"The Shape of Things to Come" is the 81st episode of the American Broadcasting Company's Lost, and the ninth episode of the fourth season, first aired on April 24, 2008, in the U.S. and Canada. It was written by Drew Goddard and Brian K. Vaughan and directed by Jack Bender. The narrative centers on Ben Linus (played by Michael Emerson) as he and the Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crash survivors at the Barracks come under attack in December 2004, while flashforwards to late 2005 show him recruiting Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews) as a hitman and confronting his enemy Charles Widmore (Alan Dale). Production was paused by the 100-day Writers Guild of America strike. "The Shape of Things to Come" received positive critical reviews and the original broadcast was watched by 14 million Americans. Much praise was directed at Emerson's acting skills, particularly in his reaction to the execution of his character's daughter Alex (Tania Raymonde). His performance in this episode garnered a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, and the episode was nominated in the category of Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shape_of_Things_to_Come_(Lost)

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1479 BC:

Thutmose III (statue pictured) became the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, although during the first 22 years of the reign he was co-regent with his aunt, Hatshepsut. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_III

1547:

Schmalkaldic War: Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, led Imperial troops to a decisive victory in the Battle of Mühlberg over the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League of Protestant princes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_M%C3%BChlberg

1915:

The Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire began with the arrest and deportation of hundreds of prominent Armenians in Constantinople. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_Armenian_intellectuals_on_24_April_1915

1933:

Nazi Germany began its persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_in_Nazi_Germany

1993:

The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a truck bomb in London's financial district in Bishopsgate, killing one person, injuring forty-four others, and causing £350 million in damages. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Bishopsgate_bombing

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

ytterbium: 1. A metallic chemical element (symbol Yb) with an atomic number of 70. 2. A single atom of this element. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ytterbium

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The end will show the whole truth.   --William the Silent https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_the_Silent