Monday, March 01, 2010

Lost - "Sundown"

Yeah, I know that my episode preview posts have been lacking this season. It’s the product of two things:


  1. Lost being on Tuesday. Since I usually do my analysis of the previous week’s episode over the weekend, it doesn’t leave me a lot of time to work on the following week’s episode preview – unless I do nothing but Blog all weekend, which would get in the way of my drinking and womanizing.
  2. Wanting to be surprised. Although I’m as confused about Lost as ever (and it’s super frustrating), there’s still a part of me that likes to be surprised by the action of each week’s episode so that I get maximum enjoyment. If I spend too long analyzing the episode and coming up with every potential scenario, it increases the chances that I’ll actually guess correctly – and accidentally spoil myself and readers of the Blog.


So you’ll have to forgive me if you think these episode previews are a shell of their former selves. They are, and it’s partially intentional.


Episode Title: “Sundown”



Brian’s Deeper Meaning Guess: The first season of Lost started with episodes centered around Kate, Locke, Jack, then Sun. Thus far, the last season of Lost has started with episodes centered around Kate, Locke, and Jack, so it seems obvious that this week will be a Sun-centric outing, right? I mean, her name is included inside the episode title, just like the Season Two Locke centric “Lockdown”! Maybe not… take a look at the guest stars for the episode…



Guest Stars: Kevin Durand as Keamy, Anthony Azizi as Omar/Arabic man, Hiroyuki Sanada as Dogen, John Hawkes as Lennon, Andrea Gabriel as Noor "Nadia" Abed Jaseem, Kimberley Joseph as Cindy, Cas Anvar as Omer, Kailee Velasco as Eva, Aramis Knight as Sam, Peter Stray as doctor, Salvatore Abbadessa as cabbie, David Griffith as screaming Other, Mickey Graue as Zack and Kiersten Havelock as Emma.



Guest Star Breakdown: In what is becoming a recurring theme for this season, we’ve got some “old friends” appearing in an episode where they seemingly don’t belong – Keamy and Omar (who is also strangely referred to as “Arabic Man”) – both members of Widmore’s Freighter crew that were killed On-Island in Season Four. I’m guessing their appearances will be another one of those “cute wink to the fans” in the Off-Island action by having them interact with our Survivors in ironic / hilarious ways. Then we’ve got the expected guest stars of Dogen, Lennon, Cindy, Zack, and Emma – all the nameable Temple Dwellers, which is where I expect most of the episode’s action to take place this week. Finally, you’ve got the “no name” guest stars who are always either hugely important characters whose identities are being kept secret – or worthless background characters unworthy of having a name in the first place.


Then there are the finale two characters, Nadia and Sam.


Nadia’s inclusion in the episode seems to confirm that this episode is actually SAYID-CENTRIC, not Sun-centric. Also, check out what this “Sam” character looks like:

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I hate to keep going back to the same theories, but tell me that isn’t the spitting image of a Little Sayid! Could it be that Sayid and Nadia are living happily ever after in the Off-Island action, with a young son whom they have given the traditional Iraqi name of “Sam”? I’m going to go with it – although if this is true, the Off-Island storyline may feel a little “been there done that”, since it would be two consecutive weeks where we learn that one of our Survivors has a child in the Off-Island storyline.


Based on this new information, let’s get back to the deeper meanings of “Sundown”…


I could “Sundown” taking on many meanings – and unfortunately none of them appear to be good news.


Even though she’s not getting the Off-Island storyline of the week, the most obvious explanation of “Sundown” is a reference to Sun… going down. The last time we saw Sun, she was burying Locke, but Ilana had told those with her that the safest place to be on the Island was at the Temple. At the ending of last week’s episode, we learned that Jacob drew Hurley and Jack away from the Temple because “someone bad is about to arrive”… which most everyone assumes to be the SmokeLocke / Claire crew. The only question is – will Ilana’s group arrive before SmokeLocke’s group?


If so, and there is an impending attack on the Temple, Sun may be injured / killed in the process.


If not, then there may be nothing to worry about for Sun, and the title is totally a red herring.


