Made me immediately think of Hitchcock. With a chill!

Good self-contained episode, even if it didn't advance the primary plot.

There is no way Nikki and Paulo are dead. It will just be a matter of minutes before someone decides to dig up those valuable diamonds and be in for rude awakening.

It certainly seemed like a 'clean up' episode, but how far in advance do they need to write and produce these episodes? Do the writers/producers really have the dexterity to make such massive changes in midstream based on fan feedback?

Please, please let them be dead. That's the only way they can justify spending an entire hour on these unimportant/uninteresting characters.

I think the producers are ratcheting up their efforts to draw people back to the show. First a gratuitous strip club scene (just as every other show does on a 4-episode cycle) and then next week's cat fight teaser. I mean, not that I'm complaining...

This episode was SUCH a crock. I agree-Sawyer giving up the diamonds? Right. And noone checked the bodies for a pulse???? And WHY are these two featured NOW? One curiosity-were the shots of them (from season 1) shot AT THAT TIME? Or were they re-shot recently? Agreed that the whole deal of them discovering the hatch and saying nothing of it was ridiculous. And they sure buried these two FAST. Less than 8 hours from discovery to totally covered-that seemed odd. It WAS nice to be free of Kate for a week. That girl is seriously tiring...

"There is no way Nikki and Paulo are dead. It will just be a matter of minutes before someone decides to dig up those valuable diamonds and be in for rude awakening."

Not much air down there. In fact they probably suffocated by the time Hugo and Sawyer finished buring them. (unless somehow the island has changed them to be able to breath sand)

I can't believe people are complaining of writer laziness because scenes from previous seasons were retrofitted in. To me, that's the strength of the show; that there are always new insights from previous episodes that at the time seemed mundane or irrelevant (like Paolo emerging from the bathroom in the Pearl), but turn out to have more significance than we realized at the time. That's what I love, so I don't understand why people would be annoyed at that or accuse writers of sloppy laziness.

And I also don't understand why people complain when the "plot isn't advanced." I love self-contained shows that explore their own characters, issues, etc. Yes, the large overarching plot is what carries the series as a whole, but I don't feel an obsession to have every episode now HAS to deal directly with that overarching plot. There are other stories on the island besides the main one. I liked the Edgar Allen Poeishness of this story, and I suspect that their deaths were planned a long time ago, well before any fan feedback about the characters.

Just relax and enjoy the storytelling, don't get disappointed that questions aren't answered directly in the next episode. This is one of the best written shows on television, so appreciate the craft rather than anxious about the plot.

My, my, such anger from Liz this morning. Quick, somebody fetch her some stronger coffee. Thanks, Jen, for keeping some perspective about what is, after all, a show that is above all supposed to be entertaining. Isn't it OK for the show to just have some fun once in a while -- while dropping in some clues to keep those militant, angry Losties (i.e. Liz & Co.) from jumping ship the second that the BIG MYSTERIES aren't closer to being solved? Count me among those eagerly looking forward to the irony-laced back story of the poor schmuck who gets sucked into the jet turbine.

At first when I was watching last night's ep, I was amused. Then I became annoyed. The whole tone of the show seemed a bit too black and manic, if there can be such a combination. Plus, it seemed weird that these were too characters universally despised. But instead of just killing them off and getting it over with, the show took great pains to interweave them with the other castaways -- I guess in an attempt to justify their existence -- then killed them off anyway. It's like the previous hour didn't mean squat (ha, TASG joke). At least Nikki was smokin'.

I guess we should be careful what we wish for! I have been rooting for Nikki and Paolo to get hit by a meteor for some time now, but that sure was an awful way to die -- assuming that they're actually dead...

Still, I think it needed to be done. The Losties are our "family," and the way that Nikki and Paolo were introduced into this family was bungled so badly that even the writers had to make a joke of it (Sawyer doesn't know Nikki's name after living with her for how long?)

The writing this week was terrible, and this episode (like the Hurley/VW one a few weeks back) was pure filler. The real action is happening on the other side of the island, so hopefully we'll be back on track again next week when Kate and Juliette start mud-wrestling over Jack. Warm up the Tivo for that one...

Steve

Hey, what about Kiele's role in "Related"?

Well, well. Boone is gay, and Hurley understands Korean! Who knew?

I was a big fan of the episode. Nice change of pace, without being lame. Certainly better than the boring Jack-Kate-Sawyer love triangle episodes that felt like they dragged on for about a decade or so.

I thought the episode was a good change of pace and balances the series. And contrary to your statement about not advancing the plot, this did more for the story than the past 3 episodes COMBINED! We learned that ben has been planning this surgery from day 1; that nikki andn paulo were on the fast track right through all the mysteries of the island. Their backstories were intersting enough, although how many con-artists are we going to have on this island?!?!

I thought there was a great play with nikki's last words: powerlines, paulo lies, paralyzed; excellent stuff. BTW, nikki and paulo aren't dead, i see them emerging from the freshly laid sand a la Kill Bill. And i think sawyer not making an issue about the diamonds is good move for 2 reasons. First, it is showing that the value of trust on the island is more important than the diamonds (which at this point have NO VALUE), and they aren't gone for good. If a ship arrives, the first they are doing is diggin those bad boys up!

