The cursed Hugo stuff is funny as well. Starting off that Cheech is his father! When the chicken shack blew up I laughed(I have issues), especially because Hurley was nervous about letting the reporting into the restaurant.

Sean, I agree I am also tired of the Sawyer/Kate thing. Either be a couple or don’t! I think the Juliet/Jack thing is a better story. I want to see how that plays out. She can be ruthless, which she didn’t seem to be before she go to the Island. I remember when Sawyer starting fighting to see what he was against and she pulled gun on him and said, I could have handled the others, but she would have shot me! He can reads people so he know. Should be interesting to see where those two go.

We have plenty of times for answers and I think the producers are smart to feed us some before the end of the season.

I am going to miss next week’s episode because we are going on a cruise. So I am going to have to catch up on this and Heroes when I get back. Have a good week guys!

See – in addition to grooving on the Dharma mythology, I watch this show because I genuinely like the characters (most of ‘em – can’t wait for the Hobbit to die).

Sure, not a lot of plot development occurred but this was a nice spell – a little breather for the castaways to just chill – knock back a few skunked brews – and smile for a change. And their happiness made me happy.

This episode reminded me of that segment in Shawshank where Andy Dufresne scores some beers and a lazy afternoon from the guards for helping Clancy Brown with his tax evasion. Dufresne takes pleasure in watching his pals share a rare moment of freedom (and hope) and that’s the greatest reward of all to him. That was Hurley’s journey in this episode.

It’s the quasi-mythology episodes (like ‘Stranger’) that frustrate me when they simply spin their wheels.

I guess my point is they don’t all have to by myth heavy so long as they are as fun as ‘Tricia Tanaka is Dead’.

Hey, any show that name drops Little House, Snuffalufugus, Skeletor and drops a meteor (or an asteroid) on a Mr. Clucks Chicken Shack is hardly boring in my opinion.

And next week – ‘Enter 77′ is expected to be big-time Dharma related so a little spell before that ep is fine with me.

I guess I will add that I don’t believe Cindy or the kids have been brainwashed at all. I think the Others have given them some kind of explanation that they’ll believe and have treated them well. As for them being witnesses, it is probably part of the story they were fed and I agree that they were most likely there to witness Juliet’s trial, but possibly also to see what they’ve done with Jack (makes you wonder what they were told about him).

Also, the Kate and Sawyer stuff is really just annoying me at this point. I don’t care if they like each other for real or not or if she likes Jack or both… I am more intrigued with the Jack and Juliet relationship.

Oh, and I guess the reveal that Ethan was a good surgeon opened a question about whether he was messing with Juliet’s sister.

I’ll bitch more about last night’s when you post it…

As far as the Cindy exchange goes, I’m surprised he didn’t tell her Ann Lucia was dead, killed in effect, by Ben and the others she is not a part of. She had to have been brainwashed as when we were first introduced to the tailie’s she was very freaked out even by the presence of Michael, Saywer and Jin. I would have thought maybe he would have tried to wake her up. Actually you crack that joke about Cindy keeping the booze flowing, but in the pilot she did just that with Jack. Handed him some nips on the house!