There’s no place like home. (Click) There’s no place like home. (Click) There’s no place like home. (Click).
Damn, I’m still here… and looking awfully ridiculous in these ruby red slippers.
Well, that does it. Another season done. Another series of puzzles to ponder in the agonizing nine-month wait until Season 5 starts up. When next we meet again, we’ll have turned the page to 2009. A new President will be in office. Gas prices will finally peak at $48.15 a gallon, up significantly from the previous high of $16.23 that afflicted at least 42 of our continental United States. And the Red Sox will have won their 3rd World Championship in Five Years (you know they’re just doing it for Jack and his Dad).
But, we’ve been through this before. We had the long layover last year followed by the mid-season strike interruption and if anything, we’ve seen just how re-energized this seasonal structure has benefited the show. Of course, when we return, we’ll be standing on the precipice of Act 3 – the final act in this compelling tale. It’s the home stretch at that point. Only 34 episodes to go. I, for one, can’t wait to enjoy every single last one of them.
Of course, that’s all fodder for the future. Today we lower the curtain on Act 2 by remembering There’s No Place Like Home.
And with that, on with the show.
1.   This episode picked right up where last year’s season finale left off – with Kate slamming on the brakes, throwing the car in reverse and letting crazed Jack know where she stands. She also drops the first reference (of many) to the mysterious Jeremy Bentham. Bentham was the name picked off the newspaper clipping that Jack clutched and the name had made the rounds of the Internet throughout the past year. Like many of Lost’s key characters, the name is connected to a famous philosopher. Of course, his real identity is held until the end and we’ll get there eventually. All we know is Bentham was bent on bringing the Lost tribe back to the island, a cause that Jack had begrudgingly picked up as well.
2.  We learn in this episode that Hurley is not the only one seeing ghosts (apparently Mr. Ecko has joined Charlie’s haunts). Kate gets a visitation (dream) from Claire urging her not to bring Aaron back to the island. Again, this seems to support the theory that Claire is dead (although we still don’t have concise proof of that yet). One thing I picked up online – the whispers that Kate heard when she picked up the phone – when played backwards said “You must return to the island before it’s too late.†So in one dream sequence, Kate was given conflicting orders.
3.  One thing this episode did was prove a number of our theories correct. One of the easiest was in relation to the device the merc Keamy affixed to his bicep. As suspected, it was attached to his heart rate. If he died, a radio signal would be sent to the freighter, setting off the mound of C4 Keamy left behind.
4.  The latter development added more shades of grey to Ben’s character. Sometimes he seems like he is one of the “good guys†he claims he is, and other times, he’s taking revenge upon the guy who killed his daughter even if it means sacrificing ‘the many.’ His response to Locke on that count, “Soâ€. That said, I don’t think there was any way out of that gambit with Keamy. Keamy was going to either kill them both or he would die – all three were certainly not going to walk away from that predicament. I’ll say this much, Ben has got some bloodlust in him. It was interesting when he asked if Widemore ordered the death of his daughter – calling back a reference to that event where Ben declared – “He changed the rules.â€
5.  The whole setting for that encounter covers another thing we got right. The Orchid is where the teleportation/time travel occurs – or as Ben put it, “silly experimentsâ€. I like the juxtaposition of Locke watching the orientation video (which warned of placing metallic objects in the device) with Ben loading the device with metal. And despite the fact that the DHARMA VCR went on the fritz at such an inopportune time, we pretty much got a clear answer that time travel was happening. Locke posited “time traveling bunnies†and Ben gave him the nod.
6.  And that area was located there for a reason. As the video explained, it was parked next to a pocket of negatively charged energy that could be tapped into for space/time change – also mentioning the Casmir effect. All of this techno-babble is part of the wormhole lore that is principal to popular time travel theory. This leads into my theory that there are areas on the Earth that have these characteristics (that is – in the show’s Earth) meaning you can’t just teleport anywhere – there are pre-existing entrance and end points.
