Ana Lucia’s Warning to Hurley
I personally thought it was really cool to see Ana Lucia again, and she seemed to genuinely care about Hurley, offering him helpful advice on how to deal with the crisis in which he found himself. Her last piece of advice, “And stay away from the cops.”
Now, I take seriously what ghosts on Lost tell us, and I sincerely believed that Hurley needed to avoid the police. I was therefore upset when Hurley turned himself in to the police just to avoid Ben. When we didn’t see Hurley for several episodes afterward, I figured that bad things were really going to happen. Then, nothing. Ben’s attorney managed to get Hurley literally tossed out of jail. Hurley took a cab, where he had a meaningful conversation with Jacob. Hurley decided to return to the island. Nothing sinister occurred. Nothing at all. There seemed to be no reason for Ana Lucia to say it.
Sidebar: I read somewhere that it was actually designed to poke fun at Michelle Rodriguez, the actress who played Ana Lucia and famously was arrested for DUI in Hawaii, violating her probation.
Jin’s Limited StorylineOne of the reasons I was worried that Jin might actually have been killed on the freighter was that the actor who portrays him, Daniel Dae Kim, was arrested in Hawaii for a DUI (his BAC was twice the legal limit). Well, we all know what happens when Lost actors get arrested for that particular crime (see above). But it appears that the Lost producers have a new way of punishing their criminal cast. Limit the lines they speak. I think that once This Place is Death was over, Jin had maybe one line per episode, if he was lucky. We’re told his English improved, but we never saw evidence of it.
Walt and John’s Conversation
I said it before, and I’ll say it again. This conversation was, to me, extremely disappointing. Walt and John Locke started developing a close bond early on, in the second hour of the Pilot. John taught Walt to play Backgammon, and may even have told the boy that the Island healed him: “Walt, do you want to know a secret?” (We never did learn exactly what “secret” John shared, but in Tabula Rasa, Walt told Michael that Locke had told him that he had experienced a miracle). Their relationship progresses, despite Michael’s attempts to keep them apart. John not only teaches Walt to throw a knife, he also figures out that Walt is different. John also knew that Walt, not Jin or the Others, burned the first raft Michael built. The relationship appears strained, however, after Walt begs John not to open it (apparently referring to the Hatch), even though Walt had never been told about the Hatch. But let’s not forget that Walt appeared to John in Through the Looking Glass, after Ben had shot John and left him for dead amongst the dead Dharma folk. John had given up hope, and was trying to kill himself, when Walt appeared, telling John to get up, because “you have work to do.” John later said that he received orders from Walt, only taller.
So, you would think that the reunion of these two special people, who shared so much in such a short time, would be meaningful. But instead, it was flat and dull. Lifeless, even. Here it is.
WALT: Hey, John.
LOCKE: Hi, Walt.
WALT: What happened?
LOCKE: I hurt my leg. You don't seem surprised to see me.
WALT: I've been having dreams about you. You were on the Island, wearing a suit, and there are people all around you. They wanted to hurt you, John.
LOCKE: Good thing they're just dreams.
WALT: Is my dad... is he back on the Island? I haven't talked to him in three years. I figured he must've gone back.
LOCKE: Um, last I heard, your dad was on a freighter near the Island.
WALT: So why'd you come to see me?
LOCKE: I just wanted to make sure you were okay.
WALT: Yeah. I'm doing pretty good. Well, I gotta go. It was good seeing you, John.
LOCKE: Yeah. Take care.
Didn’t these two deserve a better reunion?
I said it before, and I’ll say it again. This conversation was, to me, extremely disappointing. Walt and John Locke started developing a close bond early on, in the second hour of the Pilot. John taught Walt to play Backgammon, and may even have told the boy that the Island healed him: “Walt, do you want to know a secret?” (We never did learn exactly what “secret” John shared, but in Tabula Rasa, Walt told Michael that Locke had told him that he had experienced a miracle). Their relationship progresses, despite Michael’s attempts to keep them apart. John not only teaches Walt to throw a knife, he also figures out that Walt is different. John also knew that Walt, not Jin or the Others, burned the first raft Michael built. The relationship appears strained, however, after Walt begs John not to open it (apparently referring to the Hatch), even though Walt had never been told about the Hatch. But let’s not forget that Walt appeared to John in Through the Looking Glass, after Ben had shot John and left him for dead amongst the dead Dharma folk. John had given up hope, and was trying to kill himself, when Walt appeared, telling John to get up, because “you have work to do.” John later said that he received orders from Walt, only taller.
