Lost

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='Dagger']HOLY ****ING ****. WHAT THE HELL.

!?!?!??

There is no way I can discuss this calmly right now. Worst of all, the friends I normally watch Lost with are at a Rufus Wainwright concert, damn them! In terms of sheer shock value, though, this might be the best episode ever. And god did I love it. Um, see you guys on Monday, or whenever I've cooled down a bit...[/QUOTE]

Hahaha, I'm surprised you're collected enough to post. I figured you would have exploded with joy. :animesmil

So, uh, there goes the [spoiler]Ben in the casket[/spoiler] theory. Craaaaaaaazy ****, man. Crazy ****. [spoiler]Ben's really got Sayid by the balls if he has Sayid running around killing whomever he wants. Kills to keep Ben safe from people still hunting for him, good old fashioned vengeance kills, or both?[/spoiler] Hmm.

Also, Ben has my favorite line in the episode: "I'm thirsty!" I was cracking up.

[Dagger]

Every second that the love triangle gets prolonged makes me throw up a little in my mouth. So in that respect, this episode was kind of a drag... but the final scene almost made all of that worthwhile. The writers totally had me wrapped around their respective little fingers there--I would never have seen it coming even though it makes so much sense in retrospect.

Also, I liked the fact that Sawyer explicitly pointed out how Kate has been ping-ponging between him and Jack, which at least shows that the writers are aware that it's ridiculous. I'll forgive them this time because of the twist at the end.

Locke = WTF. I have my fingers crossed for him to die this season.

Awesome as it was, the twist did leave me a little puzzled... [spoiler]wouldn't it be obvious that Kate would have had to be pregnant much earlier for Aaron to be as old as he is in the flash-forward timeline? Or is that why she was so set against him appearing in public for her trial? If so, how did she and the others manage to keep him away from scrutiny before? Anyway, it was interesting to hear more of the O6's cover story.[/spoiler]

Looks like we get [spoiler]more Desmond[/spoiler] next episode!

~Dagger~

[Shinmaru]

God, Kate is awful even in flash forwards. She got off so ****ing easy, too. Ten years probation AND YOU CAN'T LEAVE THE STATE BTW. Ugh. I'm anti-death penalty and all, but I'll say it - ***** needs the chair. Please? For me?

The only interesting things about the flash-forward are [spoiler]Kate is raising Aaron and Jack lying on the stand. Mommy Kate is only interesting because of what it implies about Claire's fate. Jack feels super guilty and doesn't want to see Aaron, so I think a) He does something that leads to her dying or getting stuck on the island (I think the former is more likely) and b) He eventually learns Claire is his half-sister. Also, like Dagger posted, it's cool to get more of the Oceanic Six's alibi. Methinks Jack and Co. get caught with a couple of corpses when they finally get rescued.[/spoiler]

Poor Sawyer. The truth hurts, buddy. And, Locke, yeah, WTF is correct. He really is morphing into Col. Kurtz lol. [spoiler]De-facto dictator and a grenade in the mouth for the Ghostbuster? Yeesh. Hilarious that he's all, "Things have changed, Ben" and he doesn't even wait until he's out of earshot to throw a tantrum. I don't think he'll be dying this season, though, if at all. If Locke goes out, it'll definitely be during the final season (maybe with Ben getting the last laugh?).[/spoiler]

[Dagger]

A really focused episode; I liked it. It actually explained a lot (by Lost standards, that is) as well as raising the typical 100+ new questions. I'm most curious about [spoiler]why Des would be Dan's constant... even if they're going to become best buddies in the future or something, he doesn't know how to contact Des in the past. Or maybe Dan's going to be flipping forward?

He said there's only one possible future. At first I wanted to say that this goes contrary to Desmond's experience with trying to save Charlie, but I guess Charlie did die in the end after all. Still, I get the sense that there's a difference between what Desmond experienced in this episode and his future visions from last season. Last season, it wasn't quite so physically real or disorienting, right?[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[Shinmaru]

I feel bad about not adding my thoughts about last week's super awesome episode. Busyness + overwhelmed with Desmond = no post.

This week's wasn't as good, but it had its moments. Tom and his mustache bumped their way into the top 5 most unintentionally hilarious moments ever on Lost (I predict that by the end of the series, Tom will occupy all those spots). Ben was great, too, as usual. "See you guys at dinner!" I smell mutiny. :)

EDIT: Also, Ben is a fan of [i]A Scanner Darkly[/i]. I approve.

[Dagger]

So that's what he was reading? I saw the Philip K. Dick but didn't catch the title. Neat.

