First the good news. I'm finally making my long awaited return to Europe, which I should have taken last year for the World Cup. However, due to all of my friends being lame (and not having the plentiful vacation days that I have), it never happened. Thankfully, this year, it's happening in a big way with a two week European Extravaganza taking me through Edinburgh, York, Bath, London, Paris, Munich, Salzburg, and the happiest place on Earth - Augsburg, Germany.
Why do you care? Well, besides the fact that FOBs (Friends of the Blog) located in any of these fantastic cities need to start sending me Emails offering free places to stay and recommended non-touristy hotspots, it brings us to the bad news.
The trip is happening April 13 - April 29th… right in the middle of our current "nonstop" spring season of Lost. Since I don't intend to spend my trip watching TV or writing about TV (I wouldn't have the means, even if I wanted to), it means I'll be unable to write a Full Analysis of Episode 16, and will be unable to write Previews, Instant Reactions, or Full Analyses of Episodes 17, and 18. That's where you come in.
Since so much of the Blog is about readers commenting and discussing episodes on their own in the comments section, I definitely want that to continue in my absence. However, I think it would only be fair to take it one step further…
Someone is going to get to fully take over Lost and Gone Forever in my absence. Welcome to the first ever "Control the Blog" contest.
Think I'm an idiot and you could write better (and more quickly) about each episode? Want to have thousands of people each day read your crazy thoughts and theories for a while? I'll give some trustworthy individual the ID and Password to access the Blog and post their own episode previews and recaps. You don't have to do it in the same format as I do (although doing it like that would keep it nice and consistent…), but it would allow readers to continue obsessing and over-analyzing even when I'm gone. (Note: this can also serve as a contingency plan in case I ever die.) It's a big responsibility, but also a great opportunity.
If you're interested in taking over, shoot me an Email to controltheblog@hotmail.com (yes, I even setup a special Email address for this contest!) telling me why you want it. Nothing too fancy, just why you would be awesome. If I get a lot of responses, maybe we'll have some sort of judging contest or something. The other thing you should address is why I should trust you. Since technically whoever takes over could effectively destroy the Blog in a matter of minutes, it's kinda scary. I'm not sure how to limit the risk here - but if any computer savvy people out there think of anything, let me know.
If no one wants to assume this god-like power, then that's fine too. I can always post "shell" entries for each episode before I leave, and you'll just have to comment under the appropriate entry before and after each episode. It could get confusing, but it would be better than nothing.
So there you go. This could either turn into a horrible Blog experiment or a super successful annual event. We'll see.
Remember, Email me at controltheblog@hotmail.com if you're interested. We'll need to make a final decision on all of this before I leave, so I'll set a deadline of April 1st for any entries. That gives you about two weeks to decide if you're up for it.
But enough about me, let's get to the task at hand...
Episode Title: The Man From Tallahassee
Brian's Deeper Meaning Guess: Like every week, I started this week’s “deeper meaning guess” reading up on the city of Tallahassee, the state capital of Florida. Unfortunately, while very informative (the word “Tallahassee" is Muskogean for "old town” and it’s the home of Richard Simmons!) – it gave little insight to anything relative to the current state of the Island or characters on the show.
Instead, this looks to be another week where the episode title comes from something said inside the episode (similar to “Not In Portland”). More specifically, I’d bet the quote comes from inside the flashback. Why?
Well, who could possibly be from Tallahassee on the Island? If we’re to believe that most of the Others, sans Juliet (who’s from Miami), have lived on the Island for their entire lives, we can pretty much rule them out. Looking at the Survivors featured in this episode (Sayid, Kate, Locke, Jack), based on flashbacks we’ve already seen none hail from the Orange State. So who does that leave?
Take a look at the guest stars listed below. The one that should immediately jump out at you is Richard Alpert, aka – the guy who recruited Juliet to join “Mittelos” somewhere “not quite in Portland” in the first episode of the Spring Season. His reappearance in the episode means one of two things – either he’s on the Island, and now that we’re inside the Barracks, we’ll run into him… or that he once again appears in a flashback. While the former seems much more likely, the latter offers tantalizing possibilities about Locke’s knowledge about and role on the Island pre-crash…
…which brings us to this week’s Locke-centric flashback. “The Man from Tallahassee” promises the long-awaited answer to the question of “how did John Locke lose his legs?” Once again, it’s somewhat ironic that this is a question that the fans have been begging for since Season One – and yet now that we’re about to find out, this is one of the least fascinating parts of the show for me. Sure, I’m curious, but with a number of far more interesting stories happening on the Island at this point, learning how Locke became paralyzed is merely a side-story. The far more intriguing possibility for the episode is that Richard Alpert appears in Locke’s flashback.
