Ridiculous Red-Shirts Turn Romeo and Juliet

This morning, after I semi-forced him to watch the spectacle that was Sanjaya's performance last night, Nathan informed me that Sanjaya was going to die on LOST tonight. He was right. Sort of.
The title of this episode is Exposé . That's the title of the Baywatch-like show Nikki was on, and it's also a reference to the fact that the show is finally blowing the lid off the tightly sealed mystery that is Nikki and Paolo. Woo. A whole episode devoted to unlocking the history of the two least intriguing characters in the show's history. (Too little too late, guys; actually, this one renewed my faith that these two had a point, but I'm too used to deriding them to stop now.)
My first thought when the episode started was "What? No 'Previously on LOST'?" No, they just dove right in. And it was Nikki. And then I said, "Nikki?" As in, "I can't believe they're starting the show with this chick nobody cares about." And then, "I can't believe they're giving her a flashback" and "I can't believe they're killing her off now, so all we'll ever get of her will be in this episode." And moments later, I thought the same of Paolo. And then I thought, "Maybe they're not really dead."
But mostly I thought the whole thing was a bit of a sly commentary on red-shirts, planned that way from the beginning of their arc, giving us these characters who are so obviously incidental that we half-expected them to go weeks ago, while also half-expecting they would develop into more interesting people. Once again LOST seems to be trying to drive home the point that every person matters, every person has value. Even the crumb bums like Paolo and Nikki. Early in the episode, in the flashback, Nikki protests to her director / lover / victim that she is just a minor character so nobody particularly wants to see her survive the season. It's prophetic. This is a high-concept episode. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it.
Later, while Sawyer's still nicknaming the ill-fated duo just hours after blasé ly asking, once again, who the heck Nikki is, Hurley repeats his impassioned Tricia Tanaka is Dead speech and tell Sawyer to have a little respect for the deceased. Hurley is always the first to ask for people's names. He's also the one who comes up with the idea to find the flight manifest, a little project he and Locke both had a part in. It helps them both to get to know all the castaways. Because they're interested. Because they sincerely care about their fellow survivors. Locke's motivations have become a bit murky lately, but I really do think he generally wants to help everyone seek out his or her better nature. (The whole killing Mikhail thing? Way not cool. I still haven't quite gotten over that one, John Boy...)
Anyway, Locke and Hurley seem to be about the only remaining survivors who really had any idea who these two were. A small idea, to be sure, but they bothered to get to know them at least a little. Hurley speaks at the funeral because he is the only one there who even remembers what they did on the island in previous days and weeks. Hurley cares. Hurley wants to throw his arms around the world, one person at a time. Strangely, I had a dream last night about him, and somehow we met up at some kind of gathering and were hitting it off... Anyway, Hurley, you can come give me a bear hug any time. My name is Erin, with an E; I do not have a turnip-shaped head or a stand-in dad who happens to be a hot hobbit. I'm just a reclusive wanna-be writer who's always said Samwise trumps Merry. Guess who Sam is? (Forgive my increasingly loopy ramblings. It's time I went to bed...)
As if to drive home the point about there being no pointless characters, this episode was a veritable red-shirt reunion, what with Arzt (who we always knew was a goner), Ethan (who's at least managed to make more of a name for himself in flashbacks) and Shannon and Boone (who I'll consider border-line since they were the first of the major cast to vanish). Did we see Scott or Steve in some of those early beach scenes? I didn't notice, but they didn't play much of a role if they were there. Might've been nice if they had, but I'm sure they didn't want overkill. (Ha...)
Okay, and what was up with Billy Dee Williams playing himself? Talk about random! I knew almost from the start that flashback had to be a TV show because of the corny music in the background. Definitely sounded like a tacky score, and there's never music on LOST that isn't literally a part of the scene at hand. Why would anyone have that dorky tune playing in real life? Incidentally, nice touch putting Lando only two degrees away from Han, and emphasizing the connection by the reciprocal "Thanks for nothing" that reminded me of the "I love you... I know" exchange between Han and Leia. Probably shouldn't have, since Sawyer and Nikki obviously don't give two hoots about each other, but Nikki is the link between Billy and Sawyer, and doggone it, I'm taking all the Star Wars references I can get, even if I have to grasp at straws for them.
Sawyer wastes the breaking of his nickname promise on Nikki and Paolo. Totally boring names, and they can't hear him anyway. Or can they? Sawyer seems a little shifty here, and he's up to his usual tricks, but I think it's good he owns up to his part in Sun's abduction when she confronts him and probably also good that he ditches the diamonds, which seem like blood money, though it does seem a shame to see several million dollars go to waste. Not that it's much good on the island. Apparently he feels a little guilty about exploiting Paolo and Nikki's misfortune, so if tossing the stash clears his conscience, it's okay by me.
Charlie sure doesn't have much to say in this episode, but when he speaks, he makes the most of it, mustering up his nerve and serenely fessing up to his misdeeds in season two. It's a very brave thing to do, and perhaps in light of that, and the fact that he could have gone on keeping it a secret indefinitely, Sun merely stalks off coldly, sparing him the slap she bestows upon Sawyer. Jin's almost entirely out of the loop, except to suggest that the monster got Paolo and Nikki, which Hurley postulates may be true, and I thought there might be some truth to that, at least with Nikki, because where did all those other spiders come from? But then Nathan informed me that I missed a bit of Arzt's dialogue, where he explained that the spiders secrete pheromones that attract other spiders, or some similar shmoo.
Evidently Nikki wasn't paying much attention either. Otherwise why would she sic a spider on boyfriend dearest knowing a troop of spiders is on the way? Why wouldn't she think ahead and write a note that she could whip out if she did get bitten, explaining what has happened to her? What does she expect Paolo will do when he comes to and recalls that she just attacked him with a spider and ran off with his diamonds? And why, after taking none of this forethought, does she stop to bury the diamonds instead of running straight out of the woods to explain the situation while she is still intelligible? Stupid, stupid girl! Just like Romeo and Juliet... sort of...
Usually after watching a flashback, we feel more sympathetic toward the people involved. I don't, particularly. Paolo and Nikki are self-involved, deceitful, greedy murderers. But they are real people. Folks with a sordid back story all their own. I really do appreciate the fact that the writers had a plan for them all along. And I don't think we've seen the end of them. The trailer promised us that someone would die in this episode. Evidently, two people died. Three, if Howie Zuckerman counts. But you know that's not who they're talking about. So maybe neither of them actually is dead. But how will they dig out from under all that dirt? If only the beach people weren't so darn civilized! Why'd they have to be in such a hurry to bury them?
Which brings me to my grand prediction. It's not so much a prediction perhaps as wishful thinking. But note that Vincent pulls the cover off of Nikki and Paolo in this episode. It doesn't seem like much at the time, just a dog getting into things he shouldn't, but dogs have extra-keen senses. Maybe he can hear their hearts beating or in some other way be aware as the less-attuned humans are not that these two are still alive. And what are dogs famously good at? Digging. Vincent is the only major beach character not to have had a flashback. Maybe his shining moment is about to occur. Vincent to the rescue! So we can have several more weeks of Paolo and Nikki making irritating two-minute appearances. No, I think if they survive this, they'll be better integrated. Because people will just be so psyched to have them back and have a second shot at getting to know them. Nikki and Paolo can be part of the gang.
Dez still is kind of a loner. I find it odd that he refers to Sawyer as Hurley's "mate"; Hurley gets along with everybody but I certainly wouldn't say he's unusually close to Sawyer. Then again, they were playing ping-pong together earlier, so maybe that's what sparked Desmond's comment. He once again notes his lack of control over his psychic flashes, and Hurley tells him he has a lame super-power. At least Desmond has enough of an idea of who Nikki is to recall that she had a fight with Sawyer.
Ben shows us his convoluted self again, and I wish I could remember the day and whether it's after Michael was "compromised" by the others or merely after he began trying to use the computer as a way to communicate with his son. Ben's way of going about things is so convoluted. Why can't he just ask Jack nicely? Well, at this point, I guess there have been some incidents that haven't exactly made for stellar Other-Castaway relations, but still, there's no need to make himself even less popular by also abducting Kate and Sawyer. It's way too complicated, not to mention incredibly manipulative.
But back to Nikki and Paolo. Perhaps Paolo is actually dead when we see him; with all those spiders running around, he likely was bitten again, and that probably would kill him. (And wouldn't it have occurred to Nikki he might get bitten twice, even with only one spider? Then again, she wanted a gun first, so she probably was okay with the idea of him winding up dead.) Paolo could have contributed to the island, particularly by letting people know what Ben was up to. This knowledge would have saved everyone a heap of trouble. Shame on him for not spilling the beans. Shame on both of them for being such petty, self-absorbed people. And the whole thing about "Gee, maybe you won't need me anymore if you have the diamonds"? Yeah, not romantic. Just whiny. I'm trying to muster up a little sympathy for one or both of them if they are indeed dead, because I always try to give each character the respect he or she is due as a human being. But gosh, they make it a little hard, given the circumstances. I always hated Romeo and Juliet, and at least they weren't running around killing people for money. Nikki and Paolo brought their misfortune on themselves. Hooray for Jin being alive and well.
The previews seem to indicate that next week's focus is on Kate and Juliet's catfight. Apparently they're going back to the beach, though I don't know what they're up to or why they're traveling together. The title is the very ominous Left Behind, which could mean Jack and Juliet, since they were denied their escape route, or if we do see the beach, which I have a hunch we will, it could mean Nikki and/or Paolo, who were buried alive. Or... going back to my glorious theory... it could mean Vincent, who was abandoned by Michael, who knew he intended to high-tail it off the island as soon as he got his kid back. Couldn't he have said, "Oh, maybe Vincent can help us sniff Walt out" or something? But Michael never did care much about that dog. Let's see if the writers do...

