Lost Is In The Brig

I am a big fan of Lost. I am currently watching (or re-watching as the case sometimes is) the second season of lost just to keep myself up to speed. And I am enjoying even the episodes I have already seen and mysteries that I already know the answers too.

My re-watching of season one helped me to already figure out that Locke’s father (Kevin Tighe) was Sawyer’s (Josh Holloway) nemesis. And honestly, I knew that Locke (Terry O’Quinn) was lying after about 2 minutes of him telling Sawyer that he wanted Ben dead.

However, as I watched I kept telling myself that I didn’t want Sawyer to do it. I knew he would, but I just wanted him to learn forgiveness. I would have settled for something else (like an earthquake or Jack) to get in the way of the murder, but it didn’t happen either.

It’s all about the murder. I was bothered when Michael killed Ana-Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez) last year and I don’t like what Sawyer did in this episode. I understand that these murders play an important part in the development of the show, but I am not fond of them.

You might be thinking that after last week’s episode, maybe they are already dead, so it shouldn’t really matter. Or you might think that they too could be revived like the Russian (Andrew Divoff) was. However, there were too many references to them already being dead in these past two episodes for me to really believe it. You have to remember that this is the Hanso Foundation. They have power to cover anything up. Oceanic Flight 815 didn’t really need to crash in the Pacific and they didn’t really need to find the survivors, for others to be convinced otherwise.

The events of these past two episodes aren’t about whether they are dead or not.

We have to remember that Ben (Michael Linus) is the mastermind here. Ben could have ordered Locke’s father to the island. Locke’s father’s death could have been faked (remember the smiling man with the IV after the car crash, what was in that bottle?), he could have been brain washed into thinking that the Oceanic 815 passengers died, then he woke up in the box.

Also, this mystery woman (Marsha Thomason) from the helicopter could easily be an “other” that we haven’t met yet. I am sure that the others have the back-story of Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) as they do for everyone else on the island. So they can talk about Penelope (Sonya Walger), and even have a copy of a picture with Desmond and Penelope.

All of this happened so that Locke could give Sawyer the tape recorder. Don’t you think it was awfully convenient that Ben was listening to the tape just when Locke arrived at his tent? And I find it hard to believe that Ben would let the recorder get stolen that easily. This is just another masterly planned con by Ben.
Okay, I am getting too much into theories here. But it is to make a point. I think that the story line has gotten a little too obvious. The mystery is slipping a bit. Maybe I am just upset about the murder, but it just seems to me things are a little too obvious. It could also be that I am just being conned into thinking it is that simple when it is not really the case.

Either way, just like last year, it is near the end of the season and I am losing my interest in the show again. This is partly because of the murders, and partly because of the storyline.

The Man from Tallahasee is the Confidence Man

As a general rule, I like to avoid posts that are directly related to theories about a show. However, I found this one a little interesting and I thought that I would share it with you all.

During the last episode of lost we learned how John Locke (Terry O’Quinn) lost the use of his legs and was in a wheelchair. For some this was a huge mystery revealed. For me, it was boring.

I like Locke; He is in my top three of favorite characters in Lost. And I was looking forward to this episode mostly because it was focused on him. However, I wasn’t genuinely peak interested in learning about how he lost the use of his legs.

That is until I rewatched Episode 8 of Season 1. My wife missed most of season 1 and I know that there are a few that I have missed too. So, we decided to rent the season and watch it to keep us up on things.

Last night we watched the Episode where Sawyers is confronted by Kate about the Letter that he handles so gingerly and reads with heart. At first, Sawyer claims that it is a letter he received. After being tortured by Sayid and prostituting a kiss from Kate, Sawyer confessed to Kate that it is a letter he wrote to a Confidence Man who stole money from his father, which lead to the murder-suicide of his parents.

I just realized that the Man from Tallahassee is the Confidence Man. It fits perfectly. It is almost too obvious. If it hadn’t been for the two plus year delay in the connection, I would think that it is too obvious to be the case. However, I can’t wait now to see the episode where Sawyer meets up with Anthony Cooper (Kevin Tighe). I further think that it will start tying up some interesting loose ends.

Am I out in left field on this one? Has this been obvious for a long time and I am just catching up with the rest of you? Should I just not even bother worrying about the mysteries because I am so naive? What are your thoughts about some of the mysteries of Lost?

