LOST: Week 9

The blog entry on the "mysterious" best TV show ever will have to wait at least one more week. I haven't prepped quite enough for that yet. Also, because a lot has already been written about that show being so great (and a lot that I have read already), I wanna make sure I can try to give you enough of my own to warrant reading it instead of linking to someone else's praise. Instead, we'll have a typical long entry on tonight's episode. It might even be longer than usual.

SPOILERS AHEAD

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Whaaaa Jin and Sun aren't married. At first, that doesn't even make sense. This set-up seemed more illogical than others just because it's so odd that Sun's dad would have Sun go with Jin on a business trip with questionable clients. Sure, Sun's dad might be different in this world, but still. Of course, this view changes when it's revealed that Sun's dad actually wants Keamy to kill Jin. GASP. Yet, once again, why'd Sun have to come along? Was she going down too? That would be a twisted parent thing to do. Or maybe she had to be there to suffer the knowledge that she caused Jin's death by hollering at him?

Either way, my patience for the flash-sideways is running thin (although I'm probably holding out longer than others, like, say, my boy Alan Sepinwall. This one continued a lack of progress towards my hope of seeing the way this world will collide with the other world. It also didn't convince me toward that other theory of these sideways being the epilogues. It just doesn't add up for me. We had more "hey, it's that person!" cameos with Mikhail (with both eyes! and then he gets shot in the eye! Hilarious!) and some more Keamy love, and then we had a lot of show focusing on a seemingly irrelevant plot. I want to learn more about the stuff on the Island, not on Sun getting shot and randomly exclaiming that she's pregnant. Just all seems poorly put together.

It's funny to see Ben going back to an unlikable, annoying type again after joining the crew. He's already nagging Nadia about how Richard Alpert isn't coming back and how they're screwed. Pretty soon Ben's gonna just start asking "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?". It was good to see Sun assertive on the Island in her anger rant at Jack, considering she's been really passive and underused since the return to the Island. Sun's been a lame character since Season 5, really, with her cop-out in trying to come up with some special revenge plan with Widmore and her weird charade with the gun and Aaron, followed by her uselessness on the Island. It's cool to see her complaining about the situation and how she doesn't care about candidates.

Then, the show frustrates again by throwing in a plot of Sun forgetting how to speak English. WTF man I don't need this. At least this plot device provided us with a scene of sweet and kind Jack. How can you not like Jack? He means well. Remember when he was like this all the time in Season 1, helping others with his doctorly ways and his earnestness? That's my boy, Jack! You have what it takes! I did sort of raise my eyebrow (really, I tried to raise my eyebrow when it happened. OK, not really) when Jack promised to get Sun/Jin far away from the Island. I feel like he's said that before, probably even right before he kind of abandoned Jin on the freighter and made Kate come with him and Jin blew up (remember when we thought Jin was dead? That seems like it never even happened). Does anyone else remember any promises like that directly between Jack and Sun or Jack and Jin? Then again, either way, he's a different man now, and so the promise would have different weight behind it.

Kate and Sawyer were sadly underused this episode, as were most people, thanks to the flash-sideways. Thanks a lot, flash-sideways! You ruin everything! Also, how scary is the prospect of Kate getting killed by Claire by the end of the series? Either way, there looks to be a definite face-off coming between the two. Why can't we all just be friends, crazy Claire?

Seeing a greater importance with Jin is definitely intriguing when you consider the lack of major importance assigned to Jin/Sun for most of the show. What could make Jin so important? Or, perhaps, are Jin/Sun combined important? Maybe the happy married couple is the answer to the Island's salvation. Man in Black did want Jin and Sun reunited too. I dunno. I'm rambling... The scene where Jin sees the pictures of Sun and Ji-Yeon was quite moving. His expression, the background music, imagining what he must be feeling when he sees those pictures. It got a little dusty in the room during that scene. Probably spring awakening or something. SPRING AWAKENING WHAT A MUSICAL.

Desmond's reveal as the package and the man behind the locked door = sweet. Well, first, sad because the preferred ending for Desmond (For me. Maybe you have a crueler heart) would be to have Des, Penny, and Charlie H. living happily ever after on a boat somewhere with T-Pain and Lonely Island. Still, this had to be expected at some point considering all the crap from Eloise about how the Island isn't done with him and because, well, he's been in the main cast all season (and he wasn't gonna earn those reps in the LAX universe!). Why is Desmond so important to this situation?