My gut tells me that there’s no way that Sun can die before she has her Sideways Flash, and there is certainly no way that she dies before she and Jin have their reunion. From a story-telling perspective, I can’t decide if it would be more interesting to have all the other characters (aside from Jack and Hurley) at the Temple when this big bad battle goes down – or to have Ilana’s group arrive after the battle is over and discover the carnage and aftermath… and deal with the shock of knowing that even the “last safe place” on the Island isn’t safe anymore.


(Friend of the Blog “Red Khmer” also proposed the intriguing scenario that Sun is mortally wounded and Jin uses the Others’ “magic fountain” to revive her, unknowingly allowing her to be “claimed” by Anti-Jacob… and pitting Sun vs. Jin in the big battle between good and evil on the Island. It would be totally cruel, which makes me like it – but I find it hard to believe that the Jin would be able to convince the Others to use the “magic fountain” on Sun, especially after they saw that it didn’t seem to work on Sayid.)


So that leaves us with two options. If I was a betting man, I’d go with Option #2 – Ilana’s group arriving post-battle… which means that Sun is going to end the episode the same way she began – perfectly fine.


But if the episode title doesn’t refer to Sun, what does it refer to?


Remember, this is a Sayid-centric episode. Sayid, a character who we have been told has a “darkness growing inside him”. Well, think about the literal definition of “Sundown” – it’s the time when the light goes away, leaving behind only darkness. This episode may feature the moment when Sayid goes from acting like good ‘ol Sayid to being fully enveloped by the “darkness”. Perhaps SmokeLocke and Co are coming to the Temple to formally “claim him” as one of their own?


(Note: in doing my research for this episode, I also discovered that in psychiatry, a “Sundown” refers to experiencing confusion or hallucinations at night as a result of strange surroundings, drug effects, decreased sensory input, or reduction of oxygen supply to the brain. So perhaps Sayid will start experiencing these symptoms as a result of the “claiming process” as well.)


From a grander perspective, “Sundown” may indicate that we’re standing at the border of some serious bad stuff going down and continuing for the remainder of the Lost episodes. The time for sunshine happy days on the beach is over – it’s time for death, destruction, and kicking puppies. I told you Lost was depressing!

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Episode Description: Sayid is faced with a difficult decision, and Claire sends a warning to the temple inhabitants.



Episode Breakdown: Both aspects of this week’s episode description are interesting – and not exactly what I had envisioned for this episode. By saying that “Sayid is faced with a difficult decision”, it seems to indicate that he has a vote in the happenings of the episode… so he’s not just going to end up a mindless follower of SmokeLocke as a result of the “darkness”. But what is that decision going to be?


  • Join SmokeLocke or die?
  • Join SmokeLocke or the Others die?
  • Kill the Others for SmokeLocke or die?


None of them are easy decisions, and given Sayid’s position on the Island right now, I don’t see any easy happy endings coming his way.


The other portion of the episode description is equally puzzling, since it seems to indicate that SmokeLocke and Claire don’t just bust into the Temple (yes, I know that there is the ash barrier around the Temple, but that’s why SmokeLocke has Claire to brush it out of his way) and start kicking ass – but instead send Claire inside with a “warning”. Maybe this episode won’t be all death and destruction after all?


I don’t think so. I’m expecting a heavy episode, full of fatalities, and an explanation of what dark path lies ahead for Sayid – perhaps even gaining an understanding of what this whole “claimed by the darkness” stuff is all about.


(Note: I am also hoping for some advancement in the Off-Island storylines, even if it is something as simple as Sayid being confused about an aspect of his life, just like Jack with his appendectomy scar. Hey, a guy can hope!)


Until tomorrow night, Happy Losting!


http://facethewoods.com/lost/index.php?topic=510.0

29 comments:

Unknown said...

Sun was burying Locke.

Sherilyn -Dominee Huisvrouw said...

I was just re-watching some of season 1 where Sayid gets tortured by CFL, and he was pretty wimpy that time too. I know that it has been presented here that when he was tortured by Dogen he was begging & crying, so he must have been "infected", but I just think he's a guy who can dish it, but can't take it himself.

Uff said...