Don’t Delay My Drama

Why all the delays?!

Heroes, Lost and Jericho are perhaps my three favorite shows on TV. Most Americans would probably agree with me on that list too. And yet we find ourselves having to wait for at least several weeks before they air the next episode.

Jericho’s delay is probably directly related to March Madness and I can forgive the CBS decision makers for that. However, I don’t understand the NBC or ABC decision makers.

For the time being ABC is keeping Lost on the air until this season is over. That’s great. But I don’t understand the huge delay in the middle of the season. They finally bring the show back just in time for February’s sweeps.

We got pretty much the same treatment from CBS and NBC too. We had to go on hiatus from these serialized shows for at least two months after the November sweeps.

Are the viewers only worth their votes on the ratings months? Sure we have value then. But when we are treated as though that is our only value to the producer, we aren’t happy.

It’s acceptable to have a break in a sitcom or a regular drama, but when the show is serialized, people hang on from week to week. I have even found that it is better to just wait and either rent the video, or watch the replay on the Internet.

I have to give NBC a little credit in that they did at least allow Peter to “save the cheerleader” before they took a break. We at least got some closure. Lost, however, didn’t give us the same courtesy. If I recall correctly the best that they gave us was revealing that Jack, Kate and Sawyer were on a different island. However, Jack was also told by Juliet to kill Ben. We were left hanging even more.

Well-done serial stories are great, they keep us wanting to return. This is especially true when the story lines are as captivating as Jericho, Lost and Heroes. But the producers and broadcasters need more respect for their audience.

This is a call out the decision makers at the television networks. Have more respect for your viewers. If you string us along too much, we will get fed up and leave.

Jin and Sun Keep Me Interested in Lost

The only reason that I even turned Lost on three years ago was the hopes of hearing a little Korean. Having lived in Korea and studied Korean for two years, I always love anything Korean. The only reason you will ever see me watching a M*A*S*H rerun is because I hope to hear some Korean.

That said I have to say that I have really come to love both of the Koreans on Lost. Jin-soo Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim) and Sun Kwon (Yunjin Kim) have really become my favorite characters on the show.

Some might think that my love for them has to do with their Korean roots. And honestly, that does help a lot. However, that is not my main reason for enjoying these two characters.

My main reason for loving them is that they are still married.

They have been through a lot. They have defied an overprotective father (perhaps that is too gentle a description). They survived infidelity (that might be because Jin doesn’t know about it yet). They put up with some very tough lows, and they are still married.

Most of the time television portrays marriage as impossible. Excluding comedies, try and think of one main character who is married and it appears that marriage will be a success. Accept for Jin and Sun, I can’t think of one. Well, there is Johnston and Gail Green from Jericho, but that show is in its first season, so give it some time.

This episode truly revealed that Jin and Sun are in it for the long haul. They have been through worse than this island can throw at them, and they will survive.

It seems that just about when I am ready to give up on Lost, they bring Jin and Sun together and I am renewed in my hope for the show. Perhaps if the island can heal physical problems, maybe it can heal emotional problems too.

Lost Premier Leaves With Wanting

I understand that perhaps the biggest question at the end of season 2 of Lost was what is going to happen to Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway). Are they going to be killed? Will they be held captive? What will the others do with them?

Well, the season premier answered that. However, the show just wasn’t all that interesting.

So we learned that Jack is going to try and trick his way out of a cell. We knew that.

We learned that Sawyer can push buttons to get a fish biscuit. Big deal.

We learned that Kate looks pretty after a show and in an immodest dress. Duh.

Sorry, but this episode just wasn’t as great as last season. If this is the precursor of things to come, I just might pass.

Okay, maybe I am not used to the heroes of the show being helpless. Maybe I should give more credit to the development. However, for the season premier I would have liked to see what is going on with the Hurley and the rest of the survivors. At least from the previews for next week I gather that more entertainment is going to happen next week.

Why didn’t ABC leave is in a loop for another week and open with what I believe episode two is going to be? Maybe there is something in this episode that needed to be revealed. However, I can’t believe it was that important.

I do have to say, that it was interesting that we learned that the others seem to have a very civilized culture in a small modern day community. How did that come about? And it was revealed that they are likely “left overs” from the Dharma Project. And that was worth learning. But there was nothing more to this episode.