Sunday, December 31, 2006

S3Ep6 - I Do (Kate's fifth flashback)

Hello my dear friends -

First and foremost, happy holidays and Happy New Year. Perhaps, like me, you received all of the Lost action figures as gifts and are extremely happy because mini-Locke can now be with you, always.

If you did not get the Lost toys, fear not... as we are just weeks away from the return of the show on February 7th, so you can get your fix again soon.

Since "I Do" aired months ago, you may need to refresh your memory of what actually happened in the episode before reading my take on things. If so, choose between: a comprehensive yet succinct summary or a longer, but funnier recap.

Once you remember what in the heck happened back in early November, read on.


I will start out by saying that I thought the fall finale was awesome, and I watched it not once, not twice, but three times for both my viewing pleasure and to ensure I would cover absolutely everything for you, my loyal readers. I would put the last five minutes of the episode up there with some of the most intense television moments of all time (others include some of the early, scary X-Files episodes as well as when Lucy and Carter got stabbed on ER.)


They definitely set us up well for the February premiere.


KA-, OOPS, I MEAN MONICA

Let's just get Kate's flashbacks out of the way right up front, shall we? Don't get me wrong, I did actually enjoy the flashback scenes, but once again they didn't really give us anything new. We had already known that Kate had been married, as she told this information to Sawyer back in Season 1 when they played "I Never." But now we find out that - gasp! - it was to a Miami-based COP, of all people.

Even if she is on the run, there is no excuse for that hair.They really chose to play up the contrast between Kate's real life and her alter-ego Monica's faux one... from the priest's exaggerated speech at the wedding ("With Monica, what you see is what you get"), to her 60's-housewife hair-do, to her drawing smiley faces on French Toast and picking up food for that most revered of stable suburbian married life, Taco Night. She was well on her way to becoming a Stepford Wife, I dare say. Alas, the good life could not last for Kate, as her aww-shucks hubby wanted to take her to Costa Rica, which meant she would have to get a passport, which meant she would either have to manufacture a fake one or run the risk of blowing her cover. No, it was not meant to be - no leisurely vacations at all-inclusive resorts with fruity umbrella drinks and cabana boys running around were in the cards for our dear Kate.

After a lame, foolish, last-minute attempt to gain sympathy from The Marshal, on top of a pregnancy scare, Kate realized she had no other choice but to... drug her husband and bust outta Wisteria Lane.

If the flashbacks proved anything to me, it was that Kate was meant to end up in a cage on a deserted island with a fellow con artist. Like so many other of our beloved Lostaways, she really has nothing to go back to in the real world, and the island is the only place where she can be "free."


FAKE-OUT EXTRAORDINAIRE - OR -
CRAZY!JACK RISING, PART 1

Now, back to island happenings.

The tone of the episode was set early on - that tone being "Jack has gone absolutely crazy and just doesn't care anymore!"

I loved the initial scenes with Jack, Juliet and Benry... Jack very much led the two Others to believe that he would be performing the surgery on Benry, only to pull the proverbial rug out from under them at the last minute, and then add on a snotty zinger just for good measure:

JACK: You took these blood tests, made all the notations? [Juliet nods.] How old are the x-rays? JULIET: A week.
JACK: [To Ben] The tumor on your spine is borderline inoperable. And at the rate it's growing, that borderline goes away in one week.
BEN: [Unemotional] Oh.
[Jack and Juliet exchange a look.]
JACK: The OR in the other room, is that fully equipped?
JULIET: Yes.
JACK: Anesthesia? Sterile?
JULIET: Yes.
JACK: You needed to be in surgery yesterday.
BEN: Alright, then. Whatever you need, it's yours. I'm ready.
JACK: [Laughing] No, I think you misunderstood me. I didn't say I was gonna do it. I just wanted you to understand how you're gonna die. [Sardonic laugh] You think I believe you people? You think I trust you? That I'm just going to do the surgery, and then I'm just going to HOPE that you let me go?!
JULIET: Jack!
JACK: [Throws notebook at her face, behind partition] No, don't!
[The three exchange tense looks.]
BEN: Well, Jack. I'm very disappointed in your decision.
JACK: Well, Ben. At least you won't have to be disappointed for very long.


SUCKA FOOL!No one loves me.














BOO-YA!



WORST. PLAN. EVER.

Fear the Slingshot!Good God, Alex! If you're going to attempt to take down the Others and free their hostages, don't use a freaking SLINGSHOT??!! Come ON!

Yes, back on the chain gang, Kate and Sawyer share a brief moment of hope when speakers start blaring that there has been a "compound breach" and Pickett fears aloud that "the doctor" has escaped. But then it's only young Alex who busts onto the scene, lamely flinging stones at various Others and shouting at Kate and Sawyer to run. Shortly thereafter she is easily captured by an Other who simply lifts her off the ground and carries her away. Let ME show you how it's done!However, before Alex is shuffled off, she does say a few things that should be noted:

- She was apparently attempting to free Sawyer and Kate: "Come on, get up, GO!"
- She asks to talk to Ben. Which is important because until this point, we were not sure if she even knew who Ben was or had any direct contact with him.
- She is extremely worried that The Others have done something to her boyfriend. I think it is safe to assume that the younger guy who was originally in what is now Kate's cage is the boyfriend in question, as Alex also questioned Kate about his whereabouts in a previous episode. OK, my plan sucked.
- She believes that they are going to kill Kate's "boyfriend." We can assume this means Sawyer.
- She does not trust The Others overall: "Whatever they say, don't believe them!"

After seeing this scene, I couldn't help but wonder if the whole thing was staged. I mean, did Alex REALLY think she could free those two and then escape herself, when surrounded by a ton of Others who all have guns?? I had to think that perhaps it was a set-up to get Kate and Sawyer to think that Alex is on their side, so that they can just fall into a trap later on. Or it could've been a set-up to scare Kate even more into believing that they really would kill Sawyer (right after Alex is taken away, Kate is approached by Juliet to "help save Sawyer's life").

But there is of course also the possibility that Alex is just young and stupid and acting irrationally because she thought they had killed whats-his-face.



THE REUNION - OR -

CRAZY!JACK RISING, PART 2

Yay! It's Kate!I wish I had time to freshen up before I saw you. So Kate gets dragged into Jack's holding cell (still separated from him by the glass partition, mind you - I'm sure just so they could have that over-played, cheesy 'hands attempting to touch through the glass' scene) and they are reunited for the first time since being kidnapped.

Despite its cheesiness, I thought this scene was powerful and it's fair to say that the scowling doctor's face did light up when he saw Kate. Even better was the totally awkward Juliet watching them in envy and then muttering, "Uh, I'll give you two some privacy."

The next few minutes re-convinced me that Lost has some of the best damn actors on television. We have already previously bowed down to Jack's man-crying abilities, and I have also mentioned before that Kate has concocted her fair share of priceless expressions over the three seasons. As they were brought together in the Hydra hatch, it was impressive to watch the tone turn from a happy reunion to an emotional (but unspoken) fearing of what had happened to the both of them, to a realization of what was really going on by Jack, and the resulting shock at Jack's lack of compassion by Kate.

So close... yet so far.
I really only care about Sawyer!JACK: [Both hands against clear partition] Hey. You Ok?
KATE: Yeah. You?
JACK: Yeah, I'm great. [Both holding back emotion] Where are they keeping you?
KATE: Outside. In a cage.
JACK: Sawyer?
KATE: He's in a cage, too. They're making us work.
What?  But I'm a doctor?  Are they getting this insult on video?!?![JACK: Work? On what?
KATE: I dunno what it is, but it's big. We're hauling rocks, and...
JACK: Hey. Did they hurt you?
Kate starts to cry.]
JACK: Kate, hey. Hey. It's gonna be alright.
KATE: Jack. You have to do it. This thing that they told you, You tattooed bastard!this operation.
[Jack looks up at the video camera, where a red light is blinking.]
KATE: She said that if you do it that...
JACK: What did they do to you?
KATE: Jack...
JACK: What did they do to you?
KATE: Nothing!
I hate everyone!  I want my Zombie Dad!JACK: How did they get you to ask me?! What did they offer you?!
KATE: [Crying] Nothing!
JACK: Then what are you doing here?!
KATE: They're gonna kill Sawyer! [Breaks down into tears] I'm sorry!
[Jack turns away from partition.]
KATE: I'm so sorry! But she said that if you do it, and you do it soon, they'll let us go!
JACK: And you believe them?
Foiled again!KATE: I have to. [Jack is silent] Jack? Please...
JACK: We're done here.
KATE: Jack!
JACK: [Shouting out at camera] Hey! We're done in here!


Then we see eeeeevil Benry at his wall o' monitors staring grimly at what is unfolding in the cell. "Get her out of there," he orders Juliet. Benry realizes that Jack indeed is only looking out for #1, and Kate and Sawyer were not luring enough bait for the Mad Doctor, as Benry had obviously counted on.


Or were they?


GIRL, I'D LOVE TA SHOW YA, SHOW YA.... MY JUNGLE LOVE!

