I'm not sure but it could very well be. I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen yet but I'm going to vote yes. Total surprise.
100%
We may have a lot to discuss after this one indeed. WOW

Well I don't think the game has changed - just makes us stop and think and realize we totally do not know the whole story!

Basically, the Losties killed two of their own. Think about it. And all that banter about how they thought it had been the Others killing them.

Yep I may have posted this too soon but the end was... well open ended to say the least:eek2:

This was not the game changer. We learned more about Paulo and Nikki and a little bit more about some other characters.

Such a let down for such a huge build up to this one.

I'm not sure but it could very well be. I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen yet but I'm going to vote yes. Total surprise.
100%
We may have a lot to discuss after this one indeed. WOW



I certainly hope it wasn't the "game changer". I feel we had to waste a whole epy justifying Niki's and Paolo's presence.

OK. The Losties have one of the Others' walkies, and Paolo was the impetus for that, but after three powerhouse episodes, I was a bit letdown tonight.

Thoughts?

I was definitely hoping for some answers in this one
and while we got answers about who Nikki and Paulo were,
we didn't really get any answers about anything else.....
i don't think?

gotta think that walkie talkie will certainly come in handy.....
so they got that going for them,
which is nice :biggrin:

It's a shame there was so much misleading hype about this episode, because on its own merits as a change of pace, it wasn't bad.

If you know the genre of movies called film noir, that's what this episode was. Some very famous ones, based on novels by James M. Cain, like Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice, are about sexy femmes fatales who conspire to kill their husbands with the help of some poor chump who is in love with them. Both always end up betraying each other and dying. Sometimes the story is told in flasbacks. That's what this was, and kind of fun. But it seems to have nothing to do with the wider mythyology or game-changing, unless those timeline discrepancies turn out to be more than continuity mistakes.

Cardie

This was not the game changer. We learned more about Paulo and Nikki and a little bit more about some other characters.

Such a let down for such a huge build up to this one.

I'm becoming less convinced there is a game changer. But if I had to pick one, I'd say "Flashes Before Your Eyes" was the changer now.

as far as being a "Game Changer" to borrow the words of John Locke... "I was wrong"

:bangin:

The REAL game changer here could've been missed in all the hoopla, folks:

James had NO IDEA who Pikki was! Everyone else did. Yet everyone on the beach has gone thru the same 80 days. . .

. . .or HAVE THEY?!

THERE is your game-changer! :eek:

The one change is that we are suppose to realize that there are different views to everything -
What we see going on is not the same as another angle or another character - does it change the game NO not for me but it does make me want to go back and watch the pilot and a few other epis to see what else I may have missed -
therefore causing me to spend money on the DVD's thus giving ABC a reason NOT to cancel as sales have increased - so in that respect it does change the game and we may get an extra season out of lost!

Your giving me hope Save the Humans and with her eyes opening at the end... who knows.

When i posted this thread I thought for sure they were part of the others... but in the end it was just greed.

Interesting though all the rare species of things on this island which may refer to a thought I had earlier about the island and the crater the others live in.

I have to say that I really loved the shocker ending. I wasn't spoiled at all and just must say it was totally Hitchcock-ian. Great work and great writing. Maybe we didn't get answers but I gave up looking for those a long time ago.

TPTB still owe us one game changer. If it never comes I will be kind of upset.

They even said in last week's podcast that in this episode they would jump the shark. How??? Not to mention the list of spoilers that said the same. I can't help but feel that we've been deliberately foiled. But instead of being given an episode that was actually cooler than the rumors said it would be, we got the opposite.

Having said that, I still thought this episode was pretty good. It actually did tell us some important things. Arzt's bit about all the unusual species was interesting. Sawyer's ignorance regarding Nikki and Paulo was also reinforced. Paulo and Nikki finding The Pearl could have been huge, but really amounted to nothing. But, I think Paulo having the walky-talky is really significant. He could have been listening in to The Other's communications, and maybe he even interacted with them. Who knows.

did the producers say that THIS was the game changer? or just that there would BE a game changer this season?

