So, Desmond's vision wasn't wrong, it just took a bit to fully come together ... poor Charlie, his heroic effort was quite touching, especially when he used his last moments to scribble a warning to Desmond. I also enjoyed his attitude, humor and scheming when he was being held captive.

Official word from important players seems to be that Charlie is Eko-Boone-Shannon dead, not merely Patchy dead. EW.com has an interview with Dominic Monaghan and the producers talking about the decision that Charlie would die.

The reaction to Charlie's death seems to fall into three camps:

1)C'mon Charlie, you didn't even try! You could have made it out with some effort! Aaarggh, stupid druggie rock star.

2) Practical, believable reasons mean that Charlie couldn't have gotten out safely (insert long discussions of air pockets, how moon pools function, here). Doing what he did allowed Desmond to live despite Patchy's sabotage.

3) Charlie could have made it out with some effort, but didn't even try because he was commited to the idea that carrying out Desmond's vision completely was necessary for rescue to occur.

I have read pages of discussion on this issue, and here's what all this hullabaloo reminds me of: Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars. Think about it. Obi-Wan Kenobi sacrifices himself for reasons that seem to have little logical connection to his actual circumstances. I still remember the first time I went nuts over the fact that everyone was already getting away, the mission was accomplished and Obi-Wan just stands there and let's Vader take him out without even putting up a fight.

Does this mean that now that the station's killed him, Charlie will become even more powerful than we can imagine? Hmmm, probably not. But Charlie made the ultimate sacrifice to save those he loved, so that's bound to confer a certain level of immortality. Not bad for a one-hit wonder, in the end.

Posted by Pam Harris at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I figured Charlie was a goner, what with the flashbacks and the present-day action reminding us why we liked him in the first place. It's so Lost to show a character's vulnerability and strengths before sending him to the chopping block. Loved the surprise that the station isn't flooded, but does have even more unknown players who are armed and dangerous.

Other thoughts:

Ben bugs out: When Ben returned to camp, it seemed like he wasn't even trying to hide the crazy anymore. His zeal for capturing or killing pretty much everyone seemed to alarm his little gang. It made me wonder how long even a freaky-deaky weird-science-style cult was going to keep listening to his orders.

Man with a plan: Was intrigued by Jack's sudden openess and the development of a potentially effective plan, but am still in wait-and-see mode with him. It's been widely circulated that the season finale will feature Jack-centric flashbacks of considerable significance. I'm curious and looking forward to a Jack story more than I have in some time.

Desmond's visions: For a mysterious ability over which he has no control, Desmond is certainly trusting of his visions being accurate and worthy of action. What to make of the fact that his vision for Charlie was completely off? I still trust Desmond, but don't trust his supposed "psychic" ability. It seems more likely that speculation that these visions are manipulation by outside forces is correct.

Charlie's hits: I'm with Doug, it was incredibly touching to see Charlie reflect on the high points of what he sadly dubbed his "excuse" for a life. Sniff. One odd note, this show has gone to such extremes with all the evil dads, that I was actually scared during the pool scene with kid Charlie -- I thought at first his dad was going to let him let sink just to teach him to swim. It was nice to see a positive family moment for a change.

Overall, this episode really moved the plot forward and got us in position for confrontations to come in the finale. It seems increasingly clear that the crash survivors aren't stranded so much as they are imprisoned, and this distinction is going to be a huge part of the show going forward I think.

This ep ignored Locke's fate, which I expected, but here's hoping some answer on Locke is coming next week. It would be too cruel to make us wait until 2008 to know!

Speaking of cruel, loved the little exchange where Karl threw Juliet under the bus ("They already know, but thanks, Karl"). Ha. The humorous character bits in the midst of all the outlandish storylines have always been a part of why I love Lost so.

Posted by Pam Harris at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Locke dead from a gunshot wound? Please, nooooo....we've been through so much with him on a crazy journey from the beginning, and I'm not ready to lose what he brings to the table.

This episode freaked me out. I did not see Ben turning on Locke to that extent coming at all. Here's hoping Locke will be get a reprieve and make it through somehow.

