Brian's One Word Review: Filler.
I don't mean to be cynical. I love Lost more than almost anything else in the world. But in its last season, with a mere 15 hours of original Lost left, that felt like a total waste of our time. Want proof? There's actually very little to touch upon from the episode!
The Sickness. This is the one "big reveal" of the episode - and in fact, it wasn't so much a reveal as a reminder about something that we've heard very little about since Season One. If you remember, the hard facts about the Sickness are pretty slim - and slightly contradictory.
In Season One, CFL's ramblings made it sound like something her crew contracted, forcing her to kill them lest they leave the Island and spread it to the rest of the world... but then last season, we saw CFL kill her crew out of self defense, after being "possessed" by Smokey at the Temple Wall. Also, CFL is crazy, so we had to take everything she said with a grain of salt.
Then there were hints that Dharma believed in it. They gave shots to new recruits on the Island... but then we never saw any additional vaccine administered, or our Time Traveling Survivors (like Sawyer and Miles) never mentioned it either. However, they did emphasize the importance of taking the vaccine and avoiding the Sickness to those working the Swan Hatch... except for once they stopped believing it and really felt no negative side effects.
We also saw Ethan administered a "vaccine" to Claire in Season One, which Juliet later claimed was a pregnancy serum, only to later find out it was an "implant" designed to make Claire sick at a predetermined time... or something like that. A lot of these details are fuzzy enough to me that I'm sure it was never made quite clear.
See what I mean?
Now, it seems like "The Sickness" is closest to what we saw CFL's crew experience - once you are dead, Smokey takes over your spirit and turns you into one of his Island-protecting warriors. I wonder if this is the fundamental difference between Jacob and Anti-Jacob. Jacob is all about bringing people to the Island and having them choose to protect the Island, whereas Anti-Jacob takes over their bodies and forces them to become his army of Island protectors. Free will vs. slavery, but with the same end result in mind? It's something interesting to chew on for this week's analysis, and may give us more evidence that Jacob and Anti-Jacob aren't so different after all. The end result in the same, it's just the method of arriving there that separates them. Jacob has faith in people to do the right thing. Anti-Jacob takes the choice away.
The good news is, there will be plenty of time to think about that over the next few days, because it's slim pickings for the rest of the episode.
Claire. After a full season away, Claire makes her triumphant return On-Island... and apparently she's the new CFL on the Island, setting traps for the Others and brandishing a rifle? Dogen told Jack that "The Sickness" took over her heart, basically turning her to "the Dark Side", but I always got the impression that CFL was just crazy from being alone on the Island for so long, not from coming down with The Sickness. Although I guess the net result was the same - she killed two Others, just like CFL's crew tried to kill her in order to "protect the Island". It'll be pretty curious to see where the Claire storyline goes from here. She had the chance to kill Jin and didn't, which makes me think she's not simply a cold-blooded killer towards everyone on the Island.
Sayid. Also according to Dogen, Sayid isn't inhabited by Jacob, but by the same Sickness - and even though Jacob's note said that if Sayid died, it would be bad news for everyone on the Island - as soon as they got a "hunch" that he might have the Sickness, they were willing to poison him. What? Dogen is crazy, although at least he spoke English for most of the episode. It makes you wonder what this means for the future of Sayid? Is he "on the clock" now before he goes crazy or starts taking out our Survivors? Or is Dogen wrong?
Aldo. It's a little silly for the writers to bring back Aldo (and reference his original two minute scene on Lost three seasons ago) since the only reason anyone recognizes him is that he's Mac from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". Sure, it's fun to see a familiar old face, and more firmly ties the Others at the Temple to the Others from prior seasons, but I bet his little conversation with Kate left more than a few viewers wondering "what is he talking about?", frantically wondering if it held some great importance... only to have him die by the end of the episode.
