That said, I thought this was a terrific episode. Maybe the beginning moved a little slowly, but the emotional payoffs regarding both Jin and Sun at the end of the episode were absolutely worth it. That and a Widmore-Smocke showdown, the return of Desmond, a glimpse of Season 1 Jack, and someone getting shot in the eye? Terrific stuff. Let's dive right in.
Jin and Sun. Some will say that it is simplistic and lazy of me to conjoin two different people just because they are a couple. To them, I would point to my "Molecular Chemistry Theory of Coupledom"(Patent Pending). While I have been long overdue to describe it in this blog, it basically states that, when a couple reaches a certain point, they become inseparable and unbreakable, so they should be treated as one, as in JinandSun. In other words, they are lost to us forever.
Let's deal with the Sideways world first. The biggest shocker of the night was seeing what happened when the customs agents caught you with a huge thing of cash money that you did not declare. The minute I saw that, I immediately yelled, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY CONFISCATE IT. That ain't right. But it's good to know. ... I have no further comment.
Jin and Sun finally arrived at their hotel. And my first thought was, Jin. Dude. Really? You didn't pull the "They only have one room and, guess what, it only has one bed" move on Sun? Really? All you have to do is slip the front desk guy a ten and he'll totally back you up. And then somehow wine appears in the room and all you have to do is, "Oops, my shirt fell off" and presto. Morning smiles for everybody.
Speaking of shirts falling off, that cameraman sure got his money's worth, didn't he? I ain't seen a camera linger on a pair of boobs for so long since the days when Pamela Anderson had a sitcom. For a second I thought I had accidentally switched over to Cinemax.
Oh, and Jin? High five.
Perhaps the best part of the episode was Keamy -- back in total psycho mode -- go into Sun's room, survey the rumpled sheets, see two wine glasses on separate nightstands, put two and two together, and get the most obvious, "Oh shit, someone got bi-zay!" look on his face. Priceless stuff.
And off goes Sun with Pre-Patchy to the bank -- where daddy found out the hot gossip and canceled her credit cards -- and off goes Jin to the meat locker with Keamy. Did anyone else notice that, after Keamy was done wiping off Jin's cut forehead, he took the bloody rag and put it on top of the falafel? What is this, a Taco Bell?
And then the Sideways World turned dark. Really dark. Unprecedented dark. I mean, being locked in a meat locker ain't exactly rainbows and giggles, but two OH GOD things happened. One was pretty cool -- look, Ma, they shot out the guy's eye! Gnarly.
The other? Oof. Sun gets shot and it turns out she's pregnant? Again, oof. Most sideways characters have gotten relatively happy endings, Sawyer got a status quo ending (until he meets Juliet, which will be the happiest ending of all) and only Sayid went down a darker path -- although things kind of worked out for him in the end. But in this one? Sun is pregnant and she gets shot in the abdomen? Ice cold, writers. Ice cold.
Over on the Island, we get major developments. Again Smokey shows up and tempts one of the (possible) candidates with an offer they just can't refuse. Sun, what if I told you I had a bag full of Jin? Is that be something you would be interested in?
Surprisingly, the answer was no. Sun hasn't seen her husband in three years and agreed to crash-land on an Island so she could find him. And this dude tells her that her husband is right there. It takes real strength to turn that down. So much so that she has to run away. I'm sure she was running away partly because Smocke is terrifying, but also because she had to, or else she would have given in.
And then she gets knocked out and when she comes to, Smokey is gone. Based on her actions through the rest of the episode, it seems safe to say that she was not claimed and zombified. But while Jack diagnosed the loss of her ability to speak English as aphasia caused by a mild concussion, I would look for a second opinion. My guess? Smocke somehow robbed her of her ability to speak English. If he can't claim her, he might as well make it so that she permanently suffers through a failure to communicate.
Just look at that scene with Alpert. His face is totally saying, "Lady, you screaming at me in Korean is not helping," but because he's not Sawyer and can refrain from being an asshole, he says nothing. But it's definitely an obstacle, and we should see how much trouble it brings.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Island limps Jin. After Team Widmore knocks out Team Smokey (Shouldn't the mercenaries have killed everyone? Or did Widmore not trust them to shoot everyone without killing the candidates in the camp?), Jin is kidnapped and put in Room 23, also known as the Clockwork Orange room with the flashing images and the loud noises and the oy gevalt. (Shout-out to those who missed this episode because they were eating matzoh).
