Fringe Season 1, a Review

It's no wonder that I love Fringe.  The show, created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, is about a team of investigators that solve crimes using "fringe science."  I describe it as X-Files meets CSI meets LOST meets Twilight Zone.  It's gruesome, sometimes disturbing, nail-bitingly tense, and often graphic, but it's one of my favorite shows out there now.

Part of the appeal is the pervasive mystery that grows with each episode.  While LOST was built on questions without answers, Fringe is built on questions with answers.  Each episode follows a typical pattern, starting with an off-POV that ends up with somebody dead.  The rest of the show deals with the investigators trying to solve the case.  However, since the cases are things that aren't generally in the realm of possibility, special investigators do the work.

FBI Agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) works with the infamous scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his son Peter (Joshua Jackson) to understand better what's going on and stop any more deaths.  Walter is one of the most famous scientists in the world, and the show begins with him sitting inside St. Claire's Asylum, where he's been prisoner for seventeen years after the accidental death of his lab assistant.  His work in the fringe science field has him released in lieu of his cooperation with the newly created Fringe Division.

What sort of crimes are we talking about here that fall within Fringe Division?  Crimes that are related to something called the Pattern.  For example, the pilot episode begins with an international flight landing in Boston and everyone on board dead, decayed and rotted away into foul looking blobs of flesh and blood.  Or maybe people crystallizing.  Or turning into monsters.  Whatever the case, the crimes are unnatural, a particular predilection of Walter's.

And even though the mysteries of the Pattern and its webs are highly entertaining and interesting, the even greater joy of Fringe is the characters.  Walter Bishop is hilarious.  He's crazy and says the most random things at the most random times, and his ability to think (ir)rationally--often aloud--makes for many memorable quotes.  Also, the relationship between Peter and his father is strained and awkward, perfect fodder for a television drama, and I enjoy watching it change and grow.  Dunham, arguably the shows protagonist, is also an interesting character, though she sometimes comes across as shallow and lacking.

While most episodes fall neatly into a predictable formula, the show is still an absolute blast to watch.  What's more is that Keisha has even fallen in love with the show, and I daresay she enjoys it as much as I.  We'll laugh at something Walter's said or muse at what's going to happen next.  It's great having another show to watch together like this.  Fringe is not LOST, even if Michael Giacchino* wants you to think it is, but it's similar enough that fans of the Island's mysteries would likely enjoy the show, and haters of the Island's lack of answers would be satisfied, too.

If you're looking for something to throw on your DVD queue (or ask your public library to purchase), then I recommend Fringe.  It's been delightfully freaky and amusingly tense, hitting all the right notes at the right times. 
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*There's quite a bit of very similar sounding music making up the score for both shows, and some re-use, even.

Win One For the Reaper (A Lost Cover)

A friend recently mentioned something about the phenomenal Michael Giacchino soundtracks for Lost and wanted to know if I knew how to play a song from them.  No, in fact, I did not, but I certainly would like to.  So I sat off and found a simple tutorial, practiced it a few times, and 'ere long had the tune down, hopefully committed to memory forever now.

"Win One for the Reaper," or "Life and Death" is a beautiful song, oddly reminiscent of last week's haunting "All Shall Fade."  I learned the song yesterday and played (and recorded) it this morning from memory.  Give it a watch, if'n you'd like.  I think I did a fair job, though it seems a bit rushed at times.  Great song, nonetheless.



(Is it odd that last Friday's tragic song was song by Pippin in LOTR, which also starred Dominic Monaghan, who played Merry, who coincidentally played Charlie in Lost, and this song just happens to be playing when Charlie drowns?  Maybe I'm jumping for Lost connections here...)

Lost Rehash: “The End”

It’s still very hard for me to put into words exactly how I feel about the end of LOST.  A one word descriptor would be “perfect.”  Part of me wants to give it a little more time before thinking about it.  Heck, I lay awake last night for a while thinking about it and what it all meant.  In short, this post will just be a brief rambling of my thoughts.  It’s also a memento to a wonderful series that has finally came to a close.  Heck, it’s also me closing a chapter in my life, as cheesy as that sounds.  I’ve been with the show since it started, and it’s been huge, so for me, the finale was rather momentous.  It was odd watching the last show, knowing that it was going to end and this would be it.  To celebrate, I had a finale party, where I made a DHARMA themed pizza (seen below)!

What Happened, Happened

• The Island was real.  Oceanic 815 crashed in September of 2004.  The survivors struggled against insurmountable odds and mystical elements to stay alive.  People found joy in life on the Island, despite the hardships.  And in the end, through time-travel and magical deity things, through pain and death, through choices right and wrong, one man found himself and learned to let go.
• The Flash-sideways was a type of limbo.  It’s purpose was to serve as a place for the survivors to meet up and move on together.  Christian said it perfectly.  “There is no now here.”  Some people lived long lives (like Hurley and Ben) before they died and entered the FS.  Others died on the Island (Jack, Charlie, etc.)  And some people weren’t ready to let go and move on from their limbo (like Ben, Faraday, etc.)
• Michael and the other whisperers are noticeably absent from the FS.  But, taking Michael at his word, he’s condemned to the Island because of the wrongs he’d done.  He’s unable to pass on.
• The ending scene has been speculated for a while, with Jack laying down in the bamboo grove and closing his eye.  Still, seeing the look of euphoric happiness on his face as he watches the Ajira plane fly overhead was a powerful scene.  I think that everything we’ve seen on the Island has been one big flashback, beginning with Jack opening his eye in “The Pilot” and ending when he closes it in death.  It’s like the “life flashes before your eyes” saying, and Jack is seeing his life unfold before him.  Again, the joy on his face of seeing his friends leave is moving.
• Desmond’s line was spot on.  Truthfully, it didn’t really matter about Jacob and MiB.  All the mythology and craziness of the Island was not important in the end.  Ultimately, what mattered was Jack’s choice to sacrifice himself for the Island and for the people he’d grown to love.
• The reunion with Christian was also predictable, but again, it was very powerful.  For six seasons Jack has been chasing his father, trying to put him to rest, and finally he get’s his chance (sort of).  I liked the symbolism of the empty coffin, of how death really wasn’t a constraint.
• I love it that Hurley wound up being the ultimate replacement for Jacob and that Ben got to be the Richard-like advisor.
• The Jimmy Kimmel Live special afterwards was pretty good, too.  Rather funny, I say.
• I liked the cliff-side fight between Jack and Locke.  Beautiful scenes.
• Initially I thought that the losties would be moving on to the Island, but I think that is completely incorrect now.  They’re moving on to the afterlife, to the final destination, and it’s important that it’s left ambiguous on the show (since the show was very pan-religious and cross-cultural).
• I can’t really think of anything I didn’t like in this episode.  It was handled wonderfully, and the cast performed brilliantly once again.  It’s sad to see such an excellent group of actors bid farewell to the Island, but I’m excited to see where many of them go.
• I’m still not entirely sure what the Island is, why it’s special, and a few other things, but I’m satisfied with that, too.  There’s no real reason in knowing.  Like life, we experience so many things that are beyond our control and we don’t understand them.  That’s what happened to the survivors.  Their lives took them to some faraway Island that was crucial for the fate of the world, but ultimately, they all died.  And really, the character journeys from being lost to found were the important things in the show, not the crazy Island.
• Thanks, LOST.  Thanks for being an excellent show.  Thanks to the wonderful actors, brilliant writers, amazing directors, beautiful musicians, and everybody else responsible for the series.  It was an awesome ride that is going to be sorely missed.
  Namaste!