Ethan Goodspeed. Which brings us to the Off-Island action. Again, I'm really struggling to care about these storylines. What really happened this week? Kate escaped the police in a marked cab - then felt guilty about leaving Claire, and went back to get her... in that same cab, then went to the hospital where Claire almost had her baby, but didn't. Net result? The same thing that would have happened if Kate would have just driven away at the beginning of the episode, although now we see how terrible of a criminal Kate is - also, we got a heavy dose of irony by having Ethan talk about injecting Claire with needles and talking about what a handful Aaron would become. It's a cute little wink to fans, and maybe once we understand the Off-Island action more, we'll appreciate it more... but for now, these scenes just felt like they were stealing / killing time from the far more interesting On-Island storylines, including the SmokeLocke one that was noticeably absent this week.
Man, I sound really bitter, don't I? Maybe I'm holding Lost to too high of a standard, or maybe I'm too dumb to understand what's going on in this last season - but for now, this felt like one of those painful "Jack's Tattoo" era episodes where it felt like the writers were just filling the hour, rather than advancing the overall storylines.
Someone convince me otherwise!
70 comments:
I wish I could.
This episode was a complete waste. I'm just going to say that I wish the show would have ended last season. they could have added a few episodes and made the total 108 episodes. and in the last few they could have told the on-island story and wrapped up all the things we CARED about. again its just my opinion but it makes sense to me.
I'm thinking that there are "time loops" happening. This "new" loop that we're seeing (off-island) will, hopefully, be revealed to have taken place prior to the "main" timeline and be a failed attempt. This will put us back on-island in the main timeline when we get to the final battle for the island. (I don't know if any of that makes sense...)
And Brian...it did mention zombies. So it wasn't ALL bad.
Yes, we finally got a Zombie episode...other than that, Brian, you're dead on.
the Other Brian
This episode was weak! (aside from the zombies, of course). And the writing was just sloppy. Mere hours after holding a gun to Claire's head, Kate is total BFFs with Claire, driving her around town, taking her to the hospital...? I don't get it. Also, let's not forget Kate's great comeback skills: "No, I hope YOU don't slow ME down!" Burn. This episode did confirm one of my theories though: Kate ruins everything!
Can someone explain "What" it is, exactly, that Kate "Does" in this episode? I mean, helping Claire, really? Seriously? Really?
Hmm...Maybe what "Kate Does" is make us miss Nikki and Paulo? (too mean?)
average episode. the writing was weak & the story was choppy. still love lost but feel more confused than ever. What about Ethan last name being Goodspeed...isn't that Horace's name from darma?
Michele, did you watch season 5? It was made clear that Ethan was Horace's son.
Agree to all of the above. This episode was about a 90% waste of time. Hopefully in the long run it makes sense, but as of now it seems like they DON'T want to move the story along. Confusing.
This wasn't a bad episode. Just not as revealing as we'd hoped. We're just getting started here, folks, its only the 3rd hour of the season.
What's really irking me is ABC's blatant thievery of LOST actors! Let's see:
Juliet in V
Charlie and Penny in Flashforward
Kate's husband in Castle
Jack's Wife on Modern Family
Bernard and Alex in The Forgotten
Love all these actors, but come on, people. Let's get some fresh faces on TV.
thanx Sean...it can be hard to remember every detail.
As for Sayid, my thought is that they couldn't let him die or he would be be 'taken' by the sickness.
But we don't know that for sure, but It may be what the 'other others' think.
I also find it odd that Claire sure appears to be the new CFL, but I don't see her connection with the sickeness.
I do agree... this didn't even seem to be a 'setup' episode. I kept checking the clock hoping for something to happen but it never did. BTW, no way Ethan was born in 1977, assuming 2004, that is NOT the face of a 27 year old man... it feels so 'added'... much like this episode.
Here is hoping next week is better.. but is shows that Kate centric episodes are par for the course 'weak'.
Steve, I think that you have to let those details go a little bit. Granted, the actor is not 27, but that's just people aging. You can't really blame that on Lost.
Call me crazy (or CFL) but I liked the episode. I guess I'm just grasping on to all the LOST bits I can get from here on out...
I also found this episode unsatisfying on a number of levels. The off-island action seemed to hint at the characters sensing something familiar about each other but aside from that it seemed awkward and thrown together.
The voodoo going on in the temple bugged me - if there is really a sickness of evil going around it should have been more consistently referenced throughout the show. But as you pointed out, there were references here and there but at times it didn't seem that anyone was concerned about vaccines or quarantine.
