends the duties associated with Station 3 may tempt you to try and utilize the computer for communication with the outside world. This is strictly forbidden. Attempting to use the computer in this manner will compromise the integrity of the project and worse, could lead to another incident. I repeat, do not use the computer for anything other than entering the code." Dr. Marvin Candle
32. Michael talks to someone on the computer, presumably Walt. From Lostpedia

Questions:

1. Is Kate's horse real? Is it the smoke monster?
2. Was Sawyer really possessed by Wayne? Did Kate imagine it?
3. Why was part of the Orientation film cut and put in the Arrow station?
4. Who communicated with Michael on the Swan's computer?
5. Did Wayne abuse Kate as well as her mother?
6. Why would a Marshal hunt Kate for years because she killed her alcoholic, abusive father?
7. Can the smoke monster possess people and animals? Is it the island?
8. Why was Sayid on the television?
9. Why did Sam Austen think Kate was capable of murder?

Favorites:

1. "What's that smell?" Wayne "Probably your breath." Kate
2. Hurley giving Jin a thumbs up when he walks out of his tent with Sun.
3. "It looks like they went bloody Lord of the Flies out there. You haven't listened to a word I've said." Charlie talking to Kate.
4. "I spent a week in Tallahassee one night." Guy in line at the bus station.
5. "Sooo.. Rose's husband's white. Didn't see that one coming." Hurley
6. "So, you're like, mad at him?" Hurley "Why would I be mad at Sawyer?" Jack "Maybe because he's the one that always comes down here and chops wood, and now you are? It's like, transference." Hurley
7. "That's about the sweetest thing I've ever heard." Sawyer
8. "Who the hell's Wayne? I'm in a bunk bed." Sawyer
9. "If you mean the big ass horse standing in the middle of the jungle, then yeah." Sawyer

Notes:

1. I was pretty disappointed with what Kate did after waiting two years to find out. She may be a murderer, but she killed her father under some reasonable circumstances. She was made out to be this cold-hearted killer that a US Marshal spent years following, and then all she did was blow up her alcoholic wife-beating father? I mean, come on!
2. There are differences between the original Orientation film and the revised version. From Lostpedia
3. I still don't understand what Edward Mars' personal vendetta against Kate is.
4. This episode is the first time where Kate and the Marshal, Edward Mars, meet.
5. Of course Kate drives a motor cycle!
6. Jack and Kate kissing. Yuck!