I was soooooo dissapointed that the "poochies" are the ones to discover Juliet and Benry, the drug plane,and one of the hatches before any one else. Their story is lame and do not bring anything to the plot line.

Also, I noticed Jack's daddy missing from the coffin right away. I think that is going to come back to haunt us so to speak.

If you watch the episode and listen to Pink Floyd's The Wall at the same time with a candle lit...you can see the black smoke appear...

I thought the episode was like a tragic opera. The doomed lovers. But it totally fit with some of the themes of the Lost mythos.

And a nice break from all the serious episodes...the pigs are marching!

This was a really fun episode. There were still a few little clues & tie-ins tossed to those who searching. Last week when Locke was watching TV, the show was Expose...
I liked that Nikki told Paolo not to smoke as they broke into the safe, but the next shot was her well-manicured and chock-full-o-fingerprints gloveless hand opening the safe.
I liked that they got rid of those two, since they were so awkwardly inserted to begin with, but that they first took the time to reimagine all of those crucial early scenes but with them in it. I liked the fresh perspective on some of those scenes, and I think they chose a number of them for a reason.
I like the fact that they were out there searching and discovering too, but that they were so divorced from the other characters that they didn't share anything they had found. And I like that the writers even took the time to explain why Nikki & Paolo were on that trip to the Pearl, since at the time it just seemed like they were being shoehorned into the show.

razzle dazzle

Here's a question: Why did Juliet say that the hatch gives her the creeps?

ARGHHHH! GET ON WITH IT! Sorry. Didn't mean to shout. Okay, so it was a good, if creepy, self-contained episode, but who cares? I'm willing to hang on for a little while longer, but the show is losing its grip on my attention, not to mention patience. My guess is we can expect to see more of these self-contained dramas as they try stretch out the seasons.

I don't have a problem with Sawyer tossing the diamonds. He's trying to redeem himself a bit. Even for him, stealing from dead people is going too far.

Locke saying that nothing stays buried on this island is too deliberate for those two to be dead, especially since they were buried on the beach. Sucks that she opened her eyes just in time to get sand in them though. My guess is in a matter of weeks the two of them will reappear. Reminds me of Ted Danson in Creepshow. Ew.

Sawyer now has a map to the Others and a walkie-talkie from which he can learn that Kate et. al. are captured. It doesn't take a detective to see where this is going.

Spiders...spiders....there weren't any large sticks to bludgeon him with? What was she gonna do when &/or if he came outta that paralysis?

I still liked the show & I'm glad they're gone but spiders?

Loved seeing Arzst in one piece again too.

"Even for him, stealing from dead people is going too far."

Did you miss the first season where Sawyer went through the cargo hold of the plane and stole everything of value (and then some) from the bags of the dead passengers?

Seems to me that Nikki & Paulo were doomed from the start - they always seemed awkward and out of place, and this episode did too. The whole "toilet flushing" scene from the Pearl episode was meant to irk people, and then it turns out there was a story to it. It's a reminder that there are 40-something survivors of this crash, and they aren't all caught up in tracking The Others. As a matter of fact, where are they? Did you notice the tiny group at the memorial service? Have the producers just gone low-budget, or are the rest of the people actually building a working transmitter and setting signal fires every night? Maybe they were rescued weeks ago...

Definitely the best self-contained episode since Hurley and his imaginary mental patient friend.

Plus, I thought the insertion of these two into Season 1 was actually a good thing; it gave us a sense that the other survivors in the background arent just following around our heroes all day and doing everything they say.

Finally, where did the multiple spiders come from? I thought Nikki only threw one and then all of a sudden the rest appear from the ground to take revenge for Nikki's treachery?

Also, did we just land a new character, the high school science teacher?

I have no problem with Nikki and Paolo showing up on the beach seemingly out-of-nowhere. How about Nikki and Paolo appearing after Desmond's trip to the past somehow ever-so-slightly changed the future?

I found it a bit strange with only 40 or so survivors that a hound dog like Sawyer didn't know who Nikki was.

"Finally, where did the multiple spiders come from? I thought Nikki only threw one and then all of a sudden the rest appear from the ground to take revenge for Nikki's treachery? "

Mr. Junior High School Science Teacher stated that the female spider gives off such strong pheromones that if the container were opened, male spiders would come running. (which of course begs the question, what did that poor spider do for air? Any airholes would've allowed the pheromones to escape and attarct more deadly spiders.)

You think Sawyer wouldn't have noticed Nikki! C'mon...the guy's a dog! He'd have been all over her once the smoke cleared from the crash.

Bilbo...we met the teacher long ago. He blew himself up with the dynamite they found in the pirate ship that they used to blow open the hatch. (wow...could this show sound any more contrived in cliff note form?) He also said something to Nikki when he was showing off his science lab about once how the spiders smell one another and come running in groups.

Hey...did anyone see if there is such a thing as a Medusa spider?

Didn't anyone else hear the "pre-rattle" of the smoke monster right before the other spiders showed up?

It seemed weird, since Arzt had provided an explanation for the additional spiders, but are we led to believe that they were Nikki's punishment for betraying Paulo?

They don't seem to fit the (supposed) trend of the smoke monster taking the form of things from peoples' past, but I'm sure I heard it!