Wheelchair-Bound Ben and the Locke Box

The Man From Tallahassee. This was the episode we'd all been waiting for. Well, certainly me, anyway. We had to wait more than two seasons to find out why John Locke was in that wheelchair. When the flashbacks in this episode once again were about his father, I figured his jerk of a dad had something to do with his paralysis, a pretty logical assumption anyway. And as bad as Anthony Cooper seemed before, he was much worse in this episode, resorting to murder - even of his own son, who saved his life - in order to continue his cons. It's no wonder Locke is traumatized.
I understand his motivation for blowing up the submarine. It's consistent with his feverish desire to keep the outside world out of this island, a wish that has driven him to more and more desperate actions as the series has progressed. He has three main reasons for this, evidently. He doesn't want more people coming here and ruining the sacredness of this island - though obviously it's a little bit more in the 21st century than we thought in the first episode. He doesn't want to be in a position where he might have to leave, foregoing his connection with the island, his profound sense of purpose and the use of his legs. And he doesn't want even the slightest possibility of coming into contact with his dad again.
I understand his reasons, but I still think he's being very selfish, coming off as more of a thug than a wise mystic. It isn't fair to deny everyone else a possible escape route, since that is what most of them want. Granted, because of the implosion of the hatch - if Ben is to be believed - the sub would soon be gone anyway, with little hope that it could ever find its way back, and the only difference would be that Jack and Juliet are gone. Locke seems to be fighting violently for a sense of control over his surroundings. Maybe the sub explosion was as much about beating Ben as cutting off an escape route - except he ended up playing right into Ben's hand.
Ben... what a marvelous character. His scenes with Locke were fantastic, prickling with tension and the irony that this intimidating leader is now in a wheelchair while Locke is standing. The two share a bond because of that experience, and Ben voices the doubts I've uttered myself: Why did he get sick when the island healed Locke (and Rose)? And why is his healing process going so slowly? I don't really get all that business about a magic box, but at the very end, when he beckoned Locke to follow him and see what was behind the door, I muttered threateningly, "If they even have Locke's dad in there..." They did. Silly Others. Somehow they managed to collect the one person in all the world Locke truly fears. How'd they find him? How'd they get him there? Is it really him, or have they somehow managed to tame the smoke monster to suit their own purposes? Maybe the smoke monster has been under their control all along, and since they know everything about each of the castaways, they know just which form to have the smoke monster take in order to unnerve them the most.
If I were Jack, I'd be a little ticked off with Kate right now. Of course, she only came crashing the Others' party to save Jack, but he told her very plainly not to. Not that I blame Kate for coming to his rescue. But he was about to get away. If they'd dropped in a day later, he would've been gone. Oh, how aggravating! He's just trying to live as peaceably with the Others as he can until he can get the heck off the island and back to civilization. I don't think there was anything so strange about his behavior. But I get why Kate was upset by her chilly reception and his apparent affections toward Juliet.
Sayid sort of disappeared into the background in this episode except in that moment when he let slip to Alex the crucial information that her mother was still alive. This news is very unsettling to her and no doubt will further strain her relationship with her father. I thought it was nice that after acting like such a tough guy, Locke very gently apologized to Alex for involving her in his scheme. He apologized to Jack, too, for thwarting his escape, though this didn't seem particularly sincere. Jack and Locke have had a pretty tumultuous relationship, especially since the end of the first season; if Jack didn't have murderous feelings toward Locke before, he probably does now.
I think it's interesting that Jack plays the piano. And I found Ben's fridge amusing. I don't know, just something about this guy in combination with food tickles my funny bone. Maybe because it's just such a benign thing, eating cereal or leftover chicken, so it seems silly to show such a devious man enjoying such an innocent activity. His confession that the sub maintains "the illusion" that island residents can leave whenever they want is rather chilling, yet it also shows that Ben fears losing his grip on his community. (I just love listening to Ben talk. He's so incredibly precise in his pronunciations. Like how you always hear the "h" when he says words beginning with "wh". It's a unique and compelling speaking style.) Interestingly, we see Richard again, and he's cow-towing to Ben; somehow I thought he might be even higher up on the totem pole than Ben is.
We got a little of Tom, but not much. Not really enough to further our impression of him. He still shows concern for Ben, checking to see if he is okay and apprising him of the situation with Kate and Sayid, but he comes across as pretty harsh during the scene in which those two are apprehended. His conversation with Kate is mostly civil, if a little sarcastic. I could've done with a bit more Tom in this episode, but I'm glad he was at least a prominent background character. I don't know the name of the other guy we kept seeing, but he didn't particularly capture my fancy.
Now that Danielle has seen Alex and Alex knows about Danielle, it seems a reunion must happen before too long. Perhaps Alex will begin to pepper her dad with questions, though probably not; as much as she dislikes the man, she also fears him and doesn't want to get herself - or her mother - into any trouble. I think this episode showed she has at least a little affection for her dad, though. She protested when he said she hated him, and she did seem a little worried about what was going to happen to him, though she also warned Locke about how manipulative he is. Locke knew this but still managed to let Ben "play him like a Stradivarius," to borrow a simile from Lex Luthor. One way Smallville and LOST are very similar, incidentally - lots of father-son conflict. And father-daughter. Alex has a naughty daddy. But it would seem that Locke has a worse one.
When Locke gave the kid who came to visit him the brush-off, I was disappointed. He was in a position to help this boy and his mother a lot, and instead he just pretended he didn't know anything. But then he took matters into his own hands. Maybe by feigning ignorance, he thought he was protecting the young man from his father by sparing him the motivation for a direct confrontation. But telling off his dad was just as fatal as confiding in his future stepson would have been. Locke underestimated the depth and breadth of his dad's malice. So did I.
This was a satisfying episode. I'm not quite sure what to make of Mr. Cooper tied up in the closet, and I'm still finding Locke's behavior in general to be rather disturbing, which is very frustrating since I like him so much. But it's nice to finally have at least one mystery cleared up. Now I suppose we won't get back to Locke and his dad for a couple of weeks, since next week seems to be a beach-intensive episode. Bad things are happening. Everyone seems to be on edge. Sun whacks Sawyer something good; maybe she finds out he and Charlie were behind her abduction? The trailer promises us that someone will die. Erin is displeased. Enough with the deaths already. Red-shirts are bad enough. I don't want to lose one of the major players. Yet if it must happen, I predict... oh, I don't know. Not Charlie, Hurley or Sawyer. Not Claire, because she has to raise her baby lest he become evil incarnate. Not Sun, because she has to have her baby. Not Desmond, because he has to save Charlie. I guess that leaves Jin. Or Bernard or Rose, who have been gone so long we've almost forgotten they exist. Or Vincent, which would make me sadder than if it was Nikki or Paolo. Ahem. I predict Jin. But I won't be happy to see anyone go...

LOST: Mystery of the Island Jigsaw Puzzle (The Numbers) Review

After you do the Numbers puzzle, you'll never forget 4-8-15-16-23-42 again...

Read the Bird's Claire-Written Tag

It occurs to me that Wednesday is fast approaching and I still haven't said a thing about last week's episode of LOST. So I'd better hurry up and do it. I managed to get into town in time to see it - more time than I'd expected, actually; I figured I'd be cutting it pretty close. I stayed home and watched it with Nathan for the first time in real-time. I was hoping Mom and Dad would be watching it with us, but Dad had gone to Grandma's and Mom was asleep. So it was just Nathan and me.
Mom let slip a couple weeks ago that an article in USA Today had indicated that Claire was probably Jack's sister. The notion came as quite a surprise to me, who had joked about Kate being Jack's sister, just for the Star Wars factor. Though in retrospect I can see how the show might have hinted at it just a little, I certainly didn't see it coming. But I don't understand why they would put such a bombshell in an article, denying those who read it the shock value of this episode. As soon as I realized the episode was a Claire flashback, I had a pretty good notion of what was coming. I wish I hadn't.
So... Claire has daddy issues. Surprise, surprise! At least Papa Shepard was trying to relieve Claire of any financial burden resulting from her accident while making her mom as comfortable as possible. I'm still not entirely clear on whether she's still alive; the episode seemed to leave that ambiguous, but I guess I'll go with believing that she is, though there's probably not much chance of her recovering from her vegetative state. Evidently Claire went through a rather rebellious period, but other than her semi-goth appearance and her job in the tattoo parlor, we don't see much of that. She's still a sweet girl; this flashback didn't reveal her as a demon, though the crash is probably her fault. Not that she wanted to harm her mother, of course, but that she was so busy yelling at her that she wasn't paying proper attention to the road.
Dez is still running around trying to save Charlie's life. He has a way with birds, doesn't he? That seabird was remarkably agreeable to his catching it. Charlie's a sweetheart and then he's all shifty, and Claire doesn't know why, and it puts a strain on their relationship. I'm not entirely sure I know why either; because Dezzy told him he would die if he helped Claire catch a bird? I mean, he doesn't even have to help; the bigger problem for her is what a sourpuss he's being about her plan in general. I'm not really sure he ought to be acting that way, and I'm impressed with Claire for coming up with such a good idea. And I'm glad they reconcile. I'm tired of Claire and Charlie fighting. It's time for them to be a family. At least until the Universe finally manages to thwart Dezzy's valiant Charlie-saving attempts. Sniff. Anyway, the leg-tying moment was really nice. Claire's pretty poetic and altruistic, which we got a glimpse of with her pro-active stance on memorializing her fallen fellow passengers early in the first season. Her message is really wordy but quite moving as well.
Poor Sawyer. He's had a rough couple of days. He barely says a word in this episode, brooding over Kate's worrisome absence and his inability to toss nicknames around. We get a couple shots of him lazing about reading Ayn Rand, and that's pretty much it. Not much Hurley either (actually, none at all that I recall), but Jin and Sun have some nice moments.
Meanwhile, it seems my slight suspicion that Locke blew up Patchy's house on purpose may have been justified. Locke just keeps acting more and more shifty, and it seems like he and Mikhail know each other somehow. I'm upset about what happens between the two of them at the barrier because up until now, Locke hasn't killed anyone as far as we know. Now granted, I doubt he could have known that pushing Mikhail through the barrier would kill him, but I think he had a pretty good idea something bad would happen. Maybe it saved the rest of their merry band - or maybe not. Could be that Mikhail was implanted with something that caused him to react with the barrier in such a violent way. In any case, I liked the guy and I really hoped they wouldn't kill him off so soon. Especially because he was about to reveal some really important information. Which may or may not have been true, but still. And I'm tired of Locke looking like a creep. This week should be a landmark episode though, finally getting to see why Locke is in that wheelchair. I predict brilliance. I'd better get it.
Hooray for Jack playing nice with the Others! Has he been assimilated or is he just pretending? Is it a betrayal if he actually has come to enjoy life with these mysterious islanders? Maybe they're done messing around with the castaways. Maybe they mean them no more harm, and Jack's happy now too, and they should all just leave each other alone. I think the last scene was much more of a shock for Kate than for us. We already know how the Others live on the main island, so that part's no big surprise. Jack getting all buddy-buddy with Tom is a bit unexpected, but it didn't make me unhappy. There's obviously more to the story, and I'm sure we'll get some of it this week, but maybe Jack's finding out that the Others aren't so bad after all. Oh, I do hope so...
I don't know why I have so little to say this week. Probably has to do with the fact that I waited so long to write this because my writing muscles are so flabby right now. Oh well. Anyway, good episode, and this week's should be spectacular.