Fishbiscuits = Aphrodisiacs.  Who knew?Once back safely in her cage, Kate realizes that the Mad Doctor is most certainly never going to get with her now, so she thinks, "Ahhh, what the hell, I will go have some fun with Mr. Tortured Soul of the Great One-Liners." So she climbs out of her cage and tries to coax Sawyer to run away with her, only for him to finally break the news to her that they are in fact stranded on another island. After a brief spat used only to build the tension before their climactic love scene, Kate finally succumbs to Sawyer's advances.


OH EE OH EE OH!


Not to ruin that moment for all of you Kate/Sawyer 'shippers, but let me just say this: Two months on the island... no toothbrushes or toothpaste... much eating of fish biscuits... intense love scene. Ponder.

As a side note, many think that the title of this episode was meant not as a reference to Kate's marriage flashbacks, but as Kate's answer to Sawyer's question about whether or not she meant it when she said to Pickett that she loved him. Kate remained silent and Sawyer was the one to say, "I love you, too."



A MAN HAS THE RIGHT TO CHANGE HIS MIND - OR -
CRAZY!JACK RISING, PART 3


Back in the Hydra hatch, Jack is sulking about how no one can appreciate what it is like to be the Mad Doctor. He crashes on a freaky island shortly after his wife left him and his father died, sees his Zombie Dad running around, saves half of the people who survive, finds himself in the middle of a love triangle, gets kidnapped, and now is a pawn in some twisted mind game - with Benry promising him freedom if he saves him, and Juliet hinting to him that he should botch the surgery, and Kate telling him that he can save Sawyer by performing the surgery, and the truth of what is really going on lying nowhere in sight.


Then comes a garbled voice from the intercom, sounding suspiciously like Alex. The voice tells Jack to "try the door," so Jack finds that the door is unlocked, and proceeds to sneak out of his cell and in to Benry's lair, where there just so happens to be tons of guns, and, oh, HOW CONVENIENT, a video camera shot pointed right at Kate and Sawyer and their sinful snuggling.


Once again, Jack gives us some of the most priceless expressions, as he stares befuddled at the screen, looks down, and then arrogantly laughs at what is before his eyes. All while missing Benry sneaking up behind him.

Saaaay whaaaaa...?BEN: If it helps, I was surprised, too.
[Jack swings around and points the gun in his face.]
BEN: If I were a betting man, I would have picked her and you.
JACK: Shut up.
BEN: Well. I suppose this would be the proverbial nail in my coffin, wouldn't it?

And then, for no reason other than the fact that he is Crazy!Jack, Jack does a complete 180 and tells Benry that he will indeed perform the surgery, and not only that, he'll do it in a matter of hours, the following morning. Then he snarls, just to make sure Benry understands: "I need to get the hell off this island."

Hell hath no fury like the Mad Doctor scorned.

Benry replies with, "Done." And of course I had to wonder, "Hmmm, did Benry mean that LITERALLY, because technically they are on Alcatraz, so Benry could get Jack off of THAT island and put him back on Craphole Island and not be breaking his word." I guess we will see. That is, if Benry survives the operation...

But regardless of the outcome of the surgery, I think that in the end, Benry's plan to use Kate and Sawyer for leverage against Jack worked. Not in the way that it was originally intended to, but it still worked nonetheless.

And don't think for a second that Jack's "accidental release" from his cell wasn't intentional. Benry and/or the rest of The Others KNEW what was being shown on that screen, and they probably figured they should try a last-ditch effort to push Jack over the edge. And for whatever reason - be it because Jack realized that Kate loved Sawyer, or because Jack realized that perhaps he could at least save the happy couple if not himself, or because Jack didn't really didn't care about anything anymore after seeing that video - it worked.


THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

The time finally came for Benry's surgery. I have to admit that I kept waiting for Jack to find nothing there... I honestly thought it was all an elaborate scheme to see what Jack would end up doing - and that the x-rays were not actually Benry's and therefore there was no tumor. It shows how much I'm expecting twists in the show, I guess. I also found it hilarious to see Jack dressed up in scrubs with the Hydra logo all over them.

Anyone got any Junior Mints?

Before Benry goes under, he makes two interesting comments:

1) BEN: Whatever happens, everything will be very different, won't it?
JACK: No doubt about it.

What exactly did they mean in this exchange, I wonder? There is the most obvious course of thought which is that it is probably going to take a long time for Benry to physically recover from the surgery, so he will be in no position to be bossing everyone around. It could also mean that if Jack is successful, there will be a change in the dynamic between those two. But now, knowing what Jack ended up doing, there's a whole nother layer of complexity to their comments. I will cover that shortly.

2) BEN: Juliet. Did Alex ask about me?
JULIET: No. We took her home last night. I don't know where she is now.

Hmmm, very strange. So not only did Alex demand to speak to Ben the day before, Ben is now asking if Alex asked about him before his surgery. This leads me to believe that he played a role in raising her on the island, like a father figure or something. The "we took her home" comment by Juliet confirms my statement from a prior write-up that the Others actually live on the main island and only come to Alcatraz for their various experiments and side projects.


THE JESUS STICK LIVES!

Let us not forget about all of our other poor Lostaways! We didn't see hardly any of the other main characters for the majority of the first six episodes, and the finale was no different. However, you can rest assured that that will change shortly after the show resumes in February. In the meantime, we did get to see a few minutes of the small group left to deal with Eko's death, led by my man Locke.

After the hatch implosion and Mr. Eko's death, it is safe to guess that Locke is going back full-steam-ahead to his shaman-like ways on the island, as he has now been given many justifications to "believe in the island" again. He seems intent on understanding why the island wanted Eko to die. When tramping through the jungle with Sayid to find Eko's beloved stick for inclusion at the grave site, Locke hints at his next vision quest:

SAYID: So, what killed Eko?
LOCKE: Folks back at the beach call it "the Monster." I don't really have a name for it. You don't believe in monsters?
SAYID: I believe in what I can see. But obviously you have. So, why don't you tell me what you think it is?
LOCKE: Might be what brought us here.
SAYID: So, you think that this Monster decided that Eko was meant to die?
LOCKE: I believe that Eko died for a reason. I just don't know what it is yet.


I believe that Locke will find his purpose again - and that he will think that purpose is to understand Eko's death and subsequently to find Jack, Sawyer and Kate. When making the speech at Eko's make-shift funeral, Locke seems to have found his first clue:

LOCKE: Rest in peace, Mr. Eko. Thank you for helping me find my...
[Suddenly, Locke stops, and focuses on the stick.]



Hey, Locke, I'm talkin' to you!

Not only is Locke zeroing in on this new carving on the stick, but he also probably noticed that "John" is right beneath it, in reference to a different Bible passage (John 3:05). But it could read as, "Lift up your eyes and look north, John."

My call is that the Alcatraz island is to the north, and that Locke will be the one to figure this out and to organize a group of Lostaways to save the kidnapped three. Other people on the boards, however, feel that it's another hatch that is to the north ("The Flame"), and that is where they will find Patch-Man.




WHO THE HELL IS JACOB?

JACK: Scalpel.
[Juliet hands him the scalpel and he starts cutting. Pickett is up a tier in observation, watching.]
PICKETT: Let's go. [Walks off with a man]
OTHER MAN: Ben's just gone into surgery.
PICKETT: Ben just put his life in the hands of one of them! Shephard wasn't even on Jacob's list.


Whoa, whoa, whoa. BACK up. Who is Jacob??? That was definitely a "stop and rewind multiple times tivo moment" for me. So three very important things came out of that brief scene:

1) Literally the second Benry's surgery began, Pickett took off to go kill Sawyer, with absolutely no fear of reprisal. To me, this confirmed that they really had no other use for Sawyer than as leverage for Kate (who was leverage for Jack). If Benry had other plans for Sawyer, Pickett wouldn't have felt confident enough to risk carrying out his revenge... he only went to kill Sawyer after he was sure the surgery was under way.

2) You can infer that Jack is NOT a "good person." If we are assuming that this unknown character Jacob is the one behind the "good people" lists, then you can assume that all the Others know who was on those lists because they were sent to kidnap those people early on. What we as viewers do not know is why Jack would NOT be considered a good person. To this point in his flashbacks, he hasn't done anything horrible like killing anyone on purpose. In my view, this opens up ALL characters who we previously thought were "good" (except Locke, because Benry told him he was "one of the good people" and Locke also saw the white light from the Monster) as possibly being "bad." Something tells me another Jack!Back is in the not too distant future...

3) There is some dude named Jacob who may be the one controlling everything, not Benry, as previously assumed. So Jacob is most likely the "him" that Benry spoke of while captive and that Pickett and Ethan referenced in one of Claire's flashbacks. Could Jacob be the crazy pirate patch guy? I don't think so. I think it is someone we haven't seen at all yet. And the name "Jacob" carries all sorts of religious connotations...



THE FIVE MOST INTENSE MINUTES OF LOST - EVER (so far)

Heartbreaking.From the point when Pickett left the surgery watch-room until the episode's end credits are what I am counting as some of the most intense television I have ever seen. I was seriously disturbed at the dark turn the show took near the end when Pickett came for Sawyer. The rain is pouring down, and Pickett and his no-name henchman just bust into the cage and there is no doubt about what they plan to do.