One random theory off the cuff: Desmond has always had weird timeline powers. He introduced us to that concept with his jumping around in Season 3 after the hatch explosion and his foresight of Charlie's death. He was the man who starred in The Constant, another timeline-jumping episode that was also one of the best episodes of the series for many people. We saw him randomly show up at the beginning of the first episode and then disappear randomly. Why? Is this all part of Desmond's weird power to jump about places? Is he the key to uniting these two universes and thus saving the Island from Man in Black? I think he must have some role in that. That's my preferred basic theory right now, without the intricacies of any other stuff since I'd probably be wrong anyway.

Concerning Desmond showing up on the Island, let's also remember how soon this probably is after he got shot. It might be a week or so since he got shot. Widmore must have stolen him from the hospital bed (I'm guessing he didn't gain any progress with his damaged relationship with Penny). This seems contradictory to his scene with Desmond in Season 5 where he told Desmond to go back into hiding. Perhaps he didn't realize at that point that he was going back to the Island and taking Desmond with him. What made him act? Did Jacob send him a message somehow? Did he and Eloise realize that Locke's dead body would become Man in Black (ehhhh)? Hmm. Not sure.

Desmond is important. I feel like Kate must still be important, and so is Richard. And probably Ben. Just because you aren't a candidate doesn't mean you aren't important.

Sayid and Desmond. You know, seeing Sayid spot Desmond gives me a glimmer of hope, probably false hope, that Sayid could turn it around. Sayid and Desmond had a connection with their trip to the freighter and their stuff in The Constant. Could Desmond be his chance at salvation? Ehhh doubtful.

Finally, Widmore's people stealing Jin and then Locke asking for Jin back reminded me of the Trojan War. Random, I know. But let's roll with it. Why not? Why can't I have a Doc Jensen-ian moment?

So check it. Man in Black is Agamemnon, the unlikable leader of a group filled with otherwise more likable people. We got the hero, Achilles/Sawyer, pretty boy who isn't completely good and has a bad-boy edge to him. We got Jin as Helen of Troy, the vaunted treasure of both parties who will start a war between the two sides. We got Widmore as Priam, since both are old dudes. We got Kate as... I dunno, Achilles' homeboy Patrocles, since she might die and since Patrocles and Achilles were rumored to be in a romantic relationship too. And we got.... alright I think I ran out of ideas with that analogy. But that was amusing.

Random notes:

-I noticed a couple of lines of dialogue that were mentioned in this episode that are repeated themes from before. I jotted them down, but I don't actually remember the context of either. We had "what's done is done" and "Whatever happens, happens."

-I definitely enjoyed Sawyer's conversation with Locke, especially when Sawyer said "No, cause that would be ridiculous!" in response to the thought of Locke being unable to leave the Island even though he's a Smoke Monster. Well played, Josh Holloway.

-Man in Black is pretty amusing. His defense of his actions is so indirect. Sun calls him out for murdering everyone at the Temple and Locke's just like "Those people were...confused." So I murdered all of them, even the random ones who probably would have succumbed to me once Dogen and Lennon were dead. Yeah OK, Man in Black. You're a good guy. Right.

-The V countdown really irked me during the episode. A lot. Heck, all the campaigning for it in commercial breaks was annoying too. The creepy short-haired lady with the white background, that same rock song they play halfway through the commercial. It's repeated stuff like this that makes me dislike watching stuff live. But with LOST I make an exception. Begrudgingly.

LOST Mid-Season Review...and LOST: Week 8

We're at the halfway point of this season...I think. If I'm wrong, please correct me, but my understanding is that we've gone through 9 hours out of 18, and 8 weeks out of 16. So what do we do with a mid-season post? Give a mid-season review!

Plot A aka the Island Plot: I give it an A- right now. I've enjoyed a lot that has happened on the Island. Negatives? My main gripe is that I wasn't crazy about the Temple people, especially Lennon and Dogen before he started going full English. That led to a strong payoff, however, starting with Hurley and Jack's excursion to the Lighthouse, Sayid's rampage of darkness, and Ben's conscience turning. Still, I've enjoyed crazy Claire, fake Locke, Ben when we've seen him, Miles/Lapidus' comedy contributions, and lots of stuff as a whole.