Think about it. Although up until this point, we’ve had plenty of characters cross paths in their pre-Island lives, there have only been two that involved non-Flight 815 Survivors (Desmond / Jack / Charlie, and Kelvin / Sayid), and neither are “Others”. But the appearance of an Other like Alpert in Locke’s flashback would seemingly hint that there was some sort of greater plan in place for at least some of our Survivors, at the very least helping to explain the vast amount of information the Others have about each of our Survivors, and making the “conspiracy theory” geeks start freaking out.
Unfortunately, that would fly in the face of the facts that we’ve already learned about the crash of Flight 815. The Others were surprised by it. They had to gather information about the Survivors. The crash itself was caused by Desmond following Kelvin out of the Swan Hatch and racing back to enter the Numbers just in time. In the end, while it’s still possible that Alpert appears in Locke’s flashback (since we’ve already seen him in Miami, Tallahassee is only a few hours away), I wouldn’t bet on his appearance holding any greater meaning for Locke’s place on the Island. I think smart money is still on him simply appearing in the Barracks.
But where does that leave us? Like I said, I’m anticipating the episode title to be revealed in a fashion very similar to “Not In Portland” – a throwaway line that might hint at a key scene from the flashback, but nothing that we should be gathering any huge deeper meaning from.
Basically, something Lost creators use to torment me and my “Deeper Meaning” section. Jerks.
Episode Description: Ben tries to talk Locke out of his destructive plan by offering him some island secrets. Meanwhile, Kate's reunion with Jack does not go off as planned when she discovers he has made a deal with the Others. Guest starring are M.C. Gainey as Mr. Friendly/Tom, Tania Raymonde as Alex, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Mira Furlan as Danielle Rousseau, Kevin Tighe as Anthony Cooper, Patrick J. Adams as Peter Talbot, Barbara Baehler as Mrs. Talbot, Don Nahaku as Detective Reed, Marlene Forte as Detective Mason, Stephen Bishop as William Kincaid, Cleo King as government worker and Brian Goodman as Ryan Pryce.
Episode Breakdown: I’ll just say it – this episode has an insane amount of potential. Between the last three episodes, this week, and next week (it’s scary, but there are rumblings that next week’s Nikki and Paulo-centric episode will shockingly be one of those “change your opinion about everything” episodes and will make us all feel terrible for hating those characters for so long) we might just be in the best stretch of Lost episodes since the first few episodes of Season One.
This week, we have the long awaited reunion of John Locke and Ben (who was Henry Gale the last time the two talked). Ironically, this time Ben is in a wheelchair (the trigger for Locke’s flashbacks, anyone?) If you remember, Ben was the person who told Locke that “I came for you”, as if he was “chosen” and then proceeded to lie about the repercussions of not pushing the button. Looking back on this conversation now, the scene brings up some pretty interesting questions.
For one, it’s pretty clear that Ben was not “sent for Locke”, and that Locke is not someone that is on Jacob’s list. However, as I said last week, he does seem to be the one remaining Survivor without a questionable past – in fact, he’s consistently been the one that was used, abused, and taken advantage of. Maybe this is what makes him “unworthy” of gaining admittance to Otherville – they not only want “good people” spiritually, but also emotionally – and it’s clear from Locke’s past that he has some serious emotional baggage due to the rough go he’s had with life.
What’s not as clear is why Ben seemed to be setting up Locke (and the rest of our Survivors) to stop pushing the button and implode the Hatch. Remember, Ben told Locke that he didn’t push the button and nothing happened – that it was all a big experiment. This (along with the trip to the Pearl) planted the seed of doubt in Locke’s mind about his number-pushing mission. The really weird thing is that we learned earlier this season that the Others (Ben included) didn’t know what would happen when the 108 clock expired. When the sky went purple, it knocked out their communication – seemingly catching them off guard and negatively affecting them. So why did Ben want this to happen?
The only explanation I can think of is that while the Others had no idea what pushing the button actually did (which would be surprising, when you think about how much they do know about the Island and the people on it), they knew that it was a product of Dharma experiments, which they were opposed to. However, the ever-cautious Others didn’t want to risk their own skin in finding out what happened when the button wasn’t pressed – so they decided to send Ben to convince our Survivors to do it on their own. Risky, but it did all work out in the end.
