TV Series: Lost

[Aazealh]

I just turned the TV off, halfway through the episode, because

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Sun just hit her head on a tree and forgot how to speak English.

Fuck this show. Seriously.

Yeah that was awful.

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Locke running after her like he'd been tranquilized was the all time low for me though. I like Jin though so the fast-forward parallel universe stuff was tolerable despite the cheese, and well I AM excited that Desmond is back, though definitely not because of how it was treated in the show.

It was a very boring episode. I've never seen such a highly anticipated season have so much filler. This could very well be the most disappointing planned finale of all time. The side flashes were a terrible idea. A pox on the writers I say. I'm sticking it out to the end, but ugh.

Yeah it's too late for us now. Eluvei, just leave us behind and save yourself while you still can. Don't repeat our mistakes.

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And flying off the island is the only way he can escape? How does that make sense? He's had multiple boats to ride on... I just... /sigh.

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Yeah, none of it makes any sense unless Evil Dude really just plans to kill them all, like he told Jacob. It's what I've been expecting him to do but honestly at this point it's hard to tell what bad idea they'll come up with next.

It goes beyond this episode, considering what they set out to do with the remainder of the series, this season has been an unmitigated disaster even the most pessimistic of Lost fans didn't see coming. It started out slow, and if anything, has seemingly regressed since The Temple. Since then, we've just been watching them go in circles in the jungle, and it makes it sad what they've done to characters like Locke, Sayid, and Claire because the payoffs haven't justified it in any way. It's basically been the worst of Lost all rolled into one season, I feel like they could have done almost anything else and it would have been better. They haven't even done a decent job on the criteria of just making another entertaining season, let alone a satisfying finale. Basically, this would be the lamest season of Lost under any circumstances.

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Sayid may not feel any emotions anymore but his lines sure elicit DISMAY and BOREDOM in me.

And yeah, I don't think this episode in particular was exceptionally bad. Half of it sucked like half of the previous one and of the one before, etc. It's just a continuous spiral of disappointment that will not end.

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"War just got here." Oh fuck me, reaaaally? Widmore the Moriarty wannabe is now the chosen one, savior of mankind? Fuck that. And super evil smokey can't do shit either, great. Maybe they should just confine him between four tightly placed pillars and leave him there then. Oh and are there sonic pillars around the submarine too? Because I didn't see any. Why didn't he fuck the sub up and destroy whatever was there?

Lastly, going back to the Temple people, good job of introducing yet more characters no one cares about and who served little to no purpose only to kill them soon after, just like for the science team fiasco. At this point the remaining episodes might as well all focus on Jacob's girlfriend whose name I can't even remember.

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P.S. When Jack started talking about how he'd seen a case of aphasia like Sun's once, it was so blatantly expository even the actor seemed embarrassed.

 

[CowTip]

At least it would have been more entertaining if everyone in the temple had been wearing red shirts in the short time we knew them.

 

[Th3Branded0ne]

The only thing about the episode I liked,

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was when Desmond hit Widmore in the head.

 

[Walter]

Please don't forget to tag your post with spoiler tags on new episodes.

 

[CowTip]

I more or less liked this episode.

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Side flash that actually perhaps meant something and Desmond is probably my favorite character on the show. I'm glad to see him even if his role is limited at this point. Still don't see why we need to know the lives of all these people in the AU. Heck Charlie even said that everything that's happening in the AU isn't the truth so....

Also, ganked from another page, check out the painting in this picture: http://i40.tinypic.com/2hek4lt.jpg

lol

 

[Aazealh]

I more or less liked this episode.

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Side flash that actually perhaps meant something and Desmond is probably my favorite character on the show. I'm glad to see him even if his role is limited at this point. Still don't see why we need to know the lives of all these people in the AU. Heck Charlie even said that everything that's happening in the AU isn't the truth so....

