LOST

"It's just a great image — of a man in suit, in a jungle, bloodied, dishevelled and clearly not knowing where he is. Gets up, finds this bottle of vodka, bringing back some sort of vague thing in his consciousness as he's trying to get his bearings. And then starts charging through that bamboo jungle and bursts out on to a beach. Sees this just incredible blue paradise of a beach and then starts hearing the sound rush in which is this high, whining, very, very intense engine noise and that's when the whole reveal of the plane crash is there."
        - Matthew Fox (Jack) describing the opening scene of the pilot, "Lost: Revealed"

[Spoiler Warning: Contains quotes up to end of Season 4]

CONTENTS
~ Reviews
~ Behind The Scenes
~ Season 1 Quotes
~ Season 2 Quotes
~ Season 3 Quotes
~ Season 4 Quotes
~ Theories and Hints

REVIEWS

"It's the reinvention of scripted, expensive, difficult to film, tricky television... real people just weren't being real enough, so they had to produce something else — what we have here is the anti-Survivor."
        - John Harlow, from "The Times" on "Lost: Revealed"

Lost is a fantasy in which Americans (and, by extension, America) survive a terrible aeroplane incident but the society that results is more savage, suspicious and selfish than what existed before. To sneak so tough and thoughtful a theme into a mainstream drama series that was created by crossing reality TV with a disaster movie must be regarded as a major achievement.
        - Mark Lawson, reviewing "Lost" in "The Guardian"

Just as it looked as if things were about to go all Lord of the Flies... what we actually got was far more like Jaws — in its relentless pace, brooding sense of menace and delight in scaring the pants off audiences.
        - Gerard O'Donovan, "The Telegraph"

A friend has one of those youth-mentor stories that never gets old. He took a bunch of kids to see "E.T." ages ago and the kids sat there rapt, soaking up the lovable alien tale. Then Elliott and "E.T." took that magical bike ride in the sky -- and the kids were apoplectic with angry disbelief. No way. Bikes don't fly. Aliens -- no problem. But all bicycles must obey the laws of physics. See, what you bring to the table -- or the couch, as it were -- in the form of mental baggage is what most informs your opinion of a television series and whether or not you're able to go with it. Back in the day it might have been called the "E.T." Flying Bicycle Theory. But we crave modernity and there's a more relevant example at hand, which we've used before: The polar bear on "Lost." In the first two hours of the hit ABC series, viewers had to not only believe that more than 40 people survived a midflight explosion of an airliner, but also buy into the fact they were on a tropical island with some kind of Jurassic Big Bad pushing through the trees and one very random polar bear in the lush greenery. When the Polar Bear Moment was revealed -- it was shot dead in the scorching heat -- that was it, the checkout point for a lot of viewers.
        - Tim Goodman, "San Francisco Chronicle"

Lost is apparently the first drama series to be inspired by a reality TV show — Survivor. Lost may well be pressing some post-9/11 buttons (fear of flying, terrorism, the unknown) but so far all it suggests is that we’re in a carnivorous Club Med. The series turns out to be the latest example of tease TV, an endless come-on that, like The X-Files and Twin Peaks, will end up raising more questions than it answers. Like most US TV series, Lost is designed for longevity, with only a third of the cast having proper speaking roles, leaving the rest to be “red shirts” (those dispensable members of the landing party in Star Trek) available for substitutions and sacrifice. I bet even the mysterious monster will munch only on Ugly Guest Stars. But for anyone who was let down by Mulder and Scully’s final revelations, or stopped caring who killed Laura Palmer and prefers the urgency of 24, Lost is destined to be one of those shows that you won’t feel the need to watch but hope that a friend can keep you posted.
        - Ian Johns, "How Long Will You Be Able To Stay Lost", "The Times"

On "Lost", the mystery island plot is clearly moving in circles. Even though they're concentric circles that move a bit farther from the center with each pass, the storytelling borders on manipulation.
And viewers are being manipulated, but into believing that the monster and the numbers are what matter. They make for interesting discussion, imaginative theorizing, and detailed analysis, but they are not powering the series... the series really delivers when it focuses on its characters in their off moments, but the mysteries distract viewers, blinding them — and sometimes the show's creators and writers — from "Lost"'s true power.
        - Andy Dehnart, "MSNBC"

Ok, so the plane has crashed into a secret south pacific island that is home to secreter-than-secret government research. Or the plot has been liberated from the 1987 Schwarzenegger movie, Predator, and the island is a theme park-cum-feeding ground for aliens. Or the 'survivors' are in fact dead and in purgatory. Or they're all alive but in a kind of weird collective coma. Or they're clones, or aliens, or brainwashed members of the CIA (the labrador? The little boy? The Valley princess? Maybe not). Whatever, I just hope it's not all a Bobby Ewing-style dream. Lost has got to me... Just some of the reasons why Lost is so transparently fabulous is that it taps into a whole bunch of potent contemporary fantasies and conspiracies, not unlike 24, but with added spooky Scooby Doo-style mysteriousness.
        - Kathryn Flett, from her review "Isle Seat" in "The Observer"

The airline meals have run out in Lost (Channel 4). In these circumstances, I thought it pretty noble of the survivors to burn all the dead bodies last night without a thought for their, well, calorific value... While hunting, Locke saw The Thing. The Thing is what Alfred Hitchcock called the MacGuffin. It is the grappling hook that holds you. Like the hole in a record, the story turns on it. Like a hole, there is nothing there.
        - Nancy Banks Smith, "The Guardian"

What is the monster? "It is the island's security system," according to Rousseau, a woman much given to gnomic utterances and partial explanations. Unfortunately, she apparently also has a clause in her contract forbidding other members of the cast to belt her across the face and say "Enough with the enigmatic s**t - tell us everything you know and now."
Why is Kate on the run? There are those for whom the sight of Evangeline Lilley in practical yet alluring beachwear is reason enough for her existence. But to others, intent on completing the backstory jigsaw, the answer to this is of central importance.
Still, at least there's one question we can all answer for ourselves, with nothing more than a few household oddments, a little ingenuity and a trip to the local aquarium: can you really perform a blood transfusion using nothing more than a plastic bag, some rubber piping and a sea urchin spine?
        - Lucy Mangan, "Lost's Unanswered Questions", "The Guardian"

