Month: February 2008

Well. The week went by, and here we are with another LOST review. I’ll keep this one short, mainly because – the last twist aside – nothing really fundamental seemed to have happened. It’s a resolving of the whole pregnancy theme. Now all that’s left is Sun and we can all live happily ever after!

The Episode…

I’m glad we finally saw the end of the whole fugitive storyline. Kate is without a doubt the character I like least of all losties, and all of her flashbacks were not only boring but very irritating at times as well. In comparison, this flashforward was really, really good. We got a nice little plot twist at the end (which kind of screwed Claire – which is good as I’d really have a hard time deciding whether I like Claire less than Kate so it’s good that they decided for me), we got some more Evil Beardless Jack and a little info: eight survived the meta-crash, but two of them died. I smell a double homicide coming up, do you?

Every episode confirms my suspicions: Jack and Locke have both gone off their rocker. For Locke, this is very obvious because we don’t know his higher goals (which are perfectly understandable I am certain). For Jack, it’s more implicit. He has become unbelievably violent, but his ”darkest hour” only shows up in his flashforwards. I like what they’re doing to the two protagonists, it’s just a shame that people seem to think Jack is right and Locke is wrong, because it’s just not that simple. I’m quite curious to see where they’ll take it. Jack will return to the light, but will Locke? I can’t wait to find out!

I have the impression they make the Kate episodes especially for the housewives amongst the viewers. We got a tiny pile of mystery (eight survivers, Aaron, Faraday not remembering the cards, the disappearing of the helicopter, 2.3 million), but most of all, we were given a lot of Sawyer and Kate, Kate and Sawyer – filled with references to good ol’ Jacko. And, frankly, it’s really starting to grow a bit old. In the little world in my head Kate is meant to end up with Sawyer and Jack is meant to end up with Juliet. The other way around just wouldn’t work. Because we all remember that Kate can’t do taco night! It’s not that hard!

The Questions…

More mystery surrounding question the first. Just when we started to find out who got off the island, we know there’s two who supposedly explicitly did not. So… who got off the island just got a bit more complicated. The fourth question (”I’m sick of lying”) also was hinted at again. There’s a conspiracy, and Jack’s the enforcing lap dog. Most importantly: Question 3 has been solved! I didn’t see it coming, but I guess Kate didn’t have to return to Sawyer, a marshall or her exploding zombie father. She had to return to little baby Aaron. The fact that she is not Aaron’s mother aside, I find that very adorable. Question 7, however… I don’t want to go into that.

In all…

I liked this episode. But I’ll like it more when it’s out on DVD, because on it’s own, it was kind of uninteresting. Kind of like ”Stranger in a Strange Land” but with good flashes this time. It’s a nice
episode if you have access to the next one. It relieves your tension for a bit, and you can pay a lit less attention while it’s on. Maybe grab yourself a little bit of grub on the way. Next week’s episode is all about Desmond – so my hunch is right: this less Lostish episode is just a little preparation for something interesting…
Favourite Quote: ”She’s the very definition of a flight risk!”

Time flies by fast – especially if you have seen The Economist, the newest LOST episode. How was it? Read on to find out!

The Episode…

Sayid episodes always make me a bit twitchy. Maybe it’s because I find Naveen Andrews a bit of a disturbing actor (his obvious qualities aside). Maybe because they’re usually very boring (the cat flashback was cute, but insanely farfetched). Maybe because the Iraqi people don’t speak … Iraqi to one another, but English with a funny accent (which bugs me to a great extent, mostly because Jin and Sun never mimick English – English is English and Korean is Korean, what you hear is what you get). This episode, however, was different. And no, that is not just because the flashforward story takes place in Berlin.

Sayid’s apparently been transformed into Ben’s lap dog. I’m really glad they’re keeping up Ben as the evil mastermind. That’s taking the hard route – the easy route would have been to have him rethink his actions and change his ways. That’s not how Ben is though – in fact, he seems even more evil in season four than he did in season three. I love the little guy (even though he should lose the ridiculous glasses he was wearing in this episode’s final scene). I kind of figured Sayid was someone’s dog, but I thought it’d be Abaddon. Do I see two sides: Abaddon versus Linus?

