DO NOT ENTER

(SCREENCAPS FROM LOST-MEDIA.COM)

Locke, Kate and Sayid met the keeper of the Flame this week in "Enter 77," an episode that wasn't up there with my all-time faves, but one which certainly delivered plenty of action, more than a few laughs, and a flashback that was tight, involving and, ultimately, quite touching.

Set in Paris, the flashback forced Sayid to acknowledge and accept responsibility for torturing an Iraqi woman while he was a member of Saddam's Republican Guard.

Apparently, Sayid was merely doing his job; just as Mikhail was (apparently) doing his job when he shot and killed Ms. Klugh in the episode's confounding final quarter.

Strange, isn't it? After all this time, we still can't figure out The Others, predict how they will act in a given situation, or understand why they do ANYTHING.

One minute, we think they're eccentric scientist types left over from Dharma; the next minute they seem to be "Lord of the Flies" wackos with serious territorial issues; then, bad guys who see see themselves as good guys; then...

Then, along come the events of "Enter 77" and we're confused all over again.

THE SHOOTING: Even without the translation relayed to us by Jeff ["Lost: Off The Island'] Heimbuch (in the comments section of our previous post), it seemed pretty obvious to us that Ms. Klugh...

...had ORDERED Mikhail to kill her. But why??

As near as I can figure out, Klugh hid in the basement because she didn't want Kate to recognize her and associate her (and The Others) with Mikhail. But, once that cat was out of the bag, why would she would order him to kill her?

On the surface, her execution suggested that she was involved in some mission of vital importance; and that if she didn't die (like one of those desperately loyal characters in a spy movie), that some greater whole would be imperiled.

But does that really make sense?

Klugh had to know that her death wouldn't prevent Sayid from holding Mikhail prisoner. So, with that in mind, it does seem as though she sacrificed herself to save him during the standoff. That SORT OF makes sense, but it also begs one last question: If she was giving the orders, then why was she so anxious to preserve the life of someone who worked under her?

HOSTILITIES: At this point it is almost impossible for us to determine what was true and what wasn't in the near-endless stream of information spilled by Mikhail Bakunin.

Just like us, Sayid and Kate seemed to smell a rat right from the get-go. For starters, it made almost no sense that Mikhail would identify himself to a group of plane crash survivors as "the last living member of the Dharma Initiative" -- as if Dharma was some sort of household name, like Wal-Mart or Burger King.

Conversely, why would he pretend to accept the plane crash story without asking them anything about the crash or -- more importantly -- where they got their guns?

And, while we're at it, no matter WHO he thought they were, why explain the cables and acknowledge the existence of the submarine?

In recounting his Dharma recruitment, he said he was once stationed at a military listening post in Vladivostok. Does that have anything to do with the two men we saw in the S-2 finale who were working for Penny Widmore?

Mikhail also made reference to others -- though not necessarily "The Others" -- as "hostiles." This is a term we've heard before from Desmond and Kelvin, and we also hear it in the Flame station's video.

From where we were sitting, though, it seemed unlikely that Mikhail would use the term "hostiles" without first asking the 815'ers if they had encountered any other people on the island since their crash.

It also makes us wonder, once again, who's who on this wacky island. Juliet told us that Dharma "was a long time ago." And yet, the island still gets Dharma-stamped food and other supplies delivered by air.

When crossing the island -- and in their earliest dealings with the 815'ers -- Ben's people wore rags and other disguises. Was this to scare the 815'ers, or to "blend in" with some other (more hostile) faction living in the woods?

After all was said and done, Mikhail did insist that his story about "The Purge" was true: That there had been a war between the Dharmas and the hostiles, and that the Dharmas had been wiped out. Of course, that still doesn't explain the food drops.

At this point, what really matters is: Does another group live on this island? And if so, who are they?

DANIELLE, AGAIN: What else can we say about Rousseau that we haven't said already? She has been on this island for 16 years and yet never stumbled over Mikhail, his noisy cows and the Flame station. (For that matter, she also never stumbled over those neatly manicured bungalows in Ben-sylvania. How big IS this island, anyway? The tailies seemed to cross it in just a few days.)

Rousseau joins Sayid, Kate and Locke for yet another traipse through the woods, and yet decides -- once a plan is hatched for Sayid to enter the premises -- that it's time for her to disappear.

When she does return -- seemingly out of nowhere -- it seems as though Mikhail recognizes her voice.

And, as we groused last week, the ONE PERSON on the island who could have explained the Rousseau/Alex/Ben triangle to us -- kooky Karl -- took off for points unknown before anyone could question him.

Is Rousseau an Other? A hostile? A Dharma leftover? I'm beginning to wonder if she's even French.

11-12: Mikhail told us he was born on the same date as Nadia Comaneci. The date is Nov. 12 -- yeah, I looked it up -- and it's a birthday shared by the late Princess Grace, the charming Tonya Harding, and everyone's favorite psychopath Charlie Manson. Beyond that 11 and 12 do add up to 23 -- but come on. That number stuff is SO Season Two.

SAWYERISM OF THE WEEK: Yeah, you guessed it: Calling Paolo "Zorro." It killed me.

Anyhoo...I did like this episode, even if I didn't love it, and I'm kind of stuck between B and B+.