Anyone else?

Funny episode. However, I think it was all shot before fan reaction to Nikki and Paulo was known, meaning they were doomed from the start. Hopefully they won't survive though.

Also, the science teacher, Artz is from some of the last episodes of season 1.

If you're going to dedicate an entire episode to two people throw some mystery around Rose and Bernard and have a self contained show about them.

Nikki and Paolo I would miss you were it not for the shear irritation you brought. They found all of this stuff first and neither fool told anybody, it's like, oh well that is so totally supposed to be there, it's only a station in the ground with a toilet, monitors and walkie talkies. Perfectly normal.

Onto next week's episode. I hope Jules kicks Kate's rear end and leaves her in the forest to ponder her stupidity. Although it being Kate she'll probably jack that up as well.

To isaidmoreham,

It's not just you, I heard it as well and could have sworn the smoke monster was going to appear but nothing happened.

"Hey...did anyone see if there is such a thing as a Medusa spider?"

Google seems to be drawing a blank (majority of pages being comic book listings with Medusa & Spiderman, and some song called Medusa by Spider Stacy.)

Any thoughts on the significance of the russian dolls that the diamonds were stashed in? It seems an odd place to hide diamonds, and odd that N and P kept them in there even on the island, and finally, odd that Paolo smashed the last one to retrieve the diamonds in the bathroom of the Pearl. I can't figure out what it would symbolize though. Maybe a secret ensconced within multiple layers?

The high school science teacher isn't new. He died when he was messing with the explosives in the jungle last season.

I'm waiting for the bodies to come back up and take out the island Dawn of the Dead style..

This episode was absolutely worthless, bad dialogue, nothing to push the storyline forward.

From Wiki but no clue if it's of any significance to our story:

A matryoshka doll (Russian: матрёшка, IPA [mʌˈtrʲoʂkə]) or a Russian nested doll (also called stacking dolls or Babushka dolls) is a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside another. "Matryoshka" is a diminutive from the Russian female first name "Matryona", which is traditionally associated with a corpulent, robust, rustic Russian woman.

So was the entire function of these characters just to get the walkie-talkie into Sawyer's hands? That's all I could come up with, watching it.

Bored @ work,
Matryoshka means, approximately, Mommy.

Did anyone notice how Paulo was staring at the sky after the plane crash? Maybe he was just in shock, but I think he saw something that shouldn't have been there...

Duh, they are not dead. Whoever thought the producers killed them off was not paying enough attention to the rest of the episodes. They are totally set up to back. Those graves were way too shallow to keep them under for long.

definitely heard the smoke monster before the spiders arrived.

Admittely the island is not Purgatory (which the producers/writers have denied), but could it be like Dante's Inferno, where the sinners are punished with the same kind of punishment that they inflicted on others? It is very obvious that Nikki & Paolo are poisoners and they themselves suffer poison! This is right out of Dante (don't recall which circle of hell!)
Also, isn't it interesting that Ben & Julia had to come to a hatch to observe Jack via a monitor, which indicates that they don't have the access to these monitors at their home station? Or were they just on a "patrol" and checked into a hatch for a quick check-in?
Also, remember that Sawyer has been away from the main crowd for significant periods, as he was on the raft, and hiking back with Anna Lucia, and recovering from the gunshot wound, and then he was captured by the Others with Kate & Jack for awhile. And if Nikki & Paolo were spending their time inland looking for the bag & Sawyer was veggin with his Playboys & novels, their paths might not have crossed that often.

I meant to write "they are set up to come back." Sorry.

"Did anyone notice how Paulo was staring at the sky after the plane crash? Maybe he was just in shock, but I think he saw something that shouldn't have been there..." Maybe hge was noticing the birds with the tags that Claire would discover 2.5 months later (heck they found everything else before the regular losties)

As for Sawyer not knowing Nikki, it's possible he didn't pursue her since she was there with Pablo. He hasn't made as much as a pass on Sun (Who I think is an uber-hottie) and probably wouldn't even know her were it not for the run in with Jin over the watch.

*shrug* I just enjoyed the episode. The whole Twilight Zone-iness/Hitchcockian vibe felt right as an homage. There would never have been a LOST without the introduction of the genre in the 50's and 60's.

It was nice getting a glimpse of Shannon, Boone and Artz again - I had forgotten how much of a witch Shannon was and how freakin' cute Ian Somerhalder is ;)

While yes, there is a certain level of frustration at the lack of overall plot development, I try to take the long view. In any long, drawn out story, there are bound to be lulls or boring parts. And if they answered all our questions right away, then why would we watch?

Also, I think Jen and Liz are right - I think the crux of the episode is Locke's whole "things don't stay buried on the island" concept. Couple it with Ben's "box" last week, and I hope/pray we're in for some more vintage LOST weirdness soon.

And who knows, maybe the spiders are the source of the "virus" or something. We never can tell.

To Kat:

Shallow graves yes, but it seems as if not enough time passed to help them get over their paralysis.

Not that LOST has anything to do with reality, but if their breathing was too shallow to be noticed and they were buried under the sand, they'd probably suffocate.

