Showing posts with label Island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Island. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Lost Watch: Playing Catch Up
I'm behind on my "Lost" blogging. Sorry. I'm going to kill three birds with one stone and discuss the last three weeks of "Lost" in one monster post. Here goes:
Episode Title: The Constant
Air Date: 2/28/2008
In a fourth season that has consistently been kicking all kinds of ass, this was the motherfucker of all "Lost" episodes. It was a Desmond-centric episode all about Vonnegut-inspired time travel. That's right, due to what Daniel Faraday describes as "complications" caused by flying from the island, Desmond Hume becomes unstuck in time. Poor Des, who was the unlucky bastard that got stuck pressing those infernal buttons in the original hatch until Locke showed up, is now jumping back and forth between being on the freighter just off the island and to his time serving in the army, which he signed up for after leaving Penny for the first time. Never has a man, fictional or real, suffered more because of his fear of commitment.
Daniel tells Desmond to go find.. Daniel, or the younger version of Daniel, who is at Oxford trying to create a machine that will...well unstuck people in time. Desmond's consciousness keeps skipping back and forth, and Daniel warns him that it could kill him...unless he finds a "constant" to keep him grounded, which of course turns out to be the love he keeps leaving, Penny.
Desmond first slips back to the past while he, Sayid, and the new helicopter pilot are flying from the island...a flight that takes twenty minutes from their point of view and THREE DAYS from the point of view of the islanders. Talk about relativity.
On the freighter, they meet the "communications officer," who has also gone nuts and is slipping back and forth in time...just because he looked at the island through a telescope. And bonus, the communications officer is played by "Hackers" and "Short Circuit 2" (which far superior to the first "Short Circuit" film, duh,) star Fisher Stevens. Who promptly dies after his brain is fried by the time jumps, giving Demond a grim motivation to give Penny a call and find his constant.
The episode ends with Daniel reading an old notebook, which now has notes about Desmond within. In the book, Danile writes "Desmond Hume will be MY constant," which means that a.) Daniel is going to become unstuck in time as well or b.) Daniel hearts Desmond.
Overall, "The Constant" was the stunning mindblower to top the rest of season four's constant line of stunning mindblowers.
Episode Title: The Other Woman
Air Date: 3/6/2008
It was inevitable that the week after a mindfucking time travel episode featuring Desmond, the next episode would be a letdown, but the Juliet-centric "The Other Woman" turned out to be the worst episode of season four so far. Which is to say, it was still pretty damned good overall.
Basically, we learn that Juliet had an affair with one of the Others, Goodwin, who was memorably killed by Ana Lucia in season 2 after she realizes he was posing as one of the Oceanic crash survivors. Goodwin was married to the bitchy Harper, who seems like she's the Other-town shrink or something. Turns out Goodwin was sent off on the dangerous infiltration mission precisely because of his affair with Juliet...because Ben Linus apparently has a thing for skinny blonde fertility doctors. That's right, Ben is obsessed with Juliet and considers her "his." This leads to a weirdly inappropriate kiss between Jack and Juliet after she confesses her feeling for him, which seems wrong since he so totally likes Kate, I mean OMG. This whole subplot was a little too 90210 for me, but it is cool to find out that Ben has real, human emotions, even if they are of the creepily possessive variety.
Anyway, the bitchy new character, Harper, somehow shows up in the present to warn Juliet that Daniel and cutie new arrival Charlotte are on their way to "The Tempest" station, and she tells her that they plan on releasing the gas that Ben used to kill all the Dharma folk back in the day. When Juliet catches up to them, it turns out they are actually trying to neutralize the gas so Ben can't use it on them- or anyone else.
In Other-town, Ben finally lets Locke in on a little secret- the freighter off the island is run by one Charles Whitmore. That's right, Penny's dad is looking for the island- and Benjamin claims he wants to exploit it. This might not be true, but it's enough information to trade off Benjamin getting let out of the basement and moving into his own house...much to the chagrin of roomies Sawyer and Hurley (man, that's a sitcom setup right there.)
Overall, this was the least exciting episode of season four, but it set up things which will clearly become important a little bit down the line. Not the show's finest hour, but they can't all be mindblowing time travel adventures, can they?
Episode Title: Ji Yeon
Air Date: 3/13/2008
So we're finally caught up. The Sun and Jin-centric "Ji Yeon," was a trickily structured little episode that had a nice little twist packed in. In the flashbacks, we see Sun about to give birth to the baby she realized she was having back on the island...and we see Jin rushing to get to the hospital, buying a stuffed panda for a newborn on the way. So happy ending for those two, huh, they're both part of the Oceanic 6! Except...there were already 5 survivors revealed as part of the six. Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, and baby Aaron makes five. So two more people home from the island does not add up at all. Turns out at the end that the producers were messing with us, and cross cutting between a Jin FLASHBACK and a Sun FLASHFORWARD. So Sun is the sixth and final survivor to make it home. Which turns out to be heartbreaking, because in the "present" on the island, Sun and Jin have a lovely little episode where he finally finds out that she cheated on him back in Korea...and he forgive her, admitting that he was a cold jerk when they were first married who deserved what he got, but now he's a better man who loves her very much. The final flash forward has Hurley showing up to see Sun's baby as the two of them go and visit Jin's grave. BUT WAIT! Jin's grave says he died when Oceanic crashed...which is obviously a lie and part of the whole coverup that the Oceanic 6 have agreed to be a part of. Does this mean Jin died in some sort of struggle that ended with the six leaving? Or does this possibly mean that Jin (and others) are still alive, back on mystery island? I am deeply of the belief that there are plenty of crash survivors still kicking it back on the island... why else would ghost Charlie tell Hurley to go back and tell them that "they need you?"