TPTB did seem to overhype this episode. I liked it but ultimately, unless one of them comes back alive, all it did was end a rather short arc of two mediocre characters.

With that said, I still found it an enjoyable episode, and as others have mentioned the biggest effect of this will be either the Walkie Talkie, or perhaps the spiders in the future... after all the spiders seemed to come with smokey somehow... or atleast followed the smokey sound.


On the gamechanger note... I defently think "Flashes" was a game changer... how could anyone not say "flashes" was a game changer.

so they got that going for them,
which is nice :biggrin:

hah, gratuitous Caddyshack reference. :roflmao:

It's a shame there was so much misleading hype about this episode, because on its own merits as a change of pace, it wasn't bad.

I concur completely. I quite enjoyed the ep but thought something bigger was coming .. and it never did.

did the producers say that THIS was the game changer? or just that there would BE a game changer this season?

It's unclear. All I can say is that the game changer must not have happened yet or we would know about it. I don't think we would be questioning it. The closest thing so far that hits it is Anthony Cooper being on the island, or perhaps, further back, FBYE. I think Damon & Carlton would, at the very least, confirm that much. Maybe they'll clear some things up for us in the next podcast.

I still say that James--a con man who keeps track of EVERYONE, so he can stay on top of things--NOT knowing who Pikki was is of major importance, here.

This was not the game changer. We learned more about Paulo and Nikki and a little bit more about some other characters.

Such a let down for such a huge build up to this one.

Nope. best-written episode of this season. watch again.

Don

I still say that James--a con man who keeps track of EVERYONE, so he can stay on top of things--NOT knowing who Pikki was is of major importance, here.

I still think there's something weird about that. He doesnt recognize them AT ALL. Maybe they just never reallt met before he off to Alcatraz but he doesn't even seem to have even seen their faces before. It's strange. :undecide:

The REAL game changer here could've been missed in all the hoopla, folks:

James had NO IDEA who Pikki was! Everyone else did. Yet everyone on the beach has gone thru the same 80 days. . .

. . .or HAVE THEY?!

I found that a little weird that Sawyer, of all people, didn't notice a Nikki after all these months.There's only what, like a couple dozen women on the island and they been there for around three months and Sawyer didn't even know Nikki at all?


I think that's more out of character than throwing away $8 million dollar in diamonds. It reminds me of when Claire return from being kidnapped by Ethan. She couldn't remember anyone,or anything that happen. Could something had happen to Sawyer while he was with the others? something that we are not aware of ? or might have overlooked?

I'm frankly pretty stunned by the commentary here. I think every single person who didn't understand this episode should watch it again. This episode may not be the game changer, however:

1. We have it completely confirmed that we do not know what has transpired on this island outside of the core group of people. This changes the game as much as The Other 48 Days did. The level of deception here is larger than anything shown so far. This confirms that we do not really know what Desmond has experienced nor especially what Locke experienced that caused the last few episodes. It was a major major wake up call to all Lost viewers that what we have seen onscreen is as always, the percentage of what TPTB have shown us. Time editing has not always been done, as is traditional of drama, to eliminate quotidian time.
2. Sawyer and Charlie admit that they did the Sun kidnapping incident. Sawyer's negativity arc is changing. Sun didn't want the diamonds because what matters on the island is personal behavior, not property. I think this may be one of Sawyer's more critical episodes.
3. Charlie's negativity arc is changing
4. The literary references, such as Romeo and Juliet, were extreme.
5. Sawyer and Hurley killed two people accidentally
6. No one is a minor character. Dr. Arzdt came back and Nikki and Paulo hid their story. This is a serious message from TPTB.