For those of you who were kind enough to ask, my parents are doing OK. It's been a long week though, so I'm sorry to be so late with this post, and also for not being my usual lucid self...

Comments

[Michelle]

I liked this episode. The Sayid flashback was done well. I really wasn't sure until the end if he really tortured the woman.

Poor Locke every time he thinks he's doing the right thing - he blows up a station instead.

As far as the Mrs. Klugh/Mikhail standoff goes. I think he was supposed to shoot himself after he shot her. But Sayid stops him and doesn't "finish the job" as Mikhail asks. Even Danielle wanted him dead. And yes I also think they know each other.

Lots of information this episode - but not much that makes any sense yet. just enough to give me a nice headache trying to figure it out.

Bill -Glad to hear you parents are better.

[Barry]

Hey Bill, glad to hear your folks are doing well, and I think we all appreciate your excellent analysis. I saw the Ms. Klugh/Patchy thing as Michelle said, i.e., Patchy tried to blow his own brains out, but Sayid stops him. I think the idea is that they know stuff that's so horrific that they can't take a chance that someone--i.e., Sayid--will torture it out of them (which reminds me, how about '24' this week?).
Remember, the Ben-folk know all about the 815ers, so Klugh knows Sayid can torture people.
I was thinking maybe Klugh and Mikhail were romantically linked, but that's not why she told him to kill them both.
The translation that Jeff provided is really good stuff, though.
Bottom line, I liked this ep a lot, as questions are answered more pop up. Bill, I agree with many of your points, which can be summed up as: there's still so much we don't know. But it's getting real interesting now.

[Barry]

I forgot to mention somethng...Mikhail says he's the last surviving member of Dharma, and Bill remlnds us that Juliet said Dharma was a long time ago, but he also brings up that Dharma-products are still delivered to the Island. And from this ep we see that a food-drop can be ordered through the chess computer. My point is, it has always bothered me that all of these products have the Dharma label on them. Why is it so? Why not send regular products? I wonder, where are these products made--somewhere nearby, perhaps? And, when someone inputs the code for a food drop into the computer, do the people at the other end know who actually input the request? I say, no. Whoever sends the food, etc., has no idea what is actually going on on the island. The fail-safe for the flame station, the Dharma communications hub to the outside world, was the C4, in case the hostiles took over. But those at the other end, who receive the messages, the requests for food, etc., are literally blind to who is sending the request. I think Ben and his people, including Mikhail, are the real hostiles. That's my theory, anyway, and I welcome comments.

[Chris]

I though this was the best episode of the season. It was right out of the Season 1 book:
Some Mystery, some questions asked, some funny stuff out of Hurley. The preview of next week looks good also, but what 2 Losties have not yet met?

If Mikhail was ordering the food, is it going to stop?
What is up with Danielle? I think she is an Other. She is always disappearing and acting secretively.
Did Sayid take the schematic with him?

Guess we need to stay tuned.

[Bill Ervolino]

A few things here. Dianna: the iced tea was yellow because...well, I dont know. But Mikhail did say he grew his own tea, and some green teas look yellow when they're brewed.
As for Danielle being an Other, I did post the argument for that in my Oct. 17 post. (Check this sites Oct. archive.)
I think the reference to the previous relationship refers to Jack having a sister. We got this from the Ana Lucia flashback last year when Christian and Ana went to a house in Sydney. It was strongly hinted at that time that Claire and Jack might be siblings. We dont know this for sure, though, and it seemed almost too obvious, so perhaps there's a twist involved.
As far as the hostiles, I also wrote about this last year (I'd have to check the archive again) about my theory that there is another group on the island living underground. This was something I had wondered about for a while, but it was jump-started again when we saw Eko in the cave, after the Swan implosion. I'll write more about this at a later date, but I think at some point the action on the island will be the 815'ers and The Others versus this other group of people. Another possibility could be the 815'ers and the hostiles vs. Ben's group. It's an interesting prospect...

[Barry]

In a previous post, Chris thinks Danielle is an Other. I think so, too. To add to the reasons Chris gave: she must have seen the flame station before, c'mon, after 16 years? Bill, I know you're with me on that one from your comment and previuos posts; she won't go along when Sayid, Kate and Locke make their move BECAUSE she is a confederate of Patchy, or perhaps because Ben has a hold over her that concerns Alex; finally, when she rejoins the 815ers, she says "kill him" re: Patchy, but it's like the old Gestapo trick (see "North by Northwest"), to kill one of your own to gain someone's confidence. In this case, it's just her saying to kill him. It's like last season, she delivers Ben to the 815ers, and even shoots him with an arrow--not fatally--to gain their confidence, so they don't suspect she's in cahoots with Ben, the Others or the hostiles, or whoever they are. So the theory is Danielle's an other, the only caveat is that Ben may have some kind of leverage over her. But, who knows anything for sure...can't wait for the next installment.

[Dani]

Hi everyone. I just wanted to let Bill and all fellow Losties know that on DarkUFO.com there is a blog about Lost. Some people commented, and one of them knew what Mikhail was saying. It is translated. Off the top of my head it was something like Ms.Klugh saying "Just do it, kill me, you know the plan. They already have 2 of us." Something like that. Alright, just wanted to let you know!