One of the major revelations, one we had seen coming but was finally confirmed, was the one about time. Finally! Dan (who really seemed insane at a certain point – I’m convinced he’s an autist after this ep) requested a beacon, and when he got is, the clock inside was 31 minutes early. So, if I’m correct (and I’m usually not, because I suck at this reverse kind of logic), time’s passing slower on Monster Island. Could time travel be involved? Could this be why Ben had old pound notes in his drawer – notes that went out of circulation in 2001?

So, there go Sayid and Desmond. I’m surprised to see Desmond on that helicopter. I wonder what’s going to happen there: will he be one of the six? I always figured he wouldn’t be, but I’m open to surprises! The

The Questions…

Well, we now know four people that are part of the Oceanic Six. Hurley, Kate, Jack and now Sayid. I was surprised to see Sayid as one of them – I never thought him to be very interesting (although the last minutes of this episode made me change my mind). Another question that got hinted at – again – was the one about Jacob. While we don’t know who or what he/she/it is, we do know the cabin was gone. Did Locke get abandoned? Also, the Jack-Sawyer-Kate triangle got a bit of a punch: Kate’s starting to doubt whether Sawyer was the right choice. Sawyer wants to play house, Kate’s not interested. Although, she did “stay behind” in the end. But, LOST-style, I doubt that that’ll be the last word we hear about it. Maybe next week?

In all…

Not my favourite season 4 episode. I think it’s my favourite Sayid episode though. Enter 77 had a nice on-island story, but the flashback was dodgy. This one was great all around. Oh, and did I mention it had Berlin?

Favourite Quote: Hurley: “Locke said you were here to kill us. So are ya?”
Miles: “…Not yet.”

Did the week go that fast? It seemed like only yesterday when we saw “The beginning of the End”, the first episode of season 4. And now, after only having watched it again two more times, there’s a new episode already?! Slight hints of sarcasm aside, here’s what I thought about Episode 2 of Season 4, “Confirmed Dead”.

The Episode…

The story has come to a momentary standstill. This is kind of obvious, seeing how there’s not one, two or three, but four new people to be introduced. The victims are Daniel Faraday, Miles Strohm, Charlotte Lewis and Frank Lapidus. With the exception of Charlotte (who will, I think, be vital to the plot development later on) they’re wonderfully interesting. Daniel is a physicist, a “head case” – I think he has the form of Asperger’s (Autism) which causes you to be hyper intelligent but equally antisocial. Miles Strohm is what appears to be a twitchy medium with a foul mouth, very agitated and kind of a crook, but not really a crook. Charlotte Lewis is a postgraduate in archeology, and found aDharma Polar Bear (©1970 Dharma) in Tunesia. Friggin’ Tunesia! She also has a huge forehead. Last on the list is Frank Lapidus – the original pilot of Flight 815 who had to drop out due to… well, due to what actually? He has crazy eyes and a lovely little accent.

Why are they there? They’re there to rescue the losties, but 40 minutes later, we knew that was not the case. On the one hand, there’s Naomi’s picture of Desmond and Penny – so at first we thought it was Widmore. Then, it wasn’t Penny’s boat, so we were kind of in the blue. Then, we saw Naomi with Mr. Abbadon (“There were no survivers”). Ten minutes later, we know why they’re here: Benjamin Linus. Wonderful – I just knew he had more backstory to be uncovered. The question is: why are they on the island? Obviously, the four all had different ideas about it: be it physics, the dead, Dharma and Flight 815. Naomi, who apparently had the picture of Desmond and Penny and contacts with Abbadon, is I think the only one who can answer the question. That, and perhaps Benjamin Linus – the man with the man on their boat. My money’s on Charlotte!

The Questions…

Slow week for the questions. There’s no answer whatsoever. Only more questions: there are now four extra people to be in the coffn at the end of season 3. Poop.

In all…

The episode felt a bit slow, but really a lot happened. I can’t wait for next week’s episode, where they will finally incorporate the four new guys into the actualy storyline a bit more. I liked the first episode better, though – it showed the current evolution in a less disturbing way than this week’s episode. Current evolution? Well… LOST is starting scare me a bit. Because, in a way, the Losties have become the Others. Locke has a hostage. Sayid shot at Miles and Dan. Locke kills Naomi. Jack tries to kill Locke. They’re slowly becoming the “bad guys” and that’s something I’m finding honestly scary. Is it finally Lord of the Flies time on LOST?

