32 posts tagged “lost”
January 2009 can't come soon enough.
Lost 4.12
I rewatched the episode from last week tonight because I heard there would be more footage of the press conference. The only intereesting thing I recalled was that in the cover story, Boone, Charlie, and Libby survived, but all died on the island, Charlie dying a few days before the rescue. :(
Lost 4.13/14
Wow. I can say I really enjoyed the first hour more than the second. I'm not sure why, I guess there was tons of shit happening, and I kept looking at the clock, and I was like "WOAH WE'RE NOT EVEN HALF WAY THROUGH THE FIRST HALF!" in a good way. Not in an exasperated way. To be clear, I'll try to refer to the first hour as "Part Two" and the second hour as "Part Three", because two weeks ago was "Part One". So I enjoyed "Part Two" more than "Parts One and Three", not to say those other episodes didn't have their moments.
I guess I'll just do a huge review, lumping in things from both episodes. They're starting to blend together, so I can't just break it up.
-- I really enjoyed seeing the continuation of the scene we saw one year ago. It was a really nice touch, even if it only revealed Jeremy Bentham, something that meant nothing to us viewers. I liked seeing it tie in with the context of what we've learned about Jack through the flash forwards.
-- How to move an island, in one easy step: push the frozen wheel. I don't know, but the entire thing felt a little anti-climactic. I mean, there's this huge build up to the Orchid, and then Ben just trashes the time travel machine and pushes a frozen wheel and JUMPS A YEAR INTO THE FUTURE. Oh, and it moves the fucking island. Intense. Well, now we know how Ben ended up in the jungle. Nice touch with the arm wound, clarifies that Ben did jump about a year into the future and it wasn't some other occasion he tried to move the island.
-- Ben kind of rocked though. I mean, he basically made me realize something very important: TIME TRAVELING BUNNIES FTW!
He also had my favorite exchange of the evening:
Locke: "You just killed everybody on that boat!"
Ben: "So?"
That was the quintessential Ben Linus moment, I mean he was just so cold and distant, it rocked. But then, when Ben got his parka and said goodbye, it was such a sad moment, like we really saw what the island meant to him. To never go back, he developed his identity around the island, Ben Linus ruled a whole civilization there, and he didn't know what would happen after. Also? His little snide "I hope you're happy Jacob" bit reaffirmed my theory that Ben was responsible for Jacob asking Locke for help. Jacob needing someone who wasn't Ben leading, hence giving him cancer. That Jacob fellow is slick.
-- So Locke is the new head Other. I think we all saw this coming, but it was still creepy watching Richard basically bow down to his new overlord. But it looks like the island might be moved in the future, as Locke does end up off of it. Or maybe he found that magic box (does the dude get that there MIGHT not be a physical box, but actually a metaphor?) and wished himself off. But you have to wonder, why do all of the Oceanic six (plus Desmond?) need to go back? Surely the Others have enough guns and things that go boom to handle the freighter people. Or maybe there's another threat coming. Perhaps John is trying to help them, because the Six are getting creepy undead messengers.
Back to Locke, so Jeremy Bentham, hmm. The dude must've done something really bad to force the Oceanic Six to never use his name. Who is he, Voldemort? But nonetheless, me, one year ago, was right. I did a little shriek and happy dance when I saw Locke in that coffin. I wonder why the corpse needs to go back? I totally didn't think it would be Locke tonight. I was thinking it was Ben, but I couldn't reason why the Oceanic Six wouldn't use his name. Ben's done such horrible shit, you'd think they'd have already reached the point when his name would be forbidden. So I was thinking it was Christian Shephard in the casket, but that would have been a really confusing mindfuck. Then at the last minute I was wavering between Christian and Desmond. I kept thinking who else left the island with wasn't one of the Oceanic Six, and I could only think of Des. But thankfully he's still alive and kicking. I hope.
-- Claire!!!!!!! OK, she's so dead. You can't be a dead island messenger without being dead (OK she was in a dream, but I'm calling Island) Claire was always this quiet, calm character, I was so pumped to see her flip a shit in that dream about Aaron. Sure it was tame, but there was power, I liked it!
-- DESMOND! I worried for like 5 seconds that he died in the helicopter crash. Like yelling "NONONONONO!" at the TV. But after going to first base with Jack, everything worked out, and he got to go to first with Penny! Imagine how horrible it would be if Des died and Penny received his dead body :( I shudder to think about that. But yeah, we had this incredibly sweet payoff with Desmond and Penny, I teared up. I loved how Des, like a little kid, showed off Penny to everyone. Heh.
-- So what do you think happened to Faraday? I mean, he was sort of away from the island, but I didn't see the little boat left behind... I think he got teleported, right? I hope he's not in some weird ass limbo, or in the void (don't get me started on voids) He's probably with the island, with Charlotte. Charlotte's got something interesting. Miles did his eerie "I'm a ghost whisperer and kind of psychic" thing, and basically we know that Charlotte was on the island before. She told Daniel something about searching for the place she was born... I'm going with the Island as the place of birth. I wonder how you put that down on a college application "City: Deserted island that bends the properties of time and space."
-- Hurley is a wackjob. I mean, we knew he was... Well things could get dicey in the brain sometimes. But playing chess with Eko... Yikes. I mean, sure Jack's been seeing his dead father, but I don't see why Hurley would get overwhelmed with ghost messengers. I buy the Island sending Charlie, but Eko? Yeah, doubt it. Unless Hurley's got a bizarrely strong connection to the Island... Or not... Watch Hurley end up being the only Oceanic Six sane enough to do anything. Heh.
