OK, so I thought I was going to stop doing this, but apparently a few people actually read it. I also didn't do the one last week because it was a pretty inconsequential episode. Hurley finds a car. Woo.

But -- LOST is finally good again. I was really frustrated after the tattoo episode. The Hurley finding a car episode was OK, but not great. This past week's was almost season one quality. Will Gardner chimes in from the Mississippi Delta in agreement.

These Weeks' Contributors: Ally, Claire, Laila, Lindsay, and Starr

First of all, check out this clip that Lindsay sent. It's a Russian promo for LOST. Pretty weird. Check out the commercials for all of the other characters, too.

And now, let's break down Episode 3.11: Enter 77.

Those Crazy Russians

First of all, Mikhail's full name is Mikhail Bakunin, a Russian revolutionary who is considered the modern father of anarchism. Should we read anything into the names? Mikhail seemed a bit too organized to really be an anarchist, so I don't think I'm personally putting much stock in it.

The one bit of information that was really interesting was about the alleged purge. The DHARMA scientists allegedly went to kill off all the Others, or as they called them, Hostiles. Through the end Mikhail claims it's true. Can we believe the shifty Russian?

Two things that are worth posting are the note that Locke saw at while they looked around The Flame and the conversation leading up to Mikhail shooting Klugh. Here is the note:

... in some measure pushed Andrey Red note #1 away. Nadji was not
... Afghan resistance, however he was an excellent
... He was a second cousin of an influential
... who controlled of one of the northwestern
...ical specialist helping
... Mujahideen* used against...
... of courage Nadji compensated with his wits...
... of a fundamentalist. Just like all the radicals of that time, Nadji...
... at his madrasah** believed that they are holding back the West and...
were paving the way for Allah, so that he could erase the infidels from the face of the Earth, at the
time that Andrey believed that the fall of Afghanistan will become an impulse for
a new social revolution Red note #2
... "The Pakistanis arrived today", Nadji reported with a strong accent
in grandiloquent Russian.
... We knew that the ISI*** would be involved. And you...
... report this?" Andrey knew that he...
... "I believed that you...

I don't know a ton about the Russian-Afghanistan war, so I can't really speculate on the significance. What about you, Lindsay?

Here is the conversation that was in Russian:

Klugh: Mikhail. Mikhail! You know what to do.
Mikhail: We still have another way [out].
Klugh: We cannot risk it. You know the conditions.
Mikhail: There is another way.
Klugh: They captured us. We will not let them to get into the territory.
Klugh: You know what to do. That's an order.
Mikhail: We still have another way!
Klugh (in English): Just do it, Mikhail.
Mikhail: Forgive me. (shoots)

So, yeah, it's pretty much what you expected the dialogue to be. They were following protocol so that the survivors can't use her as leverage.

Another Baby Daddy?

Starr reminded me of an old question that hasn't been addressed but might get answered in this coming episode. While Jack's dad was in Australia, he wanted to see his daughter, Jack's apparent half-sister. The obvious candidate for the daughter is Claire. I almost don't want this to be the revelation, because it's too simple. I want LOST to be a bit more complicated, but without introducing a ton of new questions.

Other Stuff

Besides those two points, there were only a few other small things. The Mikhail thing was pretty huge, after all.

Ally points out that during the ping pong game, the non-Sawyer side should have asked for a TON more than him not using nicknames for a week. Yes, it was kind of funny, but Sawyer is all about competition and capitalism. I really wanted to see him have to give up something material. On the contrary, Hurley lived up to his archetype of being communal and gave Sawyer some of his things back anyway. When he did, he kind of acknowledged that Sawyer is "the kind of guy who needs stuff."

Laila compares Locke to Gilligan, which I agree with. Locke would not have left the crafty Russian on the ground like that.

I was upset that Sayid waltzed into danger in Paris. I expect him, like Locke, to have more sense than that. On another note, maybe Sayid has turned a new page, in that he won't torture people anymore or kill without cause. Does that mean the Island will kill him soon, though?

Sorry it was a little short this week. I wanted to get it out.