PICKETT: Step away!
[Sawyer punches out the man with him and grabs Pickett's hand with the gun. There's a scuffle, and Sawyer ends up with Pickett's gun pointed at Pickett, but Kate has been overtaken by the Other man.]
PICKETT: You let go, or I do her too!
[Sawyer looks over at Kate, who is helpless, pinned at gunpoint up against the cage bars by the second Other man.]
PICKETT: Let go!
KATE: Don't you let go! Don't you think about it, Sawyer, you fight! No! Sawyer, NO!!
[Sawyer lets go and lets Pickett have the upper hand. He is pushed face-first into the cage bars, and Pickett holds the gun to his head.]
KATE: No, NO!! Sawyer, PLEASE! You get your hands off of him!
PICKETT: Get on your knees! [Pushes Sawyer to his knees]
KATE: Please!! I'll do ANYTHING YOU WANT!!!!
PICKETT: I want you to watch.
SAWYER: Close your eyes, Freckles.
KATE: Stand up!
SAWYER: CLOSE YOUR EYES.
[Sawyer closes his eyes, as Pickett prepares to shoot him execution style.]
KATE: NO! NO! NO!
PICKETT: This is for Colleen. You son-of-a-bitch!

I am starting up PleaseKillPickett.com very soon.


I thought the dialogue between Sawyer and Kate was heart-wrenching and I think it was some Evangeline Lilly's best acting of the entire series. Her screaming "I'Ll do ANYTHING YOU WANT!" still moves me to tears, just to think about it. And then Pickett's sickening "I want you to watch" just left me nauseous. I'm seriously all stressed out again now just re-reading the dialogue! Shudder.

When watching it live, I knew that there were only a few minutes left of the show at that point, and I honestly thought for a brief, painful moment that they were actually going to kill Sawyer. Because they started playing the sad "this person is dead" music! Those damn score-writers and their trickery!



CRAZY!JACK HAS ARRIVED! (still part of the intense 5 minutes)

Wooo... wooo.....!!!!! The Crazy Train is pulling out of the station and I'm totally on board because the Mad Doctor is the conductor!!! The outpouring of love for Crazy!Jack was at all-time high levels across every single Lost site and message board I visited. EVERYONE LOVES THEM SOME CRAZY!JACK! He just doesn't care anymore and he is doing it HIS WAY.

Make way for the Crazy Train!

He didn't keep his "do no harm" oath and just perform the surgery on the up-and-up. Nor did he accidentally botch the surgery on the sneak-tip per Juliet's video instructions. He just made a big ol' cut in a place he wasn't supposed to, punched out the other surgery attendees, demanded the walkie talkie, and then assumed his rightful Position of Power on the island. The best was how Zeke was just left staring with his mouth hanging open.

What just happened?  I need my beard!
After Zeke composed himself, he was able to catch Pickett via walkie talkie right before Sawyer met an untimely fate. And then, the final heart-pounding moments of the episode were spent between Jack and Kate.

KATE: Jack? Jack!
JACK: Kate? You have about an hour headstart before they come after you.
KATE: Where are you? Where are you?
JACK: You remember what I told you on the beach? The day of the crash. You remember what story I told you when you were stitching me up? [Kate is silent on other end] DO YOU REMEMBER IT?!
But I changed my mind - I really love YOU now!KATE: [Crying] YES! Yes, I remember!
JACK: When you get safe, you radio me, and you tell that story.
KATE: Jack, please.
JACK: If I don't get a call from you in the next hour, I'm going to know something went wrong, and [turning to Tom] HE DIES!
KATE: I can't leave without you!
JACK: Yes, you are. Go!
KATE: Jack! I can't!
JACK: Go, now!
KATE: I CAN'T!
JACK: KATE, DAMMIT, RUN!!!!


WHY ARE YOU SUCH AN IDIOT, KATE?

AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!


I'm totally stressed out again?!?!?!

So a few things about the final moments:

1) What exactly is Jack's plan now?
I don't see a good outcome for Jack overall in this. Even if he sews up Ben (which, I don't think he has actually REMOVED THE TUMOR yet, so he still has to do that, which isn't a walk in the park), all of the Others are going to hate him. Why would they keep him alive past Ben's recovery now? And if Ben ever was going to keep his promise to take Jack "home," why would he do it now? If Jack doesn't finish what he started with the surgery and lets Ben die, then he's got even bigger problems. Juliet probably won't be on his side anymore, either, as he didn't screw up in a subtle way as she wanted him to. All I can figure is that Jack had already realized he was never going to get off the island and that the Others were liars (hence his speech to Kate in the cell), but after seeing Kate and Sawyer together in the cage, his God Complex kicked back in and he thought, "Well, perhaps I can do something so that those two can at least live happily ever after." He is essentially sacrificing himself, in my mind. Also, I recently read an interview with the show's creators and they reiterated that the characters' names often have specific meanings... so when you think about Jack Shephard, you could infer that perhaps he is trying to look out for his remaining "flock."

2) What is Juliet going to do now?
As I stated above, Jack didn't exactly go along with her plan, and she is at risk of being exposed by Jack as a traitor, since he definitely has nothing to lose now by telling someone about her plan to defer attention away from himself.

3) Why didn't Kate TELL HIM THEY HAD NOWHERE TO GO???
This was annoying to me... she just kept going "I can't!" "I can't leave without you!" instead of "We are on another island and there is no way off that I know of!" I KNOW that they were just wanting the totally intense effect so they didn't want Jack and Kate to get into that conversation, and I hope that no one gets mad because this is kind of spoilerish, but just know that they DO cover the fact that they are on another island and need a boat to get off in the next episode (hey, I fell off the spoiler wagon just a little bit, what can I say?). So I am less annoyed now that she didn't bring that up right away, and I hope you are, too.

4) What exactly is Ben's role?
So we know that someone named Jacob is most likely running the show behind the scenes. And we know that Juliet has some sort of conflicted history with Ben. Yet it is very clear at the end that Ben definitely has some power over Pickett and Zeke - even if that it's just that they care about him enough to not want him to die. Pickett was very ready to shoot Sawyer and the fact that he didn't says to me that his fear of or respect for Ben overpowers his extreme anger and need for revenge.

5) What is the story Jack was referring to that he wants Kate to repeat to him?
The story is (I looked it up in the Pilot transcript to be sure) about his first solo surgery as a resident, and how he totally screwed up and made a bad incision on a 16-year-old girl, but he only let the fear take over for 5 seconds, and then he continued on with the surgery and it ended up OK. Kate has used this "being afraid for 5 seconds" strategy two other times in the series. It has been debated on the boards if there is any deeper meaning to why Jack chose this story, but I think it was simply because Kate is the only one who would know it.


The last comment I will make about this episode is that I think it would have been much more appropriate as a Jack!Back. Had we found out in this episode why he is considered a "bad" person, it would've perfectly complemented his "I don't give a crap about anything" actions on the island. That is what makes a strong episode overall - a seamless melding between one of the character's past and present actions. This was clearly Jack at his most awesome. I guess we will just have to wait for his next flashback - which will undoubtedly come this season.



WISE WORDS FROM THE BOARDS

- So, Alex = the Island's Bart Simpson? I never laughed so hard - girl is scrappy.
- Love Jack as a badass, if he'd have whipped this action out earlier I wouldn't hate him so much. - The sad music they were playing at the end almost had me convinced that they were going to kill Sawyer. (e - SEE! I wasn't the only one!)
- At this point, there is no way I can believe the Others are at all good. The manipulation and abuse they have exhibited towards the survivors are just beyond anything that could be reasonably reconciled with me through a well-written subplot. Even if it does turn out that there is a believable rationale behind the mind games Benry and Juliet have played with Jack and Kate or the physical beatings Sawyer's endured from Pickett, I will still be hard-pressedto believe that there wasn't some alternative to their actions.
- Dammit, I was ready to let this show go. Not only can I not let it go but Jack has surpassed Sawyer as my favorite character.
- I have never thought much of EL as an actress, and yet, here I was, blubbering like a baby in two of her scenes. She did awesome.
- If that asshole Danny Pickett doesn't die in the next 16 episodes I'll be mad.
- I think it's fairly clear that "Eko the White" will be returning in the future. (e - had to include that one for the LOTR fans out there)
- Holy....Wow. What a great final scene. Jack sacrifices himself for Kate and Sawyer. Talk about a hero.
- Not much for Jack-haters to chew on for this ep.
- I actually thought Danny was going to kill Sawyer anyways, after receiving the "call" (probably because he was one of Juliet's followers). That was a tense moment, I was literally on the edge of my seat. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, praying that we wouldn't end the episode with that scene. Instead we got the depressing ending where Jack will think that Kate and Sawyer are safe by giving them 1 hour head start, without knowing that there is nowhere to go.
- I don't know. The situation is dire, but I'm not convinced it's completely hopeless... Yet. Still, a lot can happen in an hour. If Jack Bauer can take out a cadre of terrorists and save his girlfriend and her father, then I'd like to think Sawyer and Kate can run a mile or so and at least find a decent hiding spot until they can figure out how to get back to Craphole Island.
- 6 episodes, no Vincent. Very sad. I think he must be hanging with Rose and Bernard since we didn't see them either.


BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE

[Back on the island, Kate awakens as the cage door clanks. The siren is blaring "Warning", and Sawyer is throwing rocks at the feeding apparatus in his cage.]
KATE: Hey.
SAWYER: Hey yourself.
KATE: What are you doing?
SAWYER: Throwin' rocks.
KATE: Thought you had to pull the lever.
SAWYER: I know how to get a damn fish biscuit.




KATE: I saw Jack. They brought me in to see him. They want him to do surgery on Ben.
SAWYER: Who the hell is Ben?



[Back on main island, Locke is talking over Eko's grave, with Desmond, Sayid, Nikki and Paulo standing in a circle, with heads bowed.]
LOCKE: When the hatch exploded, your prayer stick fell out of a tree right on top of me.



KATE: What if I told you I was a fugitive? [Kevin is speechless] What if I told you I was on the run for blowing up my father, and it was only a matter of time before you found out?
KEVIN: This isn't funny.
KATE: [Crying] It's not a joke. I almost had a baby, Kevin. Me, a baby! I can't do this! Taco night?! I don't do taco night!
KEVIN: Ok, calm down, Monica...
KATE: My name's not Monica!


JACK: Hand me another hemostat. [Jack clamps a vessel] Swab again. [Juliet assists]
[When the Other man with them turns, Jack takes the scalpel and makes a deliberate incision in Ben's back. Immediately, the heart monitor beeps faster as Ben's pulse increases.]
JULIET: What happened? Is he Ok?
OTHER MAN: His blood pressure's dropping. He shouldn't be bleeding like that!
JACK: Nope, no, he shouldn't.
[Jack punches the Other man in the OR out, and he goes crashing into a small table. Tom watches from the above observation deck, speechless.]


UPCOMING EPISODES

I laughed so hard when the previews for the rest of the season had not only the voiceover man, but also the graphical text reading, "No Repeats... NOT... EVEN.... ONE!"

I highly suggest you watch the preview again to get yourself hyped up for February.

The February 7th episode is entitled "Not in Portland."

From the preview, we can see that Jack is still as crazy as ever, Kate and Sawyer appear to be running through the woods but have someone chasing and shooting at them, Locke looks happy, and Desmond hints that something horrible happened to him when he turned the key.

For those of you who have either been watching the now-canceled "Day Break," or who have seen the sneak-peek "Lost Moments" posted on the Internet (they originally aired during "Day Break"), you know some more of the details of what will happen when the show returns. I'm not going to provide those links as I consider them major spoilers and if you really want to see them, you can find them yourselves. But I will say that I watched all of them and they were fairly interesting, and Jack is definitely still off his rocker, so if nothing else, that is something to look forward to!



LIFE UNFORTUNATELY IMITATES ART
In a eerily similar scene to when Kate blew up her dad's house, Evangeline Lilly's real-life home in Hawaii burst into flames recently. Luckily, no one was home, and it was deemed to have been an electrical malfunction.




I GUESS ALL THAT FACE-MAKING PAID OFF

They clean up well!For the 2007 Golden Globe Awards - Lost was nominated for Best Series - Drama, and Evangeline Lilly (Kate) was nominated for Best Actress - Drama!

The show airs January 15th. It is, in my humble opinion, the BEST awards show because it combines both movie and TV awards. But Terry O'Quinn/Locke was robbed again??!?!

Here are all the nominees.



IF YOU'VE GOT 7 MINUTES...

This silly (in a good way) video set to a Weird Al cover tune compilation is a good way to pass the time. Shout-out to Uncle Grambo for passing along the link!




DAMMIT, I'M TIRED ENOUGH AS IT IS

Lost will now be on two hours later than its original air-time in Season 1, one hour later from Seasons 2 and the beginning of Season 3.

10 PM ET now, still on Wednesdays, at least!




So there you have it, my dear friends. Now we just have to wait until February 7th. Going forward, I have no idea how I'm going to be able to keep up with 16 episodes straight (that has never happened before, and I've actually really needed the time when they used to show reruns to pull everything together) so I will forewarn you that you are going to have to be patient with me when the show returns. It is going to be tough to balance my commitment to The Man, my attempt to have some semblance of a life, and writing this blog, which usually takes a full 1.5 days on the weekends. But I will do my best!

Until then, once again, Happy New Year,
- e

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

S3Ep5 - The Cost of Living (Eko's third flashback)

Hello my dear friends -

The boards were filled with nothing less than HATE this past week after the demise of our favorite bad-ass priest. I was actually quite overwhelmed... I would say at least 80% of the messages I read were some form of cursing the writers/producers at ABC, swearing off the show, or incoherent rambling and swearing. That was very annoying to me as I was simply trying to search for ideas/theories that actually mattered. How many different ways can fans say "Damn you for killing off Eko!?!?!" I will tell you - very, very many.

Anyway... while I didn't think the episode was that great, I certainly didn't think it was horrible, but I admit that I wasn't all that moved by Eko's death - call me cold. If anything I was more interested in the fact that he DIDN'T apologize or repent and then got the smack-down from Smokey, over whom he had previously emerged triumphant.


THE CORPSE (AND EVERYONE ELSE) WORE WHITE

There's something to the whole White Makes People Look Fat theory...Remember that crazy Heaven's Gate Internet cult back in the 90s where everyone wore black Nikes and purple armbands and then drank poison on purpose? I got *that* kind of vibe when Benry showed up in his white linen shirt thingy and made Jack put one on. But alas, it was only for Colleen's funeral.

And on top of the "P. Diddy's White Party" dress code, what was up with that strange song they played over the loudspeaker? It was "I Wonder" by Brenda Lee (never heard of it before), and I was assuming it was "Colleen's favorite song" or something like that, but then they never addressed why it was playing, so I thought that made it even more strange.


THE PLIGHT OF BENRY

Maybe I should've been a tad nicer?  BYGONES! After Jack called Benry out by mentioning that he had seen his spinal x-rays which revealed a deadly tumor, Benry decides to do a 180 and all of a sudden become all nicey-nicey and teary-eyed while trying to convince Jack to save him. On top of that, he mentions that he found out about his tumor two days before the Flight 815 crash, and had been praying for a miracle and thinks that is why Jack subsequently fell from the sky. I smell a phony.

First off, WHO told Benry he had a fatal tumor? In the past few episodes it hasn't really looked like there were any other good doctors around, much less another spinal surgeon, unless it was the now-deceased Ethan.

Secondly, if you had been praying for a miracle and then think your prayers have been answered by a doctor landing on your island, why would you then kidnap and mentally torture said Miracle Man and try to coerce him into saving you? Why wouldn't you just be nice from the get-go, offer him a house in the fairly modernized Other Village (a step up from the Hatch or the Caves or the Beach Camp) and hope he upholds his hippocratic oath? It just doesn't make any sense. If Benry hadn't started getting all pleading and weepy at the end, perhaps I would've bought it, but it was just not in line with his character, who has always, always, always been in control up until this point. Let's also not forget that he not-so-subtly mentioned that they chose Juliet to be the one to interface with Jack ON PURPOSE because she looked like his ex-wife Sarah. Once again, this all seems more like a mindgame than a real situation.

Therefore, I think that either: 1) the x-rays are NOT Benry's, but now that they know Jack thinks they are, they're playing a mindgame with him, or 2) they are Benry's and Benry is a really, really bad planner and leader and realizes he royally screwed up.

One last thing - how do they know what Sarah looks like? Was that included in Jack's dossier that they somehow got ahold of?



MEDIATE, ALLEVIATE, TRY NOT TO HATE!

Lest you thought the mindgames were over with, Juliet comes back into the picture a la INXS to mess with our heads and Jack's head even further. The video scene was the only universally applauded segment of the entire episode on the boards.


Juliet is SO unoriginal.
So besides proving that Juliet is either a Bob Dylan fan or had seen "Love, Actually," what did this scene do for us?
Now I'm REALLY pissed because I thought I was gonna get to see the Sox again?!!?  What is THIS crap?
This scene made us question whether Juliet is sincere in her scheme to overthrow Benry by enlisting Jack to botch his surgery, or if she is just carrying out an evil plan hatched by Benry himself. Because let's face it, from what we know of Benry, he would just LOVE to run a little experiment to see if Jack would honor his duty as a doctor over his desire to see Benry be punished for making the Lostaways' lives hell.

We also must remember that when Benry showed Jack the BoSox video, he had these ominous words for him: "...And if you listen to me -- if you trust me -- if you do what I tell you when the time comes -- I'll take you there. I will take you home."

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE A MAN'S DESIRE TO SEE IF HIS TEAM REALLY WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!! On the previews, we see Jack growl, "I want the hell off this island," so perhaps he is going to side with Benry no matter what, because quite honestly, what is Juliet going to do for him? He will have killed a man deliberately, broken his oath as a doctor and possibly ruined his chances of ever getting off the island... for what? To carry out an Others Mutiny? What would be his motivation to help Juliet?

Click here to see Juliet's entire poster sequence, courtesy of my boy humpy.




ARRRRR, STOP LOOKIN' AT ME!

Back on the main island, Locke proves once again that he's "not Jack" by inviting everyone and their brother to come along with him to find Eko. Perhaps he was longing for his hippie camp family again and was trying to spread the love amongst the Lostaways. Unfortunately, pretty much nobody cool took him up on his offer. We needed to suffer through more scenes with The Two New People, who were also stirring up much Hate on the boards. I have to jump on to the Bitterness Bandwagon for this issue, because it is pretty amateur how the writers just tried to force Nikki and Paulo into the forefront of Island happenings. Paulo is completely and utterly annoying, and Nikki just looks ridiculous in her skimpy tank top.