Ben is more ruthless (and nutty) than I had imagined. Killing his own father (sitting right there with him, too, not even doing it from afar) and being in on the mass murder of his little village -- ice cold. Especially if Annie, his childhood bud, was part of the purge (who knows at this point).

Per usual, everything we are told just brings up more questions. (For one, what's up with Richard staying forever young -- do original recipe Islanders not age? The encounter with Jacob -- total put-on by Ben, an insane Ben projecting, some actual manifestation of a real being known as Jacob? What is the real agenda of the people we know as Others, who appear to be putting on a good show about still being Dharma doing their thing?) But I don't care, I am loving the ride and can't believe we are closing in on the end of Lost for the entire year.

And if you are still wondering: Am I crazy, or did some kind of figure show up during the Jacob scene? A figure could be glimpsed in the shadows, it helps to pause the DVR and go really slowly to check it out. Here's a link to my favorite screencaps site, which got the Jacob images up pronto.

Posted by Pam Harris at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Wow, what an intense and involving episode. This has been a really great season, dating from the big episode break. On to the specific points to praise and ponder:

The Others get creepy again: After so much faux-suburbia doings, it was cool to see the Others regain a bit of their strange, inhuman spookiness. I found the scene where they gathered around to watch the execution of EvilLockeDaddy -- ultimately turning away in disappointment -- to be quite chilling, especially given the children from the plane crash taking it all in. It was just very cult-like and strange. These folks obviously think whatever grand mission they are on justifies all sorts of behavior, including the willy-nilly killing of anyone doesn't get their "good person" seal of approval.

Along those lines, Ben's matter-of-fact description to Locke of the raid-to-come on the beach was both scary and funny. The tone struck me as something like: "Oh Locke, don't make that face, we abduct pregnant women all the time and it's fine. You 815 people make such a fuss about every little experiment we do, honestly."

Continue reading "The Brig" »

Posted by Pam Harris at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

How this future-flash-thing of Desmond's works seems more confusing to me than ever. Among other things: Desmond was determined to get the gang out in the jungle to make his vision happen. But if he didn't have that vision ... why in the world would they have wound up out there in the first place?

Anyway, I liked the episode quite a bit, unanswered questions and all. I was glad that Desmond couldn't "sacrifice" Charlie to try (if only in his mind) to make Penny's appearance a reality. Way to not join the killing brigade around there.

The big reveal from the episode was that the creepy gray-haired woman (I think of her as the Oracle from The Matrix) who was determined to get Desmond out to the island showed up in a desktop pic with the head monk. This seems to tell us that Desmond has been manipulated on his path by certain people -- can't tell if they are doing so for good or bad reasons -- for a really long time.

Lots of the chatter about this revelation has focused on how lousy the photo itself looks. Another Lost mystery: Crappy Photoshop, intentional clue or just sloppy?

Click here for a closer look at the pic.

Posted by Pam Harris at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A compelling flashback, intriguing character interaction, new revelations and some forward momentum -- what's not to love about this Locke-centric episode?

What stood out for me:

The sleazebag dad: It's unsurprising that Daddy Dearest was involved with Locke's injury, but wow, I was shocked that it was that sudden and direct. I figured him more for someone who would hire a thug to attack Locke, or slam into him with a car.

So here's yet another handy lesson from sad-sack Locke: If you're dealing with a known sleazebag, especially one you suspect of murder, don't confront him alone. Non-island Locke was such a schmo, it's understandable -- if not necessarily forgivable -- that he wants to leave that life behind.

This theory has been floated, and I'm a believer: Daddy Dearest has just got to be the same con man who destroyed young Sawyer's family. His scumbagginess is far too vast to be confined to just one storyline.

And now Daddy Dearest is imprisoned on the island. Which makes me wonder:

Continue reading " Now that's some Lost" »

Posted by Pam Harris at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Enjoyed it. Not as mind-bending as the Desmond episode (a high point of the season in my mind) but some really good stuff overall. Some impressions:

Locke, you're breaking my heart: For heaven's sake, if a computer told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it? Seems like he is still the patsy every time he interacts with a computer. I can understand his attempts to link to communication, but it seemed a bit much to just blindly key in every single number intoned by lab coat guy. Please, tell me there is something subliminal going on in these orientation films that is causing people to be so malleable.