Plot B aka the Flash-Sideways Plots: B. I enjoy most of them, but I still don't get what the heck is going on with them. I was most compelled by the Locke-Jack interactions in the lost baggage section, but that might not even get revisited considering Locke and Helen got rid of Jack's card. Otherwise, we're halfway through the final season, and we don't have a clearer picture yet of where this is all going. I still believe it must have some sort of collision with the other timeline, and I don't believe it's an epilogue thing (it's called flash-sideways, not flash-epilogues). I'm gonna try to think more on a written-out theory of what I think the flash-sideways are for. It'll be a little bit off of things I've read from other people, molded with my own thoughts.

MVP: Locke/Fake Locke. He had a pretty compelling flash-sideways, Terry O'Quinn is a great actor, and Locke on the Island has given us some great scenes, with his manipulations of Sayid, Kate, Claire, Sawyer, and so forth. I also still believe that real Locke will come back into form later in the season. Maybe I'm just holding on there, but I gotta believe it. Other contenders I foresee in the second half of the season? Jack surely must have more to do in the 2nd half. Richard Alpert seems destined for relevance after tonight's plot developments. Sawyer has done well when he's been in it. And Ben. Oh, Ben. You are fantastic.

Best Episode: My favorite was probably Sundown. That ending with the Temple raid was just awesome. The stakes, the chaos, the kicker of Sayid's turn, the death of Dogen all had me gripped.

It's strange to think of this as the halfway point still. The plots are being set up toward the finish, but it doesn't feel like it quite yet. There's still so much to be said. Regardless, the season has been entertaining and good for the most part thus far; here's hoping it'll be awesome in the second half.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THIS WEEK'S EPISODE

For starters, the set-up of this episode was strange. I'm not gonna act like I did any research on this, but it reminded me of one of those long flash episodes, like Desmond's flashback (that was most of an episode, right?) and Michael's flashback as he returned to the series. Michael's was like Richard's, in the sense that it broke away from the Season 4 flash-forwards for an episode, while Richard's breaks away from this year's flash-sideways.

Compared to Desmond's and Michael's, I was not nearly as compelled during the first half of the episode. Throughout the time until Man in Black showed up, I kept thinking about what a waste of an episode this was for the final season. Sure, after the episode, I'll concede that it made sense to spend time on Alpert's wife and the prison, but I wasn't crazy about it. Also, I didn't enjoy the priest telling Richard that he couldn't do anything to absolve his murder. Not feeling your theology, sir.

Mr. Whitfield. MR WIDMORE. Anyone else think that?

The main joy of this episode did come with the return of old-school "Esau" and Jacob. It was great to see them try to compete with each other in their grand game. It would have been a shame if that Season 5 finale opening scene had been their only history shown.

A couple things from that Season 5 finale. First, how close was the Black Rock to Jacob/MIB during their supposedly morning conversation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lACK3yxRDIE)? Seems weird how it would automatically turn into a crazy storm that brought it ashore. Also, what do you think caused the statue to turn into the foot as it did? The ship? The Man In Black saying EFF YOU to Jacob? Cloverfield?

The Jacob/Esau fight reminds me of God and Satan with Job. Esau is trying to prove that men are inherently bad, and he can push them towards it. Jacob is trying to prove otherwise, and he's trying to not directly influence them. It's pretty crazy to think how they (who knows whose call it was) killed everyone on the boat just to see how Richard would go when choosing between the two. It was also entirely fascinating to see their conversation post-Richard, especially with the white rock that Jacob hands Esau (I'm just calling him Esau now 'cause I like it), which called back to when Locke throws the rock off the scale out of the cave.

So, letting Esau off the Island will cause the destruction of Earth? I think that's what we're heading toward. Here's another question off of that then. A lot of theories I've heard think that Jacob and Esau will both be replaced by two of the characters on the Island. But could it more likely be that this final battle is to just end the argument altogether? As Jacob said in the Season 5 finale, it only ends once, anything that happens before that is just progress. So if this has all just been progress, perhaps it's finally time to end it all. Jacob will defeat Esau with his legion of folks like Richard, Jack, Hurley, etc. And maybe Widmore, who knows. Perhaps the "candidate" will be the one who actually takes Esau down. Man, this show is freakin' confusing. I'm gonna stop it at that with the longer paragraphs. Here's a shload of notes:

-The Ilana and Jacob scenes at the beginning were pretty unsatisfying since they cut away from that to focus completely on Alps.

-I loved Richard's laugh in response to what he should do next.

-It's the Hell/Purgatory theory! They're all dead! Except that can't be it. Richard, my man, you are wrong. You must be. I mean, you've traveled back to the real world to recruit people and stuff. Don't be a fool.