Then again...nothing stays buried on the island... ;)

The assumption seems to be that the writers killed off Nikki/Pablo because viewers disliked them. It seems clear to me that these characters were introduced for the sole purpose of this episode. Pablo using the toilet in the previous episode was clearly done so that it would be a cool flashback in this episode. I think the writers had the idea for burying someone alive but didn't want to waste any of the main characters so they created two new ones. Having them pop up every once and a while was necessary to set this up. Also, if the writers had wanted them to become regular characters they would have appeared more since episodes are filmed weeks before they are aired. Pablo/Nikki would have been in many episodes before fan reaction became known.

I enjoyed last weeks and this weeks episodes. It was a nice change of pace. I do admit to clapping when I thought Paolo and Nikki were both dead. A great twist and a credit to the writers that they were only paralyzed. Also, a nice touch with Nikki opening her eyes as they were being buried. One of the characters made a comment about the heart rate slowing so as to appear dead. Had to have been Nikki or the teacher. Since the characters are not completely pointless anymore I could almost enjoy having them come back. The writers would get too much criticism for ripping off Kill Bill though.

I strongly disagree that Nikki and Paulo were sacrificed due to fan hatred. The producers have been saying for awhile that they have a plan for these two. Says Lindelof in January, "We had a plan when we introduced them...when the plan is executed, Nikki and Paulo will be iconic characters on the show."

"Iconic."

So while this episode might seem like a throwaway at the moment, I strongly feel that down the road we will be looking back on this one as being quite important. So whether or not Nikki and Paulo are dead, they are certainly not gone from the LOST world.

Also, when the camera showed just the two of them laying next to each other in their grave, was anyone else reminded of the two dead bodies found in the cave from season 1? Often called "Adam & Eve"

http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Adam_And_Eve

This ploy used by the writers - a poisonous spider bite that makes the victim seem to be dead - will not work. If a poison paralyzes the arms and legs, it also paralyzes the muscles needed for breathing. The victim dies of respiratory failure. The same idea has been used to explain Haitian "zombies" which also cannot work for the same reason. The writers should learn some pharmacology! Dead really is dead.

They are really playing with our minds. I expected Miss Marple to come traipsing out of the bushes any time last night.... What I got out of the last scene was that Nikki and Paolo began to come out of the paralytic state just as the dirt was being shoveled over them. So the biggie deal is: were they able to get out of there or will they smother under the dirt. And yes, Sawyer throwing away all those diamonds!!! Hmmm...... I didn't get the feeling that last night's episode really is getting us to any point of understanding. Just a little side trip.

My prediction: Sawyer will dig up the diamonds just in time to save Nikki and Paolo from a horrific end. Sawyer cares about the diamonds, don't you worry.

Maybe we will see Sawyer quickly running back to the graves after everyone leaves, so he can get the diamonds. Then he'll discover that Nikki is not dead.

Neuro guy--is this where the show loses credibility for you?

How about "lying in the sub-flooring of an underground bunker that explodes really is dead"--yet see Desmond.

How about "plunging out of the sky in a burning, disintegrating airplane really is dead"--yet several survivors had not a scratch.

How about "Billy Dee Williams's career really is dead," as I surely thought before seeing his stunning 30 second cameo as Mr. LaShade, a/k/a the COBRA.

Just saying: If we can't suspend our disbelief over poison spiders we'll never enjoy a show like Lost.

ok Julie, we think alike at the same time!

I wasn't sure from the Ben/Juliet flashback if that meant that Ben got captured on purpose to set up the whole trade for Michael thing? He didn't appear beatup then, so I'm thinking it was before he was captured in Russea's net. Also remember that Ben planted the trade idea in Jack's mind.

Anyone else think that Sawyer is going back to dig up the diamonds as soon as everyone walks away? Maybe getting a nasty surprise like Nikki or Paolo grabbing him... might be a cheap scare, but knowing Sawyer and his nicknaming abilities it could also make for some great humor.

Given Sawyer's con man ways, I assumed he switched out the diamonds. I don't see this as being redemptive.

10 minutes later and I'm still irked.

Liz, you say, "I don't know. I think the entire episode was the producers' way of saying: 'We goofed. Nikki and Paolo are lame and we sacrifice them to win back your good opinion.'"

Are you serious? Do you really think that the producers would take the risk of introducing these characters, refer to them as "iconic" in interviews and then suddenly say, "Our bad" and decide to waste an entire episode on their death just an apology to fans? After watching this show for almost 3 years now, you really think that is how the producers work?

That idea just seems absurd to me. If the producers wanted to be done with these characters, they certainly wouldn't waste the time, money and an entire episode! We'd just never see Nikki & Paulo again (like Rose & Bernard). Nikki & Paulo would disappear back into whatever part of the island kept them hidden for 2 seasons in the first place.

Maybe I'm naive or maybe I'm foolish, but I have to believe that this episode holds some kind of greater purpose.

In the beginning of last night's episode, when Nikki is having dinner with Zuckermann and complements Paolo on the food, he says "the secret is shaved truffles." Then later we see Dr. Arzt yelling "Pigs! Pigs!"

Of course, pigs are used to hunt buried truffles. And the "pigs" Nikki & Paolo who killed Zuckermann with poisoned truffle shavings end-up being poisoned by their own secret and buried truffles (ie. diamonds)

Nice!