Which brings us back to John confronting the person who rocked his faith in the Island and his importance there… and kinda almost killed him. This is one pissed off John Locke. The preview showed Locke with a gun to Ben’s head demanding answers about the Island. The episode description indicates there’s some bartering going on – with Ben offering up some of these “Island Secrets” Locke so desperately wants in exchange for Locke calling off his “destructive plan”.
What is this “destructive plan”? Based on the last few episodes, smart money is on Locke using the C-4 that he swiped from the Flame to blow up something tied to communications at the Barracks, or the ship / submarine that people could theoretically use to come and go off the Island. This would fit in with Locke’s recent rampage of destroying anything that could provide escape off the Island or allow others to reach the Island, as he continues his apparent mission to stay on the Island forever.
The worrisome part here is that the bloody ABC preview also showed an image of John Locke standing in front of an explosion, which would seem to indicate that Locke carries out his “destructive plan” after all. I really hope this doesn’t mean that the audience is cheated out of finding out some solid information about the Island due to Locke’s wacky Island obsession – if so, I’m going to be pretty furious at his character. Let’s hope for Locke just being extra shady and making Ben tell him all this information… then blowing stuff up anyways.
Two weeks ago we learned that the Others have “lived on the Island a long time”, much longer than Dharma – so logically you should assume that they have a lot greater knowledge about things innate to the Island… maybe things like Smokey, Funky Time, the Whispers, etc. That really raises the bar for the excitement level for the Locke and Ben confrontation, doesn’t it?
The second main storyline of the episode surrounds the Jack and Kate reunion, which clearly doesn’t go off as planned. As we rationalized last week, Jack seems to be “playing nice” with the Others in an attempt to gather information that could eventually be used to help his fellow Survivors. Kate entering the fray puts Jack in a difficult situation. If he shows his loyalty towards Kate, it blows his cover and could get both of them thrown back into captivity. If he keeps up his act with the Others, it will crush Kate’s fragile heart and potentially get her re-captured or killed… and that, my friends, is good TV.
There will clearly be plenty of excitement, tension, and drama – along with something for the “Kate Hearts Jack 4-EVA” fans out there. It will be interesting to see how far Jack is willing to take this act… or how far he can take it without getting caught. If this was “24”, the Others would wisely make Jack shoot Kate to prove his allegiance… but since this isn’t, I doubt things will escalate that high. Still, here’s hoping for some insight towards Jack plan… or the revelation that my assumption was wrong and Jack is actually just out for himself and getting off the Island (not likely – but it would be pretty jaw-dropping and would seriously shakeup the show!)
Who is curiously missing from the Episode Description? Sayid and CFL. It’s pretty easy to see how Locke and Kate spend the episode, but what about the other two members of the Search Party? Since Alex is listed as a guest star this episode, I would bank on CFL spending a good bit of the episode watching her daughter from afar… afraid to actually approach her – but just observing her and being all sad. As for Sayid, being the most logical one of the group, I’d look for him to try and gather as much information as possible while at the Barracks – information about the Others, the Island, and searching for access to the tunnel system that is their ticket out of the Barracks once Jack is rescued.
That only leaves one more thing… the flashback.
I would be a terrible Blogger if I didn’t harbor some sort of guess as to the cause of John Locke’s paralysis. Noting the guest starring characters, Anthony Cooper once again is in the episode – Locke’s sketchy biological father (who previously has used him to get a kidney, indirectly ruined his potential marriage, and dragged him into a con) is making a reappearance. Who wants to bet that he is in some way responsible for Locke’s loss of his legs? A con gone wrong? A former associate looking for revenge? Running over Locke with a car? Who knows, but what better way to increase our sympathy for Locke and add another example to the “every Survivor has a terrible father” column than to have his father once again hose him? Meanwhile, on the Island we’ll see the stark contrast between “poor helpless pre-Island Locke” with the headstrong, plotting, potentially evil Island Locke. Don’t let him trick you into feeling sympathetic!
That’s all for this week. Something tells me we’re going to have an insane amount of analysis to do after this episode… I better rest up.
32 comments:
You'll be missed, have a great trip ...
It will be interesting to see how Locke's confrontation with Ben goes. So far Locke always seems to get snowed over by people who are by far better manipulators than he is, and Ben is certainly a master manipulator. My money is on Ben giving Locke just enough to use him for something, perhaps leading to Locke blowing the place up when he realizes he didn't get what he came for. Of course, this means we might not get the reveals we're all hoping for.
ethan - clearly "lose his legs" is slang similar to the expression "lose his mind". It doesn't mean the mind is actually gone - just that it's not working like it is supposed to.