-Jack doesn't know about Locke. I hadn't even realized that yet. I can't wait for Jack and Locke to face off.

-SMOKE MONSTER IN THE 1800S. BLOOD FROM THE DECK. OH SNAP.

-I noted this after a long preview of V during one of the commercials, but has anyone else noticed an increase in the use of perkier narrators? I noticed this first with the zest and peppiness of Glee's "Previously-on-Glee" narrations before episodes, and V had a peppy lady trying to summarize V so far. A change from the typical deeper-voiced narrators, such as with LOST right here.

-It's good to see the Man in Black in his pre-Locke form. During his first scene with Richard, I was trying to imagine him vs. Locke vs. him as they are the same person. It was certainly amusing to hear his comment about seeing Alps out of his chains. The question? Did Terry O'Quinn see any of this actor's scenes to imitate or, more likely, vice versa? Did they work together to try to learn how to do this character? Does the world explode if they're both in the same room?

-Richard and Esau. Do you ever want to see your wife again? Once again, the issue of doing whatever it takes. Like with Sayid. And Darth Vader!

-Did anyone else jump when Jacob rocked Alpert? That was shocking. Angry Jacob. What a beast. This is a side of him we hadn't seen; it was cool.

-How was it that Dogen basically said to Sayid what Esau said to Richard? Thoughts?

March Madness Suicide Pool

Picks:

Round 1:

Matt - Maryland and Wisconsin

Alex - Kansas State and West Virginia

Fred - Maryland and Wisconsin

Marshall - Maryland and Georgetown (L)

Peck - Pitt and Georgetown (L)

Molly - Michigan St. and Maryland

Harriet - Pitt and Wisconsin

Khadir - Maryland and Wisconsin

Round 2:

Matt - Villanova (L) and Duke

Molly - Tennessee and Butler

Harriet - Duke and West Virginia

Alex- Duke and Wisconsin (L)

Fred - Tennessee and Villanova (L)

Khadir - Duke and Texas A&M (L)

And then there were two.

Round 3:

Molly - West Virginia

Harriet - Baylor

Round 4:

Harriet - Michigan St.

Molly - Kentucky by default (L)

Harriet is the champion! Congrats to her, and thanks to everyone who participated in the experimental 1st March Madness Suicide Pool. We'll see you again for the NFL season, when it will be much more legitimate and structured. Yay...

LOST: Week 7

No prologue today. We're running through the episode. It's late, I didn't get to watch it live again, and I want to get this done before I get tempted to read other recaps. Again, for those wondering, I particularly enjoy reading sepinwall.blogspot.com (I read most of his stuff in general for things I watch) and Doc Jensen on ew.com, who is a much more lengthy writer (I think a lot more of you know about him). Anyway, onward to the episode. Spoilers ahead!

I really enjoyed seeing Sawyer with the double (or triple? or single?) fake-out con revealing himself to be a cop. A nice remix of an old retread. Stuff like that, when well done (like in this case), make for entertaining flash-sideways. Although... I am starting to lose my interest in the sideways flashes, just 'cause I would like to know more about their purpose. But that probably won't be for a little while longer... Anyway though, it was great to see Miles be Jim's partner in the LAX timeline with a nod to their Dharma times. Ah LeFleur.

It's interesting to find out that Sawyer's a cop and to consider how he let Kate go at LAX. Considering she was a convicted criminal in handcuffs on an airplane with a freakin' U.S. Marshal, you would think he would have to consider stepping in there. Shows that he's not all good as a cop. That is, unless you crash into his car.

After seeing a mini-reunion on the beach last week but not seeing the following conversations quite yet, it was kinda nice to see Sawyer, Jin, Kate, messed-up Sayid, fake Locke, and kookoo Claire all back together. Well, I guess it's not exactly the same as in Season 1, but still. It was a little disappointing to only see a glimpse of Jin at the beginning (you KNOW he would have had Kate's back during Claire's blitz attack) and to not get more exact info on why Sawyer/Jin didn't make it to the Temple.

It was cool to see Charlotte back in the house. I'll grant the LAX timeline major props for giving us the treat of seeing LOST dead alums again, in better circumstances. Also, I must say that Charlotte looks far better as her LAX self with makeup and all than the last time we saw her. You know, bloody and crazed out and uh, not as flattering. Charlotte shows us another pre-1977 Island inhabitant too. I guess she got off the Island before the bomb anyway, so that doesn't really add much, right? Someone correct me if I'm mistaken... I sure hope to see Faraday at some point this season.