Truffles are delicious -- and Liz is wrong.
Lay down the snark, girlfriend. It has its place, but not here. This was a cool episode.

Despite the many hints at issues of Purgatory or death and resurrection - I still think that the Others' project has something to do with cloning and/or organ donation. There are bits that remind me not only of the movie "The Island" but also Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, "Never Let Me Go". The Colossal Foot made me think that this island is something like the lost continent of Atlantis - where perhaps "mystical" healing or tissue regeneration can go on. I think the Others want the children and "perfect" ones for clones. Not only did Locke's father need a kidney transplant, but with all of Jack's father's drinking, maybe he needed a liver transplant.

sawyer throwing the diamonds away wasn't that out of character. he's a self-loathing good man whose done a lot of bad things and is trying to atone sporadically for a life gone wrong. Throwing the diamonds away in front of Sun,who was also at the funeral, was his way of apologizing to her. The redemption theme is a big part of the show, and the struggle to achieve it is crystallized in the Sawyer character moreso than anybody else.

another fine episode.

A couple of comments:

1. I just listened to the Cuse and Lindeloff podcast and they are (were as of a few days ago) writing the last four episodes, if that helps figure out the time it takes for the writers/producers to catch on to viewer sentiments.

2. What was the point of having Boone and Shannon appear in that scene at the airport? Bringing back the dead ought to have a purpose (like the good dr. Artz), but Boone and Shannon serving as a vehicle for Nikki to say, "let's not end up like that?" There's gotta be more to it. Does this mean more Boone and Shannon in upcoming episodes?

3. Jack's father: I recall an episode in Season (I think) where Jack is pleading with a airline rep to let him bring his father's body back home to the states. BUT you never find out if he actually gets his father aboard. Sure there's an empty casket that Jack finds, but does that necessarily mean there was a body in it?

I think the dog Vincent will dig up Nikki & Paulo. He was trying to tell the group the "poochies" weren't dead when he pulled the tarp off. Think about it.

voteprime - the similarities you noticed between N&P and the "Adam&Eve" bodies could be onto something, especially when the Producers called N&P "iconic" characters...

Right before the start of the spring episodes, during the Producers' chat about the show, they also said that the "Adam&Eve" bodies we're specifically placed there and discovered early on so that when the show is complete and all the mysteries are revealed, that the viewer could go back to the "Adam&Eve" discovery and know that the Producers knew where the show was going from the beginning...

I wonder now if the N&P "iconic" status and their visual similarities to "A&E" are not concidence...

On another note - Sawyer and anyone else would have to be crazy to go back for the diamonds. Trying to find small diamonds in a flowing substance like sand would be next to impossible and probably a huge waste of time for diamonds that are worthless on the island. (needle in a haystack-esque)

Once a con, always a con. Sawyer was just playing everybody. Maybe even himself. But he'll keep his eye on the (burial) plot and when the time comes, he'll be there to claim the mystery diamonds. And, either Nikki and Paulo will be there to greet him or they'll be long gone w/ the diamonds and their secrets.

Paulo definitely saw something. And, Paulo and Nikki operated on a totally different level from the other Losties. Why? I don't think the writers are so sloppy as to make these characters so nonchalant about the Pearl, etc. There's more to their story.

In a way, I think it was a well-crafted, subtle show that if you watch it at a superficial level you may be dissapointed. But, if you think about it a little more, one notes a whole bunch of interesting clues and ideas revealed.

As has been metioned...

Ben revealed he had a need and a plan for Jack all along.

Juliet's reference to the hatch as creepy. What really went on there? Surely, it's embued with descent and death.

Locke's great quote: nothing stays buried on the island.

Maybe the sleeper episode that'll be a linchpin for the rest of the season.

I liked the Tales From the Crypt feel of the episode. Great writing as a stand-alone.

How about Nikki's line about Boone and Shannon: "Let's never end up like them."

...and then they end up exactly like them - DEAD!!

Nice....

...of course they're probably not actually dead :)

So I've been thinking about why the writers would have Nikki and Paolo buried alive. Most people think they'll pull a Kill Bill and dig their way up. I really don't see what purpose that would serve.

I suspect that at some point someone (Sawyer?) will go dig them up to get the diamonds, or perhaps they'll just become unburied on their own, and the Losties will notice that they are now in very different poses than when they were buried. The bodies have now rigormortised into a position where it looks like they were trying to dige themselves free. Then Sawyer, Hugo, and others will have to deal with the incredible guilt of having killed 2 people by burying them alive.

The producers called Nikki and Paolo "iconic". They also said that there was going to be something important to do with the Adam & Eve skeletons.
Another case of twisted or Lost Time? Could Nikki & Paolo actually turn out to be those two?
I agree that the producers didn't sacrifice them just because we found them annoying...though I have to say I appreciate that for once they weren't killing off characters I actually liked. I was so sad about all the Tailies.

Anyone else notice Nikki's comment to the old guy after she was killed off on "Expose"? She says that the guest star always gets killed off. Significant? Discuss amongst yourselves.