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Where to start. At the beginning, classic case of a dude venturing in harm's way and some other guy accidentally killing him by restoring power right then without asking for confirmation, and then having the response time of a 150 year old man. Then Desmond as he's being zapped actually walks in the middle of the beam instead of hugging the walls like anyone would do. Couldn't they make an effort for stuff like that? Bugged me out. Also the music in this episode was pretty bad. When Desmond and Widmore meet and we're supposed to be amazed that they're super buddies there's this epic build-up that just sounds ridiculous.

And way to overplay Desmond's unexplained survival of the hatch incident. I guess it's just one of his natural powers now, along with precognition. Same goes for Mrs. Widmore, I take it we're just supposed to accept that she has special powers for the sake of the story.

Anyway, like you said we now have the confirmation that the alternate universe is pure fucking filler. Maybe it's the world according to the Man in Black? A world without love?! They all got what they wanted, but are denied love. Would make sense if not for Jin and Sun's episode.

Also, ganked from another page, check out the painting in this picture: http://i40.tinypic.com/2hek4lt.jpg

lol

SO DEEP.

 

[Olivier_Hague]

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Anyway, like you said we now have the confirmation that the alternate universe is pure fucking filler. Maybe it's the world according to the Man in Black? A world without love?! They all got what they wanted, but are denied love.

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Nah, I think they're going to end the series in that alternate timeline sans "crazy island stuff". They realized there was no way they could end the "crazy island stuff" in a satisfying manner, so they're placing all their bets on the characters and the viewers' attachment to them (hence the transparent "it never was about the crazy island stuff, but really about the characters all along!" damage control they've been spewing for a few months). New timeline -> new virignity for all those characters that have been ruined (or even killed) by the silly plot (not that the new timeline stuff is that much better). Plus! they get to give the characters some dramatic/tragic death scenes in the island reality without it mattering one bit in the end! It's a win/win situation! And a terrible TV series.

Since the writers aren't exactly subtle or clever guys, they decided the newborn characters needed a little help in getting their "loved ones from a previous life" back. Hence Desmond and his newfound mission (why he thought of checking the other passengers of that one plane is up to anyone's guess though). It's all for LOVE!
And of course, if you don't find LOVE awesome, that must mean you're a NAZI or something, and your opinion of the series is INVALID.

 

[Griffith]

Wow, this show really does bring everyone back from the past, good to hear from you, Olivier.

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Anyway, I'm in the camp that thinks they're going to rectify the timelines somehow (it already seems under way with Desmond wanting to contact the others), and judging by what they were saying last night, the one off island isn't the important one... LOVE is!

 

[Aazealh]

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Nah, I think they're going to end the series in that alternate timeline sans "crazy island stuff". They realized there was no way they could end the "crazy island stuff" in a satisfying manner, so they're placing all their bets on the characters and the viewers' attachment to them (hence the transparent "it never was about the crazy island stuff, but really about the characters all along!" damage control they've been spewing for a few months). New timeline -> new virignity for all those characters that have been ruined (or even killed) by the silly plot (not that the new timeline stuff is that much better). Plus! they get to give the characters some dramatic/tragic death scenes in the island reality without it mattering one bit in the end! It's a win/win situation! And a terrible TV series.

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Hahaha yeah that was also my first guess a few pages ago, but this new episode is just... perplexing. I mean the writers were rather heavy-handed with Charlie & Eloise's THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE tirades. "Not yet, you're not ready!"

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Since the writers aren't exactly subtle or clever guys, they decided the newborn characters needed a little help in getting their "loved ones from a previous life" back. Hence Desmond and his newfound mission (why he thought of checking the other passengers of that one plane is up to anyone's guess though). It's all for LOVE!
And of course, if you don't find LOVE awesome, that must mean you're a NAZI or something, and your opinion of the series is INVALID.

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Gah. As for the manifest, well I guess he's going to help them find love too! His newfound vocation as a matchmarker.

P.S. The finale should be a Kate episode. That would only be fitting.

 

[Olivier_Hague]

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Hahaha yeah that was also my first guess a few pages ago, but this new episode is just... perplexing. I mean the writers were rather heavy-handed with Charlie & Eloise's THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE tirades. "Not yet, you're not ready!"

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Meh, that's just her being her usual utterly-unexplained-Timelord. Same thing for Desmond: he's special! Why? Because he is!