Concerning Sawyer and his different path in the LAX timeline. I think it's important to consider how Jacob gave little James Ford the means to finish his letter as a child in the standard timeline, but in LAX, Jacob is more absent, if not gone completely. So, James likely didn't finish his letter and commit to full vengeance and becoming Sawyer, although yeah, he still wants to kill Locke Sr. Does that make Jacob bad? Not necessarily. It doesn't make him look great, but I guess dude has his reasons. We'll see. (yeah that was a copout couple of sentences, whatever!)

Miles is a baller. I'm just sayin'. Gotta love him. As for Sayid... man it's really sad to think of his current state. :(

I had totally forgotten about the other Ajirans. Remember Caesar? Lolz what a fail. What killed that pile of people? I do believe that Widmore and co. didn't kill them. Was it the Smoke Monster when he had time to go after them? Did he really have any time to do so? Tangent, at what point during this time did he get to Ben on the beach? I thought today's episode was about the same time as last week's, but Widmore was still heading towards the Island at the end of last week, and he's already set up at Hydra Station this week. Unless today's episode was a day later. Hmm, I'm gonna have to check out the timeline on lostpedia or something.

It's strange to think of Kate talking to fake Locke when you consider how much Kate already wasn't crazy about original Locke. She didn't even want to go to the funeral! Sad. I miss you old Locke. REDEMPTION IS COMING. I BELIEVE.

I was gonna be really annoyed if that lady turned out to really be from Ajira flight, so thank goodness she wasn't. I was thinking that Lost would hold out on us and not bring up Widmore this episode, but thankfully he was in the house. Cool to see him talk to Sawyer & make the deal, and intriguing to see that locked door too. What's in it? The Holy Grail? Walt? Desmond? A...flamethrower? Oh snap.

I'm looking forward to learning more about ol' boyo Charles (I thought it was funny last year to discover that Dezzy Des and Penny Hardaway named their son Charlie after Charlie Pace considering Charles Widmore's name). Why did he want that Black Rock stuff at the auction? Why'd he want Ben off the Island so badly? Whose side is he on? Did Jacob want Charles to take Ben off the Island? WHAT'S GOING ON. Widmore has always been such a mysterious, intriguing character, so it'll be great to see more of him, even though I still think the season 4 showdown between him and Ben off the island looks to be more and more of a road we won't be going down soon.

All in all though, I wasn't as crazy about this episode, especially after the 2 before it. Sawyer's switching around seemed a little messy to me by the end of it, with him saying something to someone, and then relaying it to someone else and so on (Widmore, then to Locke, then to Kate). Got a little redundant over time, and I don't really know if what he's telling Kate is true. Well, it probably is, but it doesn't really excite me as much as other stuff this season so far. Also, I want more Jack. And Ben. And Omar. Oops, wrong show.

B E E R

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L O S T

LOST: Week 6 - A Briefer Note... Maybe

This week's note will be different. It will be shorter, done in a different manner, and, as you can already tell, delayed a day. I went to the Bulls-Jazz game last night, where I got to witness my first Bulls game at the United Center, which I'd checked out once before for a Blackhawks game. Although hockey is fun and the Blackhawks are a very good team, that NHL game was less exciting, if not just because I don't get hockey well enough to enjoy the sport. Dudes skate around, pwn each other with checks, and score goals so quickly I can't tell how they get a good or bad shot off (as opposed to soccer, where the bigger net and field make it easier for me, in my opinion). Anyway, some highlights:

-the Chicago Bulls starting lineup intro. It was electric. Classic song. You know it. If you don't, let's take a trip down memory lane: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYFlzJyxWlw

-The game was high-scoring and close for about 2.5 quarters. Then uh... well, the Jazz are a good team this year. The Bulls are not as good.

-The halftime show was these two dudes (http://statue-duodesign.com/) who did some cirque du soleil-type balancing stuff. It was cool. Cooler? The music they did the act too. First, they did some Rocky IV montage music (not Hearts on Fire, but the instrumental part: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu00RiPjaa4&feature=related). THEN, they went for the juggernaut by ending with the "Going the Distance" theme from the original Rocky. That's a winner in my book, I'll tell ya. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvQkl7qa6RQ for the track recording, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzTlw4mNlag around 4 min for the song done in the film. Pay note to the chill part around 6:00, and of course, the ending.)