On the subject of drugs, Lost (Channel 4) returned last night. I imagine you dipped in, not because you intend to get involved, but just because you wanted to see what was under that hatch. And now you know - well, sort of. But what about the guys on the raft? And The Others? Be careful though; you'll experiment, and then you'll be hooked. Remember what happened last time round, how empty and cheated you felt at the end? What makes you think it'll be any different this time? It's televisual crack, you know it is. "I can handle it," you'll keep telling yourself. You can't though. Just say no.
        - Sam Wollaston, reviewing season 2 opener in "The Guardian"

What Lost shares with 24 is a self-imposed limitation that calls for unlimited imagination. As the titles suggest, in the case of 24 the restriction is time and with Lost it's space. But whereas the time constraint - all the action squeezed into a day - naturally animates suspense, the space constraint - all the action squeezed into an island - can serve to suspend animation.
        - Andrew Anthony, "The Observer"

If, as hinted, Walt can affect the material world with his imagination, will the island be teeming with scantily clad hotties when he hits puberty in Season Three?
        - Ian Johns, "The Times"

"Every one is like a short Roald Dahl story."
        - John Harlow, about the character flashbacks

"When I watch Lost it seems more real to me than an episode of Survivor now."
        - Kristen Veitch, of "E! Entertainment" on "Lost: Revealed"

"Whenever they reveal what the show is about, it better be good."
        - Kristen Veitch, of "E! Entertainment"

I wish to God someone would rescue these people.
        - Paul Whittington, fed up previewing the show for "The Irish Independent"

WASHINGTON, DC — Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) announced the formation of a new Senate Subcommittee for the Watching of Lost and appointed himself its chair Monday. "This subcommittee's mission is to promote viewing and discussion of this riveting ABC series every Wednesday night at my house," said Nelson, who lives alone, adding that membership on the subcommittee is open to both parties, requires no seniority, and is "fun." "In addition, I have been able to secure funding for two large pizzas and one two-liter bottle of Pepsi, and have every confidence that I can acquire more." Sen. Nelson has asked all attendees to arrive on time, do their best to remain quiet during the show's airing, and stick around to discuss the plot and backstory for "as long as you want afterward."
        - From "The Onion"

BEHIND THE SCENES

"We do know what the island is and have all those answers and they lean very heavily into the scifi category, but those are answers that scare our parent company. While they are content with the mysteries, they are not content with the answers. There is an interesting level to that, which I appreciate, but then there is the challenge of how long an audience will be invested in the show and in these characters without getting enough concrete answers... We are holding back, but it's not like we want to burst forth and admit we are a scifi show in the closet coming out."
        - David Fury, "Lost" writer

"This is not a show about the supernatural, despite the fact that we have a very huge creature that likes to eat people. Despite the surreal, bizarre aspects of the island, there will be an explanation for it. It may not come for a very long time, but certain information about the island will explain how things are possible. We'll try to root it in real science or real pseudo-science. There will be no mystical reason or an island of monsters. The island has been around for millennia, and many people have found themselves on it, and as far as we know, nobody has ever gotten off. There is also the possibility of others being on the island, they just haven't seen them yet. And we'll never know how big this island is. It could be enormous, but odd things will keep them from knowing the full length and breadth of it."
        - David Fury, "Lost" writer

"How will you deal with the fact that Malcolm David Kelley (Walt) will age and grow much faster than is reasonable considering the time line of the show?"
"We are building a Malcolm David Kelley robot."
        - Damon Lindelof, producer of 'Lost' in an interview

"They don’t tell us anything. In the beginning I thought how exciting it would be if the character is discovering things at the same time as the audience. But now I’m frustrated at wondering what happens. Is there a plan?"
        - Naveen Andrews (Sayid), in "The Times"

"We're being forced to look at ourselves. This island is like a big mirror to your demons."
        - Josh Holloway (Sawyer), on "Lost: Revealed"

"When I’m running away from it, I think of an African elephant with 17 cats stuck to its back."
        - Dominic Monaghan (Charlie) on his vision of 'The Beast' in "The Times"

Buena Vista was cynical to split the series into two for DVD, but it is again generous with the extras. It’s surreal to see the cast at a live Q&A, trading matey banter rather than angsty sideswipes. The fomer hobbit Dominic Monaghan’s revelation that he originally read for the role of the hunky Sawyer arouses particular mirth in his colleagues, although Monaghan’s claim on another featurette that he based his rock star character on "an English Jim Morrison" is probably more laughable.
        - Ed Potton, reviewing "Lost Series 1 Part 2" for "The Times"

SEASON ONE QUOTES

"The island gives you what you need."
        - Locke

"I'm not a leader!"
"And yet they all treat you like one."
        - Jack and Locke

"That's can't bear a polar bear."
"It's a polar bear!"
        - Boone, and everyone else

"It's French, the French are coming! I've never been so happy to hear the French."
        - Charlie, hoping to get back to England

Living is easy with eyes closed.
        - Charlie's tattoed motto

"If you guys are finished verbally copulating we should get a move on."
        - Charlie to Jack and Kate

"I'm this timebomb of responsibility waiting to go off."
        - Claire, 8 months pregnant

"There's a fine line between faith and denial. And it's much better on my side"
        - Rose, to Charlie

"Hey, did you ever get that Gulf War Syndrome?"
"That was the other side."
        - Hurley and Sayid

"You've always been in love with me."
"You've always been a self-centered little bitch, but now you're delusional."
"I've always known it."
        - Shannon and Boone

"I saw her. I saw her die."
"How did you feel... when she died?"
"I felt... I felt relieved. I felt relieved."
"Yes. Time to let go. Follow me."
        - Boone and Locke

Boone’s starting to get that faraway look, not the dumb, I ain’t-nothing-but-eye-candy-on-this-damn-show faraway look, but a thoughtful gaze usually reserved for Locke.
        - Matt Baker's review of "Special" for "TNMC"

"Call yourself ladies? Jane Austen would be ashamed!"
        - Charlie, flashing back to a bar

