Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Variable

Announcements

I don’t watch The Unusuals the show after Lost even though parts of the show are good. I just don’t have a square to spare. Too much t.v. already. I tape it because Lost always runs long. So I watched the beginning this week and Harold Perrineau (ex-Michael) is on it. He plays a cop who thinks he is dying because he is 42 and all the men in his family died at age 42. So the part I saw he kept seeing the number 42 everywhere – the cash register was $42.42, the street where a killing was was on 42nd street. Not only is it a sign for him but a sign for us Lost fans since 42 is one of the Lost numbers. Anyway, on with the show….

Summary

Great, great episode! That’s what I’m talking about. We have Daniel’s back story and his connection to Eloise further explained. I was not surprised that Charles Widmore is his father, even though it was supposed to be a big revelation. There is so much emphasis placed on fathers in this show it just made sense. I felt really bad for Juliet as she seemed to be getting the short stick again. James seemed to want to stay in 1977 but with the addition of Kate. Juliet being as shrewd as she always has been is like here’s the code to the fence, get! So once again the people are split. Sawyer and his crew heading to the beach and Jack trying to save the day and send them back to 2009. With Daniel dead, I am not sure if Jack is going to try and change the future or let it play out as it did before. He seemed to trust Daniel, I think his destiny is to try and stop it. As far as Daniel being shot, we all saw that from a mile away. The way he referred to the fact that they can die and him walking into the camp with a gun, come on! I was a little bit annoyed with that, not only because Daniel was one of my new favorites, but because it was so obvious. We will discuss his conversation with his mother later. I liked the return to the nicknames “Twitchy and HG Wells” for Daniel. Hurley refers to them going back to the 50’s as “Fonzy time.” Too cute.

Connections

Daniel counts 864 ticks on the metronome which is 8 x 108. Desmond was taken to recovery room 16. Eloise gives Daniel the journal where he will eventually notate his thoughts about time travel. Charlotte tells Daniel that she cannot have chocolate before dinner. Those were her dying words in the jungle. The issue of Wired magazine in Daniel’s house was about technology and the possibility of x-ray vision, invisibility and time travel. It was the actual issue from 2003.

Questions


Widmore – If Widmore staged the Oceanic 815 wreck as was suspected earlier, than who does Ilana work for? She killed the man who had proof of the conspiracy to set it up and showed him to Miles. Widmore wouldn’t have killed his own man. So we have more confirmation of another entity interested in the island. So to recap there’s the Losties that just wanted to go home, Ben, Widmore and now the “Good Guys” (as the man in the van referred to himself.

Hydrogen bomb – So the bomb is still on the island and was not under the hatch. So the bomb is still there in 2009. Since it was the island that leaked causing the first incident. They covered it in concrete and then set-up the pushing of the button. Desmond didn’t push it, it released and brought the plane down. So Desmond wants to use the bomb now to stop the leak. BUT, perhaps he needed to fail. So that the people in the future could use the bomb in whatever way to bring the Losties back from 2009. What lies in the shadow of the statue? The hydrogen bomb.

Will all the Freighter Folk end up dead? – Most of the people on the freighter have died. I wonder how Miles will fair in all of these. They seem to be dying with no real resolution. Is it because fate is trying to course correct them being there at all? We shall see with Miles and Frank being the last. I think Miles does convince his dad to get some of the people off the island. But doesn’t the event still happen? The one where Ben kills everyone? So some leave, some stay. The make it through the event. Or maybe they fake the event. Dr. Chang becomes Dr. Marvin Candle. The one with no hand from the orientation videos. He speaks about the incident. But perhaps there was no incident because of what Daniel sets into motion, thus ensuring the future continues as it’s supposed to? And does Miles trying to save his dad, cause him to loose his hand and Miles to die, fulfilling his destiny?

Desmond is my constant – Constants and variables, whatever happened, happened. If Daniel was Desmond’s constant, who was Daniel a constant for? Or was he a variable since his presence seemed to change the direction of things? I think the future has to happen just as it was supposed to and their mission is to learn from the past to change things that happen in the future. If the war is being raged in 2009, then the Losties needed knowledge from 1977 to help fight it in the future. I think their presence in the past is to affect the future. Much like Terminator, their mission is not to stop judgment day, but to survive it. Desmond and Daniel are both constants. They both have done what they were supposed to. I believe Eloise gets Daniel’s journal from the Losties and reads it, which is when she knows how she must shape Desmond and Daniel’s life in the future. But now, Eloise does not know what is going to happen now because the Losties are the variables. We don’t know what they are going to do.

You always knew this would happen – Daniel was in a sense talking to his future mom not the present one. She had sent Daniel to the island knowing he would die. I think the island made him better mentally, but I do think he is dead. I believe she sent him not to change anything but for him to fulfill his destiny. She believes everything is predetermined and cannot be changed. But I am not so sure anymore. I am excited to see, not only how or if they get back to their own time but more so what happens after that.