But perhaps worse than anything else was that they USED NIKKI to make my man Locke LOOK DUMB?!?! How DARE they?!?! She had to be all, "Well, there are six TVs and there are six stations so duh I mean there like must be one TV for each hatch - like DUH!" I wanted to reach through the TV and smack her. And to pour salt in the wound, they had to have Locke reply, "Well now I feel really stupid." No, Locke... nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! It's not your fault!!! It is TPTB's fault!!!!


I only like one person in this picture.  Guess who it is.Jack Sparrow ain't got nothin' on me!











A few other comments about the Pearl Hatch scenes...

1) So Desmond obviously can't foresee EVERYTHING... because he didn't know Patch Man was going to appear, nor did he seem to know that Eko was going to kick the bucket and then warn that they would be next. So he is only getting selective visions from the future.

2) Patch Man rocks! He was much scarier and cooler the first time around when I probably caught three feet of air off of my recliner after seeing him in the preview the week prior. It still had a little "when-Joaquin-Phoenix-saw-the-alien-on-TV-in-'Signs'" vibe to it, though. The main theories on the boards about who Patch Man is include:
a) He is Radzinsky, Kelvin's hatchmate prior to Desmond. Even though Kelvin CLAIMED that Radzinsky went crazy and shot himself through the head, we do not know that for a fact. We do know that Radzinsky painted the hatch map so he therefore had knowledge of the other locations outside of the Swan. We were also told that it was Radzinsky who edited out certain sections of the Orientation video tape, for reasons unknown. In the same crate where Eko found the fake Bible which hid the missing videotape, he also found a glass eye. All these things make this the most prominent and logical theory.
b) He is related to Alvar Hanso.
c) He is part of a third group of Others, and that group controls Smokey.
d) He is a member of Danielle's original group.

For whatever reason, everyone seems to think that Patch Man is in The Flame station, which was "left of the Swan" in the hatch map. I'm not sure why this seems to be the conclusion... but probably because the Swan is blown up, the Arrow (Ghetto hatch) had no computers in it, they were already in The Pearl, and the girls had seen the Caduceus hatch emptied out. That doesn't leave many choices.



BAD TO THE BONE

I hack people to pieces all the time, don't tempt me!!! Eko's flashbacks served to confirm that he WAS, IS and ALWAYS WILL BE one bad-ass mofo and he is not going to apologize for it. After Yemi was shot and taken into the plane o' heroin instead of Eko, Eko started his life as a faux priest, all the while scamming a way to get outta dodge as quickly as possible.

But before doing so, he had to make absolutely sure that we all knew what a "bad man" he was by killing three drug lords who were terrorizing his village (justified, in my mind) and then planning to sell desperately needed vaccines to his old drug buddies (ok... that one's bad). His plan was foiled by a village woman who told him hat they didn't want his kind around there, and proceeded to board up Yemi's church that Eko had made unholy with his killings. Hence, Eko "owed Yemi one church," which explains why he was building one on the island.

AN ANSWER, PEOPLE!!!! AN ANSWER.

Nevermind the fact that we still have no idea how the plane o' heroin with Yemi in it ALSO ended up on the Island...

I am... NOT your brother!  I am... SMOKEY!!! (Hence the ash on my jacket)
While running deliriously through the jungle reminiscing about his big pimpin' lifestyle, Eko realizes that he doesn't really regret anything he's done... in fact, he would do it all over again if he had the chance. Because he is GLAD he saved his brother and if that meant that he had to turn into a drug-running murderer for the rest of his life, so be it. In his final face-off with Fake Yemi, Eko defiantly refuses to repent, and that doesn't make Fake Yemi very happy.




SMOKEY STRIKES AGAIN!

Weeeeeeeeee!!!!
Extremely bad CGI effects aside, I thought the Smokey Attacks! scene was very cool. Because I LIKE the supernatural aspects of the show and the less something can be explained, the better, as far as I'm concerned.

Previously, Eko had a stare-down of sorts with Smokey, in which we saw images from his life flash within the black cloud. That scene, combined with the fact that in this episode Fake Yemi confirmed that he was not actually Eko's brother reincarnated ("You speak to me as if I am your brother...") , has led most people to the conclusion that Smokey can shape-shift into various things. People think that everything from Jack's Zombie Dad to Kate's black horse to Hurley's friend Dave was probably actually Smokey in hindsight. Some people thought that since Jack's dad's body had disappeared from the coffin and since Yemi's body had also disappeared from the plane, that Smokey could only take the form of a body it had "found." I don't buy that theory because Eko also saw the three dudes he killed in the church, yet their bodies were never on the island.

A second theory is that in their initial encounter, Smokey was downloading images from Eko's life to use against him later. We found out that when Locke saw Smokey in Season One, it only showed him a "white light," which most people took to mean that Locke is truly a "good person." So perhaps there is nothing that The Island/Smokey can use against Locke in the future.

We received another answer in Eko's death scene. "The monster" and Smokey ARE one in the same. Before, we were not sure if "the monster" (who killed the pilot of Flight 815 and was known to roar and shake trees) was the same thing as Smokey, since we could not figure out how Smokey could actually kill anyone. It has been confirmed by the producers that they are the same thing. Check that one off the list!

It is not yet understood, however, why Smokey sounds like it is making mechanical noises (to me it sounds like being cranked up a hill on a rollercoaster). We also don't understand why Danielle had previously referred to it as a "security system for the island." One theory is that Smokey was originally meant to be some sort of security system for the Dharma Initiative, keeping any random island dwellers away from the project hatches, but then something went wrong. It is widely believed that the real name for Smokey is "Cerberus," as noted on the Hatch Map, where it is also noted that there was a "Cerberus malfunction." Perhaps what we are dealing with with Smokey is the much-dreaded "the invention has taken a life of its own!" scenario. It's alllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!

Another thing that was confirmed by the producers is that Smokey is NOT (they repeat NOT) made up of nanobots. Thus destroying another fantasy of mine. Oh, well.




"BUT EKO, YOU COMPLETE ME!"

But you had me at hello!!!  Nooooooooo!!!!!R.I.P. Mr. Eko... you of the very few words, you of the slobbery crying, you of the chin pigtails. Who will stare soulfully at your cross necklace? Who will be chosen to wield your mighty Jesus Stick? Who will play ying to Locke's yang?

No one will. For Mr. Eko cannot be replaced.

But let it be known that Eko died on his own terms, with a smile on his face. And he didn't pass on to the Big Island in the Sky without imparting one last disturbing warning to Locke:

"You're next."

The producers say that we as viewers need to decide if Locke interpreted Eko's words correctly. As in, did Eko mean that LOCKE was next, or did he mean that the collective group standing there (Desmond, Sayid, Paulo, Nikki AND Locke) was going to face the wrath of Smokey? Locke chose to pass on the message as "WE'RE next," but obviously Eko probably actually said, "You're next."

There is another way to interpret Eko's words... it doesn't have to mean "you're next... to DIE" - it could mean "You're next - to be judged."

Finally, some people think that Bernard must now be marked for death because all of the other Tailies have bit the dust. But that is not so... Cindy, the two kids and the other people the Others originally took from the Tailies' camp are still out there somewhere, and the producers promise that their whereabouts will be addressed this season. Although it IS weird that we haven't seen Bernard or Rose all season... And to that complaint, the producers promise once again that they WLIL get "back to the main characters" when the show returns in the winter. Let's just pray that means that Sayid will actually get some air time once again!



TRAFFIC VIOLATION OR DIVA BEHAVIOR?

Escaping the island for a few minutes... of course it was a huge joke that AAA, the actor who plays Eko, got kicked off the show shortly after receiving a traffic violation in Hawaii (it was NOT for drunk driving a la Libby and Ana Lucia, and he actually was cleared of the charges). However, it actually had nothing to do with that... the producers insist that AAA, similarly to Michelle Rodriguez (Ana Lucia), had only wanted a year-long contract. They thought it would be too much to kill Eko off at the same time as Ana and Libby, so they strung it out to the third season.

More gossipy sources have a different take... from TV Guide: "It's no secret that Adewale wasn’t the most beloved cast member. Per multiple sources, the 39-year-old actor had become an increasingly difficult presence on set, refusing to film scenes as scripted, insisting on rewrites and even "demanding" several times to be released from his contract."

I think there may be something to the rumor above. From this article, you can tell that AAA is A-OK with leaving the show.



LOST ARTICLE

Here is an article covering a few interesting fan theories.