Here are my other thoughts:

When Jacob dies, his ashes are collected. I believe those ashes are the ones that keep Lockey in check. Jacob's ashes collected over the years. Lockey is stuck on his current form. I'll say that when he was talking to Jacob, he was stuck on that form as well...this leads me to believe that Jacob himself could also be locked on the form we have been seeing him. Lockey had him killed before he could change (to a candidate, I may add).
Therefore, neither Jacob nor Lockey are who they seem. So, I would venture to say, with time travel, Faraday could be one of them...Aaron could be one of them, etc.

As for adam and eve...I'm leaning towards Claire and Syed OR Sawyer and Juliet.

Uff said...

The reason I say Faraday or Aaron is that they have YET to say his name..
He has been referred to as "YOU!" or "monster" or "my friend" or "an old friend". Never his name. This has to be on purpose...therefore his name means something..to US..to the watchers (Foundation reference for Asimov fans)...therefore it has to be someone we KNOW, but don't suspect.

Unknown said...

Very good point about there must be a very good reason they haven't said AJ's real name. It HAS to be someone we know. I keep thinking about "the rules" and I wonder if the scene where Ben and Widmore off island is actually Ben and Widmore? It was very similar to the scene with Jacob and AJ on the beach. Two guys that hate each other and want to see each other dead, yet they are powerless to just go at each other.

Khmer Rouge said...

Nice preview Brian. Even though you're scaling them back, I still look forward to them every week.
And thanks for the shout-out!

You're right about this being a Sayid-centric epi, so maybe that discounts my theory a little about Sun getting killed. But there's definitely gonna be some bodies this week.

Another thought on the title: in thinking it over, I realized that all the action on-Island so far has been confined to daytime. I'm not sure if it's all been the same day or not, seems like it could be, but perhaps there's some mystical connection between SmokeLocke and the dark of night.

Lastly, I think the episode description "Sayid is faced with a difficult decision" refers to the off-Island storyline. I've noticed this season that the official, one-sentence descriptions have been half about on-Island, half off-Island.

Diary of a Lonely Alcoholic said...

I think that there is zero chance that Sun will die in this episode. I mean, think about it: the Lost producers have been more secretive than usual this season, going to new heights with last weeks preview where it was about a minute of static. I don't think they would then telegraph Sun dying with an episode title like that.

If anything, I think it's a definite reference to Season 2's Lockdown. Where Locke didn't die, but he was brought down, both physically and emotionally by Ben telling him that pushing the button meant nothing.

Sam said...

I am totally down with Sam being Sayid's kid. More kids!

The last scene of the finale will be all the kids boarding a flight from Sydney to LA.

Anonymous said...

"Sundown" means that they are told to leave the Temple before Sundown or else...

Sam said...

BTW, all the kids will be grown up (or else it would be kind of weird), or on some class trip sponsored by their history and science teachers.

Unknown said...

If Sayid has a kid in his LAX life I'm gonna be pissed. At least not until they explain HOW Jack has a kid in his LAX life but not originally...

Anonymous said...

Maybe we are seeing what actually happend in the characters lives if Jacob had never touched them? If jacob didn't touch sayid, would nadia have gotten hit by that bus/car (didn't she get hit by a bus or something?)

Diary of a Lonely Alcoholic said...

Meadows-ish name: The LAX life, so far as we know, is displaying what would have happened if Jughead went off. This would have changed things starting in 1977. Therefore, in that reality, Jack had a kid with his wife. What, exactly, do you want them to explain?

Diary of a Lonely Alcoholic said...

And, cbones, that wouldn't really work either. Remember, Hurley and Sayid weren't touched until after they were rescued from the island.

wgh said...

Hmm... you're right about the curious lack of name for Man in Black. A clear set-up for the mother-of-all-reveals...

Unknown said...

I want them to explain why something happening in 1977 would make Jack all of the sudden have a kid in his new life. I can accept something small like - Ok so somehow a bomb going off in 1977 miraculously makes Jack need an Appendectomy when he is 7-8 years old when he didn't in his real life... which is still ridiculous but whatever I can shake that off. But the whole explanation for everything in the LAX life is that "it's what would have happened if Jacob never 'touched' any of the Oceanic 6" is the only real explanation people can come up with. Jacob touched Jack with the candy bar after he was already doing surgeries at the hospital - not when he was 7-8 and not when he was young enough to be having a kid that would be as old as his kid was in 2004.