-- Jin. Is he, or isn't he? Sun thinks he's dead, or does she? Why on earth would she team up with Widmore unless he has something... or someone. Maybe Sun doesn't know about Ben and Locke running around trying to get people back to the island, so she's left to team up with Widmore to go back and hope Jin is there. Because he wasn't in the explosion, he was on deck, and after the first boom, he could easily have jumped off and swam to shore. I don't see that being so farfetched, I mean Sawyer did it! Dunno, watch tomorrow the executive producers tell us Jin is dead, and all this spec is useless. SEE WHAT YOU DID TO ME BATTLESTAR GALACTICA!
-- So everyone's got to go back. Jack's going to have a tough time working that out, I mean, Kate's not going to take Aaron at all, so that seems to ruin the plans right off the bat. Everything pretty much came full cirle with the flash forwards. They served their purpose of showing the off island life and needing to go back. Now that we've seen them leave, it was a nice way to round out the whole story telling device.
I'm starting to see how next season's going to be confusing with present/future/past. This season we could rely on the island as a standard point of reference, December 2004. Present. But now it appears the action with the Oceanic Six will occur three years(?!) after that time. My mother, with the established period as present, couldn't keep track of the time shifting and was left confused. It also didn't help that she didn't regularly watch. But nonetheless, without the fixed reference point, will we just shift from three years future off island, to present (2004/5) on the island? Not done properly, that could be a little wacky.
OH Frak! BSG aired in the UK Wednesday Night! WTF! How did I not know?! *downloads* Guess I'll have to watch it tomorrow afternoon... I haven't written much about this season, maybe I'll do a roundup post tomorrow, when it's not 3am...
Alright, my brief Lost thoughts before the finale. So, I fell pretty far behind in my episode recaps, but I figured I'd just do a huge post about random things. Recaps/Theories/Whatever. Sorry about the weird flow, I copied these from some forum posts I wrote over the past few weeks.
Lost
4.11
So for those who didn't realize, Richard doesn't age. Period. Also, apparently Locke was supposed to be the Ben, but took the stupid knife. No wonder Richard was eager to keep Locke around with the Others. Thought: If Ben wasn't supposed to be the leader, could that be why Jacob wanted Locke's help?
Could Jacob's mojo be messed up because Ben's not the right leader? Could that be why the Monster is running about? Because the leadership is all out of whack? Interesting. Maybe that's why Ben got sick, it was Jacob's way of telling Ben to "GET LOST!" (no pun intended).
4.12
This episode was very much a set up. I lost it when Sayid reunited with Nadia. Right when they were about to get off the plane, I told my sister, "If Nadia's there I'm going to cry." Turns out I had to wait a little bit, but tears flowed.
Personally, I was just a little disappointed, because not much actually happened. Next episode, that's when the action's going to happen. But for a set up, this was pretty good. I'm beginning to see how the finale's going to play out, we're going to see Jack, Kate, Sayid, Hurley, Sun, and Aaron come together (notice how they're all separated) and we're going to see them get off the island. Something bad's going to happen on that freighter (explosives!), and we'll probably get some sort of Ben/Widmore/Penny bit (remember Ben's out for Penny's blood, and if Desmond doesn't die on the freighter, he's going to have something to say about that in the future)
So next season, the producers said the flashes will become not so distinct, like maybe we'll have different stories occurring in different times with different characters... I don't know. Maybe the finale will end with the Oceanic Six returning to the island. It would be a few years, Aaron was two in Kate's flashforward, so maybe we'll have off island and on island flashes. Or something. If none of this makes any sense, sorry. Lost makes my head run in circles.
Random
- A lot of people think that Claire died when her house was blown up. It was awfully convenient that she was found under that mess. Plus Miles kept looking at her all funny, and he's all Sixth Sense. And now with her in the Cabin, she might be kind of undead, like Christian. No corpse, corporeal, in cabin... I mean this is Lost, much stranger things have happened.
- I'm still not fully certain what Christian's role in all of this is. Maybe he's the Monster keeping Jacob suppressed. Maybe Jacob will have a flipshit and there will be this weird Monster showdown.
- I'm pretty sure Jin's going to die. The whole "He's just on the island" thing isn't looking so great after the first part. Sun's acting like he's dead.
- So, we've only see Richard Alpert not age, so I don't think it's a native thing about islanders. What if it has to do with activating the Orchid station to move the island. Like if you create a worm hole, that can mess with all sorts of space/time properties, and it through some sci fi-ness, it could stop your aging or something. I mean, if someone can become unstuck in time on this show, anything can happen.
- Well I liked this season's Locke flash back. Sometimes character flashbacks can get annoying, like Locke's generally show him being trusting and getting burned. Jack's show him needing to save everyone and be a hero. Sawyer's are about the rugged man with a heart of gold. The point is it gets predictable. This season, the writers really stepped it up by going in different directions with the flashbacks and forwards. Locke's showed a completely different side of him (the prophet side) and we saw him growing up. Plus we saw the unaging Richard, which is always fun. I'm so glad the actor's show on CBS got cancelled, now he can be on Lost more!
Quick reminder about Lost: Tomorrow at 8/7c., there will be a repeat of the first part of the finale with additional footage of the Oceanic Press Conference. I'm looking forward to some more questions!
The past few nights I've been watching all the Indiana Jones movies. I can't believe I'd never seen them before. Major lapse in judgment on my part. They're fun and exciting and actiony. I'll probably see Crystal Skill tomorrow or Friday. Still haven't gotten around to see Speed Racer, I'm considering waiting until it comes out on Blu-Ray or on the HD movie channels.
