Thursday, October 12, 2006
Getting Lost in Lost
I’m starting to get more and more into Lost. I’ve listed my grievances with Lost too many times to rehash things now. Yesterday’s episode was exceptional! I found myself literally sitting on the edge of my seat, as I sometimes do during 24. (Of course, part of that was because I couldn’t hear what somebody said, so I hit rewind on the TiVO and leaned in so I could hear it.)
One of the pleasant changes to this season is the addition of Paula Malcomson, who played (plays?) Trixie on Deadwood. (By the way, spoilers will be abounding. Run away!) Paula is one of The Others (Colleen) and she’s only on the screen for about a minute. Somehow, she manages to get herself shot in that minute. But given that she’s a minorly famous TV actor, I’m guessing we’ll be seeing more of her on Lost. And given how good she was (is?) on Deadwood, that’s not a bad thing.
For the second week in a row, though, Lost built up the tension, not by keeping secrets, but by showing what both sides know. And of course, both sides aren’t entirely truthful. For example, Sayid says that the dock is deserted, hasn’t been used in years. Soon, he learns otherwise. But he keeps that info secret because he wants to spring a trap. GREAT! Of course, The Others are onto their tricks. I don’t know how they figured it out. I’m guessing they have cameras all over the island. Or maybe they have infrared goggles for seeing at night. Kind of like the robber that my grampa is convinced broke into his room to steal $20. Ah, the police loved getting calls from him.
Though if I have to issue one complaint about Lost this week, it’s going to be with the flashbacks. I’m generally not a big fan of the flashback devise. I think it’s boring and pointless. I’m sure there are Lost fans out there who study these flashbacks for hints at what’s to come. Or they use it as a character study. Or they try to figure out what actions people have taken in their past that might have led them to the island (and possibly to salvation). Me? I think it’s incredibly boring and a waste of my time.
But that’s not my complaint. In fact, I’m not even going to complain about the fact that the flashback was of Jin and Sun. With subtitles! Nope. My complaint is about the creepy guy they had playing Jin’s lover. He’s a bald asian man. (I’m sure he’s supposed to be Korean, but I doubt he actually is. Hollywood’s funny that way. He’s probably Mexican.) I’ve seen many bald people in my life. I lived with one for a few years. But I’ve never EVER seen anyone so creepy looking as this one. I don’t know if his neck is too long, or if his head is too ovate (look it up). But he just doesn’t look right. And it also looks like he’s CHOSEN to shave his head. If I were him, I would grow some hair. And if I were producing this show, I wouldn’t have hired this actor. Oh, and I would have written a more interesting flashback or done away with the concept entirely. But at least get rid of the creepy bald asian dude.
Anyway, the show ended with a couple interesting twists. One is that Sawyer provoked a fight while he and Kate where doing slave labor. First of all, I think that the slave labor is just a psychological game to mess with their heads. Second of all, Sawyer revealed that the fight was actually a way for him to test how strong all The Others watching them were. But then we find out that Ben (the Head Other) listened to Sawyer tell this all to Kate. Here’s what makes that interesting. At first, we think that Sawyer has The Others figured out and that he’s going to make an escape attempt or something. But then we have to think that The Others are going to lure them into making an escape attempt to teach them a lesson. So, in other words, we really have no idea WHAT’S going to happen. But we know that SOMETHING’S going to happen. And I’m really looking forward to finding out what that “something” is.
The other interesting twist was when Ben revealed to Jack that The Others have contact with the outside world. To prove it, he showed Jack video of the Red Sox winning the World Series, which Jack naturally didn’t believe until he saw it. As Jack was staring at the video all slack-jawed, Ben told him that if Jack cooperates, he could go home. And that’s “home” as in “not on the island anymore” home.
That raises all sorts of questions. What would you do to get off the island? And is the island really worth getting off of? I mean, sure there’s cool stuff back in the real world, like TV and internet porn. But there’s also the continuing angst of the Cubs refusing to win a World Series. If I told you that you could spend the rest of your life living on a tropical island, would you turn me down?
But let’s say that you decide you want off the island. You’re sick of eating the Dharma rations. You want real food. You want a real bed. You just want to go home and let the dog out. Well, what would you be willing to do to get home? Would you kill someone? Would you put one of your friends in danger? Would you cut off a finger? What are your limits? And could you live with yourself afterwards? More importantly, could you live with not knowing the secrets of the island? I don’t think I could. In fact, I’d have no problem becoming all buddy-buddy with Ben just to find out why the hell they crashed and what the fuck was up with those polar bears. But maybe that’s just me.