Meanwhile, on the freighter, Sayid and Desmond finally get to meet the captain. Even though somebody slips them a note that warns them not to trust him, the badass cap'n turns out to be more direct and forthcoming than anyone would have expected (especially for a character on this particular series, where every single new person is a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a mindfuck with hidden agendas that usually make them too guarded to admit whether it's cold enough outside to bring a coat, let alone give any real information about themselves or anything ever.) The Captain tells Sayid that a recovery of Oceanic 815 was staged, leading him to ask where "one would get 324 dead bodies." He tells them that the faked recovery is one of the reasons his employer is interested in finding Benjamin Linus...and admits that his employer is Charles Whitmore, which comes as quite a shock to Desmond. But the final twist in the episode is when the bald asshole doctor takes Sayid and Desmond to their new living quarters, a roach infested room with blood splattered creepily on the wall. When the bad doctor says, dryly, "that shouldn't still be there," he calls the ship's janitor over. When he introduces Desmond and Sayid to the clean up guy, Kevin Johnson, everyone's favorite Iraqi torture artist has to keep his shit together... because it's none other than MOTHERFUCKING MICHAEL. That's right, gone since the season 2....let me repeat that, SEASON 2...finale, the man who betrayed his friends for the sake of his son is back in the motherfucking house.
So I guess we know who Ben's spy is, don't we?
Next week is the eighth episode of season four, and the last before a long hiatus caused by the writer's strike. But since it's gonna be a Michael episode, it promises to be a good one. And in their ghoulish and exploitive way, the promos for the eighth episode promise that "NEXT WEEK...SOMEONE....WILL...DIE!"
Hang onto your butts.
Episode Title: The Constant
Air Date: 2/28/2008
In a fourth season that has consistently been kicking all kinds of ass, this was the motherfucker of all "Lost" episodes. It was a Desmond-centric episode all about Vonnegut-inspired time travel. That's right, due to what Daniel Faraday describes as "complications" caused by flying from the island, Desmond Hume becomes unstuck in time. Poor Des, who was the unlucky bastard that got stuck pressing those infernal buttons in the original hatch until Locke showed up, is now jumping back and forth between being on the freighter just off the island and to his time serving in the army, which he signed up for after leaving Penny for the first time. Never has a man, fictional or real, suffered more because of his fear of commitment.
Daniel tells Desmond to go find.. Daniel, or the younger version of Daniel, who is at Oxford trying to create a machine that will...well unstuck people in time. Desmond's consciousness keeps skipping back and forth, and Daniel warns him that it could kill him...unless he finds a "constant" to keep him grounded, which of course turns out to be the love he keeps leaving, Penny.
Desmond first slips back to the past while he, Sayid, and the new helicopter pilot are flying from the island...a flight that takes twenty minutes from their point of view and THREE DAYS from the point of view of the islanders. Talk about relativity.
On the freighter, they meet the "communications officer," who has also gone nuts and is slipping back and forth in time...just because he looked at the island through a telescope. And bonus, the communications officer is played by "Hackers" and "Short Circuit 2" (which far superior to the first "Short Circuit" film, duh,) star Fisher Stevens. Who promptly dies after his brain is fried by the time jumps, giving Demond a grim motivation to give Penny a call and find his constant.
The episode ends with Daniel reading an old notebook, which now has notes about Desmond within. In the book, Danile writes "Desmond Hume will be MY constant," which means that a.) Daniel is going to become unstuck in time as well or b.) Daniel hearts Desmond.
Overall, "The Constant" was the stunning mindblower to top the rest of season four's constant line of stunning mindblowers.
Episode Title: The Other Woman
Air Date: 3/6/2008
It was inevitable that the week after a mindfucking time travel episode featuring Desmond, the next episode would be a letdown, but the Juliet-centric "The Other Woman" turned out to be the worst episode of season four so far. Which is to say, it was still pretty damned good overall.
Basically, we learn that Juliet had an affair with one of the Others, Goodwin, who was memorably killed by Ana Lucia in season 2 after she realizes he was posing as one of the Oceanic crash survivors. Goodwin was married to the bitchy Harper, who seems like she's the Other-town shrink or something. Turns out Goodwin was sent off on the dangerous infiltration mission precisely because of his affair with Juliet...because Ben Linus apparently has a thing for skinny blonde fertility doctors. That's right, Ben is obsessed with Juliet and considers her "his." This leads to a weirdly inappropriate kiss between Jack and Juliet after she confesses her feeling for him, which seems wrong since he so totally likes Kate, I mean OMG. This whole subplot was a little too 90210 for me, but it is cool to find out that Ben has real, human emotions, even if they are of the creepily possessive variety.
Anyway, the bitchy new character, Harper, somehow shows up in the present to warn Juliet that Daniel and cutie new arrival Charlotte are on their way to "The Tempest" station, and she tells her that they plan on releasing the gas that Ben used to kill all the Dharma folk back in the day. When Juliet catches up to them, it turns out they are actually trying to neutralize the gas so Ben can't use it on them- or anyone else.
In Other-town, Ben finally lets Locke in on a little secret- the freighter off the island is run by one Charles Whitmore. That's right, Penny's dad is looking for the island- and Benjamin claims he wants to exploit it. This might not be true, but it's enough information to trade off Benjamin getting let out of the basement and moving into his own house...much to the chagrin of roomies Sawyer and Hurley (man, that's a sitcom setup right there.)
Overall, this was the least exciting episode of season four, but it set up things which will clearly become important a little bit down the line. Not the show's finest hour, but they can't all be mindblowing time travel adventures, can they?