Maybe Locke Should Stick to Backgammon...

Last night's episode was a strange one. Enter 77; I had to look that up to see what the title was. Interesting, since it was a Sayid flashback but the title refers to a moment with Locke. (Does the number have any significance? 7 is the number of perfection. It also isn't found among "the numbers." Given the show's obsession with numerology, it seems like it might be important...)
I don't think anything new was really revealed in Sayid's flashback. It struck me as pretty similar to his other two torture-related flashbacks, just dealing with the remorse over his semi-forced brutality. First he tortures Sawyer and is haunted by his past, then he tortures Henry and is haunted by his past, and in both cases his past experience helps him to stop rather than encouraging him to continue. Here, he once again finds himself with someone's life in his hands, and again he chooses to spare that life. The reasons are not entirely altruistic, of course; he probably figures Patchy might be able to provide them with some useful information, though it evidently won't be willingly. But he's taking a risk by leaving him alive. And giving him a chance.
It was strange meeting Mikhail, who seemed incredibly creepy over the television. I'm still not sure why Locke was so tickled pink to see this ominous one-eyed man peering out of a fuzzy TV screen, but he was, and now he had his chance to meet him. He wasn't what I expected, really. Just hanging out in this nice little farmhouse, with cows! And horses! And cats! Boy, did that excite me. So I thought, Maybe this guy isn't too bad, just a jumpy recluse, and maybe he doesn't have much to do with the Others at all. And then he shot Sayid, and I said, Darn. But he was so hospitable after that, my hopes rose again that this was a decent guy, that he could be like Desmond, an unexpected ally. Maybe he still can. But if so, he's got a long way to go. And while it seemed like they were getting a lot of valuable information from him, we really have no idea how much of it was true. But if he is to be believed, the Others are not the remnants of Dharma at all. What, then, are they doing on the island? How long have they really been there?
I'm still not sure if Sayid actually did torture that woman. I can't decide. Was he steadfastly refusing to confess like John Proctor in The Crucible, unwilling to admit to a crime he did not commit, but he finally caved, either to save his life or for the woman's peace of mind or both? Or did he know full well he was guilty and confess because his remorse finally got to him after her scathing story? I think I'm leaning toward the latter, but I'm really not sure... Nadia looks like the same cat that woman had. Is it really? If so, that's gotta be a pretty old cat, assuming Mikhail is telling the truth about being on the island for 11 years. How did it fall into his hands? And how weird that her name happens to be Nadia...
I wanted to throttle Locke. Gosh, John, I could've told you that messing around with that computer was a bad idea. But John just can't walk away from a game of strategy. As soon as I saw that computer with the chess board set up, I thought, Bad things will happen if Locke plays. And then they didn't, and for a moment I thought maybe it was really just a computer game that would have no repercussions. Until Mikhail said that bit about computers not being able to cheat, and I knew there was more to this game that met the eye. So here's John, who pounded into Michael's head the importance of not trying to use the hatch computer for communication purposes, trying to hack into Mikhail's system and... what? He of all people should know the Hanso people aren't too trustworthy, with all their subversive mind games. Why would he just take what they say at face value? Plus, couldn't the Others have somehow rigged that message up as a trick to potential infiltrators? It just seemed like he abandoned all his good sense there. But I guess it's not so unlike him, and with his sense of destiny all tied up with the computers now, he probably figured this was his chance to do something heroic. Or, he knew the whole thing would backfire, but he's just playing dumb; maybe his motivation all along was to knock out a potential means of communication with the outside world. Because John doesn't want to leave. Whether due to extreme naivety or a violent flare-up of his messiah complex, I feel as though John disappointed me in this episode. But it sure was good to see him.
It was nice to see Bea, too, but it would've been nicer if she hadn't been killed off right away. I was wondering where she'd gone off too, and apparently this was the answer, but I was expecting to see a lot more of her eventually. She seemed like one of the better Others to me, and I really hoped to see some development there. But no. She wound up with even less screen time than Danny. And killed by her own people again, though in this instance, she seemed to request it. If I read that conversation right, she was begging Mikhail to kill her so that she couldn't be interrogated. Incidentally, John is losing his touch. First that thing with the TVs in the question mark hatch, and now missing that trap door that practically jumped out at Sayid... Tut-tut.
I don't think we're done with Mikhail. I mean, he's obviously in the next episode, judging by the previews, but I doubt the fateful encounter with the force field will wipe him out. I hope it doesn't. Because he's an eccentric, one-eyed Russian farmer. And that's cool. And I really was starting to like him before he went spastic on Kate and Sayid. Iced tea... How considerate. If I liked iced tea... But it's the thought that counts.
I think it's funny that I was comparing Hurley to Forrest Gump last week, and this week he was a ping pong champion. Hmmmm... Maybe this is a connection the show wants us to make... It's nice that they gave us the light-hearted beach scenes to counteract the mostly ominous Patchy stuff. Not much nickname action this week, unfortunately, but I do think it's pretty funny that Sun came up with that idea. When she said "No more nicknames," I yowled in protest. I don't know whether she was just drawing it out to make Sawyer sweat or if she took pity on him when she realized how severe her proposal seemed, but when she added "for a week," I just laughed. Granted, a week could mean a month or even two for us, and that's a long time to go without Sawyer's savviness, but we waited longer just to get back to the doggone show, so we can handle it.
Seems like Sun's proposition - and maybe it was more Jin's idea, since he's much more often the one getting nicknames from Sawyer, though with his poor command of English he probably doesn't understand half of them - was less out of extreme annoyance with Sawyer's habit than a desire to give him a hard time. See if he could make it even a week. I have my doubts. But to demand he stop the names forever - well, that would be just cruel, like Rabbit trying to make Tigger stop bouncing. You can't just strip someone of such a defining characteristic that brings him so much pleasure. And you can't deprive the viewers of Sawyer's genius! Oh, he'll probably overcompensate with the rest of his remarks, turning his snark-o-meter up to levels that would make Simon Cowell and Hugh Laurie blush, but it's just not quite the same... But oh, what a glorious stream of nicknames shall flow from his throat in seven days!
Hurley gets cool points once again; he not only saves the day for the rest of the beachers, who are reluctant to surrender everything back to Sawyer when he just stole it all in the first place anyway, he also shows empathy and compassion for our favorite redneck by returning a few choice things and expressing his conviction that Kate will be okay. Charlie was barely there at all, mainly just cheering on Hurley, who seems to firmly occupy Charlie's best buddy slot now. I think it's sweet. Hobbitish, really... Darn Paolo and Nikki get in their perfunctory two minutes here, and when Sawyer demands to know just who Nikki is anyway, I'm right there with him. Give us something more substantial to chew on, already, or don't bother. In a show full of characters of great depth, those two are the shallowest couple of red-shirts I've seen in a long time. Somehow I get the feeling they're never going to graduate from ensign. This is getting tedious. On a related note... Where are Bernard and Rose????
I suppose we'll be getting back to Jack soon. Maybe even with Kate, Locke and Sayid - and Patchy - in tow. And Danielle at a safe distance. It seems a bit worrisome that there's no one in charge at the beach. Because given the assembly of people there, it seems like a prime opportunity for Sawyer to take charge. And then there goes the neighborhood. (Love you, though, Jimmy!)

I can't seem to come up with anything else to say right now. Maybe I'll think of more later. For the moment, hooray for LOST, even if this week's episode set my head a-spinnin'.