And seriously, who walks away from the dangerous prisoner to play a computer game? We get one episode where Kate manages not to be used as a hostage, and now we've got Locke bumbling around instead.

Sayid's journey: As far as the flasbacks, I believe that Sayid was telling the truth to the woman when he apologized and said that he had been haunted by her face. If it does turn out that he was not her interrogator, my take would be that he apologized to her in recognition of the pain that he caused so many others that are not in a position to confront him.

Continue reading "More on Enter 77" »

Posted by Pam Harris at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

"Stranger in a Strange Land" really sucked me in.
I kept looking at the time because I was afraid the episode was going to end any second, and there were so many things I wanted to understand. (And of course, KNEW I wouldn't... but that's part of the charm, right?)
A few questions were answered, but so many new ones replaced them.
We know:
•   Juliet and the Others do not live on the island where they're keeping Jack. That's just where they “work.” Of course, all of that should be in past tense now, since they abandoned the island and headed for "home." Where-ever that is.
•   Cindy, the stewardess from Flight 815, is okay and has some pretty healthy-looking kids.
But what was she there “to watch?” An execution? Too bad. Jack saved the day.
•   Sawyer is completely and undeniably in love with Kate. She’s the woman he’d “name stars with.” So what’s her deal? So… she wants to rescue Jack. Does that mean anything more than just that? Honestly, who could walk away from a friend in a dangerous situation and just forget about it?
•   The Others steal children “to give them a better life,” according to Karl. But what does that mean?
But here’s what really stood out for me:

Continue reading "More Lost loose ends" »

Posted by Katharyn at 2:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Here's what Television Without Pity had to say about Charlie's preordained death:

And get this: Desmond's been trying to save Charlie. Because the universe wants to kill Charlie. Hee! My question: since Desmond knows the future can't be changed, why's he knocking himself out? The universe will have its way. Course-correcting, dude. Sorry, Charlie.

Get the full TWOP breakdown here.

Posted by Pam Harris at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Loved it. Great episode, full of intrigue and quirky humor, bringing us back to the Lost I fell in love with.

Some first impressions:

Straight talk: My relief was immense when Locke simply said "The island killed him" when talking to Hurley and Charlie about Eko's death. I have had it with the complications that result when people on this show hide or distort their experiences. What a relief that there is no weak cover story to keep up with in light of Eko's grim demise.

Beautiful back story: Desmond and Penny, what a great love story, even if Desmond is swayed too dramatically by the cold-blooded father instead of fighting for with what is right for both of them.

I love stories where people can be seen as being on a journey to reach for greatness or to realize their true potential. Still, I think Desmond was in fact being swayed onto the wrong path with the message he was receiving that pushing the button was his chance to accomplish something of consequence. Desmond and other Losties often seem to be easily manipulated when it comes to not being "good enough" in some fashion, so I wouldn't necessarily buy what any apparent messenger of fate (that's you, white-haired ring-bearer) is selling.

Continue reading "The Desmond episode" »

Posted by Pam Harris at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Whenever I see Alex charge onto the scene with her slingshot, I flash back to scenes from Return of the Jedi where the Ewoks manage to take down the Empire's heavy-duty weaponry armed with rocks, vines and teddy-bear-like cuteness. If Alex can cause this much trouble with her little slingshot, the Others would do well to keep her away from the actual guns.

Disturbing Ewok memories aside, I really felt bad for Alex, fighting to save her boyfriend and flee only to remain left behind on Other island in the end. I didn't know what to make of the references to Ben as her father -- isn't she supposed to be Rousseau's long-lost, stolen daughter? Do the Others claim the captive children as their own, and she was lucky enough to draw Ben, or is he actually supposed to be her bio-dad?

Here's hoping that Karl will be capable of providing some useful information once the great escape is complete.

Posted by Pam Harris at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)