Episode Title: Ji Yeon
Air Date: 3/13/2008
So we're finally caught up. The Sun and Jin-centric "Ji Yeon," was a trickily structured little episode that had a nice little twist packed in. In the flashbacks, we see Sun about to give birth to the baby she realized she was having back on the island...and we see Jin rushing to get to the hospital, buying a stuffed panda for a newborn on the way. So happy ending for those two, huh, they're both part of the Oceanic 6! Except...there were already 5 survivors revealed as part of the six. Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, and baby Aaron makes five. So two more people home from the island does not add up at all. Turns out at the end that the producers were messing with us, and cross cutting between a Jin FLASHBACK and a Sun FLASHFORWARD. So Sun is the sixth and final survivor to make it home. Which turns out to be heartbreaking, because in the "present" on the island, Sun and Jin have a lovely little episode where he finally finds out that she cheated on him back in Korea...and he forgive her, admitting that he was a cold jerk when they were first married who deserved what he got, but now he's a better man who loves her very much. The final flash forward has Hurley showing up to see Sun's baby as the two of them go and visit Jin's grave. BUT WAIT! Jin's grave says he died when Oceanic crashed...which is obviously a lie and part of the whole coverup that the Oceanic 6 have agreed to be a part of. Does this mean Jin died in some sort of struggle that ended with the six leaving? Or does this possibly mean that Jin (and others) are still alive, back on mystery island? I am deeply of the belief that there are plenty of crash survivors still kicking it back on the island... why else would ghost Charlie tell Hurley to go back and tell them that "they need you?"
Meanwhile, on the freighter, Sayid and Desmond finally get to meet the captain. Even though somebody slips them a note that warns them not to trust him, the badass cap'n turns out to be more direct and forthcoming than anyone would have expected (especially for a character on this particular series, where every single new person is a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a mindfuck with hidden agendas that usually make them too guarded to admit whether it's cold enough outside to bring a coat, let alone give any real information about themselves or anything ever.) The Captain tells Sayid that a recovery of Oceanic 815 was staged, leading him to ask where "one would get 324 dead bodies." He tells them that the faked recovery is one of the reasons his employer is interested in finding Benjamin Linus...and admits that his employer is Charles Whitmore, which comes as quite a shock to Desmond. But the final twist in the episode is when the bald asshole doctor takes Sayid and Desmond to their new living quarters, a roach infested room with blood splattered creepily on the wall. When the bad doctor says, dryly, "that shouldn't still be there," he calls the ship's janitor over. When he introduces Desmond and Sayid to the clean up guy, Kevin Johnson, everyone's favorite Iraqi torture artist has to keep his shit together... because it's none other than MOTHERFUCKING MICHAEL. That's right, gone since the season 2....let me repeat that, SEASON 2...finale, the man who betrayed his friends for the sake of his son is back in the motherfucking house.
So I guess we know who Ben's spy is, don't we?
Next week is the eighth episode of season four, and the last before a long hiatus caused by the writer's strike. But since it's gonna be a Michael episode, it promises to be a good one. And in their ghoulish and exploitive way, the promos for the eighth episode promise that "NEXT WEEK...SOMEONE....WILL...DIE!"
Hang onto your butts.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Lost Watch: The New Hotness
Episode Title: Confirmed Dead
Air Date: 2/7/2008
I hate to short change my Lost post, but it is Thursday as I write this, and the next episode is on tonight...and there is also an Indiana Jones trailer to discuss. Being a geek is fucking exhausting.
Episode 2 of this shortened season was completely kick ass. We got quick intros to our four new islanders, all of whom seem interesting, complex, and not the bad guys out to kill everyone Ben claimed they were. But they might be working for bad guys out to kill everyone.
And why was Ben so intent on keeping them off the island?
Because the fuckers came there for him.
Oh shit.
Ben's storyline is getting more and more intriguing with every episode of "Lost." His baiting of Sawyer was so great because you knew Sawyer realized he was being manipulated into beating him up even as he did it. Brilliant shit.
Meanwhile, John Locke is trying to act like a leader...and quickly learning Jack's job is not so easy. As Jack said towards the end of season one, (I'm paraphrasing because I'm far too lazy right now to actually look it up,) "I think we've got a John Locke problem."
Mr. Ghostbuster, with his weird dust buster paranormal communication machine thing, is about to blow the roof off the house with the whole Jacob thing too.
And tonight's episode is supposed to be a Sayid story. Fuck yes.
Air Date: 2/7/2008
I hate to short change my Lost post, but it is Thursday as I write this, and the next episode is on tonight...and there is also an Indiana Jones trailer to discuss. Being a geek is fucking exhausting.
Episode 2 of this shortened season was completely kick ass. We got quick intros to our four new islanders, all of whom seem interesting, complex, and not the bad guys out to kill everyone Ben claimed they were. But they might be working for bad guys out to kill everyone.
And why was Ben so intent on keeping them off the island?
Because the fuckers came there for him.
Oh shit.
Ben's storyline is getting more and more intriguing with every episode of "Lost." His baiting of Sawyer was so great because you knew Sawyer realized he was being manipulated into beating him up even as he did it. Brilliant shit.
Meanwhile, John Locke is trying to act like a leader...and quickly learning Jack's job is not so easy. As Jack said towards the end of season one, (I'm paraphrasing because I'm far too lazy right now to actually look it up,) "I think we've got a John Locke problem."
Mr. Ghostbuster, with his weird dust buster paranormal communication machine thing, is about to blow the roof off the house with the whole Jacob thing too.
And tonight's episode is supposed to be a Sayid story. Fuck yes.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Lost Watch: Welcome Back, Hurley
Episode Title: The Beginning of the End
Air Date: 1/31/2008
And, we're back.
After a long hiatus, "Lost" kicked off season four, to big ratings during a time when America is so desperate for new, non-reality based content that they even stuck around after the episode aired to watch the absurd looking "Eli Stone."
The new "Lost" wasn't a mindblower, at this not the way that previous season premieres have been. Obviously, we didn't get anything as spectacular as our first look at the inside of the Hatch in season two or the revelation of the creepy Other-town in season three. But what fans were treated to last night was a lot of setup for what promises to be a wild ride in season 4.
Surprisingly, last night was a Hurley episode, and right away, in the new flash forward structure, we realize that he was one of the people taken off the island, along with only five others (The Oceanic 6.) So far we know half of the people who made it off-island- Jack, Kate, and now Hurley. The flash forward began dramatically, with Hurley in a high speed car chase on the LA freeways (as common a sight to Los Angelenos as rain in Seattle.) But it turns out that Hurley was being chased by the cops- because he ran out of a convenience store after being spooked by something. He didn't rob the place at gun point, he just ran off. I mean, even if Hurley run out with some HoHos and Twinkies without paying for them, would there really be a high speed chase with multiple cop cars pursuing him?