"So where is the old man?"
"I don't know. I think he's buying some paper company up in Slough."
        - Charlie and Lucy, preparing for life in an "Office"

"How nice it must be to not be involved in the bloody insanity that surrounds us at every turn. It's quite beautiful, really. You take care of your wife, everything else is someone else's problem. No need to be involved in the decision-making process. No tree-shaking behemoths, french transmissions, just sweet bloody ignorance."
        - Charlie to Jin

"I only made out with him because torturing him didn't work."
        - Kate to Jack, discussing Sawyer

"If you'll excuse me, I've got some revenge to tend to."
        - Sawyer, seeking out a boar

"Dude, I know how this works.  This is gonna end with you and me running through the jungle, screaming and crying.  He catches me first because I'm heavy and I get cramps."
        - Hurley, as he and Charlie prepare to bury Ethan

"You say 'I never', and then you finish the sentence. If it's something you did, you drink. If it's something you never did, you don't drink... Learn by example. I never kissed a man. Now you drink, 'cause you've kissed a man."
...
"I never wore pink."
"The Eighties... I never voted Democrat."
...
"I've never blamed a boar for all my problems."
...
"I never killed a man."
        - Highlights of Sawyer and Kate's game of 'I Never'

"We're in hell, huh?"
"Don't let the air conditioning fool you, son.  You are here, too."
        - Christian Shephard and Sawyer

"I take comfort knowing someday this is all gonna be a real nice shopping complex."
        - Sawyer, out in the wild

4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42.
        - Hurley's numbers

"There were no survivors of Oceanic flight 815!" / "No, we're the survivors of Oceanic flight 815!"
        - Possible responses to Boone's mayday

"Picking up on a little Korean there, Michael?
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know how to say, 'faster' and 'idiot'."
        - Jack and Michael

"Dude, looks like someone steamrolled Harry Potter."
        - Hurley, commenting on Sawyer's new look

"I know what it cost you to do what you did. Thank you."
"I did it because I sense you might be our best hope of surviving here. But I don't forgive what you did, and I certainly don't trust you."
        - Locke and Sayid

"Driveshaft's albums must have spiked when everybody found out that I died in some catastrophic plane disaster.  But when I come back alive ... it's going to be insane!"
        - Charlie, looking on the bright side of life

"You're not even worth what it would cost us to incarcerate you... which is why you're being deported."
        - Australian Detective to Sawyer

"Kids are like dogs — if you knock them around enough, they'll think they did something to deserve it."
        - Sawyer

"How exactly does something like this happen?"
"Are you on the same island as I am?"
        - Hurley and Rousseau, at the 'Black Rock'

"I'm sorry that I'm not cool enough to be part of your merry little band of adventurers. I know clique when I see it. I teach high school, pally. You know, you people think you're the only ones on this island doing anything of value. I got news for you. There were forty other survivors of this plane crash. And we are all people, too."
        - Arzt

"So where are you sitting?"
"23B."
"42F. Want to trade?"
        Ana Lucia and Jack

"Who the hell is Hugo and how did he get $160 million to leave to his mama?!?"
        - Sawyer

"Do you think all this, all we've been through — do you think we're being punished?"
"Punished for what?"
"Things we did before. The secrets we kept. The lies we told."
        - Sun and Shannon

"You're a man of science. I'm a man of faith. Do you really think all this is an accident? That we, a group of strangers, survived, many of us with just superficial injuries? You think we crashed on this place by coincidence?  Especially this place? We were brought here for a purpose, for a reason — all of us. Each one of us was brought here for a reason."
        - Locke to Jack

"Everybody wants me to be a leader until I make a decision that they don't like. You want to keep second-guessing me, Kate?  That's your call. There's something that you need to know.  If we survive this, we survive tonight, we're gonna have a Locke problem. Now, I have to know that you got my back."
        - Jack

SEASON TWO QUOTES

They survived on luck
They survived on instinct
On the other side of the island
They discover
They are not the survivors
They thought they were
        - Season 2 Promo

Quotes from Lindelof and Grillo-Marxuach at a Lost convention: We won't kill Sawyer. The theory of all the survivors being dead is not true. The plane did not crash by accident, it crashed for a very specific reason. But he dismissed speculation that someone aboard the plane caused the crash. What's in the hatch will have an effect on Locke. The rear section of the plane — and additional survivors — will be discovered during the second season. The people who kidnapped Walt, the young boy, are the "Others" on the island.
        - from "The LA Times"

"You're lighter. I can belay you down and bring you back up just as easy. Shaft may be narrower down there, too."
"You left out the part where you just wanna see if I'm gonna be eaten by something."
       - Locke and Kate

"Life's not so bad, right? Sure the Others are coming to, like, eat us all, and every once in a while someone blows up all over you, but you do get to sleep in every morning."
        - Hurley to Jack

"I guess I know why the shark is hanging around — your shoulder."
"Oh, well, I'll just stop bleeding then!"
        - Michael and Sawyer, adrift

"You have no idea what it's like to care for somebody else!"
        - Michael to Sawyer

"No way. No more human pyramids."
        - Sawyer, giving up on escaping from the pit

"Dude, you've been crushing on this girl for months and doing nothing. Today you're fricking Fabio. Seriously, man, what has gotten into you?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to ask her out before..."
"Before what?"
        - Hurley's about to break his big news back home

Cluck You.
        - Hurley and Johnny's message for their ex-boss, spelt with gnomes (!)

