Hiatus Spoilers Galore (and More!)

Tons of great LOST spoilers have surfaced during the mid-season hiatus. But first, let's recap the mid-season finale, "I Do," and get into some news.

In the mid-season finale, "I Do," Juliet tells Jack that she took Ben's blood tests and made all the notations. Is it remotely possible that Ben's tumor might be benign, and Juliet is just using her medical knowledge to trick Jack into putting his life in danger?

Later, there is a scene in which Alex breaches the compound where Kate and Sawyer are working, and begins to attack the guards with her slingshot. Alex demands of Pickett, "What did you do to him, Danny? Where is he?! I want to talk to Ben." Presumably, the "him" to which Alex refers is Karl, based on her next comment to Kate. This dialogue is also interesting because it seems to indicate that Alex trusts Ben. As Alex is dragged away, she yells to Kate, "Whatever they say, don't believe them! They're going to kill your boyfriend, just like they killed mine." Apparently Alex thinks that Karl has been killed, although this has not yet been confirmed on the show.

When Kate talks with Jack through the glass wall, Kate tells him that "They're making us work. I don't know what it is, but it's big." We've only seen Kate and Sawyer breaking and hauling rocks, but for some reason Kate seems to think that there's some greater purpose for their labor. When Jack asks Kate, "Did they hurt you?" she begins to sob, which might indicate that she was hurt after the beach breakfast with Ben before being taken to the cages, or she might simply have been crying because of her fear that they might kill Sawyer.

Before Ben's surgery, he asked Juliet, "Did Alex ask about me?" Juliet replied, "No, we took her home last night. I don't know where she is now." First, it seems from Ben's question that he cares about Alex and was concerned about her. Second, Juliet's response, assuming that it is trustworthy, leaves us to wonder about the timeline of events. If Alex had already been taken "home" (presumably to the main island) the night before, then did this take place before or after Alex opened the door to Jack's cell? While watching the episode, I assumed that Alex had already been taken home and had made her way back to the "Alcatraz" island before she released Jack. This certainly seems feasible if Alex has some way of her own to travel between the islands—and I believe she does—possibly the "subterranean conduit" mentioned on the blast door map. I have a strong hunch that Alex will come to Kate and Sawyer's rescue as they try to escape the island. Refer to the TheoryCast for more discussion of this topic, as well as the spoilers later in this post.

The producers of LOST have recently been in talks with ABC to officially decide how many seasons LOST will run. This will give them a target from which to figure out how to pace the story. The executive producers have previously said they're hopeful that LOST will last around 100 episodes, or 4-5 seasons.

The LOST "mobisodes" that were supposed to have run during the hiatus haven't happened. A source claims that the mobisodes are on hold indefinitely due to difficulties in negotiations with actors. In lieu of the mobisodes, there have been 13 "LOST Moments" on ABC's Web site, one for each week of the hiatus. Each one shows a scene from an upcoming episode in Season 3. Some of the most interesting moments include the following. (Please note, the remainder of this post contains several spoilers.)

• Charlie calls Desmond a coward and they get in a fight
  
  
• As Charlie and Hurley are about to ransack Sawyer's stash, Desmond appears and tells them to come with him
  
  
• Claire is lying face down in the ocean, and Desmond swims out to her. Meanwhile, Charlie sees Sun holding Aaron and asks where Claire is, and begins to run toward the water. The next thing we see is Desmond bringing Claire back to the shore
  
  
• Jack is in an outdoor cage (so obviously this is some time after Ben's surgery and Kate and Sawyer's attempted escape), and he awakens to find several people watching him—including flight attendant Cindy, who disappeared shortly before Ana Lucia shot Shannon. Jack asks "How did you end up with them?" to which she replies with a smile, "It's not as simple as that, Jack." This may be a hint that Cindy has been working with the Others all along (which would confirm a suspicion I've had since her mysterious disappearance). The manner in which Cindy speaks to Jack is very similar to the way Juliet has spoken to him: she clearly enunciates each word, and calls him by name frequently. She tells him, "We're here to watch, Jack."
  
  Interestingly, Cindy may not be the only survivor of the Flight 815 crash who is working with The Others. On the Generally Speaking Lost Podcast, it has previously been mentioned that an unnamed male character whom fans are calling "Mr. Squinty" and an unnamed female character I'll call "Ms. Dreadlocks" have been seen working with The Others, as shown in these episode screenshots (courtesy of GSPN):
  

  
  

• In another LOST Moment that's very clearly from Episode 7, which will air this week, Kate talks to Jack on the walkie-talkie she took from Danny and tells him that she and Sawyer need a boat to get off the "Alcatraz" island. Suddenly, a bullet hits her walkie-talkie and it breaks in pieces. Kate and Sawyer run for cover as Danny and a gang of Others pursue them. As Kate ducks behind a tree, an Other pops up and aims a gun at her. He is instantly taken out and falls to the side, but no gunshot is heard; was he was taken out with a slingshot? This would support my theory that Alex will save Kate and Sawyer.
  
