LOST fans, I’m sorry, but the show just hasn’t had too much appeal for me lately, and I haven’t felt as much need to write recaps and theories as I did with past seasons. The mystery is just too stretched out, the magic is gone, and I’m starting to feel like Tycho and Gabe and the shark. So all I have to offer you right now is a few observations, in no particular episodic order, and a linkdump.

• A note to Jack in his Thailand flashback (Jackback?) — if a pretty woman in Phuket takes a sudden interest in you like that, she is most likely not a woman. Doesn’t matter if she’s got breasts and even the proper equipment down there. Trust me. I’ve been to Patong. That’s a man, baby.
• Seriously. I was wondering if the big reveal in that episode would be that Achara’s “secret” would be that she was actually an ex-dude, giving Jack a major M. Butterfly moment which drives him to get a tattoo saying “I boned a tranny in Phuket and all I got was this stupid tattoo and a mild case of herpes.” (in Chinese).
• Speaking of which, you know what Achara means in Tagalog? Pickled papaya.
• Poor Mal Reynolds just can’t catch a break; this is the second wife he’s had that’s lied to him about her identity and drugged him to unconsciousness. (reference)
• They’re still not asking enough questions. I mean, Jack’s seen the DHARMA Orientation film and these people appear to be scientists, so why hasn’t he once asked if they’re with DHARMA and what kind of research they’re doing that requires them to be so evil?
• In the second season, while “drawing the line,” Tom says “This is our island; then when showing Sawyer the channel between islands, Ben says “That’s your island”; and then it turns out now that the smaller island is where the scientists work and the bigger island is where they live in their cozy bungalows with backyards — so which island is whose? And how do you have an island the size of Alcatraz two miles off the coast of a bigger island and not have anyone among the crash survivors see it in their two months of wandering all over the island anyway? Sayid’s been a significant way around the beach, and has taken a boat with Sun and Jin over to Pala Ferry, and they haven’t seen anything? Kate and Sawyer’s escape on Alex’s boat, plus the “this island” references from Juliet and Isabel, pretty much put to rest the old “cosmic loop, same island” theory, so it makes me wonder whether the whole “other island” story was hastily pulled from a plot hat without regard for continuity.
• Doesn’t look like Desmond really time-traveled back to his Penny Days; it was more like an interactive virtual reality-like flashback induced by the Hatch failsafe.

Now, on to the links:

• Clever WoT: Why LOST is Lost
• Top 50 LOST Loose Ends
• DCeiver’s “The Pompatus Of LOST”:
  • 3.07: Escape From Practice Island
  • 3.08: A Date with Predestiny
  • 2.09: The Perils of a Bilingual Education
• TV Squad Recaps and Supplements:
  • LOST: I Do
  • Kate Loves Jack, Not Sawyer
  • LOST: Not In Portland (with analysis)
  • LOST: Flashes Before Your Eyes
  • LOST: Stranger in a Strange Land
  • Character Flashback Videos Now Available
  • LOST Blooper Reel Videos
• Television Without Pity Recaps:
  • I Do
  • Not in Portland
  • Flashes Before Your Eyes
  • Stranger in a Strange Land

Will I still be watching LOST? Yeah, I think so. But if I miss an episode I won’t be crying. Profound analysis here.