Season 4, Episode 8: "Meet Kevin Johnson"

A little disappointed in this episode - I don't really feel like we learned that much.

Here are a few things we learned about "Kevin Johnson" aka Michael. So he and Walt do in fact get rescued when Ben gives them the boat. They go back to NYC and Walt goes to live with Michael's mother. Walt won't speak to Michael after he told him that he had to kill Ana Lucia and Libby in order to get them rescued. His mother doesn't understand where they were for those two months and now all of a sudden returned and won't let her call them by name or give any explanation. Obviously they are having to lie about where they were, I'm sure that Ben blackmailed them and made them promise to keep the secret about the island in exchange for letting them go. Although, now Michael just wants to die and tries to kill himself several times. However he can't die. Tom comes back to find him (confirming that up to that point, the Others could in fact go to/from the island as they pleased), and he tells him that he cannot kill himself, that the island won't let him. He still has work to do. (This is similar to Locke, when Ben tried to kill him, the "island" kept him alive because his work was not done, which coincidentally came to him in a "vision" from Walt).

So, it would seem to me that any others who have supposedly "died" and were not dead, is because the ISLAND still had plans for them. For example, the first time that the eyepatch guy dies (in the "electric fence incident") but then he comes back as we saw with Charlie in the underwater hatch. And maybe this also has to do with the "healing" powers of the island....those people who still have work to do, whose purpose is not fulfilled, can be "cured" of their sickness on the island because the island is not ready for them to die yet.

For example, with Charlie, he WAS allowed to die because he completed his "purpose" on the island. The island didn't need him anymore, which was why he did in fact die. Remember there were several times before that he was supposed to die, but other things interfered. First, when Ethan hung him from the tree back in the first season. Then last year all of those times that Desmond supposedly "saved" him from dying. This was his final mission, and the island let him die after he carried out his FATE. (which was to turn off the jamming equipment in order to save everyone else)

So, now I am wondering of course, if the same thing holds true for Michael. He WANTS to die, but can't, until he fulfills his purpose. Just like Charlie, his purpose is saving all of the people on the island that he already sold out. If this is true, I am wondering now if it is actually MICHAEL in the coffin. Once they are rescued, that could finally be the purpose that he has fulfilled, and he could finally be able to kill himself. It would make sense, because no one goes to the funeral. (As Kate said, why would she go?) They are still upset with him for turning on them in the first place. And obviously Walt and his mother are shunning him too. And maybe what happened to Michael, is the same thing that is happening to (future) Jack. We know Jack was going to kill himself, too, but something else "interferred" with that being able to happen (the car accident). He becomes this complete wreck, and he just wants to die. Maybe Jack can't die either until he fulfills some purpose as well ???

One more note about people not being able to die...let's say that all of the people on the plane who survived the crash were people that the island needed? Obviously, more than 2/3 of the people on the plane did actually die. I think there were something like 48 original survivors. (out of 324). So, maybe the ones who did not die were all people who the island needed to fulfill some purpose?

WHO TO BELIEVE?
The other big thing is that there are two different sides of the "story" about what the freighter is in fact doing there. The question is, who do we believe? Ben says that they are there for him, and to exploit the island, and that they were instructed by Widmore to kill everyone on the island after they kill him. He also says that it was Widmore who planted the plane wreckage and staged the crash. On the other hand, the freighter captain says that Ben is the "bad guy" and that they are there to get him. Faraday and Charlotte, of course, say that they are there to turn off the gas so that Ben cannot kill everyone on the island as he has done before, making it seem like they are "saving" everyone. So, which story do we believe? To be honest, I kind of believe Ben. I think we just don't know the bigger picture yet. He may have had to do those things in order to truly protect and/or save everyone else, or the island. I don't know. Obviously there is a lot that we still don't know. But obviously Ben has some things up his sleeve and cannot tell everyone yet what exactly his reasons are.

I'M BEN'S DAUGHTER!
So, the last big thing of course was that Carl and Danielle were shot, leaving Alex out there in the open and forced to surrender. Who did it? The obvious guess, to me, would be Ben, seeing as he was the one that sent them out there, and that it was all a setup. We know he has always wanted Carl dead, and he never seemed to like Rousseau either. Kind of like in the same way he is with Juliet (thinking that she "belongs" to him), I think he is the same way with Alex. She has never truly treated him like a real "father," and he wants her all to himself. Now that her mother is back in the picture, and she is more and more serious with Carl, Ben just wants to get them both out of the picture.

On the other hand, however, it could be that it was the freighter crew who killed them. Remember the helicopter is still gone from the freighter's landing deck, and last week the crew doctor told Sayid that Frank had to "run an errand." Where could he have gone but the island, and what is he doing there? We know they have machine guns on the boat, and their targets are very good. So, perhaps they knew about the temple and they are going there to kill those people. Although, if it is in fact them, and Alex gives herself up, it could be interesting to see how they use her to possibly get Ben. Hmmmm...

One more very small tidbit that I thought was worth mentioning...

- When Michael was sitting in his apartment trying to kill himself for the 2nd time, there is a game show on the tv in the background. The "answer" to the gameshow question is "Kurt Vonnegut." Of course, Kurt Vonnegut is a very famous author, most notably for his science fiction writing, the most famous of which was his novel Slaughterhouse Five (which deals with time travel and is about a man who is "unstuck in time.") Just thought it was interesting that was in there, as the writers always seem to throw these little snippets in the flashbacks that clearly have a lot to do with the show!

So we are getting our new episodes of Lost on April 24th. While that is a long time, I am pretty happy, as I was afraid it was going to be much longer than that. And of course, I must admit that I was wrong about the Oceanic Six as they did show in the promos for the next episode who exactly they are. In the preview, it said something like, now that we know who the Oceanic Six are... and then shows flashes of Sayid, Jack, Sun, Hurley, Aaron and Kate. So I guess it is actually Aaron (and not Ben like I suspected!) Oh well. I can admit when I am wrong :)

Anyway, until a month from now....