How's that for justification of a typo?
Brian, you should be able to give others temporary access to your blog without giving up the password:
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=41440&topic=8918
Brian,
Why would you want to give The Others access to your blog? We don't know their intentions yet!
And I will definately be submitting an entry to the "Guest Host Lost...and Gone Forever 2007 Extravaganza."
Ooh, "island secrets". Sounds hot.
Some valuable (or at least unavoidable) vocabulary:
'Shippers: Those who seem determined that everyone in a TV show should have a mate, and pair them up accordingly. Derived from the word "relationship".
Slash: The practice (or genre, as in "slash fiction") of 'shipping. Derived from the slash mark used to pair characters--for example, Jack/Kate, or Legolas/Gimli (yeah, you wish I was making this up...)
Just a quick note, as this discussion recently came up elsewhere...I think that maybe ben does know what the button did, or had a rough idea, but the problem was that desmond used the failsafe. This may be the cause of the purple sky and this is why the communication was knocked out, somrhting that the others probably wouldnt want.
So basically they did know about the button, and ben wanted it to not be pushed for a reason, but they didnt know about the failsafe/consequences.
So...it sounds like Brian and many of you have concluded that Ben's (HGI) capture was intentional. The arrow through his shoulder...and CFL were in cohoots and set our survivors up. This may suggest that the purpose of Ben being captured was to get them to stop pushing the button.....somehow. I'd buy into this therory too, but the writters have much explaining to do if this retrospective story arch holds true.
"So...it sounds like Brian and many of you have concluded that Ben's (HGI) capture was intentional. The arrow through his shoulder...and CFL were in cohoots and set our survivors up. This may suggest that the purpose of Ben being captured was to get them to stop pushing the button.....somehow. I'd buy into this therory too, but the writters have much explaining to do if this retrospective story arch holds true."
Unless he never actually intended to be captured, and was instead planning to stumble out of the jungle, balloon story in hand... who knows?
p.s. Brian, why are you trying to choose between Alpert apprearing in the flashback or in the barracks? Is it not possible that he'll be in both? After all, Ethan made it to the island after recruiting Juliette.
senor feesh - valid argument. It's entirely possible for Alpert to appear both in flashback and in the Barracks. I guess I'm just thinking that one or the other is more likely.
Don - Thanks for the info. Everyone can rest easy! When the Guest Blogger takes over, they won't be able to burn the Blog down!
I'll be entering the contest as well. I'm intrigued by the idea of Alpert in the flashback. What if they tried to recruit Locke at some point? I see 2 possible scenarios. Others attempt to recruit Locke. Locke is injured by dad or other means. Others decide not to recruit Locke because he's now broken. The other thought is: Others attempt to recruit Locke. Locke refuses. Locke is injured by Others for refusal. Either option has it's potential. Both would give Locke a hunger to know about what he missed out on. The second option would throw in a hunger for revenge. I know there's a million possible plot holes. It would make for a very interesting twist though.
Oooh...the guest blogger contest!!
...kind of like having to push the button to save the world in your absence... ;)
I don't anticipate the Richard Albert reveal will be so heavy handed as some posters suggest. In other words, I'd say it is doubtful that some blatant recruitment effort occurred towards Locke. But, at the same, I'd agree with Brian that somehow Albert appeared in Locke's flashback and won't appear, present tense, on the Island. Can't wait to see....and I also agree that this story line is far more intriguing than how Locke 'lost his legs'!
I have a feeling that Locke himself caused him to lose his legs [sic], rather than an external figure.
I see Locke trying to get back at his father, and in trying to do so, has an accident or incident to make him paralysed. His insane drive, his unquenchable thirst for knowledge and recognition (in a Sylar-esque manner) is the root of all this.
That's what makes him so bitter.
Either that or he's faking. Like Ricky Bobby. WOOO!
I've had this felling for the last few episodes that Locke's loss of leg use was more of a psychological disorder...or I could just be having one lately.
I thought the episode title might have something to do with the Roald Dahl story "Man from the South" (later an "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" TV episode with Steve McQueen, and a part of Quentin Taranino's "Four Rooms").
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_from_the_South
In the story/episode/movie, a guy is offered a car if he can light up a cigarette lighter ten times in a row, but if he can't then his finger will be cut off. Now there's a juicy con for Locke's dad to pull on him!