Jin immediately demands to speak to the manager and Widmore complies. Widmore hands Jin a camera with pictures of his wife and daughter, who he has never met. It's a manipulative move worthy of Ben Linus, that's for sure. In terms of television? Absolutely devastating. Kudos to Daniel Dae Kim for absolutely nailing it here. That ... that was moving. Terrific stuff.
In terms of story, though? It's perfect. Widmore just bought Jin's loyalty. What this means for the coming battle remains to be seen. But they're moving their soldiers into place and we're going to have a war soon. And God knows no solider is more zealous than the one who fights for his family.
Jack. If Sun had been paying attention, this is what would have happened this episode:
Jack: (Comes uninvited and sits down) Hey, Sun. Listen, we can't have you spaz out because you are important.
Sun: And why is that?
Jack: Well, there was this magic lighthouse, and my name was on it, and on the mirror I saw a reflection of my past.
Sun: Really? That's awesome!
Jack: And the best part is, your name was on there too!
Sun: Ohmygod! Really?
Jack: Yeah, I bet you it shows you something really important too.
Sun: Eeeeee! Can I see it?
Jack: Well, here's the thing. I kind of ... um .. well ...
Sun: Don't tell me you pulled a Jack Shephard and destroyed it.
Jack: ....
Sun: (Throws tomato at him.)
To Jack's credit, he did get a nice scene where he brought Sun the notepad at the end of the episode and channeled Season 1 Jack in a surprising display of thoughtfulness.
But, Sun, you know how elusive thoughtful Jack is. So why would you draw a smiley face on your notepad while simultaneously frowning with your actual face? Women are confusing.
Locke. His "I leave for ten minutes and the whole place goes to shit" face when he came back and found his entire army knocked out was priceless. It's precisely the kind of face I expected every time my boss would leave the Sun office and then come back and find the Managing Editor and me fighting each other with hammers: Half disappointment, half disgust, half I-knew-it.
That and we finally had the face-to-face, mano-a-mano, bald head-to-bald head between Widmore and Smocke. I can think of no better description for the Locke-ness Monster than "Myths, ghost stories, and jungle noises in the night."
And Locke advancing on the beach of Hydra Island like the Germans marching into Leningrad? War has been declared. We're going to start losing some personnel soon, so let's get to it.
Sayid. I guess his favorite song is no longer "More Than a Feeling." Zombie Sayid has lost the capacity for emotion, and is now a soulless mercenary. Who else got a Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now vibe when they showed Sayid emerging from the water? If this doesn't end with Locke whispering, "The horror, the horror," I'll be pissed.
Widmore. He's kind of getting the good guy edit, isn't he? Yet this is the same man who unleashed Keamy on the Island. But since Smocke is the personification of malevolence and all Widmore wants to do is contain him on the Island, doesn't that mean Widmore is a good guy? But then didn't he try to kill Ben, who's awesome? But isn't Ben kind of evil? But aren't the only people who who use night-vision goggles creepy evil people? Gar.
(Retreats into concepts he can understand).
That Zoe chick totally has a Tina Fey After She Had Sex in a Barn thing going for her, doesn't she?
Desmond. HE'S BACK. We finally get one of the best characters on the show back. After all, he is "The Package." ... I hereby pledge to restrain myself from making juvenile jokes for the rest of the season.
When Desmond saw Sayid in the water, he totally should have said, "Hello, brotha." But he didn't! Damnit, writers, how could you miss that? This was one of those moments when
Misc. At this point, if I am correct, Hurley is the only one of the major characters who lacks a sideflash, right? So after him and maybe one or two episodes to tie the sideways castaways together, we should be finding out what the heck the sideways world really means. I hope.
Smocke implied Kate was a candidate but not anymore. Does that mean she had her name crossed out? Or was her name never written down?
Man, Alpert got his crap together in a hurry. After that lunatic giggle and his panic attack last week, I thought we'd never see calm Richard again. But now? Where's Locke? Hydra Island. Is that where the plane is? Yes. We have to destroy the plane. It's kind of what Jack would do, which means it's probably a bad idea, but at least they have a plan.
And if someone made sunblock that smelled like bacon, I would absolutely buy some. What? Don't look at me like that.
1 comment:
Enjoying your Lost blogs, surprisingly, they help me unjumble my perceptions of the show. Hurray. :)
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