Frankly, I'm more interested in learning about the DI, the Others and the Numbers. Those are the great mysteries I've been waiting for the writers to begin to reveal. This episode seemed to set up a reveal that Christian and Claire were both pawns for SmokeLocke and that anyone who died could be taken over.
Did anyone else notice this detail: the ring that James was going to give Juliet looked exactly like the ring that Desmond was trying to buy from Eloise in Season 2. What's that about??
GAH!
I can try to convince you but it probably won't work. Haha. I LOVED this episode. There were definite weak points - Claire just walking back into the car of a woman who had a gun to her head hours before, hello? - but this is proof that Carlton and Damon are making good on their promise to bring back the feeling of season 1. It was about redemption, about drama, and characters. And this episode was ALL about characters.
I think it sucks that you have little to write about from a mythological standpoint, but if you take a different viewpoint and look at Jack's pathos, Sawyer's despair, and Kate's decision, at last, to stay - TO STAY!! - in the off-island scenes, I think you will find that this is one of Lost's richer episodes. It teases a little bit of what's to come and draws huge emphasis on what IS...just like a vintage season one-r.
Watch it again :)
My argument is that they Ethan being Goodspeeds son was a late add on by the writers. Forget the age bit.
There are so many outside forces to the show, sometimes a role expands(like ethan, helping Ben steel Alex, etc), just as Ben was originally on for 3 episodes.
Not even going to try to change your mind. Other than the sickness reveal, this episode sucked.
And I'm really shocked they're using filler episodes in this last season.
Two thoughts:
1) why did Sayid have to take the poison pill voluntarily?
2) Did anyone else think Kate had future-knowledge (or would it be past knowledge?) When Clair said the baby would be named Aaron, the look on Kate's face was, "OF COURSE IT IS AARON." She also seemed to have some reaction of familiarity to the adoption storyline.
I usually do not respond but just like to read Brian's synopses and others comments but...I am in agreement with Brian on this one. This was not an episode to write home about. It is consistent with some past episodes like pianopaul04 says for character plot and development but with time a wastin’ and 100+ questions to be answered, lets get movin!. I also think that if you look at it, it might be the first of several episodes indicating that some of the most important or life changing events parallel each other whether they happen on or off the island (i.e. Kate helping Clair with the delivery of her baby.)
Also we get the point of Kate pursuing or choosing (unsuccessfully so far) Sawyer.
And I disagree with Rob’s view that there are time loops happening. As we know, what the writers did for the first few seasons were flashbacks then they went tot flash forwards, now they are trying to throw us "for a loop" by showing parallel universes of what would happen if the plane lands or does not--- with many may be trying to figure out which is the alternate reality. It is reminiscent of Schrödinger’s cat where you put the cat in the box, he might be alive and he might be dead but according to quantum theory he is neither of those until he is observed. And this is what LOST may be heading to with this show. There may be no telling which parallel reality is correct until it is fully observed.
Am I wrong, or did the one Other start to mention that CFL had died "years ago"? Wouldn't that mean the on-island action we're seeing happens well after Ben turns the FDW?
I'm not going to say I was thrilled with the episode but I believe we will look back and see its place in the bigger puzzle of Lost. Damon and Carlton can't show their hand to early in the season or bloggers such as yourself will have them figured out before the finale! I think they're going to continue to give us bits and pieces until the later part of the season when the mind blowing revelations begin. But overall yes, the episode did leave us feeling really empty.
As for the sickness, as you mentioned, I think it will just be a way of explaining how MIB has attempted to maintain his control of the island, basically turning the French team, Claire, and several others into an army of zombie guardians. Where is Woody Harrelson when you need him? It seems like Christian (aka MIB) injected her with the zombie virus as a plan to lure in some of our survivors to the dark side, such as Jin, Sawyer, Kate, etc....we'll see!
And Brian, I've really enjoyed your blogs for a while now and usually agree with most of your thoughts but I must say the Loop idea seems like a major stretch and is way to big of a storyline to just throw on us at the end of six seasons. You and other losties may grasp it but most fans would be left scratching their heads and frustrated. I would lean more towards it actually being your scenario 1 from last weeks blog but on a much deeper level.