My question for this past episode: could they possibly make Kate any dumber? My friend's question: did Sawyer and Hurley's actors get paid as much as usual for their three seconds at the end? :animesmil

Man... Locke seriously deserves what's coming to him (not that he didn't already), if he's going to keep getting suckered so easily. I guess the issue is that he wants so badly to feel like he's finally gotten the better of Ben that it's clouding his already questionable judgment. Also, the weekly juxtaposition of Locke + bloody hands is laying it on a little thick, haha.

It's funny--I really like Juliet this season, and I have no idea why. Maybe I had an instinctual aversion to her last season because of her strong presence throughout the draggy love triangle episodes. Speaking of that, though, [spoiler]the kiss made me cringe. While Jack with Juliet is vastly preferable to Jack with Kate, the fact that we know Jack's going to be back to his old routine of confessing his love to Kate in the future makes me a) fear for Juliet's life and b) wonder what the writers are really trying to get at. Sigh.[/spoiler]

Glad that next week will deal with the [spoiler]Sun and Jin[/spoiler] issue. A little surprised that [spoiler]Aaron[/spoiler] counts as a full-fledged member of the Oceanic 6 (since the next ep. preview said that they're going to reveal the final member), but oh well.

~Dagger~

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='Dagger']So that's what he was reading? I saw the Philip K. Dick but didn't catch the title. Neat.[/quote]

Ha, this is where I go all PKD nerd on you. The title wasn't shown (if it was, I didn't see it, anyway), but I recognized the font of PKD's name and the weird background colors from the edition of the book I got from the library the first time I read it. Why I remember this, I do not know, but there you go.

[quote]My question for this past episode: could they possibly make Kate any dumber?[/quote]

I ask myself the same question every time, and the answer is always yes. So, yes, the writers most defintiely can make Kate dumber. I say bring it on. The cackles were flying at my house when Kate got knocked out with the gun.

[Dagger]

I WEEP. :animecry:

Setting that aside for a second, I hope I wasn't the only one who got mortally confused by the flash-forwards. I thought they promised not to mix up flashbacks and flash-forwards in the same episode! At least it all sorted itself out by the end.

[spoiler]Dunno how I'll feel about Michael this time around (or how long he'll last, haha), but I do like his new look.[/spoiler] As for the next-episode death [strike]bellowed out from the rooftops[/strike] hinted at in the preview, I hope [spoiler]it isn't Jin yet.[/spoiler] That would be too quick...

[spoiler]Does the fact that there's a grave suggest that he died off-island or in the process of getting off-island?[/spoiler]

ETA: Oh ****, so [spoiler]the captain's[/spoiler] name is John Galt? (Just found out online... couldn't hear what he said too well in that scene.) Damn you, Ayn Rand!!

~Dagger~

[Shinmaru]

[spoiler]The date on the grave is the date of the Oceanic 815 crash, so that grave is part of the coverup. If Jin [i]is[/i] really dead, then he dies on the island. I'm holding out hope that he's just stuck on the island, though. PLEASE DON'T DIE, JIN. I mean, seriously, if Jin dies and [i]Kate[/i] lives? WTF is all I can say.[/spoiler]

Anyway, aside from that malarkey, I thought this was the weakest of the Sun/Jin episodes. It smacked of being constructed just to confuse the audience and give them a big twist instead of a solid story. Wasn't really working for me. I will say, however, that the Home Alone-ish music that plays when Jin chases after the taxi with the stuffed panda in it is fantastic.

As for [spoiler]Michael ... looking forward to finding out what he's been up to all this time and where Walt's been (and is currently) too. Also looking forward to Sayid roughing him up a bit.[/spoiler]

[Dagger]

Not that it has any bearing on anything important, but I just wanted to put it out there that I totally called [spoiler]Tom being gay.[/spoiler] :p Speaking of which, this episode felt like some kind of dead character reunion party. [spoiler]Totally loved the Libby cameos. They brought out her well-buried (no pun intended) creepiness to great effect--which I thought would never be touched on again, post-DUI and all.[/spoiler]

I wonder if this creates the possibility that the writers will, in fact, explain [spoiler]what she was doing in the crazy house with Hurley?[/spoiler]

****ing cliffhanger. Is it: [spoiler]the Others? (Ben could've sold Alex out. Or he wants her safe but would prefer to have Carl and Rousseau out of the way.) Or: Widmore's people, somehow. Or: someone tracking them from the camp (Locke finally snaps?) Or: ???[/spoiler]

ETA: Here's a thought. [spoiler]Maybe Sayid outing Michael is the unwitting first step in the chain of events that leads to the tragedy alluded to in his flash-forwards.[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[Shinmaru]

That month is going to be soooooo long. :(

[quote name='Dagger'] ****ing cliffhanger. Is it: [spoiler]the Others? (Ben could've sold Alex out. Or he wants her safe but would prefer to have Carl and Rousseau out of the way.) Or: Widmore's people, somehow. Or: someone tracking them from the camp (Locke finally snaps?) Or: ???[/spoiler][/quote]

