So we have come once again to the LOST finale. Instead of Alice in Wonderland, it's The Wizard of Oz this time, and our friends are just a couple of heel clicks away from Kansas. There's No Place Like Home. But what happens to the scarecrow, the tin man and the cowardly lion? A whole lot of people aren't getting off the island. In fact, at this point, it seems it would be much better if nobody else got off the island, since the people on the freighter presumably aren't making it back to the mainland, or it would be the Oceanic Nine, at the least. Or are they just taking on different identities like Michael did?
I'm worried about this episode. For one thing, I usually find the rescue scenario rather depressing in these types of stories. Nuts, I know, but whatever. Mostly, though, I'm worried because I think a lot of bad things will happen before the rescue. They seem to want to top themselves in terms of intensity with each finale. Fifteen people died in Through the Looking Glass, plus that mysterious someone in the future. Are we in for another massacre?
Keamy's the only one I really want to lose, and maybe his lackeys. LOST seems to have established a pattern since season two of introducing a new group of characters and killing most of them off by the end of the season. That makes me very worried for Daniel, Frank, Charlotte and Miles. I think it's almost inevitable one of them isn't going to make it through the episode, and I wouldn't be too shocked if it's more than that. Frank is probably the most heroic and likable of the bunch, with Daniel a close second. That puts them in a very vulnerable position.
Jin also gives me reason to worry. He's on the freighter, but he doesn't get rescued. When Sun told her father that two people were responsible for Jin's death, that sounded like a pretty specific reference to me. Sticking to the script, she wouldn't be able to tell him what she really meant, but I suspect something will happen to him on that freighter, and that thought upsets me. (I'm also a little concerned about that trick she pulled on her father; he had it coming, but I don't want to see her turn into a ruthless CEO like him.) Michael and Desmond worry me too, though they could maybe go back with the freighter folks incognito. I suppose Desmond might want to do that, and then confront Charles and let him know that he made it after all and that Penny still loves him. Or just strike out and look for Penny on his own. I loved his Panic Face when he discovered the explosives; more deranged-looking than we've seen him since Live Together, Die Alone. But that stuff is bad news. And Nathan figures it's rigged up to Keamy somehow, so if somebody takes him down on the island, the ship might go down too.
I would love it if Sawyer was done killing people. I really would. Sure, he threatened both Ben and Locke this season, but he didn't follow through. Basically, he went from mercenary to hero, largely because of Hurley. What a good influence. But he seems like one of the most likely candidates to kill off Keamy, which I basically think has to happen, lest everyone on the island get annihilated. Then again, Locke and Sayid can certainly hold their own, and Smokey has much more reason to be irritated with Keamy than with Eko. Anyway, he has a lot of enemies. And somehow I doubt we're ever going to be given a glimpse of his humanity. I guess it's about time the show had an utterly unambiguous villain...
Speaking of which, looking back at last season's finale, if Mikhail had done what he did about ten minutes earlier, it would have saved everyone on the island, at least for the time being. Ironic. Everyone would have been so much better off if Charlie had never gone down into that hatch in the first place, and in trying to save Claire's life, it looks like he got her killed. It also looks like Desmond was lying about seeing Claire get into the chopper, just as a way to get Charlie to agree to sacrifice himself. He probably figured it would happen, but I don't think he actually saw it. How very frustrating...
Anyway, part one of the finale was good, though I didn't like it as much as Cabin Fever. But there was quite a bit packed into there. The rescue, which none of the castaways looked all that happy about, at least while they were on the plane. I suppose they were in shock, as Sun said. The press conference was somewhat revelatory, though we still don't know the deal behind their fabricated story. The reunion was happy at least, especially Hurley, and I thought it was very sweet that when he noticed Sayid didn't have anyone waiting for him, he rushed him over to introduce him to his parents. Poor Kate didn't have anybody; I would've thought Sam Austen would have shown up, but I suppose her being a fugitive complicates things. Still, it seemed like the two of them were really close, and she must've been very hurt that he didn't come. I hate that we got cheated out of a truly joyful reunion between Sayid and Nadia; it was such a beautiful moment, but it's kinda hard to really enjoy it when you know she's going to be murdered in a few months.
They finally cleared the air with Claire being Jack's sister, and poor Jack looked like he was about to throw up. I'm guessing that he doesn't see Claire again before he leaves the island. So whether or not she's dead, he probably thinks she is, and he must feel horrible about it. Besides, it would be a huge shock to realize this girl he got to know so well on the island was actually the sister he never knew he had. A little like Luke and Leia, but he couldn't share his revelation with her. I thought the scene with Hurley's party was really funny - especially his mother's comment about Jesus Christ not being a weapon - but also sad. He's not adjusting well to post-island life. The incident with the car was really spooky; I don't think his dad rigged the numbers that way. It would have been in really poor taste for him to pull something like that, and he seemed almost as surprised by it as Hurley. I think he genuinely wants to make a fresh start with his son, and it's a shame those nefarious numbers had to ruin such a touching moment. Just goes to show, I suppose, that the island isn't through with Hurley yet.