So Hurley gets himself committed, where he is visited by a creepy bald black dude who asks him if "they're still alive." As Jack made clear in the season finale, the Oceanic 6 have made some sort of hush hush deal in which they've promised to keep quiet about whatever happened to them on the island. Hurley's second visitor is more disturbing...none other than poor dead Charlie. The Drive Shaft singer tells Hurley that, yes, he's dead...but that he is there, right in front of Hurley. Charlie tells his old friend that "they need him," presumably referring to the other crash survivors he left behind on the island. When a pre-bearded Jack visits Hurley, he tells him that "it" wants us to come back. It, probably, being the island itself, which has turned out to be one of the most demanding land masses in the history of narrative fiction.
Back on island, in "the present" part of the story, Hurley has to deal with Charlie's death- and begins to think that his friend's warning that the people coming are not Penny's people means that Locke might be right, and they could be hostile. On his way back to the rest of the survivors, he runs into Locke himself...but not before he sees Jacob's creepy shack. Yes, Hurley can see the shack- and a person inside it, in the scariest moment of the season premiere. When he turns away from the little shanty, it's in front of him again. So Hurley's in tune with whatever crazy wave length allows Locke and Benjamin to see Jacob.
When the survivors finally reunite, Hurley has seen Locke's point of view, and decides that staying on the island might be the best option- because that's what Charlie died trying to tell them. The islanders split into two teams, with Captain Jack and Captain Locke being the leaders. Hurley, Claire and baby, the tied up Ben, and, shockingly, Sawyer, join team "stay on the island," while Kate and Sayid stay with Jack. The funniest moment of the episode was when Bernard, who promised to stay on the island with his ailing wife, asks Rose if she wants to go with Locke and she responds "I'm not going anywhere with that man." Probably a good call. He did put a knife in the back of the new arrival before they got a beat on whether she's a good guy or not.
One more note on the flash forward stuff- Hurley tells Jack "I should never have joined up with Locke," so he clearly regrets his decision...though we don't know what exactly went wrong with it. A weirdly upbeat Jack tells Hurley "it's water under the bridge, man," as if joining Team Locke was just a social faux pas, so who knows?
The episode ends with Naomi's friends parachuting onto the island, starting with Jeremy Davies, 90's indie film actor who starred in "Spanking the Monkey" and "Saving Private Ryan," and has always specialized on awkward bordering on creepy characters. When he takes off his helmet, he tells Jack "we're here to rescue you." Time will tell if he's lying.
So, on to theories.
Hurley can see Jacob and his house because of his "insanity" that landed him in the loony bin in the first place (which is where he was in flash backs and the new flash forward.) He either really is insane, or really can see dead people (which is why Charlie comes to him in the flash forward,) an ability he shares with Ben and Locke.
Hurley's igloo drawing at the loony bin has something to do with the arctic hatch from the end of season 2.
The creepy bald black guy is working for an organization looking for the island, and it's going to become very clear how important the island itself is to a lot of different people very soon.
Davies' character works for such an organization. They're not really there to rescue Jack or anyone. (This one is easy to guess, seeing as there are already promos for this season that give that away.)
Letting Ben go with Locke is a really bad idea. Like, really bad.
Jack will look weird with a beard, like Hurley said, but only because it will look fake as all hell. (I guess this isn't a theory, more of a statement on the beard from last season's finale- which, in my mind, is really the only thing I can criticize about that amazing episode.)
This season is going to kick a lot of ass once it gets going, and blow a lot of minds.
Air Date: 1/31/2008
And, we're back.
After a long hiatus, "Lost" kicked off season four, to big ratings during a time when America is so desperate for new, non-reality based content that they even stuck around after the episode aired to watch the absurd looking "Eli Stone."
The new "Lost" wasn't a mindblower, at this not the way that previous season premieres have been. Obviously, we didn't get anything as spectacular as our first look at the inside of the Hatch in season two or the revelation of the creepy Other-town in season three. But what fans were treated to last night was a lot of setup for what promises to be a wild ride in season 4.
Surprisingly, last night was a Hurley episode, and right away, in the new flash forward structure, we realize that he was one of the people taken off the island, along with only five others (The Oceanic 6.) So far we know half of the people who made it off-island- Jack, Kate, and now Hurley. The flash forward began dramatically, with Hurley in a high speed car chase on the LA freeways (as common a sight to Los Angelenos as rain in Seattle.) But it turns out that Hurley was being chased by the cops- because he ran out of a convenience store after being spooked by something. He didn't rob the place at gun point, he just ran off. I mean, even if Hurley run out with some HoHos and Twinkies without paying for them, would there really be a high speed chase with multiple cop cars pursuing him?
So Hurley gets himself committed, where he is visited by a creepy bald black dude who asks him if "they're still alive." As Jack made clear in the season finale, the Oceanic 6 have made some sort of hush hush deal in which they've promised to keep quiet about whatever happened to them on the island. Hurley's second visitor is more disturbing...none other than poor dead Charlie. The Drive Shaft singer tells Hurley that, yes, he's dead...but that he is there, right in front of Hurley. Charlie tells his old friend that "they need him," presumably referring to the other crash survivors he left behind on the island. When a pre-bearded Jack visits Hurley, he tells him that "it" wants us to come back. It, probably, being the island itself, which has turned out to be one of the most demanding land masses in the history of narrative fiction.
Back on island, in "the present" part of the story, Hurley has to deal with Charlie's death- and begins to think that his friend's warning that the people coming are not Penny's people means that Locke might be right, and they could be hostile. On his way back to the rest of the survivors, he runs into Locke himself...but not before he sees Jacob's creepy shack. Yes, Hurley can see the shack- and a person inside it, in the scariest moment of the season premiere. When he turns away from the little shanty, it's in front of him again. So Hurley's in tune with whatever crazy wave length allows Locke and Benjamin to see Jacob.