Conclusion

To this point several things seemed to have been very obvious. I look forward to a time when I am completely clueless again, which I think is from now on! The season is almost over with only a few episodes left and we will start talking about the season finale next week. Stay tuned. Until then…c-ya!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Some Like It Hoth

Announcements

Hello all! Better late than never. I am still on spring break so need to get back into the swing of things. My hand is feeling much better and I am up to typing 40 words per minute (with a little Vicodine), but was assured by the doc today that I will be back to my old typing self in 2 more weeks. I did see the pictures from the LOST weekend a couple of weeks back. They had a lot of cool swag that I am ordering for the LOST season finale party which is coming up in a few weeks. Boy, how this season has moved by. Cast members at the weekend were Yemi, Nadia, Bernard, and young Ben. I could have sworn I saw Widmore in one of the shots, but that’s unconfirmed. But next year should be a blast because it’s the last one. But anyway, if anyone wants the link, let me know. So…on with the show!

Summary

I thought it was a pretty good character development show. I hate being wrong, so instead I will say that I was not right. I poo poo’d the idea that Dr. Chang’s baby was Miles and bam…it’s Miles. I guess I thought that was just too easy. Too straight forward, too obvious. Maybe that’s the point. The show is winding down and everything is tying up nicely into a bow. Of course if I mean Locke coming back from the dead on the island, time travel to the past and a mysterious war on the horizon, tying things up…then yes. But it just seems to me that before the flashbacks would be character development. Now they are connecting parts of the story. I really like Miles so I was glad to learn more about him. He’s scenes with Hurley are priceless. Favorite line: When asked how he knew that Dr. Chang was his father, Miles replied, “3rd day of us being here I was on line in the cafeteria and my mom got in line behind me. That was my first clue.” Of course the references once again to Star Wars were classic. “Ewoks sucked, Dude.” I couldn’t agree more. This is the second movie to lament the death of the Storm Troopers on the Death Star. I believe the first was in the movie Clerks. But Hurley always seeming to be speaking from the mind of the fans, reaching out to Miles and drawing a parallel between Miles’ relationship with his dad and Luke Skywalker’s relationship with his dad Darth Vader. Star Wars saga fans going crazy everywhere. I thought it was a nice touch. Not sure if Miles will end up being the catalyst for his dad sending his mom and him away. Either by telling him as Daniel tried to do with a young Charlotte, or in some other way. We shall see.

Connections

The title of the episode is a play on words, “Some like it Hoth’”. I am not that much of a Star Wars geek so I had to look this one up. It is the name of a planet in The Empire Strikes Back that the rebel forces escape to. In addition, Hurley's story in the notebook has a hidden meaning. Chewbacca saves the day in Hurley's story but it is Hans Solo in the movie. I believe he identifies with Chewy more. The title also references the movie Some Like it Hot about a comedic duo that witnesses a mob murder, much like Hurley and Miles witness the dead body of Alvarez. In the opening site, the microwave flashed 3:16 on the screen, a reference to the numbers and possible the bible – John 3:16. The apartment were the dead body was in was #4. The key to the apartment was hidden under a white rabbit. Miles was offered 1.6 million to go to the island (16) and then asked for double that amount, 3.2 million (32).

Questions

Bram - So we have another faction. Great! Still don’t know what lies in the shadow of the statue. There seems to be 3 groups: Locke/Ben/Island vs. Widmore vs. Ilana/Bram. Bram didn’t want Miles to join Widmore. He didn’t join Bram and has ended up on the Losties side. Hopefully we will learn more about that in the coming weeks.

Faraday – Did he flash to Ann Arbor or was he on the island and left on the sub and is now coming back? Ann Arbor is where the DeGroots where in school at the University of Michigan when they started the Dharma Initiative. What his role on the island? Who’s side is he on? Miles was brought because of his tracking ability and because he is Dr. Chang’s son. Charlotte was once on the island as well and was brought because of her archeological abilities, which now seem wasted now that she is dead. I am curious what Daniel brings to the table?

Where are we?

At this point I have never been so lost with this show. Daniel is back and hopefully he knows how to get them back to 2008. What has to happen before they can get there? Can they all go or do some stay back? Since this is their present, they don’t all have to go back. I would like to learn more about the Others. I think that is the main hole for me right now. What is Richard’s back story? How are they a part of the island? What is their purpose? As we inch further and further towards the end, I hope they answer it all.

Conclusion

Next week, no LOST. When they say no repeats, I want new episodes every week! They keep saying it’s a special show but it’s just a retrospective show. If you need a review, watch it. If not, we will get a new show the following weeks. So have a great 2 weeks and until we get a new LOST once again, c-ya!