In other news, there's going to be a live Diggnation taping in NYC next Wednesday, and I'm so going! I'm not sure who'll I'll go with, but it's going to happen. I've been waiting for so long to see Kevin and Alex live, I'm not missing out on this! Whee!
Oh, and Lost tomorrow. Yeah, I still haven't written up any pre-finale thoughts. I'l do that after I finish up with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
My sleep schedule is all weird thanks to afternoon naps and late nights. After this post, I'm heading off to bed. But first... Oh and spoilers for tonights episode of Lost below.
Lost 4.09
Wow. Oh Lost, I have soooooo missed you. I'm glad we had a Ben episode. I didn't know whose episode this was or what kind of flash it was, and I liked it. I like guessing. When Ben woke up in the desert, my mind kept jumping, like it could have been a flash back, but alas, October 2005. It's been so long since the last episode, I didn't react to 2005. It didn't even register as a flashforward until Sayid showed up.
Speaking of Sayid, poor him. He gets off the island, marries Nadia (which means he found her!), only to have her murdered. You know, the Widmore folks had no reason to kill her. But Ben did, or Ben's people did. Sayid did exactly what Ben wanted him to do, and Ben's mind tricks worked. Interesting, I never thought in a million years Sayid would willingly sign up to be Ben's assassin. I mean...Dude.
Just to say, this post is moving very fluidly. Speaking of Ben's mind fucks, it totally backfired this week. I must give the writers immense amounts of credit, because as Ben watched his daughter, gun to her head on the ground, my mind was racing, because what would you have done? I totally believe that the Widmore crew will kill everyone, so Ben couldn't give himself up. And then I didn't think that Alex would die, and then, boom. Or rather, a quiet shot and she's dead. I wasn't the biggest fan of Alex, well I didn't really have much of an opinion either way, but this was a way to go! And BEN! Just standing there, in shock. Imagine his guilt, his last words to his daughter were how much she DIDN'T mean to her. I mean... OUCH. Then things got interesting.
Ben's the monster whisper. DUDE YOU CAN CALL SMOKEY? Actually, I call it Cerberus, that Hatch map name was awesome. So there's this secret cave or cavern under the Barracks... is that where it lives? Or is it not alive, just some hyper advanced technology that Ben set to Revenge and let it loose on the Widmore peeps. Interesting...
Locke and Ben are getting creepy, with their synced pointed guns and shared looks. Poor Hurley, I wonder why he saw Jacob's cabin, maybe Jacob isn't approving of what Ben and Locke are up to, so turned to sweet Hurley as his messenger. Maybe.
One downside of the whole future thing is we know who's going to survive. Not that I was thinking Jack would die on the island, but this whole appendix thing is just random, unnecessary drama. I guess the writers are looking to put someone else in the spotlight for a while. I don't blame them, Jack as the leader can get boring.
I'm beginning to think that Widmore and Ben are like a warped version of frenemies. Kind of like the Doctor and the Master. One should totally vanquish the other, but it never really seems to do much. I was very interested in these rules, are the special island conquest rules of engagement? And whose island was it first? Widmore seems to be connected to the Hanso foundation somehow, and they seemed intent on exploiting the bizarre features. Or maybe there are like three fighting factions, maybe Widmore and Hanso aren't as connected. I'm not sure if I could handle so much fighting though.
Oh and Ben's going to kill Penny. Did you get it? Ben and Widmore are... like parallels! They love the Island! They have daughters! They kill people! GASP! But seriously, killing Penny is so uncool. But why is she in hiding and where? Maybe she dropped off the map and is living with Desmond. If she is with Des, maybe they've gone into hiding to get away from Papa Widmore. So this was a check in the Ben is evil, box, as opposed to in the Ben is sneaky box. While obvs, killing Penny == bad, I'm kind of glad we have these two enemies who are both evil, but in the case of the survivors, it's choosing the lesser of two evils.
For all those celebrating Bunnies and Peeps, happy Easter!
Lost 4.08
Wow, that Kevin Johnson dude is pretty intense. He was so intense we got an entire episode flashback, give or take a bit of roughing up by Sayid and some Ben trickery and a reminder that Michael was kind of an asshole for killing Libby and Ana Lucia for virtually no reason (other than to rescue Ben, but that plan wasn't the best). Boy, that was all so long ago, I mean, when was the last time ANYBODY on the show mentioned Libby? I mean, Hurley was involved with that chick, you'd think it would come up. Same goes for Charlie, I mean, Claire's done NOTHING, can we at least get a breakdown, plz?
On to the plot! Michael and "WAAAALLLTTT!" made if off the island, Michael told his 10 going on 15 year old son that he killed two people. Let's just stop there. WTF Michael? Like that would EVER be a good idea? EVER! Any-who, Michael, due to his estrangement, tries to kill himself, and totally fails. Here's a questions, M? If you want to die so badly, why not just drive that car into the fucking water? You were by a harbor. Of course, the production costs would have been higher, and the island won't let you truly kill yourself, so I get it. So yeah, the island apparently puts your name down on an Anti-Suicide pact. Go island, promoting mental stability since 1980! What with your apparitions of dead people, time-looping, and fucking smoke monsters, you are the picture of sanity.