So, you would think that the reunion of these two special people, who shared so much in such a short time, would be meaningful. But instead, it was flat and dull. Lifeless, even. Here it is.
WALT: Hey, John.
LOCKE: Hi, Walt.
WALT: What happened?
LOCKE: I hurt my leg. You don't seem surprised to see me.
WALT: I've been having dreams about you. You were on the Island, wearing a suit, and there are people all around you. They wanted to hurt you, John.
LOCKE: Good thing they're just dreams.
WALT: Is my dad... is he back on the Island? I haven't talked to him in three years. I figured he must've gone back.
LOCKE: Um, last I heard, your dad was on a freighter near the Island.
WALT: So why'd you come to see me?
LOCKE: I just wanted to make sure you were okay.
WALT: Yeah. I'm doing pretty good. Well, I gotta go. It was good seeing you, John.
LOCKE: Yeah. Take care.
Didn’t these two deserve a better reunion?
Is Kate the Secret to the Island?
I know that I wasn’t the only one to be disturbed that the impetus for much of The Incident was the passive presence of Kate. Kate is a doer, never one to sit still if there is something that she thinks needs doing. So imagine her surprise if she realized that the reason Jack wanted to blow up the island was not just to revive all those who had been killed, but because they broke up:
SAWYER: What did you screw up so bad the first time around you're willing to blow up a damn nuke just for a second chance?
JACK: That's not what this is about.
SAWYER: Then what is it about?
JACK: Three years ago, Locke told me that all this was happening for a reason, that us being here was our destiny.
SAWYER: I don't speak "destiny". What I do understand is a man does what he does 'cause he wants something for himself. What do you want, Jack?
JACK: I had her. I had her, and I lost her.
SAWYER: Kate? Well, damn, Doc, she's standing right on the other side of those trees. You want her back, just go and ask her.
JACK: Nah, it's too late for that. Your five minutes is up.
SAWYER: Jack... if what you're doin' even works, you and Kate will be strangers, and she'll be in damn handcuffs.
JACK: If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.
Since reason didn’t work, Sawyer used his fists to convince Jack to not blow up the island, only to be stopped by Juliet. Juliet had just earlier been convinced by Kate to get off the submarine to prevent Jack from blowing up said nuke. Suddenly, she changed her mind. And why? Not because she thinks it’s a great idea, but because of the look that Sawyer gave Kate when Rose and Bernard were talking about their need to be together.
SAWYER: I need you to tell me where all this is coming from. I mean, one minute, you're leading the great sub escape, and now you're on board with blowing up the damn Island? I got a right to know why you changed your mind.
JULIET: I changed my mind when I saw you look at her.
Whatever. These were the weakest parts of an otherwise excellent season finale.
There's no real reason to include the picture above, other than to say I finally found a photo of Jack and Sawyer duking it out.
The Island didn’t seem all that hard to find
Maybe we missed all the drama. But it seemed to me that it took a pendulum and a 1970s-era computer to determine what “the event window”. And how to get there? A flight to Guam. Too bad Jack never thought of that while flying to and from Australia in his attempts to find the Island.
A 12-Year-Old is nearly killed and kidnapped, and oh, who really cares, anyway?
The Dharma Initiative was all a buzz after the shooting of young Ben, and search parties were undertaken to find the nefarious Hostile who committed the crime. Next episode, nothing, even though Ben was kidnapped. Indeed, only two of the Dharma Initiative seemed to care. One was his drunken father, who made sure Sayid was punished by shooting him in the stomach. The other was Phil, who discovered the video showing Sawyer and Kate taking Ben out of the safety zone. Other than that, life seemed to go on as usual in the Barracks.
