My Top Ten Favorite Robert Downey Jr. Movies May 30, 2009

From the moment I first saw Robert Downey Jr. play Cybill Shepherd’s reincarnated husband in Chances Are, I’ve considered him one of my favorite actors. Early in his film career, he charmed us with his handsome face, his winning smile, and his witty humor. In more recent years, he’s played a variety of roles, many – but not all – of them more serious than the romantic comedy leads that first brought him fame. After watching The Soloist last month, I was reminded of not only what a great actor RDJ is, but how much I love him! So in the spirit of fandom, I’m counting down my Top Ten Favorite Robert Downey Jr. Movies. I’ve even tried to rank them!

• 10. Soapdish (1991) – I haven’t seen this movie in years, but from what I remember, and from the impressive cast roster (RDJ was joined by Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Whoopi Goldberg, Teri Hatcher, etc.), I am certain that it was entertaining and amusing. I’ve always found real soap operas very comical (mainly because they are so bad), so I am a fan of a movie that uncovers humor behind the scenes of a soap. Robert Downey is in the center of the action as producer of the fictional soap The Sun Also Sets. Much hilarity ensues. I need to watch this one again!

• 9. Heart and Souls (1993) – Someone must have been trying to capitalize off the popularity of Chances Are by making another “life after death” fantasy movie. In Chances Are, Robert Downey was the one who died and returned to earth in another body. In Heart and Souls, he plays a regular guy (Thomas) who has four guardian angels, who have been “attached” to him since the night they died in a bus crash while he was being born. The plot revolves around Thomas helping his angels take care of unfinished business before they can move on to the afterlife, and during that process he learns a thing or two about himself. This isn’t Oscar material, but it is a feel good story with likable characters and a few great songs (most notably “Walk Like a Man”). Another plus is that the story takes place in San Francisco, one of my favorite movie settings. Downey and Elisabeth Shue have good chemistry as the romantic leads as well.

• 8. Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) – Robert Downey looks good in black and white! Actually, he looks good in just about anything. He has a timeless appeal, whether he’s playing a Renaissance character in Restoration, a silent movie icon in Chaplin, or a McCarthy-era journalist in this movie. The George Clooney directed Good Night, and Good Luck was surprisingly good, and had a timely message about the role and responsibilities of the news media. Robert Downey portrayed real life CBS journalist Joe Wershba, and the most significant aspect of his character was his secret marriage to co-worker Shirley (secret because of CBS’ policy at the time that no co-workers should be romantically involved). Downey and Patricia Clarkson brought these characters to life, and this subplot humanized an otherwise issue-oriented film.

• 7. Wonder Boys (2000) – This is one of those offbeat, at times bizarre movies that is difficult to describe to someone who hasn’t seen it. It deals with writer’s block, the theft of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, a transvestite named Antonia, and everything in between. As a story about the difficulties and adventures that come with being a writer, it’s enjoyable. As a tale of lost souls who are searching for companionship, validation, and a sense of belonging, it’s fascinating. Robert Downey, Jr. plays Grady Tripp’s (Michael Douglas) editor, Terry Crabtree. They have worked together for years and so understand each other. Terry is one of the more unconventional characters that Downey has played. Terry brings Antonia, a transvestite he met on the plane, as his companion for a weekend visit to take a look at Grady’s unfinished book. Before long, though, he dismisses Antonia when he becomes infatuated with James Leer (Tobey Maguire), one of Grady’s creative writing students. Katie Holmes also stars, as James’ friend Hannah, who is interested in Grady. But Grady is too busy juggling ex-wives and and a current lover – who is pregnant, and married to his boss – to reciprocate. What follows is a series of misadventures that lead these characters toward their own forms of resolution. A year after this movie was released, Downey’s problems with the law and substance abuse started to subside, as he successfully completed a drug rehab program, and his career had a resurgence (after a slump during his late ’90s personal problems). Wonder Boys, then, marked the beginning of Downey’s rise to critical acclaim that has continued throughout this decade (we’ll pretend like The Shaggy Dog never happened).

• 6. Iron Man (2008) – What a fun surprise this movie was! In addition to being a fantastically entertaining action movie with impressive special effects, it proved that Robert Downey can play any role he sets his mind to. I was more than a little skeptical when I heard he was playing the lead in an action hero movie. My thoughts included, “Don’t those roles usually go to younger, buffer actors? Isn’t he like 40? That’s just weird!” But, it so wasn’t! He was his usual charming self as Tony Stark, billionaire genius and inventor. And in the tradition of comic heroes, we saw how he evolved from a self-centered playboy to an iron-clad beast saving the world. And I needed not be skeptical about Downey’s age or physique. He looked awfully good in his tux and his Iron Man suit.   Click here to read my full review of Iron Man.