"The Seoul Gateway is one of the finest hotels in the country. Do not open the door for people like you."
        - Mr Kim, hiring Jin

"So, Seoul... that in the good Korea or the bad Korea?"
"The... good one."
        - Hurley and Sun

"Yeah, yeah, Chewie, I know."
        - Sawyer, when Jin talks to him in Korean

"You heard screams so woke up the baby and ran toward them?"
        - Charlie to Claire

"Nathan was not a good person. That's why he wasn't on the list."
        - Goodwin

"Go ahead, pick it up, I deserve it."
"What good it would be to kill you if we're both already dead?"
        - Ana Lucia and Sayid, after the shooting

"I have something I think you should see. If you don't mind, I will begin at the beginning. Long before Christ the king of Judah was a man named Josiah."
"Boy when you say beginning, you mean beginning."
        - Mr. Eko and Locke

"Every time that I look at Sawyer — every time I feel something for him — I see you, Wayne. It makes me sick."
        - Kate

"You've got to be kidding me."
"Airlock's over this way."
        - Sawyer and Kate, touring 'The Hatch'

"Sonofabitch!"
        - Sawyer, realising he's still on the island

"Does any of this look familiar from when you were coming back?"
"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf. How could I forget this place?"
        - Locke and Sawyer, in the middle of nowhere

"Even if you don't succeed, you're giving us a chance. That's all we wanted."
        - Gabriela to Jack

"That's right, Jack. I've been running in the jungle toward the sound of gunfire because I don't care about Michael."
        - Locke, with a rhetorical question

"So what do you think's the story with that Libby chick? She's kind of cute, right? You know, in a I've-been-terrorized-by-the-Others-for-40-days kind of way... I think I have a chance with her. I mean, it's the classic desert island scenario. If I ever had a shot, this is it."
        - Hurley to Charlie

"This is not your island. This is our island. And the only reason you're living on it is because we let you live on it... We've got a misunderstanding, Jack — your people, my people. So listen carefully. Right here there's a line. You cross that line, we go from misunderstanding to something else. Now give me your weapons, turn around, go home."
        - The 'Others' speak to Jack

"You will always need something to fix. Goodbye."
        - Sarah to Jack

"Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"How long do you think it would take to train an army?"
        - Jack and Ana Lucia

"It looks like the good folks of Island Town are about to form a posse — get themselves armed up. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Jack didn't find himself that horse of yours and start leading the charge in a big white hat."
        - Sawyer

"What are you doing here?"
"One second, I'm like this close to the high score on Donkey Kong."
        - Jack and Sawyer, as he mans the hatch computer

"You were so busy worrying about each other you never even saw me coming, did you?"
        - Sawyer, to Jack and Locke

"This is how people get killed in scary movies."
"If this was a scary movie I'd be with a hot chick not you, Barbar"
"It's Babar."
"Why don't you shut up, Hammo. Or your ranch disorder's going to be the new lead item on the coconut internet."
"Fine, go ahead. Tell everyone the fat guy's been hiding ranch dressing — the fat guy likes to eat! Yeah, I'm fat. Fat, fat, fat, fat, fat. You think I don't know that? At least people like me."
        - Hurley and Sawyer, trekking through jungle

"There's only one reason to raise an army, Jack. And that's because we're at war. And like it or not, whatever Sayid has to do behind that door — that's a part of it, too."
        - Locke

"Where are you going?"
"You're not the only one who didn't find what they were looking for."
        - Claire and Rousseau, leaving the lab

"If the alarm goes off, don't tell him what it's for."
"What is it for?"
        - Locke and Mr. Eko

"You have good ears."
"You have thin doors."
        - Locke and Henry Gale

"Do Jack and Locke know about this?"
"Jack and Locke are a little too busy worrying about Locke and Jack."
        - Sayid and Ana Lucia

"Don't knock the obituaries, the nicest part of the paper. No one ever says anything mean about people once they're dead."
        - Helen to Locke

"10 mangos."
"Okay, I'll call you with the aspirin and raise you with a bottle of Amoxicilin."
       - Jack and Sawyer, playing some high stakes poker

"I'm done trading. I got enough food now to open a chain of mini-marts. Hey, you think Sayid needs a job?"
        - Sawyer

"I like that I have a good relationship with my mom. I like making my grandpa, Tito, laugh. I like chicken."
"Well, that last one wasn't about you, Hugo."
"I like that I like chicken?"
        - Hurley and Dr. Brooks

"Can you taste that? That is freedom, baby. You know what tastes even better than freedom? Cheeseburgers."
        - Dave to Hurley

"Everybody on this island is building something. I'm trying to get us saved."
"People are saved in different ways, Bernard."
"I think I liked you better when you just hit people with your stick."
        - Bernard and Mr. Eko

"I'm flattered."
"Yeah, why is that?"
"Because you chose me to go with you instead of Sawyer."
"I asked Sayid first but he turned me down."
        - Kate and Jack, on a mission of diplomacy

"How long are you going to wait, Jack?"
"Until I get my voice back. Then I'm going to yell some more."
"Maybe they can't hear you."
"They can hear me."
"I'm sorry I kissed you."
"I'm not."
        - Kate and Jack, about to be interrupted

"Where is the question mark John?"
        - Mr. Eko

"Whaddya say Doc? I figure the Irish always drink when somebody dies."
"I'm not Irish."
"Neither am I."
        - Sawyer and Jack, with the last bottle of whiskey on the island

"I figured if we are going to war we'd want the one guy who's been in a war."
        - Sawyer about Sayid

"Set of keys; one pocket watch, gold plated; one photograph; one book, 'Our Mutual Friend'. Why didn't you bring that inside?"
"To avoid temptation, brother. I've read everything Mr. Charles Dickens has ever written — every wonderful word. Every book except this one. I'm saving it so it will be the last thing I ever read before I die."
"Nice idea, as long as you know when you're going to die."
        - Desmond, being dishonourably discharged from the British army by a Sergeant

"Tell me, Desmond, why'd you leave that nice old lady's army? Oh, I remember now. You got kicked out because you couldn't follow orders."
"Why did you leave your army, Kelvin, huh?"
"Because men followed my orders."
        - Inman and Desmond

"I don't know what is more disquieting — the fact that the rest of the statue is missing, or that it has 4 toes?"
        - Sayid, seeing the statue

"Do you not hear me, brother? I crashed your bloody plane!"
        - Desmond to Locke

"Dearest Des, I am writing this letter to you as you leave for prison. And I've hidden in the one place you would turn to in a moment of great desperation. I know you go away with the weight of what happened on your shoulders. And I know the only person who can ever take it off is you. Please don't give up, Des. Because all we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. And you have her. I will wait for you. Always. I love you, Pen."
        - Penelope's letter to Desmond

Did anyone else notice the weird Desmond coincidence, that Penny's dad was on the OC and Libby's yacht was from Newport Beach?
        - Comment posted on Tim Goodman's blog after Season 2 Finale of "Lost"