Lost Rehash S6.14: The Candidate

I’m not exactly sure how to express myself.  I really wasn’t expecting everything to go down like this, but then again, I kind of was.  But definitely not as shocking and emotional as it was.  No.  And it was close.  I mean, I was probably on the borderline for tears there, and that’s only happened a handful of times in the LOST run. In one fell swoop, one sneaky masterful plan, Sayid, Jin, and Sun were killed, in addition to Frank (I’m guessing) and the rest of the sub crew.  And what seemed like spontaneous decision by unLocke (opting for the sub as opposed to the plane; adding the watch to the bomb), I have to wonder how the thing would have played out if different actions were taken.  Was Jack right?  Would the bomb have blown up if Sawyer hadn’t pulled those wires?  Yeah, it probably would have, but still, I have to wonder.  And does it matter which Kwon was the Candidate?  And why didn’t Kate die?  (Okay, my loathing of Kate has actually abated quite a bit, and now she just gets on my nerves from time to time.)

“The Candidate” was an amazing, heartbreaking, exhilarating episode, one that will definitely be burned into memory.  Beloved characters died.  Sayid, seeking retribution and forgiveness for all of his past mistakes, (predictably) sacrifices himself to keep the others alive.  Still, the force of the bomb pins Sun up against the wall, and after some failed attempts, everybody leaves her behind but Jin, who stays with her until it ends, promising to never leave her again.  Their conversation was very moving, and you could easily see the love in their eyes.  I hate to say it, but the tragic scene was beautiful.

In the Flash-sideways (FS) things are moving quickly.  Locke has recovered from his surgery and Jack is telling him that he is a candidate for a new procedure that could restore feeling to his legs.  Locke refuses, and we later learn that he’s punishing himself over a mistake he made that led to the loss of his legs, as well as a complete near-vegetative state for his father, Anthony Cooper.  In the process of learning about Cooper, Jack meets Bernard and learns that he, too, was on Oceanic 815.

I’m wondering if the FS reality exists while Jack (and/or Locke) stays in the dark about the Island.  He seems to be on the edge of enlightenment, but he never quite makes it over.  Will he soon meet Kate and things click in place for him?  Is the coincidence of getting tangled in Oceanic 815’s web digging at him?  Whatever the case, I’m very curious about what the FS is. 

Thoughts and Observations

• Have you noticed that many of these episode titles could refer to either time-line?  Are they misleading on purpose or are they truly dual sided?  “The Candidate” was John Locke being up for advanced surgery; Sayid told Jack that “he was the One”, which I assume meant the Candidate.  “The Last Recruit” was Jack falling under the tutelage of unLocke, but it could’ve also been Locke falling under the scalpel of Dr. Shephard.  And “The Package” was Desmond, but it was also the gift Jin brought to the States to deliver to Keamy.  There are plenty more of these things, and I wonder if they have any special meanings or if they’re just literary techniques.
• Sayid’s self-sacrifice was easily predictable, but it was still a blow to seem him die.  I’ve always liked the man.  Seeing him off himself to save the others was definitely in character, especially if he was hoping it would atone for all his wrongs.  Too bad Sayid had such a short season.
• I can see Sawyer dying in a similar way Sayid did, sacrificing himself.
• My feelings for Jin and Sun have always varied.  Sometimes Sun was just a whiny spoiled rich girl, selfish and irksome.  Sometimes she was a loving wife and caring lady.  Jin was a hardcore Korean mafia type, abusive and absent, but he was a loving husband and a compassionate man.  Their death wasn’t terrible, but it was sad, especially considering that they left Ji Yeon behind. 
• Witnessing Hugo, Kate, and Jack’s sorrow at the loss of three of their friends felt like I was trespassing onto something deeply personal and that I should give them a moment.  It’s stuff like this that makes LOST the greatest show to have ever aired.
• I have no idea what to think about Widmore’s crew.  What’s their game?
• Is Desmond going to get out of that well next week?
• As reported by everybody in Hollywood, the finale has been extended to 2.5 hours now.  Awesome, I say!
• I never trusted you unLocke.  You tried to say that you were good and didn’t have any evil intentions.  Bah, not once did I believe you, and you proved me right tonight you evil man/smoke/deity thing.
• It’s crazy all the lines that are being re-used in the FS.  “I wish you had believed me,” Jack said to Locke.  “What happened happened.”  Ahh, too many things.
• This episode will take some processing time and some time to decompress.  Great stuff.
   
  

Lost Rehash S6.11: Happily Ever After

Desmond episodes have a tendency to be game-changers.  There’s just so much mystery and purpose in his character that anytime he shows up we know something big is going to happen.  I believe we got a taste of that “something big” last night with “Happily Ever After.” The Flashsideways is where the peculiarities happen.  Desmond talks briefly with Hurley and Claire while waiting for his luggage to arrive after the flight from Sydney.  He’s then picked up by George Minkowski, who died in “The Constant” from time/conscious travel side-effects, and taken to his employer: Charles Widmore.  Widmore sends him to pick up Charlie Pace and bring him to a concert that evening, where he and Charles’ son are to play together.

Desmond picks up a crazy-talking Charlie and the rock star starts blabbering on about seeing some “spectacular, consciousness altering love.”  He tells Desmond that he’s seen something real, that he’s seen the truth.  Charlie turns the wheel of the car into the ocean and the vehicle submerges.  While underwater, Desmond gets a glimpse of the “NOT PENNYS BOAT” scene and it startles him.  He rescues Charlie and they go to the hospital (where they predictably run into Dr. Jack Shephard, cause apparently that’s the only hospital in LA).

A doctor does an MRI on Desmond, and while he’s in the machine he experiences something “real.”  He gets glimpses of his life with Penny and realizes that he loves this woman.  He gets out of the MRI and goes to find Charlie, and he eventually does.  Charlie knows Desmond’s seen it now and urges him to start looking for Penny.  So after a phone call with Charles, Desmond drives over to Mrs. Widmore and informs her that the band won’t make it that night.  Eloise, that dear, sweet, strange lady tells Desmond not to worry.  He’s leaving and he hears the name Penny called on a guest list, inquires about it, is approached by sweet-ole Eloise again, is given some cryptic messages and send away.  He gets in the car to leave when Daniel Faraday/Widmore shows up.

Daniel and Desmond talk about things and about seeing the truth.  He shows Des his drawings of quantum mechanics and stuff, then starts talking about explosions.  He muses that they changed things by already blowing up an atomic bomb.  Des gets even more confused and Daniel tells him where to find Penny, his half sister.  Excited, Desmond heads over to a nearby (familiar) stadium and finds Penny running up and down the stairs like she’s got nothing better to do.  He introduces himself and she shakes his hand.  Desmond faints.  Boom goes the dynamite and Desmond wakes up, happy.  He asks her out to coffee, she says yes, and the episode ends with Desmond asking Minkowski if he can get the flight manifest from Oceanic 815, claiming he needs to show them something.