So yes - I would like an explanation of why a bomb going off in 1977 would make that big of a difference in his life before they start throwing kids in other O6 people's lives too...

robpatt said...

more and more i am begining to rethink what really happened with the jughead. Some of the off island stuff that people have been pointing out doesn't make sense. The current theory is far more then just not having Jacob touch them. It is looking at the whole course of events that would happen without the island, and consequently not having people on it. It is wierd that Ben is off island, don't know what that means. Its also wierd that the island is under water... you don't have to be a scientist to know that islands aren't floating, and cannot truly be sunk. I am wondering if we still don't know what really happened at last seasons finale with the flash sideways.

Sayid is one of my favorite characters on the show, right behind hurley. I really hope we get to see him through the end, and more then any other character, i really want redemption and a happy ending for him.

Unknown said...

@noemailformeadows The most "rational" explanation that makes sense to me is . . . If the bomb destroyed (sunk) the island in 1977, then Jacob didn't exist/need to manipulate people's lives from 1977 on. So it's possible that Jack's, Sayid's, etc lives were different (and they had kids) because Jacob was never around to manipulate them to get them to the island. I think last week's episode showed us that Jacob had been watching the survivors for sometime and could've had influence on their lives long before the touches.

Anonymous said...

A semi-scientific possibility explaining the way the ash works: The ash is made of the unusual magnetic rock of the island, and completing a circle creates a sort of circuit that allows the formation of a magnetic field that prevents SmokeLocke from crossing it.

Anonymous said...

didn't nadia get hit by a bus was a question I was looking to confirm without searching myself


Maybe the island never sunk, maybe it was covered. I read somewhere that "water" had a major role in the Island's story (no duh, right, as an island is surrounded by the stuff :) )

Unknown said...

Kristen - I understand that b/c of the 7-8 year old appendectomy = if that happened when he was 8 then obviously their lives before they got touched were different. But it actually just seems kind of stupid to me that all the sudden if the island was sunk and Jacob never "manipulated their lives" that multiple people are just gonna have kids now. It just seems more stupid to me than anything.

Unknown said...

cibones - she wasn't hit by a bus, i'm pretty sure it was just a medium sized SUV.

dj (David Jones) said...

noemail,

Don't disagree with you entirely, but had Sayid and Nadia never been separated I'm sure kids would be in the picture. That's what happens when people keep doing that. :)

Unknown said...

I'm gonna have a hard time swallowing the fact that Jacob is responsible for every detail of the Losties lives... I can completely understand Jacob showing up at an opportune time where he could tap Sayid on the shoulder and Nadia would be hit by a car and die... that is just knowing one simple thing to do that will cause a chain of events. But if it comes out that Jacob "made" Sayid become a torturer, shot himself and the other guard to let Nadia escape... Jacob was in control of that? Did Jacob make the FBI/CIA agents blackmail Sayid to team up with his suicide bomber long-lost buddy so he could find Nadia again?

If ALL these factors are Jacob's doing, then the writers are basically making Jacob = God. Which will put a serious damper on the show for me and I might opt out of buying season 6 on DVD and just pretend like it only had 5 seasons.

jejic said...

Going back a ways... I watched the episode entitled Dave this week. Do you think Dave was really a figment of Hurley's imagination. Or is this the smoke monster trying to kill Hurley early on?

Uff said...

Wow..Good point about Dave! Could have been smokey

Unknown said...

Have you considered the fact that Jacks son and Sayid’s son might somehow play into the overall picture of the off-island storyline. For example, it could be that they are brought to the island or somehow touched by Jacob in the same way as Jack and Sayid were. We know that pretty much all of the characters have kids in one way or another, it would be an interesting concept for the kids to be tested as potential candidates. I’m just talking out of my a** but it would be a great twist near the end of the show and wouldn’t be a “been there done that” moment in this episode.

Unknown said...

Dragos if they go that route, there may need to be another spinoff show...

everyone seen this: http://ncjl.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/lost-the-last-supper-3.jpg

Anonymous said...

And the sides have been set...