[spoiler]I think it's Widmore's people. Remember, Frank isn't on the freighter right now - he took the chopper somewhere. The captain probably ordered Frank to fly back to the island with some other members of the crew. Ben could conceivably have set this up, but I'm going with Widmore for now.[/spoiler]

[quote]ETA: Here's a thought. [spoiler]Maybe Sayid outing Michael is the unwitting first step in the chain of events that leads to the tragedy alluded to in his flash-forwards.[/spoiler][/QUOTE]

I wouldn't be surprised. [spoiler]Outing Michael makes perfect sense for Sayid right now - his trust in Michael died long ago, and he sure as hell hasn't trusted Ben for a while now (to put it lightly lol). But the way it's shaping up, there's no way to tell who's on the "good" side and who's on the "bad" side (or if there is even a "good" side between Widmore and Ben). Whatever the case, this will have definite consequences. I'm guessing Michael will go through some not so pleasant interrogation, perhaps by Sayid.[/spoiler]

EDIT: Also, WTF, is [spoiler]Tom like 5,000 times stronger off the island than on it? Granted, Michael had recently been in a car accident and wasn't in the best physical condition ... but, man, Tom smacked the **** out of him. He came a long way from tossing footballs like a doofus.[/spoiler]

One more thing - I was wrong; Ben was reading [i]VALIS[/i] instead of [i]A Scanner Darkly[/i]. Still appropriate, though. [i]VALIS[/i] is a weird *** story.

[Sandy]

[quote name='Dagger']****ing cliffhanger. Is it: [spoiler]the Others? (Ben could've sold Alex out. Or he wants her safe but would prefer to have Carl and Rousseau out of the way.) Or: Widmore's people, somehow. Or: someone tracking them from the camp (Locke finally snaps?) Or: ???[/spoiler][/QUOTE]

Somehow [spoiler]I'm not buying into Ben's "I'm one of the good guys" mantra. He clearly disapproved Carl's and Alex's relationship, so it would be very believable and becoming of him to set them up like that. I was thinking that the writers just wanted to write all three of them out of the show, but when Alex survived, it suddenly gave her a whole new purpose in the story. I like her, although she hasn't been a very prominent character in the series yet. I loved Danielle as well, but I think she already played her part.[/spoiler]

Apparently we have to wait four weeks before we see how things work out. Bugger. XP

[Dagger]

So, hey, Shin!
Remember what you said at my World a little while ago?

[SPOILER]GUESS WHAT. HE [B]IS TOTALLY[/B] A NINJA.[/SPOILER]

WTF LOST. (x100000)

I nominate this episode for more concrete developments than any other episode in the series so far.

~Dagger~

[Shinmaru]

Hahaha, I didn't even think about that. That's fantastic.

Best joke made during the episode: [spoiler]"He's going for his mecha suit!" while Ben went into his Cave of Wonders. It's pretty much the only thing left that could possibly make him any better than he is now. Make it happen, writers!![/spoiler]

[Dagger]

Right now, what I'm most curious about are "the rules." On a (perhaps not unrelated?) note, I was immensely amused by the Risk game--they said the exact same things my friends and I always say when we're playing. :animesmil Hurley is so right about Australia.

The part of the episode that made me facepalm the most was the fact that Ben used Moriarty as his alias. They're usually a [i]tad[/i] subtler about their references.

Also gotta say... if Sayid's actor was irritated about what happened to [spoiler]Shannon, he must really have his panties in a bunch right about now. But I guess it would have been crueler to show him and Nadia living their happy newlywed life first and then kill her off afterward.[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[Shinmaru]

Just as long as there's no annoying, Heroes-esque "What are the rules??" ad campaign.

The scariest thing about last night's episode is that [spoiler]I have no doubt Ben can find Penny and kill her. There goes any chance of happiness Desmond had.[/spoiler] :(

[Dagger]

If they [spoiler]axe Penny and leave Kate and Jack intact, I'm gonna have to cut a *****.[/spoiler] (Speaking of which: [spoiler]Kate sliding off her tank top and making eyes at Jack[/spoiler] = arguably one of the worst ways to open an episode.)

Right now, though, I'm a lot more worried about [spoiler]Sawyer and Claire. Major death flags going off for one or the other (but probably not both).[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='Dagger'] (Speaking of which: [spoiler]Kate sliding off her tank top and making eyes at Jack[/spoiler] = arguably one of the worst ways to open an episode.)[/QUOTE]

Man, not five minutes in and they already topped this. My siblings and I all booed lustily at [spoiler]Jack and Kate making out in the shower[/spoiler]. It was pretty great.