The Island timeline is much simpler.  Desmond gets woken up from his drug-induced kidnapping and Widmore tells him that he’s back on the Island, cause the Island wasn’t done with him yet.  Jin wonders what’s going on and Widmore says that he needs to see it to believe.  So the Widmore people are prepping this solenoid chamber for some kind of experiment or something when Simons is accidentally deep-fried.  Desmond arrives and is strapped to the chair in the chamber and Widmore tells him not to worry, that he’s special and that he’ll (likely) be fine.  In the observation room everyone watches as the solenoids wind up and engulfs Desmond.  The techs all go and find Desmond still alive.  Des tells Widmore that he’s ready to start doing whatever it is he’s supposed to do that’s so darned important.  On their way back to somewhere they’re attacked by Sayid, who lets Zoe live, but takes Desmond along with him.  Desmond cheerfully follows.

Thoughts and Observations

• There are way, way too many things to even compare and link to from this episode.  Pretty much everything in the FS we’ve already seen at some point.  All these little familiar things are just repeated with the alt-timeline.
• The Island’s relationship to the alt-timeline seems a bit more substantial now.
• Just how much does Eloise know?
• Since Penny is Daniel Widmore’s half-sister, is it reasonable to think that she’s Penelope Faraday in the alt-timeline?
• I really think I need to re-watch this episode again.  It’ll be the first episode I’ve re-watched since the season premier.
• Even with Charles being all chummy and stuff, he’s still a little off.  And did you see the balanced scales painting in his office?
• Love!  Love!  Love!  All you need is love!
• Is Sayid faking his “lack of feeling”?  If not, why’d he let Zoe live?
• I think it’d be awesome to re-watch the entire series leading up to the finale, but man that’d take a while and Keisha probably wouldn’t like it.
• You really need to watch this.  I couldn’t stop laughing.  It’s all funny, brother.

Lost Rehash S6.10: The Package

I wasn’t expecting another amazing episode like last week’s “Ab Aeterno,” but I was hoping for something better than what we got.  However, the Kwon’s have never been up there on my list of favorites (okay, I like Jin well enough, but Sun just gets on my nerves and then she doesn’t and then she does again…), and sadly the episode lacked any major WOW moments.  But, it’s still better than no Lost, and there were a few things that made it enjoyable.

In the Flashsideways we discover that Jin and Sun are not married, which really wasn’t much of a surprise.  They have just arrived at LAX and were flagged by customs for carrying too much money without claiming it.  Neither can speak English and the money is kept by customs.  Jin is upset, because Sun’s father sent him to deliver $25k and a watch to lovely Mr. Keamy, and when Jin doesn’t show up, Keamy comes looking for him.  But before the cocky jerk arrives, Sun and Jin spend a night together, revealing that they are romantically involved, just not married and not with Mr. Paik’s approval.

Knock Knock, My name’s Keamy, gimme my money, blah blah blah.  No one understand anything that’s being said, so Keamy sends for his friend that speaks nine languages, Mikhail (the hardest man to kill on the Island).  Sun tells the man that she has money in a private account and will get it; Keamy says okay, but he takes Jin with him to the restaurant.  He ties Jin up and reveals that he was hired by Mr. Paik to kill him because he knew about his involvement with Sun.  Jin doesn’t understand and says “thank you,” to which Keamy looks surprised/sorry. 

Sun discovers that her father closed her account and she has no money to give to Keamy.  Mikhail takes her back to the restaurant and they find the gunned down bodies on the floor.  Keamy’s still breathing and a freed Jin sneaks up behind Mikhail and puts a gun to his head.  The two struggle, shots are fired, and ultimately Jin shoots the Russian through the eye.  He turns and finds that Sun’s been shot.  She reveals that she’s pregnant and the FS ends.

On the Island things are a bit more interesting.  unLocke heads off to try and convince Sun to join him, and while he’s gone the camp gets attacked and Jin is kidnapped.  Sun runs away from unLocke, hits her head on a tree and passes out.  Ben finds her and brings her back to the beach, but she apparently can no longer speak English, though she can understand it.  unLocke arrives back at his camp to find everyone unconscious and Jin missing.  He recruits Sayid to go on a mission to Hydra Island to get Jin back.  unLocke sees the sonar pylon fences and Widmore comes out to meet him.  They converse and we see that Widmore knows something about Jacob and the MiB.  Widmore says they don’t have Jin and unLocke leaves.  He gets back to his camp and reveals that Sayid has stayed behind to find out what was being kept secret on the submarine.

At the beach, Sun still can’t speak English.  Richard and Hurley arrive, with a plan, and announce that they’re all going to go to Hydra Island to destroy the plane.  This will keep unLocke on the Island.  Sun refuses to go, and says that she came to the Island to get Jin back, not to save the world.  She marches off and later on Jack shows up, carrying a backpack.  He gives her a notebook and asks if she can still write in English, and we see that she can.  They talk and she reveals that she didn’t go with unLocke because she didn’t trust him.  Jack asks if she trusts him and she nods yes.  He then promises her that if she’ll go to Hydra Island with them then he’ll help her find Jin and get them on the plane to get off the Island.

The episode ends with the “Package” being revealed.  Again, to no ones surprise, the package turned out to be Desmond Hume.  Widmore’s goons are dragging him off to somewhere, and while they’re pulling him from the sub, Sayid and Desmond see each other.  Desmond is drugged and confused.

Thoughts and Observations

• It seems like Jack is stepping into the role of Jacob pretty easily.  His “bedside manner” is greatly improved.  He genuinely cares about people.  He extended his hand to Sun, just like Jacob did to so many others, and she took it.
• The character of Charles Widmore is peculiar.  He tells Jin that he wants to stop unLocke from getting off the Island to protect the world.  If the MiB is freed, everyone else will cease to be.  This just seems strange, given that Widmore did send the freighter and many people died because of that.
• Mmmm.  I hope Claire kills Kate.  John Locke gave her permission to, so I’m sure there’ll be a struggle, but I really doubt the crazy lady can kill the criminal lady.
• Jin got to see his baby girl.  That was sweet.  But Sun and Jin still are separated, which is just getting old.
• Sayid telling unLocke that he couldn’t feel anything—happiness, anger, etc.—was slightly disturbing.  Is Sayid beyond redemption now?  And unLocke hinting that that was a good thing “for what’s coming.”  Sheesh.
• Next week’s “Happily Ever After” is a Desmond episode, I believe.  Should be another excellent one.

Lost Rehash S6.9: Ab Aeterno

I may be still floating on euphoria, but I thought last night’s episode was one of the best episodes since the Pilot.  Exceptional acting.  Great plot.  Beautiful scenes.  Some revelatory moments, and still more mystery.  All in all, an exceptional episode and one that I don’t think I’ll forget. There was so much happening during “Ab Aeterno” that I’m not sure where to start.  Richard Alpert has been around since Season 3, and since then he’s appeared to not age.  He’s been an advisor to the Island, to Jacob, for 137 years, and his wealth of knowledge is large, but so is his wealth of ignorance.  Jacob did not open up and reveal everything to him, but only gave him what he needed.