-I should emphasize that the basketball, of course, was good, but that's not gonna interest you as much as random other bullet points, is it? They had a couple celebrities at the game. Earlier on, they showed Adam Duritz, the Counting Crows lead singer, although I wasn't sure it was him at first. Later, they showed Harold Ramis, and even later, they showed Zach Gilford, of Friday Night Lights the tv show fame. I was super-excited to see homey Matt Saracen on the screen, but it makes me sad that not many people know who the f he is (and I'm guessing, a fair share of you all). Sad. He's quite an actor. Also, I googled Duritz/Gilford, and I found this picture from the game: http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/6uTFUJUYCRO/Utah+Jazz+v+Chicago+Bulls/hj_tp1abVnV/Zach+Gilford. Cool.

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I don't feel like writing the way I normally write, as I didn't take any notes down during the episode because I was tired, and I already read a couple other recaps. So instead, a couple observations to expand upon.

Isn't it so fascinating how we (or some of us, at least) view Ben Linus? I mean, I really was sympathetic towards him even when he stabbed Jacob, and I wanted very much for him to pick the good side (well, if you think Ilana/Jacob is the good side). This is the same guy who killed Locke in cold blood, apparently for good, messed with Jack and co. for several seasons, stole Rousseau's baby, drove Sayid towards his dark side, shot Desmond, let his daughter die, exterminate the Dharma Initiative, etc. etc. Yet Michael Emerson plays him so well, and he has suffered so much himself, that you can tend to forget his past malicious intentions. And how sad it was when Jack/Hurley/Richard returned to the beach, and Ben was the sad loner in the background. Emerson always brings it with Ben-centric episodes. "A Shape Of Things To Come" still gives me chills in its critical scenes.

Widmore is on his way! Side note, first, it bothers me how they always have to show every actor's name in the opening credits. I read today that this is apparently a rule with the SAG, so Cuse/Lindelof can't really do anything about it. For me, since I know actors' names way too much, that ruins say, Widmore's (Alan Dale) surprise return at the end. I might have to take some random blogger's advice and try to block the guest stars' names with my hand when I watched an episode.

Anyway, this confirms my belief that there needed to be more with Widmore, although it's hard to say that Linus is at all on the same scale as Widmore, considering Linus seems like more of a pawn, and Widmore seems to be coming here on a mission straight from... Jacob? Or Man in Black? Either way, he seems more important. It'll be exciting to see him get to the beach, although I fear that they'll wait a whole episode for that and make next week's episode all about Locke and the others at Hydra. I hope not.

Also, something I realized after reading something today. Do you realize the short timeline within which all these events have happened? According to Lostpedia timelines (http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline), which I feel must be accurate enough, it's been less than two weeks since Jack tried to kill himself. That's right, all the chaos with trying to get back to the Island, all the 70s stuff, the bomb, the Temple, everything, was in less than two weeks. Concerning Widmore, too, that means it's been only like a week since Ben called Widmore to tell him he was going to kill Penelope. And now, a week later, Widmore is about to hit the Island. That was quick.

A couple more thoughts. Good to see Ben and Richard both have more to do. The principal from Ben's flash-sideways was the annoying reporter guy from Die Hard, if anyone remembers that character. Are any of you hatin' on Jack right now? He's the man. Respect.

I'm not actually sure how much shorter this note was.

Watching TV Shows Live or After Completion... and LOST: Week 5

Sorry for the delay. Couldn't watch the episode live, so I had to watch it... via other means, and then write. The first portion was mainly written beforehand. Skip down if you want to read about my thoughts on the episode.

Before getting to the Tuesday episode, I wanted to again write a little bit about another topic first, somewhat related. Watching LOST can be a frustrating experience (although this topic is a little less timely after an awesome episode like tonight's. At least, I think most people will consider tonight's episode awesome). You finish an episode, and you're like WHAT'S GOING ON. Or "Why aren't they answering anything? It's the final season, and they're supposed to be giving us answers, and all I'm getting are more questions! I'm so confused. ARGH! Why are they stuck in the Temple, this is so stupid." You get my drift. You've probably been there. I know a decent amount of us were thinking that concerning this season until tonight's episode. Unless you breezed through the past 5 seasons of LOST on DVD, you've been frustrated with the cliffhanger ending of Season 1, or the poorer quality of the beginning of season 3, or, lest we forget, the confusion of the time jumps at the beginning of Season 5 or the confusion of the Ben shooting in the middle of that season.