This is going to be a long episode.

EDIT: If possible, we booed louder at [spoiler]Jack reading to Aaron and then making out with pantsless Kate[/spoiler]. My level of hatred has seriously never been higher.

[Dagger]

Haha, there was a lot of booing and general mockery going on in the room I was watching it in, too. [spoiler]On the plus side, at least they got the Jack/Kate stuff all packed into one episode instead of stretching it out forever. My eyes just about rolled out of my head when Kate's unexplained romping turned out to be connected to Sawyer (Cassidy & kid, I'm assuming). He already got dragged through the love triangle mud pretty thoroughly last season--leave the poor guy out of it this time around. :rolleyes:[/spoiler]

Made me nostalgic to see [spoiler]Jack's dad back in action.[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[Shinmaru]

My God. Worst episode ever? I'm not totally sure ... that would require me to go back and watch more Kate episodes, and frankly, that is something I'm not willing to do. Suffice to say, though, this episode was pretty terrible. Do the writers actually [i]like[/i] this?? I mean, really??

[Dagger]

Couldn't be the worst episode ever IMO because it had a lot more forward movement than, say, the episode about Jack's tattoos or [spoiler]Kate's past marriage.[/spoiler]

Now, the most painful to watch? That's another story... :animeswea

~Dagger~

[Shinmaru]

That's true. There were at least [i]some[/i] good things about the episode ...

- Sawyer/Ghostbuster interaction. Much more of this, please.
- Jin being awesome the entire episode. More of this, please.
- Juliet yelling at Kate. You know the drill.

Not enough to not turn my stomach every time Jack and Kate were onscreen, but it was something.

[Sandy]

I just love that I'm not alone in my hatred towards Jack and Kate. Honestly, Dr. Gary Stu and Mrs. Mary Sue deserve to get swallowed by the smoke monster. :P

The episode just left me wondering about Claire. [spoiler]Would they really use such a cheap way to write her out of the show?[/spoiler]

[Dagger]

One look at [spoiler]creepily knowing Claire[/spoiler] was all it took for me to fall in love. I could watch an entire episode of [spoiler]her and creepily knowing ghost!Charlie smiling their crooked little smirks.[/spoiler]

So it looks like yes, [spoiler]Alpert is definitely a) immortal/unaging or b) one of those omnipresent Island manifestations. But where does the Oceanic dude come in? Is Oceanic affiliated with Widmore or Ben/the Islanders or neither? Is Oceanic dude actually with Alpert's people rather than Oceanic proper? (That was the impression I started to get from this episode.) For that matter, does he have a name yet?[/spoiler]

Cracked up over [spoiler]oddcouple!Ben and Hurley.[/spoiler]

I'll take WTF-ery over icky romance any day. I winced a little at the beginning when I saw that it was a Locke episode, but it's good to know that there's more to him now that [spoiler]the daddy issues have been taken care of. (GJ, Sawyer.)[/spoiler]

There were a lot of weird-*** moments this time around... overall, though, I think [spoiler]Locke's childhood drawing of Smokey[/spoiler] takes the cake. And what was with the [spoiler]"selection of the next Dalai Lama"-type trial Alpert put him through?[/spoiler]

[spoiler]The Captain sure went without much fanfare.[/spoiler] Oh well.

~Dagger~

[Shinmaru]

Haha, how many times did we get the "ZOMG SHOCKING REVEAL" noise this week? Three times? Is that some sort of record?

Also, is it just my imagination, or was Kate not in this episode at all? Maybe in my wondrous delirium, I blocked out her miniscule screen time. Whatever the case may be (lol), this episode scores major points for 1) having very little/no Kate and 2) no Kate making retarded puppy eyes at Jack. Yay!

Although ... [spoiler]hey, look, Kate is in the preview for next week's episode -- and she's being held at gunpoint. SHOCKER. Vincent could probably hold her hostage at this rate.[/spoiler]

Best part was definitely [spoiler]Hurley sharing his chocolate with Ben. For some reason, the conversation (mostly one-sided by me >_>) trailed off into observing how awesome it would be to have a chocolate harmonica. I'm totally patenting that idea.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Keamy[/spoiler] is scary. It's so bizarre to see someone stand next to Sayid and actually be the more intimidating person. I actually had to look up [spoiler]Keamy's[/spoiler] height just to be sure we didn't have a Tom Cruise situation with Naveen Andrews where you think he's of normal size, but he's actually shorter than my sister would be if you threw her in the washer and then continuously dried her for a week. ([spoiler]Keamy[/spoiler] is nearly 6'8", for the record.) Also, [spoiler]Claire is creepy -- and hot, haha.[/spoiler]