Wednesday January 28, 2009
503
Desmond searches for a mysterious woman that can help them stop the island's movements in time. Locke uncovers the person responsible for the attacks on the victims.
Read Full Recap » (warning: possible spoilers!)Overall the episode is good and can maintain you interest, but there aren´t that type of spectacular scenes that make this episode great. hide show
Plot Details/Objective -» This episode the writers continue to complicate Sawyer and Co life´s, since there are in the past and they have to face the Others in the past. Desmond was the focus here, since the fans wanted to know how he and Penny ended up.
What I Like/Disliked -» Desmond scenes looking for Dan´s mother was boring, little details there that wasn´t informative enough. Was nice to see that he and Penny have a child which name is Charlie. Almost all Island scene was interesting. Hated the ending.
Overall:
Presentation -» (7/10). Good presentation with Dan and Co been captured.
Complication Phase -» (8,5/10). The Island scenes provided that. Was interesting the complications they faced. Desmond scene did the contrary, since in the end, Des didn´t find Dan´s mother.
Cliffhanger/Ending -» (5/10). Only if you care for Charlotte, if it is like me, I didn´t understand why the last scene was about her.
Time and Scenes Management -» (7,9/10). Des scenes was pure filler, only his first scene was good enough. The Island Scene was interesting, but I expected a little more.
Dialogues -» (9/10). Lost Typical quality.
Action /Adventure -» (8/10). Not much better than the last week, but was interesting seeing how they would work together with Richard and Co in the past.
Drama/Emotions -» (6/10). This time, Penny and Des drama wasn´t satisfactory.
Suspense/Tension -» (7/10). Little tension with the Island Scenes.
Mystery/Curiosity/Doubts/Hints -» (9/10). With Richard in the Game, you will feel curiosity to know more. There are at least 3 nice hints.
Surprise/Twists -» (7/10). Little surprises like Charles Wildmore and Eloise, more than that is asking too much
Overall the episode is good and can maintain you interest, but there aren´t that type of spectacular scenes that make this episode great.
A good piece that introduces some key pieces of the season's story. hide show
While the Oceanic Six preparing to return to the island is the biggest piece of the "Three Years Later" subplot, they weren't the only ones to get off the island. Several characters are off who presumably still have something important to add to the story (Walt). So they bench the Oceanic Six in favor of the story of Desmond's quest to locate Daniel's mother while Daniel tries to help The Others with their bomb situation on the island 53 years previous.
Since he was never seen in flash forwards, Desmond's post rescue life was unknown, here it's shown that Desmond and Penny got married and had a child, named Charlie after the Lostie who made their reunion possible. Of course the other Charlie is Penny's father, the reason why they are in hiding on the house boat. With the time jumps, some are guessing that Charlie is a young Charles Widmore. While it's great that Lost has people theorizing about what's going on, this theory is too much. Penny would be her own granddaughter (not to mention the continually degrading DNA with the circular nature of this time travel)! Even if they softened it by having her be adopted, it's still a bit creepy.
With Desmond and Penny together and two more seasons on the clock, many viewers are rightfully worried that this relationship is going to end in tragedy like almost every other coupling on this show. Some are waiting for the "trouble in paradise" that comes whenever a couple gets together mid series and they need something to replace the tension. There were hints of that when Penny chimed in that Scotland was also where Desmond broke her heart, but it's not much further than that.
Also, there could have been tension with Desmond's mission, but Penny was easily sold on the idea of doing something Desmond was told several years earlier that he just happened to remember after waking up. There was the possibility of her thinking it was a dream or questioning it's legitimacy, but since we know it happened, that wasn't explored.
Although Desmond insists that he will never return to the island, his path to Daniel's mother, in LA with the Oceanic Six, will lead him there eventually. Now what does that mean for this relationship? A lot of people assume that Penny will have to die for him to come back, but how would they deal with that besides have him grieve and pursue revenge like Sayid? Or would they go with his original predicament being trapped on the island away from the woman he loves? She and Charlie can always come with him, but what implications would that have (besides the incest that was mentioned earlier)?
Desmond is also in an interesting place as he has overcome his major flaw, his cowardice. The best example is storming into Widmore's office unannounced, demanding information about Daniel's mother and not even speaking of Penny's condition. He couldn't do such a thing before. Desmond's life, hiding aside, isn't so bad. He gets to spend his time with the love of his life and their child, and Penny has more than enough funds to keep things stable. However, considering Desmond is a central character in the story, all these right steps may be sacrificed for him when he returns to finish his business with the island.
In the big confrontation at Widmore's office, Widmore shows a brief moment of fear and concern over his daughter. Ben put her in his cross hairs as retribution for what happened to Alex, and Widmore knows that Ben has the resources to fulfill his promise. Widmore may be aware that Ben is in LA, and having Desmond go there would put Penny at risk. For a man who seems to be in control like Widmore is, expressing any fear is worth noting.