For me, the most intriguing aspect of the show has always been the implicit (and in a number of cases, explicit) connections between so many of the crash survivors. But if "system failure" truly was what caused the plane to crash, that would mean that simple bad luck, not necessarily some grand design, brought everyone to the island. I still think those connections between the passengers are real, if only because they've been played too prominently so far to be dismissed out of hand.
        - Rick Porter, "Zap2It"

"What is the Dharma Initiative?"
        - Dwight to Ryan during his sales training on "The Office"

SEASON THREE QUOTES

"Goodwin, did you see where the tail landed?"
"Yeah, probably in the water."
"You run and you can make that shore line in an hour. Ethan, get up there to that fuselage. There may actually be survivors; and you're one of them. A passenger — in shock. Come up with an adequate story if they ask. Stay quiet if they don't. Listen, learn, don't get involved. I want lists in 3 days. Go."
        - Gale and Goodwin

"What the hell is going on here?"
        - Jack, and the audience, to the Others

"I need to know who he is."
"It doesn't matter who he is. It just matters who you're not."
        - Jack and Sarah

"You said this dock was abandoned."
"That would be part of the lying you mentioned."
"You're not building this fire for our people; you're building it for the Others."
"I suspect that when they see the smoke they'll send a scout party to investigate. By then it will be night. When they arrive, I'll ambush them. I'll take two of them hostage, and I'll kill the rest."
"Two?"
"One to make the other cooperate."
        - Sun and Sayid

"I do this for you, Sun! I do this because your father expects it. I do this because that's what it takes to be married to you."
        - Jin to Sun, about to deliver 'a message'

"Chain gang looks good on you Freckles."
        - Sawyer to Kate

"You taste like strawberries."
"You taste like fish biscuits."
        - Sawyer and Kate

"What's that? You're not taking drugs are you, John? I only ask because of the strict zero tolerance policy you've enacted, and I wouldn't want you to have to start punching yourself in the face."
        - Charlie to Locke

"It's an active kill — meaning that whatever was eating this is going to be back for more."
"If you want to say polar bear you can just say it."
        - Locke and Charlie

"We're going to have to get that guy another button to push."
        - Charlie, about Desmond

"What happened?"
"We happened... Been on this rock long enough to realize they ain't in the business of shooting each other. We did it. Our team."
        - Kate and Sawyer

"We did all this because the only way to gain a con man's respect is to con him. And you're pretty good, Sawyer. We're a lot better. Funny thing is, us telling you about the pacemaker wasn't what kept you in line. It was when I threatened her."
        - Ben\Gale to Sawyer

"We looked everywhere. Eko's gone."
"There's no trail."
"Not that we, like, know what a trail looks like."
        - Hurley and Charlie

"We had such a wonderful plan to break you, Jack... Wear you down till you were convinced we weren't your enemies. Get you to trust us. And then of course we'd lead you to believe that you were choosing to do... whatever we asked you to do. All of this of course assumed that you would get... invested."
"Invested in what?"
"Has it not occurred to you that Juliet bears a striking resemblance to your ex-wife?"
        - Ben to Jack

"You want me to save your life?"
"No, I want you to want to save my life. But we're beyond that now."
        - Jack and Ben

"I did not ask for the life that I was given. But it was given, nonetheless. And with it... I did my best."
        - Eko

"If I were a betting man, I would have picked her and you."
        - Ben with Jack, watching Kate and Sawyer together

"Don't get mad at me just because you were dumb enough to fall for the old Wookiee prisoner gag."
        - Sawyer, after turning the tables on Aldo

"So, you're the boss's daughter, huh? I never saw that coming."
        - Sawyer to Alex

"Well, actually we're not quite in Portland..."
        - Alpert to Juliet

"What did he say that made you want to save his life?"
"It doesn't really matter what he said."
"It matters to me. After everything that I have been put through, you owe me an answer. I want to know what he said."
...
"He said that if I let him live and I helped you — that he would finally let me go home."
        - Jack and Juliet

"I'm wondering why, whenever Jack is placed in a position where he can ask things of The Others, he always asks such terrible questions? I mean, asking Juliet what she and Ben talked about doesn't seem that useful either to him or to us."
        - Pointed question asked at Q&A session for TV critics

Locke is feeling his oats or losing his mind. I like his dismissive nature now. He's a whatever guy. "I blew the place up? Whatever. I rammed this guy into the invisible electric fence? My bad." Probably should have kept that guy alive, though. By "Lost" standards he was a talkie mofo. I know a lot of people want Charlie dead and every week that Desmond saves his sorry ass everyone gets exasperated. I don't mind Charlie. But I definitely don't want Des dying to save Charlie. If one's gotta go, it's back to the Shire, brutha.
        - Tim Goodman, as Lost reaches the midpoint of Season 3

"You know anything about whiskey? "
"No, I'm afraid not, sir."
"This is a 60 year MacCutcheon, named after Anderson MacCutcheon, esteemed Admiral from the Royal Navy. He retired with more medals than any man before or since -- moved to the highlands to see out his remaining years. Admiral MacCutcheon was a great man, Hume. This was his crowning achievement."
...
"This swallow is worth more than you could make in a month. To share it with you would be a waste, and a disgrace to the great man who made it -- because you, Hume, will never be a great man."
"Mr. Widmore, I know I'm not..."
"What you're not, is worthy of drinking my whiskey. How could you ever be worthy of my daughter?"
        - Desmond's 'interview' with Mr. Widmore doesn't go well

"I don't think my failure to impress your father is any occasion to celebrate."
"Well, the occasion is I love you."
"Why? Why do you love me?"
"Because you're a good man. In my experience they're pretty hard to come by."
        - Desmond and Penelope

"May I ask your price range?"
"I'm not a man of means... I hope to — one day."
"I have just the thing. This won't blind any queens, to be sure, but still has the sparkle of life."
        - Desmond, looking for a wedding ring from Ms. Hawking