FROM THE BOARDS
- Finally someone (albeit Benry) commented on Juliet’s resemblance to ex-wife Sarah. Now I am just wondering whether Juliet is testing Jack to see whether he is a “good person”. She is a great addition.
- Eyepatch Guy gave me the biggest case of the heebie jeebies since BOB on Twin Peaks. I'll have nightmares for weeks.
- And what was the point of tail section? A season later and all the characters are dead (or MIA in Bernard’s case). I know that the producers keep killing characters so that we don’t get complacent and to instill a real sense of danger. But all its done is shown me not to get too invested in the characters because there is a good chance that they won’t last. I have an inkling that’s not what was intended.
- ABC really hates those who get arrested.
- Are we supposed to believe that, in this case, Lostzilla is really the Hand of God executing its judgment?
- Who was the brother, if it wasn't the brother? What happened to his body?
- R.I.P. Eko. Badass to the end.
- Why do I watch this crap? No really, why?All I want is Charlie dead and I think he will be the last fool standing.
- Two important facts about the Monster -- it appeared to Locke as bright light, and it can apparently shapeshift into human form (Yemi, the guys Eko cut up in the church, etc.). Does this mean that the other apparitions on the island, like Kate's horse, Jack's dad, various flashback characters, have all been the Monster jerking people around?
- Yemi -- the real one -- they were doing an obvious Christ allusion with him (rolling a stone away from an empty tomb) but it's not really obvious why Yemi has to be a 'type of Christ', yet. I think we can guess that the smoky monstery thing can take the form of corpses it finds -- Jack's dad, Yemi -- and then turns into a vengeful Old Testament Jehovah thing.
- Anyway...I thought that was a damned good episode. It seems the writers finally figured out that all of the "OOH THE ISLAND IS ALL ABOUT SCIENCE!" stuff was absolutely worthless bollocks and have started moving back to the Big Island of Terrifying Shit. Amen. I'm surprised they killed off Eko. He was a great character. That smoke monster owned the f-ck out of that guy. "RAWWWRR SMOKE FIST SMASH. SMOKE FIST DESTROY!" Speaking of Smokey the Murderous Puff...are we all in agreement that it takes on human form now too? Yemi was really YemiWithSmokeFlavoring, right? It actually explains a lot in my eyes.The Clorox Blacklight map says that "Cerberus"(Smokey) has been malfunctioning for some time. So my theory is that while it used to be a security system, it went wacko somehow and now thinks that it's The Punisher/Judge Dredd. It scans people to see if they have done bad things (dunno how) and if they are "guilty"...well...it punishes their ass. Harshly.
- Locke=awesome, Desmond=hot and awesome, flashback=awesome. I'm glad Eko stood up for himself and his decisions. He was totally right. His death was dignified and suitable for his character. Not to mention his last words, which were kind of chilling. I was pleasantly suprised because I was expecting something forced and sentimental.
- This occurred to me as well. Could it even be that Ol' Smokey is masquerading as one of the main characters (Bernard, for example)?
- When Yemi and Eko walked off together in the "afterlife" it reminded me forcibly of the end of Gladiator when Russell Crowe is finally reunited with his son and wife in the Elysian Fields. Yeah, I admit I got a bit choked up, both times.
- I would have loved it if Juliet had included a few shots of herself holding signs reading, "Jack's in the basement/ mixing up the medicine..."
- What? No! You can't kill Eko! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO PRESIDE OVER SAWYER AND KATE'S WEDDING! Or maybe I'm just imagining things. Rest in peace, Eko. You were the most badass priest out there.
- The Others sure know how to throw a classy funeral. That's how I wanna go.
- Re: Smoke Monster as Elephant - I actually thought it looked a bit more like a wooly mammoth, but that's just being nitpicky. If you go back and watch, it is clearly taking the form of some kind of pachyderm, so the "fist" that slams Eko would actually be a trunk. Fine distinction, but maybe one worth discussing - remember that the Smoke Monster also functioned as a snake when it grabbed Locke.
- I can't believe that after 2.5 seasons we're still having this discussion. I thought it was obvious that the Smoke Monster was a hologram with physical energy and substance, designed on the concept of Room 101 of 1984 (George Orwell) where it's different for each individual based in this case on what haunts them the most. So to me that means it is probably the horse from "What Kate Did" [I think]. I don't think that the monster is necessarily the "worst thing in the world" but more accurately is sort of like in the movie "Solaris" in that it reads your mind and "feeds" off your thoughts to create the embodiment of something that may be real, may be imagined, may be from your past, or may be allegorical, but that generally represents something that haunts you, even if subconsciously.
- A Cheeseburger in Paradise?
- I don't think Eko said, "You're next," to Locke. I think he told him, "Whatever you do, don't get arrested..."
- Does anyone think that Eko's death would have been about ten times better if we hadn't seen the ridiculous smoke monster CGI? Imagine, Eko runs into the forest after his refusal to repent scene, we then cut back to Locke and company, who hear the smoke monster, and then come up to a dying Eko. The stupid CGI ruined what should have been an incredibly meaningful moment. - Quite the opposite, I loved the scene. As someone mentioned way-back, I'm not sure how people can slate the CGI on the smoke-monster because, having never seen one, for all I know that's exactly how a shape-changing, mechanical-sounding, judgement-giving smoke-monster would kill its prey! I also like that we're seeing more and more of the monster - in the pilot, we saw little, just heard it. Then when Locke was taken, we saw the smoke. Then with Eko first time round, we saw the smoke AND the imagery. Now, we see the smoke AND its physical qualities, and get implications that it can either 'morph' into other shapes, or at least convince others that another shape is present. Maybe next time we see the smoke monster, we'll actually see it morphing into the hallucination (in fact, this time, with all the close-ups on Yemi after the "you speak to me as if..." speech, I was expecting him to 'poof!' into the black smoke. But hey!).
- On a shallow note, Jack's workout scene was a thing of beauty, as was the shirtlessness that followed. Both proved that Matthew Fox isn't nicknamed "Foxy" for nothing.
- I wonder if Charlie gets custody of the Jesus stick. Heroin + Jesus stick = one badass hobbit. Desmond better watch out.
- I missed Sawyer but at least he didn't get the crap beat out of him this episode. No Kate. YAY! My hatred of her burns like the fire of a thousand suns.



ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS...


About time!

See all the dolls!




NO BEST LINES THIS TIME...

I depend on two different sites that typically post episode transcripts each week on Sunday... and neither posted the transcript for "The Cost of Living" this week for some reason. Hence, I cannot provide the "Best Lines of the Episode" as I normally do because I do not have time to rewatch the episode and take funny lines down. However, I remember when I was watching it live that I thought it was absolutely hilarious when Benry started telling Jack his tale of woe and all Jack could do was respond, "Uh, do you mind if I eat this cheeseburger??"



ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER

So we are down to the "fall finale." I saw two full minutes of it (don't ask, I fell off the Spoiler Wagon) and if nothing else, those two minutes were awesome, so I have high expectations...

11/8/06 - I Do - U.S. preview, and Canadian preview (they show different scenes)

2/07/06 - Not in Portland

That's right, February 7th is when our beloved show will return to us. I have been surprised by how many people I've been talking to who did NOT know about the hiatus. Hello!?!?! Have you not been paying attention to this blog?

So, next week's will be the last write-up for a while. Although I realize that every week so far we've been saying "Next episode looks GOOD" and it hasn't necessarily been, I really do think the "mini-finale" will leave us with a lot to talk about.

Until then,
- e


R.I.P. EKO.  You were one bad mofo.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

S3Ep4 - Every Man for Himself (Sawyer's fourth flashback)

Hello my dear friends -

We are now 2/3rds done with the mini-season!!! While I am depressed about that, I'm still fine with The Powers That Be breaking up the season into two parts rather than giving us a smattering of re-runs for months on end. Plus, Jack Bauer will be back in January to tide us over.

On to 'Every Man for Himself' - another Sawyer flashback. I thought the show was back on track with this episode, recovering nicely from the blahness that was Locke's flashback. Although it was a little dark for my taste... I'm totally over Sawyer getting a beat-down every other minute, and was not a fan of the bunny-shaking scene, despite the fact that said bunny ended up OK. Here is what I gather we should be thinking about as a result of this episode...


EVENFLOW, BROTHA!


Huurr-ley spoke in claassss... todaaayyyy....I saw Pearl Jam in concert a few months ago, and was really surprised that Eddie Vedder didn't take the opportunity to tell all of his fans in the audience that he was going to be launching an acting career on Lost. He's so humble! Who knew that Eddie has been the guy playing Desmond all along? Shout-out to DW for pointing out that they are one in the same.


In other Desmond news - it seems very obvious now that he can see into the future. Whether he actually realizes that that's what he's doing remains to be seen. But he definitely foresaw the lightning strike near Claire's tent. The question I have is - did he see a vision of the lightning striking the tent and bursting it into flames and/or hurting someone, because if so, then that means he has the power to CHANGE what he sees in a vision to prevent it from happening. Charlie thinks: Crap!  Desmond's got some skills!I figure that has to be what is going on, because why else would he try to get Claire to move if he didn't think something bad was going to befall her? Regardless of how exactly he is getting his information about the future, I still don't think he fully realizes what is going on with his new ability. He acted confused last episode when talking about Locke's speech... he obviously thought that it already happened when referencing it to Hurley, when in reality the speech had not yet been made.

And I guess more than just Hurley can see him. Damn. And now more people than just Hurley are suspicious of him, too.

One theory on the boards worth mentioning is that Desmond is somehow living his life (or some period of time in his life) over and over until he "gets it right." So, it's not like he necessarily is seeing into the future, it's just that he is remembering things that he needs to do from each time he makes a new try. Some of you who have been with me since Season 1 may remember that this "time loop" theory was one that I was (and still am) a strong believer in...