Despite being officially a Desmond episode, we learn much more about Daniel via Desmond's search. Perhaps encouraged by what he saw in Desmond in 1996, Daniel took his research to an extreme, leaving Theresa in a catatonic state. He splits for America and Oxford pretends he never existed despite not throwing away his things. The big reveal was that Widmore was funding Daniel's research and took care of Theresa, showing temporal displacement can be relieved medically, after Daniel left. It's another interesting link tying these two characters together.
53 years earlier, the castaways are trimmed down to six following the attack from the people revealed to be the 1954 Others. Of course the ageless Richard is there, and it's common knowledge among his people that he is "old". Unlike prior times, he comes off as the leader with Ellie and a 17-year-old Charles Widmore as lieutenants. Alpert said leaders were trained young, but it's inferable from Ben's flashbacks that he really became the leader in his 30s. So at this point they were still some time from being fully anointed forces.
Widmore being one of The Others 50 years before the crash isn't surprising, but a good development. He had to have a back story with the island between his obsession finding the island and his rivalry with Ben. Obviously Ben's not around in 1954, but here we see that he was cocky underestimating Locke and such an attitude would breed a sense of entitlement when told he couldn't have something he wanted.
The Others mistake the Island Six (as they'll be known) as US soldiers. They'd been combating those intending to detonate the eponymous bomb on the island, and they believe that they are a part of this, even with Miles and Charlotte on the team. The bomb, besides being a classic device, also ties into one of Lost's major influences, The Stand, where a bomb plays a key role in the climax.
To convince The Others that he's intent on helping them with the bomb, Daniel tells Richard he's in love with Charlotte, which is more affecting than most of the shipper stuff. Although it can be hard to sympathize with Charlotte most of the time, Daniel's puppy love is definitely relatable.
Sawyer's scolding Daniel for telling Ellie they were from the future could mark a major sea change for the Losties. In the beginning they were the outsiders and The Others were the ones withholding the secrets of the island. With three plus months (give or take with time jumps) on the island, they've learned a lot about what's happening. Some have theorized the Losties will wind up the series as the new Others, so a moment like this can reinforce that claim.
It's interesting that Richard's attempts to reach Locke before the crash were because Locke told him to when he was in 1954. There are a lot of questions that come out of that, but considering the no paradox rule the producers, Richard was going to be there when he was a newborn and kid somehow. It may explain the test Richard gave Locke as a boy; instead of it connecting to the idea of reincarnation since the Dalai Lama takes a similar test when being chosen, the item literally belonged (or will belong) to the tested.
Like a lot of Lost, this introduces a lot of elements that will likely be big in the future, specifically the bomb, so it helps to rewatch after seeing the whole season. With the narrative all over the place, the writers are doing a good job keeping it together. It's no where near Desmond's best episode, but it has some points that may be important in the end.
Oh Lost, let me count the ways in which I love you. hide show
Oh Lost, let me count the ways in which I love you. First, you give us a Desmond-centric episode, complete with ultra-chilling cameo from Alan Dale and a wee bairn to boot (plenty opportunity for Des and Pen to fawn over each other; for Des to coo "I love ya Pen!" in that delightful Scottish twang of his), then you proceed to help us piece together some of the Island's less well-illuminated past and firmly demonstrate the impenetrable logistics of time travel as a character in this show's world, and finally, holiest of holies, you omit Jack and Kate from the episode entirely. Granted, this comes at the price of not seeing any of the Oceanic Six but, frankly, I'm willing to pay. That's nothing against Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly, of course: it's just that, honestly, their respective characters' narratives are the most likely to have me impatiently biting my nails, while simultaneously shouting Michael Emerson's name at the screen over and over and over. The ballad of Jack and Kate: I'm tired of it, you're tired of it, even Aaron's tired of it and he's a bloody fictional character. Thank the Lost Gods we go another week elsewhere (although from the 'sneak peek', it looks like this may be the next instalment's focus. Oh well).
So, what's so awesome about 'Jughead'? Well, the writing for one. Zbyszewski and Sarnoff strike a delectable balance between the more methodical character beats that typify Desmond's story and the intriguing unwrapping of the Island's history that characterises developments with Locke, Farraday and the rest of the gang. While the episode is told from Hume's perspective, it is very much Daniel's story: Des essentially spends the better part of his time hunting for the man's family and comes across some head-scratchingly fascinating 'facts' along the way. His mother's in LA: any chance it's 'temporal agent' crazy-lady-in-hood (a.k.a. Ms Hawking from the final moments of last week's madball ep, and 'Flashes Before Your Eyes'?) Now that would be interesting... On Island, all attention is fixed firmly on the scientist too as he tries his hardest to keep it all together, indicating that he seems to know rather more about the history of the place than his immediate companions and, most troublesome of all, he tries to deactivate a freaking hydrogen bomb. Holy smokes, that thing's scary. The key question here is what happened to the ruddy thing: since Daniel is unable to disarm it before time shifts again (we presume), where does it go? Is it buried underground? Did someone twist the 'frozen donkey wheel' and send it to the Bahamas? What?!