7.  A couple of weeks back, I offered the following “If a mainstream show follows through with actually moving an island, I’ll call it now. Best. Show. Ever.†Well, they did it. Or at least Ben did. And that room he did it in is going to have the Lost obsessives pouring over screencaps for months with all of those hieroglyphics on display. I was actually surprised how early in the episode it happened – with a full ½ hour left to go after the island dropped from the map.
8.  On that note, the big question is – did the island really move a massive distance away (as indicated by the fact that it completely vanished from view of the helicopter) or is this a matter of moving that course heading just slightly so that if you are not on the right course, it is absent from view (even if you are right in front of it)? The helicopter was pretty damned close so my guess is this thing really did shift in a big way. But did it shift in space or time?
9.  I liked Hurley calling Jack’s skepticism out and praising Locke. He said he was going to move the island and that’s just what happened. Of course, technically Ben did it.
10.  Another thing we called. Locke’s destiny as leader of The Others. Some nice framing done with Locke standing above them as they all look up in awe and Richard offers up “Welcome Home.†That said, those final ominous words from Hurley make one wonder just what happened to Locke’s paradise.
11.  Speaking of The Others, the whispers made two appearances. The first masked The Others sneak attack on the mercs. The second heralded Christian’s visit to Michael on board the ship where he told Michael, “You can go now†before the ship detonated. This obviously ties the two together and makes me believe that whatever primal force drives this island – Alpert and his band of merry men are key to that – and they have likely been there a very long time.
12.  One thing that I thought was nice about this episode was a lot of plot elements were filled in. For one, we saw Sawyer whisper his last request to Kate before planting one on her and taking a swan dive. The mystery is – what??? My guess, look up that daughter he has out there.
13.  Interesting scene with Miles and Charlotte. First Miles throws the cryptic “I would think you would want to stay after trying to get back here for so long†which he follows with the toying “What DO I mean by that†and then, if my ears didn’t deceive me, I believe she implied that she was born on the island. Now, one thing we know is that pregnant women can’t give birth on the island. Does this make Charlotte an anomaly. Was she somehow related to the DHARMA project (was she created artificially by them). Questions for next year, I’m sure.
14.  So we got three original island members confirmed dead. Claire (I’m going with the confirmation based on her visitation). Michael atones for his sins. And surprising everyone except Sean who had this pegged, Jin appears to be dead.
15.  As for Michael, that actor has to be pissed. He’s written off the show (likely to deal with Walt’s growth burst) and then written back in just to be beat up a couple of times and killed off. Oh well, I never really liked him anyway.
16.  As for Walt, he sure did get big and the 3 year flash forward is a good way of utilizing him. I wonder if he’ll be pulled back into the fold now that it makes sense for him to look that much older. We still need to clear up why he is of such vital importance to the island.
17.  And finally – the last revelation – that Locke is in the box, which I claimed WAAAAAAAYYYYYY Back. Like I said back then, it makes dramatic sense for Jack to mourn his longtime enemy – and to seemingly be ready to embrace his cause. The question is, what happened to jettison Locke from the island and why is he using a false name?
I guess we’ll find out in nine months.
[tv 4.0]
Did anyone catch the other 2 ” alternate endings” that were to be broadcast on Good Morning America this morning? My bet is that there were 2 different people in the box….but I didn’t see them and I’m no good at YouTube yet!
Great post, Ed, of course. I LOVED the way it started at exactly where the last season ended! And I was pretty confused from then on!
Hi all. Ed! no write up on Desmond and Penny? That was awesome! Re: #5, and the Orchid. Was there really no other way to the underground Island Moving Control Wheel? Did he have to destroy the little teleportation pod? Is that the only teleportation pod? Why was it so cold- negative particle energy? Does Ben need Desmond to return as well as a dead Locke? Can’t wait to see what else ben has been doing since now it’s pretty much confirmed he’s been off island as long as the six have been. (assuming next stop right after spinning the wheel is the desert) I thought it was great last night. Awesome!