"On another note - Sawyer and anyone else would have to be crazy to go back for the diamonds. Trying to find small diamonds in a flowing substance like sand would be next to impossible and probably a huge waste of time for diamonds that are worthless on the island. (needle in a haystack-esque)"

Posted by: Lost at Work | March 29, 2007 02:15 PM

Go back to the gold rush days in Alaska...that's how you find diamonds in sand. Use a sluice box and filter the small sand out of the larger diamonds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_panning

Does anyone remember Vincent very deliberately dragging the blanket off of Paulo and Nikki? Seems the dog knew from the start that those two weren't really dead and was trying to convey that message as best as he could.

Remember the dog pulled the tarp off them? Who's to say he won't dig them up before it's too late? With that kind of paralysis they'd need considerably less oxygen.

I vote not dead. Anyone who watched Alias knows that people aren't dead until you see their rotting corpse - and even then that may not be enough. Digging out from some sand is nothing compared to the miraculous ressurections that took place on that other Abrams/Bad Robot show so I've learned not to trust them at all.

I suspect that's not the last of those diamonds either...someone will be using them to barter for something.

And what about the Nikki's producer friend who had $8 mil. of off-the-record diamonds in his house?? Who's his wife? Is he tied to Dharma? That key around his neck looked an awful lot like the one Desmond used in the hatch.

I think the writers intentionally made N&P repulsive, by the way. Not sure why, but I expect we'll find out next week.

And maybe I'm forgetting, but isn't this the first time they've ever given us an actual timeline on the screen (e.g. "84 days ago....")

Another thing about the diamonds.

It seems that if one's going to give up the diamonds, then one is really just giving up.

In other words, one's accepting that their fate is cast -- they'll remain on the island, with no hope for rescue, with no future. Thus, the diamonds are worthless.

But, if one were to believe in being rescued, then they'd see value in the diamonds. In the future they'd have value.

Essentially, everyone agreed to short their lives. Guess it's a bull market at Camp Lostie.

Not sure why I remember this, but Nikki's director/lover on "Expose" asked her at the end if she wanted to come back for another episode. She said no, how could she, she'd been killed. He said, no big deal, we'll say you were wearing a bullet-proof vest. We do it all the time.
So, here's a guess -- poochies will return.

Technically, Nikki and Paulo aren't dead.

And, didn't they both act like they've been on the island before?

Seems like they know they'll get off the island one day and that's why their number one priority was finding the diamonds.

When did Nikki & Paolo first show up in the show?

After the hatch imploded, and Desmond went back in time and yes, did change some things -- like getting clocked himself, instead of the bartender.

Who haven't we seen since the hatch imploded?

Rose and Bernard. And Rose was suddenly nowhere to be seen in last night's "flashbacks" to Season one. Perhaps Nikki & Paolo were newly inserted because they WEREN'T there the first time through?

Course correction, anyone? Hmm?

ps, in more coincidences, where was the strip club in "Expose" located?

St. Paul. Home of the real Henry Gale. Presumed home of ... Rose and Bernard.

Discuss.

So the newspaper about the director guy his death read "English ex-pat Howard L. Zukerman, the creative force behind such hit shows as 'Exposé'. hmm, who do we know that is English and doesn't have a parental figure yet?

Nuero guy wrote: "This ploy used by the writers - a poisonous spider bite that makes the victim seem to be dead - will not work. If a poison paralyzes the arms and legs, it also paralyzes the muscles needed for breathing."

What about anesthesias or other medicines that sedate people? I get the reasoning, but we're actually talking more of the venom acting the nervous system, which does not include the heart.

Sammy...good thought. I assume you're thinking about Desmond not having a parental figure yet, yes?

Sammy, who are you talking about? Desmond?

I assumed Sammy was talking about Charlie. I know we've seen his brother, but don't think we know anything about his parents.

I haven't seen it yet, but I did record it. Now that I've read the spoilers and know that Nikki & Paolo come to horrible ends (yay!), I will be happy to watch it.

Thanks neuro guy. I was just about to make your point about paralysis. If you can't move, you can't breathe!

So you think the writers/producers would just say "Yeah, you're right, it IS purgatory" if it was? Or would they deny it so their ultimate reveal isn't revealed in the very beginning?

"And, didn't they both act like they've been on the island before?

Seems like they know they'll get off the island one day and that's why their number one priority was finding the diamonds."

Their first prority was finding the diamonds because they thought that they would be rescued soon, and wanted to retrieve them before that happened. Nikki says something like, 'we can't ask the rescus boats to wait while we look for the diamonds.' They obviously stop searching for them after a while, because during the scene on the beach, Paolo says that he is glad that they "didn't" find them.

to not so sure...

it is not that uncommon in medicine to paralyze or sedate a patient. but when you do, you have to intubate them because you'll paralyze their lungs too. if you can't move from the neck down, you can't breathe. you're heart won't stop until your brain is too deprived of oxygen to tell it to beat, but you can't breathe.

1) what's the deal with "the pigs are marching" statement by Artz?

2) I really hope this whole show isn't some religious thing. The writers have repeatedly said it is not purgatory, etc.

I hope that is true - I would be very disappointed.

There's a smoke monster...I think it's ok to let the writers have their talented spider. Otherwise, you also have to wonder why nobody else has beem bitten by it, since its clearly aggressive.