So Michael's a little down, and is so not helped by Libby coming in and checking up on him. Ah, man I really wanted a meaningful Libby appearance, like a Widmore-inspired, Desmond boat giving one. But alas, she's just either a dream or an island manifestation. That's my running assumption, the island takes the form of dead people. OMG THE ISLAND IS THE FIRST! *goes to post it on every forum possible* Then Tom comes along. Oh Tommy, my favorite LGBT Other! But I know you're into dudes and all, but you said Kate wasn't your type? She's everyone's type, dude. I'm straight and she's my type! Well, it was good to see him back, anyways. He enlists Michael to sabotage the evil Widmore freighter of doom. And he had proof! Or not! This screencap shows that Widmore only paid $450,000 for the Boeing 777, despite it going for a nice $200 million. Now the order form says it was decommissioned, but that's some heavy depreciation right there. You'd think it would still break $10 mill. This sounds like another of Ben's lovely tricks, because I doubt Michael's gonna know that. But freighter people bad! I hate that I'm still flip flopping. The Captain is a total douche who shoots things with machine guns, but then there's Ben. Enough said.
So Michael embarks on this suicide mission on the boat. Miles shows up for 30 seconds, which is enough time to call Michael out on the Kevin Johnson bullshit and to tell us that most of the people aren't who they claim to be. Hm... Why that sounds EXACTLY like Lost and the Losties! Why, does that mean we'll get some shady character flashbacks! *gasp* Michael tries to blow up the ship, gets a Looney Tunes inspired pop-up flag, telling him Not-Yet. Oh, and before, Libby, aka the First, aka the island tells Michael not to do it. Did I mention I wanted more Libby?
Anyways, Michael gets a call from Walt, and by Walt I mean Ben. I loved that (mock) surprise Ben displayed upon learning that Michael activated the bomb. It's such a Ben thing to beat Michael down with why he's such a terrible person. Love it. So Ben admits there are innocent people on that boat, something Michael probably didn't realize, paving the way for Charlotte and Daniel to join the good guys. Come on, you know it's going to happen, right? I'm not insane, right? Well, I am, but my theory's not, right? They're displaying the same kind of awesomeness that Juliet (I know you disagree ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
anythingbutgrey) displayed when she was Othering it), and she went over to the good side, well sorta. She was playing both sides and still is kinda taking Ben's orders. So Sayid, not capable of seeing his Ben-puppet future, turns Michael in to Captain Douchebag, who didn't seem too shocked. Honestly, I wanted Michael to be killed, right then and there. I could have used some awesome Regular status for one episode killing. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. And it would have been mean: I heard Harold Perrineau was really hurt when he wasn't asked to return for season 3. So maybe Michael wouldn't have been the best choice for that.
So who was that "big" death? Well, I had low expectations when I read that Damon Lindelof made a snide reference to that ABC promo. If it were a big death, I figured it: a. Wouldn't have been revealed, like Libby and Ana Lucia's offings, or b. Wouldn't have been mocked by the producers. But Karl? Really? Him? I kept a close look at the clock, which told me after Michael's outing to the Captain that there were 5 minutes left for a death. Then Karl, Rousseau, and Alex went off to this "Temple", so I knew it was so Karl. Eh, no big. Then Danielle gave her little heartfelt bit to Alex, then boom, she's gone. So poor little Alex. I'm aboard with the peeps who think this was a Ben set up. But it could be the freighter people, Ben did say that the Widmore lemmings might try to use her. By coming out with her hands up, proclaiming "I'm Ben's daughter!" that could be the perfect thing for them. And Lapidus has been off on mysterious helicopter demanding missions. Could they be dropping off more and more weapons and people? But it makes more sense for it to be Ben's hombres, I mean, how convenient is it that Karl, whom Ben dislikes, gets offed first. Danielle, I'm not sure, maybe Ben is having parenting jealousy.
Random notes:
- Desmond sure has been quiet, am I the only one who wants him to say something to make clear that he's not past!Desmond or that he's re-stuck in time?
- It seems unusual that Michael would be put on the Kahana so easily, wouldn't Widmore be on the lookout for spies. And dude, Michael's face is probably online somewhere as a victim! I feel like background checks are part of the process to get onto not-Penny's-Boat.
- Love how Ben paints himself as the picture of moral supremacy, I mean, it's not like he partook in any sort of mass murder or Dharma genocide, right?
I'll see you in 33 days Lost!
Eli Stone 1.08
Whee! I really, really liked this episode. I know I've been a little irked by the unquestioning acceptance by Stone of his visions, so I'm very pleased by this plot development. He's finally telling some people, and realizing just how insane all this sounds. I mean, the only reason he jumped on this prophet bandwagon was because of the guru. I hope this leads to a more reluctant Eli, who maybe sees some purpose, but isn't immune to aggravation.
Music! I'm not going to lie, I was a little let down in the beginning by the lack of music. I was pretty pumped by the idea of George Michael singing in his living room, but after that the music took a backseat, and Eli had less catchy visions. Well, I loved this week's musical number, probably because the two people singing weren't really all that great singers. Don't get me wrong, I love the Victor Garber numbers, because he's extremely talented and awesome, but it's nice to have some variety in the mix. Plus, it just sounds so much fun, to basically break into song week after week. Next episode seems to be George Michael inspired (the dude's guesting in it!) and I'm expecting music fun. I think if the producers move in a more lyrical direction, they can make it their staple. "It's like Boston Legal, but with a prophet... and musical numbers!" Now that's a show I can watch.
Torchwood 2.09, 10, and 11
I briefly want to talk about how ridiculous 2.09 was. I mean, REALLY? Gwen, pregnant with alien spawn, HAS to get married? AND JACK LETS HER? I mean REALLY! HELLO WRITERS! Wake up and smell reality (I know it's hard when you're working on Sci Fi), that WOULD NEVER WORK. And John, stop phoning it in. Your shape shifting Alien was pathetic. I was laughing hysterically, because you looked like you just wanted to go home to your husband that day. Heh. I put off watching this episode because I was still in love with 2.08 and I knew this would suck. And it did. I ended up watching it because I wanted to see the previews for the next episode, hoping that was better. Erm... it was better, but still not good.
