This is one of those flashbacks that I'm sure many fans saw as "more filler." Instead I was struck with how they managed to seamlessly blend biblical references (Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac), literary references (Catch-22) and comic book references (Superman vs Flash) into a rumination on faith and love.
The show's unique internal logic made Desmond's catch-22 possible:
*On any other show, Desmond's choice should've been really simple: he'd save Charlie just as he's saved him several times before.
*BUT... LOST's internal logic means that Desmond's unique archetype ("the coward"), his power to see the future, his basic goodness needing to save Charlie and his love of Penny all clashed together making that decision anything but simple. It's bizarre if you think about it: he believed the love of his life would be delivered to him if he led Charlie to his death. Delivered by whom? God? The Island? And where does this surety come from? "Flashes" before his eyes? On paper that's a recipe for some maddeningly bad writing, but somehow it all clicked and clicked wonderfully. It's as good as magical realism can get on TV without getting too esoteric.
It also leads to one of the more bizarre questions in the show's history: Was it originally Penny in the flight suit -- and if so, did Desmond change that by saving Charlie?
And just who is this new woman? According to the latest podcast she spoke Portuguese, the same language the two arctic station dwellers spoke at the end of Season 2. Has Penny hired an entire crew of Portuguese to find Desmond?
*Just how awesome were the two major teases of the show? First, by bringing up the story of Abraham and Isaac, we're led to think Desmond's going to sacrifice Charlie, his love for Penny overruling all. Eh-eh. Turns out he's still too good even under these circumstances to let that happen... (Makes you wonder what he would do if he weren't caught in such a catch-22.) Does that make Desmond a current for not going through with the sacrifice? Or does it prove Desmond anything but a coward because he was so willing to go against his flashes and write a new destiny for himself (and Charlie).
Also, by dragging out Sonja Wagner's appearance as much as possible, we were left thinking that, yeah, her first appearance might very well be in the flight suit. Showing up at the end of the flashback instead of in the Island story suddenly gave the flashback potent meaning -- it was the story of their first meeting, set-up by his random meeting of the monk on the street. Notice, too, that the picture on the head monk's desk includes Mrs. Hawking, the woman who "course corrected" Desmond in "Flashes Before Your Eyes." The monk and Hawking have thus been instrumental in guiding Desmond toward Penny and then away from her -- a path that led relentlessly to the Island, the Button and saving the world. To Desmond that path is confused, nonsensical. But taken as a whole it makes perfect sense.
*Brian Vaughan was most definitely in the house. It's hard to place but the pacing, the cute dialogue and some random character moments were definitely BKV touches. The Superman/Flash references were possibly a nod toward his comics background though some on the Fuselage have speculated that Flash's ability to vibrate may somehow tie into what the Island is. Is it any coincidence that the comic book from Season 1 also included The Flash?
NEXT: The Jin and Sun-centric "D.O.C" (for "Date of Conception")
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
3x15, "Left Behind" & 3x16, "One of Us"
I'm gonna bang these out for reasons I'll get to in a bit. Unfortunately I'm a bit too hazy on "Left Behind" to give a full accounting of it, but I'll do my best.
3x15, Left Behind
While officially this was a Kate episode, it was really all about Sawyer: on the Beach, Hurley conned him into softening up, while in the flashback we saw one woman he already left behind and another he would eventually leave behind come together.
The connection among the three is deceptively rich. Ignore the linear order of events and look toward the meaning the future can give the past. In a roundabout way, Kate not getting over her mother issue redeemed Sawyer's leaving Cassidy. Not able to get the apology she needed from her mother, Kate told Cassidy she'd never forgive her for turning her in. That gave Cassidy solace that even if Sawyer would never forgive her she could still live with it, the way Kate's mother does. But by doing so, Cassidy placed Sawyer in the position he would eventually use to win the reward he would leave for her child. So while in Island time, Kate and Sawyer were on the outs, she unknowingly ended up helping him in the past. It's one of the finest examples of a "LOST Connection" -- one that has more to do with the meaning of live together, die alone than any conspiracy theory.
*The Monster: Have we finally seen how the monster can be beat? Might someone activate the sonic fence just as the Monster crosses it, disrupting it into pieces? Notice also three separate strands of smoke came together to form Smokey this time around, further backing up the theory that the Cerberus mentioned on the Blast Door Map is indeed the name of the Monster since in Greek mythology Cerberus has three heads.