So you know, if you skimmed this episode you missed some major stuff. This is a critically written episode revealing much about the Lost concept and story arc, which is far more critical to the viewer than whether or not they have a walkie talkie, which the writers could have written in next week anyway. What we have here is not what the writers are doing, but how they're doing it.

Don

just cuz the game hasn't changed in an obvious way i'm not willing to rule out that this ep had huge implications.


1. with everyone participating in the burial of paulo/nikki, this officially makes every lostaway still alive a murder/directly responsible for another's death.with the exception of jack (arguable) which could be significant

2. let's go through those fb's again. was everything consistent? or were we watching an alternate timeline? one that joined our timeline after the hatch exploded?


whatever it is, just cuz it wasn't obvious, i'm not willing to say it definately wasn't there.

I'm frankly pretty stunned by the commentary here. I think every single person who didn't understand this episode should watch it again. This episode may not be the game changer, however:

Everything you said is completely true. But you acknowledge it right here in your quote that this "may not be the game changer." And that is, after all, what thread is about. Doesn't mean we missed any of these points. Certainly, I haven't.

[quote=Admiral Erik Pressman;1456872]TPTB still owe us one game changer. If it never comes I will be kind of upset.
quote]

Hey guys

The Game changer was the way off the Island for the Losties AND the Others was blown up. All ties with the real world are gone

Unfortunately, a huge percentage of people have mass hallucinated that the giant fireball at the end of the dock was H2o on fire and that the Others, who were only 40 feet away for the sub, have such poor eyesight and investigating skills they didnt realize it:)

This may not be why you didnt see a game changer..but I suspect it is for many others.

The Box was also a big reveal..in that it alluded to Bens wish for a surgeon. I believe they also hinted at how the Losties survived the crash by "immediate" healing. So Last week was a very big game changer. I elaborate here. .

http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=73907

Well, I started this thread and earlier i had said maybe it was a bit pre-mature but after reading all these responses i now have to wonder that maybe it WAS the game changer.

This is what I like about this board and all your thoughts... you folks catch things i did not in the first run through. I will watch again tomorrow as i DVR all of them in HD.

Save the Humans thought that something is up with Sawyer and deserves more observation indeed. If anyone should be on top of (no pun intended) a good looking woman it's Sawyer... and he seems oblivious and if he's not he has ulterior motives.

I originally thought about this epi's insight with the view that Nikki and Paulo were part of the Others. This turned out to be not correct. What has become correct is the fact that what we have watched all along (the main characters) is NOT the only story/view going on. This fact alone opens a myriad of possibilities and could very well be the game changer.

We have all discussed that while certain things are happening with the specific gangs that go off on their adventures (Locke, Jack, Kate Michael etc)... what are the remaining losties doing? Well tonight we were given a camera on what was going on with the left behinds. This means that there are all kinds of things happening while the main story grinds on. The writers have let us know with an in-our-face epi that the beach folks are not just in a void.

So cool, indeed.

i think the game changer may be that its proof that the others know bout alal the dharma stations and know the whole island inside out .. as previously speculated

I'm pretty sure they said that the others did not know of the Swan for some reason from the spoiler section

that's pretty much it.

This was not the game changer, this was the jump the shark episode (as said by Damon and Carlton). There is a difference. A game changing episode is just that - the rules of the game have been altered. Something big happenes that changes what we know about something, whether it is a character or plot element. This could have been the "box" or it may not have happened yet. It is supposed to be during the second half of this season. A jump the shark episode is one that does something so outrageous that it can never really recover. I think they mean this was a potential jump the shark episode in that it was a quicky, odd, funny, stand-alone episode, with a Hithcockian ending. It was very different than most episodes. I don't think it jumped the shark at all. I liked the change of pace, though I don't want these kind of episodes all the time. I can see how some may think otherwise.