When the survivors finally reunite, Hurley has seen Locke's point of view, and decides that staying on the island might be the best option- because that's what Charlie died trying to tell them. The islanders split into two teams, with Captain Jack and Captain Locke being the leaders. Hurley, Claire and baby, the tied up Ben, and, shockingly, Sawyer, join team "stay on the island," while Kate and Sayid stay with Jack. The funniest moment of the episode was when Bernard, who promised to stay on the island with his ailing wife, asks Rose if she wants to go with Locke and she responds "I'm not going anywhere with that man." Probably a good call. He did put a knife in the back of the new arrival before they got a beat on whether she's a good guy or not.
One more note on the flash forward stuff- Hurley tells Jack "I should never have joined up with Locke," so he clearly regrets his decision...though we don't know what exactly went wrong with it. A weirdly upbeat Jack tells Hurley "it's water under the bridge, man," as if joining Team Locke was just a social faux pas, so who knows?
The episode ends with Naomi's friends parachuting onto the island, starting with Jeremy Davies, 90's indie film actor who starred in "Spanking the Monkey" and "Saving Private Ryan," and has always specialized on awkward bordering on creepy characters. When he takes off his helmet, he tells Jack "we're here to rescue you." Time will tell if he's lying.
So, on to theories.
Hurley can see Jacob and his house because of his "insanity" that landed him in the loony bin in the first place (which is where he was in flash backs and the new flash forward.) He either really is insane, or really can see dead people (which is why Charlie comes to him in the flash forward,) an ability he shares with Ben and Locke.
Hurley's igloo drawing at the loony bin has something to do with the arctic hatch from the end of season 2.
The creepy bald black guy is working for an organization looking for the island, and it's going to become very clear how important the island itself is to a lot of different people very soon.
Davies' character works for such an organization. They're not really there to rescue Jack or anyone. (This one is easy to guess, seeing as there are already promos for this season that give that away.)
Letting Ben go with Locke is a really bad idea. Like, really bad.
Jack will look weird with a beard, like Hurley said, but only because it will look fake as all hell. (I guess this isn't a theory, more of a statement on the beard from last season's finale- which, in my mind, is really the only thing I can criticize about that amazing episode.)
This season is going to kick a lot of ass once it gets going, and blow a lot of minds.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Lost Watch: Something Wicked This Way Comes
Episode Title: One of Us Air Date: 4/11/2007
Juliet joined the survivors at their camp last night on “Lost,” and her arrival gave loyal viewers a glimpse at trouble brewing down the road.
As predicted, Sayid wanted answers out of Juliet, while Jack protected her from his torture-happy ways.
Turns out Jack was wrong.
The flashbacks were used cleverly on “Lost” last night, a rarity for the show these days. We got to see more of Juliet’s backstory, more about her journey to the island. We got to see why she was motivated to get back home- her sister, who was dying of cancer, has become pregnant because Juliet has discovered a way to make her fertile. But when her cancer returns, Ben promises he can cure it- if Juliet agrees to stay on the island.
And somehow, he keeps his promise.
Last night’s episode also provided much needed hints as to what she was doing working for The Others. She was trying to figure out why women were unable to give birth on the island, why their bodies reject their children if they are conceived there. Turns out Claire was the first person to have a child on the island without dying, and Juliet believes it was because her baby was conceived elsewhere.
Which is probably bad news for Sun.
Claire gets sick after Juliet first arrives, and Juliet tells Jack she can help. She explains that she is sick because way back in Season one, creepy Ethan was injecting her with a drug that would help the baby survive, and that Claire is going through withdrawal from the drug. She tells Jack that Ethan left supplies in the jungle that can save Claire’s life. Though her story makes very little sense, Jack trusts her and lets her help.
Sayid and Sawyer follow her out to the supplies, finally confronting her for the answers that Jack doesn’t seem to need. She shames the former con man and Iraqi interrogator into letting her go so she can help Claire, but it turns out that they might have had a good reason to force information from her.
In the last scene of the episode, Juliet’s flashback take us to right before last week’s episode- to Ben planning how she will manipulate her way into the camp of the survivors, how she will make it look like she has been left behind by The Others along with Jack, Kate, and Sayid. Ben even mentions that the “implant” in Claire has been activated, and that it will make her sick soon…which will give Juliet a crisis to avert and help her gain the trust of the survivors. Though Juliet has a conflicted look on her face, she still agrees to go along with Ben’s plans.
And then he tells her “see you in a week.” Jack needs to stop being such a decent guy and trusting everyone. It's obviously not a policy that is helpful at this point.
One of The Others is in the survivors’ camp, and we don’t know why. Clearly, something bad is coming for our survivors. Is Juliet going to kidnap the pregnant Sun? Will The Others finally make it clear to everyone exactly what they want? Will we find out what Juliet meant when she said “if you knew everything I knew, you’d kill me?” Does her conflicted look she will betray Ben? Did he read everything her face meant and not care?
The episode was a clever precursor to things to come. A few questions were answered and most of Juliet’s true motivations were revealed to us (though it wouldn't be "Lost" if everything became crystal clear) through good use of the flashbacks. And the questions that were not answered were covered up well through Juliet’s refusal to give up too much to Sayid, who at this point is as frustrated with the lack of solid information about The Others as the audience is. Juliet even addressed Jack’s lack of need for questions and asked him why he didn’t need to know more about her. Jack’s unsatisfying answer is that when the submarine blew up three weeks ago, he saw the look on her face, saw that she wanted to get off the island as much as anybody else, and that makes her one of them.
Maybe asking people questions would be a smart habit for Jack to take up. If he was a bit more curious about her, then he might not be leading everyone into trouble as quickly as he has been.