First, the simple, heart-moving plot of 1867.  Richard loved Isabella, and, when she got sick, he told her he would save her.  After accidentally killing the stubborn doctor, he rushed back home to find his wife dead and gone.  Richard was taken and sentenced to be hanged.  While in prison, a padre visits him and refuses to absolve him of his sins, saying he doesn’t have time to work off his penance.  He tells Richard that he is going to hell.  Before he is hanged, however, a man buys him to work as a slave and they board the Black Rock. 

On rough and choppy seas, the Black Rock is swept to the Island, where it crashes through the Statue Thing.  Richard awakens to find that he is alive, but soon the first mate comes to the slave quarters and begins stabbing men.  (At first I thought he had the “sickness,” but I guess not.)  Richard asks why and the man gives a reason, but is interrupted by a strange, clicking noise above deck.  People begin screaming and blood pours down through the cracks and ports.  The smoke monster busts through and takes the first mate, leaving Richard alive and alone.  The black smoke then studies Richard and leaves.

Richard can’t break free of his chains, despite his efforts.  His dead wife appears to him, telling him that they are in Hell and that the devil is after them.  The smoke noises appear, Isabella panics, Richard tells her to leave, she flees, she screams in terror, Richard passes out.  Later he’s awoken by the Man in Black, bearing freedom and water in exchange for some help.  He tells Richard that if he wants to see his wife again then he’ll need to kill the devil.  Stab him before he speaks.  Plunge the dagger into his heart.  Reluctantly, Richard agrees, and heads towards the Statue Foot.

He gets attacked by Jacob, who is yelling at him like he’s some sort of crazy man.  (I liked seeing Jacob like this.)  He disarms him, discovers why Richard is there, attempts to drown him to show the man that he is indeed alive, and then offers him a job.  In exchange for working for Jacob, Richard will live forever, since Jacob couldn’t bring back Isabella or forgive him of his sins.  Jacob then explains to Richard a bit of what’s going on, that the Man in Black is like the wine that’s stored in the bottle.  If it’s broken, then the wine will spread and cannot be contained.  The Island is the cork, keeping the wine in.  The newly devoted Richard goes back to the Man in Black and delivers a white rock, and the Man in Black gives Richard Isabella’s necklace, telling him that if he ever changes his mind to let him know.  Richard mourns as he buries his wife’s necklace.

Back in 2004, Richard has left the beach and heads to where he buried Isabella’s necklace.  Hurley follows and finds Richard yelling that he’s changed his mind.  Hurley says that Isabella sent him.  Richard is shocked.  Hurley then communicates to Richard for Isabella and they talk briefly.  The acting here is superb and believable.  Richard’s love was real.  Richard says that he wants to be with her again, and Isabella says that they are already together (kind of like Juliet telling Sawyer that it worked?).  Soon, she is gone, leaving Hurley one last message to deliver.  There’s something Richard has to do.  He has to stop the Man in Black or “we [will] all go to hell.”

Thoughts and Observations

• I can’t stress enough how much I liked this episode.  Nestor Carbonell’s performance was amazing.
• Did you catch that Magnus Hanso was the captain of the Black Rock?  This is Alvar Hanso’s great-grandfather, and Alvar, as we know, is the chief source of funding for DHARMA.  He was shown back in the “Orientation” film.
• Funny how the writers play with the viewers.  Richard telling Jack that they were all dead and in hell.  Those writers…
• I’m reminded of Job after this episode.  Satan wanted to tempt Job and prove that he was corruptible and fallible, that the man would curse God.  God said go on and try, just don’t kill him.  This reminds me of Jacob and the MiB’s relationship.  If the Man in Black believes that all men are corruptible and weak, then does that make him the devil?  And Jacob said he wants men to do for themselves, that he doesn’t want to step in.
• I feel like there’s a lot more to discuss from this episode, but I cannot remember it all. 
• Next week is titled “The Package.” 

Lost Rehash S6.8: Recon

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Sawyer, so last night’s episode was a bit refreshing.  Not one of my favorites, but still an okay episode.  Plenty of people being manipulated and moved around on the Great Island Chess Board.  Lots of build-up for what can only be the most hyped series ending of all time.

The Flashsideways gave us the detective James Ford.  Working with his partner, Miles, the two run a successful sting on a woman named Ava.  Later, at Ford’s desk, we see him calling a list of “Anthony Coopers,” looking for something.  Miles sets Ford up for a blind-date, and he meets Charlotte.  Later, Charlotte asks for a tee-shirt, and while she’s looking for one, she happens upon a folder marked SAWYER.  Inside is a photo and a newspaper clipping about a man who killed himself and his wife and their nine-year-old son surviving.  Ford walks in and furiously kicks Charlotte out.

The next day Ford is approached by Miles, telling him again that he can trust him.  Miles informs Ford that he knows he went to Australia and wants to know why.  Ford tells him it’s none of his business.  Miles says he’s no longer his partner.  Later on, after a bit of self-loathing and loneliness, Ford goes to Charlotte to apologize, but she shuts the door in his face. 

The Flashsideways ends with Ford telling Miles the truth about his past.  Just then, a car crashes into their car and they pursue the runner.  The fleeing person runs from the vehicle but Ford catches her, realizing that it’s the same woman (Kate) he helped evade detection while in LAX.

On the Island, only a few things happen.  Sawyer tells Jin that they wouldn’t leave the Island without Sun.  Kate sees the “Squirrel Baby” and Claire tells her that that’s she has.  People ask what happened to those left back at the Temple, and unLocke says that the Black Smoke killed them.  unLocke reveals to Sawyer that he’s the smoke monster, telling him it’s either kill or be killed.  unLocke asks Sawyer to go to Hydra Island and do some recon, to investigate the Ajira Flight 316 plane and return with info.  Kate asks Sayid if he’s okay, the haunted looking Sayid says no and looks empty.  Claire suddenly attacks Kate and Sayid acts like he doesn’t care.  unLocke pulls the crazy lady off Kate, telling her that he’ll deal with her in a minute.

Back on Hydra Island, a woman named Zoe tries to con Sawyer, but he sees through it and is taken to her boss, who turns out to be (to no-ones surprise) Charles Widmore.  Sawyer and Widmore make a deal about the fate of unLocke.  On the main Island, unLocke tells Kate about his crazy mother experience.  He then goes on to say that Aaron has a crazy mother, too.  Afterwards, Claire apologizes and hugs Kate and Kate says it’s okay.  Sawyer returns, tells unLocke exactly what he told Widmore, and unLocke says he appreciates Sawyer’s loyalty.  In the end, Kate and Sawyer are talking and Sawyer confides that he’s going to let unLocke and Widmore duke it out, and while their hands are full, they’re taking the sub and getting off the Island.

Thoughts and Observations

• I’m really, really excited about next week’s episode, “Ab Aeterno.”  (This is Latin, meaning something like “For a very long time” or something.)  I’ve been waiting for the Richard episode for a while now, and it’s going to be great.
• I liked seeing Charlies brother, Liam, in the police station.  Hopefully we get to see more Charlie, but probably not.
• I wonder what was locked up inside the submarine room?  Anything special, or just something that adds mystery?
• Was unLocke’s crazy mother actually referring to John Locke’s weird mom, or did the Man in Black have a crazy mother, too?  Is this show just about daddy issues and crazy mothers?
• Maybe I haven’t thought this through, but the time-travelling Island disappearing thing and Widmore’s roles are confusing a bit.  Widmore was banished/exiled from the Island sometime in the early 1990s.  He was the leader of the Others for many years before this, possibly even in 1977, when things went a little crazy on the Island.  If the Incident split things into two timelines, are there now two Widmores, one intent on returning to the Island and getting revenge, and another in the Flashsideways?  Am I not thinking right on this?
• I still hope to see Desmond coming into play again.