Re: "The pigs are marching." It's a reference to Orwell's "Animal Farm," which according to wikipedia is "regarded in the literary field as one of the most famous satirical allegories of Soviet totalitarianism."
Specifically, he's referring to when the pigs on the farm take over and decide they know what's best for all the other animals. It leads to a terrible abuse of power and the pigs learn to walk on their hind legs.

They're not coming back, because, as we know, "Poochie died on the way back to his home planet."

I noticed after Hugo's eulogy, everyone scattered away and then you see Nikki's eyes opening and then all of the suddenn Sawyer and hugo were done filling up the hole. I am thinking after everyone scattered, hugo and sawyer did something fishy...there could be a big story between Nikki's eye opening and the last scene with filled hole.

Henry Gale was from Wayzata, not St. Paul. Difference of at least 20 miles, which is a distance in the cities!

I can't find any reference for a Medusa spider. However, the Medusa of mythology was a female so terrible that to gaze upon her turned the viewer into stone. According to Wikipedia, some say the goddess Athena gave Medusa's magical blood to the physician Asclepius, some of which was a deadly poison and the other had the power to raise the dead.

If Paolo was really hiding the diamonds because he didn't want them to come between him and Nikki, then why did he go BACK to the hatch to fish them out? Did he really think Nikki was going to go looking in the back of a toilet in a random hatch? I think it was a pretty darn good hiding place. It was clear that he left the diamonds in the toilet even after he found out that the Others frequented that hatch, so it probably wasn't to protect them from the Others getting them.

Hurley: Nicki's dead, dude. Me: Who the hell is Nicki? Sawyer: Who the hell is Nicki?

The beauty of this show: we're ALL Losties!

Does anyone wonder, as my husband and I do, if Michael and Walt will come back?
On this show, anything's possible, right?

Wow. The point about how Rose and Bernard disappeared and Paulo and Nikki showed up is a very good point. But...what about Rose's cancer? The only reason she was alive in the first place was because the plane crashed and the island (or something) cured her cancer. So if Desmond changed the future, Rose may be dead now.

I can't believe that more is not being made of the Smoke Monster noise that occured right before all the spiders came! If there was anything at all redeeming about this episode it was that and all the implies.

I love Lost and usually relish every epsiode but thsi was a freaking clip show designed to save money. The plot was obvious (if you introduce deadly spiders in the first act they better come to play by the last). The dialog was overwrought and the characters acted like parodies of themselves. It really was hack tripe.

Although I have to admit that the idea of N & P (Never Again Please!) are like Adam And Eve from season 1 is very interesting. In fact it made me think about the deaths so far on the Island all are joined in similar circumstances: Boone and Shannon, Anna Lucia and Mr. Eko (not a couple but clearly friends), Danny and Colleen, and Mikhail and Ms Klugh (there did seem to be something in the subtext between those two). The only ones who don't fit the pattern are Ethan, Artz and Libby. But still food dor thought.

I meant to add to an earlier comment about Boone being gay. Shannon said something about Boone should stop flirting with random guys. As much as I would love to have Boone be gay I just don't think that's the case. Remember his back story - Boone was obsessed with his step-sister, Shannon and had just had sex with her the night before they arrived at the airport. Now while I can't claim to have polled all the gay men in the world, I think the number who fantasize about having sex with their half-sister is probably closer to zero than one. I took Shannon line as yet another example of how she knew she had complete control over Boone and how she was doing her best to emasculate him. And what better way than to question his masculinity by that old chesnut of slurring his sexuality in front of strangers. Go rewatch all the airport scenes and see how Shannon spends the whole time making Boone's life miserable.

I just thought it was rollicking good fun. So great to see Ethan, Boone, Shannon et al.! And the director's comment about bullet-proof breasts was perfect.

Any week with a little less Kate is a good week for me.

I very much liked how scenes from previous episodes were retrofitted into this one. To me, showing the same time period - even the same series of events - from a different character's perspective is almost always a fascinating technique in fiction and helps deepen and enrich a story (Like that famous Japanese movie Rashomon ... like in Pulp Fiction ... to name but two examples).

Some posters associated the premature burial theme with Hitchcock and Twilight Zone, but it is most closely associated with Edgar Allen Poe. And not just in his short story "The Premature Burial." I recently watched a series of those early 60s' Poe movies directed by Roger Corman and usually starring Vincent Price and quite a few of them deal with the dread (in some cases, warranted) of being buried alive.

I had no problem with Sawyer's discarding the diamonds. As much as he cultivates his bad-boy-don't-give-a-damn persona, he sure did not want to be accused of murdering Nikki and Paolo and discarding the diamonds was one way of declaring his innocence.

So if Ben and Julliet went to the Pearl to watch Jack then does that mean that they knew that Desmond was down there all that time pushing the button before the plane crash and left him alone?

I thought it was strange that Paolo's second "hiding place" for the diamonds was in his pants. If Nikki was his girlfriend, she would have found them at some point, unless Paolo wasn't getting any.

I agree with an earlier comment that something may have happened between when Nikki opens her eyes and when we finally see the graves filled up. For all we know that was an hour later after N&P woke up, got out, and Sawyer and Hurley filled in the hole finally.