What Kate does off-island is bore me.
What Kate does on-island is anger me.
Funny you mention the "Jack's Tattoo" episode because the moment it ended tonight I declared it to be the 2nd worst episode of Lost, only behind "Stranger in a Strange Land". Waste of time.
Ellis. It would be years ago. About three years ago actually. CFL died and Ben turned the wheel at about the start of 2005. We are now in 2007ish, island time.
2008ish I meant.
the date on claire's ultrasound pic. is 22th october 2004
So many annoying, implausible (yeah, even by LOST standards) character driven story lines;
1. SAWYER: his anger at Jack is a joke and very weak. Him escaping the temple is a forced story line.
2. JACK: wouldn't Jack tend to believe the Asian guy with respect to the pill or whatever he might say? after all, this guy appeared to have brought Sayid somehow back from the dead!!
3. KATE: lazy writing overall in this episode, as has been stated above.
What about the police referring to Kate as Joan Hart? If I remember correctly wasn't that the "survivor" that drowned in the scene with Boone and Jack? I think on the raft scene it was revealed by Sawyer that Kate had taken Joan's passport and added her picture? I thought maybe that was a clue into what we are seeing after the flight. My thought is that this alternate ending to the flight is going to wrap up soon and the remaining survivors are still going to end up on the island regardless since it was their destiny. But if I think about this really hard I can find some holes.
5.1 on the joe scale.
"Day 115 at sea, no land in sight."
Cynic here today: I remain a fan but the creeping suspicion that, no matter how talented and smart the writers are, they simply opened a can of worms - worm holes, loop holes, strings - in the universe when they went all time skipping on us.
Don't get me wrong: I remain a big fan of the show, look forward to it each week (no matter the fillers that roll onward-backward-sideways-whatever), and confess to a cheesy (okay, extremely cheesy) interest in who winds up together in the Kate-Juliet-Sawyer-Jack debacle, BUT all along I've ridden the fence about when I'm going to think the writers -- like the gophers on Caddyshack -- dug too many holes that the ground is going to collapse beneath them.
Right now, swaying toward disappointment and lacking faith that the writers will do their best but not quite get to the other side.
Of course, one episode can turn that right around...so here's to next week.
I could sum up the sideways stories with a simple title of a Phish song: "Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan".
Agree with all the comments that this was an extremely dull and unrewarding episode.....actually found myself ready for it to end early rather than hungry for more. Hopefully we won't look back on this as the point that another beloved series "jumped the shark." And can someone remind me what happened to Ethan in the previous timeline(s)? I could go look it up but too lazy to do that at the moment.....
Also with Ethan, couldn't he potentially be off the island in the most recent Claire scene? He was off island when they asked Juliet to come work for them. Also didn't they try to birth babies off site - so he could certainly have had privileges at a stateside hospital? I think these character stories, are crisscrossing for a reason and will lead back to the island.
I'm starting to think that the off-island storyline *is* the ending of sorts, and that the characters will be redeemed here. Ethan doesn't murder, Kate is finally able to help Claire, Jack offers Locke a chance to walk again, etc.
This was an episode about trust as well as other elemental human qualities. Trust as a more important element than even life. Sayid wakes from the "dead" and puts his complete trust in Jack. Jack makes a monumental self discovery when he realizes this. He can't even trust himself. So, he takes the pill, thus placing more value on Sayid's trust over his own life. Second note, I loved Kate in this epi. It showed so many of her admirable traits. Her heart and her honesty (yes honesty, she couldn't lie to Claire about her innocence). We were given important info about Aaron. He had an identity before birth. Even though I can't string how the off island connects to on island events, the bonds are there.This epi is more important than some think. I intend to rewatch later today.
Did anyone else think that Jin's "who do you care about" line -which seems so dramatic and fraught with deeper meaning in the preview - seemed like an inconsequential throwaway line in the actual episode?
John Mott -- you may be right that the final season is aimed at redemption, and the latest off-island sequence is "the ending" of the show, in a way... but I still predict (and hope) that the two current sequences will merge, or intersect somehow so there is only one true reality.