I'm frankly pretty stunned by the commentary here. I think every single person who didn't understand this episode should watch it again. This episode may not be the game changer, however:

1. We have it completely confirmed that we do not know what has transpired on this island outside of the core group of people. This changes the game as much as The Other 48 Days did. The level of deception here is larger than anything shown so far. This confirms that we do not really know what Desmond has experienced nor especially what Locke experienced that caused the last few episodes. It was a major major wake up call to all Lost viewers that what we have seen onscreen is as always, the percentage of what TPTB have shown us. Time editing has not always been done, as is traditional of drama, to eliminate quotidian time.
2. Sawyer and Charlie admit that they did the Sun kidnapping incident. Sawyer's negativity arc is changing. Sun didn't want the diamonds because what matters on the island is personal behavior, not property. I think this may be one of Sawyer's more critical episodes.
3. Charlie's negativity arc is changing
4. The literary references, such as Romeo and Juliet, were extreme.
5. Sawyer and Hurley killed two people accidentally
6. No one is a minor character. Dr. Arzdt came back and Nikki and Paulo hid their story. This is a serious message from TPTB.

So you know, if you skimmed this episode you missed some major stuff. This is a critically written episode revealing much about the Lost concept and story arc, which is far more critical to the viewer than whether or not they have a walkie talkie, which the writers could have written in next week anyway. What we have here is not what the writers are doing, but how they're doing it.

Don

Everything you said is completely true. But you acknowledge it right here in your quote that this "may not be the game changer." And that is, after all, what thread is about. Doesn't mean we missed any of these points. Certainly, I haven't.

Don, I'm gonna have to go with Jeni on this one
I didn't really miss anything you mentioned,
but most of it boils down to a great big SO WHAT?

everything that Nikki and Paulo went through in this episode really has no effect on the big picture. Of course things have happened on the island, outside of the main core of losties.....the problem is, that's all we have left now - the core group. Unless you wanna make mention of Rose and Bernard, who have been MIA for quite some time. This show has always had things happen to some, who in turn keep it from others....but most of the secrets they keep, end up having an effect on someone else.
The walkie talkie is the only thing that the other losties will take from this whole ordeal, and be able to actually use.....but like you said, they could have introduced that next week.

Another example you mention, Arzdt returning....except for his reference to Animal Farm, he was there stricly to introduce the spider and it's effects. So unless Animal Farm has some importance to the show, i really can't see how him returning has any meaning whatsoever.

The fact that Hurley and Sawyer killed accidentally, is to me, what makes it lack importance.....now if one of them had known what they were doing, then that would be something interesting......instead, it's just a cool twist, Hithcockian, as some have mentioned.

i like your insight into these occurances, but i lack to see their overall importance, which in turn makes me think this was lacking as a 'game changer' episode......instead, just an interesting and different way to tell the story of 2 characters that really have no impact on the bigger picture.

I think this episode was a game changer...
Look at the faces of Hurley, Sun, Charlie and Desmond...They do NOT trust Sawyer at all. They look as if they feel threatened by Sawyer...This could be the start of 'Lord of the flies'

Something should be noted as well. I have heard TPTB stated there would be a game changer and it would be obvious. I do not listen to podcasts or read spoilers so i could be ignorant here. But there were two things very obvious in this epi:

One, it was totally out of place and completely unexpected (recall i don't read spoilers) that we would focus on very minor characters.

Two, at the beginning of the show there was no "Previously on Lost" catcher-upper. I am correct about this part right? They just leaped right into the show, making the entire episode a "Previously on Lost".