"Had I warned him about the scaffolding tomorrow he'd be hit by a taxi. If I warned him about the taxi, he'd fall in the shower and break his neck. The universe, unfortunately, has a way of course correcting. That man was supposed to die. That was his path just as it's your path to go to the island. You don't do it because you choose to, Desmond. You do it because you're supposed to... You may not like your path, Desmond, but pushing that button is the only truly great thing that you will ever do."
        - Ms. Hawking to Desmond

"You deserve someone better."
"I know what I deserve. I chose to be with you. I love you."
"Love's not enough. Being a good man is not enough."
"...If you want me to go — if you want me to leave then don't make this about what I do or don't deserve."
        - Desmond and Penelope

"What kind of people do you think we are, Jack?"
"Oh, I don't know, Tom — the kind of people that would take a pregnant woman; that would hang Charlie from a tree; would grab our people out of the jungle; would kidnap children. That's the kind of people I think you are."
"You see this glass house you're living in, Jack? How about I get you some stones?"
        - 'Other' Tom and Jack

"Never thought I'd be glad to get back to this rock again."
        - Sawyer

"You got a map you ain't showing me, Magellan? We've got no food, no water -- and I can't steer in the dark."
        - Sawyer, and Kate suggests a course correction

"'He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us.' Your tattoos -- that's what they say."
"That's what they say. That's not what they mean."
        - 'Other' Isabel and Jack

"The Others take the bags off our heads and we're, like, on the other side of the island. And they take Jack, Kate and Sawyer someplace and they sent me back to warn everyone to stay away. Which I did. And now everyone's freaked out. With them gone -- and what happened to Eko -- they're all scared. And I'm scared. But then, I've been scared most of my time here anyway, except when I'm with you. I miss you, Libby."
        - Hurley, 'recapping' for Libby

"So what exactly are you saying? We simply start shooting people and hope for the best?"
"We came here to rescue Jack and that's what we're going to do."
        - Sayid and Kate

"The man from Tallahassee? What is that, some kind of code?"
"No, John, unfortunately we don't have a code for 'There's a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter's head'. Although we obviously should."
        - Locke and a captive Ben

"I never really appreciated chicken until right now."
        - Locke, enjoying the contents of Ben's fridge

"You know something about boxes, don't you John? What if I told you that somewhere on this island there's a very large box...and whatever you imagined...whatever you wanted to be in it...when you opened that box, there it would be. What would you say about that, John?"
"I'd say I hope that box is big enough to imagine yourself up a new submarine."
        - Ben and Locke

"You know he's manipulating you, right?"
"How's that?"
"That's what my father does. He manipulates people. He makes you think it's your idea, but it's his."
"I'll have to keep that in mind."
        - Alex and Locke

"Who the hell are you?"
        - Sawyer to Nikki

"Ooh, looks like crouching tiger and hidden dragon got something good. Lay it on me."
"No nicknames. If you lose, no nicknames for anyone for a week."
        - Sawyer to Sun and Jin, before the pingpong contest

"What happened to the Dharma Initiative?"
"They're all dead, of course. They foolishly initiated a war against The Hostiles, the purge they called it."
        - Sayid and Mikhail

"Why are we continuing to play this little game when we all know it has gone to the next stage?"
        - Mikhail to Sayid

"Dude. Nikki's dead."
"Who the hell's Nikki?"
        - Hurler and Sawyer

"She stumbled out of the jungle, face planet. Said something like ply wood. And, and..."
"Actually I think she said power lines."
"Well who the hell knows what she said, she was five seconds from dying. Probably seeing a light at the end of the tunnel..."
"Paulo lies! That's what she said, Paulo lies not power lines, Paulo lies."
"Who the hell's Paulo?"
        - Sawyer and Hurley, ace detectives

"That's evidence! You're messing up the crime scene."
"Crime scene? There a forensics hatch I don't know about?"
        - Hurley and Sawyer

"Can you, you know use your psychic powers?"
"Doesn't work like that. I only see flashes."
"No offence dude but, as far as superpowers go, yours is kinda lame. Thanks anyway."
        - Hurley and Desmond

"Oh I see what this is. Villagers have got themselves some torches."
        - Sawyer, confronting by Hurley et al

"OK, I know you have them. Give me a gun."
"I don't have the guns. A-team took em all... Even if I had a gun I wouldn't give it to you. Judging by the fire you're breathing, I got a feeling no good would come of it."
        - Nikki and Sawyer

"Para...lysed."
        - Nikki

"Dude you need to know that, there's been some chatter. After Paulo and Nikki and everything. Well, tomorrow there's gonna to be a vote."
"A vote for what?"
"To decide whether or not to banish you."
"Banish me!? Where?!"
"Well there's debate about that, but the consensus was half a mile down the beach."
    - Hurley and Sawyer

"I ain't gonna get the Korean vote."
        - Sawyer

"You tricked me into being decent. That's gotta be the lamest cons in the history of cons."
"Wasn't a con dude. If you're gonna be our temporary leader, you need to do some damage control."
"Leader? The hell are you smokin?"
"Jack's gone, Locke's gone, Kate and Sayid, you're all we got. And Paulo and Nikki dying, we all look to you. Then again you totally tried to steal the diamonds, but we wanted to look to you."
        - Sawyer and Hurley

"I want to know what you people are doing on this Island. Why you're terrorising us. Making lists. Kidnapping children. I want to know everything. But the first thing I'd like to know is, who are you?"
"If I told you who I was. If I told you everything that I know. You'd kill me."
"What you think I'll do if you don't."
        - Sayid to Juliet

"Well if it ain't three men and a baby... I counted Hugo twice."
        - Sawyer, coming across Charlie, Hurley and Aaron

"Let's stick our resident Iraqi on her. Let him do what he does, then see what she says."
"No I don't do that anymore."
        - Sawyer and Sayid, about Juliet

"You were standing right next to me when that submarine exploded. In that moment, I saw it in your eyes. You wanna get off this Island more than anything else in the world. That makes you one of us."
        - Jack to Juliet

"You two arguing over who's your favorite Other?"
        - Sawyer to Jack and Juliet