Thursday, April 09, 2009

What Happened, Happened & Dead is Dead

Introduction

Hi all! As you may have noticed, I did not write a blog last week. I had Carpal Tunnel Release surgery last Wednesday and was pretty much hopped up on a lot of Vicodin by the time LOST came on. Today is the first day really that I have used my right hand to type. I was pretty okay until I youtubed a video of the procedure. Yuck! And because I am truly a little boy in the body of an older woman, I took a picture of if. Warning! NOT for the faint of heart! But once you will see, you will understand the week and a day wait for the blog. Follow the link, [Ouch Alert] if you are as morbid as I am. Anyway, on to the show.

Summary


What Happened, Happened was a very straight forward episode. We got Kate’s flashback and what drove her to get on the plane. We pretty much figured out that she gave Aaron to his grandmother, not big revelation. We also learn that by Jack not helping Ben and Kate and Sawyer taking him to the Others, the Others become a permanent part of his life and for him to loose his innocence. Although I think that Ben losing his innocence was more of him having to grow up. Understanding good and evil. I think it was his own nature that turned him into a bastard. That is why the island replaced him. He lost his way as Widmore did. Not to mention his dad continued to abuse him until he was an adult which added to it.

Dead is Dead was good because we were able to learn more about Ben. But again, is he the good guy or the bad guy? I thought it was extremely creepy when Ben opened the door to find Sun – great scene. The show does spine tingling moments well. I think Ben ultimately didn’t shoot Penelope because the thought of leaving the boy without his mother was too reminiscent of his life. Also it reminded him of his encounter with Rousseau.

Connections


A connection in What Happened, Happened is the song, Catch A Falling Star, Kate is singing to Aaron. Christian sang the same song to Claire when she was little. In Dead is Dead, the name of Desmond and Penny’s boat is Our Mutual Friend. That is the name of the book by Charles Dickens that Desmond wanted to read before he died. The numbers were also on the crate Ilana had.

Questions

What happened, happened


I loved that Hurley brought up whole time travel question and reference to Back to The Future. It was like the producers were talking directly to us. I think that Miles did a great job explaining what it all means. They cannot change the past, what happened, happened. Even if they think they are changing the past, they are merely ensuring the future. 1977 is the Losties actual present, not their past. That is why they don’t remember it happening because it didn’t yet. That is key because that means they are not traveling back in time like Marty McFly, but actually traveling in their same time plane. At some point they leave1977, and I believe go to back to 2008, in their own time. Perhaps to help against Widmore and the war.

Ben would have hated the Others because he was shot by one (or so he thought). Instead he was saved by them and then promptly forgets the whole thing. Ben doesn’t remember Sayid shooting him in 1977 because it didn’t happen yet. The turn of the wheel caused Sayid to travel back in time and shoot him. So in 2005 he didn’t recognize Sayid because in the time plane he was not shot. Richard said he would have no memory of being shot by Sayid, not that he wouldn’t remember. No memory means to me that it’s because it didn’t happen. I thought last week that Ben did know that he was shot by Sayid. I don’t think that’s true. But one theory is that he might have had a sudden memory of him, much like Desmond did of Farraday. We will have to see on that one.

Dead is Dead

My guess is that Widmore is behind Ilana. Just in case Ben did find a way to get back to the island, she was sent to cover Sayid. But I find it interesting that they had the foresight to bring a crate of a weapons (?) with her. She was obviously not on the plane alone. What lies in the shadow at the foot of the statue? Yet another puzzle. Great! Perhaps the nuclear bomb. Is that phrase a password to find others working for Widmore much like the snowman riddle was for Desmond?

The smoke monster reacted to Ben kind of like Juliet and Ecko. Snapping pictures of their life and past. I think it was a rip-off to mainly show scenes we had just seen in this episode. The writers could have gone back to the tapes for some more reminders of his life with Alex. Alex comes to Ben in a manifestation and tells him he must follow Locke. I thought that was kind of anti-climatic. Will he really do it? I am not completely sure he is reformed. I think he was temporarily spared like Michael because he still needs to do something for the island. He probably will be later killed like Ecko because of his lack of redemption.

I think it was really interesting that Ben told Rousseau that if she hears the whispers to run the other way. Is that the calling card of the Others? Could it be that he was protecting her from them? If Ethan (the boy with Ben) had gone into the tent, he would have followed Widmore blindly and killed Rousseau and Alex. But Ben had some sort of a conscious. Why is Ethan with Ben now and the Others? Was he stolen as a child as the Flight 815 children were?

I really do like how Locke is coming into his role as the leader of the island. The Locke before was at times a beaten and broken down man. I like how strong he has become. I am looking forward to the war. Who will it be against and how will it be fought? Locke is now the new leader of the island, but why him and why now? What is Jacob?

Conclusion

I will make sure to let you know what happened at the LOST convention next week. I haven’t even had time to read the review and watch the videos. But if it was anything like the year I went, it should have been a lot of fun. The visit to the set of LOST went for $350 at an auction I was at. That did not include air or hotel. But if it had been around the 15th of the month…that trip would have been mine! Oh well…my time will come. Enjoy your holiday or Spring Break if you get one. Next week should also be a good one as we learn more about Miles. He has slowly become one of my favorites. Until next week…C-ya!