This could mean nothing or it could mean "hey look this episode is different from all the rest, pay attention"

I'm frankly pretty stunned by the commentary here. I think every single person who didn't understand this episode should watch it again. This episode may not be the game changer, however:

1. We have it completely confirmed that we do not know what has transpired on this island outside of the core group of people. This changes the game as much as The Other 48 Days did. The level of deception here is larger than anything shown so far. This confirms that we do not really know what Desmond has experienced nor especially what Locke experienced that caused the last few episodes. It was a major major wake up call to all Lost viewers that what we have seen onscreen is as always, the percentage of what TPTB have shown us. Time editing has not always been done, as is traditional of drama, to eliminate quotidian time.
2. Sawyer and Charlie admit that they did the Sun kidnapping incident. Sawyer's negativity arc is changing. Sun didn't want the diamonds because what matters on the island is personal behavior, not property. I think this may be one of Sawyer's more critical episodes.
3. Charlie's negativity arc is changing
4. The literary references, such as Romeo and Juliet, were extreme.
5. Sawyer and Hurley killed two people accidentally
6. No one is a minor character. Dr. Arzdt came back and Nikki and Paulo hid their story. This is a serious message from TPTB.

So you know, if you skimmed this episode you missed some major stuff. This is a critically written episode revealing much about the Lost concept and story arc, which is far more critical to the viewer than whether or not they have a walkie talkie, which the writers could have written in next week anyway. What we have here is not what the writers are doing, but how they're doing it.

Don

Don,

I have to totally agree with you on this one! It seems as if some have skimmed the episode and simply taken it at surface value. The game change is exactly as you stated in your first bullet point. We really don't know what has transpired on the island beyond that core group of people. This could factor in heavily in the overall outcome of the story arc.

I don't understand why people keep watching only to complain about it. This episode rocked, in my opinion! It was a clear homage to the 70's suspense dramas I grew up watching - it followed the exact formula of the kind of show it was trying to parody. Right down to the violin-heavy orchestrations at the end of every Hurley Reyes, Private Eye, reveal.

If you simply don't get it, or have fatigue regarding not getting the answers that will ultimately be the end of the whole series, why watch? Turn the TV off and read one of the many books that Sawyer's been reading on the beach.

i definately don't think this was the game changer...

for the simple reason that after flashes before your eyes aired, Carlton and Damon said in an interiew "This episode wasn't the game changer, and belive me, when it happens, there will be no doubt that it did happen"

I think the fact there is even a thread speculating on wether or not this was a game changer or not just proves that it wasn't because it seems like a pretty bold claim frm TPTB and i definately consider flashes before your eyes to have more game changing elemnets than this episode...

Something should be noted as well. I have heard TPTB stated there would be a game changer and it would be obvious. I do not listen to podcasts or read spoilers so i could be ignorant here. But there were two things very obvious in this epi:

One, it was totally out of place and completely unexpected (recall i don't read spoilers) that we would focus on very minor characters.

Two, at the beginning of the show there was no "Previously on Lost" catcher-upper. I am correct about this part right? They just leaped right into the show, making the entire episode a "Previously on Lost".

This could mean nothing or it could mean "hey look this episode is different from all the rest, pay attention"

I noticed that as well and was wondering to myself if this had happened before any other episode....i can't think of any.

I think they were showing how this episode - unlike any other - was basically a stand alone episode.

If i had watched this episode and it was my first time watching Lost, I totally would have thought, wow, this is a pretty cool show.

Don,

I have to totally agree with you on this one! It seems as if some have skimmed the episode and simply taken it at surface value. The game change is exactly as you stated in your first bullet point. We really don't know what has transpired on the island beyond that core group of people. This could factor in heavily in the overall outcome of the story arc.

I don't understand why people keep watching only to complain about it. This episode rocked, in my opinion! It was a clear homage to the 70's suspense dramas I grew up watching - it followed the exact formula of the kind of show it was trying to parody. Right down to the violin-heavy orchestrations at the end of every Hurley Reyes, Private Eye, reveal.

If you simply don't get it, or have fatigue regarding not getting the answers that will ultimately be the end of the whole series, why watch? Turn the TV off and read one of the many books that Sawyer's been reading on the beach.

While I didn't really enjoy this episode, I do think it was put together in a very cool way as to show us events on the island from a different vantage point.

My only complaint is that it would have been more enjoyable if the events they showed, actually have some bearing on the plotlines.
imo, this episode would not be missed in the flow of the overall story arc.

