I'm pretty sure it happened the other way around. ABC wanted one of their most popular series to have more episodes (ie. filler) while the producers wanted a confirmed ending point that all remaining episodes can focus towards. How long the series was going to last was up in the air until they began negotiations after season 3. That's why these last 3 seasons are 16 episodes instead of the usual 24. Now that the ending point is set in stone, the producers have been able to cut out the filler and make each episode have meaning. IMO, the low point last season was the episode about the boyfriend/girlfriend who get bitten by those spiders that cause paralysis and end up getting buried alive.
Even though it was 100% filler, I thought it was a enjoyable episode, and a good way to get rid of characters that should never have been added in the first place.
Overall, I thought it was a decent episode but maybe the weakest of the season. Juliet hasn't really clicked for me yet as a great character. There were a few good reveals including Penny's dad as the man in charge of the freighter. Also, Harper appears to have manifested from the black smoke to give Juliet a message from Ben. I don't know if he's going to be a comic book villain (I hope not) but it looks like they're slowly revealing how powerful Ben actually is. Does this mean he has been behind all of the manifestations on the island? The scenes with Ben and Juliet were just weird. In the last scene with them I couldn't tell if they were just trying to make Ben look more crazy or what. Speculation on "Ben's man" and the captain of the boat Spoiler But dammit, who is the man on the boat? I thought Ben's comment to John "you better sit down for this" was interesting. I was leaning towards it being Michael and I guess still am." I just don't see how that would blow John's mind so much that he "needs to sit down" for it. After all, Michael was already "Ben's man" when he was on the island. I also read somewhere that Michael is not only Ben's man but is also captain of the boat, which makes a lot of sense. You would have thought the captain would have been the first one to greet Sayid and Desmond when their helicopter landed. There's only one reason for him not to...the writers didn't want to reveal Michael yet. I have no doubt Michael is on the boat, just not sure how he got there, whether he's the man, the captain, or both. The best guess I can think of is that Ben and Michael have a private discussion before he leaves the island that will be revealed in a later episode, where Ben somehow manipulates him into doing this task for him. OR someone from Ben's group intercepts Michael on the water to give him the information.
IIRC, Michael was in construction and an artist. I don't recall any flashbacks of Michael in the Navy or anything like that.
I would find it a stretch for him to be captain, but I definitely think the man on the boat is either him or Walt or both. Also, something of note, Ben has said once last season, to Locke I believe, that he had no idea what the black smoke monster was and couldn't control it (or maybe it was Juliette?). At any rate, that it manifested as the therapist to run an errand for Ben seems to indicate that he was lying at least a little. Also, the common belief for a while on the "monster" was that it was a security system gone awry on the island. Except (if it really is the one creating all these visions of people in the jungle) it seems to have capability FAR beyond anything that would normally be put into a security system. I hope the origins and purpose of that thing is not something that is just glossed over when all the big answers are supplied as this show wraps up. I have always found The Monster to be one of the more intriguing aspects of the island. That, and now Jacob, whom which they seem to be purposefully avoiding any more information reveal. I agree that Juliette is not a very interesting character. I think it is partly due to the actress playing her. I can't seem to muster any sympathy for that woman and her blank expressions. When is the last episode of the 8 we were promised during the strike? Is that next week? And then they will give us 5 more sometime in April or so?
There is certainly some kind if intelligence with the power to project holographic manifestations...The Smoke, the people, the cabin etc. I sort of thought the name behind the power was Jacob, but Jacob asked Locke to help him, like he had no control over his own condition. Maybe Ben has assumed control over the power form Jacob. If it weren't for the ephemeral nature of The Smoke, I would have leaned toward Ben or who ever being able to control people's appearance in time, like taking someone alive in the past, telling them something and sending them to the future to accomplish a task. That theory works for people, like Locke's father, Hugo's nut house friend, the analyst, Walt even the polar bears; but The Smoke? Juliette is dead in the eyes but she has dealt with more pain than most people could; she had a lot of pregnant women that she was responsible for die on her. I think she looks pretty good when she's dressed up, but man, she was fugly when she was all wet. Don't worry, Jack will fix her!
Yeah, y'all are right about the captain not being Michael. I thought for sure the captain would be someone we already know, but then I read some blurb about him being some random Australian actor. So, who knows. Also, who is the "person you never thought you'd see again?" Can't be Michael, because pretty much all Lost fans knew they were going to see him again.
That and I'm pretty sure that Ben knows that Locke saw Walt. If he knows that Locke saw Walt, Michael being on the person on the ship doesn't seem like such a huge shocker.
It's either Michael or Walt. Michael for obvious reasons and Walt because it's a bit of a bigger "surprise"
I really don't think it's Michael or Walt on the freighter. If one of them were the inside man, we'd pretty much have to assume that they ran into the ship sometime after leaving the island at the end of season 2. The freighter was looking for the island. They knew about Oceanic 815, it's passengers, and at least some background on those passengers. I don't think they're going to pick up a black man and his son in the middle of the South Pacific and not think anything of it. They'd probably make the assumption pretty quick that they were on the island. When the helicopter arrived with Sayid and Desmond on board, the crew was visibly upset. I don't think they're just going to take a lostie and let him roam free on the boat let alone put him in any position of authority.
Quick Question: Did rescuers (not the ones showing now) find the plane wreck in the water? I remember seeing the wreckage on their news, so how could there also be wreckage on the island?
My guess is Wilborne had it faked to stop anyone else from looking for them. Or Ben had it faked for the same reason. Remember time runs slower on the island, Walt could have escaped into real time and Ben could have arranged for him to get crewed on the boat. I don't really think so but once you allow for time travel, anything is possible. I always wondered how Walt would actually escape from the middle of the Pacific on a small boat with a limited amount of fuel. Escaping from the Island was one thing but then how was he going to navigate anywhere? I guess he had to run into the freighter with a cover story.