@Aunt Sharon: I didn’t catch the other two alternate endings but I would guess they are on Youtube by now. I’m with you in thinking they shot 3 people in the box to fake out any potential Internet spoilers.
I was also amazed how it started up just where last season’s ended – to the point where I started to wonder if they filmed all that back then and then cut it in two for storytelling purposes. If not, that must have been a bitch to keep the continuity right but spot on – they did a good job.
All I know is while this season ending didn’t have the same mind-blowing reveal as last season’s (hard to top that they are in the future) – this set the table nicely for next year. Now we get to ponder what went wrong on the island, how will they ever find it and just where the hell did it go?
@Carlos – Next stop after spinning the wheel is indeed the desert. And now that I write that, that immediately confirms time travel (and not just teleportation). Here’s the proof. When Ben woke in the desert he was wearing the Halliwax parka and had a wound on his arm. We know that he got the parka and the wound just before spinning the wheel (the crowbar gashed him). In island time, it’s still 2004. When he checks in at the hotel in Tunisia (again – not too long after appearing in the desert) he asks the date (specifically the year) and is told it is 2005. So not only did the island send him to the desert, it sent him through time.
As for Desmond and Penny, there was so much going on that I truly forgot that piece. Great to see Desmond finally reunited (although with all the action going on last night, I thought their minute long Christmas Eve phone call was more dramatic/romantic) and I’m glad that Dezzie (one of my faves) isn’t gone from the series as we all know Ben is gunning for his beloved Pen in the future.
Ed, Great write up as always! I agree with Carlos I enjoyed the Desmond-Penny reunion. Once they came up to the side of the boat before she appeared I blurted out that it was Penny’s boat. As you said I think we will see Desmond and Penny in future seasons as Ben is going after Penny. But when Desmond and Jack were talking Jack said to him something along of lines of be careful he will be looking for you. I wonder if he is referring to Charles Widmore. Which would be strange because if they are hiding from Widmore he cannot warn them about Ben coming after Penny. Widmore said you will never find her.
When Ben killed Keamy and Keamy told him Widmore will still be looking for him, he said not if I find him first. Which we know he did, but he only spoke with him and seemed not able to kill him.
I do feel bad Juliette who is stuck on the Island. Although one of the open ended questions is what happened to Daniel? He was on the raft with the “extras” when the Island moved. So are they lost at sea as they never made it back to the freigher.
I thought that Miles and Charlotte exchange was also very interesting. Was she born on the island or was somehow connected to the island? Also, Miles seemed to fine with staying on the island, so he must have figured something out. He went from looking for a big cash score to being content with hanging on the island.
I may have lost the train of thought…but what happened to Daniel and the boatload of red shirts?
Ed! This was the best wrap up of the finale! I also loved how they set it up to pick right up from the last season. Ok, Penny and Desmond! I’m such a girl and cried through that whole seen. My boyfriend is still pointing and laughing and me as I type this. Ummmm can we please talk about Sun going to see Mr. Widmore? That was totally left out! Sun is out for revenge, a lover scorned. Who knows what could come from her uniting with Charles Widmore. Also another theory: perhaps the reason Charles Widmore is trying to find the island again, is because he moved it the first time?? So he can’t go back, because Ben said, “once you move the island you can never come back.” So Widmore has hired the crew to find it for him, and perhaps he knows what to do in order to get himself back to the island? Who knows but I just wanted to throw that out there. Anyways, this was amazing! I hate that we have to wait another 9 months for the new season, but as they say… absence makes the heart grown fonder.
p.s.- did anyone catch the fake commercial for Octagon Global Recruiting? Here’s the web site: http://www.octagonglobalrecruiting.com
Thanks Ed. Great comments everyone, Sara, I like that idea of Charles moving it the first time. Interesting. And yes, Sun is a badass. Love her.
I still hope Jin made it though.
Oh, and Juliet’s with Sawyer, she’ll be fine!