I have enjoyed - to a greater degree - the 4 episodes previous to this one, which i why I keep watching.
:biggrin:

Just to remind everyone, here's what D&C said in the 'Ask Ausiello' TV Guide thingy-ma-bob....


You guys have been quoted as saying you're going to drop a "bomb" during the second half of the season.
Damon: There are two bombs being dropped, one of which is a character bomb, and that will happen within the first three episodes after the break. And the other is a more significant story bomb, a game-changer, as it were, and that will happen shortly after.


I think it'll happen in episode 15 or 16.

The "game-changer" cant be anything that surrounded Paolo and Nikki. For the simple fact that they're not in the game anymore, come to think of it, they were never in the game(Just ask Sawyer).

They never shared the info they got + They never got the the info that the main caracters got + Ben & Juliet were unaware of Paolo's presence in the hatch = No effect on outcome as they were never a factor.

How would this be for a game changer - someone who appears dead really is not???
So who do we know that we have wondered what happened to him after he died in season 1?
Answer: Christian

This changes the game several ways.

If Christian was not dead at the morgue (just spider bit), then his appearance on the island in season 1 may mean he is really there on the island (Christian = Jacob?)
If he was there, how about Kate's horse, Sayid's cat, Hurley's Dave, AND COOPER. Maybe they are all real. Not smoke monster hallucinations. All a result of the long, and elaborate machinations of the Others to control things.

This would certainly change the entire game!!!!

Guys, this was not the game-changer.

With respect to Don Widmore, the rest of us have brains, are capable of paying attention to an episode, etc. We simply drew different conclusions. You viewed this episode as a watershed, but the majority did not.

As has been duly noted above, the Producers noted that the game changer would be obvious and dramatic -- you can't miss it, in effect.

They have also said that "Flashes" was a pre-cursor to the game-changer -- a "grenade" before the bomb, they said.

I am a little disappointed, because I thought the game-changer would occur in this episode, or at least by this point in the season.

If it doesn't come soon, I think that will result in another major revolt among serious Lost fans -- notwithstanding the upward trajectory of the quality of the show recently.

Most evidence points to a time anomaly game changer.

Guys, if we're going to take the phrase "game changer" at face value -- a change in the rules of how things operate on the show -- there is no basis for saying this was it.

However, it is entirely possible that a hint of the game changer was buried in the show. Most likely candidate -- the erroneous newspaper date. (See thread on this).

I feel it was more of an eye opener to people to let them know we don't know the whole story on everyone. We learned new things about Arzt, Nikki, and Paulo that were important before this episode but not revealed until now. There could be storylines of other characters that we have not come across yet that hold clues to different things that to everyone is still 'left up in the air'.

Or, it could just be the writers showing that you can't take everything at face value and makes us all go insane coming up with all these ideas and theories. Then the writers get on these forums and see what we are all saying and get a good laugh, or maybe an idea or two. Who knows.

Was this episode a nod to some classic "noir" stories? Yes. Was this episode chalk full of clever lines directed at the audience, which largely hated the two characters? Yes. Did a different perspective on the previous 80 days on the island? Yes. Was the ending disturbing from a sheer "creepiness" quality? Yes.

However, I have to agree that the reason there was no "previously on Lost" this time was due to the fact that these two characters have not and will not change the "core" story of the show. This episode was a procedural crime thriller. The characters were introduced at the beginning, the culprits of a devious plan and they ended up dead for it at the end. All of Paulo and Nikki's "insights" into the island (The Pearl Station, Ben and Juliet's plan) were for not because they refused to tell anyone else or act investigate further. The Pikki story was extremely self-contained, with every interaction between their characters and the core cast being driven by the "diamond caper."