WILL WORK FOR J.J.
Dean & Deluca FOREVER!

JAVIER!!!! Oh, how I've missed you.

Let it be known that if you work for J.J. Abrams once, chances are you will work for him again. Let's not forget that the pilot of doomed Flight 815 was yet another Felicity alum...




SPEAKING OF SHE OF THE CURLY LOCKS...

Hey.  Hey.   Hey.
Lost needs to take a lesson from the Felicity playbook, because THAT show knew its way around a love triangle. Felicity, Noel and Ben could take Kate, Sawyer and Jack any day when it comes to dramatic moments, longing glances, mixed emotions and flip-flopping. Hell, Jack isn't even around - so how can Kate "choose?"

Although many people think that's exactly what she did when she repeated Jack's "Live together, die alone" mantra to Sawyer after telling him she only said she loved him to get Pickett to stop his rampage.

Let's face it, Kate has continually been asking about Jack, and went totally berzerker when he was marched out with the sack over his head. Yes, she stayed with Sawyer in the cages, but I don't think that really signifies anything. She's smart enough to know that she'd get caught if she tried to run on her own. Plus she just saw Jack, so she may want to stick around to see if he gets marched by the cages again. And really, what's left for her back in the Lostaway camp? Nothing. My bet is that she will end up with Jack, since supposedly she WILL "make a choice" this season. However, if she wants to screw things up with both of them, then she can chop her hair off a la Felicity.



NO REST FOR THE WICKED

You SMELL like fish biscuits!

So Colleen dies, and Pickett unleashes his fists of fury on Sawyer for revenge...

Raise your hand if you are sick of Sawyer getting the crap kicked out of him every episode.

Seriously, ENOUGH already.





THE CON MAN GETS CONNED

I am really glad that the whole "Faux Pacemaker o' Doom" thing got wrapped up in one episode, because I really didn't need to be having nightmares about exploding hearts. Between the Sawyer-chained-to-the-table/huge-ass-needle/Pulp-Fiction scene, the bunny-rattling scene, the Stopwatch o' Fear and the beat-down by Pickett, Lost got a little too violent and dark for my taste. I hope the worst is over.

Perfecting the vacant stare.You don't really love me even though I'm so attractive right now??











What we did learn from all of those scenes is that the only thing Sawyer really cared about was protecting Kate. He was going to save her from the Pacemaker o' Doom, even if that meant forgoing a chance to watch her change her clothes - I mean, is that love or what? So I think he is left utterly confused now. She said she loved him, then claimed it was only to save him from Pickett, then she tried to break him free, only to climb back into her cage when he refused to escape with her. She must be staying for the fish biscuits. But now Benry definitely knows how to get to Sawyer...

The Sawyer flashbacks themselves, while entertaining because they featured a few good character actors, only served to further the "con man with a heart of gold" impression we already had of Sawyer. If nothing else, it was interesting to learn he has a daughter out there (named Clementine, how perfect is that?), and that when all was said and done, he did care about making sure she was provided for.


HE'S NOT THE BOSS OF YOU!

Over in Hydra Hatch land...

I have absolutely no problem sitting here and watching cartoons all day.Jack: Am I gonna keep watching cartoons or...are you gonna tell me why I'm here?
Juliet: I hope you like blueberry. If not, I can...
Jack: Should I talk to Benjamin?
Juliet: Sorry?
Jack: Should I talk to Benjamin? Because, I'm starting to think that you're just the person who brings me my food.
Juliet: You can talk to him all you want, but he won't tell you anything.
Jack: You work for him.
Juliet: No, I don't work for him.
Jack: He's in charge?
Juliet: Well it doesn't work that way over here Jack. We make decisions together.
Jack: Really? Because, when I was holding that broken plate at your neck he seemed happy to just let you die. I mean it felt like he made that decision on his own.
Juliet: You don't know what you're talking about. I don't answer to him.
[Ben opens the door and rushes through]
Ben: Juliet! I need you!
Juliet: Can it wait?
Ben: The sub is back. We have a situation. So come with me now.


Jack: 1, Juliet: 0.

However, what was interesting to me about that scene was that this exact same tactic was used by Benry to try to influence Locke back when Benry was being held prisoner:

LOCKE: Well, Dostoyevsky had his virtues, too. He was a genius, for one. Bullfighting isn't everything.
GALE: So, which one are you?
LOCKE: I'm sorry.
GALE: Are you the genius, or are you the guy who always feels like he's living in the shadow of a genius?
LOCKE: I was never very much into literary analysis.
GALE: I just don't understand why you let the doctor call the shots.
LOCKE: No one calls the shots. Jack and I make decisions together.
GALE: Right, okay. My mistake.
[Locke leaves the armory, starts to do the dishes, and then loses his temper, swiping all the dishes on the counter to the ground.]


These parallel scenes tell me that we shouldn't underestimate Jack - he may just outsmart The Others yet.


WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW...

The Original Others and their sub.




As you might have caught in the scene I pasted in above, Benry mentioned that "the sub is back." If The Others have a submarine, then that would explain how they came out of nowhere when jumping onto the sailboat with Sun.

Some people think that "sub" could also have meant subway or substitute.








I'M NOT A DOCTOR... BUT I PLAY ONE ON THE ISLAND


Did I just hear you say Like in the Movie??Sawyer: [Muffled, over the intercom in Jack's cell] Wait! Wait! What are you doing!? No!
[Shot of Sawyer lying on the table]
Sawyer: [Muffled] What the hell are you doing!? Let me out of here!
[Shot of needle near Sawyer's chest]
Jason (An Other): No! You have to go through the sternum. The sternum! Like in the movie...
Other Man: I know! I know.
Sawyer: [Muffled] Wait! No! No!
Other Man: 1!
Sawyer: [Muffled] What are you doing?
Other Man: 2!
Sawyer: [Muffled] Wait!


Uh....
"Like in the movie???"

They call me Dr. CRA-ZY!!Something leads me to believe that The Others don't have a staff of real doctors on hand. First, you have the scary statement made above. Second, Juliet told Jack that she was a fertility doctor and didn't seem to know how to perform certain parts of surgeries that people on the boards claim a "real" fertility doctor would've learned in med school. Third, we had seen in Claire's flashback that Ethan knew how to handle needles and injections, but he's now dead. And fourth, they had to bring Jack in to help out. So who was the team of doctors huddling around the operating table that Claire spied in her flashback last season? Not sure. Either way, that hatch (Medical/Caduceus) is on the other island, whereas we now know that the Hydra is definitely more remote and probably couldn't call up that team of people in an emergency.


And then we had this exchange between Jack and Juliet near the end of the episode:

I hope no one drops a Junior Mint...Juliet: I'm going to take you back now. Um, I'm...I'm sorry for bringing you here.
[Juliet bends down to unlock the handcuffs and Jack grabs her wrist]
Jack: Whose x-rays are those? Outside? Those are spinal x-rays and they belong to a man about 40 years old. And whoever he is, he has a very large tumor on his L-4 vertebrae. And I just happen to be a spinal surgeon. So, you tell me, Juliet, who am I here to save?


And I would ask... WHY does Jack need to save whomever it is that has the tumor? Why are The Island's magical powers not working on this tumor - too fried from curing Rose's cancer and Locke's legs and even possibly Jin's infertility?


What makes me nervous about all of this is not so much that they may have kidnapped Jack in order to save Benry... but rather, why did they take Sawyer and Kate? I still have a very bad feeling about what is going to happen to them - especially Sawyer.



OTHER RANDOM THINGS TO NOTE

- When Jack was watching cartoons in his cell, one of them was of a Swan swimming around - which some people figure was a nod to the Swan Hatch.
- The intercom in Jack's cell does seem to work intermittently, even though Juliet cliamed it had been out of commission for years. Before, Jack thought he heard his father's voice through it. This time he definitely heard Sawyer's scuffle. So what is going on with that thing? Some people think it is being controlled by the "good" Others, like Alex and perhaps some of the other kids who were raised on the island.
- Sun is now officially a killer as Colleen has died. She joins the ranks of Charlie and I'm sure a few others who became killers once they were on the island.
- Yet another book was mentioned - "Of Mice and Men." Three points to you if you have any idea how this relates to Lost, except for the speech Benry recited from it at the end of the episode.
- A lot of people are rooting for a Claire/Desmond hook-up now...




DUALING ISLANDS


Let the bunny OUT!!!
The big reveal at the end of the episode was that they are not actually on the same island as is the original Lostaway camp. Or are they?

Many people on the boards think that this is yet another hoax by Benry, because pretty much everything he has said to the Lostaways has been a lie so far. To this point, others have brought up the fact that neither Kate, Jack nor Sawyer has recalled taking a boat from the ferry where they were first kidnapped. But perhaps they were drugged and don't remember it?

I personally think it's pretty hard to fake another island... So...

If there are two islands, then the general consensus is that the creepy utopia village we saw in the premiere is on the original island, and only the Hydra hatch is on Falcatraz (board nickname for the mini-island). Remember that Benry said that Ethan and Goodwin could make it to the crash sites in an hour, and those sites did appear to be on the same island as was The Others' village. It is also true that the Hydra does not appear, or is at least not clearly marked, on the hatch map that Locke saw last season - which would make sense it if wasn't on the same island as the Swan. So the belief is that The Others live on the main island and take a sub from the Pala Ferry to Falcatraz for "work."

