so what do y'all think the cable was that Sayid was following? i'm thinking it maybe led back to the crashed ship in the water.

I also noticed that Danielle didn't specify whether Alex was male or female. they didn't do that for no reason. heh.

Ah, this episode was great. I loved all the new characters, and I hope we continue to learn more about the other survivors. Hypochondriac guy SO has a case of the killer magical island disease rash! And whoever said that William Mapother (Ethan) was Poor Man's Nathan Fillion was spot-on. (Didn't see the resemblance to Holden/Knox/Tracy myself.) I was glad to see a reappearance of the monster(s)/bear(s)/whatever(s). And I loved the mention of the black rock--yay again for megan's translation!

I have to say, I was quite amused by the fact that everyone in the Republican Guard speaks English so fluently, not to mention the crazy French woman who'd been alone on the island for 16 years... Which reminds me that I think Liese's rant about actors playing across ethnic lines does actually apply to this episode, sadly. I mean, I knew that Naveen Andrews wasn't Iraqi--and his Arabic sounded kind of awkward--but it sure looked like the guy who played his superior officer was a white dude, which was both distracting and disappointing. I liked Nadia a lot, though.

And, okay, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to say... Sawyer was pretty freaking cute in this episode. Despite how much I still hate the character, it seems that I have finally succumbed to the power of the dimples. sigh.

There were a couple of things in the script that made me think of Buffy, probably because I knew Fury was the writer. Like the tight shot on Jack and Michael looking all serious, and then (of course) we see that they're standing on the golf green discussing which club to use--that's the kind of thing the ME writers love (loved?) to do.

You didn't hear about the polar bear?

Still waiting to see the repercussions from all this secret-keeping...

Yep, definitely didn't specify whether it was a boy Alex or a girl Alex.

True. And Sayid had a line in which he referred to Alex as "he", and Danielle gave him a look that suddenly made me think "hey, Alex is going to turn out to be a girl, isn't she?"

Okay. Sayid said he was responsible for Nadia's death. But the last we saw her she was escaping. We need more backstory!

Hey, that's right! And then he was all "I just hope one day I'll find her again!" What's the deal?

I'm curios to see if more people start hearing the whispers that Sayid was hearing at the end. Or, if that's what Locke has already heard, and heeded.

Ooooooooooooooh.

I loved all the new characters, and I hope we continue to learn more about the other survivors.

Yeah, I was impressed with the extras who got lines and even names! Anyone else catch the woman in the final golf scene who says, "Yeah!"?

I have to say, I was quite amused by the fact that everyone in the Republican Guard speaks English so fluently, not to mention the crazy French woman who'd been alone on the island for 16 years...

My question is, if she knew English, WHY THE FUCK WAS THE TRANSMISSION IN FRENCH?

And I loved the mention of the black rock--yay again for megan's translation!

OMG seriously. That was one hell of a moment, when I realized the actual translation of the message was coming into play. Very, very impressive.

Like the tight shot on Jack and Michael looking all serious, and then (of course) we see that they're standing on the golf green discussing which club to use--that's the kind of thing the ME writers love (loved?) to do.

And, well, who didn't pick up that immediately? Granted, that was a rare instance where they didn't use that at the beginning of an episode, but I totally called it.

Oh, by the way, people saw the preview for the next episode, right? Let's all start getting afraid for Claire...now.

My question is, if she knew English, WHY THE FUCK WAS THE TRANSMISSION IN FRENCH?

Well, or both. If you're putting out a distress call, I'd think you'd want to use all of the languages at your disposal. (What other languages does she know? When she was asking "Where is Alex?" I caught Spanish, Italian, and German, and I know there were more.)

Oh, by the way, people saw the preview for the next episode, right? Let's all start getting afraid for Claire...now.

NO! CLAIRE AND THE BABY WILL BE SAFE AND HAPPY FOREVER!

I have to say, I was quite amused by the fact that everyone in the Republican Guard speaks English so fluently

I don't think they did. I think that was a director's trick to indicate that they were still speaking in Arabic (?) but for the actors to continue in English to remove the need to subtitle half the ep. That's how it appeared to me at least.

This wouldn't have worked with "House of the Rising Sun" because we needed the HSQ of Sun speaking English.

I think that was a director's trick to indicate that they were still speaking in Arabic (?) but for the actors to continue in English to remove the need to subtitle half the ep.

Yeah, I actually got that, but I still thought it was funny, especially to have them start out in Arabic and switch over to English so quickly. Like I said, Naveen Andrews' Arabic sounded a little hesitant and awkward to me, so I can understand that if he doesn't already speak it fluently, it's going to be difficult for him to do those scenes. But it still bugged me a bit. Plus, then I couldn't figure out right away whether Danielle and Sayid were speaking English or French together (or Arabic???).

Yeah, that's what I thought was happening -- we had the magical translator gizmo in our teevees.

NO! CLAIRE AND THE BABY WILL BE SAFE AND HAPPY FOREVER!

This bears repeating.

I don't think they did. I think that was a director's trick to indicate that they were still speaking in Arabic (?) but for the actors to continue in English to remove the need to subtitle half the ep. That's how it appeared to me at least.

Yeah, it was very Hunt for Red October, only it was cooler in the movie. But, then, they had more time for that kind of thing.

it sure looked like the guy who played his superior officer was a white dude, which was both distracting and disappointing.

If I'm reading IMDB right, I believe the actor's Navid Negahban. There's no biographical information included, but I wouldn't necessarily assume they abandoned any pretense of realism and just cast Joe Random. (Mind you, I can't remember if the character's name actually was Omar, but I don't remember any other males in this episode who would have been significant enough to get actual names. I could be mistaken.)

(ETA: Oh, unless the guy Sayid was beating up on in the beginning was Omar. But no, I think that was "Prisoner". On the other hand, the woman who played Nadia was Andrea Gabriel, whose heritage I don't feel qualified to guess but who has in the past been cast as a Latina. Hollywood is a strange land -- on the other hand, we already knew that since Thomash and Sean live there.)

(EATA some linkage, and also to apologize for the nitpicky rambling; blame it on my Sociocultural class, and my blond-haired green-eyed Mexican American professor.)

Hey, that's right! And then he was all "I just hope one day I'll find her again!" What's the deal?

Regrets, he's had a few, but then again....