Basically, I think the writers were telling the audience that there were survivors of flight 815 that were even more self-obsessed and materialistic than Sawyer. When Nikki found Paulo amidst the plane wreckage she wasn't concerned for him, she wanted the bag full of diamonds. When Paulo overheard Ben and Juliet divulging their plans for Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Michael he didn't tell anyone. Instead he devised his own ridiculous hiding place for the diamonds. The rest of the survivors now understand Pikki's relationship and why they behaved in a certain manner. They have a walkie to show for it, which might... I emphasize might come into play later.

The only impact Pikki's existence had on the Losties was that it gave Charlie an impetus to come clean about his past "selfish" behavior. Which in turn reminded everyone how horrible Sawyer has behaved on the island.

I guess Paulo an Nikki served to remind the survivors and audience that just because we have "good" people among the group trying to survive and help each other, doesn't mean there aren't any self-consumed a-holes in the bunch. But didn't we already get that message with Sawyer? At least Sawyer shown that he has a "human" side. Nikki and Paulo were just straight, cold thieves. No redemption, no humanity. Just a bunch of sand in their faces.

This is no "game changer." I think it would have been more interesting and game changing if Nikki and Paulo had completely isolated themselves from the group and actually struck some sort of a deal with the Others/Hostiles.:undecide:

I keep waiting for the game changer too...I was thinking it might have been the appearance of Locke's father. Then I thought maybe last night we'd learn something about the plane crash that blew our minds. It's almost enough to make me swear off interviews, podcasts, etc...the hype only leads to disappointment.
Now I'm thinking it might come happen in the next Juliet flashback, or the next Desmond flashback maybe, but at this point we're a long way from "shortly after" Flashes Before Your Eyes.

So you guys really dont think this is a clue that Christian is alive because he was biten by the spider? That's why he wasn't in the coffin.

Also the girl from the ? episode. Doesn't her situation seem like the affect you suffer after being bitten by the spider? Appearing dead even to a physician and waking up several hours later...

I

So you guys really dont think this is a clue that Christian is alive because he was biten by the spider? That's why he wasn't in the coffin.

Also the girl from the ? episode. Doesn't her situation seem like the affect you suffer after being bitten by the spider? Appearing dead even to a physician and waking up several hours later...

I

I do NathanielStarr, Charlotte Malkin was our first clue.

I still say that James--a con man who keeps track of EVERYONE, so he can stay on top of things--NOT knowing who Pikki was is of major importance, here.Could be.

But I think it was simply a nod to the fans who complained of the hamhanded way meaningless new characters were inserted into the story.

I don't think we'll understand why this episode is such a game changer for a while...much like the initial discovery of the hatch. I think it has something to do with Locke's "things don't stay buried on this island" comment...my far fetched theory is this will eventually lead us to an understanding of the four toed statue and the civilization that built that...don't ask me to explain it....it's just a hunch.

So you guys really dont think this is a clue that Christian is alive because he was biten by the spider? That's why he wasn't in the coffin.Then this is a jump-the-shark episode!

Actually, the Christian who stalked Jack in the "White Rabbit" episode disappeared several times (once when standing ankle-deep in the ocean as Jack watched). They'd have to explain a lot more than just the spider bite if they wanted to bring him back.

To those who have said "Flashes" was the game changer, here's what Darlton said:

DL.: We had mentioned earlier that we were going to drop a couple of bombs in the middle of season three. And this is sort of—
C.C.: Bomb one.
D.L.: I'd say this is kind of a grenade. The real bombs have yet to come.
C.C.: Right now we are softening up the earth for the big bombs that are going to fall. The B-52 is on its way.

I think if a bomb falls on you, you don't have to wait several more weeks before you realize it dropped. If there is a big bomb coming, we are supposed to recognize it immediately upon detonation.

Cardie

oh wait i have it now. Billy D. ends up in the "Box" and sings "Somewhere over the rainbow" (out of key of course). Randy points out that it was "pitchy"... Paula Loves it to death and Simon calls it Caberet or even drunk Karaoke. Sanjiah sports a mohawk and drives him off in a Ford Mustang.

What do you think?