2.10. Here's my problem with some Sci Fi shows. I get you've got a rift and aliens and altogether really crazy shit going on, but CARDIFF ISN'T A HELLMOUTH. OK? The rift doesn't give you the excuse to make circus people turn themselves into movies and steal people's "last breaths". That's more of a supernatural thing and not so much a rift thing. I mean, I guess we can assume these circus folk were aliens, but I'm guessing not. They did pull out the 'ole "rift activity" gag at the theatre, but it didn't fly for me.
This episode felt like Torchwood's pathetic attempt to do Doctor Who's "Blink". The end with that film canister was eye-rolling at best. Again, this isn't "Blink". Another forgettable installment. The main reason I watched this episode was to see the preview for the next episode...
2.11 aka FINALLY A GOOD EPISODE! Don't get me wrong, I had my small problems: like I always assumed the rift was a two-way street, but maybe that was me. And the rift is correcting its mistakes? Really? Do you know how cosmically improbably that sentiment is? Very. But it was nice to see Andy, who is kind of awesome, calling Gwen out on her lack of Gwen-ness and she went into what made her part of Torchwood to begin with, her humanness. I hadn't really noticed if she's been colder, but I certainly didn't feel her reaching out on a human level like she did during the first series.
Jack was nice, albeit a little too quick to let Gwen bring over the victim's mother. The just was a bad idea. Bad. Bad, and shame on Jack for not stopping it. Thought Gwen phrased it well, making Jack think about Grey. Why does everyone who comes back through the rift go mad? I mean, they could end up somewhere nice, maybe in the past, on Earth. Not everyone is going to be scarred and insane... right?
Oh, and Jack/Ianto naked hide and seek. Yes plz! Ianto's "He always cheats" was both amazing and hysterical. Loved the invite for Gwen to join, welcome back Man-Whore Jack. I kinda missed you. And Ianto, always amazing.
I totally didn't realize that there was a Torchwood episode last night, so now I'm off to download that and watch. Judging from the preview after "Adrift", it looked kinda awesome, and maybe like we'll get a Jack backstory! Hurray!
I've officially infected 2 3 people with my crappy cold: Dad and Grandpa and Mom?(she's sneezing). Great. Good news is I'm feeling better, bad news is I wasted my entire Spring Break.
Lost 4.07
I wrote down notes on my computer as the episode went along, but because of the Jin timetwister at the end, much of my speculation and theories about the Year of the Dragon were rendered useless. The Year of the Dragon was 2000 and the next one is 2012, so imagine all my ramblings about time differences and this 8 year (from 2004) time change.
And in fact, part of me actually thought this could be a flashback. I mean, it would make no sense; we would have heard about a past baby/not baby from Sun and Jin before now. That 2012 part made no sense, but my brain couldn't place that Dragon tease. Clearly I'm not as enlightened as the Lost producers. Crafty Bastards.
But I should have known something was up. For starters, Jin was awfully testy about the cab stealing. I wish I knew the exact quote, but Jin said something like he'd kill him. I was like, "Jin? Anger much". Then he had the panda insistence. I kept wondering, "Hmm, I thought the panda was from China," and turns out it was to extend better relations to Chinese corporations. I just couldn't connect the dots. I didn't even realize the time differences until they arrived at the cemetery, because I am an idiot. I kept trying to figure out why Jin remarried and why he was working for Sun's Dad... Lost has turned me into that crazy conspiracy theorist who questions the moon landing. Damn you!
But back on task with the other goings on in the episode. Regina sticks out for me. I knew something was awry when she had that book upside down. I observantly noted: 'What's going on with Regina? Upside down book. Minkowski Time Jumping? Faraday Memory Loss?' Those theories still kinda stand, though Captain Jackass chalked it up to a bad case of cabin fever due to the Island. Uh-huh. Something isn't quite right with him.
For one thing, I don't believe that Ben staged the Oceanic crash. It just doesn't make sense that he would care what the world thought about this plane. But who else would do it? I'm saying Hanso and his people, but they seemed to have left the Island and the plot a while ago. But why would Ben care, that's my problem with this. It's not like the world would stumble into this Island looking for the plane, right?
Juliet! I think I'm temporarily demoting you to just another Other. Ben, until Juliet redeems herself from the momentary lapse of absolute bitchery, you're my favorite Other. Congrats. But girl, seriously, what the Hell? You didn't even threaten Sun about telling Jin first? That's the convention for this type of blackmail! You have a lot to learn, Other.
Just for kicks, here's my real time reaction to the Juliet/Sun confrontation: 'Juliet! You skank! WTF. You're lucky Sun only bitch slapped you. I'd have fucked you up.'
Desmond had a great reaction to the revelation that he was on Widmore's boat. His face was this funny mix of concern, shock, and confusion. Heh, Des. Oh, another thing: Can we assume Desmond's back in his own time? I'd be more comfortable with that assumption if he mentioned some on Island experience... I mean, I guess since Desmond used Sayid's name at the end of The Constant, that he must be A-OK.
Since the Michael/Johnson... can I call it a revelation... revelation was lame, I'll just copy and paste what I wrote last night. 'Ugh Johnson is so Michael. And I really wanted it to be a major surprise. At least we still have 12 minutes left for a jaw dropper.' And we did.