The last few episodes have felt like a slow climb before the big drop on a roller coaster, and it seems like we are close to the top. Like any good rollercoaster, “Lost” will probably follow the rule that the slower the climb up, the faster and steeper the drop down. Hold on tight, because it’s gonna be quite a ride.
Juliet joined the survivors at their camp last night on “Lost,” and her arrival gave loyal viewers a glimpse at trouble brewing down the road.
As predicted, Sayid wanted answers out of Juliet, while Jack protected her from his torture-happy ways.
Turns out Jack was wrong.
The flashbacks were used cleverly on “Lost” last night, a rarity for the show these days. We got to see more of Juliet’s backstory, more about her journey to the island. We got to see why she was motivated to get back home- her sister, who was dying of cancer, has become pregnant because Juliet has discovered a way to make her fertile. But when her cancer returns, Ben promises he can cure it- if Juliet agrees to stay on the island.
And somehow, he keeps his promise.
Last night’s episode also provided much needed hints as to what she was doing working for The Others. She was trying to figure out why women were unable to give birth on the island, why their bodies reject their children if they are conceived there. Turns out Claire was the first person to have a child on the island without dying, and Juliet believes it was because her baby was conceived elsewhere.
Which is probably bad news for Sun.
Claire gets sick after Juliet first arrives, and Juliet tells Jack she can help. She explains that she is sick because way back in Season one, creepy Ethan was injecting her with a drug that would help the baby survive, and that Claire is going through withdrawal from the drug. She tells Jack that Ethan left supplies in the jungle that can save Claire’s life. Though her story makes very little sense, Jack trusts her and lets her help.
Sayid and Sawyer follow her out to the supplies, finally confronting her for the answers that Jack doesn’t seem to need. She shames the former con man and Iraqi interrogator into letting her go so she can help Claire, but it turns out that they might have had a good reason to force information from her.
In the last scene of the episode, Juliet’s flashback take us to right before last week’s episode- to Ben planning how she will manipulate her way into the camp of the survivors, how she will make it look like she has been left behind by The Others along with Jack, Kate, and Sayid. Ben even mentions that the “implant” in Claire has been activated, and that it will make her sick soon…which will give Juliet a crisis to avert and help her gain the trust of the survivors. Though Juliet has a conflicted look on her face, she still agrees to go along with Ben’s plans.
And then he tells her “see you in a week.” Jack needs to stop being such a decent guy and trusting everyone. It's obviously not a policy that is helpful at this point.
One of The Others is in the survivors’ camp, and we don’t know why. Clearly, something bad is coming for our survivors. Is Juliet going to kidnap the pregnant Sun? Will The Others finally make it clear to everyone exactly what they want? Will we find out what Juliet meant when she said “if you knew everything I knew, you’d kill me?” Does her conflicted look she will betray Ben? Did he read everything her face meant and not care?
The episode was a clever precursor to things to come. A few questions were answered and most of Juliet’s true motivations were revealed to us (though it wouldn't be "Lost" if everything became crystal clear) through good use of the flashbacks. And the questions that were not answered were covered up well through Juliet’s refusal to give up too much to Sayid, who at this point is as frustrated with the lack of solid information about The Others as the audience is. Juliet even addressed Jack’s lack of need for questions and asked him why he didn’t need to know more about her. Jack’s unsatisfying answer is that when the submarine blew up three weeks ago, he saw the look on her face, saw that she wanted to get off the island as much as anybody else, and that makes her one of them.
Maybe asking people questions would be a smart habit for Jack to take up. If he was a bit more curious about her, then he might not be leading everyone into trouble as quickly as he has been.
The last few episodes have felt like a slow climb before the big drop on a roller coaster, and it seems like we are close to the top. Like any good rollercoaster, “Lost” will probably follow the rule that the slower the climb up, the faster and steeper the drop down. Hold on tight, because it’s gonna be quite a ride.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Lost Watch: Lost Forever?
It's been a long time since I've discussed "Lost." In fact, my previous post on the show was back in the middle of the six episode "mini season." There were three more episodes before a long break, and then the show returned, with ads promising that this season would deliver like no other show.
So far, this promise has not been kept.
The latest episode, "Enter 77" was a mild improvement after two episodes that can only be described as utter trash. To recap- Sayid and Locke join Kate on her quest to save Jack from the Others. In last week's episode, they recruit the crazy loner Rousseau for their mission. On their way, they find another Hatch station, where a Russian man with an eye patch is apparently living alone. The man tells them that he is "the last living member of the Dharma Initiative" and that the station he lives in, "The Flame," is meant to communicate with the outside world- though his sattelite is inoperable. He also tells them that The Others (or as he calls them, "The Hostiles,") killed the rest of the Dharma Scientists during a "purge," and that he was left alone because he agreed to stay at The Flame and not encroach upon any other part of the island. Sayid and Kate can tell the Russian lying and realize he is one of The Others and call him out on it- leading to a struggle in which he is tied up as a prisoner. Sayid discovers a hidden doorway to the basement of the building, and Locke is left to guard the Russian while Kate and Sayid explore the basement- where Sayid finds a map of the island that shows them the location of the other hatches. As they head back up, they are attacked by and then subdue a female Other who was hiding from them- and who was on the docks when Kate, Jack, and Sawyer were kidnapped at the end of Season 2.
While Kate and Sayid explore the basement, Locke becomes distracted by the Russian's computer chess game and wins a match against the computer- which triggers a message from the creepy Dharma guy we saw a lot of last season. Before Locke can follow the instructions on the computer, the Russian, who has escaped his bindings, takes Locke hostage.
Kate and Sayid emerge from the basement to find a standoff- the Russian promises to kill Locke if they do not release the woman they have taken prisoner. The two others then shout at eachother in Russian- and the Russian shoots the female Other, then tries to take his own life- before Sayid knocks the gun out of his hand and subdues him.