On the island, I love the fact that Sawyer put himself in harm's way for the sake of others, first by joining Jack, then by insisting they rescue Hurley - though it's a shame they couldn't spring Frank first... There are a lot of parallels in Hurley and Sawyer's stories. Most notably, perhaps, in the season two finale, Hurley, upon learning that Michael killed Libby, refrains from vengeance, while Sawyer kills Tom out of revenge in the season three finale. Also in that finale, Hurley rescues Sawyer, so this time, it's up to Sawyer to rescue Hurley, thereby perhaps dispersing all his bad karma once and for all. I'm not too worried about him, since Jack and Kate's future conversation seems to indicate that he is alive when they leave the island. I do feel like he's been slightly ripped off this season, though, without a single centric episode. They could rectify that with the finale, but I don't think they will.
More likely than not, since it's a Part Two, it will follow the same flash-forward pattern as the first part, and we'll be seeing a lot of the Oceanic Six off the island, especially Jack and Hurley. But what I'd really love, now that he's finally decide to show up again, is a Richard flashback-forward. With two hours, I figure they could start in the past - which could mean hundreds of years for all we know - and wind up in the future, which needs to be incorporated somehow if we're going to find out who's in the coffin. This way, we might actually get to see some of Danielle's backstory first-hand even though she was so unceremoniously killed off, and maybe we'd get some of the scoop on Annie too. He knows the island better than just about anybody, so we'd get all kinds of juicy tidbits. And he leaves the island, or at least he did; I'm not sure the destruction of the submarine would necessarily keep him from taking off. So he could witness the death of whoever's in the coffin. Or cause it. Heck, he could be in there himself, but since at this point we've never even seen Jack interact with Richard, that seems a little unlikely.
Still, a possibility. Assuming the deceased is someone we know, I think that leaves a pretty small pool of candidates. It has to be somebody Jack doesn't like very much but still feels very strongly about. Locke would be one option, but I just can't see him leaving the island unless somebody gives him the bind and gag treatment his father got. Could be Michael, but surely at least his mother would go to the funeral, unless she didn't realize who he was because of the name Kevin Johnson. But I'm not really feeling that scenario too much. Maybe one of the freighter people, too, but I'm not sure he's associated with them enough to have that strong of feelings about them.
At this point, I'm practically positive it's Ben in that coffin, which makes me sad if it's true, but then that would be true no matter who it is. We know Ben is off the island in the future, and there's probably not anybody who would bother coming to his funeral. Sayid, maybe, but he might find that a risky move considering the circumstances of their association with each other. Whoever killed Ben might come after him too. Unless he killed Ben, in which case he certainly wouldn't be likely to show up to mourn him. Hurley, who always spoke at the island funerals and actually got to know Ben a little bit, might have attended too, but at this point he's probably still in the mental institution and pretty out of touch with the outside world. He probably wouldn't know, and even if he did, he probably couldn't just check himself out to go to a funeral. Anyway, it certainly would be understandable for Jack not to consider Ben a friend. However, it would also make sense that his death would send him into a spiral of despair, considering that Ben tried so hard to stop him from contacting the freighter, and it turned out he was telling the truth about their intentions, or at least Keamy's. And of course, Kate wouldn't want anything to do with Ben. Presumably the newspaper would have an alias there instead of "Ben Linus," but maybe there's a picture, or maybe Jack knows his pseudonym du jour. Or maybe it's not Ben at all. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
When Ben told John to take a look at the plants at the Orchid Station, I was hoping he was pointing to some really weird vegetation, like Venus Fly Traps or something like that. Alas, nothing but a bunch of trigger-happy guys. What a way to end the episode, with Keamy knocking Ben out. If he can't kill somebody, he's at least going to beat him to a bloody pulp. Yeesh. It's odd how immediately Ben 180-ed from victim back to leader. So much for me thinking John was calling the shots now. As soon as Ben heard, "He wants us to move the island," he took charge, and John was in the dark again. Hurley, too, of course. I got a little chuckle out of his warning about the 15-year-old crackers. It was a derisive comment, but it might have also been a useful cautionary note. As for the mirror signal, the presumption was that he was communicating with Jacob, but could it also have been Richard, and that's why we're suddenly seeing the Others again? Did Ben tell them to come? Why would he do that, though, if the Temple is the only place where they're safe? Does he intend for them to launch an attack on Keamy?
I loved the little bit of Frank that we got in this episode, but more than that, I loved Daniel, who really went into hero mode with his ferrying of survivors. I found it interesting that he didn't put Charlotte on the first boat. I suppose she was there to corral the rest of the castaways, but she didn't look too happy about it. Maybe she was worried about Daniel, but she also seemed hurt that he didn't take her along. If it's so crucial to get off the island, she has good reason to be nervous. For both of them. Of all the freighter folk, I have a feeling Dan is the most vulnerable right now. He could wipe out on his raft. He could get caught up in the time differential vortex. Desmond could die, and his brain could lose his anchor. (Don't, Desmond. Don't you dare!) Of my cream of the crop, Hurley is safe, at least in the present. John is too crucial to the island mythology to die yet, I think. Desmond's on the shakiest ground. I've got my fingers crossed for him.