@All – Sara – First off, great theory about Charles being the first to move the island. I think that is spot on and with Ben knowing that Charles had formerly moved the island, been cast away and then later having found it again (as evidenced by his deployment of Keamy and the mercs) – that leads in nicely to Ben’s proclamation to Jack that he has a few ideas about how to get back.
Sorry I missed some key topics – most notably the Desmond/Penny reunion.
I’m actually in the grips of a horrble cold that came on last Saturday. Actually, if anyone knows what could cause these symptoms (which don’t seem to be going away), I’d love to hear it. I have a sore throat (one side of throat), my left ear hurts when I swallow, chest congestion, nasal congestion and the roof of my mouth feels slightly swollen. I saw a doc on Thursday and they prescribed anibiotics and said it may just be some sort of infection. The thing is my wife came down with it this morning so that seems viral to me. Anyway, it started like a normal cold but it just won’t go away. Today marks Day 7. Arghhhh!!!
Anyway, sorry for the tangent but that explains the cloud under which I viewed and subsequently wrote.
Here’s hoping I live to see Season 5. : )
@All – I just thought of something else. Notice the correlation between Michael ‘freezing’ the bomb and the frozen chamber that housed the wheel. Perhaps those cold temps are required to keep that power in check – perhaps prevent whatever energies are there from destroying the world.
Move the wheel too far. BOOM!
Sharon, I also thought about Daniel and the red shirts. They didn’t make it to the boat or back to the Island. So where does that put them?
As for Sun and Widmore it is clear she blames Ben for the death of Jin. I assume she wants help locating Ben for revenge.
Another observation my wife made last night was if Syiad was getting Hurley to keep him away from Ben. Locke had left the Island to try to convince everyone to come back (or at least Jack). I assume he went to see all 6 of them. Since Syaid has been working with Ben I wonder if knows that that only way for any of them to get back is for all of them to go back.
Another thing was the sound and the light that appeared just before the Island moved. It was very similar to the sound and light that appeared when Locke let the countdown stop and before Desmond turned the fail safe key. Of course right after that happened Desomnd who was the closest was able to “time travel” and see the future. We also know that Ben either time traveled to the Tunisa right after he moved the island or as a result of the moving the island. So those properties may be somehow related. Although the countdown seem to control more of a magnetic force.
Ummmm….in reference to Sawyer’s lifesaving swim back to the island…as he walked out of the water onto the beach, my daughter and I had the same thought that Juliette had “Da-yam!”.
I’ve sat on a hundred beaches for thousands of hours in my life, and NEVER ONCE has that happened!!
Ed! I hope you start to feel better soon! If I had the the all-knowing power of how to get ride of a nasty cold… you’d be the first one I tell.
Another thing that I wanted to put out there was that I watched the alternate endings on youtube last night. The also put Syiad in the coffin, and Desmond in the coffin. *insert me scratching my head here. Are we supposed to think that anyone could have been in that coffin?
With Desmond in it… there is a whole alternate set of events that could have happen… i.e. Widmore finding and killing Desmond to protect Penny… or Ben killing Penny and Desmond got in the way protecting Penny.
Also with Syiad there is another set of events… Ben killing Syiad. Or Syiad going back to the island for Ben… and somehow dying on the return trip. And the ball could roll from there. So what are we supposed to think with these alternate endings? Or am I looking way to much into this???
I really think those alternate ending were filmed just to throw spoilers off the trail. I think Locke was always supposed to be in the coffin but Lindelof and Cuse hedged their bets and filmed multiple versions so that they could prevent spoilers. That’s my guess.
Echo liking the start picking up from last season’s ending. No way they filmed it all at the same time. Jack’s beard looked even worse this time around. Not nearly as full or dark. In fact, in the scenes at the funeral home, you could see the glue under the beard, so you wonder if they purposely made it worse as an eff-u to the fanboys complaining last year. Speaking of that, liked Ben’s comment to Jack about flying lots of flights hoping to crash.
Do you think they’ll need to bring Walt back as well? I’m thinking yes.