If that's withdrawal, maybe drug addiction isn't that bad afterall?
I know, I know, it is just a show, and has no responsibility to show that not only is addiction dangerous and bad, but also withdrawal sucks. Especially withdrawal from narcotics, which is presumably what Jack was abusing (along with alcohol). It is possible that once Ben sent Jack home, he found a stash of his pills (did you ever see House?) and decided to take them along with him on the trip. We know he didn’t really seem to give up alcohol, which most substance abuse counselors would say is necessary for true recovery to occur.
If Jack truly was addicted to opiates or opioids, then an abrupt discontinuance would likely lead to sweating, nausea, depression, fatigue, vomiting, and pain. Lots of pain. Instead, we saw a nice, clean shaven Jack, albeit one who refused to operate to save the life of a 12-year-old and wanted to detonate a nuclear bomb because he broke up with Kate. Perhaps the Island prevented Jack from suffering from withdrawal?
Ben’s Amnesia
One of the most fascinating storylines this season involved the shooting of a 12-year-old Ben by Sayid. Hurley put his finger squarely on the issue. If Sayid shot Ben, and Ben survived, then he must have known who Sayid was when Danielle first turned over the ersatz Henry Gale to Sayid, and further, must have known exactly what buttons to push when trying to convince Sayid to return to the Island. My belief in Ben’s powers of manipulation is apparently higher than warranted, though, as we learned from Richard Alpert that Ben would lose all memory of the shooting. Indeed, Ben was surprised in 2007 to learn that Jack, Kate, and Hurley were members of the Dharma Initiative in 1977. Honestly, it felt like a cop-out.
So, what did you think? Anything you wish had been different?
I know that I wasn’t the only one to be disturbed that the impetus for much of The Incident was the passive presence of Kate. Kate is a doer, never one to sit still if there is something that she thinks needs doing. So imagine her surprise if she realized that the reason Jack wanted to blow up the island was not just to revive all those who had been killed, but because they broke up:
SAWYER: What did you screw up so bad the first time around you're willing to blow up a damn nuke just for a second chance?
JACK: That's not what this is about.
SAWYER: Then what is it about?
JACK: Three years ago, Locke told me that all this was happening for a reason, that us being here was our destiny.
SAWYER: I don't speak "destiny". What I do understand is a man does what he does 'cause he wants something for himself. What do you want, Jack?
JACK: I had her. I had her, and I lost her.
SAWYER: Kate? Well, damn, Doc, she's standing right on the other side of those trees. You want her back, just go and ask her.
JACK: Nah, it's too late for that. Your five minutes is up.
SAWYER: Jack... if what you're doin' even works, you and Kate will be strangers, and she'll be in damn handcuffs.
JACK: If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.
Since reason didn’t work, Sawyer used his fists to convince Jack to not blow up the island, only to be stopped by Juliet. Juliet had just earlier been convinced by Kate to get off the submarine to prevent Jack from blowing up said nuke. Suddenly, she changed her mind. And why? Not because she thinks it’s a great idea, but because of the look that Sawyer gave Kate when Rose and Bernard were talking about their need to be together.
SAWYER: I need you to tell me where all this is coming from. I mean, one minute, you're leading the great sub escape, and now you're on board with blowing up the damn Island? I got a right to know why you changed your mind.
JULIET: I changed my mind when I saw you look at her.
Whatever. These were the weakest parts of an otherwise excellent season finale.
There's no real reason to include the picture above, other than to say I finally found a photo of Jack and Sawyer duking it out.
Good Sun/Sinister Sun
Since leaving the Island, Sun has been shown to be a ruthless business woman who ousted her father from his powerful position because she partially blamed him for Jin’s death. Meanwhile, she approaches Charles Widmore, clearly an evil dude, to suggest that they have a common purpose, to see Ben Linus killed. And even though she seemed friendly to Kate, and seemingly forgave her for Kate’s part in Jin’s death, the way she asked Kate about Jack sent shivers down my spine. I nearly screamed when Kate left Aaron with Sun, a fair instinct considering that Sun fed him candy and left him in the car when she threatened to kill Ben. And who can forget the package that Sun received that included a gun with chocolates?