Lost Rehash S6.7: Dr. Linus

I knew last night’s episode would be phenomenal.  Anytime we get to see Michael Emerson (Ben Linus) act, the episode always soars.  I was nearly brought to tears by Ben’s heartfelt confession to Ilana, and this scene was one of the finest in Lost’s 110 episode run so far.  As a double bonus, the other POV characters—Jack, Hurley, and Richard—took a trip to a familiar Island location and revealed a few answers.

First, the Flashsideways.  It was refreshing to see Dr. Linus again as a high school European history teacher.  He’s quick to point out that he’s “Dr. Linus,” which implies that he’s not completely satisfied with his job.  Of course, this is further proven when his ambitions for the principal’s position are revealed.  After a revealing meeting with Alex Rousseau, Ben learns that Principal Reynolds was engaged in some inappropriate behavior in the nurse’s room with the nurse.  Ben attempts to blackmail the principal, but, in true Lost fashion, is faced with a choice.  Principal Reynolds says that he has a letter of recommendation to write for Alex, and if Ben usurps his spot, then the letter will “burn” Rousseau’s shot of getting into  Yale.  Again, while this time on a different timeline, Ben finds himself in the position to save or not-save Alex.  Thankfully, on the Flashsideways timeline, Ben chose Alex’s future over his own, proving that Ben has a caring heart.

On the Island, Miles reveals to Ilana and the gang that Jacob was murdered by Ben.  (I wonder if Miles’ experience with Jacob’s ashes was any different than any other person he’s communed with?)  Ilana is furious and it’s obvious her love for Jacob was intense.  The group arrives back at the beach and soon Ilana has Ben bound and digging his own grave.  Later, when Miles brings Ben some food, the two talk about Jacob’s final moments.  Ben says Jacob didn’t care about dying.  Miles responds that yes, he did care, and up until the knife went through his heart he hoped he was wrong about Ben.  Miles leaves and Ben is dumbfounded.

Much later the Smoke Monster appears.  unLocke tells Ben that he doesn’t want him to die and that in fact he wants him to rule the Island when he’s gone.  He frees Ben and tells him to come to the Hydra Station if he wants to join them.  He also tells Ben that there’s a rifle in the jungle and that he can reach it and get the drop on Ilana.  Ben runs for the rifle, getting it in time to indeed get the drop on Ilana.  A vast range of emotions flash across Ben’s face and he says he wants to explain himself.  He tells Ilana how he watched his only daughter die in front of him, all for the Island.  He tells her of the choice he had, to save Alex or save the Island, and he chose the Island, all in the name of Jacob.  He tells her how everything he’s done has been for the Island and “he [Jacob] didn’t even care.”  He apologizes for killing Jacob, but cannot forgive himself, and does not expect her to, either.

Ben is as broken as everyone else on the Island.  He grew up unloved and loathed by his father.  He’s never belonged, and his sense of power has always been the only thing he’s had.  He tells Ilana that he’s going to Locke and she asks why.  With despair, Ben answers “Because he is the only one who will have me.”  It’s here we see the depth of Ben’s anguish.  He just wants to be loved and accepted.  Ilana tells him that she’ll have him, something Ben was not expecting, as evidenced by his expression.  He follows her back to the beach.

Meanwhile, Jack and Hurley meet Richard in the jungle, who instructs them to follow him.  Hurley, always the voice of the fan’s questions, asks how Richard looks the same as he did 30 years ago.  Richard says it’s not easy to explain, but says that Jacob gave him a gift when he touched him.  They arrive at the Black Rock and Richard looks at some chains, hinting to what unLocke said in the season premier.  Richard wants to die but is unable to kill himself and that he wants Jack or Hurley to do it for him.  Jack agrees, lights some dynamite, and sits down next to Richard, eager to talk as the fuse burns down.

Richard tells how he’s devoted his life to serving Jacob, that everything was happening for a reason and that reason would be explained when the time was right.  Now, with Jacob dead, Richard feels that his life has been pointless and longs to die.  Jack literally bets his life that if Jacob has gone through all the trouble of watching him and bringing him to the Island then he would not die sitting there with Richard.  The fuse peters out in the last inch or so.  Richard asks Jack what to do and he says they’re going back to where they started.

Soon, the beach party meets the trio and there’s a small reunion of sorts.  The  beautiful background music of Lost plays as Hurley and Sun rush towards each other with open arms.  The camera pans out and we see Ben standing away from the party, resembling an outcast longing to be invited in.  Jack looks over at him.  The camera pans out farther and we see a periscope breaking the water, looking at the beach.  Below, in a submarine, is Charles Widmore, who has finally found the Island he’s been looking for.  An officer asks if they should stop for the people on the beach and Widmore says “No, proceed as planned.”

Thoughts and Observations

• Jack has clearly accepted his role of being a man of faith.  Quite the contrast from Season 1, I say.
• Is Widmore heading to the Hydra station?  If so, is it intentional?  Does he know unLocke is there?  Has unLocke provided the way for Widmore to return, in exchange for his submarine and means of escape from the Island?
• Seeing Dr. Arzt again was funny.  I still laugh thinking about him exploding all over the place…
• It was also nice to see Ben’s dad, Roger, again.  In this timeline he mentions working for Dharma and wondering how things would have turned out if they would have stayed.  What happened?  Why’d they leave?
• Ben has been one of my favorite characters since he was introduced.  I’ve liked that his faith in the Island has been strong and unwavering and that everything he’s done has been for the Island.  It’s great to finally see this side of Ben.
• Is Jacob’s touch on Ben working on him somehow?  After Ben stabbed Jacob and Jacob reached out and touched him, what affect has that had?
• Now that we’ve seen Widmore again, will Penny and Desmond make an appearance in the near future?  I sure hope so.
• Knowing that the writers have fun with anagrams, like the Hoffs/Drawler funeral parlor being rearranged to “Flash Forward,” Principal Donald Lawrence Reynolds can be rearranged to “A cloned world nearly ends.”  Coincidence?  This is Lost, after all.

Lost Rehash S6.5: Lighthouse

I loved this episode.  Like Hugo hinted at, it reminded me of times past, of the fun adventures of Season 1.  Jack and Hurley’s Island trekking was intriguing and humorous, Jin and Claire’s misadventure was mystery filled and unsettling, and Jack’s Flashsideways was rather interesting.

First, the Flashsideways.  As Jack gets home from work, he notices a scar from an appendectomy, which puzzles him.  A phone call from his mom later and it’s confirmed that Jack had his appendix taken out when he was young, though Jack doesn’t seem to remember this.  (If you recall, Jack had his appendix removed by Juliet and Kate in the Season 4 episode “Something Nice Back Home.”) 