More probably I think the dog will dig them up before they die, as other people have mentioned. I don't think anything on this show is meaningless, including these two.

Like everyone else, I have been annoyed by the questionable introduction of Nikki and Paolo, but actually enjoyed learning more about their characters this week. Everyone keeps piling on about how bad they are, but why has no one mentioned that as Paolo is slipping into paralysis he tells Nikki that the reason he didn't tell her was because he was afraid he would lose her. A ploy? Perhaps. Or maybe we got some insight into his character and he's not so bad. Nikki looked "touched" by the sentiment as well and I thought seemed to regret what she had done with the spider.

"...as Paulo is slipping into paralysis he tells Nikki the reason he didn't tell her about finding the diamonds was because he was afraid he would lose her."

A little off topic but I was watching the first "hurley" episode last night. (numbers) And I had completely forgotten something about that episode. He is with his financial advisor and finally realizes that his money isn't cursed his numbers are. Moments later a body falls past the window in the office building. My jaw dropped! That couldn't be Locke being shoved out the window by his father could it? Many flaws about this theory but the thought of it made my spine tingle. And not in the paralyzed way. Could Hurley's numbers have cursed Locke into a life in a wheelchair and the hatch be some way for Locke to atone by entering in the very same numbers?

Problems with the theory,

1.We don't really have a good idea of the time frame of hurley's backstory. We do know that Locke has been in a wheelchair for 4 yrs. Could Hurley have won the money that long ago?

2.I Dont' know why but for some reason I want to say John's Last episode took place in Florida. Hurley would most likely be in California. Though it woulld make more sense that Locke's episode took place in Cali. I think I'm just being thrown off by the title "Man from Tallahassee".

3. Hurley's obviously in an office building and Locke is in a residential facilty. In a large building like that I think it is possible to have both though.

4.I freeze framed the person falling out he window from the dvd and the clothes could match what Locke was wearing but the person seemed to have a good crop of hair which even on his best days we know Locke wasn't so lucky.

Still sends chills up my spine! I would love to hear ya'lls thoughts on this. Iknow this would have been apt last week but as we all know time has a funny way of revealing things at different times for different reasons. Hope this post isn't too late for feedback.

"The pigs are walking!!!!!"

"That couldn't be Locke being shoved out the window by his father could it?" I don't recall any glass falling with the body. However, there is indeed a connection between Hurley and Locke. In that same scene, the financial advisor is going over Hurley's assets and mentions that he now owns a box company. Locke worked for a box company. I don't own the DVD's so I was never able to go back and check if the box company names are the same, but I suspect they are.

"That couldn't be Locke being shoved out the window by his father could it?" I don't recall any glass falling with the body. However, there is indeed a connection between Hurley and Locke. In that same scene, the financial advisor is going over Hurley's assets and mentions that he now owns a box company. Locke worked for a box company. I don't own the DVD's so I was never able to go back and check if the box company names are the same, but I suspect they are.

I always assumed it was the same box company. I don't believe they mention the name of the comapny in that scene. Good point about the glass Buck. Though the scene was so quick and out of focused that it is possible for us to not see the glass.

Curiouser and curiouser

Re: "What was the point of having Boone and Shannon appear in that scene at the airport? Bringing back the dead ought to have a purpose (like the good dr. Artz), but Boone and Shannon serving as a vehicle for Nikki to say, "let's not end up like that?" There's gotta be more to it. Does this mean more Boone and Shannon in upcoming episodes?"

I reacted to this as if it were foreshadowing: "like them" referring to the fact that Shannon and Boone are dead. There were several instances of foreshadowing in this episode, the first being when Nikki and Paolo killed her director/boyfriend with poison, hinting that they would be poisoned later on.

I also believe that Stephen King wrote a short story in which a guy is wheeled into a morgue in a state of paralysis after being bit by a spider. He is not dead and is aware of what is happening to him, but he can't communicate with the undertakers to make them stop the autopsy. I think he ultimately shows a sign of life and the autopsy is ultimately halted, and he survives. Locke explaining that :nothing stays buried on this island" also reminded me of Stephen King's Pet Sematary.

SEARCH:LOSER, your comment made me think of something - I wonder if the building that Locke got thrown out of is the same building that Juliet's ex-husband was standing in front of right before he was run over by the bus? That was in Florida and I also felt like Locke and his father were in Florida too. I would have to go back and watch because the only thing I remember is that they were both white high rises with a lawn in the front.

Renee, I don't know why I feel like Locke got paralyzed in Fl. I have to rewatch the episode. Just a hunch I guess. But I do think it makes more sense to take place in Cali. He did have the women's son look for him at his house as well as the cops. So it would be hard to imagine that he just flew back and forth a lot. Unless Locke spent time in FL that we have not yet learned about.

Ghitza -- The Stephen King short story you refer to was his update of a famous Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode (from Hitchcock's TV series). In the original version, the man is totally paralyzed (and wrongly thought dead) after a car accident and is only saved from unintentionally vivisection when one of the autopsy attendants notices a teardrop coming out of his eye. In the Stephen King variation, the paralyzed guy is saved by having an erection (I'm not makin' this up, folks) while on the autopsy table, which causes the assembled throng to realize he's not dead.