  
• In another clip that's probably from this week's episode, Tom asks Jack whether Juliet really asked him to kill Ben. He threatens Jack, saying that he will die if he lets Ben die, and Jack responds that he's willing to take his chances.
  
  
• A scene from a Jack flashback seems to take place in Thailand (or so I assume because that's where Jack got his tattoo, and the executive producers have revealed that we'll learn the tattoo story this season). My theory is that Jack went to Thailand after his marriage failed, and he sought worldly pleasures in an attempt to dull the pain of losing his beloved Sarah.
  
  
• Hurley slaps Charlie and exhorts him to go with him on a mission in which "there's a very good chance that you will die."
  
  
• Vincent runs out of the jungle toward Charlie and Hurley with a skeletal arm in his mouth. In the mummified hand is a key and a rabbit's foot (apparently, the rabbit's foot didn't bring much luck to its owner). Vincent runs back into the jungle and Hurley follows, instructing Charlie to tell someone if he's not back in three hours.
  
  
• Sawyer and Jin are sitting in a Volkswagen van in the middle of the jungle. Sawyer is teaching Jin some English phrases, and they appear to be drinking DHARMA brand beers. A mummified skeleton is sitting on the ground, propped up against the van. (This clip begs the question: how in the world did this vehicle get on the island??)
  
  
• Sawyer and Kate are on a small boat, making their escape from the island. Kate tells Sawyer to go back because they can't leave Jack.
  
  
• An older white woman, presumably an Other, reads Jack's tattoo aloud in Chinese and tells him that its meaning is ironic.

In a hiatus episode of The Official LOST Podcast, the executive producers revealed that the writing that John Locke found on Mr. Eko's Jesus stick—"lift up your eyes and look north"—will propel Locke on a mission. They also revealed that we're going to find out what happened to Desmond the second or third episode back.

ABC's official synopsis of this week's Juliet-centric episode, Not In Portland, is as follows:

Jack is in command as the fate of Ben's life literally rests in his hands. Meanwhile, Kate and Sawyer find an ally in one of "The Others," and Juliet makes a shocking decision that could endanger her standing with her people.

Some of the characters that will appear in this episode include Mr. Friendly/Tom, Ethan, Alex (Danielle Rousseau's daughter), Karl (Alex's boyfriend), Danny Pickett, and "a morgue employee." According to actress Elizabeth Mitchell, we'll find out why Juliet chose to join The Others.

Spoilers from Ryan Ozawa include that some of Juliet's flashbacks will take place at Miami Central University's Medical Research Laboratory, and Ethan will appear there as well.

Prepare to be shocked! Two major twists are coming up during the second half of Season 3. In a TV Guide interview, Damon Lindelof revealed the following:

There are two bombs being dropped, one of which is a character bomb, and that will happen within the first three episodes after the break. And the other is a more significant story bomb, a game-changer, as it were, and that will happen shortly after.

Those LOST fans who dislike Paulo's character (who along with Nikki was thrown into this season with a rather weak introduction) may be interested to hear that Rodrigo Santoro reportedly said in an interview that he would no longer be on the show past this season. Other spoilerish rumors indicate that Paulo will have a significant role to play in the show's plot before he's gone, however.

In a recent podcast interview [MP3 link] with Michael Emerson, who plays Benjamin Linus, Emerson gave several opinions and possible spoilers that are rather interesting:

• He seems to believe that The Others really might have super strength, as some fans have speculated
  
  
• He thinks that Charlie might be the next to die (possibly because of something he knows about an upcoming episode)
  
  
• If Ben dies on the operating table, "it is going to create a sort of absence of power at the center of Other culture, a vacuum of power that others may step into, which characters you haven't met yet. Frightening characters." My own speculation about this is that perhaps the Chinese-speaking woman may be Ben's replacement.
  
  
• When asked whether The Others work directly for the Hanso Foundation or DHARMA, Emerson said "No. Not the Others that we know."
  
  
• He revealed that Ben has truly lived on the island his whole life.
  
  
• He believes that The Others will once again be able to communicate with the outside world
  
  
• He confirmed that there is indeed more than one group of Others, and said that it is not an offshoot of Ben's group.

LOST is scheduled to return this Wednesday at its new time, 10:00 PM Eastern and Pacific. A brand new episode is expected every week all the way through the Season 3 finale.

Also, check in this weekend for a special podcast with Christian Piatt, the author of LOST: A Search for Meaning. It will be a round table discussion about religious references in LOST, featuring Piatt, Big-O from Cranky Fanatic, and Cliff Ravenscraft from Generally Speaking. If you buy Christian's book through this link you can currently save 20% off the cover price!