I came away thinking Sun was in fact blaming Jack and her father for Jin’s death, whereas before we thought Daddy and Widemore. I think just Jack on that helicopter… that was a tough scene, which BTW, why the frick wasn’t everyone just jumping off that thing into the water ASAP? Have a chance at swimming for it. Anyway, I don’t see how she could think Ben was responsible over Widemore. Would Locke, as Jeremy Bentham, have told her Ben killed Keamy which caused the explosion? Seems unlikely, and even if that were the case, wouldn’t she still realize the C4 was in place per order or Widemore? I’m still going with Daddy (she said so) and Widemore. She’s setting him up somehow…
Surprised Penny’s boat didn’t find Daniel and the no-names… they couldn’t have been that much further away from Jack and Co. Glad they didn’t kill of Des and he had his reunion. I wasn’t sure that would play out. He’s one of my faves. I’m sure he and Jack will meet again… actually, will he have to go back too? I’m guessing yes as the island had brought him there previously… I’m pretty sure Frank is in the clear though.
I think Charlotte believes she might have been born on the island. She didn’t say it in those terms when talking to Daniel, but that’s what I got out of it too. I do wonder why Daniel wanted off the island so much if he knew what would happen with moving it. Mile’s conversation with Charlotte was very interesting. It makes you wonder how much Ghost Whispering he has been doing since he’s been onshore.
A point of clarification… thought Ben said you couldn’t go back to the island if you left, not that you couldn’t go back if you moved it. Obviously, by moving it, you get cast off — Jacob wants Ben to suffer the consequence — but obviously Ben has ideas about how to get back and the island wants them to come back. I still have it recorded, should watch again. It is obvious that people have left and returned before — Tom, Richard, Ben (we think based on the IDs and stuff) — but that could just be because the island wanted them to leave and come back. Ack… headache…
Didn’t you get the feeling Michael no longer wanted to die, and then boom, Christian shows up and says he can go. Actually thought that was kind a funny in a morbid way.
Alas, looks like I can let go of the Looking Glass station stuff. Still doesn’t explain why they’d use a sub instead of a boat to move on and off island, unless the magnetic crazy effect is less underwater? Why would it matter? Was it simply a stealth thing? Yeah… I’m still holding out some hope here…
I’m sure Sawyer asked Kate to find Cassidy and his daughter. Wonder what that will be like when Kate meets her for the second time… Sawyer kissing her made me puke in my mouth a little bit. I really hate that guy. All he is good for is nicknames.
Just hit the archives to see who I had in the box. At the end of last year, I posited Sawyer. After the first ep of this year, I had Locke. Hate to break it to you Ed, but you seemed to be leaning more Sawyer than Locke at the end of last year too… although, you did at least mention it might be Locke. See #26
Overall, loved this episode. Thought it was really well done in connecting some dots and opening up some new questions. Strike be damned, this season was very, very strong.
@Ed. I don’t have too many answers for you on the cold….but, last year, or over the past 18 months I’ve had 8 sinus infections. Some lasted 2 weeks, some ended up being viral. I went and had X-Rays and MRI’s done. Nothing wrong. My point to all this is that sometimes it just happens- and it takes a while. 7 – 10 days would have been beautiful back then, most lasted 15-30 days. Get stronger antibiotics, that helped, and gargle with salt water- that really helped. Doing a nasal saline to clear your sinuses really helped too, however uncomfortable it was. Some people think it’s allergy related- even if minor, once irritated, then you get a virus or bacterial infection. Something to think about. Claritin-D worked wonders. Always make sure to go to the doc, one thing you don’t want is fluid in the lungs. And although each time my chest felt congested, there was never anything there, all up in the sinuses. Our pediatrician says sinuses are God’s mistake. He made them really big and open because any fuller, or more bone, our heads would be too heavy. But leaving them big makes them bacteria storage. Lastly, treat the symptom. Don’t use multi-symptom relief. Buy generic, one drug/ingredient per pill- If you’re coughing a lot, unless it’s REALLY bothering you, don’t suppress it, it’s necessary to cough. So no Dextromethorphan. If you’re congested, Guaifenesin. Some people take Guaifenesin with runny nose, bad idea. An antihistamine or decongestant blocks histamines and reduces swelling of the mucous membranes, almost always a good idea. Hope this helps!