Is Jin dead? His tombstone gave a date of death as 09/22/2004, which is the date of the plane crash, so that gives us nothing. Sun was still wearing her wedding ring, but that gives us nothing either, but her insistence that it stay on could be a sign that she wanted to keep that connection with Jin, who could be on the island, alive. Or not. Hurley seemed pretty morose with his "we should go see Jin", so going to the fake(?) grave is like visiting his on island grave. So, Jin could be dead, or he could be alive. Classic Lost either/or.
Eli Stone 1.07
Here's what I don't get about Eli. Why can't he just pretend that these things aren't happening. Like take note of it, and not dive onto the floor. Of course he probably doesn't think they're fake and really believes that a dragon is flying into the building. That's how hallucinations work, right?
Echoing my initial sentiments about the show, I just wish Eli was more resistant to these visions. Maybe a little more pissed off when the happen. This goes along with my concern above, about him not reacting to the weird shit, but that could be the hallucinations. Of course, they're pretty convincing, but I wished the writers made them less imposing, a la Wonderfalls. Of course, I could be trying to replace Wonderfalls with Eli Stone... This show's fun, but I feel it doesn't know how quirky it wants to be. I think it should take the risk and go for the quirk, or... maybe reluctantly quirky. You know what, I give up. Eli Stone, you should be like Wonderfalls. There, I said it. Be reluctant with your visions, get pissed off when they happen and how they fuck up your day and make you look like an idiot. Just get a little bitter. Just do it.
So I'm home for my one week Spring Break, and you know what that means??? HORRIBLE CHEST COLD!! Yay! I'm currently using my inhalers like my third lung. Geross. Aside from me dying of death, I'm playing my Wii! My recent Animal Crossing acquisition is kinda awesome, even if it has sub-gamecube level graphics. Cute, funny animals! YAY! And of course I got Super Smash Bros. Brawl today, and it is that awesome. Kirby has some majorly awesome moves, but I've got a place in my heart for Zelda. You know I took down Peach in a mono a mono battle. Bitch went down.
Also. TV. In 1080p. Yes.
LOST
First I should mention all the episodes this season prior to Juliet's have been great. My apologies to future me looking up references for not chronicling those great ones. Sorry, I was busy. I'll just briefly talk about time travel for a sec.
Lost 4.05
I wonder how you not-me people are handling this blatant Sci Fi-ness Lost is employing. I mean, Time Travel is as Sci Fi as Sci Fi gets! I'm even a little surprised it's working out! Weird. Anyway, Desmond had some trippy-ish side effects and bounced like a ping pong ball from past to present. Must not be fun. So we clearly saw that the Island is on a different time stream than the boat... Will that be addressed, like as to how that is? Or will it be another Lost thing that we'll never really learn, like why the Numbers were so damn unlucky, or why there's a fucking smoke monster. By the by, I hope that monster thing gets addressed, we've had two monster related queries this season. Really.
And poor Daniel. Should have worn a lead helmet. Love how Desmond was just like "What about your brain?" and Daniel totally didn't hear it. Here's one of those wibly-wobly timey-wimey questions: Does present Desmond remember meeting with Daniel? Obviously that timeline played out somewhat, because he did desert the Scottish Army and that would end you up in prison... But it doesn't appear that present Desmond remembers jumping 8 years into the future... But then again, Daniel's got the notes from their encounter, you know the whole "Desmond is my CONSTANT" thing... It could be Desmond doesn't remember any of it due to time healing itself. I totally went all Doctor Who on you.
Big questions, I expect unfulfilling answers disguised as major revelations. God Bless Lost!
Lost 4.05
NOTE: I wrote this on my computer right after the episode aired. Expect babbling.
LOST FTW?
I always got a slight Ben/Juliet vibe, but no the uber stalkery kind. We didn't see any of this when Juliet was a-flirting with captive!Jack. Ben wasn't scheming to passively assassinate Jack after his surgery...
And Michael is so on the boat. Suchhhh a letdown. I was hoping for a major psychout like "Harold Perranau is showing up, but NOT ON THE BOAT!!" Of course, the Lost producers have openly teased about the name in the opening credits, but the lack of the actor. But really, who else could Ben have named that would have shocked John...
Freighter Peeps: Slightly Evil or Really Evil? You decide. Charlotte and Daniel weren't trying to gas the island ("Yay!"), but makes sense that Widmore would want to exploit the resources. He's appeared in two episodes in a row, and we assume(know) he had something to do with Desmond's "boat crash". Could he have tried to use Desmond as a tracking device, maybe with something on the boat? And then Naomi could have been trying to find him, and (kill him?) on Widmore's orders. But Charlotte and Daniel are so awesome! I sense they might change sides, a la my favorite Other: Juliet.
Side note: Loved the return of the whispering Others. Now that we know they're humanish, might the whispering be just an elaborate speaker system playing out a "creepy whispering" track?
BRAIN BURST:
Charlotte and Daniel were together, romantically. That's why she's helping with his memory and generally caring about him. She might have been picked to help his memory come back so he could study the island's properties...
Oh Super Bowl Sunday, how I adore thee! As you can tell from the title, I'm rooting for the Giants. I'm still shocked they beat Dallas and Green Bay in the post season, but now they proved to me that they have a shot. So I'll be rooting for 'em. At the least they'll put up a fight.
House 4.10
There's nothing like a Christmas episode in January. I'm not entirely sure why Fox held this one... I mean, we're getting a new episode Tonight, so did they not think we could wait another few days?
The episode was pretty amazing, with House being his general douchebaggy humbug self, stealing Wilson's iPhone and pretending someone got it for him, putting his name in a secret Santa hat, pressuring the daughter of a patient about her mother's sex life. You know, the standard fare.