I hope that tonight's episode will not be as calamitous as last year's. It probably will be. But hopefully there will at least be enough bright spots to keep it from being entirely depressing. I hope Rose and Bernard have a lot to do, or at least a little, and I'm really eager to see just what sort of miracle John is going to bring about. I want something beautiful to sustain me through all that is bound to be unpleasant. Will this be my favorite finale yet? I suspect not. But I'm sure it will be brilliant.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Well, Ben, It Looks Like Jacob Helped John After All...
I was really looking forward to Cabin Fever, both because I was itching to learn more about Jacob and because John-centric episodes are pretty much guaranteed pure gold. Was this one? Oh, yeah. I love how we got to see John in three different stages of life we hadn't seen before: birth, childhood, adolescence. Every step of the way, someone connected with the island was keeping tabs on him. First Richard - and boy, John ought to be kicking himself that he didn't go to that science camp - then Matthew, who seems to be batting for the other team, which makes me wonder why he would want John on the island. Wouldn't he just be a roadblock?
At any rate, I loved seeing John as a silent, sullen kid already intrigued by the thought of being a warrior - which apparently really upset Richard - and a cranky teenager tired of being picked on by his peers. He reminded me of Sam at his most disenchanted in Freaks and Geeks. But John is so off the beaten path, it's pretty disappointing to think that he would let his peers' petty bullying dissuade him from an amazing opportunity. His teacher picked entirely the wrong tactic to try to convince him to go, though, and I knew that teen John was going to snap, "Don't tell me what a can't do!" Even though his belligerence in that instance made me sad, I still cheered when he said it.
It's odd enough already that Ben and John both had a mother named Emily. Now we see they were both born under tragic circumstances. Ben's mother died, John's was seriously injured. I assume that Anthony is the guy Emily's mother was referring to. I don't blame her for disapproving if that's the case, and Emily was a bit of a smart-alecky brat. But her mom was obnoxious too, and smoking in a neonatal unit? What was she thinking? I'm not entirely clear on what caused Emily to reject John so tearfully. Was it because he was just a reminder of her whole ordeal with the accident? Or she was afraid to get close, knowing her mother wouldn't let her keep him? I also found it interesting that both Emilys were very insistent on the naming of their sons. Benjamin is reminiscent of Old Testament Benjamin, son of Jacob, while John seems to recall John the Baptist.
It's nice to see that John really is as special as he seems to think he is. His sense of destiny is not all in his head. It was pretty spooky seeing that picture of Smokey in little John's living room, especially since it seemed to prefigure the death of Mr. Eko. The compass could be a reference to Eko as well; I'm not too sure what the sand is about, other than the fact that there is, obviously, a lot of sand on the island. I love that John was playing backgammon as a young child, and as a teenager he was listening to Geronimo Jackson. I don't like the idea that he owes Abaddon one; I don't think he's the kind of guy you want to owe something to.
Anyway, all of the backstory stuff was incredibly intriguing, and the on-island stuff was just as good. I thought the interaction among John, Ben and Hurley was hilarious, especially in the scene in which Ben says that he's following Hurley, who of course has no idea where he's going. The blind leading the blind! And then there was his impressed, unsettling comment about John fooling Hurley into thinking it was his idea to keep going to the cabin with them. Ben is a master manipulator; John's getting there. But seriously, I wouldn't want to go wandering off through the jungle by myself. Hurley's done it before, but it wasn't fun - and John almost killed him on one occasion.
I felt so sorry for Ben in this episode. I know he's up to no good in the future, but at this particular moment, he's so sad and defeated, struggling with guilt over his failure to save Alex and grief over losing her, not to mention his sense of control over what's happening. He's lost his exalted position, and at this point, he seems willing to admit that John is now the favored one. I thought his admission that he "really wasn't thinking clearly" when he shot John last season, in what I think of as the bookend to this episode because of all the parallels (birth of Ben/John, presence of Horace, mass grave, Jacob's cabin, question of whether Ben or John is rightful leader, etc.), was funny in its understatedness. Yeah, it probably wasn't a good idea to shoot John. Very petty of him. Not to mention that John was about his biggest asset in protecting the island, and if he'd been around maybe the confrontation with the castaways would have played out a little differently.
I thought his demurral when John asked him to join him in the cabin had a very defeated ring to it, and it seemed to be the final indication of him yielding his leadership at last. When he earnestly asked John what he found out inside, the roles really did seem to be reversed. Oh, and what I love, love, loved, more than any moment in the entire brilliant episode, was Hurley taking that trusty Apollo bar out of his pocket, glancing over at Ben, breaking off a small chunk for himself and handing Ben most of the candy bar. No words. But an almost heartbreakingly sweet and simple gesture that is an encapsulation of everything I love about Hurley, and I thought bedraggled Ben seemed genuinely touched. I got a screencap of that moment, and it now is serving as my desktop background. Gorgeous.