Brian, I'm so jealous you're going back to the happiest place on earth! Drink a few at the secret beer garden for me! And be cautious of what you wear while riding a bike...children will feel the effects of your actions for a lifetime to come! Are you going to visit Happyland? It won't be quite the same without me strolling out of the neighborhood 3 days in a row...enjoy!
Just some thoughts for while you are gone. Since you can give guest access maybe you could assign each of those posts to a different guest blogger to keep it interesting. Other than that, I would say just have someone to post the basics and we'll all just comment on it. Quite honestly, no one is going to be able to post previews and analysis like you can Brian.
As for LOST, I agree that I dont think Ben and the Others knew about the fail safe in the hatch. That was one dharma secret that they never discovered. If thats the case, the question remains, what really would have happened if the failsafe wasn't activated and the timer was allowed to finish whatever it was doing?
What are you going to bring back for us?!
Are you going to have a back-to-back-to-back LOST viewing marathon when you return?
...I'm already going through withdrawl.....
Brian have a good trip.. I loves me some Europe. Woot, I can't wait for the episode tonight.
On a side note, may I just comment that not only do I think you are a great blogger, but you seem to be a good guy too. Most people who have such intenseness to their blogs would be way too much of a control freak to pass it on, even temporarily. So. I think it speaks volumes to your character and to your faith in your drooling blog groupies (me included, but I dab my drool delicately away) that you are comfortable and confident in giving up (temporarily) leadership!
Your momma done raised you right boy!
anyone see the promo trailer posted on ABC's LOST website? this episode looks killer...and it is especially curious after viewing it why Jack seems so content living in Othersville. As has already been suggested...he is either manipulating them by making believe he is content or is actually content in his newfound home (being drugged or brainwashed seems entirely out of the question). Given Jack's character, etc, it would seem that he has some master plan, with the goal leading towards saving himself and the lostees. Or...could it be that he has been enlightened to the Others purpose and has really become on of them in his heart, mind and spirit? Can't wait for later!!
SinkingDeeper said...
Oooh...the guest blogger contest!!
...kind of like having to push the button to save the world in your absence... ;)
Hey Sinking... you made me laugh. That was funny!
Brian - Happy travels.
I agree that you seem to be a really great guy in addition to great blogger.
I can't wait to see the posts from your substitutes. There are some deep thinkers on here and I think they will do a really good job while you're away.
I won't be entering though because:
1. I don't have the time to do all the research that you do, and...
2. "There are some deep thinkers on here..." (myself not included) :-)
Can't wait for tonight's episode. It promises to be a good one!
It would be good if we get some explanation as to why Ben lied about not hitting the button in the Swan hatch. Why did he try to convince Locke it didn't matter when it would have cost him his life if Jack was not a spinal surgeon?
brian- again, badass preview! nice work. i'm looking forward to the contest... great idea!
I don't know if this point was already discussed, and I know that maybe it's reading a little to much into it, but, as far as I'm concerned, with really didn't saw what ultamatly would happened if the button was not pushed, we saw what happened when the key was turned.
Excited about this episode and veeery curious about next's week episode due to that affirmation, if I'm not mistaken, said by the producers, about the "change your opinion about everything".
And Brian, I'm from Europe, but cannot offer you a place to stay, you're not stoping by Portugal. :P
No way I will enter, I in NO way can fill Brians shoes nor will I try...besides, he knows way more about the show than he lets on!!! DON'T DENY IT, you know it is true!
This will be so fun, just seeing someone attempt to be Brian!!!
Thank God Its Wednesday!!!!
"I don't know if this point was already discussed, and I know that maybe it's reading a little to much into it, but, as far as I'm concerned, with really didn't saw what ultamatly would happened if the button was not pushed, we saw what happened when the key was turned."
Thank you editor #1.
I explained this in the 8th post down, that when it comes to examining Bens actions in the hatch, we should be aware that its not a matter of if her knew waht the button did, because it was ostensibly the failsafe key being turned that caused the unexpected reaction of the sky turning purple.
'tis all good. :)
I just thought it was interesting that many are overlooking the key thing.
have fun in Augsburg and please drink a super zombie at Peaches for me!
David's theory is interesting, cuz as we learned in "Not in Portland" with Juliet's ill-fated ex, the Others will pretty much do anything to get what they want. Including running over a guy with a bus. So paralyzing Locke on purpose is not outside the realm of possibility.
I'm so excited for tonight! Brian, we're going to soak up as much as we can before you cross the pond!
I'm pretty sure big John Locke is about to get real pissed.
I haven't finished reading your article yet, but I just have to ask why you call Danielle CFL?
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