Snuffy and Oliver Bring This Little Miss Sunshine

I liked last night's episode of LOST so much I watched it twice. It seems they can't go wrong with the Locke, Charlie and Hurley episodes. Or maybe I'm just prejudiced, since they're my three favorite characters. Anyway, despite the ominous title, Tricia Tanaka is Dead, which I happened upon several times on IMDB, this was mostly a happy episode, especially in the present. Hurley is just such a breath of fresh air; there's such a purity to him, and it has a cleansing effect on me every time I see him, the same effect I get whenever I watch Forrest Gump (which I just did a few days ago, and it improved my mood immensely, and wasn't the gorgeously eloquent scene with Hurley at Libby's grave just like the next-to-last scene of that movie?). We got just as much of Hurley here as we did of Desmond the other week; it can't help but make me giddy.
Hurley is cursed. It's a shame, for sure; he's probably the most fundamentally decent guy on the show, yet death and disaster follow him wherever he goes. (I love how after he said that, Vincent showed up with the skeletal arm in his mouth; how's that for timing? And hooray for Vincent having a significant role. He set off the events of the entire episode, and though he didn't contribute much after that, his general aura of contentment added to this episode's light feel.) Charlie is cursed, too, and it's great how Hurley snaps him out of his stupor so the two of them can cheat fate together. It's doubly dangerous for Charlie; he's supposedly doomed to begin with, and people in close proximity to Hurley have a habit of dropping dead. And the task Hurley has in mind would be life-threatening for even the luckiest of folks. It's like all that bad mojo cancels itself out.
I was right about Charlie shaving. They even showed it. It's still not so clear why... Did he want a clean slate, like Hurley's dad and Kate? ("You call it Little House?" Ha! One of my favorite Kate and Sawyer exchanges ever. And it's funny because I just had a Little House marathon at my grandma's... Anyway, just the idea that this bad boy is intimately, apparently even affectionately, acquainted with such a wholesome, sappy show is just so... sweet. And maybe all that pioneer spirit rubbed off and came in handy for his experience on the island.) Anyway, is it a physical embodiment of Charlie's reformation? Is it, as I suggested after last week, his way of disguising himself so the Black Hand of Fate won't recognize him? Or did he just feel like shaving? Where'd he dig up the razor? He looks so baby-faced without the scruffy stubble...
Kate got on my nerves in this episode. She's so testy. She's furious with Sawyer; I'm not sure if he's supposed to apologize for leaving Jack, or letting Karl go, or just generally being snarky. She sounds like she's spitting nails every time she calls him "James". And how could she not ask Locke and Sayid for help? They're the obvious choices, though Locke seems to have become the leader in Jack's absence, so the Beachies could be up a creek without him... Going to Danielle did make sense, though. You know she and Alex have to reunite eventually. It needs to happen...
Sawyer, on the other hand, I found delightful. Yeah, he goes into the tirade about having his stuff nicked, but it's short-lived. I love him calling Charlie "Oliver Twist," but if that's so, Sawyer is the Artful Dodger. "Munchkin" is a stretch, I think; gosh, Charlie's not that puny! It's not Merry we're talking about here... And "Jiminy Cricket" is just silly, especially considering Jiminy's role as Conscience, which Charlie certainly isn't too qualified for. Hurley got even more nicknames: Snuffy (ha!), Jumbotron, S.A. (which Rachel had to explain to me), International House of Pancakes (har-har...). Even the corpse wasn't safe from Sawyer barbs.
Not that Skeletor is a particularly original name for a skeleton. I'm glad for the re-naming, though, since it led to Hurley's wonderful defense of Roger as a person deserving of respect with others who cared about him (note, he mentioned Roger having a mom, but not a dad...). Anyway, that's one of my favorite things about Hurley; he truly seems to value every person, even if he doesn't know anything about them. His spontaneous joyful outburst and bear hug when he saw Sawyer was so moving, and it stripped Sawyer of his sting. He made sarcastic remarks after that, but he just couldn't be mean-spirited in the face of such abundant goodwill.
His tutoring of Jin was classy and hilarious, and it reinforced the connection that developed between the two of them toward the end of the first season and beginning of the second. Jin's reluctance to learn English is largely a matter of pride; I imagine it's especially hard for him to accept lessons from his wife knowing that she learned the language behind his back and concealed her knowledge for such a long time. But he's paying attention, so I think he understands more English than might be apparent, and he's so glad to see Sawyer again that he's more agreeable and eager than usual. Just the sight of him coaxes Jin to reach into the recesses of his past English lessons to bid him welcome, provoking Sawyer's impressed and touched, "Well, look who's Hooked on Phonics!" It becomes a fun, masculine bonding experience, learning to say "beer," "car" and the only three things you ever need to say to a woman...
Not enough Desmond, but his apology for the scotch and Sawyer's indignant reaction were great. He hangs back from the joyous reunion, which makes sense given his reclusive personality and the fact that most of his interaction with the Beachies occurred after Kate and Sawyer's departure. Too much Paulo and Nikki, and they were only there for a couple minutes. What was with him yanking her back by her belt straps so she wouldn't go with Hurley? Ew... There seemed to be a lot of random castaways when those two returned, but not a sign of Bernard and Rose. Where'd they go? Did a chunk of the hatch land on them and someone forgot to tell us? Jeepers. Can't they just show them for a minute so we know they're okay?
Hurley's mom is a trip. She's such a comical woman, and obviously she cares a lot about her son, but I don't think she ultimately is of much help to him and is more likely to make things worse with her meddling. Her brand of religion is interesting, made up of gaudy ornaments and practicality. I can understand her dismissal of Hurley's bad luck, but even she ought to be able to see that winning this ticket has brought nothing but misfortune. (A meteor striking the restaurant?? I thought I was back in Smallville! And boy, does Hurley give a lousy interview...) His discomfort with her renewed relationship with his father evokes sympathy but many laughs. I love how she covers the ears of her gold Jesus statue when she confesses her "needs" regarding Papa Reyes, and Hurley's horrified reaction to the acknowledgment.
Why must Hurley have a deadbeat dad? What does LOST have against dads? Jack, Kate, Locke, Sawyer, Charlie, Penny, Walt... Enough already! Granted, Michael's absenteeism was mostly not his fault, and he tried to make up for it, though he wreaked major havoc in the process. And Kate's adoptive father was all right, and Jin's seemed like a good guy; if anything, Jin failed him by being embarrassed of his upbringing. But positive father-child moments sure get a lot less attention than all the sordid messes in everyone's pasts. Hurley's dad was a jerk, but I was hoping for some degree of reparation between them, if only because Hurley doesn't seem one to hang onto a grudge for too long. I'm satisfied with their parting; with 17 years of disappointment behind him, Hurley doesn't have to welcome Pop with open arms, especially since, initially anyway, his presence was mostly about trying to take advantage of his son's newfound fortune. He didn't listen to his father's advice, but he didn't close the door on him entirely either.
Finding the VW bus is Hurley's way of undoing the streak of misery that started with the car that he failed to fix with his father long ago. (And how cute was Li'l Hurley? Mom didn't think he was a good match; he may have been a little dark, but those eyes, and his gentle facial expressions... Dead on. And his slim figure just showed that the current state of his weight is because his dad said he should go ahead and gorge on candy, or because he ate through the grief of his dad's departure... Either way, Dad's to blame...) By turning that key and starting the car, he was finally finishing the task his dad left him with. It was a symbolic gesture. And an excuse for a blatant Little Miss Sunshine nod with some very tense moments followed by sheer exhilaration.
I have more to say, I know it, but I think I'll stop here and just say, "Way to go, Hurley." I revel in his triumph, this victory that is at once so small and monumental. And who knows? That bus might just wind up coming in handy. For now, it's enough that it brought Charlie and Hurley release. Probably didn't quite break the curse, but it's a start. I love character-driven episodes like this. And I'm glad no one died; I had a brief sinking feeling it would be Jin, since Sawyer's untouchable, Charlie would almost certainly be too obvious at this point, and Hurley's curse seems to stipulate that he himself is safe. I hope that's true. Charlie's death would nearly do me in. Hurley's might just put the nail in the coffin.
I'm being overdramatic, of course, but gosh do I love those two. Sure is nice to get back to the beach. I don't suppose we'll see much of them next week; the ending (which felt tacked-on to me) was meant to indicate where things are headed next. Probably downhill. But at least we'll probably be learning a thing or two...
In summary and in conclusion, you go, Hugo! Hurley rocks my world!

"He Walks Among Us, Yet He Is Not One of Us..."

A day may come when I will blog, ever so belatedly, about American Idol. But this is not that day. My time is short, and I have more important things to discuss.
Does it make me a bad person if I'm less engaged when the show is about Jack? I mean, now that we're at the point when it being about Jack most likely means it's not about anyone else... We still got Sawyer and Kate in this episode, and that was fun, though it's rather sad to see their relationship turn sour so quickly, much as I enjoy their verbal sparring. But then theirs must of necessity be a rocky romance, with two such forceful, tormented powers at play. While I admire Kate's spirit, I think in this case Sawyer is right to hold back on saving Jack. They need reinforcements. They need Locke. (And Ben needs Jack...)

But I'll get to them later. To Jack, because he's definitely the main focus of the episode. The flashback was weird. It took me until about two-thirds in to really connect with the action there. Unless I missed an offhand reference, either in this episode or in some show long ago, there doesn't seem to be any kind of a time stamp on this flashback, which makes it harder to put into context. We have no idea where this fits into Jack's timeline or even why he's in this remote community, though I'm guessing it's some sort of Peace Corps-like position, except that he doesn't seem to be there with anyone else.

The tattoo stuff was interesting, but it made me frustrated again at Jack's stubbornness. Why was it so important to him to have her give him the tattoo? He didn't even know what she was up to before; now he suddenly needs to be in on this secret of hers in a very physical way. When he practically forced her hand, it seemed to me to show considerable disrespect for her people's customs and culture. If she says this is only for them, maybe he should listen.