@Carlos,
Sounds like we’ve got tons in common. I’ve had nothing but sinus issues over the last few years – culminating in a septoplasty performed this past March to try and enlarge my nasal passages to prevent some of these nagging sinus issues. Maybe that has just opened me up to more. I’ll say this much – the day this latest infection came creeping along is the same day I mowed my lawn and kicked up a torrent of dust and pollen. Like you said, the allergic reaction may have just weakened things allowing the infection to latch on.
Anyway, thanks for the advice. The good news is the sore throat is gone so here’s hoping the rest of my symptoms melt away this week.
Just had a friend check out your blog and she e-mailed me:
“To Ed’s point on #13 – um – Claire gave birth on the island just fine. . . .so why couldn’t Charlotte have been born there too?”
I missed that when I read the post. My answer is the following:
“That’s a good point of clarification. Like Aaron, Charlotte could have been conceived off-island and birthed okay on island. It’s all about conceiving on-island and making it to delivery that was the issue, which was why it was good that Sun made it off.”
@Ed. Yeah, even over the past few years, at its worst, it rarely happens in the summer so it could very well be allergies. Good luck, and you’re welcome, I do remember reading about the surgery. Good news on the sore throat. I hope I didn’t ramble on too much!
@Carlos: Ramble? No way, man. In fact, you’ve rapidly become one of this site’s most valued contributors. One of my key goals here, aside from having a place to spotlight my own rampant ramblings, was to build a community. When I see the Comments go over double-digts, it always makes my day.
So I say – keep it up.
Sean and I go way back (one of the last guys that I still keep time with from high school – so WAAAAAYYYYYYY back) – certainly the closest thing I have to a brother (seeing as how I was CURSED with sisters – Noelle/Jenna: I kid, I kid!!!)
Anyway, Sean and his infintite techno mojo came up with the shell of this site and has toiled behind the scenes to refurbish it on a consistent basis. My job was to provide the content – providing that nagging Writer’s Block that sometimes mugs me doesn’t take hold for too long.
Anyway, perusing the stats, we see that over time we have assembled a modest community of frequent readers. Most stay in the shadows – visiting the site on a regular basis, reading what I have to say, but not really adding their voice to it. Which is cool. I used to be the shy kid in school who prayed the teacher wouldn’t call on me – so I definitely get that. For the record, I burst that bubble long ago and now, as I’m sure my friends (and wife) will attest, you can’t get me to shut up.
That said, it makes my day whenever I post something and see someone comment. Our frequent contributors come from all over (some I’ve known my whole life, some several years, some are brand new friends) so it’s nice to see a small, modest community developing here. That’s what makes me take pen to paper (or finger to keyboard, as it were) on a daily basis.
Anyway, I think the point of all this is to say, keep the Comments coming. You guys add life to the site and make it all worthwhile.
@Ed & Community. Thanks man, that’s great to hear. It is a little community, I like that. I’ve always been the one in the shadows; in fact, my first post here was probably my third ever. The first two were last year (or early this year) where I HAD TO voice my opinion on the entire Spider-Man and Mary Jane debacle. I still feel that pain. So, I’m not going anywhere, now y’all are stuck with me.
@Carlos: If you are going to stay, then you should certainly pimp your comments with a Gravatar!
I am happy to see this little community take off, happy to help maintain it and happy to be part of it! I think I can speak for Ed in the wish that if those lurkers commented more, the community would be richer for it. You Scoobs know we are looking at you!
Hey! After all that, I’m just happy I know how the gosh darn polar bear got on the island, through the time machiney orchid!!
@Jessi – Now, the big question is who enjoys the fish biscuits more – the polar bears or Sawyer. He seemed quite proud of himself last season when he was all cooped up in that cage and won himself a fish biscuit.