And "you're not ready" is just one of the usual "not yet" lines those writers just love...
Remember Richard's "test" of young Locke? "Nah, you're not ready yet!" In the end, they "explained" that Locke should have picked the magical compass ("yay! an ontological paradox! aren't we clever?!" no, you're not, 'cause you also have Richard mention how the compass got "a little rusty", which is a big no-no for Novikov and his self-consistency principle! not that you'd care, hacks!)... but that doesn't really explain much of anything, right? What was up with that test? It doesn't make a lick of sense.

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As for the manifest, well I guess he's going to help them find love too! His newfound vocation as a matchmarker.

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'Sure looks like it, yeah, but why them? Sure, Charlie was on the plane, but Eloise, Daniel and Penny weren't. How did Desmond figure the plane was "the key to it all"? That's quite the leap of logic.

 

[Aazealh]

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Meh, that's just her being her usual utterly-unexplained-Timelord. Same thing for Desmond: he's special! Why? Because he is!

Not as special as

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WAAAAAALT!

And "you're not ready" is just one of the usual "not yet" lines those writers just love...
Remember Richard's "test" of young Locke? "Nah, you're not ready yet!" In the end, they "explained" that Locke should have picked the magical compass ("yay! an ontological paradox! aren't we clever?!" no, you're not, 'cause you also have Richard mentioning how the compass got "a little rusty", which is a big no-no for Novikov and his self-consistency principle! not that you'd care, hacks!)... but that doesn't really explain much of anything, right? What was up with that test? It doesn't make a lick of sense.

Remember back when if Aaron was raised by someone other than Claire it'd be the apocalypse? Yeah. Reminds me that they stopped trying to make sense of their subplot with pregnant women on the island a while back. No one noticed because no one ever gave a shit but the thing's ridiculous. Women could give birth, then couldn't, then could again (Claire). And yet Juliet's character essentially served no purpose. Ah well, the list is long, better not get carried away.

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'Sure looks like it, yeah, but why them? Sure, Charlie was on the plane, but Eloise, Daniel and Penny weren't. How did Desmond figure the plane was "the key to it all"? That's quite the leap of logic.

Indeed, it makes no sense. When was the last time this stopped the writers though?

 

[Griffith]

Indeed, it makes no sense. When was the last time this stopped the writers though?

It certainly didn't stop

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Sayid

from letting

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Zoe

go for no reason other than the writer's convenience,

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just like Desmond stumbling around that shack like a drunk instead of hugging the walls and the even more ridiculous "botched test" that you pointed out.

Sadly, these are things we've just come to expect, like

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Desmond

at the end there, "Okay, I'll follow you wherever."

 

[Aazealh]

It certainly didn't stop

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Sayid

from letting

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Zoe

go for no reason other than the writer's convenience,

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just like Desmond stumbling around that shack like a drunk instead of hugging the walls and the even more ridiculous "botched test" that you pointed out.

Sadly, these are things we've just come to expect, like

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Desmond

at the end there, "Okay, I'll just follow you wherever."

Or Jin being alive somehow when the scene of the ship exploding left no doubt that he couldn't have escaped. I think we could spend all night compiling these. Good point about Sayid anyway, I was dismayed at how transparent it all was. Kill a couple nameless guys to look cool/badass/evil, but let the woman (who's actually important to Widmore) go for no reason.

 

[Walter]

Oh, great. So I stop watching Lost, and suddenly Olivier starts talking about Lost. Damn this show!

 

[Johnstantine]

Is it just me or does Penny have an elongated philtrum?

There's an old wives tale that, at the moment of birth, an angel presses its finger on the spot. Well, if that's the case, then that must have been some fat-ass angel.

 

[Aazealh]

Is it just me or does Penny have an elongated philtrum?

Can't say, but her crossed eye has often been a distraction when watching her scenes.

 

[CowTip]

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Pointless lady blows up. Why was she ever put into this show again? The downward trend of this season continues

 

[Walter]

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I already forgot her name

 

[Th3Branded0ne]

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Her name is Ilana, and I only remember because Ben mentioned her as they were walking towards the ship. Damon showing up everywhere, I thought he was going to give the love speech "Charlie"gave to him to Hugo.