She tells him one thing and makes the tattoo say another. Well, not exactly another; the two statements are complementary. Still, what she speaks is for Jack's benefit, while what she writes is what must be written, the undeniable truth. The irony: Jack is the Other. In one sense it means he is set apart because he is such a born leader; he's marked for greatness whether he wants it or not. But it foreshadows his current position with the Others. Now he is the odd one out, the only one in their company who has not been assimilated to any degree. How long can he resist? Juliet is marked too, for different but ultimately comparable reasons. She is an outcast. Now she and Jack must help each other. And their position is so vulnerable, she might just prove herself worthy of his trust, simply because without him she is totally unprotected. And because he saved her life.

Jack saved two lives today: Juliet's and Ben's. Maybe neither counts; he only saved Ben to the extent that he agreed not to withhold treatment if he would release Juliet, and Juliet was only in danger of being executed because of his threats against Ben the first time around, which ultimately led to the deadly confrontation on the beach. I admit I felt a little stab to my heart when Ben said, "We had an excellent surgeon. His name was Ethan." Ethan was, of course, a cold-blooded killer, but he also had the capacity to save people. And he seemed like such a nice guy when he wasn't attacking Charlie, Claire and Scott (or was it Steve?).
Tom. Let's talk about him, because he's still my favorite Other aside from Ben (who I've finally decided to call Ben rather than Henry, though I'm half-tempted now to switch to Captain Bunny-Killer). Half the show he seemed pretty congenial; the other half he was rather aggressive. He just about blew a gasket when Jack showed up at the hearing. I like the moment early in the episode when he asks Jack in a wounded tone, "What kind of people do you think we are?" And I really think Tom doesn't see their way of life as uncivilized, though I think he sometimes disagrees with the methods of some of his fellow Others. (What do they call themselves? Anything other than "the good guys"?) He raises a good point, and what this show is really becoming about more than anything: "You're in a glass house, Jack; how 'bout I give you some stones?" Jack's people have done some pretty unsavory things too. They seem to have much purer motivations than the Others; they seem to be better people; but we just don't know enough about these people to condemn them. We've entered the season of penitence with Ash Wednesday. Time for castaways and Others alike to do some genuine reflecting on their sins and what they might do to make amends...

That Isabella... Creepy. Kinda like the jewelry lady with Dezzy. She weirds me out. We didn't get much time with Cindy and the kids, certainly not enough to get any indication of how they've been spending their time since their abduction. They seem unharmed, though. Alex appears to be a nice gal, though she seems pretty mad at Jack for saving her father, which is a shame. Why must everyone on this show have daddy issues? I like Karl. Poor pathetic guy. I think he and Sawyer will probably have more to do with each other. It was sweet to see him being all mentorly, though of course he denied any tenderness toward Karl to Kate. But Sawyer cares. He wants to help this kid. I think he will. I loved the shot at the end of Karl star-gazing, and it panning across the sky and landing on Alex, doing the same thing. As Libbie astutely pointed out, very Somewhere Out There.

Poor Ben. He really was a mess tonight. His back... icky. But he's still got his sense of humor, even as he's muttering under the weight of all that discomfort. He and Jack are such fun to observe in conversation. I noticed the resigned way he banged his head against the pillow when he saw the hateful glance Alex shot him from the doorway. Ben loves his daughter, even if that's the only person he loves, even if she doesn't love him back. It's something. And I thought it was sweet when they were shipping out that Tom was standing there holding an umbrella over him. Maybe Ben ordered it, but it strikes me more as something Tom would have thought of on his own, out of consideration. Why am I so determined to like this guy? I'm almost getting a Sam vibe from him - though the real Sam status goes to Hurley, who's back with a vengeance next week, to my delight.

Boy, was Sawyer a pistol in this episode. I should've kept a count, but he must've spouted off at least half a dozen nicknames, which is impressive since we couldn't have seen him for more than a third of the episode. Probably more like a quarter. The aforementioned nickname for Ben took the cake for me, but I also dug Bobby (Brady). Karl quoted that "God loves you, as he loved Jacob" thing that we saw flashed on the screen, so it really must be important. Who is Jacob?

Sawyer has Kate pegged. She's feeling guilty for essentially choosing Sawyer over Jack, though at the time she thought it was probably Sawyer's last night alive so there was a certain lack of commitment attached to it. Certainly she hoped to save him, but at that point it seemed she was out of options. Now she has survivor's guilt and guilt over jilting Jack by default. She "cheated" on him - though they weren't technically in a relationship - and then didn't even save his life. It's a lot to juggle with. Seems the pendulum is already swinging toward Jack and Kate again. (Don't kiss him, Kate! He's your brother! And Ben is your father!!) Oh dear. The hour of loopiness has arrived.

I'm sure I haven't said all I want to about this episode, but I have to get up early, so I'll wrap things up. Thoughts about next week's episode... Is it just me, or did Charlie shave? Is he thinking a new look will put him off the Universe's radar? (Universe: Darn it, I was gonna kill Charlie today, but I just couldn't find him anywhere. Say, who is that hottie with the freshly shaved face? And where did he get a razor?) Anyway, the more important tidbit is this: Vincent! Boy, I missed you, buddy. And it looks like our favorite four-legged cast member will play a key role in this episode, too. Can Walt's dog help make up for Michael's indiscretions? Hmmmm... Sounds kinda scapegoatish. Don't want that. But the point is, I'm glad to see Vincent. Now if we could just get a word or two indicating that Rose and Bernard still exist...

The LOST Murderers...