One of the pleasant changes to this season is the addition of Paula Malcomson, who played (plays?) Trixie on Deadwood. (By the way, spoilers will be abounding. Run away!) Paula is one of The Others (Colleen) and she’s only on the screen for about a minute. Somehow, she manages to get herself shot in that minute. But given that she’s a minorly famous TV actor, I’m guessing we’ll be seeing more of her on Lost. And given how good she was (is?) on Deadwood, that’s not a bad thing.
For the second week in a row, though, Lost built up the tension, not by keeping secrets, but by showing what both sides know. And of course, both sides aren’t entirely truthful. For example, Sayid says that the dock is deserted, hasn’t been used in years. Soon, he learns otherwise. But he keeps that info secret because he wants to spring a trap. GREAT! Of course, The Others are onto their tricks. I don’t know how they figured it out. I’m guessing they have cameras all over the island. Or maybe they have infrared goggles for seeing at night. Kind of like the robber that my grampa is convinced broke into his room to steal $20. Ah, the police loved getting calls from him.
Though if I have to issue one complaint about Lost this week, it’s going to be with the flashbacks. I’m generally not a big fan of the flashback devise. I think it’s boring and pointless. I’m sure there are Lost fans out there who study these flashbacks for hints at what’s to come. Or they use it as a character study. Or they try to figure out what actions people have taken in their past that might have led them to the island (and possibly to salvation). Me? I think it’s incredibly boring and a waste of my time.
But that’s not my complaint. In fact, I’m not even going to complain about the fact that the flashback was of Jin and Sun. With subtitles! Nope. My complaint is about the creepy guy they had playing Jin’s lover. He’s a bald asian man. (I’m sure he’s supposed to be Korean, but I doubt he actually is. Hollywood’s funny that way. He’s probably Mexican.) I’ve seen many bald people in my life. I lived with one for a few years. But I’ve never EVER seen anyone so creepy looking as this one. I don’t know if his neck is too long, or if his head is too ovate (look it up). But he just doesn’t look right. And it also looks like he’s CHOSEN to shave his head. If I were him, I would grow some hair. And if I were producing this show, I wouldn’t have hired this actor. Oh, and I would have written a more interesting flashback or done away with the concept entirely. But at least get rid of the creepy bald asian dude.
Anyway, the show ended with a couple interesting twists. One is that Sawyer provoked a fight while he and Kate where doing slave labor. First of all, I think that the slave labor is just a psychological game to mess with their heads. Second of all, Sawyer revealed that the fight was actually a way for him to test how strong all The Others watching them were. But then we find out that Ben (the Head Other) listened to Sawyer tell this all to Kate. Here’s what makes that interesting. At first, we think that Sawyer has The Others figured out and that he’s going to make an escape attempt or something. But then we have to think that The Others are going to lure them into making an escape attempt to teach them a lesson. So, in other words, we really have no idea WHAT’S going to happen. But we know that SOMETHING’S going to happen. And I’m really looking forward to finding out what that “something” is.
The other interesting twist was when Ben revealed to Jack that The Others have contact with the outside world. To prove it, he showed Jack video of the Red Sox winning the World Series, which Jack naturally didn’t believe until he saw it. As Jack was staring at the video all slack-jawed, Ben told him that if Jack cooperates, he could go home. And that’s “home” as in “not on the island anymore” home.
That raises all sorts of questions. What would you do to get off the island? And is the island really worth getting off of? I mean, sure there’s cool stuff back in the real world, like TV and internet porn. But there’s also the continuing angst of the Cubs refusing to win a World Series. If I told you that you could spend the rest of your life living on a tropical island, would you turn me down?
But let’s say that you decide you want off the island. You’re sick of eating the Dharma rations. You want real food. You want a real bed. You just want to go home and let the dog out. Well, what would you be willing to do to get home? Would you kill someone? Would you put one of your friends in danger? Would you cut off a finger? What are your limits? And could you live with yourself afterwards? More importantly, could you live with not knowing the secrets of the island? I don’t think I could. In fact, I’d have no problem becoming all buddy-buddy with Ben just to find out why the hell they crashed and what the fuck was up with those polar bears. But maybe that’s just me.