I wasn't entirely disappointed with Horace's appearance. Yeah, it would've been cooler if he'd been alive, or "alive," whatever the case may be. But I'd rather he be John's dream than Ben's, since John had no idea who he was, just like he had no idea who Christian was. Gives the idea of a "vision" more credibility. (Maybe John ends up spilling the beans about seeing Claire and Sawyer puts two and two together and tells Jack? I think Jack will know she's his sister by the time he leaves the island.) Horace did give John some worthwhile information, and for some reason I was very amused by the noise he made when he wiped his brow. "Phewwwwww!" Hehe. Building a cabin is hard work.
A cabin in which Christian and Claire are hanging out. Is she dead? I'm starting to think maybe she is. She's acting sorta zombified, like most of the deceased in Our Town. Wandering around in a vaguely contended haze. Of course, I would prefer that she's alive. We'll have to see. Why doesn't Christian want John to let people know about her? And why can't Jacob talk to John himself instead of sending Jack's pop to intercede for him? When we actually do see him, it's gonna be crazy. Now, if I were Hurley, I'd want to inside that cabin. I'd want to know what I was the one who could see it, if nothing else. Hurley has a very special connection, but he doesn't seem too interested in exploring it, partly because he doesn't really like being set apart and partly because he's easily spooked. I'm not complaining; if he'd gone inside, we wouldn't have gotten the candy bar moment! But I couldn't be so incurious.
Meanwhile, back on the freighter, just as I was really starting to love Captain Gault, he got killed. Grrrr. He came across as a pretty good guy when he was chatting with Sayid and Desmond and telling them about Widmore, but Michael said not to trust him, and we're predisposed to distrust everyone on the freighter anyway, though it's starting to look like just about everybody aside from Keamy and his crew are decent people. Even the cranky doctor, who probably should have high-tailed it the other way when he heard that he'd washed up on shore with a slashed throat. We knew it was coming, but I really didn't need to see that.
I adore Frank. It's really a tough call between him and Daniel, who's so sweet and soft-spoken, but Frank has such a heroic streak, and he's proven to be a real friend to the castaways, more than any of the others. He's incredibly proactive, and he puts himself on the line to do what is right. I love that he liberated Michael and stood his ground against Keamy, even though it didn't do any good and ultimately actually got somebody killed. And watching this episode, I finally remembered that we saw him leave the ship with Keamy's crew in Ji Yeon. So that solves the mystery of when they left. Anyway, Frank is awesome.
Keamy is not. By far the most despicable villain LOST has introduced so far. Worse than Ethan, Danny and Cooper. Maybe worse than Widmore. Definitely worse than Ben. He told Hurley this time that he wasn't responsible for the Purge, which I always figured was the case, but I was starting to think maybe it was his doing after all. He played a role in it, yes, and he did kill his father, which was awful. But if my first hunch was right and he's not really a mass murderer after all, it does make me feel better about him. Anyway, Keamy is horrendous, just a completely one-dimensional villain from what we've seen, and regular killing machine who couldn't care less who he hurts. I almost never approve of resorting to capital punishment to eradicate murderers, but in this case I think I'd like it if Frank figured out some way of dumping him in the ocean. Maybe he'll just crash the helicopter altogether, sacrifice his life for the sake of everyone on the island, and the Oceanic Six are just the ones who fit on Sayid's raft. At this point, I wouldn't put it past Frank to resort to those heroic measures, though it would make me really sad to lose him.
How are they getting back to shore? Gault, whose outright decency kinda floored me in this episode, is gone. Desmond has sailing experience; could he do it? Drive the ship to land and then disappear? Widmore knows who he is, obviously, but if he could get off in time, maybe he wouldn't realize he was there. I sure hope he doesn't get himself killed on the freighter. His presence there makes me a little nervous. But his farewell to Sayid was touching, and anyway Sayid can get more people off the island if Desmond doesn't come along. My impression is that the castaways will be rescued in the present, not in a flash-forward. We'll be getting a flash-forward, though, if we're going to find out who is in that casket. So far, none of the main folks have died in the future; when it happens - because I assume that whoever's in the casket is someone we know well, or will - it'll be strange to see them in the present, knowing their ultimate end.
The two-part finale should be very revelatory, and I can't wait to see how in the world they're going to go about moving the island. Get the Dharma shark and some of his buddies to pull it? Have Smokey give it a monstrous push? Will we finally see the temple? Will we learn the fate of Jin and Claire definitively? So many questions, most of which probably won't be answered. But it seems this ought to be a fairly optimistic finale. At least compared to last year, my least favorite of the three. If it's anything like Cabin Fever, which I'm declaring my favorite episode of the season with the exception of The Constant, it will be fantastic.