Rousseau, who conveniently leaves for the whole episode ("I have survived this long on the island by avoiding this type of confrontation,") comes back and demands to know why Sayid will not kill the Russian. Which is where this episode’s edition of "repetitive flashback weekly" comes in. Sayid's flashback is to a time when he was living in France as a chef, when he is kidnapped by a man who claims Sayid tortured his wife when he was in the Iraqi Republican guard. The man beats Sayid severely, but he will not admit that he "interrogated" her. Finally, the woman comes to Sayid and he admits that he did torture her, and he apologizes deeply. He forgives her and releases him, saying she does not want to become a monster who would torture or kill, despite her justified anger. And the woman’s words explain why Sayid can't kill their prisoner.
Or whatever.
Oh yeah, and Locke exits The Flame last, saying played another chess game- and admitting he entered "77" into the keyboard when the creepy Dharma guy instructed him to do so if "the hostiles" had encroached upon the building. And then The Flame blows up. So much for that hatch, and so much for “communicating with the outside world.” This is the second Hatch that Locke has caused the destruction of after displaying some questionable decision making.
And that is what brings us directly to what is currently wrong with "Lost." After three weeks of episodes that took us completely off the main storyline, right as things are getting interesting (something the Lost writers did a lot in Season 2, which frustrated me to no end,) we finally get back to our heroes trying to figure out what is going on with The Others. But at the same time, we still get flashbacks that regurgitate plot points and character development we already understand. I don't need another episode about how Sayid is haunted by his past as a torturer anymore than I need another episode about Hurley thinking he is cursed. And, at this point, I certainly don't care what Jack's tattoos mean (in an episode which will go down as the worst in the show’s history, despite the hilarious fact that the woman Jack was sleeping with was a former Power Ranger.) These are all things that I understood by the end of the first season, or that should have been answered then- and are not relevant at all at this point. The flashback structure, though very clever in the first year of "Lost," has really proven to be redundant at this point. The only flashback story I really enjoyed this season was about a new character. Juliette's episode was fascinating because it showed more of how she was recruited by Dharma- or maybe by The Others. But more on that later.
I love the main cast of "Lost," and the character development on the show has always been strong overall. But at this point, I don't need to have things I fully understand about these people hammered home to me again. I get who these people are, now lets get on with the show. And another thing- with all this character work that the show emphasizes, it's annoying how inconsistent the behavior of the main cast can be. I mean, Locke just stopped paying attention to a dangerous prisoner so he could play a game of video chess? I know he was obsessed with punching in the numbers in the first Hatch, but you'd think he'd learn. I just don't believe he'd let his guard down that overtly to play a game- even if he did believe it would unlock some secrets. I thought we had badass tracker John Locke back from Season 1, not fate obsessed loser John Locke from Season 2- but I guess we'll just have to keep hoping for that. But just wait a few weeks- we’re going to find out how he lost the use of his legs before he got to the island and was magically cured- another thing that could have been cool to learn two years ago but seems irrelevant at this point.
It's become very clear that there is a lot of stalling going on in the storytelling of "Lost," and it’s made the show kind of boring to watch. It's become less mysterious and more tedious as the third season has dragged on. I mean, a whole episode was devoted to Hurley getting a VW Bus to work- I already saw "Little Miss Sunshine," and I didn't like it then. But I have faith in the writers of the show- these people are clever, and I believe they have an idea of where they are going with this behemoth of a story, they are just having a bit of trouble getting there. But the recent news that the producers of "Lost" have talked to ABC about creating an endpoint for the show, deciding that it will go five or six seasons and then be finished, is great news. Now they don't have to string us along. Now they can decide when exactly things can happen, and not be afraid of hiding their cards for fear of blowing their load too early. Hopefully, it means they can get season 3 back on track, but it should at least mean that Season 4 will rock. I just don't want to wait too long for the show to compelling again.
So after all those complaints, there were a few cool things to be pulled out of "Enter 77." I was glad to see more Sayid, even if his flashbacks were repetitive. He has become the most underutilized member of the very large "Lost" ensemble, and it was nice to see him back- and know he'll be around to kick ass as the hunting party gets closer to the compound of The Others. Some of the information The Russian gave to Kate and Sayid was interesting, despite the fact that he was lying through a lot of it. Did he basically tell them that The Others are definitely not Dharma? The Creepy Dharma guy seemed to reiterate the fact when they talked about "The Hostiles" encroaching upon The Flame. But what about Juliette being recruited to work for the Project- was she being recruited by The Others instead? Or are they one and the same after all, and they just want the Oceanic Flight Survivors to think otherwise? If they are not Dharma, who are they and why are they living on the island? Once again, it was an episode that raised more questions without answering many- but at least they were intriguing questions.
So here we are, deep into Season 3. Kate, Sayid, Locke, and Rousseau are getting closer to the compound of the Others, where hopefully some real questions will be answered. It really is time for the writers get on with it, because they are testing the patience of a lot of their audience- ratings are down, fans are complaining vocally, and critics are questioning the direction of the show. It's time to get on with the storytelling, or they are going to lose their audience forever.
Sayid by Jeaux from "All My Heroes Have Day Jobs."
So far, this promise has not been kept.
The latest episode, "Enter 77" was a mild improvement after two episodes that can only be described as utter trash. To recap- Sayid and Locke join Kate on her quest to save Jack from the Others. In last week's episode, they recruit the crazy loner Rousseau for their mission. On their way, they find another Hatch station, where a Russian man with an eye patch is apparently living alone. The man tells them that he is "the last living member of the Dharma Initiative" and that the station he lives in, "The Flame," is meant to communicate with the outside world- though his sattelite is inoperable. He also tells them that The Others (or as he calls them, "The Hostiles,") killed the rest of the Dharma Scientists during a "purge," and that he was left alone because he agreed to stay at The Flame and not encroach upon any other part of the island. Sayid and Kate can tell the Russian lying and realize he is one of The Others and call him out on it- leading to a struggle in which he is tied up as a prisoner. Sayid discovers a hidden doorway to the basement of the building, and Locke is left to guard the Russian while Kate and Sayid explore the basement- where Sayid finds a map of the island that shows them the location of the other hatches. As they head back up, they are attacked by and then subdue a female Other who was hiding from them- and who was on the docks when Kate, Jack, and Sawyer were kidnapped at the end of Season 2.