 

[Griffith]

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Pointless lady blows up. Why was she ever put into this show again? The downward trend of this season continues

I don't mind such things when it's an improvement, like Nikki and Paulo or whatever their names were; that's why pencils have erasers. Anyway, I actually enjoyed this one despite the usual bullshit because it and the preview (which hilariously used Gene Wilder's insane rant from the boat ride in Willy Wonka) feeds directly into my dual Locke, or Locke duel, theory.

 

[Raffiki]

You're not the only one to think of this theory.

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Producers said that Locke was not dead in a way (on the island), inducing a schizo-duel. I just hope that we'll not see him punch himself in the face or stuff like that. Then we have Desmond "The Matchmaker" Hume (dumbest idea ever) that acts like a messiah who wakes everybody up (in the alt reality) with the power of Love. Because, hey!, it's the only thing that matters in the end, Love ! Love that isn't on the Island anymore, but grows more and more in the alt reality. "Why aren't you afraid ?" said MIB to Desmond. Well it's simple he knows that even if he dies on the Island (Gates of Hell), he'll be alive in the alt reality (Heaven). I wouldn't be surprised by a massive amount of deaths in the next episodes to prove this stupid manicheist plot.

I invite you to watch the brand new HBO shit : "Treme" by the creators of "the Wire"

 

[Aazealh]

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Pointless lady blows up. Why was she ever put into this show again? The downward trend of this season continues

My thoughts exactly. "AT LAST," and then "man what a waste of time."

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Speaking of which, why bring back Michael? Libby I can understand, and I saw it coming a mile away, but Michael? I guffawed when he showed up. The actor didn't look too happy to be there either. Anyway, I felt that the reveal of the whispers being "trapped spirits" was weak. Makes sense, and again who didn't see it coming, but to just drop it there like that... But I shouldn't complain, at least they didn't just forget about it.

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Damon showing up everywhere, I thought he was going to give the love speech "Charlie"gave to him to Hugo.

If you mean Desmond, then that's pretty much what he did.

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It's just like I said last week, he's now the official Lost matchmaker. By the way, that shot of him pushing his glasses on his nose as he watches Hugo kiss Libby from his car was probably the corniest shot in the whole show so far. Straight out of the Love Boat. I guess there's a little variation to his role when it comes to Locke though (and Sun & Jin as well I imagine). So it's not so much them lacking love, but lacking what they truly desire/need (for Locke: to walk again).

Anyway, I actually enjoyed this one despite the usual bullshit because it and the preview (which hilariously used Gene Wilder's insane rant from the boat ride in Willy Wonka) feeds directly into my dual Locke, or Locke duel, theory.

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Does Zombie Sayid mechanically asking Locke where he's going with Desmond like a jealous girlfriend feed into it too? Oh and how did you like Locke's outrage that Desmond wasn't afraid of him? What a badass... not.

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Producers said that Locke was not dead in a way (on the island), inducing a schizo-duel. I just hope that we'll not see him punch himself in the face or stuff like that. Then we have Desmond "The Matchmaker" Hume (dumbest idea ever) that acts like a messiah who wakes everybody up (in the alt reality) with the power of Love. Because, hey!, it's the only thing that matters in the end, Love ! Love that isn't on the Island anymore, but grows more and more in the alt reality.

Calling it now, the show will end just like Evangelion, with Locke on a white background being cheered on by all his friends. I can't wait!

 

[Raffiki]

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Anyway, I felt that the reveal of the whispers being "trapped spirits" was weak. Makes sense, and again who didn't see it coming, but to just drop it there like that... But I shouldn't complain, at least they didn't just forget about it.

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How is it that, everybody hear the whispers, but only Hugo can see the spirit of Michael ? That's ok for the spirits of Jacob and Richard's wife ( because we didn't hear whispers at that time). And then we have Ben saying "everytime you hear whispers, make sure that you run the other way". Do whispers and Others are bounded ? Did Ben know what it was ? For me, nothing has been explained. At the end of the show, their will be too much unanswered questions. That pisses me off.

