LOST---The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Part IV

Quick addition to make onto last week’s review; I did mean to mention Jin’s return in the “good” category. The thought got lost among others while writing the review(sorry sorry sorry). I am very glad the writers did not decide to kill him off.

Alienating people? Nobody forces you to read my reviews, nor do I force you to believe them, so if you decide that you do not want to read my reviews, then you have alienated yourself. I am only responsible for what I say and do. I am not responsible for your reactions to what I say and do. Saying that it is my fault if you choose not to read my reviews is fundamentally the same as saying that it is a girl’s fault for getting raped---and I know my friends well enough to know they do not believe that shit.

If the reason you like LOST is because it keeps your attention then I’m glad for you. All I’m saying is that there are multiple ways of capturing attention besides repeating the same technique every episode.

Okay, now onto the review:

All right, glad to know it is getting interesting and worthwhile again. For once, the dialogue in this episode was actually pretty good, and somewhat entertaining; and halle-fucking-luyah-bring-

out-the-Neapolitan-band-and-start-the-tarantella the writers are not going to spend all of season five on just convincing everyone to get back onto the island! That was a fucking relief to finally learn.

The good:

1. “First, a boat. Then a helicopter. Next thing you know, he’s going to start talking about a submarine.” Haha: yes that was very good.

2. “Ben told me to watch after his people.” “And when has listening to him ever been worth a damn?” Haha again: finally, someone is starting to force the Losties to accept the truth.

3. Ben finally speaking out. I like it because it is part of what I have been saying about changing the fundamentals, even though Ben did go back to being his normal self afterwards.

The bad:

1. That French guy getting his arm pulled off. I don’t know why, but the way it was presented was just…bland. One funny aspect of it though “Help me please! I’m hurt!” Really? You think? One other thing, if where he lost his arm was right next to the temple, why didn’t “Smokey the monster” attack the Losties when they came upon the spot in the first season, and why didn’t Danielle tell them about the temple at all then too? Then again, having that guy lose his arm then and there could have been the whole course-correcting thing again. What a convenient device!

2. Speaking of Danielle; though it was nice to see her again, I have no idea what her significance to this episode was. I mean, I guess Jin had to get rescued somehow and Danielle’s boat seemed the perfect bridge for that, but other than that it all seemed pointless. The temple could have been shown to us in a much quicker, to-the-point fashion…::sigh:: sorry, I almost forgot, it’s LOST.

3. Miles: “How did she know to lead us here?” Charlotte(on another part of the island): “I’ve been on this island before; I lived here…” Again, how REMARKABLY convenient. On a different note, I am somewhat sad to Charlotte go. I was starting to like her character, even though she was a text book case of a damsel in distress in that dramatic, “Oh no, I’ve fainted!” kind of way. And I wanted to see Daniel happy, because as we get deeper into the season, he’s becoming more depressive. Oh yes, and it appears even Charlotte has something to do with the fucking Dharma Platypus Cloning Industry.

The ugly:

1. I was going to talk about how this show has seemed to turn “the universe” into it’s own character, but the writers have explained how the island keeps moving through time and it does not appear to be the universe leading it. Despite this, the universe still seems to have a mind of its own, which gives the creeps in a very bad way. The reason the island keeps moving through time is because Ben got the donkey wheel stuck; which makes me wonder why nobody has not just killed him yet; somebody either dies, somebody gets hurts, or the entire space/time continuum gets fucked up every time Ben so much as breathes on something.

2. The last review sparked a little debate over whether or not LOST’s uncanny habit of getting people to come back every week makes the show good. So I decided to do some extra research. This past week I went around asking people one question: simply because a show makes you want more, does that make that show good? The consensus was that it made the show entertaining. When I reiterated the question of “does that make the show good?”, the answer was either “I don’t know” or some not-straightforward-answer that might as well have been “I don’t know.” Then, I asked my roommate, and he agreed that that aspect of the show made it entertaining. When I then asked if that made it good, his answer brought up a point that no one else had considered. He told me to “think into the future. LOST is over. Would you go back and watch any of the episodes over again?” I thought about it for a minute.

No. No, I probably wouldn’t. And, if I may be so bold as to speak for the rest of the fans, I don’t think anybody else will either. Keep in mind, I’m talking about watching and enjoying individual, random episodes. That is almost impossible to do with LOST, because all each episode of LOST does is allude to OTHER episodes of LOST. There’s nothing really enjoyable about any individual episode of this show. One has to have seen previous episodes to even find it interesting. And I guess that is not so terrible, but it does raise a severe concern---well, let me put it this way: I encourage you who enjoy LOST to keep enjoying it while it lasts, because it will not survive the test of time. One of the reasons that TV shows like MASH, Friends, Seinfeld, and Boy Meets World still remain popular to this day is because their content is unconditional. LOST is not that way, therefore it will be forgotten, eventually by even its oldest fans.

Not what some people wanted to hear, I’m sure, but it could happen. I do cut LOST some slack here, though. It really is one of the first TV shows of its kind, and being the first is not always easy. I respect it, and I still watch it so it does retain a small chunk of my heart. I do not what to see the show go up in a pile of flames. I want to see it survive the test of time. Too bad it is probably going to be a one hit wonder.

Ciao.