And I'm finally all caught up....
3x16, One of Us
*I usually hate the episodes dedicated toward giving answers, but this one was great:
-How do they know so much about the Losties?
They watch TV (and probably use The Google.)
-How did Juliet or anyone for that matter get to the Island?
The sub.
-Why do they kidnap the children?
They can't have any of their own.
-Why did they kidnap Claire?
To continue Juliet's experiments.
-Is Juliet a spy for The Others?
Yes... but she probably has her own agenda and will end up betraying both Ben and Jack to get off the Island.
*The story itself was also pretty straight-forward but elevated by Michael Emmerson and Elizabeth Mitchell's superb acting -- restrained when it needed to be, just about to boil when it was appropriate. I really hope Mitchell's character doesn't die anytime soon.
We got to see the tipping point in Ben and Juliet's relationship when she finally had enough of him after he tantalized her with footage of her sister and nephew, only to take it away and force her to continue the experiments. A great moment, just like the three minutes Michael has with Walt, that communicates exactly what's at stake for Juliet -- and prepares us that she'll do anything to get it.
*"I'm not a liar!" Ah, so we've finally found Ben's weakness: call him a liar and he'll do everything he can to prove you wrong. I wonder if his "archetype" is the liar and he'll only resolve his own issues once he truly realizes what a monster he is.
Next week: I HAVE NO IDEA! (I'm on a spoiler fast.) I'll be out of the country starting Friday night and not coming back till the following Saturday morning so I will be totally missing out on next week's episode. Brian K. Vaugahn's is either the next one or the one after that. Go Team Comix!
3x15, Left Behind
While officially this was a Kate episode, it was really all about Sawyer: on the Beach, Hurley conned him into softening up, while in the flashback we saw one woman he already left behind and another he would eventually leave behind come together.
The connection among the three is deceptively rich. Ignore the linear order of events and look toward the meaning the future can give the past. In a roundabout way, Kate not getting over her mother issue redeemed Sawyer's leaving Cassidy. Not able to get the apology she needed from her mother, Kate told Cassidy she'd never forgive her for turning her in. That gave Cassidy solace that even if Sawyer would never forgive her she could still live with it, the way Kate's mother does. But by doing so, Cassidy placed Sawyer in the position he would eventually use to win the reward he would leave for her child. So while in Island time, Kate and Sawyer were on the outs, she unknowingly ended up helping him in the past. It's one of the finest examples of a "LOST Connection" -- one that has more to do with the meaning of live together, die alone than any conspiracy theory.
*The Monster: Have we finally seen how the monster can be beat? Might someone activate the sonic fence just as the Monster crosses it, disrupting it into pieces? Notice also three separate strands of smoke came together to form Smokey this time around, further backing up the theory that the Cerberus mentioned on the Blast Door Map is indeed the name of the Monster since in Greek mythology Cerberus has three heads.
And I'm finally all caught up....
3x16, One of Us
*I usually hate the episodes dedicated toward giving answers, but this one was great:
-How do they know so much about the Losties?
They watch TV (and probably use The Google.)
-How did Juliet or anyone for that matter get to the Island?
The sub.
-Why do they kidnap the children?
They can't have any of their own.
-Why did they kidnap Claire?
To continue Juliet's experiments.
-Is Juliet a spy for The Others?
Yes... but she probably has her own agenda and will end up betraying both Ben and Jack to get off the Island.
*The story itself was also pretty straight-forward but elevated by Michael Emmerson and Elizabeth Mitchell's superb acting -- restrained when it needed to be, just about to boil when it was appropriate. I really hope Mitchell's character doesn't die anytime soon.
We got to see the tipping point in Ben and Juliet's relationship when she finally had enough of him after he tantalized her with footage of her sister and nephew, only to take it away and force her to continue the experiments. A great moment, just like the three minutes Michael has with Walt, that communicates exactly what's at stake for Juliet -- and prepares us that she'll do anything to get it.
*"I'm not a liar!" Ah, so we've finally found Ben's weakness: call him a liar and he'll do everything he can to prove you wrong. I wonder if his "archetype" is the liar and he'll only resolve his own issues once he truly realizes what a monster he is.