So I've been thinking a lot about all the people on the island who happen to be responsible for someone else's death. The number is high. One point of the show seems to be that nobody is perfect, with the complementary point that nobody is beyond redemption. Most of the people have done horrible things, some for better reasons than others. I think it's unfair to paint the Others as such villains when we don't know most of their story, yet we do know so much of the vices of the survivors. Ultimately the island is freaky enough on its own that everybody, regardless of their background, should be helping each other to survive it. As was pretty much the case is season one. The arrival of the Others shot that all to sunshine...
Anyway, here, just for the sake of wrapping my head around it, is a list of survivors and their apparent culpability. I'm sure I'll miss something, and I don't really know the purpose of this exercise, but indulge me. In no particular order...
Kate - Murdered her father by setting her house on fire. Motivation: Protecting her mother from his abuse. Unintentionally got her childhood sweetheart killed by involving him in her plans and refusing to comply with the cops who were chasing her. Her restless spirit gets her into trouble, but she's done a lot on the island to make amends, always helping people and rarely initiating harm.
Jack - He hasn't been able to save every patient on his operating table. No surgeon can, but I imagine it weighs on him; he finds it especially difficult to lose a patient. Also, good intentions mixed with a lack of faith in Boone led Jack to rescue him when he didn't need it, probably leading to the girl's drowning, and I'm pretty sure there are more instances as well. All completely indirect; despite his threats toward Ben, I'm not sure Jack is capable of willfully causing someone's death, aside from the Marshall, whose life he ended early out of a sense of compassion, and very reluctantly at that. His pride has deadly consequences on this island, but the survivors owe a great deal to his surgical and leadership skills; Charlie, among others, owes him his life.
Sawyer - He killed the guy who turned out not to be the real Sawyer at all. Way to go, Daddy Shepard. This guy seemed pretty decent too, more a victim than a villain, and I think Sawyer is even more haunted, having conversed with him. It was like Joseph setting out to kill Mr. Christie in Far and Away and finding, most frustratingly, that he liked the guy. Point: It's a lot harder to kill someone once you've gotten to know them. Most of the intentional killings have happened in a flash, before there was time to think. Sawyer thought. He made the wrong choice. He also killed a polar bear, but since this presumably saved several lives, or at least limbs, I'm inclined to overlook it. He tried to put the Marshall out of his misery but only made things worse; this was actually a considerate action on some level, though I don't think it was his place to take matters into his own hands. And he did kill that random Other. Sawyer is brash and aggressive, and he needs to check his temper. I'm a little surprised he hasn't wreaked more havoc on the island than he has. But of all the castaways, he was one of the most in need of redemption at the time of the crash, and mostly it seems he's been climbing toward a clearer conscience, though he does backslide now and then.
Sayid - Came close to killing several people, including Ben, with his torture. Probably feels responsible for his friend's death by suicide bomb, and perhaps for Shannon's death as well, thinking that if he had believed her in the first place things might have turned out differently. Her death happened so quickly, though, he was completely helpless to stop it. Sayid has a lot to answer for, but he usually stops short of killing, and he feels great remorse for his torture.
Jin - He, too, has inflicted great physical pain on others but as far as we know hasn't actually killed anyone, though it at first appeared as though he had. Failing to kill the people Sun's father orders dead takes integrity and courage; Jin hasn't the strength to defy him completely, but our resect for him goes way up when we realize what he was up against.
Sun - She's interesting, because while Jin becomes more sympathetic as the show progresses, she becomes less. Partly because Jin comes across as so harsh in the beginning, and because she is so sweet-natured. But partly because when it comes down to it she is more capable of murder than her husband, who agonizes over what he's been told is his duty and ultimately makes the right call. Sun bears considerable responsibility in her boyfriend's death, since it was her decision to commit adultery that put this guy on her father's radar. She does feel guilty about cheating on her husband, however, and presumably it's the thought that Jin has been killed that fuels her self-preserving rage in killing Colleen. Still, that caught me way off-guard, and I hope she at least feels badly about it afterwards.
Charlie - He kills Ethan in cold blood when there are clearly enough people in Jack's party to subdue him. This is understandable since this guy tried to kill him and abducted Claire, and protecting Claire from any possibility of future abduction seems to be his aim. Never mind that he's not the only Other, and that questioning him and getting information might ultimately have proved more beneficial. Charlie's a hot-head, and while his motivations are usually somewhat altruistic, he's done some really crummy stuff. He could have wiped out half the island when he set that fire; luckily, no one was injured as a result. Moreover, there was nothing pure in his motives for abducting Sun. While I don't consider this an unforgiveable offense, especially since he had no intention of inflicting any real lasting harm on her, it was a dirty trick, and getting even with Locke certainly wasn't sufficient reason for doing it. Charlie's still got a lot of growing up to do.
Claire - As far as I can tell, she hasn't done anything so far that has endangered any lives. Her role on the island seems to be almost a Marian one, this virtuous young woman responsible for raising an extraordinary child, though we know her to not only be not particularly religious, but to look askance at religious devotion in others. We know her to have a saintly soul, if the psychic's words and our own impressions are to be believed. Aside from putting together the memorial for the fallen passengers, her contributions on the island have been minimal, but her purpose seems to lie in the raising of this baby. We may yet learn more about Claire that casts her in a more unfavorable light, but so far she doesn't have a great deal to feel guilty about.
Hurley - Poor guy. He's cursed. He feels responsible for the deaths of the people on that porch, and probably for his grandfather's death as well, since it was the first in a string of unlucky events that followed his winning the lottery. His forgetfulness directly results in Libby's being in the hatch at the same time as Michael, so perhaps more than in the other cases, he does bear responsibility for Libby's death, but only to the extent that he will feel guilty about that too. It was just colossally bad timing that led to Libby's death. He even unwittingly leads Sawyer to the frog and is distressed when Sawyer kills it. Bad things seem to happen all around Hurley, but all he ever wants is the best for everyone. His pacifism and consideration make him beloved by all on the island. I can't see that he has much to truly repent of; if anything, it seems that his tenure on the island may teach him to stop blaming himself for everything that goes wrong. It's very telling that when he finds out what Michael did, he doesn't try to kill him or even beat him up. His response to his circumstances is admirable, and if everyone followed his lead, there would probably be a lot less turmoil on the island.
John - He killed a boar or two. Murderer! No, I won't hold that against him. John's our Davy Crockett, the wild frontiersman once he's given the chance to be. He hasn't killed any people intentionally either; I was relieved to see him spare the young cop who shattered the only sense of family he'd ever known by betraying John's trust. However, he must be implicated in Boone's death; his statements that the island demanded a sacrifice cast him in an even worse light because it seems he knew he was leading Boone toward certain death. Oh, he was upset when the plane fell, and I think he's beaten himself up about it a lot, but his sometimes twisted spirituality has led to problems. His obsession with the hatch can also be considered a major factor in Arzt's death, since he was so eager to blow that sucker open, while his desire to see the best in people led him to ill-advisedly arm Michael. Of all the characters, Locke seems to have the deepest sense of connection with the island and the strongest sense of consequences and the need for repentance. He sees the island as a second chance, and he wants to help everyone embrace their better natures. But he's clearly far from perfect himself.
Walt - The bird flying into the window and the general creepiness surrounding the kid strike me as indications that somehow he may have had something to do with his mother's death, but if that's the case it was some sort of unconcscious physical connection. Anyway, I'm not at all sure on that count. There's something very strange about Walt, but aside from appearing to Shannon just before she got shot, he hasn't had the opportunity to cause much trouble on the island. That we know about, anyway; who knows what he was up to with the Others? I hope we haven't seen the last of him because I really want to know what his deal is. I think there's more to him than just being the motivation behind all of Michael's actions.
Michael - Sheesh, what a mess. He got a raw deal in the past to be sure, and he wants to make things right with his son. In fact, he's about the only decent dad on the show. Too bad he's a psychopath. In his desperation to retrieve Walt, he takes leave of his senses, completely losing any inner system of checks and balances he might have had. Wanting to protect his son is admirable, of course, but does that give him the right to use everyone else on the island as pawns in his game? He mows down Ana Lucia and Libby, the latter out of sheer panic, and while he feels remorse over both of their deaths, that doesn't stop him from being willing to deliver Jack, Sawyer, Kate and Hurley to the Others. His time with the Others probably messed with his mind, but the craziness started before he went. Michael's end does not justify any means, and in his quest to become a good father, he managed to commit some of the most greivous offenses on the island. If he and Walt really are headed for civilization, maybe deliverance from the island will come from Michael soliciting help. He saved his son, but he's not off the hook...
Boone and Shannon - I'll just lump them together because neither did anything too terrible while on the island, and whatever offenses they may have committed, it's too late to make up for it now, except in directing the actions of the survivors through creepy visions. This seems to be Boone's territory and probably stems from his unquenchable desire, even beyond the grave, to do something that makes a difference. Or he's just a byproduct of John's muddled mind, or the island's way of getting to him. Whatever. Both were fairly useless to begin with, though Boone tried not to be. He certainly had a few things to repent of in his former life, mainly his dubious tactics in deflecting Shannon's suitors, and maybe he figured this was his chance, though his treatment of her throughout most of their stay on the island wasn't too admirable. Shannon didn't much care about making a contribution, but Boone's sniveling spurred her into action, and I think she grew throughout the first season. With Boone gone, though, I guess it sort of made sense that she soon followed, since they're sort of a package deal.
Bernard and Rose - We've seen too little of them to get a real sense of who they are, but Rose's virtues seem to exceed even Claire's, and Bernard is a deeply devoted husband, if a little neurotic. I can't imagine that Rose has killed anyone or will; Bernard might in the interest of protecting Rose, but I hope it doesn't come to that. Ultimately I think Rose and Hurley are probably the strongest moral compasses on the show.
Eko - He's such a cool guy, I didn't relish seeing his back story detailing a long, sordid history of killing and maiming others in his quest for survival, starting with his first murder as a teen that spared Yemi from becoming a killer. There were solid reasons behind many of his killings, but that doesn't make them right, and it certainly doesn't make them something his shouldn't repent of. He seemed deeply disturbed by the fact that he killed two Others, which would seem to indicate that he has reformed, renounced his former life as a violent drug runner and embraced a life grounded in spirituality and virtue. But his death was all wrong. He regressed, refusing to apologize for any of his sins, and he paid for it with his life. The island, it seems, wants its inhabitants to feel remorse. That Eko renounced any need for forgiveness is most unfortunate and seems to go against his character. But I don't think we've quite seen the last of him.
Ana Lucia - Trigger-happy. Soooo trigger-happy... John sees the best in people; she sees the worst. She's aggressive and abrasive. She doesn't think before she acts. Shoot first, ask questions later. She kills the guy responsible for her unborn child's death, taking a vigilante approach instead of trusting in the justice system of which she is a part. She kills Goodwin because she finds out he's an Other. She kills Shannon because she's jumpy and figures she's an Other. I think she's shaken up by it, seeing that she has killed a completely innocent bystander. I don't think she feels any remorse for her attacker or for Goodwin, but in the aftermath of Shannon's death, she learns to check her aggression just enough that she is unable to kill Ben when she has the chance. I'm glad we got this detail before she died because she needed redemption more than most.
Libby - Ana Lucia's voice of reason, she seems to be as much of a pacifist as Hurley, and I'm not aware that she's responsible for any major calamities, though her past is full of mystery and she may have committed some major indiscretions in her past. I think we're still going to learn more about her. Still, unless you go so far as to blame the plane crash on her since she lent Dezzy the boat and he's ultimately the one who brought the plane down by failing to press the button in time - and probably if he hadn't shown up when he did his partner would have fallen asleep on the job at some point anyway and brought the island down with him - Libby seems to be in the clear.
Desmond - He killed Kelvin, but he didn't mean to. He did initiate an attack, but he certainly didn't intend it to result in his death and was horrified when it did. It was an unhappy accident, exacerbated by the fact that it led to the plane crash, which killed many people. So Dezzy has a lot of blood on his hands, but none of it is really his fault. And after this week's episode, we see just how incapable Dez seems to be of escaping destiny. His job is to save the world, whether he wants it or not. It seems pretty clear that he doesn't, but that won't stop him from doing what he feels he has to do. He's also bent on saving Charlie but doesn't think it will make any difference. Mostly I think Dez is a victim of dreadful circumstances, caught up in events that are much bigger than him.
Danielle - Killed everybody in her party, apparently because they were sick, though maybe she was just nuts. Hard to tell with her. But it seems she probably felt her actions were necessary and is trying to assuage her guilt now by helping the castaways. She's not all there, I don't think, but she's probably thrilled that there are now people besides the Others on the island so her isolation needn't be so complete. She knows more than she's telling, and will hopefully prove useful once more in the future.
Vincent - Yeah, I don't think he has too much to feel guilty about. But add that to Michael's list; just abandon your dog in the woods again, already...
That everybody? I'm not even going to bother with Paolo and Nikki and the other survivors who disappeared early or who haven't been given much to do yet. I'm saving the Others for another day because I already have spent close to three hours on this, and now I feel like I've wasted my morning. Hmph. But the point is that almost everyone who's washed ashore here has major sins to repent of, and while I want the island to be about them finding redemption, some of the worst offenses have occurred after the crash. I really don't want this to turn into Lord of the Flies. The situation has worsened, but there is still plenty of hope. Think virtuous thoughts, people...

