I am so completely enamoured of Hurley. He's the realest character on the damn island.

I called the vision thing, too--just, you know in my head, because calling it out loud to the cat would have been silly. And I agree that the Boone and Shannon actors aren't quite strong enough to sell their roles convincingly. Predictably, she is much stronger in scenes with Naveen than in scenes with Ian.

Re: promo--gauging by Walter's anguished "Dad!" does anybody else think something really bad is going to happen to Michael next episode?

I love Hurley, with the pooping and the ralphing and the pointing at Jin's crotch so he would pee on his foot! So funny.

I'm very disappointed Shannon isn't dead. Not because I don't like Shannon (although I don't), but because it was yet another bait-and-switch. Do the deed, already!

I realize of course that by challenging them to do this they'll probably kill Sayid, the bastards.

So are they ever going to actually kill someone? You know, permanently?

I was so bummed that I couldn't post: OMGWTF Shannon. I thought they really had cojones, and was actually a little sad. Now I feel cheated. Except seeing Sawyer in the police station almost made up for it.

One thing I truly adore about this show is that just about any two characters can have a scene and make it work, and they make an effort to mix it up. We had Sun/Kate, Jin/Hurley, et al.

Is Jack on some kind of "Get a status on all island members" mission?

He did seem to be, and I quite liked it; nice low key leadership stuff.

Loved how Sun was like 'yeah, you guys keep on with your illusions about getting rescued and rafts and whatever. I'm planting fucking trees. My kids are going to have enough to eat!' I wonder if she's overheard some of the expedition members talking about the 16 year tape; useful to have everyone think you can't understand.

And for the previews... stealing Claire's diary is low, even for Sawyer.

Locke apparently had enough control to direct it to its end, getting Boone to reject his squicky fixation on Shannon. I mean if he didn't have some way of setting a goal, Boone could have hallucinated that Lostzilla stomped him into the hatch and developed an aversion to hanging around it as a consequence...

Yeah, that's why I didn't so much like this ep. Because "boy needs vision quest" is fine, as long as you don't connect it to "boy needs to stop ogling his sister" and have the vision quest be a third party's doing. I have no trouble believing that Locke could tie Boone up and rub mud on his head, but I don't buy that he's magic enough to have mixed up a special IncestOff variety of hallucination goop. It's just one thing too many.

I figure Locke just planted a generic suggestion, after he applied vision-inducing goop to Boone's head injury. I think that's what he was doing, when he told Boone he'd be able to free himself from being tied up (so literally, and metaphorically), once he found motivation. I don't think Locke had any control over the contents of the vision quest in any detailed way. He just doped up Boone, and planted the suggestion to find his motivation. For someone like Boone, finding his motivation also means looking his weakness square in the eye.

...Or something. But TiVo cut out at 9:01. I grabbed the remote, and programmed it to record Alias, so I could catch the last couple of minutes, but it didn't kick in (I don't record on the best quality) until after the exposition conversation was over. So I could be fanwanking when they don't deserve it.

(I also don't think the actors playing Shannon and Boone were strong enough to make this ep work.)

I think Shannon might be. I keep trying to decide if the actor is too lightweight, or if I just think that, because the character is vapid.

But TiVo cut out at 9:01.

That was interesting last night, too. My digital box said the time was 8:02 at the end. Not only did it run over, but it ran over even longer than usual. What the heck is up with these guys?

Oh, and purely speculation by someone (Sadbhyl) in lj land. She thinks the reason it's so hard to figure directions on the island and that magnetic north is all messed is because the island is moving. Now, that would be interesting.

OMG great episode, but I KNEW Shannon wasn't really dead. They fooled me with Charlie but Boone was nowhere near distraught enough (although that could just been IS's 'acting').

Also, cleolinda's recap is up.

ETA ha ha ha ha ha

Sayid's like, "A whatthefuck? What does a weebalo do?" I dunno, wobbalo but never fall downalo?

My TV said Alias ran from 9:03 - 10:02. Weird! I think it's an anti-Tivo thing, personally.

The fisheries of Jinmark. Yeah, I'm sure the country thing is getting twee, but you know? It's my recap, and everywhere on the island looks the same, so stuff it.

Heh. Damn straight. I love the country thing.

I was thinking that the episode was more a day in the life of Jack - making house calls as the doctor. Boone was incidental, Locke's vision quest provocation number three.

It is nice to see Locke has a plan of a sort. He had his encounter, then pushed Jack and Charlie to their own, provoked Sayid into action against Sawyer, and now he is overtly recruiting.