Last week, I was unable to post a LOST show recap because the real world encroached.  I liked episode 3.2,
“The Glass Ballerina,” a lot.  Feel free to discuss last week’s episode in the comments below.

Today, we got Locke, Charlie, and a little bit of Hurley and Desmond.
Spoilers from episode 3.3 after the jump.

Links and Miscellanea

• Josh Holloway talks to the Washington Post about Sawyer and the prospect of
  playing a role that doesn’t require removing his shirt. (†Evil Puppet Masters)
• Something useful from the official website at abc.com: Lost Connections - a nifty
  little flash animation explaining some of the ways that the characters’ various
  plotlines are intertwined.
• I’ve got to say that I’m not that pleased with the status of this season’s official
  podcasts. So far, we’ve only been given one podcast for the first three episodes.
  Yes, it was a video podcast, but the video isn’t really being used that well, and I’d
  rather have something I can download (the new podcast seems to be only available
  via streaming video). Not only that, but if there is a new video podcast, it will be difficult
  to find on the difficult-to-navigate ABC website. Bring back our plan old, audio and
  semi-regular official podcast!
• Though LOST fans are podcast deprived, last night’s Nightline did feature a pretty
  good interview with JJ Abrams, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. Here’s a transcript.
  (†Pop Candy) There are a lot of 9/11 references—probably more than are warranted.
• In case you’re wondering, the production of LOST was unaffected by the recent
  Hawaiian earthquakes.
• If you’ve never read Doc Jensen’s LOST column over at Entertainment Weekly, you
  might want to check it out. Among the latest conspiracy theories he’s floating is a
  nice comparison between LOST and Heroes, a show that’s also been catching my attention
  lately.
• In case you haven’t heard yet, Kate and Charlie (okay, Evangeline and Dominic) are
  officially engaged.

Observations and Speculations

• Here’s an updated list of hallucinations/alter consciousness experiences on the island:

• And, just for fun, here’s an updated kill chart:

• For a moment, I thought Locke was going to be added to the list.  No kills for
  Locke yet, even though he’s a hunter.
• We got the best look yet at Eko’s “Jesus stick.”  Here are some of the scriptural
  inscriptions:
• Gen. 12:14 (”The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him,
  ‘Raise your eyes now, and look from the place where you are, northwards and
  southwards and eastwards and westwards.’”)
• “Lift up your eyes and look north - John 3:05″  John 3:5 reads, in the New
  Standard Revised version: “Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter
  the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.”  The scripture doesn’t seem
  to refer to the words next to it.  By the way the words are positioned on the stick, it
  suggests, “Lift up your eyes and look north, John,” perhaps alluding to John’s mission
  to head north to the Others’ encampment and save Sawyer, Kate and Jack.
• Rom. 6:12 (”Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal
  bodies, to make you obey their passions.”)
• Acts 4:12 (”There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name
  under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”
• Apparently, John’s full name is “Johnathan Locke” (an unusual spelling), no middle
  name.  The address listed on the weapons paperwork was in San Francisco.  ”Eddie”
  worked for the Humboldt County Sherriff.  Humboldt County is about 200 miles north
  of San Francisco and 100 miles south of the Oregon border.
• Boone is much cooler now that he’s dead.
• If you’re ever trying to insinuate yourself into a pot-growing hippie commune,
  wearing a Geronimo Jackson t-shirt is the way to go.  (You may recall that there
  was a Geronimo Jackson record in the hatch, and it’s speculated that Geronimo Jackson has
  some sort of connection to the founders of the Dharma Initiative.)
• By the way, head hippy Mike bears a striking resemblance to the Other known as
  Tom (the one Sawyer called Zeke).  He’s also a fan of Geronimo Jackson.
• Charlie was right to point out that Locke has a somewhat inconsistent history with
  drugs.  Of course, it could be that Locke’s approach is “nuanced” and that he has different
  opinions of heroin, marijuana and island jungle wacky mash.
• Being struck mute can have spiritual significance in the biblical tradition.  For
  example, John the Baptists’ father, a priest named Zechariah, was struck mute by
  the angel Gabriel for not believing that his elderly wife, Elisabeth, could become pregnant.  He remained
  mute until he named his son John, after which he was able to speak.
• Sweat lodges were used throughout Native American culture for religious
  purposes.  Native Americans also believed in vision quests, using psychedelic drugs
  to receive spiritual guidance.
  Often the vision included a manifestation
  of an animal, though it’s not clear whether the polar bear that flashed at the end of
  Locke’s vision had any spiritual significance.
• It was nice to see a reappearance by the polar bears.  What was up with the Tonka
  truck in the bears’ den, though?  I suppose that might be a reference to the
  lost children that we still don’t know much about.  It’s worth mentioning that the
  toy truck is fairly old.  These days, most of these trucks are made of plastic.  Also seen in the
  bear cave: a piece of fabric with the Pearl Station insignia on it.
• Desmond seems to have had a prophetic premonition about Locke’s rescue speech.  Let’s keep an eye on that.

Over all, this wasn’t a very exciting episode.  It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t all that eventful, either.  Locke’s Boone-guided trip was the highlight of the show.  We’re now half way through the first six-week chunk of episodes, with three more to come before the show goes into hiatus until next spring.  I hope there will be some sort of conclusion to the story arcs that began three weeks ago.