At any rate, I loved seeing John as a silent, sullen kid already intrigued by the thought of being a warrior - which apparently really upset Richard - and a cranky teenager tired of being picked on by his peers. He reminded me of Sam at his most disenchanted in Freaks and Geeks. But John is so off the beaten path, it's pretty disappointing to think that he would let his peers' petty bullying dissuade him from an amazing opportunity. His teacher picked entirely the wrong tactic to try to convince him to go, though, and I knew that teen John was going to snap, "Don't tell me what a can't do!" Even though his belligerence in that instance made me sad, I still cheered when he said it.
It's odd enough already that Ben and John both had a mother named Emily. Now we see they were both born under tragic circumstances. Ben's mother died, John's was seriously injured. I assume that Anthony is the guy Emily's mother was referring to. I don't blame her for disapproving if that's the case, and Emily was a bit of a smart-alecky brat. But her mom was obnoxious too, and smoking in a neonatal unit? What was she thinking? I'm not entirely clear on what caused Emily to reject John so tearfully. Was it because he was just a reminder of her whole ordeal with the accident? Or she was afraid to get close, knowing her mother wouldn't let her keep him? I also found it interesting that both Emilys were very insistent on the naming of their sons. Benjamin is reminiscent of Old Testament Benjamin, son of Jacob, while John seems to recall John the Baptist.
It's nice to see that John really is as special as he seems to think he is. His sense of destiny is not all in his head. It was pretty spooky seeing that picture of Smokey in little John's living room, especially since it seemed to prefigure the death of Mr. Eko. The compass could be a reference to Eko as well; I'm not too sure what the sand is about, other than the fact that there is, obviously, a lot of sand on the island. I love that John was playing backgammon as a young child, and as a teenager he was listening to Geronimo Jackson. I don't like the idea that he owes Abaddon one; I don't think he's the kind of guy you want to owe something to.
Anyway, all of the backstory stuff was incredibly intriguing, and the on-island stuff was just as good. I thought the interaction among John, Ben and Hurley was hilarious, especially in the scene in which Ben says that he's following Hurley, who of course has no idea where he's going. The blind leading the blind! And then there was his impressed, unsettling comment about John fooling Hurley into thinking it was his idea to keep going to the cabin with them. Ben is a master manipulator; John's getting there. But seriously, I wouldn't want to go wandering off through the jungle by myself. Hurley's done it before, but it wasn't fun - and John almost killed him on one occasion.
I felt so sorry for Ben in this episode. I know he's up to no good in the future, but at this particular moment, he's so sad and defeated, struggling with guilt over his failure to save Alex and grief over losing her, not to mention his sense of control over what's happening. He's lost his exalted position, and at this point, he seems willing to admit that John is now the favored one. I thought his admission that he "really wasn't thinking clearly" when he shot John last season, in what I think of as the bookend to this episode because of all the parallels (birth of Ben/John, presence of Horace, mass grave, Jacob's cabin, question of whether Ben or John is rightful leader, etc.), was funny in its understatedness. Yeah, it probably wasn't a good idea to shoot John. Very petty of him. Not to mention that John was about his biggest asset in protecting the island, and if he'd been around maybe the confrontation with the castaways would have played out a little differently.
I thought his demurral when John asked him to join him in the cabin had a very defeated ring to it, and it seemed to be the final indication of him yielding his leadership at last. When he earnestly asked John what he found out inside, the roles really did seem to be reversed. Oh, and what I love, love, loved, more than any moment in the entire brilliant episode, was Hurley taking that trusty Apollo bar out of his pocket, glancing over at Ben, breaking off a small chunk for himself and handing Ben most of the candy bar. No words. But an almost heartbreakingly sweet and simple gesture that is an encapsulation of everything I love about Hurley, and I thought bedraggled Ben seemed genuinely touched. I got a screencap of that moment, and it now is serving as my desktop background. Gorgeous.
I wasn't entirely disappointed with Horace's appearance. Yeah, it would've been cooler if he'd been alive, or "alive," whatever the case may be. But I'd rather he be John's dream than Ben's, since John had no idea who he was, just like he had no idea who Christian was. Gives the idea of a "vision" more credibility. (Maybe John ends up spilling the beans about seeing Claire and Sawyer puts two and two together and tells Jack? I think Jack will know she's his sister by the time he leaves the island.) Horace did give John some worthwhile information, and for some reason I was very amused by the noise he made when he wiped his brow. "Phewwwwww!" Hehe. Building a cabin is hard work.
A cabin in which Christian and Claire are hanging out. Is she dead? I'm starting to think maybe she is. She's acting sorta zombified, like most of the deceased in Our Town. Wandering around in a vaguely contended haze. Of course, I would prefer that she's alive. We'll have to see. Why doesn't Christian want John to let people know about her? And why can't Jacob talk to John himself instead of sending Jack's pop to intercede for him? When we actually do see him, it's gonna be crazy. Now, if I were Hurley, I'd want to inside that cabin. I'd want to know what I was the one who could see it, if nothing else. Hurley has a very special connection, but he doesn't seem too interested in exploring it, partly because he doesn't really like being set apart and partly because he's easily spooked. I'm not complaining; if he'd gone inside, we wouldn't have gotten the candy bar moment! But I couldn't be so incurious.