Next week: I HAVE NO IDEA! (I'm on a spoiler fast.) I'll be out of the country starting Friday night and not coming back till the following Saturday morning so I will be totally missing out on next week's episode. Brian K. Vaugahn's is either the next one or the one after that. Go Team Comix!
Monday, April 9, 2007
3x14, "Exposé"
OK... I reacted too harshly to "Exposé" the first time around. After watching it again, I realized what I'd missed. The first time I was mostly disappointed because Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse had led me to believe Nikki and Paulo's awkward insertion into the storyline would lead to something important. They even used "iconic" to describe how we would view the pair afterwards.
Well, I think their deaths were certainly iconic, as I will never be able to forget that.
But was it worth it solely for an ending -- albeit a spectacular one -- to just one episode? Damon and Carlton had been saying they wanted to do a "redshirts" story, showing what the other background characters were up to while the leads went off on their wacky adventures. Supposedly, they thought an episode about random characters we'd never met before would be too jarring so we needed to be introduced to them somehow. I disagree with that. If this had been our first real introduction to Nikki and Paolo, the episode may have actually worked better within the context of the show.
It's the running gag in all genre shows that redshirts are disposable and always manage to get themselves killed. This episode definitely played into that. But really, by bringing them forward from the background, Damon and Carlton made them more than redshirts, only to dispose of them as if they still were just that. For whatever reason, Dr. Artz's sudden appearance and death made more sense -- probably because he actually contribued something useful to the overall story, while Nikki and Paolo at first appeared to be there as just set dressing. Introducing them so awkwardly though made Nikki and Paolo seem like intruders. Lindelof said as much in a short post-mortem interview with TV Guide, saying he realized fans perceived the two as "crashing the party."
Maybe the best redshirts episode I've ever seen was, appropriately enough, one on Star Trek: Next Gen. It ignored all the other stars and just focussed on five lower tier officers. We'd never met them before but each was a subordinate of one of the leads. It showed all facets of how these background characters lived, better still it compared their lives to the more exciting ones of their superiors. They were less important, knew it and struggled with it and against it. One of them died when she was given the opportunity to actually do something meaningful. That ending was inevitable, but somehow made every redshirt death on the show a little more poignant.
I didn't really get that so much in "Exposé". Instead a lot of their crossover appearances in the show's past seemed forced and contrived. Meanwhile, I was waiting for appearances that would have made more sense and shed some light on things still in the dark -- like how Scott (or Steve) died.
But by itself Exposé was quite a piece of work, which is why it should've been treated like a stand alone episode, with little build-up.
It's no coincidence the diamonds were hidden within a matryoshka doll. "Exposé" was a show, within a show, within a show. It deftly mocked network TV's over abundance of crime procedurals (CSI: The Island!) by turning LOST into one. A few posters at The Fuselage even made comparisons to Hitchcock. While I think that's going too far, Exposé definitely headed in that direction with its pulpy tone and film noir inspired structure. And, bless 'em, they followed that forumla all the way to its logical conclusion with a macabre ending perfectly suited to such an episode. If LOST really is a stew of all genres of storytelling, this will go down as one of the prime examples of it.
This was all set-up beautifully by the opening segment, establishing Exposé as a show mocking Baywatch (or maybe Baywatch Nights). So even for those who'd never seen anything like it, they now had a baseline to come at the rest of the episode.
*Now, there's a couple really interesting Exposé related nuggets to keep in mind for the future:
-Locke was actually watching Exposé in "The Man from Tallahassee"
-Hurley's comment about waiting four seasons to find out who The Cobra is could be a hint we'll have to wait till Season 4 to find out who Him/Jacob is or was.
-And keep in mind that The Cobra was apparently one of the lead good guys of Exposé... could the real "Cobra" be hiding in the midst of the Losties on the beach?
*One last thing that Dean pointed out: it's again no conincidence they replayed Jack's pivotal "Live Together, Die Alone" speech. Nikki and Paolo behavior contradicted that entirely from the very moment they crashed: Nikki wanted the diamonds, Paolo wanted Nikki and each cared for little else. Paolo could've saved a lot of people by sharing what he overheard about Ben's plan.
The "Box" that gives you everything you want continues to work in mysterious ways. While the Losties will never know, Nikki and Paolo both ironically got what they most wanted: Paolo will never be separated from Nikki, while she will never be parted from the diamonds.