I know some people after episode 3 of this season (the Kate-centric episode) were frustrated that things were going so slowly, and I know people felt that way after last week too. To that, I would remind you all that after 5 episodes of season 5, we were just finishing with the time jump chaos that seemed to just be all kinds of confusing (again, this point is more moot after tonight's episode. I should have written on this topic last week!). I would also like to explore an interesting thing about TV watching. Watching a show as it happens vs. watching it after the fact, on DVD/online/etc.

Season 5 of LOST was a mixed bag for me. The time travel stuff and the Dharma stuff was meh for me at times, but it did pay off at the end. When friends asked me what I thought of season 5, I would say it was good, but it's a little weird at times, I'll warn you. Don't give up on it if you're not into it right away. There are parts of it that are a little weak sometimes. Yet, as people started catching up to LOST in anticipation of the final season, with some people catching up as far back as season 2 through the current state, I got the same thoughts again and again. Season 5 is awesome. And I was like oh... cool. Wasn't really expecting that unanimous of an opinion, but that's cool... why couldn't I have felt that way?

It's interesting to consider the positives and negatives of watching a TV show after it's done vs. while it's happening. This has happened to me a couple times this year, as I watched through the incredible series The Wire and caught up on Friday Night Lights all the way to its current state, then watched this past season of it week-by-week. Watching a show after it's done is great for the ability to follow it on your terms, as opposed to worrying about season breaks, potential sudden cancellations, the fear of the show turning crappy... did somebody just say Heroes?

Take The Wire, for instance. I watched it all in 1 summer, and it was incredible. It's the greatest TV show ever. No doubt in my mind. It's so incredibly good (another blog post in the future on that). But you know how many months were between seasons 3 and 4, which I watched one after the other? 21 months. That's right. Almost 2 whole years. That's an HBO show's timing for ya. Think how much that would have sucked if you were a Wire fan back in the day. Granted, Season 3 didn't end on a cliffhanger, and the season wrapped up pretty well, but there were some definite storylines that you were left pondering about between the two seasons, and after watching an amazing season, you had to wait 21 months to watch another amazing season (a season so good, in fact, that a lot of people think it's the greatest season in any show, ever, in TV history). Or take Friday Night Lights. I got to watch it this past year, enjoying 3 seasons and knowing that it was guaranteed for a 4th and 5th season. But during Season 1, it was facing the threat of cancellation. During Season 2, it was facing cancellation AND the writer's strike. Same for most of Season 3. That's not a good feeling as a TV fan.

But if you watch it all after the fact? You thought that LOST season 1 ended awesomely, but you really wanna know what's in the hatch? Just pop in that season 2 DVD. You know how many episodes you have ahead of you. Scared of if Jack's wife is gonna make it in Season 1 of 24? Go on right through that next episode! Worried that Heroes might suck after season 1? Well, it will! So don't bother!

It's cool to be able to get recommendations from people to check out various little gold mines of shows and to be able to enjoy excellence, guaranteed before watching. Still, there is less of an exciting factor there. Unless you're joining forces with someone else as you watch the old show together, you're left to let your friend know "hey, I finished season 2... it was awesome when..." and have that sort of one-sided conversation while the other friend has to hold back on potential spoilers, etc. or have trouble remembering random tidbits of a season. It's a fun conversation, but not as good as the conversation one can have over, say, this season of LOST or Glee back in the fall (and again in April/May).

So as much as it's fun to be able to zoom through some seasons, I do really enjoy being able to follow a show in its current state and kind of just bank on it being awesome. Which it might not be. This season of LOST could still suck in the end. But I'm trusting that it will be good, trusting that my initial concerns for this season (and your concerns) will decrease as the plot moves along, and enjoying the conversations I have with friends and coworkers until the season's end.

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And on that note... SPOILERS AHEAD...

So apparently in the LAX universe, the Gulf War never happened! OK not really, but here's a Sayid-flashback episode, in the house! And we have a smackdown between Dogen and Sayid. Gotta love action-Sayid. Later, when talking about his debt, Sayid's brother sorta tries to take advantage of Sayid's love for Nadia... kinda weird. But I guess it's also weird if your brother's in love with your wife. Awkward...

Claire is like a creepy baby doll with this new haircut. I think the hair makes her face more round, creating the baby doll illusion. And yeah Claire, tell that Dogen not to speak Asian! Plus, they use subtitles. MUCH less annoying.