While Kate and Sayid explore the basement, Locke becomes distracted by the Russian's computer chess game and wins a match against the computer- which triggers a message from the creepy Dharma guy we saw a lot of last season. Before Locke can follow the instructions on the computer, the Russian, who has escaped his bindings, takes Locke hostage.
Kate and Sayid emerge from the basement to find a standoff- the Russian promises to kill Locke if they do not release the woman they have taken prisoner. The two others then shout at eachother in Russian- and the Russian shoots the female Other, then tries to take his own life- before Sayid knocks the gun out of his hand and subdues him.
Rousseau, who conveniently leaves for the whole episode ("I have survived this long on the island by avoiding this type of confrontation,") comes back and demands to know why Sayid will not kill the Russian. Which is where this episode’s edition of "repetitive flashback weekly" comes in. Sayid's flashback is to a time when he was living in France as a chef, when he is kidnapped by a man who claims Sayid tortured his wife when he was in the Iraqi Republican guard. The man beats Sayid severely, but he will not admit that he "interrogated" her. Finally, the woman comes to Sayid and he admits that he did torture her, and he apologizes deeply. He forgives her and releases him, saying she does not want to become a monster who would torture or kill, despite her justified anger. And the woman’s words explain why Sayid can't kill their prisoner.
Or whatever.
Oh yeah, and Locke exits The Flame last, saying played another chess game- and admitting he entered "77" into the keyboard when the creepy Dharma guy instructed him to do so if "the hostiles" had encroached upon the building. And then The Flame blows up. So much for that hatch, and so much for “communicating with the outside world.” This is the second Hatch that Locke has caused the destruction of after displaying some questionable decision making.
And that is what brings us directly to what is currently wrong with "Lost." After three weeks of episodes that took us completely off the main storyline, right as things are getting interesting (something the Lost writers did a lot in Season 2, which frustrated me to no end,) we finally get back to our heroes trying to figure out what is going on with The Others. But at the same time, we still get flashbacks that regurgitate plot points and character development we already understand. I don't need another episode about how Sayid is haunted by his past as a torturer anymore than I need another episode about Hurley thinking he is cursed. And, at this point, I certainly don't care what Jack's tattoos mean (in an episode which will go down as the worst in the show’s history, despite the hilarious fact that the woman Jack was sleeping with was a former Power Ranger.) These are all things that I understood by the end of the first season, or that should have been answered then- and are not relevant at all at this point. The flashback structure, though very clever in the first year of "Lost," has really proven to be redundant at this point. The only flashback story I really enjoyed this season was about a new character. Juliette's episode was fascinating because it showed more of how she was recruited by Dharma- or maybe by The Others. But more on that later.
I love the main cast of "Lost," and the character development on the show has always been strong overall. But at this point, I don't need to have things I fully understand about these people hammered home to me again. I get who these people are, now lets get on with the show. And another thing- with all this character work that the show emphasizes, it's annoying how inconsistent the behavior of the main cast can be. I mean, Locke just stopped paying attention to a dangerous prisoner so he could play a game of video chess? I know he was obsessed with punching in the numbers in the first Hatch, but you'd think he'd learn. I just don't believe he'd let his guard down that overtly to play a game- even if he did believe it would unlock some secrets. I thought we had badass tracker John Locke back from Season 1, not fate obsessed loser John Locke from Season 2- but I guess we'll just have to keep hoping for that. But just wait a few weeks- we’re going to find out how he lost the use of his legs before he got to the island and was magically cured- another thing that could have been cool to learn two years ago but seems irrelevant at this point.
It's become very clear that there is a lot of stalling going on in the storytelling of "Lost," and it’s made the show kind of boring to watch. It's become less mysterious and more tedious as the third season has dragged on. I mean, a whole episode was devoted to Hurley getting a VW Bus to work- I already saw "Little Miss Sunshine," and I didn't like it then. But I have faith in the writers of the show- these people are clever, and I believe they have an idea of where they are going with this behemoth of a story, they are just having a bit of trouble getting there. But the recent news that the producers of "Lost" have talked to ABC about creating an endpoint for the show, deciding that it will go five or six seasons and then be finished, is great news. Now they don't have to string us along. Now they can decide when exactly things can happen, and not be afraid of hiding their cards for fear of blowing their load too early. Hopefully, it means they can get season 3 back on track, but it should at least mean that Season 4 will rock. I just don't want to wait too long for the show to compelling again.
So after all those complaints, there were a few cool things to be pulled out of "Enter 77." I was glad to see more Sayid, even if his flashbacks were repetitive. He has become the most underutilized member of the very large "Lost" ensemble, and it was nice to see him back- and know he'll be around to kick ass as the hunting party gets closer to the compound of The Others. Some of the information The Russian gave to Kate and Sayid was interesting, despite the fact that he was lying through a lot of it. Did he basically tell them that The Others are definitely not Dharma? The Creepy Dharma guy seemed to reiterate the fact when they talked about "The Hostiles" encroaching upon The Flame. But what about Juliette being recruited to work for the Project- was she being recruited by The Others instead? Or are they one and the same after all, and they just want the Oceanic Flight Survivors to think otherwise? If they are not Dharma, who are they and why are they living on the island? Once again, it was an episode that raised more questions without answering many- but at least they were intriguing questions.
So here we are, deep into Season 3. Kate, Sayid, Locke, and Rousseau are getting closer to the compound of the Others, where hopefully some real questions will be answered. It really is time for the writers get on with it, because they are testing the patience of a lot of their audience- ratings are down, fans are complaining vocally, and critics are questioning the direction of the show. It's time to get on with the storytelling, or they are going to lose their audience forever.
Sayid by Jeaux from "All My Heroes Have Day Jobs."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