Well, I think their deaths were certainly iconic, as I will never be able to forget that.
But was it worth it solely for an ending -- albeit a spectacular one -- to just one episode? Damon and Carlton had been saying they wanted to do a "redshirts" story, showing what the other background characters were up to while the leads went off on their wacky adventures. Supposedly, they thought an episode about random characters we'd never met before would be too jarring so we needed to be introduced to them somehow. I disagree with that. If this had been our first real introduction to Nikki and Paolo, the episode may have actually worked better within the context of the show.
It's the running gag in all genre shows that redshirts are disposable and always manage to get themselves killed. This episode definitely played into that. But really, by bringing them forward from the background, Damon and Carlton made them more than redshirts, only to dispose of them as if they still were just that. For whatever reason, Dr. Artz's sudden appearance and death made more sense -- probably because he actually contribued something useful to the overall story, while Nikki and Paolo at first appeared to be there as just set dressing. Introducing them so awkwardly though made Nikki and Paolo seem like intruders. Lindelof said as much in a short post-mortem interview with TV Guide, saying he realized fans perceived the two as "crashing the party."
Maybe the best redshirts episode I've ever seen was, appropriately enough, one on Star Trek: Next Gen. It ignored all the other stars and just focussed on five lower tier officers. We'd never met them before but each was a subordinate of one of the leads. It showed all facets of how these background characters lived, better still it compared their lives to the more exciting ones of their superiors. They were less important, knew it and struggled with it and against it. One of them died when she was given the opportunity to actually do something meaningful. That ending was inevitable, but somehow made every redshirt death on the show a little more poignant.
I didn't really get that so much in "Exposé". Instead a lot of their crossover appearances in the show's past seemed forced and contrived. Meanwhile, I was waiting for appearances that would have made more sense and shed some light on things still in the dark -- like how Scott (or Steve) died.
But by itself Exposé was quite a piece of work, which is why it should've been treated like a stand alone episode, with little build-up.
It's no coincidence the diamonds were hidden within a matryoshka doll. "Exposé" was a show, within a show, within a show. It deftly mocked network TV's over abundance of crime procedurals (CSI: The Island!) by turning LOST into one. A few posters at The Fuselage even made comparisons to Hitchcock. While I think that's going too far, Exposé definitely headed in that direction with its pulpy tone and film noir inspired structure. And, bless 'em, they followed that forumla all the way to its logical conclusion with a macabre ending perfectly suited to such an episode. If LOST really is a stew of all genres of storytelling, this will go down as one of the prime examples of it.
This was all set-up beautifully by the opening segment, establishing Exposé as a show mocking Baywatch (or maybe Baywatch Nights). So even for those who'd never seen anything like it, they now had a baseline to come at the rest of the episode.
*Now, there's a couple really interesting Exposé related nuggets to keep in mind for the future:
-Locke was actually watching Exposé in "The Man from Tallahassee"
-Hurley's comment about waiting four seasons to find out who The Cobra is could be a hint we'll have to wait till Season 4 to find out who Him/Jacob is or was.
-And keep in mind that The Cobra was apparently one of the lead good guys of Exposé... could the real "Cobra" be hiding in the midst of the Losties on the beach?
*One last thing that Dean pointed out: it's again no conincidence they replayed Jack's pivotal "Live Together, Die Alone" speech. Nikki and Paolo behavior contradicted that entirely from the very moment they crashed: Nikki wanted the diamonds, Paolo wanted Nikki and each cared for little else. Paolo could've saved a lot of people by sharing what he overheard about Ben's plan.
The "Box" that gives you everything you want continues to work in mysterious ways. While the Losties will never know, Nikki and Paolo both ironically got what they most wanted: Paolo will never be separated from Nikki, while she will never be parted from the diamonds.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
3x13, "The Man from Tallahasee"
Had to rewatch the episode to jog my memory... glad I did as it's one of the most rewarding ones of the entire series. The talk around the office the day after its airing was it's potential place among the Top 5 all time. I'm not going to go that far, but I think a strong case is being made that Locke episodes are generally the best "centrics".
This was a perfect example why: Locke's character arc has itself been the arc of the series. He served as the gateway into the spiritual side of the Island in Season 1, giving the show's mysteries added philosophical weight -- serving as LOST's anchor and assuring us that, yes, it all means something.