Meanwhile, back on the freighter, just as I was really starting to love Captain Gault, he got killed. Grrrr. He came across as a pretty good guy when he was chatting with Sayid and Desmond and telling them about Widmore, but Michael said not to trust him, and we're predisposed to distrust everyone on the freighter anyway, though it's starting to look like just about everybody aside from Keamy and his crew are decent people. Even the cranky doctor, who probably should have high-tailed it the other way when he heard that he'd washed up on shore with a slashed throat. We knew it was coming, but I really didn't need to see that.
I adore Frank. It's really a tough call between him and Daniel, who's so sweet and soft-spoken, but Frank has such a heroic streak, and he's proven to be a real friend to the castaways, more than any of the others. He's incredibly proactive, and he puts himself on the line to do what is right. I love that he liberated Michael and stood his ground against Keamy, even though it didn't do any good and ultimately actually got somebody killed. And watching this episode, I finally remembered that we saw him leave the ship with Keamy's crew in Ji Yeon. So that solves the mystery of when they left. Anyway, Frank is awesome.
Keamy is not. By far the most despicable villain LOST has introduced so far. Worse than Ethan, Danny and Cooper. Maybe worse than Widmore. Definitely worse than Ben. He told Hurley this time that he wasn't responsible for the Purge, which I always figured was the case, but I was starting to think maybe it was his doing after all. He played a role in it, yes, and he did kill his father, which was awful. But if my first hunch was right and he's not really a mass murderer after all, it does make me feel better about him. Anyway, Keamy is horrendous, just a completely one-dimensional villain from what we've seen, and regular killing machine who couldn't care less who he hurts. I almost never approve of resorting to capital punishment to eradicate murderers, but in this case I think I'd like it if Frank figured out some way of dumping him in the ocean. Maybe he'll just crash the helicopter altogether, sacrifice his life for the sake of everyone on the island, and the Oceanic Six are just the ones who fit on Sayid's raft. At this point, I wouldn't put it past Frank to resort to those heroic measures, though it would make me really sad to lose him.
How are they getting back to shore? Gault, whose outright decency kinda floored me in this episode, is gone. Desmond has sailing experience; could he do it? Drive the ship to land and then disappear? Widmore knows who he is, obviously, but if he could get off in time, maybe he wouldn't realize he was there. I sure hope he doesn't get himself killed on the freighter. His presence there makes me a little nervous. But his farewell to Sayid was touching, and anyway Sayid can get more people off the island if Desmond doesn't come along. My impression is that the castaways will be rescued in the present, not in a flash-forward. We'll be getting a flash-forward, though, if we're going to find out who is in that casket. So far, none of the main folks have died in the future; when it happens - because I assume that whoever's in the casket is someone we know well, or will - it'll be strange to see them in the present, knowing their ultimate end.
The two-part finale should be very revelatory, and I can't wait to see how in the world they're going to go about moving the island. Get the Dharma shark and some of his buddies to pull it? Have Smokey give it a monstrous push? Will we finally see the temple? Will we learn the fate of Jin and Claire definitively? So many questions, most of which probably won't be answered. But it seems this ought to be a fairly optimistic finale. At least compared to last year, my least favorite of the three. If it's anything like Cabin Fever, which I'm declaring my favorite episode of the season with the exception of The Constant, it will be fantastic.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Jack and Kate in Wonderland
After being bludgeoned with The Shape of Things to Come, I found Something Nice Back Home something of a relief. Had the main island storyline - Jack with appendicitis - happened a year ago, it would have been a real edge-of-your-seat deal, but since we all know Jack gets off the island, I wasn't worried about him, and that was okay. I could use a break from worrying. I thought there might be potential for concern in the future, since I wasn't sure at first whether we were seeing before or after Jack's first flash-forward. Once I was sure it was before, I realized we were just seeing Jack spiral into drugged-out alcoholism; while that's depressing, it's nothing we didn't already know about, and at this point I'm banking on him coming out of it. The biggest source of concern for me was Claire, but it seems to me if Hurley is questioning whether Jack should be raising Aaron, the likelihood is that Claire still could be raising Aaron herself.
We saw Claire wander off with Christian. Dan posited a theory he'd heard, that Claire died in the barracks and was seen by Sawyer as an apparition, like several other castaways have seen. Miles, meanwhile, could see her because he sees dead people. Interesting theory for sure. How was she holding Aaron, though, if she was dead? Anyway, I'm most certainly not ready to give up on Claire yet. I took her disappearing into the forest with Christian as a sign of hope that when the Oceanic Six left, she could not be found so Kate took Aaron with her, but that she will resurface at a later time. I really don't know what's up with Christian though. He seemed pretty corporeal to me. Maybe this island has a regenerative effect, and everyone who's died eventually shows up again. Maybe they're all at the temple with the Others. I just know I was disappointed that he and Jack didn't get to have their little chat after all.