 

[Olivier_Hague]

This show is just too awesome for words.
Wait, no. Not really. I guess I'll just translate my notes...

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So... Ilana.
The writers did such a good job of turning that character into a joke that I can't even think of a way to make fun of the recent "development".
So she knew Jacob who-knows-how, ended up in that Russian hospital who-knows-how, got entrusted with the protection of the candidates who-knows-why (in the end, all she did was open some secret door in the temple... it was totally worth "training your whole life" who-knows-how for that shit, really), pretended she was a bounty hunter who-knows-why...
Answers? What answers? She's dead, now. But hey: at least, we know why!
(because Richard, the guy who can't kill himself, didn't think of carrying the dynamite for her)

Speaking of answers: the whispers.
So they're actually ghosts who are "stuck on the island because of what they did".
Sure, that explains it all. 'Totally fits with all the instances we heard them. 'Doesn't sound like some cheap answer that came to one writer a couple of months ago while he was on the john. 'Course not.

Ah-ha! Libby shows up in the "flash-sideways"! 'Sounds like the perfect chance to explain why she was in that mental health institute!
Which is probably why the writers completely failed to seize it.
How hard would it have been to come up with something and imply that was also the reason she was there in the original timeline? Too hard, apparently.

Besides, they didn't have enough air time for that shit. They needed that "shall we blow stuff up or what?" plot.
No, I mean, it was absolutely crucial: Smocke can't leave the island (Richard (who "knows what to do" according to Ilana according to Jacob) is nice enough to let us know that it would mean the end of everything! the plot thickens at an alarming speed!). So they have to blow the plane up.
You know, that one big-ass commercial flight. The one that crashed on a tiny island. The one at the end of a tiny makeshift runway. With a tree in the cockpit. The one that couldn't possibly fly again anyway. Yes, that one.

Things are complicated for Smocke's people as well: they need to leave together. Or else it wouldn't work. 'Need some proof? Why, when they came back, they had to come back together, right? That's all the evidence you need, right there! Sure, that's just what they had been told back then (without any kind of explanation either), and it's not like it kept Widmore from showing up in that sub, or even Jack and the others from leaving in the first place without Sawyer, Locke or Jin...
Ah, well. Let's say Locke is BSing and simply trying to get all the remaining candidates in one place to kill them all (somewhat indirectly, I guess, 'cause, y'know: "the rules"). Still, could the good guys be any more gullible? And again, sure, who wouldn't believe that plane could fly again? 'Doesn't seem far-fetched at all.

So Smocke and Desmond have a nice little chat. We had just been told that Ilana probably died because "the island was done with her", so it's nice to be reminded that Desmond was probably back because "the island wasn't done with him". I guess one could say that you could very easily replace "the island" with "the writers" in those sentences and expose just how poor and transparent the writing of this show is, but that wouldn't be nice, now, would it?
And yeah, we still don't know why Widmore brought Desmond back. It looked like Desmond knew... but then again, maybe not ('wouldn't exactly be the first time the show implied a character knew a lot before revealing that the guy was actually utterly clueless... 'can't be helped, if the writers themselves are...).
And now, it might be hard to get some answers from him, considering he just fell down a "veeery old" (hur hur) well. Such a mysterious, old well. Good thing Smocke is there to tell us that it was built sometime after the invention of the compass, but before that of the shovel. That certainly narrows it down.

As for the rest, it sure seems to fit with what one could have guessed since the beginning of the season (that is to say: alternate reality = convenient happy ending for the show): Desmond isn't afraid, because he's seen "the next world". Hugo gets his happy ending with Libby. And he can thank Desmond the Super Dimensional Matchmaker (and slightly creepy stalker, but it's all in the Name of Love) for it.
On the other hand, we still don't quite know what created this new reality, as the show keeps contradicting itself at every turn... Was it the bomb? Juliet and Daniel sure seemed to say so, but 1) that would be one big fat paradox (if the plane didn't crash, who traveled back in time to set up the bomb?), and 2) Chang (the gratuitous cameo of the week, who sure aged well... you can't tell it's been 27 years) doesn't seem to be missing an arm. Ah, well.