Locke's struggles with himself over the Button in Season 2, reflected the audience's own doubt that the series was going anywhere and if any of it would prove worth the effort. But in that moment when Locke confesses to Eko that he was "wrong" -- all doubt is shed and the Man of Faith is reborn, stronger than ever.
It all pays off this episode as Locke reanchors the series' spirtual roots, pointing out the hypocrisy of retaining the amenities of modern living while trying to enjoy the benefits of the Island. Clearly, this is not what It wants. And if there was any doubt, as Locke and finally Ben point out, all you had to do was see who was in the wheelchair -- and who wasn't.
*I have never hated a fictional character more than I hate Anthony Cooper. OK... that may be an exaggeration. But over the two and half seasons I've had to put up with the guy he only seems to get worse and worse. If he was just a con man, like Sawyer, I could maybe find something in him not to hate. But this episode he proved himself more -- he's a craven. Wild guess of where this is going: Locke resolves his father issue as the Island's reward for putting up with The Button, and he paves the way for the same happenning to Jack and everyone else in Season 4.
*The Box: as I'd complained about in an earlier post, the most intense discussion about this eppy at the Fuselage centered on whether Ben's "box" was real, metphorical or something else. Carlton put that to rest in the most recent podcast (dated 3/30) saying it was metaphorical. But what exactly is the metaphor then? Is it for the Island? Is the secret of the Island and thus the show as simple as it gives you what you most want? That obviously can't be true as no one on the Island gets everything that they want. Instead, as the Stones would say it, "You get whacha need."
*On Jack Bender: other than JJ, Bender is the show's best director. The script's subtle complexities were brought out, the acting was pitch-perfect and the shots complimented the story. A key moment was the dueling POV shots of Locke being placed in the wheelchair: you could just see a million emotions play out on Terry O'Quinn's face as he was brought to it, seemingly as if he were about to be thrown into a bottomless pit. It was ultimate despair, the moment he thought he'd lost himself for good, contrasting so starkly with his finding himself on The Island.
This was a perfect example why: Locke's character arc has itself been the arc of the series. He served as the gateway into the spiritual side of the Island in Season 1, giving the show's mysteries added philosophical weight -- serving as LOST's anchor and assuring us that, yes, it all means something.
Locke's struggles with himself over the Button in Season 2, reflected the audience's own doubt that the series was going anywhere and if any of it would prove worth the effort. But in that moment when Locke confesses to Eko that he was "wrong" -- all doubt is shed and the Man of Faith is reborn, stronger than ever.
It all pays off this episode as Locke reanchors the series' spirtual roots, pointing out the hypocrisy of retaining the amenities of modern living while trying to enjoy the benefits of the Island. Clearly, this is not what It wants. And if there was any doubt, as Locke and finally Ben point out, all you had to do was see who was in the wheelchair -- and who wasn't.
*I have never hated a fictional character more than I hate Anthony Cooper. OK... that may be an exaggeration. But over the two and half seasons I've had to put up with the guy he only seems to get worse and worse. If he was just a con man, like Sawyer, I could maybe find something in him not to hate. But this episode he proved himself more -- he's a craven. Wild guess of where this is going: Locke resolves his father issue as the Island's reward for putting up with The Button, and he paves the way for the same happenning to Jack and everyone else in Season 4.
*The Box: as I'd complained about in an earlier post, the most intense discussion about this eppy at the Fuselage centered on whether Ben's "box" was real, metphorical or something else. Carlton put that to rest in the most recent podcast (dated 3/30) saying it was metaphorical. But what exactly is the metaphor then? Is it for the Island? Is the secret of the Island and thus the show as simple as it gives you what you most want? That obviously can't be true as no one on the Island gets everything that they want. Instead, as the Stones would say it, "You get whacha need."
*On Jack Bender: other than JJ, Bender is the show's best director. The script's subtle complexities were brought out, the acting was pitch-perfect and the shots complimented the story. A key moment was the dueling POV shots of Locke being placed in the wheelchair: you could just see a million emotions play out on Terry O'Quinn's face as he was brought to it, seemingly as if he were about to be thrown into a bottomless pit. It was ultimate despair, the moment he thought he'd lost himself for good, contrasting so starkly with his finding himself on The Island.
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