And why couldn't we see another Hurley-Charlie chat? Okay, so it probably would have been totally superfluous. Just referencing Charlie was nice, and I like the idea of the two of them just hanging out, old buddies at the funny farm. I also dug the Christmas Carol vibe I got from Hurley when he said Charlie told him Jack would be getting a visitor. I guess that makes Charlie Marley, or Charlie via Hurley anyway. Marley, whose first name happens to be Jacob, who I am totally pumped to see this week. I also can't wait to see Horace and find out what the heck he's doing walking around and talking all these years later. I hope it's not just some bad dream Ben is having. I would be so disappointed.
It was nice to see Jack and Kate together in the future, however briefly, and it was a bit of a thrill to watch Jack propose. Of course, the blissful union couldn't last, and if they go back to the island - and you know they will - it's probably just going to be the same old love triangle all over again. I'm relieved to learn that Sawyer was still alive when Jack and Kate left the island, not that I really expected otherwise. Kate shouldn't have lied about whatever she was doing for him, which I'm guessing involved Clementine, but she's a chronic liar, and she knew Jack's reaction to it would be bad. There's just too much weirdness there. Even if she'd been totally up-front with Jack, I think it would have caused tension, even though Sawyer is hardly a real threat to their relationship when he's still stuck on the island.
I also took hope from Jin's threat to Charlotte that he may well still be alive on the island, where he stayed because his top priority was getting Sun to safety, even if they couldn't be together. I thought Rose's sassiness to Charlotte was a little odd, but I guess she earned it. While I'm warming a bit to Miles, Charlotte's behavior is bugging me, and I loved the way Daniel took her to task for it, especially considering that he has a crush on her. I liked Sun and Jin's conversation on that topic, and the fact that Charlotte is spurred into admitting her understanding of Korean by Jin's threats against Daniel tells me she's not quite as tough as she looks. Anyway, I thought Rose seemed a little more cynical than I'm used to for her, but it was still great to see her, and I thought her comment about the timing of Jack's illness was very intriguing.
Nice that Miles got to show off his Ghost Whisperer skills again, though the circumstances were most unpleasant. And so much for us getting a Danielle flashback. Moreover, I certainly did not need to see their dead faces lying in the dirt. I'm surprised, though, that Keamy and his thugs bothered to bury them. Or did someone else do the job? I liked Sawyer's pained expression when he saw Karl, who he'd nurtured; I so wanted to see that mentoring relationship continue. Miles generally came across as a pretty good guy in this episode, and I felt bad for him getting so much flak from Sawyer, not that I really blamed Sawyer for being suspicious. I like Hero Sawyer quite a lot; if this is his way of redeeming himself for all his dastardly deeds, I'd say it's a good strategy. I hope he keeps it up.
I think my favorite part of the whole episode, though, was when Frank, who knew only Miles (who he didn't particularly like), came bursting through the brush and urgently warned these strangers to hide, then put himself on the line to lead Keamy and his merry band away. I suppose his life may not have been in immediate danger, since they needed him to fly them back to the ship, but it still seemed like a really gutsy and downright decent thing to do. I'd say Frank is definitely one of the good guys. Really, I think all the freighter quartet are, but Frank and Daniel keep impressing me. (Nathan is disappointed that his theory about the reasons for Daniel choosing Desmond as his constant seems to be baseless. It would have opened up some interesting conflicts... Then again, does Desmond really need any more conflict in his life?)
The Juliet-Kate dynamic was well played in this episode, but I'm a little tired of all the Sawyer-Kate-Jack-Juliet tangles. I was more interested in seeing Bernard get a chance to make use of his medical skills. He did right by Jack, no question. But Jack... What a control freak, wanting to supervise his own appen..omy! Have a little faith, Jack. That's never been one of his strong suits... Incidentally, when Jack told Kate, "You're not even related to him!" I felt there was an implied "...and I am." I think that in the future, he knows that Aaron is his nephew, and if so, he's probably going to find out about it quite soon on the island. How appropriate that he's reading Alice in Wonderland to him...
Now it's up to Sawyer to take care of Aaron until they get to the beach, and it seems that probably should be their priority at this point, since they have no idea how to track down Claire and those snipers are probably coming back. They need to get Aaron to safety. But I'm not sure if we'll even see them tonight. The focus is going to be on the freighter and, more importantly, John. I think we're going to get some answers about Jacob, and it's about time. This episode didn't make me think too hard; tonight's will. I expect important bits of mythology to be cracked. Besides, John flashbacks are usually pure gold. I'm pumped. Just don't kill anybody else, okay?