Cliffhanger: Hugo leads his flock to Smocke!
Of course, he doesn't know what the hell he's doing and sure wished Jacob could help him out, but hey! Jack trusts him, so it's probably OK.
Say, Hugo. Remember when Jacob told you he wanted Jack and you to leave so you wouldn't be there when Smocke attacked the temple? Yeah, I didn't think so. Then again, maybe the writers don't remember that one either, so it might still turn out just fine.

Alt. cliffhanger: hit and run!
Was Desmond still pissed off about the well incident?
Was he actually playing the island destiny the writers' game by sending Locke to be healed by Super Jack's magical fingers so he could stand on both his legs at his wedding (besides, is there a better way to remind a cripple he could walk than to run him over with your car? I sure can't think of one!)?
All of the above?
I can't wait to find out.

 

[Aazealh]

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How is it that, everybody hear the whispers, but only Hugo can see the spirit of Michael ? That's ok for the spirits of Jacob and Richard's wife ( because we didn't hear whispers at that time). And then we have Ben saying "everytime you hear whispers, make sure that you run the other way". Do whispers and Others are bounded ? Did Ben know what it was ? For me, nothing has been explained. At the end of the show, their will be too much unanswered questions. That pisses me off.

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Originally the whispers were supposed to be the Others themselves if my memory serves me well. It's what Rousseau said way back then. Then it changed and changed again and so on. Delving into Hurley's ghost-seeing powers isn't even worth it to me because of how inconsistent and opportunistic it has been since the very beginning. It's essentially a free pass for the writers to make anything happen. "How can we split the group? A ghost tells Hurley. How can they find Locke? A ghost tells Hurley. How can Richard be convinced to stay? A ghost tells Hurley." Same lazy trick they've been using for years, but these days they're milking it on Hurley.

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So... Ilana.
The writers did such a good job of turning that character into a joke that I can't even think of a way to make fun of the recent "development".

To be honest, she and her crew of losers were kind of a joke to begin with. Served no purpose other than to be a mysterious new group of people with some secret knowledge.

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So they're actually ghosts who are "stuck on the island because of what they did".
Sure, that explains it all. 'Totally fits with all the instances we heard them. 'Doesn't sound like some cheap answer that came to one writer a couple of months ago while he was on the john. 'Course not.

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Yeah, especially since Michael was supposed to have redeemed himself on the ship. Guess not after all.

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You know, that one big-ass commercial flight. The one that crashed on a tiny island. The one at the end of a tiny makeshift runway. With a tree in the cockpit. The one that couldn't possibly fly again anyway. Yes, that one.

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Hahaha yeah, you'd think by now they would have realized it's not an experimental VTOL aircraft. It's not hard to tell what will happen when they finally blow it up either: a great reveal that Locke didn't really need it afterall! It was OK as long as it could have just been a trick from him to lure them all to their death, but now...

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And he can thank Desmond the Super Dimensional Matchmaker (and slightly creepy stalker, but it's all in the Name of Love) for it.

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I have to say though, I did enjoy Ben knocking on his window and asking him why he spent hours looking at the kids.

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Cliffhanger: Hugo leads his flock to Smocke!
Of course, he doesn't know what the hell he's doing and sure wished Jacob could help him out, but hey! Jack trusts him, so it's probably OK.
Say, Hugo. Remember when Jacob told you he wanted Jack and you to leave so you wouldn't be there when Smocke attacked the temple? Yeah, I didn't think so. Then again, maybe the writers don't remember that one either, so it might still turn out just fine.

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Now wait a second there, Smokey gave Hurley his word AND his knife, so surely everything's going to be alright!

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Was he actually playing the island destiny the writers' game by sending Locke to be healed by Super Jack's magical fingers so he could stand on both his legs at his wedding (besides, is there a better way to remind a cripple he could walk than to run him over with your car? I sure can't think of one!)?

Most definitely this. =)