Maddeningly, and brilliantly, we only catch glimpses of revelation, rather than complete answers to continuing conundrums. We now know that the American military was performing experiments on the Island before DHARMA arrived and that the Others' 'uniforms' are stolen from these delightful individuals. It is highly likely, therefore, that the Others' status as 'hostiles' is borne of their need to defend themselves against this perceived threat to their home, and that they have become still more territorial over the years as 'invasion' (if you will) after 'invasion' has hit the Island. Then there's two absolutely key reveals: first, Locke's conversation with Richard which, despite being interrupted mid-flow and only containing his name and place of birth, is absolutely crucial to an understanding of Lost's deeper machinations. Remember last year's 'Cabin Fever' when Richard showed up at a young Locke's door, apparently out of nowhere? Well, this explains why. He had been effectively persuaded to do so by Locke himself! he cycle, if you like, is complete. Future Locke appears in 1954, tells Richard when and where he will be born and that he is the Others' future leader, Richard remembers and visits him a few years later to test the idea. Beautiful temporailty and the perfect example of how time travel should work on a conceptual level.
The second reveal is the appearance of Charles Widmore as an Other. This is huge and helps explain the man's rabid obsession with the Island: he was there before. Probably, he was born there. His connection is therefore extremely strong. What happened to make him fall from grace? Was he ex-communicated? Banished? Doubtless this will be addressed in a future episode; however, there's another subtle connection to ponder here. If young Widmore has been told Daniel's name and he knows the story about him being a scientist from the future, this would explain how current Widmore (future Widmore) knew to call up Farraday and fund his experiments in time travel: young Widmore knew of Dan's existence before the scientist knew of his. Phew. So, complex time travel intricacies, compelling narratives, mythological revelations and - shock of shocks - Charlotte potentially dead at episode's end? Another absolutely cracking instalment. Oh Lost, there just aren't the words.
It's 2009. No, it's 1943. No, it's 1983. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the island the Lost writers have gone even crazier than before, leaving us stranded in a sea of confusion. hide show
In it; Desmond goes in search of a woman who could be able to stop the island's wild movements through time and Locke discovers something more important than a cure for baldness, it is the identity of the people who've been attacking the survivors. It looks like Mr Abrhams and the other writers have dug a hole so deep with silly 4th season plots that only this industrial - strength narrative of time travel can get them out. Fans can still rejoice in trying to find out where the small details fit; the logos, number sequences, the number of survivors who share their names with philosohpers (couldn't they go with the old SNL casts, fewer people know their names), the mystery of Kate's hair and i could go on all day but in Lost time, God knows how long that would be. Other than that, people can just sit back and enjoy the increasingly wild ride of Lost without making an attempt to analyse it. In the meantime, the now very brazen movements in time (that are coupled with telltale flashes of white light) manages to do what many thought were impossible, making Lost more confusing. I havn't seen so many jumps through time since i last watched MAX. This show has succeded in revamping the series; the structure is new, the vibe is different and most of the characters personalities have changed due to the shifting between settings however the general excellence of the earlier seasons has been obscured. Here the mysteries just feel totally out of context and most of the nuances feel like they were lifted right out of previous episodes. Lost is younger, sleeker and updated but at this rate it doesn't look like "better" can be added to that list.
Desmond searches for Daniel's mother, who's identity still remains a mystery while the survivors on the island meet the Hostiles. hide show
Not only did this episode provide us with many answers, (Charles Widmore was on the island! And he was a member of "the Hostiles"! Locke sent Richard to find him as a child!) it also gave one of the most rewarding and entertaining couples on the show, Desmond and Penny, a whole lot of screentime. It was really sweet to find out that they had called their son Charlie and it was even better to see Desmond make the decision to stick by Penny at the end of the episode (something I was not expecting... as far as Lost and it's tragic love stories go). The on island part of this episode provided us with a large chunk of answers through a very fast paced encounter with the Hostiles (the earliest time period we have EVER seen on this show, I believe) as well as a really hectic cliffhanger. Charlotte collapsing into a bloody mess gave us one more reason to await next week's episode in anticipation. Daniel was great, Desmond was back in full capacity and we finally learnt Charles Widmore's connection to the island. It was nice to have a break from the Oceanic Six stories, and finally to see some of the island's history. A really solid episode.
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