We saw Claire wander off with Christian. Dan posited a theory he'd heard, that Claire died in the barracks and was seen by Sawyer as an apparition, like several other castaways have seen. Miles, meanwhile, could see her because he sees dead people. Interesting theory for sure. How was she holding Aaron, though, if she was dead? Anyway, I'm most certainly not ready to give up on Claire yet. I took her disappearing into the forest with Christian as a sign of hope that when the Oceanic Six left, she could not be found so Kate took Aaron with her, but that she will resurface at a later time. I really don't know what's up with Christian though. He seemed pretty corporeal to me. Maybe this island has a regenerative effect, and everyone who's died eventually shows up again. Maybe they're all at the temple with the Others. I just know I was disappointed that he and Jack didn't get to have their little chat after all.
And why couldn't we see another Hurley-Charlie chat? Okay, so it probably would have been totally superfluous. Just referencing Charlie was nice, and I like the idea of the two of them just hanging out, old buddies at the funny farm. I also dug the Christmas Carol vibe I got from Hurley when he said Charlie told him Jack would be getting a visitor. I guess that makes Charlie Marley, or Charlie via Hurley anyway. Marley, whose first name happens to be Jacob, who I am totally pumped to see this week. I also can't wait to see Horace and find out what the heck he's doing walking around and talking all these years later. I hope it's not just some bad dream Ben is having. I would be so disappointed.
It was nice to see Jack and Kate together in the future, however briefly, and it was a bit of a thrill to watch Jack propose. Of course, the blissful union couldn't last, and if they go back to the island - and you know they will - it's probably just going to be the same old love triangle all over again. I'm relieved to learn that Sawyer was still alive when Jack and Kate left the island, not that I really expected otherwise. Kate shouldn't have lied about whatever she was doing for him, which I'm guessing involved Clementine, but she's a chronic liar, and she knew Jack's reaction to it would be bad. There's just too much weirdness there. Even if she'd been totally up-front with Jack, I think it would have caused tension, even though Sawyer is hardly a real threat to their relationship when he's still stuck on the island.
I also took hope from Jin's threat to Charlotte that he may well still be alive on the island, where he stayed because his top priority was getting Sun to safety, even if they couldn't be together. I thought Rose's sassiness to Charlotte was a little odd, but I guess she earned it. While I'm warming a bit to Miles, Charlotte's behavior is bugging me, and I loved the way Daniel took her to task for it, especially considering that he has a crush on her. I liked Sun and Jin's conversation on that topic, and the fact that Charlotte is spurred into admitting her understanding of Korean by Jin's threats against Daniel tells me she's not quite as tough as she looks. Anyway, I thought Rose seemed a little more cynical than I'm used to for her, but it was still great to see her, and I thought her comment about the timing of Jack's illness was very intriguing.
Nice that Miles got to show off his Ghost Whisperer skills again, though the circumstances were most unpleasant. And so much for us getting a Danielle flashback. Moreover, I certainly did not need to see their dead faces lying in the dirt. I'm surprised, though, that Keamy and his thugs bothered to bury them. Or did someone else do the job? I liked Sawyer's pained expression when he saw Karl, who he'd nurtured; I so wanted to see that mentoring relationship continue. Miles generally came across as a pretty good guy in this episode, and I felt bad for him getting so much flak from Sawyer, not that I really blamed Sawyer for being suspicious. I like Hero Sawyer quite a lot; if this is his way of redeeming himself for all his dastardly deeds, I'd say it's a good strategy. I hope he keeps it up.
I think my favorite part of the whole episode, though, was when Frank, who knew only Miles (who he didn't particularly like), came bursting through the brush and urgently warned these strangers to hide, then put himself on the line to lead Keamy and his merry band away. I suppose his life may not have been in immediate danger, since they needed him to fly them back to the ship, but it still seemed like a really gutsy and downright decent thing to do. I'd say Frank is definitely one of the good guys. Really, I think all the freighter quartet are, but Frank and Daniel keep impressing me. (Nathan is disappointed that his theory about the reasons for Daniel choosing Desmond as his constant seems to be baseless. It would have opened up some interesting conflicts... Then again, does Desmond really need any more conflict in his life?)
The Juliet-Kate dynamic was well played in this episode, but I'm a little tired of all the Sawyer-Kate-Jack-Juliet tangles. I was more interested in seeing Bernard get a chance to make use of his medical skills. He did right by Jack, no question. But Jack... What a control freak, wanting to supervise his own appen..omy! Have a little faith, Jack. That's never been one of his strong suits... Incidentally, when Jack told Kate, "You're not even related to him!" I felt there was an implied "...and I am." I think that in the future, he knows that Aaron is his nephew, and if so, he's probably going to find out about it quite soon on the island. How appropriate that he's reading Alice in Wonderland to him...
Now it's up to Sawyer to take care of Aaron until they get to the beach, and it seems that probably should be their priority at this point, since they have no idea how to track down Claire and those snipers are probably coming back. They need to get Aaron to safety. But I'm not sure if we'll even see them tonight. The focus is going to be on the freighter and, more importantly, John. I think we're going to get some answers about Jacob, and it's about time. This episode didn't make me think too hard; tonight's will. I expect important bits of mythology to be cracked. Besides, John flashbacks are usually pure gold. I'm pumped. Just don't kill anybody else, okay?
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