Of course, House was irked by this lie-less patient, who actually kept a mightly big truth from her daughter. You know, the "I'm not your biological mother" kind. This was the big bothering-House story plot. They pull these things out when the writer's feel they've over done the "House doesn't believe in God" and the "House doesn't believe in an afterlife" plots. I liked that they didn't go down the religion route this week, which would have been the obvious trip. Nice restraint, writers.
The House gross-out moment of the week: Squirting milk from lactating breast tissue behind the mother's knee into her daughter's mouth. I'm not making that up.
Torchwood 2.03
Yet another solid episode! Ghost episodes are always creepy. Even watching the Doctor Who episode "The Unquiet Dead" last night for the millionth time, I was slightly on edge. Point being I have faith in ghost episode, even though this was more of a rift-time-cracking thing.
Poor Tommy, frozen, only woken up once a year, because he has to save the world. Now, I'm letting go of the timey-wimey stuff, because I've made it clear those things hurt my head. See: the Doctor Who episode, "Blink".
Then there's the Tosh attachment issue, which was very sad. This wasn't a very happy episode. But it wasn't bad, I've found, in the past, that the sadder episodes are the weakest. But this was pretty strong. It was also a stand alone. I think I can handle it, but I'd like to see some arc-age coming up. Next week look's like we're having some Gwen/Rhys Torchwood related drama. Smells like an emotional arc to me..
Lost 4.01
"The Beginning of the End" I guess that sets the tone for these flash forwards then, doesn't it? If we couldn't tell from Jack's flash forward last season, the future sucks. Not just for bearded Jack, but for Hurley, too. It was interesting seeing where this episode fit in the future timeline. So this is before Jack lost his shit. Before he was plane hopping hoping for a crash, before he was sneaking pain killers a la House (but not nearly as sexy), before he took beard grooming advice from Fidel Castro.
Oh Hurley, it became clear that cannonball-jumping Hurley is no more off the island. He's a haunted man. Haunted by a swanky looking Charlie. Death did him well. The flash forwards gave us some clues as to what these "Not Penny's Boat" people are going to do. "They need you" Dead!Charlie preached. Who are they? I'm assuming since only 6 (Oceanic 6) left that the others are trapped. Yikes! Also, "Are they still alive?" creepy maybe-Oceanic lawyer asks... Is he a not-Penny's boat person? Are the "they" he's asking about different from the "they" Charlie's talking about?
So did choosing Jack or Locke make a difference? Certainly doesn't seem so, Jack's off and miserable, Hurley's off and miserable. Hurley does regret going with Locke, so what happened? I'm looking forward to seeing how the different sides handle the invaders. I wonder if we'll reach a point when we see the people leave the island and how that happens.
Jack's Dad is definitely dead. Erm... Right? So Christian Shephard spoke to Vincent, the dog. But Jack's Dad is pretty dead. Well, let's break it down. Jack saw his Dad wandering around the island in the first season. Christian's corpse mystically disappeared from his coffin. Now him talking to a random dog. Oh, and he showed up in Jacob's house. I didn't see that the first time around, but yeah, Jack's dad was sitting in Jacob's cabin in his chair. I don't even know where to begin. WTF?
More pronoun confusion: At the end of the episode, Hurley says "it" will do whatever it takes to get them back. I always assume "It" is the island. I'm not convinced that Charlie wasn't the island coming to Hurley.
Well, it looks like we're in for another mindfuck of a season on Lost. Too bad we're getting 8 episodes with no real conclusion, except like a fucking intense cliffhanger.
In case you haven't heard, all signs point to the strike coming to an end soon. Buzz says some shows will resume production in March for episodes airing in April. Sounds pretty good.
Things I've been obsessed with lately:
- The German baby Polar Bear, Flocke.
- George Michael's "Faith". Thanks a lot, Eli Stone.
- Sarah Silverman fucking Matt Damon.
Walking to class, I thought the wind would blow me over. It was that kind of winter day. With this writer's strike dragging on, I've found I have some free time. So what better way to fill it than with more TV.
Torchwood 2.02
Finally, an episode I loved. Jack was back being cool and smooth in the face of danger. That's the Jack I've come to know and love. Then there's the awesomeness that is Ianto. Seriously, when did he get so fucking amazing? Faithful Torchwood viewers, let me know if this Ianto's always been here and I've been too annoyed to notice it before.
Plot-wise, the episode was strong, emotional and possibly planting an arc somewhere. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) an invasion sometime in the future. Please work a story arc...
I'm still surprised that Americans love Torchwood so much. This episode made me slightly less surprised, but still, BBC America's #1 show?
Mad Men
I'd heard this was the best show on television, so I finally checked it out. It's an awesome show. I love how everyone who isn't white and Christian gets jokes about them. I think it's a brilliant demonstration of how far we have come as a society since the 1960's. Ever wonder what the world would be like without consequences for sexual harassment? Seriously, check out the show. Most films and shows made about this era are basically smoke-free. Well, Mad Men doesn't believe in that. Part of me wonders if the show is exaggerating some of the social habits of the time. I mean, was everyone smoking all the time? Were Jewish people really that outcasted? Were all women objectified? Assuming the show isn't exaggerating anything, it really is painting a very different picture of the 1960's than we get from most forms of media. Fascinating.
Blackpool
David Tennant, marry me. Just. Marry. Me. Singing, Murder, Cute Head Bobbing, David Tennant. Clearly one of the greatest things ever to grace the tube. Kinda makes me want Doctor Who on now. Even with Donna.