The scene with Locke and Sayid after the stab-that-doesn't-do-anything-wow-that's-crazy is pretty intriguing. Again, gives me vibes of Satan and tempting. Also though, this time, reminds me of Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, where Anakin is promised that he can have his love, snatched from the hands of death. I really don't like thinking about the newer Star Wars trilogy, but it definitely came across my mind with that conversation topic. And what happens in Star Wars? Palpatine tricks Anakin for his own purposes. HEY WHAT ABOUT SHANNON, SAYID?

The Sayid flash-sideways didn't really do it for me in the way that Locke or Jack's did. I think I found Locke's to be sweet and poignant and Jack's to be somewhat poignant and also somewhat more relevant with things like the appendix scene hinting at potential clashings of the universes. Sayid's? Not so much. It's hard to get emotional about Nadia when she's definitely married to her brother, and the flash-sideways ends on more a plot point, as opposed to the happier endings that Locke and Jack left off on. Thus, it just makes me wonder, like my boy TV critic Alan Sepinwall (sepinwall.blogspot.com), what these scenes have to do with the plot of the show. As Sepinwall notes, maybe these scenes will be better after we know what their point is; until then, not so much. It was amusing to see bad boy Keamy again and that other dude from Sayid's past (was that the guy that tortured him in return for Sayid torturing his wife?). Also, Jin in the kitchen. Things like that make me think that maybe we'll start hitting some more castaway uniting in the LAX timeline, leading to some connection to the Island timeline. For now, though, I just don't see it.

Also, who do you think they'll still flesh out in the LAX timeline? Will they continue to focus mainly on one person per episode (Claire was in Kate's, but it was still Kate's), leading to episodes centered around Hurley, Jin/Sun, Sawyer, maybe others? If so, when will it stop? Will we have episodes ala some of Seasons 4-5, where they won't have it focused on one person in some episodes, but it'll jump from person to person within the episode?

The Sayid scene in the Temple. Whoa, as many of you probably thought. I was riveted from the start of that scene until the end of the episode, unable to even type any notes or anything. What a sequence.

RIP Dogen. Sure, I made fun of your language and found you annoying in the first few episodes, but you grew on me. Especially in that final scene about your Juliet-esque coercing to the Island. That sucks. And that explains how you got here, which is cool. Makes me wonder how he has so much power (if he actually did, which I'm guessing to be the case, since Smoke Monster didn't arrive until after), considering he shouldn't be as special as someone like Juliet. I hope they explain that later. I wasn't so sad about Lennon though. Dude was annoying. Even before Sayid kills him, he sounds annoying when he calls Sayid "Idiot!" I also thought that Sayid might kill Ben right then and there. Heck, he shot baby Ben. But I guess killing two people was enough.

Sayid... I always liked to think that he would end on the good side, that he would find redemption. I really didn't want him to die at the end of last season so that such a thing could happen. Now though, I'm fearing that to not be the case. Maybe he is just too damaged in the show. Killing, allying with Locke, Dogen forewarning that Sayid was bad now, shooting baby Ben (even though I was rooting for it when it happened, while also being really confused about the context of the rules of paradox/time travel stuff if baby Ben died). It's hard to believe that Claire and Sayid can have redemption in the end. Also, does anyone still think Man in Black is on the good side? It's hard for me to believe that.

I'm starting to think that Locke will gather and gather, recruiting, and it looks like Jack and Hurley, along with Ilana and the others, will be on Jacob's side. I still think Widmore is on the way too. Or, who knows, maybe Jacob's saying that the LAX timeline is coming to the Island... That really doesn't make sense to me yet. And I would bet that Sawyer would side with Jack in the end, and Jack and Locke will have another showdown. BUT WHAT ABOUT CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD. Has anyone else been annoyed in LOST with how it's spelled "Shephard" instead of "Shepherd"? Me too.

Theories on Kate's role? With her being probably rogue within Locke's camp and her being a non-candidate, I feel like she must have some kind of special role.

Some loose-ends. Where are Jin and Sawyer? That part confuses me. Where did Sawyer go after the cave? Is he on some sort of mission for Locke? Is Jin tied up somewhere because he refused to cooperate? Where did Ben go after seeing Sayid? And where are you, Richard Alps!

Misc. notes:

"He will come as someone you know" - reminds me of a scene in The Godfather. Know what I'm sayin'?

Miles, by himself, playing Solitaire. Heh.

Miles on Claire, to Kate: "She just strolled in here a couple hours ago, acting all weird. Still hot though."