Furthermore, in this Flashsideways we discover that Jack has an estranged son, David.  Their relationship is suffering.  Jack later learns that David is an excellent piano player and that the boy didn’t want his father to see him fail.  Jack tells his son that he can never fail in his eyes.  The boy warms up to his father and they return to Jack’s apartment for pizza.

I enjoyed the Flashsideways quite a bit.  The appendix scar poses possibilities that the sunken Island and other timeline are having reaching affects on this timeline.  It also had me wondering if Christian Shephard was a drunken alcoholic in this reality.  And who is David’s mother?

The Island was, of course, more interesting.  Hurley was visited by Jacob, instructing  him to get Jack and go to the lighthouse.  Along the way, the two stop by the caves (from Season 1) and Hurley muses on the bodies of “Adam and Eve.”  The two discuss why they returned to the Island, where Jack answers a truthful, soul-bearing answer that he was “broken” and that he was stupid enough to think the Island could fix him.  Soon they reach the lighthouse.

Inside, there’s a giant compass-wheel and mirror/looking glass.  Hurley says they need to turn the wheel to a heading of 108, which corresponds to the name WALLACE.  We see that each degree corresponds to a name, which are the same as the ones scribbled on the cave from last week’s episode.  As 23-SHEPHARD is passed, Jack sees a reflection of his house in the mirror.  He suddenly grows angry and hot-headed and demands to see Jacob, and, when he doesn’t appear, he shatters the mirror and leaves.

Hurley is upset that he failed at his mission and Jacob reappears.  He apologizes, though Jacob doesn’t seem too bothered.  He realizes that Jacob’s true goal was to get Jack ready to see something, to “look out at the ocean for a little while,” and to be prepared to do his job.  Jacob also tells Hurley that he had to get them away from the Temple, because something bad is coming.

Finally, there’s Jin and Claire.  Their scenes were intense.  Claire definitely has lost her marbles.  She’s been bent on recovering Aaron and thinks the Temple folk have him.  She doesn’t seem to realize that it’s been three years.  Jin asks if she’s been alone and she says no, she’s been with her “friend.”  Claire captures and interrogates a Temple dweller—Justin—commanding him to give her back her son.  Jin says that Kate took him, which shocks Claire, and then in a fit of anger, she buries her axe into Justin’s gut.  Later Jin tells Claire that he lied about Kate, that he was trying to save Justin’s life, which Claire is relieved to hear, because otherwise she’d’ve had to killed Kate, too.  unLocke walks in and Jin rhetorically says “Locke?”  Claire laughs, saying that’s not Locke, that’s “my friend.”

Thoughts and Opinions

• In “Something Nice Back Home,” Jack is reading to Aaron Alice in Wonderland in the Flashforward.
• Seeing Dogen in the other timeline was interesting.  What in the world is he doing?
• I’m wondering if the cave was actually the Man in Black’s cave and he was trying to copy and steal things from Jacob.
• What are the implications from the Island’s timeline to the other timeline?  If an Island character dies, will the correlating character die, too?
• Even in death, Jacob has confidence.
• Next week, “Sundown.”  Will Sun finally be shot down?  I hope not, but she sure does get on my nerves sometimes, acting all snobby and biggy-big.

Lost Rehash S6.4: The Substitute

Last week’s lackluster episode “What Kate Does” looks even shabbier when compared with last night’s “The Substitute.”  Of course, any episode featuring John Locke—and in this case, un-John Locke, too—then the episode’s bound to be great.  Terry O’Quinn is a superb actor, and his portrayals of both a despairing John Locke and an angry, mysterious Smoke Monster Man thing are top notch.

First, the Flashsideways.  I’m struggling to hang on to the importance of the  Flashsideways.  I understand that the Losties all had miserable lives.  The only compelling thing about this reality is the subtle differences from Season 1.  Perhaps this is all just showing how life would be without the Island, but for now it’s failing to keep me excited.

I did like seeing John Locke with Helen again, and I was glad for their love.  The meeting between Hugo and Locke in the parking lot was endearing and funny.  Meeting Rose was nice, but not spectacular.  The best meeting by far was the substitute teacher meeting Benjamin Linus, the history teacher.  Juxtaposing that scene with the other timeline, with the fact that Linus killed Locke (and attempted to as well), was great.

Now, on to the meatier and more interesting aspects of “The Substitute.”  Seeing through the eyes of the Smoke Monster was cool and unexpected.  When unLocke cut down Richard from the tree, and after he refused to travel with him, I fully expected unLocke to kill the man.  I suppose he would have, had he not seen the Boy With Bloody Hands.  (This scene was beautifully shot.  The surrounding greenery of the Island, the concentrated light on the boy, the pale colors and the stark, red blood.  Great shot.)  Their talk of candidacy put more questions in our heads, and soon unLocke was with Sawyer, convincing him to travel with him.  Having nothing to lose, James agrees.

They both met the Boy Who Had Bloody Hands and Sawyer asked who that was.  Surprised that he could see him, unLocke chases him down and is reminded about the “rules” and that he can’t kill him.  Like the real John Locke, he responds with a defiant “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!”  (This makes me wonder how much humanity and control the Man in Black has in this body, or does the deceased John Locke still possess some strength, too?)

After a few more interesting things (Sawyer being warned by Richard to flee from unLocke, the Of Mice and Men scene, unLocke saying how he is “trapped,” and a dangerous descent down a cliff-side), the duo arrives in a cave.  unLocke removes the white stone from the scale, giving the black side complete domination, and tosses it into the ocean.  Then he shows Sawyer why he, and all the other Losties, are on the Island.

The Numbers show up next to a list of scribbled names.  Most are crossed out.  Six are not.  4-LOCKE, 8-REYES, 15-FORD, 16-JARRAH, 23-SHEPHARD, 42-KWON.  Locke simply says Jacob had a thing for numbers, and that all of these names are candidates, candidates for Jacob’s job, to protect the Island.  He gives Sawyer three choices,

1.  Do nothing and see how it all plays out.
2.  Take up Jacob’s job and protect the Island “from nothing.”
3.  Get off the Island, but they do it together.

Of course, heart-broken and angry, twisted and misinformed, Sawyer chooses the third option.  Surely this is what the MiB wanted all along.

The other POV party—Ben, Sun, Ilana, and Frank—all decide to head to the Temple, but first they choose (at Sun’s behest) to bury John’s body.  We’re taken back to the cemetery and Locke is laid to rest.  Ben gives a truthful and touching eulogy, commenting on Locke’s faith and lamenting the fact that he murdered him.

Thoughts and Opinions

• The candidates were the most interesting thing from this episode.  What does it really mean?  Surely MiB is lying about things, but what?  Are the Numbers really unimportant and random or are they purposeful?
• I’m guessing the Boy With Bloody Hands was a young Jacob?  Could Richard not see him because he denied unLocke, but Sawyer could because he accepted him?
• Kate’s name was not listed as a candidate.  Yay!  But we knew from early on that she was not “on the list.”
• In the Flashsideways, Helen says something about Locke and his father at the wedding.  In this timeline, are Locke and the Man from Tallahassee on good terms?  If so, then does that imply that “Sawyer” never existed and never wronged James Ford’s family?
• Next week’s episode, “Lighthouse,” looks awesome, too. 