• 5. Zodiac (2007) – This movie about the 15+ year investigation into the real life Zodiac killer is part horror, part mystery, part drama, but they all add up to one solid, excellent movie. The murder scenes are some of the most disturbing ones I’ve seen, but as long as you can make it through those, you are in for a gripping account of this criminal investigation, and the toll it took on those involved. Robert Downey, Jr. plays Paul Avery, a crime reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, who becomes wrapped up in the mystery of the Zodiac killer. This unidentified killer starts sending clues to the newspaper through letters with encrypted codes. This draws the attention of political cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), who becomes obsessed with deciphering the codes. Both men eventually connect with Detective Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), who has been assigned to the case, and this trio struggles over several years to unravel the mystery of the Zodiac killer. I love all three of these actors, so this movie was a joy for me to watch. They all did an excellent job with their roles, but especially Robert Downey. We see Avery go from a spirited, ambitious journalist to a downtrodden, substance abusing recluse over the course of the investigation. So, no, this isn’t a feel good movie. But as a factual account of the Zodiac investigation, it is intriguing, and as a study of the cost of obsession and professional ambition, it rings true and has me engaged from beginning to end. Another winner for Robert Downey!

• 4. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) – I watched this movie for the first time when it came on TBS last summer. Why didn’t I watch it sooner?! It was simply a delightful breath of fresh air! It is billed as a comedy mystery thriller, and I would stress the comedy part of that equation. Most private detective movies are very dark, with only the most deadpan of humor thrown in the mix. I loved how this movie didn’t take itself seriously – at all – and Robert Downey was largely to thank for its fun, quirky tone. He plays Harry Lockhart, a small time thief who stumbles upon an acting audition while trying to evade the cops, at which point he begins posing as an actor who shadows a private eye (Val Kilmer) to prepare for a new role. The ensuing chain of events reunites him with a childhood friend, and involves him in a murder mystery. What makes this movie so entertaining is Harry’s voice over narration, through which he points out the humor or irony of various parts of the story, interjects random sidebars, and occasionally backtracks. Here’s one example of his sarcastic narration: “Don’t worry, I saw Lord of the Rings. I’m not going to end this 17 times.” I love it when Robert Downey plays witty, irreverent characters!

• 3. The Soloist (2009) – Of all the character types that Downey has played, I think I like him best as a journalist. He plays tenacious reporter very well, no matter the decade. (1950s in Good Night and Good Luck, 1970s-80s in Zodiac, and 2000s in The Soloist.) And his character in The Soloist, L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez, is very likable. He has a strained relationship with his son and wife (Catherine Keener), from whom he is separated. When he isn’t in the office or tracking down his next story, he lives a life of solitude in an apartment where he has never unpacked his moving boxes, and where his only solace is writing his column and listening to old records. Enter Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a homeless, schizophrenic musical prodigy, who Lopez encounters on the street and proceeds to develop an unlikely friendship with during the course of collecting information for his column. The more I think about this movie, the more I like it. Like I said before, Downey’s character is very likable, flaws and all. He is a lonely, troubled, but good-hearted man who you root for during the movie just as much as you do for Foxx’s character. I love movies that introduce us to lonely or isolated characters, and show what happens when they let down their guard long enough to let someone else in. Other movies in this category include The Visitor and The Station Agent. Go see The Soloist! It is well worth two hours of your life.

• 2. Chances Are (1989) – This is an odd little movie, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. Robert Downey plays Alex Finch, a college aged guy who is living in his car when he meets Miranda, who happened to be his daughter in a previous life. Not realizing that, he becomes interested in her, but before long she introduces him to her mother, Corinne, who coincidentally was his wife in a previous life. When they meet, something clicks in his head, and he starts to remember his previous life. The rest of the movie finds humor in young Alex acting like a father figure to Miranda, Corinne trying to figure out if Alex is really her Louie or if he’s just crazy, and family friend Philip trying to finally successfully romance Corinne. The Cher/Peter Cetera duet “After All” is perfect at the end of the movie, and ignoring the potential incest topic, the story wraps up nicely. Robert Downey is at his most charming and funny in this movie. Click here to read my thoughts in a previous post about Chances Are and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which I watched during the same weekend last summer.