Gravatar enabled! That was cool! I posted three, maybe I’ll cycle through them. Yeah, it’s the little things that excite me.
Nice choice!!!
Good idea on cycling through them – they can represent a particular mood or something. I’ve got two going right now and should probably mix it up and add another at some point.
Of course, Sean (a.k.a. OB1) will never part with his Lego Obi-Wan.
Mmmm…fish biscuit…
Dude, I hate this show more than pretty much anything else on TV (Smallville excluded) so I’m always fascinated to hear a rational, intelligent person’s defense of it. (I say “defense” rather than “review” because I’m unable to read positive commentary on the show as anything but an apology.)
That said, a lot of what you’ve got here baffles me immensely. Why is moving the island so spectacular to you? (And to the majority of the Lost fanbase?) It seems to be no more-or-less absurd than the majority of the events that take place on the show, and having the island “move” due to turning a frozen-donkey-wheel far underneath the surface after going through a time travel device broken using a similar scientific principle to putting cutlery in the microwaves seems like same old Lost to me – irrational, illogical, but kind of amusing to watch. Since the end of this episode, I keep reading truly insane theories pitched by fans that Dharma trained polar bears to turn the donkey wheel in the past, which sounds about on par for your average Lost fan.
Anyway, using this event to proclaim the show as the “best ever” in a world which includes The Sopranos, The Wire and Six Feet Under is a tall order – I found most of the finale to be plodding and predictable. Tacking on the Jeremy Benthon shoutout to the end of the Snake in the Mailbox was bad plotting – why not have mentioned this mysterious character in flashforwards in previous S4 episodes? (Because the idiot comedy duo behind the series are making it up as they go along, that’s why.) The characerisation of this show continues to be truly appalling, with nearly none of the exchanges or interactions between characters containing any kind of humanity – note, for example, the fact that our man Jack appears to be so stupid that after witnessing hundreds of unbelievable, inexplicable events, he somehow doesn’t believe any of them have ever happened. Also consider that horrible cryptic exchange between Miles and Charlotte which resembles much of the idiot dialogue from Lost: obscure enough not to actually explain anything whilst also luring us into caring without actually resembling human exchange. I have to say, I was sick to death of this kind of malarky since S2:
*Hatch explodes. Charlie meanders down to the beach, apparently unharmed by whatever the hell happened.*
Claire: Charlie, you’re ok! What happened to Locke and Desmond?
Charlie: Dunno!
Claire: What happened to the hatch?
Charlie: Dunno!
Claire: I love you now, for reasons not apparent and illogical.
Aren’t you sick and tired of this? Doesn’t it strike you as awful writing? Help me out here.
@Ryan – This is a well reasoned argument so I’m not going to argue much. I will rally behind your assertion that training polar bears to turn a donkey wheel is in a word… ludicrous. I may be a Lost fan but I’m not that crazy.
@Ryan – I should add that I find Lost is good escapist entertainment. I’m a huge puzzle fan and I like getting bits and pieces of some mystery and trying to figure it all out. I love a good cliffhanger. I like not knowing the whole picture. I like trying to ponder what it all means and where it’s going.
I know these things usually never come to a resolution that truly satisfies but I think part of the pleasure is the journey. It’s why I was hooked by Twin Peaks. It’s why I was a huge X-Files fan even to the bitter, confused end. And it’s why I tune into Lost regularly. The show transports me from the normal mundane nine-to-five.
While The Wire may be quality television (maybe the finest hours of television ever produced) it just hits too close to home to really satisfy. So – I roll with whatever Lindelof and Cuse and their stable of writers send my way. It may not entertain you (or maybe it does in a less intentional way) but they’ve got me hooked and I’m willing to forgive narrative transgressions for the shear fact that I’m enjoying the yarn their spinning.
That’s fair enough, really. And, as mentioned, I do enjoy reading some positive thoughts on the thing from someone who isn’t taking part in the polar-bears-trained-to-spin-the-wheel discussion.
“It may not entertain you (or maybe it does in a less intentional way)”
Absolutely!
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