Lost Rehash S6.3: What Kate Does

(Sorry for the short post today, folks.  I'm not feeling too well, but I still wanted to try and put something up.  By all means, let the comments pour in like they did last week.)

I don't know about you all, but I didn't think this episode was as spectacular as last weeks.  Perhaps this was from my dislike of Kate, although I admit she's growing (ever so slightly) on me.  But the most interesting thing about the episode was definitely the Sickness that seems to have infected Claire (surprise!) and Sayid.  The mechanics of the disease aren't well known, but apparently it makes a person mentally unstable or dangerous or some other internal change.  The official Lost podcast says that the Sickness makes people go crazy.

Personally, I think this is an interesting twist in the story.  What has happened to Claire?  She reminded me of Rousseau, all wild-eyed and crazy-haired.  She looked like she meant business.  And it's clear from the beginning of the show that the writers knew where they were going with the disease.  Perhaps there was truth in the Dharma Initiative giving shots to their new recruits.  Maybe the pregnancy problem is related to the disease.  Did the crew of the Kahana, especially Keamy, show affects of the disease?  How many people have been "claimed?"  Was John Locke taken early in the show when he was dragged into a hole by Smokie?

I know this opens a whole list of questions, but it also provides plenty of insight, too.  When rewatching the entire series I think it'll be evident to see where the Sickness has came into play with certain characters.

Thoughts and Opinions

• For the Flash-Sideways, I liked seeing Ethan again.  For some reason he reminds me of Nathan Filion.  I thought the Kate-Claire relationship worked well, and they now have a connection made off the Island.
• How fitting that the Iraqi torturer got tortured.
• I missed seeing Ben, Richard, and the fake John Locke.
• Sawyer's loss was well done.  His deep sense of guilt and sadness was portrayed perfectly by Josh Halloway, and I really enjoyed the scene on the pier.

Next week's episode looks much better, and while I didn't think "What Kate Does" was amazing, it was somewhat revealing, and I look forward to seeing how the Sickness plays out.

LOST Rehash S6.1&2: LA X

A few things before this series starts. 

1. These posts will all contain spoilers to the previously aired episodes.
2. If you’d like to comment (and I sincerely hope you will, or discussion with myself may get old) or share something, please do so here on my blog, as opposed to the Facebook share.  Just click here to go to the blog.
3. Everything is conjecture and up for play.
4. THESE POSTS WILL ALL CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope we get some good discussion.

Like many folks, I’ve been waiting for several months to the premier of the final season, wondering where the show was going to go.  Back at the end of Season 3, when the first Flashforward (FF) occurred, I postulated that perhaps the show would converge to the present for the final season.  It made sense.  Flashbacks (FB) leading up to a present point in time, Flashforwards showing where things would go and slowly making their way backwards to a present point in time, would eventually meet.  That meeting, along with the Season 5 time travel mechanism, created an alternate reality, or a Flashsideways (FS).  I didn’t suspect an alternate reality, I don’t think, but I like the idea.

Recap

“LA X” begins with the FS, with Jack Shephard sitting on Oceanic 815, brooding over the death of his father or daydreaming.  For the most part, all the other Losties are there, too, heading from Sydney to LA.  The plane arrives with a few minor incidents: Charlie gets arrested after Jack saves his life from swallowing a bag full of heroin, Hurley talks about his good luck at winning the lottery and Sawyer eyes him as a target, John Locke sits in his wheel-chair and dreams of what could’ve been, and Kate is in handcuffs.  By the end of the FS, Kate has escaped from the Marshal, Jack’s father’s coffin has vanished, and Jack and John Locke have formed the start of a relationship.

On the island things are a bit more chaotic.  After the hydrogen bomb exploded the Losties time traveled back to the present.  Sayid is bleeding to death and needs help.  The ghost of Jacob appears and tells Hurley that the only way to help him is to take him to the Temple.  At the Swan station site, Juliet is pinned under the rubble and crying for help.  Eventually Sawyer makes his way to free her and she dies (heartbreakingly) in his arms.  Miles gets the cryptic message from her: “It worked.”  The Losties all make it to the Temple, where Sayid is put in the bubbling, healing waters.  The Temple folk tell them that there are consequences and risks to the procedure, but they do it anyway.  Sayid dies and everyone despairs, unsure what to do.  They learn that Jacob is dead, at which point a flare is sent off and dust is sprinkled around the perimeter.

Back at the Statue, Jacob’s counterpart (whom I like to call Esau, or the Man in Black), sends Ben to get Richard Alpert.  Ben is shown John Locke’s dead body and he realizes that he’s been duped into killing Jacob.  Jacob’s protectors rush into the statue and attack Not-John Locke, who turns into the smoke monster and kills them all.  Not-John Locke walks out onto the beach, confronts Richard, and knocks him unconscious.  He tells everyone that he’s very disappointed in them all and says he’s going home.

Thoughts and Opinions

• 
  
  I thoroughly enjoyed this episode.  Alternate reality is a staple in comic books, so I’m fine with the possibilities.  I’m eager to see how the Losties pitiful lives off the island will play out.  Likely they’ll lead to despair and hopelessness?  But the question is which reality is the real reality?
• 
  
  I’ve always liked John Locke.  His faith was a staple to the show.  Hearing Esau talk of how sad and confused he was, as Ben strangled him, was touching.  But what could Locke’s special role be with the Island?  Jacob traveled and touched him, so he has to have a purpose.
• 
  
  The vast amount of Egyptian culture at the Temple (and on the rest of the Island) was pretty cool.  Even the music playing sounded fitting.
• 
  
  I’m guessing when Young Ben was shot (by Sayid) and taken to the Others and Richard said that they could heal him, but there’d be consequences, that he’d never be the same, that they submerged him in the healing waters?  What were the consequences?  And what happened to Sayid?  Did you notice his voice at the end?
• 
  
  I liked Charlie saying “I was supposed to die.”  It was good to see him again.
• 
  
  Ben is still one of my favorite characters.  He obviously felt remorse for killing Jacob (or confusion at the least), wondering why the man didn’t fight back.  Hopefully redemption comes for the wayward man.
• 
  
  Esau being the smoke monster was a cool idea.  It’s interesting to think back on the interactions from Smokie and everyone.  It killed Eko, the French science team, and many others.
• 
  
  The next episode is called “What Kate Does.”

Thanks for reading, everybody.  Let’s hear what I forgot or what you liked/disliked.

A Daily Dose of Aimlessness; A Taste of Things to Come

First—the taste!  Oh sweet, sweet taste, like a warm and gooey Pop-Tart® on an oatmeal-less morning.  Like Sarah McLachlan fumbling towards ecstasy, only to find that it’s not really Sarah McLachlan or ecstasy, but the Great Somnambulist eating a warm and gooey Pop-Tart®.  Finally the long wait draws near an end.  Soon, oh so soon, does it begin anew, afresh, again.  I’m talking about Lost’s final season, folks, and I think it’s obvious I’m excited.

Here on Rememorandom I’ll likely be postulating my theories on each episode.  For those of you that read my blog and don’t like Lost, you’ll likely not read these posts, and that’s fine by me.  I’d rather you not than have the greatest show on television ruined for you.  For those of you that watch Lost religiously, like I do—where you demand absolute silence, high-definition, crisp audio, a bag of popcorn, a comfy seat, a beautiful spouse, and a wonderful puppy—then I hope you find it in your heart to postulate with me.