But all Ben had to do was show Sun Jin’s wedding ring, and suddenly, Sun was all about whatever would bring her back to Jin, without any questions. She certainly showed some spunk when she knocked Ben out with the oar, but that was it. She spent the remainder of the season following and asking lots of questions. Perhaps she was also suffering from Daniel Dae Kim’s DUI.
Since leaving the Island, Sun has been shown to be a ruthless business woman who ousted her father from his powerful position because she partially blamed him for Jin’s death. Meanwhile, she approaches Charles Widmore, clearly an evil dude, to suggest that they have a common purpose, to see Ben Linus killed. And even though she seemed friendly to Kate, and seemingly forgave her for Kate’s part in Jin’s death, the way she asked Kate about Jack sent shivers down my spine. I nearly screamed when Kate left Aaron with Sun, a fair instinct considering that Sun fed him candy and left him in the car when she threatened to kill Ben. And who can forget the package that Sun received that included a gun with chocolates?
But all Ben had to do was show Sun Jin’s wedding ring, and suddenly, Sun was all about whatever would bring her back to Jin, without any questions. She certainly showed some spunk when she knocked Ben out with the oar, but that was it. She spent the remainder of the season following and asking lots of questions. Perhaps she was also suffering from Daniel Dae Kim’s DUI.
The Island didn’t seem all that hard to findMaybe we missed all the drama. But it seemed to me that it took a pendulum and a 1970s-era computer to determine what “the event window”. And how to get there? A flight to Guam. Too bad Jack never thought of that while flying to and from Australia in his attempts to find the Island.
A 12-Year-Old is nearly killed and kidnapped, and oh, who really cares, anyway?
The Dharma Initiative was all a buzz after the shooting of young Ben, and search parties were undertaken to find the nefarious Hostile who committed the crime. Next episode, nothing, even though Ben was kidnapped. Indeed, only two of the Dharma Initiative seemed to care. One was his drunken father, who made sure Sayid was punished by shooting him in the stomach. The other was Phil, who discovered the video showing Sawyer and Kate taking Ben out of the safety zone. Other than that, life seemed to go on as usual in the Barracks.
If that's withdrawal, maybe drug addiction isn't that bad afterall? I know, I know, it is just a show, and has no responsibility to show that not only is addiction dangerous and bad, but also withdrawal sucks. Especially withdrawal from narcotics, which is presumably what Jack was abusing (along with alcohol). It is possible that once Ben sent Jack home, he found a stash of his pills (did you ever see House?) and decided to take them along with him on the trip. We know he didn’t really seem to give up alcohol, which most substance abuse counselors would say is necessary for true recovery to occur.
If Jack truly was addicted to opiates or opioids, then an abrupt discontinuance would likely lead to sweating, nausea, depression, fatigue, vomiting, and pain. Lots of pain. Instead, we saw a nice, clean shaven Jack, albeit one who refused to operate to save the life of a 12-year-old and wanted to detonate a nuclear bomb because he broke up with Kate. Perhaps the Island prevented Jack from suffering from withdrawal?
Ben’s AmnesiaOne of the most fascinating storylines this season involved the shooting of a 12-year-old Ben by Sayid. Hurley put his finger squarely on the issue. If Sayid shot Ben, and Ben survived, then he must have known who Sayid was when Danielle first turned over the ersatz Henry Gale to Sayid, and further, must have known exactly what buttons to push when trying to convince Sayid to return to the Island. My belief in Ben’s powers of manipulation is apparently higher than warranted, though, as we learned from Richard Alpert that Ben would lose all memory of the shooting. Indeed, Ben was surprised in 2007 to learn that Jack, Kate, and Hurley were members of the Dharma Initiative in 1977. Honestly, it felt like a cop-out.
So, what did you think? Anything you wish had been different?
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