And in case you are thinking that the operating room where Jack attemped to save Colleen was the same one where Ethan took Claire... just stop thinking that, because you are wrong. The Ethan/Claire operating room was clearly in the Medical/Caduceus hatch, which was definitely on the original island because Claire escaped from it and was able to find her way back to the beach.

MR. EKO... FROM JESUS STICK CARRIER TO... NASDAQ BELL RINGER??

Hey CG - get Locke to open for us one day and I'll build a shrine to you...

It would've been better had he been dressed in character.  But seriously, WHY is he opening the NASDAQ??

BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE


Pickett: Time for work!
Sawyer: Sounded a little stuffy there, Chinatown. Need to blow your nose?
Pickett: Give me an excuse.
Sawyer: I thought I just did. What I gotta do, talk about your mother?




[Ben, Juliet, and the others carrying Colleen run through the cage area on their way to the Hydra. Pickett joins them.]
TOM: She's hurt bad, Juliet.
JULIET: Keep her steady.
PICKETT: She's going to be fine, right? She's going to be okay?
KATE [to Sawyer]: What happened?
SAWYER: WE happened.



Sawyer: Watch and learn, little lady.
[Sawyer activates the shock mechanism in his cage]
Sawyer: There's juice pumping into this box from somewhere. Next time someone comes to pull me out... I'm going to wait until they step into my little swimming hole. Then I grab them. Zap! They fall back from the shock, I snag the keys. Bet the bears never thought of that.




SAWYER: You get little mints on your pillow at night, too?
MUNSON: Sorry?
SAWYER: You're here, what, a week? And you're on tote bag duty? I've been here 9 months; I'm still pushing trash.
MUNSON: What does that mean?
SAWYER: You think the warden's breaking up those fights because you're cute, Costanza?




[Kate opens the bag of clothes and prepares to change]
Kate: Turn around.
[Sawyer watches Kate's bare back as she puts on her shirt adn his pulse rate goes up and the watch starts beeping]
Kate: What's that?
Sawyer: It's just my watch. It's busted.
Kate: When did you get a watch?
Sawyer: Look! I don't tell you everything! Just leave me alone, dammit!
[The beeping gets faster]
Sawyer: Put some clothes on!



Juliet: Col. It was short for Colleen. I shouldn't have...uh, I should have come to get you sooner.
Jack: It wouldn't have mattered. There wasn't any more that you could have done. She was... she was dead before you put her on the table.
Juliet: Are you... are you just saying that to make me feel better?
Jack: [Sort of laughs] I don't...I don't care about making you feel better.
[e: I was cheering at that one.]



BEN: You ever been to Alcatraz -- take the tour? Right now you're standing on a small island roughly twice the size of Alcatraz. And that over there -- that's your island -- the one you've come to know and love. I just wanted you to know there's nowhere to run.
SAWYER: You did all this just to -- just to keep me in a damn cage?
BEN: We did all this because the only way to gain a con man's respect is to con him. And you're pretty good, Sawyer. We're a lot better.



FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY

- I loved Sawyer in the very beginning, where he saw the shot Colleen, guessed "we" did it, and was thrilled- I was with him all the way on that. I so wanted to tell him that it was Sun- he'd be so proud of her.
- Too bad Sayid got waylaid by Rousseau and never completed his circle-all-the-way-around-the-shoreline-and-make-sure-this-really-is-an-island plan. Then the Lostaways would already know about the Little Isle of Horrors.
- And loved Jack's little smile, with "I don't care about making you feel better." Juliet looked a little stung by that. WTF, girl. You're keeping him in a cage.
- I thought it was funny that Sawyer seemed so disgusted with Benry for killing the bunny. It was like, dude, you've killed a PERSON. Uh... not that that stops me from finding him terribly attractive. Though I was disturbed by the return of the half-ponytail in the flashbacks.
- I don't know why Benry pulling the bunny out of his stylish American Eagle messenger bag was so funny, but it just really was to me.
- When Benry started quoting OM&M with the music in the background, did anyone else think he was going to burst into song? I was totally hoping he would.
- I thought Benry's 'Of Mice and Men' quote was telling today... "when a man is lonely too long he gets sick." These people have been cut off from reality for too long.
- I thought the quote was telling, particularly because in making it Benry revealed that he is a freaking genius, if we didn't already know that. With no advance warning he is able to quote at length from Sawyer's (allegedly) favorite book, an appropriate passage that Sawyer himself doesn't recognize. Okay, that is a little scary.
- Wish Desmond had managed to ground that lightning strike on Paolo's useless ass.
- 'Live Together Die Alone' is Jack's motto. 'Every Man for Himself' is Sawyer's. Thus the significance of Kate's words: She has chosen to side with Jack. (Of course.)
- And what was the deal with the defibrillator being broken? The Others can manage to maintain the surveillance system, the submarine (probably), and the friggin' fish biscuit dispenser system, but they can't be bothered with a fairly simple life-saving device?
- I loved the episode for the same reason I've loved all the episodes so far this season - they reinforce the idea that for as much as the Lostaways are trying to reinvent themselves on the island, they are all still very much the same people they were before the crash. For better or worse.
- What's interesting is Kate's admission she loved Sawyer got the mad captor to stop, rather than pushing him to finish Sawyer. Why would that be? If the mad captor were looking for real payback, wouldn't he prefer to kill a Lostie that was loved, because he lost someone he loved? Instead, Kate's admission stopped him. Interesting, no?
- Good episode. We finally get some answers (as little as they may be) after three episodes. Juliet is a fertility doctor - interesting connection since the Others kidnapped Alex, Walt, Claire and those other children from Flight 815. I'm guessing Benry is the one with the spinal tumor, which helps explain why they took Jack. But why Sawyer and Kate? Do they want Sawyer to impregnate Kate so they can do experiments on her baby? I'm hoping they don't go there though.
- Anyway, I'll continue to watch, but I'm getting tired of the Others. I gave a little cheer when the Other flatlined. At least that's one less Other to deal with. Cold, but true.
- ... and one less blond woman to keep straight. Even the Other woman are not faring well in the death count. No wonder they need a fertility doctor.
- I'm fully vested in the party of disbelief now. Castaways, including ones we haven't seen or heard from, have been on an island for 2 damn months and they never walked around the outside and *looked*? There could be a damn Holiday Inn on the other side for all they know! WTF?
- There's the series finale right there: they go on a walkabout and find a tropical resorts on the other side of the island, and they're saved! Hah.
- Alls I'm gonna say is, if I ever was dumb (or mean) enough to toss my bunny into a messenger bag and haul her up the side of a mountain, Foo Foo would chew right through the bottom of the bag in about 2.5 minutes and hop her little ass somewhere where no one was going to paint numbers on it. Poor bunny. I hope it bites the hell outta Benry when they get back. I wanted to stuff him into a messenger bag, see how he likes it.
- Please, Jack, use your skills as a bargaining chip and ask a frickin' question!! How about "Where are the kids?" or "What are you people doing here??"
- I like how Ben's appearance is deceiving me time and again. He appears to be upper management, wears nerdy glasses, neat clothes, knows entire Steinbeck passages by heart, yet is not afraid to get his hands dirty and beat Sawyer. Never saw that one coming. And I loved it! Ben continues to amaze. For me the greatest character addition to a show since Alan Shore and "The Practice."
- Interesting that toward the end of the episode, Benry refers to the other island as "your island" to Sawyer - ie. "that's your island, the one you've come to know and love." Probably nothing, but an interesting contrast to Zeke's "this is our island, and the only reason you're living on this island..." speech.
- I have never understood the Jack-hate, and in writing this I will probably be cut down... but I like Jack. I have not seen him as condescending and arrogant, but rather a stressed person in the reluctant position of trying to lead in this crisis. He totally takes his surgeon persona into how he responds to things. I work with surgeons. They take charge in a crisis. That seems very in character to me. So why do people hate Jack so much, when all is easily forgiven about Sawyer and the guns? Sawyer is not a team player for the most part, but Jack usually is. Why does Sawyer get such a break?



PREVIEWS

Patch-eye lives!I linked to the preview for 'The Cost of Living' below... and when I watched it "live" I literally squealed with fright when eye-patch-dude showed up on the monitor. Who is THAT guy?!?!

Then some people on the boards pointed out that in the Swan Hatch mural, there is a drawing of a guy with one of his eyes crossed out (upper right, the eye on the right has an X through it). And let us not forget the GLASS EYE that the Tailies found in the chest in their Ghetto Hatch in "Another 48 Days"...


I say: "Bring on the pirates!!!"

I also say: "They drew that mural at the beginning of Season 2, so STOP SAYING that the writers haven't thought things through!!!!" Seriously, if you look really hard, you can see a bunny with an 8 on his back, too.



[Um, I'm lying. Stop looking for the bunny in the mural. I pasted the real one in below if it makes you feel better.]


TWO MORE TO GO...

11/1 - The Cost of Living

11/8 - I Do

Then we are DONE 'TIL FEBRUARY!!!! I can't take it.

- e



Bite him, BITE HIM, Bunny!!!