That’s the beauty of Lost.  The fandom is huge.  The enthusiasm of the fans is overwhelming.  The creativity of the fans is inspiring and wonderful.  Check out The Lost Underground Art Show if you want to see some awesome fan art, which was commissioned by Lost’s producers.

Hoist up the John B. Sail!  (Is that an acceptable transitional phrase?)  I went to the gas station yesterday and bought a pop.  The lady in front of me bought a lottery ticket.  She won $500.  The cashier gave her 25 $20 bills.  The winner, an elderly lady, didn’t look very excited.  If I’d’ve been her, I probably would’ve been jumping around the gas station like an excited bunny rabbit, glad to be emancipated from the vile clutches of the Evil Cage.  But she didn’t seem like she cared.  I cared.

Hoist up the John B. Sail!  (Uh?)  I got my guitar fixed.  For free.  I took it to a different shop and the guy looked at it, fiddled with it, turned some knobs, plugged it up, and it worked.  He said dust was likely the culprit.  And to think, the local guy wanted to charge me $50 just for looking at it.  Sheesh.

Hoist up the John B. Sail!  (I still don’t know if that’s an ok transy phrase.)  My love affair with parentheses (totally the coolest of all punctuation marks) will never end.  (Why should it?  Supplemental, useless information is always welcome here.)

Hoist up the John B. Sail!  (I don’t care.  It’s a great transition.)  I did something last weekend that I haven’t done since The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which was 2006.  I reserved a video game.  Final Fantasy XIII.  The game looks beautiful.  And it’s enormous.  And it’s Final Fantasy.  I bought XII but I’ve never had time to sit down and play it.  One day, hopefully.  Anyway, I’m looking forward to playing the game.

Hoist up the John B. Sail!  Jai guru deva om.  Nothing’s gonna change my world.  I finished Firefly last night.  So sad.  I know I’ve already said it, but I can’t see why the show was canned (other than Fox’s horrible choices of airing episodes out of order, among other things).  Each character was memorable and intriguing.  There was humor.  There was camaraderie.  There was a vast universe to explore and a load of story to uncover, but it all vanished.  There’s nothing to do about it now except watch Serenity and hope it wraps up some of the loose ends.

Hoist up the John B. Sail!  I took the test to get on Jeopardy last night.  I made homemade shrimp scampi, which wasn’t the best ever, but definitely not the worst, either.

Hoist up the John B. Sail!  Goodbye JD Salinger.  Thanks for making a great and inspiring novel.  Catcher didn’t have a huge impact on me, like it did so many others, but it did help some world-view thoughts start a-churning in the head.  And reading it as a teenager was perfect.

Hoist up the John B. Sail!

Lost Recap

This season of Lost has been very exciting for me. I've watched the show since it started, and I've loved it ever since. Sure the series has had its poor episodes, but there have been far more interesting and great episodes than otherwise.

Season 5 started out pretty rough, but it has consistently been very entertaining. With the survivors finally back on the Island, albeit in 1977, things are getting very interesting. We finally see some of the history of the Island being explained, especially between the Hostiles and the Dharma folk. The mystery of the Island is still very much alive, constantly growing.

The last episode, "Whatever Happened, Happened," was one of my favorites of this season. Although it was a Kate-centric episode, and I'm not a fan of Kate, everything that was going on On Island was pure entertainment. The flashbacks served to provide some insight to Kate's On Island actions, which currently is to save Young Benjamin Linus from a gunshot wound. Ben was dying, and Juliet requested for Jack to help her, but Jack's pride prohibited him from helping. As such, Jack's inaction led Kate to taking Ben to the Hostiles for help. While there, Richard Alpert warned Kate (and Sawyer) that by helping Ben he would be forever changed. He would lose his innocence. Kate and Sawyer agreed, and Ben was carried off into the Temple by Alpert.

The next scene was beautiful. The Old Ben wakes up from his injuries and comes face to face with John Locke, the very man Ben murdered. Locke says, in his kindly voice, "Hello Ben. Welcome back to the land of the living." The episode ends, and we are given a preview to next week's episode, which looks like it may be one of the greatest of the shows history.

Lost is such a great show for many different reasons. I love the allusions to pop culture, to literary classics, to philosophers, to mythology, and to religion. The mystery of the Island perpetuates the shows success, but also the mystery of the characters. Each person has their own story and their own mistakes, and the Island forces the person to make choices. Have faith and change, or stick with logic and remain unchanged. These ideas, while not original, are still fun and entertaining.

For an excellent blog to read on Lost, which is updated weekly, check out this site. These guys blog about all different sorts of things on television, but I particularly like what is said about Lost every week. For a wiki site of Lost, which I find myself referencing quite often, I recommend checking out this site.

As I've said, I am really enjoying this season of Lost. It's not as intriguing as the first season, but it still is top quality television, unlike Heroes, which seems to be taking a turn for the worse.

LOST S5 E1 & E2 Reflection

For those of you that don't know, I am a huge LOST fan. For those of you that don't know, LOST is a television show that comes on ABC about a group of plane crash survivors and their quest on a mysterious island. For those of you that don't know, a television, or tv, is a gateway into another world...

Anyway, I am a huge fan of LOST. I've watched it since it premiered a few years ago with Season 1. The island has waged so many mysteries that my mind cannot remember them all. The character relationships with each other, in the past and present and future, are intriguing. The definition of good and evil and faith and science are all very questionable, and ofttimes it's hard to know how to describe accurately any character. You may think they are acting one way, when their intent is something completely different.

<{<{WARNING: BELOW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE EPISODES THEN I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND READING.}>}>

But this post isn't a post about why I like LOST. This post is a reflection of last nights episodes, "Because You Left" and "The Lie." The post-island Oceanic 6 have all slid into depression/madness/paranoia, and they all are acting differently than they were when on the island. Ben is wanting to collect them all, including a dead Jeremy Bentham, and to try and return to the island. The folks that remained on the island are now going through a space/time warp, traveling both frontwards and backwards through time. Daniel Faraday emerges as a leader (which I approve of) and attempts to explain this to the viewer. A good summary of the episodes is this: things get crazier and crazier on and off the island.

I enjoyed the episodes mainly because I've been dying to watch LOST since Season 4 ended last Spring. The story is still intriguing me, though I feel that its complexity may be losing viewers. People sometimes want a normal story. LOST is far from normal, as its creators tell the stories from many different and unique perspectives. I think Season 5 looks promising, but probably won't be as good as the earlier seasons. But my hopes are high and my expectations realistic, so I think I should be fine.

Heroes

Several people have recommended to me the ABC show Heroes. Finally, I decided to try it out. I rented the first 3 discs of Season One, spanning episodes 1-10, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the show thus far. I've always loved comics and such, and this show's character's are completely likable. Anyway, I just thought that I'd throw a quick "thanks" to everybody that recommended the show (Bill, Brian, etc.) and let you know that I am very glad to be watching it finally. Have a cold night, folks.

Post Script: By the way, if you look at the word for very long, it's one of those words that start to look funny and made-up. You know, like, roads. The more you look, the more you're convinced that it's misspelled.