"I saw a sequence of events. Things that are gonna happen."
"What you see?"
"It was, it was like a sorta jigsaw puzzle. Only I didn't have the picture in the box so, I dunno how the pieces fit exactly but, but one of the pieces, the first one... It was you, pulling the cable out the sand."
"So what are the other pieces?"
"If I tell you that, it'll change the picture in the box."
"So what? Isn't that the point? Preventing something bad?"
"Not this time."
"So you're not trying to stop something from happening, you exactly want it to happen?"
        - Desmond and Hurley

"We dated for six years, and the closest you ever came to a religious experience was Celtic winning the cup."
        - Ruth, not buying Desmond's sudden conversion

"You've got five seconds to talk, or I fire this gun brother."
"That's a flare gun."
"And how do you think it'll feel? Taking a flare to the chest at this range."
"As your friend pointed out, I already died once this week."
        - Desmond and Mikhail

"You stole this."
"How could you respect me if I didn't try?"
"How about I take your other eye? Would you respect that?"
        - Charlie and Mikhail

"Ok Tarzan, so now that you're back from your blow up everything that could get us off the Island tour, how bout you tell me why you joined up with the damn enemy?"
        - Sawyer to Locke

"You told my friends the wreckage of Flight 815 was discovered. Did you mean the partial wreckage?"
"No. They found the entire plane off the coast of Bali. In an ocean trench four miles deep. They sent down cameras in these little robots to survey the wreck. The bodies were all there."
        - Sayid questions Naomi

"What do you want from me?"
"I want for you to find your purpose."
        - Locke and Richard

"You sure its an Island?"
"Well what else is it?"
"Little hot for heaven isn't it? ...They found your plane on the bottom of the ocean. One minute I'm in a car wreck and the next minute I'm in a pirate ship in the middle of the jungle. If this isn't hell friend, then where are we?"
        - Cooper and Sawyer

"When Juliet told me they were coming, the first thing I thought was, where the hell are we gonna hide this time. But hiding's pointless. They're just gonna keep coming back... For the very first time we know exactly what they want, when they're coming to get it, and they have no idea that we're gonna be waiting for em... So tomorrow night, we stop hiding, we stop running, we stop living in fear of them. Because when they show up. We're gonna blow em all to hell."
        - Jack's plan

"Who are you people about to go to war with?"
        - Naomi to Charlie

"I know if we eliminate Danielle's signal they will hear us."
"No they won't."
"And why is that?"
"We're jamming it. Ben is using one of the DHARMA stations to block all of the signals off of the Island except for ours."
        - Sayid and Juliet

"Pardon me while I have a heart attack. The last time I was in a fight I was eight years old... And I lost."
"Well that makes you even more of a hero, doesn't it?"
        - Charlie, after rescuing Nadia

"You wanna give me your word that nothing's going to happen to my husband, then I go."
"I'll give you my word that if we don't kill everyone that shows up here in about an hour, its not gonna matter where Bernard is."
"I like you better since you got back, Jack. You're almost an optimist."
        - Jack and Bernard

#5 The first time I heard myself on the radio.
#4 Dad teaching me to swim at Butlins.
#3 The Christmas Liam gave me the ring.
#2 Woman outside Covent Garden calls me a hero.
#1 The night I met you.
        - Charlie's "Greatest Hits" list for Claire

"Hey. Why are you sticking up for Sawyer, he'd never do it for you."
"Because I love you."
        - Kate and Jack

"Jack you've just killed seven of my people, the least you can give me is five minutes."
        - Ben to Jack

"That's for taking the kid off the raft."
        - Sawyer, taking Tom out

"OK, I'll tell you what, you do this. You get my father down here, get him down here right now, and if I'm drunker than he is, you can fire me... Don't you look at me like that. Don't you, pity me."
        - Jack to Dr Hamill

Not Penny's Boat.
        - Charlie's message to Desmond

Last night's "Lost" season finale was a mind-blower, for sure, a radical two hours that gave us major fake-outs, an army of dead bodies, the possibility of rescue, diverse portraits of heroism, and the most touching loss of the series so far. The producers promised fans a game-changing episode, and they certainly delivered, even undermining some basic assumptions about the "Lost" format itself... By the end of the finale, I was back in love with "Lost" in a big way. No other show has the same power to put the viewer in such a profound, almost philosophical state of wondering. We tend to feel what the crash survivors feel — out to sea, unable to figure out what's happening, but vitally interested in learning the truth. The season began poorly last fall, but in the past few weeks, "Lost" has been on a great roll.
        - Matthew Gilbert, "The Boston Globe"

This episode was a "game-changer" in my mind. It's either going to take the show to new heights or it's their "Jump The Shark" moment.
        - Shawn, on the "Chicago Tribune" website

The mention of Jack's father was not a "clumsy feint" to lead us to believe we were in the past rather than the future. The writers are smarter than that. "Future Jack" is in an alternate reality that's not his original reality. He knows it. Something has happened on the island that caused him (and probably everybody else) to jump time streams. His father is still alive in this new time stream.
        - Laura, on the "Chicago Tribune" website

# SEASON FOUR QUOTES

"Rescuing you and your people...I can't really say it's our primary objective."
        - Daniel Faraday to Jack

"James. Look at yourself. Yes, on this Island, you're brave, daring, handsome. You're someone. But if you left with them, back in the real world a low-life scam artist like you could never compete with a first class surgeon."
        - Ben, using Kate and Jack to needle Sawyer

"Anyone want to tell me why we're keeping this guy alive?"
"We're keeping him alive because he's been on this island a lot longer than any of us. Because he has information we need and because apart from his mouth, he's completely harmless."
"His mouth put that hole in your gut?"
        - Sawyer and Locke, discussing Ben

"Oh, awesome. The ship sent us another Sawyer."
        - Hurley, after Miles calls him Tubby

"I love Europe. Everybody speaks English."
        - Sayid to Allison

"At least be woman enough to tell me you want to use me for something."
        - Sawyer, seeing through Kate's smalltalk

"Only eight of us survived the crash, we landed in the water. I was hurt pretty badly in fact if it weren’t for her I would never have made it to the shore. She took care of me. She took care of all of us."
        - Jack testifying at Kate's trial

"I’ve heard you say that story so many times I’m starting to think you believe it."
        - Kate to Jack

"In about a week you'll find a reason to get pissed at Jack and bounce right back to me."
        - Sawyer, earning a slap from Kate