Dizzy Dez Dispenses Doom

So LOST... So amazing. And strange. I figured from the first that it was another Desmond flashback, but then I was thinking, "Hmmm. Taking a long time to get to the flashback." And then I was thinking, "Hmmm. Taking a long time to get back to the island." Meanwhile, in Edinboro, Nathan's head exploded, and his uninitiated roomie's head exploded moreso. This is such a violent show.
How cute are Charlie and Hurley in this episode? They're so buddy-buddy, and getting Dezzy drunk and singing bawdy pub songs with him... and stealing my nickname for him... Priceless! The Scot and the Brit have gotten together, and Hurley can be Sam... That just leaves Frodo. Frodo, where are you? Actually, aside from the accent Dezzy's more like Frodo than Pippin. He's the one who has to turn the key and save the world. He's the tortured soul who couldn't go back to the life he had before even if by some miracle circumstances allowed it. Dezzy is haunted by destiny. Talk about predestination!
I don't know just what to make of the extended flashback. Did he go back in time? Did he flash forward? Was it all a dream? It seems like he actually relived those days after he turned the key, and somehow getting knocked out in the bar brought him back to the island. Very, very strange. Smarter people than me will make much more sense of this episode. But whether or not I understood it, I loved it. I loved the Dezzy overload, during which I observed that clean-shaven Dez looks an awful lot like Dustin Hoffman. And the poor guy is so confused... Just as confused as we are! (Though not so confused, I think, that we needed that condescending re-cap bringing us up to speed at the end. What, they thought we forgot everything that happened half an hour ago?)
When I was discussing the show with Nathan on Sunday, I predicted that the first words out of Desmond's mouth would be something depressing. Actually, I forget now what his first words were. But he's such a Debbie Downer; half of what he says is depressing. The campfire scene was so great because we got to see him smiling, laughing, just grinning his heart out as if he hadn't a care in the world. And twas loverly indeed to hear them singing together...
I wonder if that game actually happened. Ben mentioned the Red Sox, and certainly that was a big deal, but most of us Yankees wouldn't know beans about some soccer match in the UK; maybe that was the equivalent. Maybe not though. Seemed like much smaller potatoes, and if it was such a famous game, that probably would have been giving away too much too fast. Or would it? We know you haven't lost it, Crazy-Eyes. You're just as sane as you've ever been. Heh.
Creepy Jewelry Lady was the housekeeper from The Others. Is she also one of The Others? Ha! She certainly is in the know. And she ruined Desmond's shot at getting things right, because evidently bliss on a personal level for him equals cataclysm on a cosmic level. Poor Dez. I love you more each day.
While talking to Nathan after the show, I had the revelation that Charlie's song was a premonition. I recognized the song at once - Wonderwall, pretty popular when I was in high school. But the significance didn't hit me until later. "You're gonna be the one that saves me." Yes, indeed, Desmond the savior, and from the Christ-like beard to the outstretched arms as he lies naked on the forest floor, I know they're pummeling us with visual references to that effect. Dez is a mystic, and he's a reluctant messiah. What the religious implications in all this are I'm not sure, but they're at least getting the wheels turning, and that's something. Dezzy's such a doomsayer; we've got John Locke and John Calvin. It will be interesting to see how their interaction progresses.
Anyway, to Charlie. The universe says, "Your number's up." I say, Lame! And yet, if Charlie's survival means the implosion of the universe... Well, as Dezzy said tonight and I've said before, "You're a good man, Charlie," but I'm afraid it's sayonara. It can't be that simple, though. It's turning into Smallville. Are our destinies written in stone, or can we change them? Can Charlie evade certain death? Can Ben embrace his inner light? It all ties together. But seriously. If they kill off Charlie, perhaps Erin needs to have a little chat with the Universe...
Blogs after midnight are ill-advised. I shall retire before my loopiness progresses further. Happy Valentine's Day!

He Was An Other (He Was My Brother, Paul Simon)

So I'm watching LOST in real-time now, and boy is it exciting. I came away from tonight's episode full of the love of Desmond and desperately desirous of writing an ode to him. So what do I end up with instead? Danny Pickett. Sheesh. Quite possibly the most unlovable character on the whole show. The only good we're able to see in him is a sincere love for Colleen; even his loyalty to Ben hardly strikes me as virtuous when there's such bloodthirstiness behind it. And yet... I will not fall into the show's trap of fostering hatred for a certain group of people, or even just for certain unsavory individuals. Every person has worth and dignity. Every life is precious. So I will grieve for Danny, even if I didn't like him very much, even if his death was a necessary component to Kate and Sawyer's escape. Here, to the tune of He Was My Brother, is my slightly sardonic little ode to a man conventional wisdom says we shouldn't care about. Danny, you were a jerk. But I wish you'd stuck around long enough to prove that you could be more.

He Was An Other

He was an Other
And a bold sort of guy.
He was an Other.
Tried to torture Kate the day he died.

Sneering fighter,
Perhaps he envied Ben his place.
Too bad the writers
Must have said, "Hey, Danny, don't like your face."

Pickett's Charge was underway,
But Juliet trailed along.
She shot that Other dead,
Cuz shooting Sawyer would be wrong.

He was an Other.
Wouldn't let the Jack's buddies leave.
He, he was an Other,
So he died, but we're not supposed to grieve.
He died, but we're not supposed to grieve.

The Spring Season Commences

Nice to have LOST back now. It wasn't such an interminable wait for me since I saw the sixth episode about a month ago, but still... high time. I think it resolved the cliff-hanger fairly well. And hooray for Ben not dying. I figured of everyone, he and Sawyer were the most endangered, and they weren't likely to kill Sawyer off. I do feel bad for Danny, hot-head that he was; Sayid was all set to kill somebody too when Shannon died, so some of his behavior can be chalked up to losing Colleen. That doesn't excuse it, but it helps explain it, and I couldn't help but think for the millionth time that this island would be so much better without the artillery. I love the tropical island scenario, when you're totally separated from all the vices of society and can start with a clean slate. But you can't very well do that if half the blinkin' people on the island are carrying fire sticks around! Yeah, Erin hates guns...
I do think, though, that of all the killings of the Others, this was the only one that was truly justified. It still might have been prevented, but Sawyer at least cut him a break by locking him up after beating him within an inch of his life instead of finishing the job. It was obvious Danny had a vendetta and planned to stop at nothing to do away with Sawyer, and he posed a direct and immediate threat at the time of his death. I still firmly believe that Ethan, Goodwin and Colleen shouldn't have been killed, though I understand the rationale in each situation. Sigh.
Since Abrams and Lindelof had to go and shatter the redemptive tone of the first season, with all these flawed characters working together to survive and/or find a way off the island, by bringing in the Others, who are apparently "the bad guys," though they insist otherwise, I'm going to cling to the tattered remains of my illusions and declare that the Others can be in on this too. It doesn't have to be "us" versus "them". They wanted us to see Sawyer as the bad guy, and that didn't last long; what makes the Others so different? Well. I shouldn't say that, because they do have an unseemly habit of skulking about and kidnapping people, though supposedly those folks, once assimilated, lead pretty decent lives within their society. The Others do a lot of shady things, but we have yet to get their perspective, aside from Juliet, who is something of a newcomer herself. I think these people need a shot at redemption too.
Tom and Ben are my favorites. I've developed a real affection for them, despite Ben's inherent creepiness and Tom's gruffness. With Ben, of course, I was unsure for a while as to whether he actually was an Other. I wanted to believe him. And then, when it turned out he was an Other after all, I still wanted to believe that he was decent and sincere, that he was Locke's friend, that he was totally undeserving of Sayid's skills. Part of it, I suppose, is Michael Emerson, who is so darn compelling that they decided to turn him into a regular. Which makes me majorly question the foresight of the writers if Ben was such a small part of the big picture, or if there even was a Ben planned before Michael made such a splash. I really hope they have some idea of where they're going with all this, because I sure don't...
Anyway, I don't think Ben is all bad. I feel sorry for him, and I probably shouldn't, because he's very manipulative and dangerous under that veil of innocence. But maybe he can be LOST's Lionel - and by cracky, Messrs. Millar and Gough, if you yank Lionel from the righteous path one more time... *shakes fist* The key to Lionel's goodness seems to be Martha; maybe Ben's is Alex. We haven't seen them together but evidently he cares for his abducted daughter deeply, though the feeling does not seem to be reciprocal. It will be interesting to watch them interact with each other...
I don't think he cares a great deal about Tom, aside from seeing him as an easy puppet. He can use him however he wants, and Tom will continue to follow him around like a wide-eyed puppy. Because I really think Tom's a soft touch. He acts tough sometimes, but mostly I think he's a pretty nice guy, and he's deeply devoted to Ben. He was obviously genuinely concerned when Ben was on that operating table, and he experienced real panic when he had to help Jack finish the surgery and was afraid he might mess something up. If the Others were across-the-board vile, thoughtless people, wouldn't you think if he was second-in-command he would jump at the chance to have the boss out of commission? No, I think Tom is truly loyal. It may even be a Smithers-type situation, which I've wondered about since he mentioned laughingly to Kate that she wasn't his type. There seemed to be an implication there supported by the deep respect and affection he apparently feels for Ben. Or maybe I'm reading way too much into it. Either way, I like Tom, and I hope he sticks around a while.
I didn't think I had that much to say after seeing last night's return. I guess I had a few things to say after all. Whaddya know?

John Locke Action Figure Review

You think I shouldn't spend my money on a John Locke action figure?  Don't tell me what I can't do!

Despair (Here, There and Everywhere, Paul McCartney)

After all this gushing over Charlie, I've finally written a parody for him. Set to the tune of Here, There and Everywhere, it captures his state of desolation early in the first season.

Despair

What's happened to my life,
And how did I end up here?

We're
Likely to stay around here,
Stuck here for life with the waves and the sand.
Why did I plan
To fly Oceanic Air?