On a lighter note: for those who hadn’t read yet: the strike’s over. Five more LOST episodes are coming!

Favourite Quote: Sayid: “So what do you do, Miles?”
Miles: “I collect soil samples.”

Finally, the day has come. It’s odd, but for me, it felt a bit like I was cheating: not seeing any LOST for nearly 8 months had truely led me to believe – in a shrew, psychological post-traumatic stress disorder kind of way – that “Through the Looking Glass”, the wonderful Season 3 finale, was the end of the series. And, in many ways, it could have been. The first chapter of the series was complete, the only thing that was left now… was The Beginning of the End. On to the review, which will as always be covered with spoilers.

The Episode…
Whoa. Who could honestly not be completely psyched after this episode? We got more flashforwards, we got an exciting new plot development, we got just about everything we wanted from a new LOST episode. I am honestly thrilled to see where this goes. We got what we have been waiting for for eight months: some new insight in the whole flashforward business. A message of mystery: apparently, Hurley was one of the “Oceanic Six”. Six people made it off the island, then. Who else, other than Kate, Jack and Hurley?

Another message of mystery, brought by the last person I’d expect to ever see again: Charlie. “They need you, Hurley”. What has happened prior to Hurley’s return to civilization? Why is Jack visiting Hurley? “Are you going to tell?” …Something’s rotten in those flashforwards, something stinks, and I can’t wait to find out what.

Meanwhile, on the island, we finally got the plot twist I had been waiting for for ages: a group break-up between Locke and Jack. And, honestly, I might be a Locke fan, but I have no clue who I would follow. Jack seems to have started his descent into darkness (a descent which will not stop until he is ready to jump off the flashforward bridge, I think), he keeps on talking about killing people (Ben and Locke, to be precise) and he twitches. A lot. He doesn’t seem to be a hero anymore, he’s slowly turning into a dictator. Locke, on the other hand, whose faith I have always admired, seems to have really gone of his rocker, jumped the shark, gone absolutely stinking mad. Neither of them seems to be the valid option. I’d be torn between Hurley (who I’d follow until the end of the world, I think) or Desmond (who is also a trustworthy person) – because they went seperate ways. Why did Desmond go with Jack? Doesn’t he believe Charlie?

Freaky things happened in this episode – I didn’t really expect this. I expected a very down-to-earth showing of the new plot elements, and that would be it. In that way, I have learned a lot – but also gained dozens of questions. Why did Charlie appear to Hurley? Why was he “dead, but also here”? Who is the freaky black guy who goes by the name of Matthew Abaddon? He’s a guest star, so he should be back for more episodes. Scary, scary person . I mean, look at those eyes! Furthermore, what’s up with Hurley’s visit to Jacob’s cabin? Or: Jacob’s visit to Hurley? We noticed the ash in “The Man Behind the Curtain” and all supposed Jacob was Ben’s prisoner, but this appears to be not exactly true, as Jacob’s cabin apparently fl oats around the island constantly. Maybe he can move the cabin but not himself? Also: there were two people in this cabin. And one of them… was Jack’s father. What?!

The Questions…

You might remember me creating a prediction post for LOST’s season 4. Well… not much has happened. We saw Jacob (question 5)… or something that resembles Jacob. Or whatever. Jacob might be the “it” that wants the Oceanic 6 to return. It might have summoned Charlie. We also heard something about Rousseau (question 9) in the form of “You’re not her father”. But… that doesn’t answer anything. A poor start for my ten questions everyone wanted to know the answer to!

In all…
In all, this episode had great pace: loads of questions, great plot development, nice dialogue… I have got a feeling that season 4 will be even better than season 3 – and I really hope I’m right. LOST could have a great influence on serialized television drama in terms of setting an end date to your story and planning ahead in a way that Lord of the Rings had that influence on serialized movies. Let’s see how it develops.

“I don’t think we did the right thing, Jack. I think it wants us to come back.”