"And how do we get out?"
"Through the door. Looks like you people have a friend on this boat."
        - Sayid and Minkowski

If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant.
        - Daniel's note to himself

"It's very stressful being an 'Other', Jack."
        - Juliet

"Locke is a murderer... We gotta be the good guys, huh?"
        - Bernard to Jin, on why he stayed with Jack

"Where exactly does one come across 324 dead bodies?"
        - Captain Gault, on the 'Other' Oceanic Flight 815

"In all the time they’ve been here, they’ve talked about a lot of things and none involve rescuing us."
        - Kate, about Daniel and Charlotte

"We gave him back to you one piece Mike. You're the one who lost him. You told him didn't you? You couldn't carry the guilt of what you did to those two women all by yourself so you shared it with a 10 year-old kid? Is that why you want to kill yourself now Michael? ...The Island won't let you."
        - Tom to Michael, about Walt

"How was your trip? I figure flying can't be too much fun for you."
        - Tom to Michael

"New Otherton."
        - Sawyer's name for the Others' camp

"Just wait 'til you see what I'm about to do."
        - Locke to Jack

"Is he talking about what I think he's talking about?"
"If you mean time travelling bunnies, yes."
        - Locke and Ben

THEORIES & HINTS

Go to Mapquest.com or some similar site, and take a look at their maps by latitude and longitude. Note the position of 4.815, 162.342. It's in the Pacific Ocean, near Tarawa Island.

Huge. Mechanical *and* biological. Godlike and profane. A massive, multi-tentacled robotic beast resembling a primordial Mapinguari — only partially obscured in a cloud of acrid smoke.
        - Description of "The Beast" from production script

The one thing that keeps reoccurring is how Walt can make things happen. Michael catches him looking at a picture of a polar bear in a Spanish comic book and not much later the castaways face a polar bear. It is also interesting that we have not yet seen Michael and Walt's backstory. Locke also seems to have this ability to have the island give them what they most want. For example, Locke can walk and gets his walkabout, Walt his polar bear and backgammon wins, Charlie gets his guitar after he gives up the drugs. Perhaps Locke and Walt are cast in the role of providers on the island
        - theory seen on "MSNBC"

My favorite theory is that Locke is the only one who died in the crash and everyone one else is stuck between life and death in a sort of purgatory. Locke is the only character who is no longer “lost.” On the island, he has become the Colonel. I think it is Locke's role to help them find whatever it is they need to move on and whether that is to the afterlife or back to reality, only time (and the writers) will tell.
        - theory seen on "MSNBC"

It is difficult to explain, but I think the black rock is the key and holds a kind of magic Locke referred to. It granted his wish of walking and having an adventure. Jack probably had some kind of wish that his father wasn't dead. Kate was innocent of whatever her past held and now she is free (well, free if you don't count the plane crash on a weird island). The Korean couple seem to be getting back to their loving beginnings. Claire's deal is that ever since the psychic put all that information in her head, strange things are happening and manifesting themselves into a wish fulfillment thing. The psychic's warnings have become her dreams and somehow because of the power of this strange island — the dream becomes truly real and is truly happening.
        - theory seen on "MSNBC"

Reminds me a bit of Bladerunner. False memories could be implanted in all of them to make them think they are better off not leaving. They could all be clones or experiments and the year doesnt have to be 2004, just a year they picked to simulate for them like in the matrix. That would explain the numbers recurring through their memories, its an artifact of the system that creates the memories. Like in the Matrix when dejavu was a sign something had changed. That also explains the focus on their backstories, we are supposed to find more and more inconsistancy and ridiculous coincidence until we finally admit their memories are messed up. Maybe they all died in the crash and many years later something or someone brought them back to life as clones or cyborgs and staged the whole crash scene to keep them. That might explain how the island could have advanced nanotechnology on it, assuming it does, and why for instance Locke can walk now.
        - theory seen on Lost Forum

When you get to the end of this book you realize that my hero or main character (he's a heel and a killer) has been dead throughout the book and that all the queer ghastly things which have been happening to him are happening in a sort of hell which he earned for the killing ... It is made clear that this sort of thing goes on for ever ... When you are writing about the world of the dead — and the damned — where none of the rules and laws (not even the law of gravity) holds good, there is any amount of scope for back chat and funny cracks.
        - Flann O'Brien, describing the plot of his novel (seen in season 2) "The Third Policeman"

The show's producers say that there is no single explanation and that a simple answer would leave viewers dissatisfied. "We go on record saying, 'Here's what it's not,' " says Damon Lindelof, who created Lost with J.J. Abrams. Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the executive producers who oversee Lost, say the survivors are not dead and trapped in some kind of purgatory. Nor does Lost take place as a dream or hallucination in one character's mind — a concept they call "the snow-globe theory," after the hospital drama St. Elsewhere, which was revealed in its 1988 finale to have all taken place in the snow globe of an autistic boy. "One layer speaks to electromagnetism, another to psychological experimentation, another to why they can see Walt. Coming up with one answer that unifies all those things is next to impossible. Hopefully, every sublayer will be explained" by the end, they say.
        - from "USA Today"

1. It's possible to travel back in time. When you do travel in time, your physical body stays the same, but you "replace" the old version of yourself. So, if I were to travel back to 1994, I'd be the hairy, droopy 2008 version of myself in appearance, but I'd be the young, spry version of myself in action.
2. It's impossible to change the past. Even if you have the intent to change the past, Fate would find a way to make sure you accomplished whatever it is you need to accomplish. This extends to physical ailments as well. For instance, let's say, oh I don't know, your father pushed you out of a window and paralyzed you. When you went back in time, your body would be "healed" because Fate "needs" you to be able to walk to accomplish what you did the first time around.
3. The island on Lost, using the rules stated above, is in a constant time loop set in the year 1996. The process of entering the code every 108 minutes was to reset the time loop. Desmond failed to enter the code at the exact moment a plane was passing over the island in 2004, which allowed the plane to enter into the island, then immediately be sent back to 1996 when Desmond finally does enter the code.
        - TVSquad's summary of Jason Hunter's Time Loop Theory

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