After some thought, I think we're all just waiting for something HUGE to happen. There haven't been any revelations of epic proportions thus far this season. After all, we were promised a "highly anticipated and shocking finale" by the producers... I think we'll get that shock and it will be wonderful when it happens, but we just have to be patient... for a little while longer :)
Why do they refer to Sawywer as James in this new on-island era? Could it be since the bomb "worked," the future was changed and the con-man Sawyer never killed James' parents?
All episodes are great, however were running out of time. Let's get some answers here. Confused as hell.
6 numbers lost, 6 billion saved
I liked it and maybe I'm in the minority but not every episode of Lost is a season premiere or season finale type of episode.
It was reminiscent of Season 1 which did make us all hooked on Lost so it's not so bad.
And I disagree with the idea that any episode or line is a filler or throwaway. The writers have planned out this final season in advance and they are doing this because this was their original idea, the idea that we all fell in love with early on. Let's not forget that Lost is about the characters as much as it is about the crazy mysteries and as fans we should just go along for this final ride without being too harsh.
you're exactly right. this episode sucked.
you're exactly right. this episode sucked.
Personally, I'm not going to judge too hastily. Because in my long experience with LOST, you just never know.
When I first saw the Season 3 episode "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead," the one where Hugo finds the overturned Dharma bus with the corpse of one "Roger Work Man" in it, I thought: "Eh. Filler." Later, that bus and corpse turned out to have some major Island history attached to them. So I'm never going to assume anything again!
Love it or leave it people!
You buncha dharmafied hippies.
"You buncha dharmafied hippies."
+1 to Daniel.
So I didn't see anyone else point this out, and I'm not even sure if it means anything (in the broader Lost scale of things, it probably doesn't) but did anyone else notice that the whale stuffed animal that Kate finds in Claire's luggage is the same stuffed whale Aaron carries around when he's a toddler living with Kate? In the episode where Jack stops by Kate's at night and they argue about going back to the island (I believe) and Jack yells something along the lines of "When are you going to tell Aaron that you aren't his mother?", they suddenly show Aaron standing in the doorway all sleepy-eyed and hugging the stuffed whale. Just thought it was strange, since Kate wouldn't have gotten the whale from Claire on the island prior to saving Aaron.
I had to think about this episode, Brian. I mean really think in order to glean something from it. I think from a certain perspective, we anticipate lots of answers over each episode. This time, the answers came in a way that was very, very subtle. I think we have seen Ethan on a handful of occaisions now, and each time he's been a fairly kind, compassionate, good kinda guy. Except that episode where he sneaks in to kidnap Claire and attempt to murder Charlie. Why did he go pyscho?
Because SmokeLocke claimed him. Just putting the fact that the sickness was discussed in this episode and Ethan happened to be in the episode explained a lot to me. Another thing that struck me is that for quite some time now, we've heard about a "war" that was coming. For a while I thought it might be Losties vs. Others. Then Dharma vs. Losties, and finally SmokeLocke vs. everyone else. But now it seems a bit more clear. For a while I thought SmokeLocke would go it alone, but he doesn't have to. I think the war will come down to the Others vs. SmockeLocke and the "claimed". Our Oceanic 815 survivors, if I had to guess, will have the opportunity to choose which side they want to be on. That might be why the two others, arguing over if Jin should be shot, said that Jin "may be one of them". He might be one of the people that will help defeat SmokeLocke, he might not.
That's really about as well as I could do this episode. We're getting closer, inch by inch, to the heart of the story. We won't get there in the next few weeks though. I tend to like some parts of the off-island story, but this one did move slow.
Claire's ultrasound date is 10-22-2004.
Props to Justin for pointing out the huge redemption in Kate's character this episode: There has always been one answer to the question, "What does Kate do?". She RUNS. BUT: Not now. Something has changed: For once, she is committed to something more important than just saving herself. She's trying to put Claire in position to mother Aaron - in both timelines. That's a huge change for her, and adds great significance to the title, "What Kate does".