And because this makes the whole world better:
Well the year is almost out, which means a list! Not just any list, but a list of bests! So without further ado...
24 "9:00 AM - 10:00 AM"
This season was so bleh I didn't even finish up the season, but it started off so strong. This episode, where the 24 producers decided to nuke Valencia, CA, was a particularly strong one. I remember being on the edge of my seat for the entire 4 hour premiere.
30 Rock "Somebody to Love"
With so many top rate episodes, picking one standout was hard. But I felt this one stood out as a best of 2007. I mean, the one liners alone ranked this episode. If I were to introduce someone to 30 Rock, I'd do it with this episode.
Battlestar Galactica "Maelstrom"
While I was watching this episode, I remember thinking this was probably my favorite of the season. Then Kara "died". So it no longer held that title. But knowing Kara isn't dead changes everything. This episode regains it's spot as my fave of 2007. I mean, it was such a moving episode, especially for Kara. It really built on stuff established from the beginning about her past. I swore at the time I'd never watch this again, but clearly that's going to change.
Dexter "Resistance is Futile"
This was a hard choice for me, since every episode this season has been spot-on excellent. I almost put "Left Turn Ahead" as my favorite (with a resigned Dexter planning to turn himself in), but I looked over the episodes, and went with this one. What better moment is there, Doakes surprising Dexter at the cabin? I love how, even though Doakes knew Dex was weird and odd, he was still shocked by the revelation. Brilliant.
Doctor Who "Utopia"
A serious no brainer here. How many times did I watch this the week it aired? 8? 9? Yeah. I think so. So good I wrote about it twice. After what I considered a pretty mediocre season, Davies comes and blows me away with this little gem and breathed new life into the show. Turns out that lasted only one other episode before crapping on the finale. But I still adore "Utopia" to death.
Grey's Anatomy "Some Kind of Miracle"
From the reactions I heard from this episode, it was either love it or hate it. I loved it. This was an emotional slam dunk incorporating all the greatest characters into one surreal, out of body episode. Ep damn near broke my heart, too. Gotta love the closure, with Mere and her mom. I have to give a mention to an episode I completely forgot when creating this list, "Wishin' and Hopin'". I forgot how moved I was by Meredith and her really cold mom. That's probably why I loved "Some Kind of Miracle", it closed the wounds opened by the earlier episode.
Heroes "Distractions"
I almost went with "Company Man" or "Five Years Gone", but I felt that I couldn't ignore the awesomeness that was Claude. For a character that appeared in so few episodes, he left a big mark. A number of casual fans (not freaks like me) cited him as a fave. So I went with distractions, the episode that sent my already Hell-bound ship (Peter/Claire) further into Hell. To a special Hell. Yup, my favorite Heroes episode of 2007 involved that revelation. But really, Claude tormenting Peter by stealing a purse and leaving, has to be a top moment. And you know what, Peter still had a serious Claire/love moment after Claude pushed him off that roof and he healed. Ah, yet another reason to adore him. Oh Chris, please come back, Heroes needs you.
House "Insensitive"
This was a fairly easy choice for me. The episode where Cameron wants to have casual sex with Chase. Duh. But other stuff happened, like House getting all obsessive over a girl who doesn't feel pain, and stalking down Cuddy during dates and to her home. Yeah. Awesome.
LOST "One of Us"
I'm thrilled that there were so many contenders to choose from for this title. I mean, you have "Flashes Before Your Eyes" the Desmond, parallel world flash(back?). Then you've got the brilliant finale, and there was a great Claire episode and an interesting Ben ep too. Basically, almost every episode, except 1 in 2007 was great, if not amazing. But I went with the heartbreaking Juliet on-island flashback instead of the heartbreaking Desmond one. I'm making a stand and saying Juliet's my favorite other. How can your heart not break for her as she believes her sister to be dead? Elizabeth Mitchell, my metaphorical hat goes off to you.
Pushing Daisies "Pie-Lette"
Psht, like there's even a question. This one episode spawned an unhealthy obsession. I posted about it 7 times before it even aired. I definitely watched this episode over and over like a dozen times. As I said before, my favorite episode of the series.
Scrubs "My Musical"
Oh this ranks probably because, as a fan of the show, I've been waiting for this for years. And it delivered. Enormously. Brilliantly. I'm really happy it aired in 2007, just so I can talk about it some more.
The Office (US) "Back From Vacation"
This was a tough one, since I already made a stand on "Gay Witch Hunt" as my all time favorite from that season. So a second favorite was tough. I mean I almost went with "The Job", the lol-able season finale. But really, Michael sending a scandalous picture of Jan to the co-workers? Brilliance. I watched this episode recently, and yes, it was hysterical.
Veronica Mars "Weevils Wobble But They Don't Go Down"
Wow, I didn't even write about this episode. I remember watching this episode, the one before the finale, and thinking it was very old school. Weevil was badass and in trouble, Veronica was helping him and being slick. Then the finale aired, and it was kinda underwhelming, especially since it was a series finale.
So I figured, while I'm calling this the best VM ep of 2007, I'd give a shout out to what me at the time probably thought was the best. "Debasement Tapes", which unfortunately I remember very little of, other than Paul Fucking Rudd being fucking awesome. But according to me-at-the-time, everyone was pretty in character and all the wacky shipping worked out.
And then, another part of me was going to be slick and say the best episode of 2007 was that 15 minute Veronica-goes-CIA pilot, but that wasn't really the best, and it would be more of a philosophical statement about the state of the show.
In other news, I totally saw Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and yeah, it rocked. It rocked on so many different levels of rocking.