Where
Are we? Does anyone care
That I've gone missing? I'd rather not be
Someplace that's creeping
With monsters and polar bears.

And when that John guy stares,
He can see inside me. Why'd I come so unprepared?
I should have a hundred bags of drugs to spare.
I'm running out, and I'm scared.
I wish he'd leave me alone, but those eyes,
Probing and wise...
They follow me everywhere.

And when that John guy stares,
He can see inside me. Why'd I come so unprepared?
I should have a hundred bags of drugs to spare.
I'm running out, and I'm scared.
I wish he'd leave me alone, but those eyes,
Probing and wise...
They follow me everywhere.

If not for Claire,
I'd fold, I swear.
She spares me from despair.

The Star of My Supreme Deception (The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon)

Here's another Other-centered LOST parody in which Ben is the speaker. It assumes that Ben actually did know about his tumor before the plane crashed, which may well not be the case, but until I know otherwise I guess I'll take him at his word. Here's a little exchange between him and Tom (aka Mr. Friendly), who I take to be his right-hand man, to the tune of The Only Living Boy in New York.

The Star of My Supreme Deception

Ben: Tom, there's a plane in the sky.
I know you're happy to lie.
Try not to let them know
Those grimy clothes and that beard are for show.
Just be the man,
The star of my supreme deception.

I'll send you out to meet
Them so I won't get hurt.
Oh, I'm in charge so I can make you meet
Them so I won't get hurt.
Hey, and I'm hoping that you will pray to find
One who might get this bump off my spine
While you're the man,
The star of my supreme deception.

Half of my time is gone,
But I know he's there, yes, I know he's there.

Tom and Ben: Faaaaa-a-a-ar,
Fa-a-aaaaaaaa-a-a-ar,
Fa-a-aaaaaaaa-a-a-ar away from here,
Ben: Find that man.

Half of my time is gone,
But I know he's there, yes, I know he's there.

Tom, on that plane is a guy.
I know with him I won't have to die now.
Hey, if you care for this life of mine now,
Hurry and go there but don't let them know
You've been primed to be
The star of my supreme deception,
The star of my supreme deception.

Ben and Tom: Faaaaa-a-a-ar,
Fa-a-aaaaaaaa-a-a-ar,
Fa-a-aaaaaaaa-a-a-ar away from here,
Ben: Find that man.
Ben and Tom:Faaaaa-a-a-ar,
Fa-a-aaaaaaaa-a-a-ar,
Fa-a-aaaaaaaa-a-a-ar away from here,
Ben: Find that man.

Charlie Pace Action Figure Review

Charlie Pace is the first of my LOST figures but certainly not the last.

Quit Callin' Me James (Sweet Baby James, James Taylor)

Back when I started watching LOST, Sawyer immediately emerged as the apparent antagonist. It seemed Abrams and the gang were gearing us up for a Lord of the Flies-style showdown between Jack and Sawyer. But I wasn't buying it. I just knew there had to be more to Sawyer than met the eye, so I was gratified that it didn't take long at all for him to emerge as a sympathetic character boasting a number of surprising traits, among them his linguistic cleverness and tendency to be a bookworm. He became so likable, in fact, that a recent poll asking fans their favorite male character showed Sawyer way out in front with twice as many votes as any of the other fellas. I won't go that far, but I like Sawyer. I think he's a really good guy despite his best attempts to convince us otherwise.

He reminds me a lot of Han Solo. There's the fact that two of the nicknames he gives out are not only Star Wars related, but close personal associates of Han, but beyond that there is just his whole self-centered, cynical persona that gradually melts into consideration and heroism as the saga wears on, largely due to Kate. On that score, their last scene together in the fall finale gave me a major flashback to the Empire Strikes Back carbonite deep-freeze scene that unsettled me so greatly as a youngster. I don't know whether that sense of deja vu was intended; I do know that I like it but will begin to severely question the writers' creativity should Jack suddenly turn out to be Kate's long-lost brother.

Anyway, this parody is another that has to do with pseudonyms. I love Locke, but he's a bit of a busybody, albeit well-intentioned. Landing upon this island has allowed him to embrace his true nature, and he wants everyone else to throw off the ugliness that built up in their lives up to the point of the crash, to start off with a clean slate. Of all the characters, he seems to have the least interaction with Sawyer. I don't think this is an accident; Sawyer does not want to be mentored, and I would think he would find it very irritating that Locke insists upon calling him by his birth name rather than the moniker he deliberately appropriated for himself. So this is the protest I imagine Sawyer launching.

Though I didn't really think about it at the time, I like the fact that I settled on a lullaby - Sweet Baby James - for this parody, since in some sense it is indicative of the fact that Sawyer's bark is usually worse than his bite...

Quit Callin' Me James

I live like an outlaw. That's not gonna change.
I won't save the day like a Samwise or d'Artagnan.
I'm bound to betray all of my closest companions.
With what I've been through... well, that shouldn't seem strange.

So don't act surprised that you've found I'm a liar.
My crimes are as big as these glasses I wear.
And some fresh horizon won't spark a desire
To start acting selfless. See, I just don't care.
But just in case you're not aware...

How can a guy be shady
With Mr. Clean calling 'im James?
I have no use for this kind of abuse,
Though I'm eager to dole out nicknames.
I'm Sawyer; quit callin' me James!

I don't wanna remember that night long ago
When my life was ruined. From then on, I've figgered
What to do when I'm cornered is just make my cons bigger.
Can't leave that behind me; I'm just warmin' up, you know.

There's a con that I pulled to grab hold of a fortune,
A con that I pulled on a gal who loved me,
A con that I pulled for the guns... Oh, I'm sure
Freckles may have a secret or two up her sleeve,
But she ain't got nothin' on me.

But how can a guy be shady
With Mr. Clean calling 'im James?
I have no use for this kind of abuse,
Though I'm eager to dole out nicknames.
I'm Sawyer; quit callin' me James!

Sweet Baby James

Henry (Not Ben) (Henry the Eighth, Traditional)

I'm finally, finally caught up on LOST, and I'm in the mood to ramble a bit, so there will be just a bit of spoilerific speculation before I post my parody. It's also padding, because it's one of the shortest I've posted. All but two of my LOST parodies so far have been focused on the group, so I figured it was time I gave more attention to individuals. I'm starting with Henry (who I shan't call Ben because I was too invested in the pseudonym by the time I got the real name). This is partly because I think he's probably the central character of season three - the first part of it anyway - but mostly because his parody popped into my head first.

Incidentally, I made an interesting discovery recently. LOST started on September 22, 2004, my parents' 25th anniversary. I knew it at the time, obviously, but I completely forgot until the show itself reminded me recently. Moreover, season three resumes on February 7, my dad's birthday. Coincidence?

Anyway, I find Henry intriguing. My dad was so disgusted at the treatment he received when he was first introduced that it turned him off of Sayid for a while. Now, whenever he sees the guy, he says, "Boy, that Ben sure is creepy." I felt sorry for him when he was captured. I thought there was a good chance he was an Other and that while Sayid was overly rough with him owing to the deadly combination of his acquired torturing skills and a very recent searing personal loss, the interrogation made sense. But I still wanted to be on Henry's side. And those LOST folks made me like Sawyer and Jin, among others who seemed initially unsavory, so why should they begrudge me a little sympathy for this fellow?

Still, his behavior makes very little sense to me. If he knew all along what his purposes were for Jack, why in the world did he take so long to fetch him? Days count for a lot when you have a malignant tumor, so I would think the proper course of action would have been to speed on over to the wreckage on that little motorboat and say, "Hey, there! I'm Ben, and I live just across the island. Welcome aboard! We've got food and shelter and... oh, yes, advanced medical equipment. I don't suppose there's anyone here who would care to get this pesky tumor off my back?"

Of course, maybe he actually didn't know about the tumor until Jack told him, in which case his reasons for acquiring him were different, and probably more sinister: to deprive the castaways of their leader, or their doctor. Or at least to have an extra doctor in reserve for the Others. Whatever the reasons, I don't see the point of all the dastardly deeds and deceptions. If they are indeed "the good guys," as he claims, why can't they just play nice? I suppose that means they aren't the good guys. Whatever the case may be, I hope the show does some explaining soon, because these Others sure are befuddling.

In any event, here's a parody of I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am, the Herman's Hermits version. Though it captures him in a moment of blatant falsehood, here's to the notion that there might be some good in Henry - beg your pardon, Ben - after all.

Henry (Not Ben)

I'm Henry (not Ben), I am,
Henry (not Ben) I am, I am.
I crash-landed on the thick jungle floor.
My balloon and my wife are no more.
And yes, my first name is Henry (Henry).
I'm innocent and helpless as a lamb (a lamb).
I'm the victim here. I'm Henry.
Henry (not Ben) I am.

Think you're cursed?
I've had it worse!

I'm Henry (not Ben), I am,
Henry (not Ben) I am, I am.
I crash-landed on the thick jungle floor,
My balloon and my wife are no more.
And yes, my first name is Henry (Henry).
I'm innocent and helpless as a lamb (a lamb).
I'm the victim here. I'm Henry.
Henry (not Ben) I am.

I'm Henry (not Ben), I am,
Henry (not Ben) I am, I am.
I crash-landed on the thick jungle floor.
My balloon and my wife are no more.
And yes, my first name is Henry (Henry).
I'm innocent and helpless as a lamb (a lamb).
I'm the victim here. I'm Henry.
Henry (not Ben) I am.

Henry. Henry Gale!
Henry, Henry.
Henry (not Ben) I am, I am.
Henry (not Ben) I am.

Season Two Review

There's way too much artillery in season two of LOST.  But Desmond and Henry make up for it.  And Rose and Bernard get an episode to themselves!