I got this link from one of the comments on Jorge Garcia's blog. It has some interesting comments from the cast members about this final season.
http://tv.yahoo.com/slideshow/527/photos/
I am starting to think, Brian, that my initial reaction - that the off-island action is simply an alternative timeline - is sounding more and more likely. I appreciate you think that, ala Star Trek, it's disappointing, but it's the simplest explanation. It also suggests that we might be seeing off-island stories for a while, without any obvious explanation i.e. that they're going to be a continual part of the series, just like Flashbacks in Series 1. But I hope I'm wrong!
The bit about wanting to kill Sayid because he's got the 'sickness' (let's assume its one which means you are with SmokeLocke), doesn't make that much sense to me. Ben went through the same process yet became the leader of the Others, whom Dogen is part of. I suppose you could argue that only some people who are saved develop this 'sickness', hence the tests.
The idea that Claire is 'sick' doesn't shock me too much, though, as we last saw her with Christian...who it now seems has always been SmokeLocke. So if she's with SmokeLocke (or got the illness), it doesn't seem that odd, surely?
P.S. I think Ethan turning up is just another nod to the fact that things are different in the Off-Island timeline. Originally, Ethan was born Ethan Goodspeed, lived with the DI, then moved to become part of the Others with Ben after the Purge. But in the alternative timeline the purge never happened (probably the bomb went off submerging the island, whilst Ethan was being evacuated in the submarine) and Ethan stayed a Goodspeed and never had to harm anyone as an Other.
Singhy: When Ben was taken to the temple the water was clear and they were able to FIX him and he didnt die.
However, they were unable to save sayid so he died. Then came back to life later. Thats different to what happened to Ben.
I think everyone is being overly critial of this episode. It probably would have been more enjoyable if I hadnt seen the picture on here of Claire dressed like CFL as it would have been a surprise. As it happens I saw the ending coming a mile away which did ruin the enjoyment.
Other than that though I though the on island action was good.
I didnt like the off island stuff at all but I have faith in Damon and Carlton to clear everything up by the end of the season.
Any thoughts on why Temple people want or need all of our LOSTIES back at the temple? Clearly, the Asian leader (name?) knew of their pending arrival evidenced by him appearing to be aware of each of their names as they each announced them to him. Seems to be another some sort of a play on destiny. How did Sayid fail the "test"? Also, how did Sayid know he failed the test?
I feel sure that the note Dogen pulled out of the broken ankh was one of Jacob's famous lists, and that it named the Losties. When Dogen asked them their names, he was just confirming that they were indeed the people about whom Jacob had written. That's how Dogen also knows James as "Ford." I'm not sure if Miles was on the list, but since he was born on the Island and has special ties to it, he too may be one of Jacob's chosen ones.
Did anyone ever say that the pill would kill Sayid? Since he had to take the pill willingly, is it possible that the pill would only kill the sickness?
Yay, another Star Wars reference. "They didn't even ask me any questions"...both Sayid and Han Solo say after being tortured.
I thought the episode was okay. Not the best one ever but still enjoyable.
Kristen -- no, no claim that the pill will kill Sayid. Interesting point...maybe the poison will kill the spirit that claimed him???
Twitter message on Damon Lindelof's account:
"For those of you complaining of "filler." Seriously.
PLEASE WATCH NCIS:LOS ANGELES. I promise not to hold it against you."
I think we need to trust the writers. Everything has it's purpose.
Not really related to the latest episode, but you might want to read up on the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tezcatlipoca) to find out where the writers got their inspiration for MIB/Smokey and the conflict with Jacob.
I found it very interesting.
It seems to me that this episode was pointing to a "whatever happened, happened" plot. Things are happening and people are making connections just like they did ON the island. Could it be that this "alternate reality" (just because that theory fits nicely into mine) is only there to prove that it was destiny that they came to the island? I can easily see all these events bringing our Losties back to the island--sure throught a different route but the end result will still be the same and the friendships will still be the same. Then again, it could be the "happily ever after" with them never making it back to the island but still making the same connections as befroe (sounds kinda lame to me).
Nijo, that is an interesting article. It reads like something Doc Jensen would reference.
Even when LOST isn't at it's best... it's still good.
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