"Lost": Manipulatively Brilliant

How big of a “Lost” fan am I becoming? So big that I’m actually catching all of the little clues the show loves to tease us with.

And then Thursday morning, I immediately visit EW.com to read Doc Jensen’s blog for more clues and theories.

Man, do I need help…

[Warning: If you have not seen Thursday’s episode of “Lost,” stop reading now…]

I knew something was not quite right with Thursday’s episode. I was so sure that Sun was going to die that I thought this was a flashback to another baby that she lost. But then the nurse said she was part of the Oceanic Six, so I figured I was wrong…

Then, there was Jin. I barely recognized him with his long hair and his young-looking appearance (The makeup people on this show are amazing.). Something didn’t seem right. And then there was that cell phone that definitely looked like an older model. And when Jin chased after the car, he screamed, “I’ll kill you.” That was the attitude of the old Jin, not the guy we’ve been seeing on the island. Plus, there was something strange about the toy store owner telling us it was the year of the dragon. I hadn’t heard anything about that.

And then it hit me, just seconds before it was revealed. We were watching two different stories. Sun was in flash-forward. Jin was in flashback.

You can argue that it was manipulative and deceptive, but I thought it was awesome and brilliant…

And I was so proud of myself for catching it…

Something else I caught? The date of Jin’s death on his tombstone: September 22, 2004, the date Oceanic 815 crashed. This means that Jin is part of the lie that the Oceanic Six are keeping from the world. Either he dies on the island (or in the process of escaping the island) and they lie and say he died on the plane (Remember that Jack said there were only eight survivors. Maybe he’s one of the two that “didn’t make it.”), or he is still on the island and they lie and say he died on the plane. I can’t believe that he would let Sun return alone, so I’ve got to believe it’s the first one…

One thing I did not catch was the image of Nikki on Sun’s TV when she went into labor. Apparently she was part of a show called “Expose” (Remember, she was an actress.)…

I also didn’t make any connections to Regina, the woman who jumped off the freighter, and events we had already seen, but fortunately Doc Jensen came up with a pretty good theory. He speculates that Regina is the R.G. that was inscribed on Naomi’s ring and that she jumped because she was devastated over her death. Interesting, no?...

So now, the Oceanic Six are complete: Jack, Kate, Aaron, Hurley, Sayid and Sun. Or at least I think they are. We’ll see…

You’ll notice that I haven’t yet mentioned the appearance of Michael. That’s probably because for me, that was the least important part of the episode.

However, that’s mostly because since I am now obsessed with “Lost” Internet chatter, I had already read the speculation that Michael was on the freighter. And because I don’t what to ruin it for any of you, I won’t tell you the two theories that are going around now about what he’s doing there…

But I will tease you with this. Juliet said that Sun had to be off the island within three weeks. Since Sun had a healthy baby, we know she must’ve left the island in that timeframe. But if you’re thinking that three weeks means next season, you’re going to be sadly mistaken…

“Lost” airs Thursday, March 20th at 9 p.m. on ABC…