I liked "Chinese Democracy." But I admittedly subscribe to a very lenient, "3 good tracks + 1 great track = an okay album" philosophy (good tracks: "I.R.S.," "There Was A Time," "Catcher in the Rye," great track: "Street of Dreams").

Estes don't have any evidence against Carrie eavesdropping and sleeping with Brodie other than Brodie's word. If Brodie goes through with the assassination or is exposed to the CIA as Abu Nazir's agent next week, there isn't much of a case against Carrie other than the claims of a terrorist. Or maybe her and Saul just…

Or the lyrics to Rush's "Freewill."

Maybe there are multiple wheels on the Island? As I understand it (or maybe I'm just theorizing), the Wheel(s) is simply an ancient version of the Orchid station: a way to manipulate the "negatively-charged exotic matter" (explained in the Orchid orientation video in the S4 finale) that gives the Island it's…

I similarly have mixed feelings about on-Island Ben right now. He seems to have totally checked out, mentally. I'm happy he's learned to let go of his quest to control the Island and all (his "I watched my daughter die…" speech is still the highlight of the S6 for me), but he was a lot more fun when he was a…

Grenades
If Richard knew there was a stockpile of perfectly safe grenades on the Island, why wouldn't he have gone for them first instead of heading for the Acme TNT aboard the Black Rock?

I got goosebumps when Richard said Jacob had told him, simply, "What the Island is." I think Richard just mean "a cork" (what Jacob refereed to the Island as, abstractly, in Ab Aeterno"), but maybe he meant in a more literal sense?

Emotionally speaking, I think Jack has had the wildest and best-developed journey of the show. Look how much he's changed: From alpha-Leader in Season-1 to Control Freak in Season 2 to Paranoid Husband in Seasons 2 to Bearded Pill Popper in Season 4 to Follower tonight.

Wow, I haven't thought about the S5 Island-jumping shenanigans in a while. Remember when we thought THAT was complicated?

That's assuming Kate and Sawyer are Constants (or, at the very least, 'True Loves"), which seems to be the driving factor for Parallel Universe Awakening (Charlie/Claire, Penelope/Desmond, Farraday/Charlotte, et al.). And I haven't written off Jack & Kate. Did anyone else notice the warm look they exchanged toward the…

I agree. It's barely an answer. Are "voices of spirits trapped on the Island" any less mysterious than "whispers?"

Move over, Jack Shepard. There's a new King of Amused Skepticism on the Island!

Statue & Temple theory:
In tonight's episode Jacob told Richard that he's been bringing people to the Island for "a very long time." Perhaps one of those groups of people were Ancient Egyptians. And just as the American's brought to the Island in the '70s built the DHARMA laboratories, the Egyptians built the…

The Island as "a cork"
So Jacob's explanation of the Island as "a cork" that keeps "evil incarnate/Smoke Monster/dude from Deadwood" restrained.

Pauly Shore Vs. Al Gore
You have to give "Bio-Dome" credit for making a movie (albeit a sophomoric one) about the environment 10 years before "An Inconvenient Truth" made "going green" hip.

Some Thoughts On Salvatore
The thing about Salvatore that fascinates me is how he still manages to be misogynistic towards the Sterling & Cooper ladies (even if, for obvious reasons, he's not as aggressively sexual as the rest of the boys). It's possible his attitude toward the girls is just another charade (like his…

Life & Work
In pretty direct opposition that phony "we're family here" line Duck gave to Pete, Don tells Campbell "There's life, and there's work."

Good Shows That Don't Involve Handcuffs
One of the things about "Mad Men" I love the most is how it's characters aren't engaged in occupations that pose an immediate threat to theirs or others' lives (i.e., aren't cops). "Lost," "The Wire," "24," though all above-average shows, ultimately rely on the life-or-death…

JFK of Advertising
Great review. However, I'm a bit puzzled at the author's description of Don Draper as "the JFK of advertising," since he is an active supporter (or employee, at least) of Nixon throughout the first season. One of the most refreshingly original aspects of "Mad Men," in fact, are '60s protagonists…

Watching Con Air Six Times
First and foremost, nicely done, A.V. Club.