• 1. Only You (1994) – Drumroll please……. and the winner is Only You! So why does a silly ’90s romantic comedy earn the #1 spot on my list of favorite Robert Downey, Jr. movies? Well, first of all, it really is a good movie – entertaining, funny, sweet, beautiful… Secondly, I have a nostalgic attachment to this movie. I watched this movie several times when I was in high school. I had the soundtrack. I had a celebrity crush on two of the actors (RDJ, of course, and Billy Zane). A few years later, I spent a summer semester in Rome, Italy, which inspired me to watch the movie again, since many of its scenes take place in Rome and other locations in Italy. This is probably my favorite romantic comedy of all time. All the actors are great for their parts: Bonnie Hunt, Fisher Stevens, Marisa Tomei, and most importantly, Robert Downey, Jr. He plays Peter, a charming man who knows a lot about shoes but doesn’t always tell the whole truth about everything else. I enjoyed the fantastical adventures that Peter, Faith, and Kate experience in bella Italy. Click here to read more of my thoughts on Only You.

So there you have it. My top ten favorite Robert Downey, Jr. movies. It looks like he has some more good ones coming up, including Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man 2. I’ll just pretend like Tropic Thunder never happened, since it’s about the only black spot on the last decade of his career. And, actually, Downey’s character was the best thing about that movie! It’s funny to me that he was nominated for an Oscar for that role, but I suppose he did play it well. Kudos to Robert Downey, Jr., for always doing an outstanding job with any role he is given, for always being thoroughly entertaining, and for overcoming his personal struggles to continue his successful and memorable acting career.

SYTYCD 2009: Auditions in L.A. and Seattle May 28, 2009

Tonight’s first stop was Los Angeles, where Nigel and Mary were joined by Adam Shankman, who was for the most part in a toned down mood. The final audition city was Seattle, where Mia Michaels served as the guest judge.

Some of the highlights tonight had nothing to do with the contestants’ auditions. My favorite moment was when Katie, Joshua, Lauren, and Comfort sat down at the judges’ table and critiqued Adam Shankman when he did an impromptu “audition” with a lindy hop dancer. That was a fun. And how nice that last year’s top two have already made an appearance so early this season, when Danny and Sabra never appeared, and were hardly ever mentioned, last season! I also liked Mia’s pronouncement, “Absolutely disgusting!” during the bad dancer montage from Seattle.

On the other hand, the “Battle in Seattle” between Leo and Sex was unnecessary and unfortunate. One weirdo loser is already too much on this show, so two of them is just wrong. I would much rather have ended the episode with an inspiring, memorable audition. Seattle must have really been low on talent!

My favorite dancers tonight:

• Nathan Trasoras – The judges loved this 17 year old dancer, and so did I! I was disappointed when I learned that he was one year shy of eligibility for the competition, but was relieved when Nigel signed a “ticket to Vegas” good for season six this fall. I look forward to seeing more of Nathan! He has a whole dark, brooding, Jacob Black from Twilight thing going on that will make girls of all ages his fans.
• Arielle Coker – I thought she looked familiar when she came out on stage to dance with Philip Chbeeb. The judges didn’t mention it, but she auditioned last season in Dallas, and I had this to say about her at that time, when she stood out to me: “Although her partner, John, didn’t get to show much of what he could do, she was fascinating to watch. She’s exactly the type of dancer this show loves: fresh-faced, poised, and her movements seemed effortless. Actually, her style and presence remind me of another dancer from last season – Sabra!” I am glad she returned this year, and borrowed someone who was already a favorite of the judges to help her get noticed.
• Kelsea Taylor – This “zany” dancer with the blue streaks and red flower in her hair was like a female version of last year’s contestant, Mark, with her herky jerky movements, and Mia’s description of her as a “beautiful, disastrous weirdo.” She’s been my favorite female contestant so far this year.

Can’t wait for Vegas week to begin!

SYTYCD 2009: Auditions in Miami and Memphis May 27, 2009

Apparently the producers told the guest judges to really ham it up this year. Last week we had kooky Sonya, praising anyone who showed the least bit of talent, and this week it was Tyce Diorio, in Miami, lambasting all the bad dancers and taking exaggerated sighs of relief when there was a good audition. They seemed to highlight more poor auditions in this episode, and I opted to fast forward through many of those, rather than sitting through the sheer awkwardness (not to mention the waste of my time). Lil’ C took over as guest judge in Memphis. I appreciated his patience and constructive criticism, even for the worst dancers. (For example, telling that Backstreet Boy cousin to look into the dance style called trickin’.)

Only a few of the dancers stood out to me in tonight’s two hour episode:

• Janette Manrara and Romulo Villaverde – This couple stood out to me more this year than last year. They had great chemistry, stayed in synch with each other almost the whole time, and were fun to watch. I am also glad that Janette got rid of the ugly blond streaks in her hair.
• Talia Rickards – I was touched by Talia’s intro, about marrying her high school sweetheart only to lose him four years later in a motorcycle accident. It’s nice that she has dance as an outlet, and although her audition lacked complexity, she brought a lot of energy and strength. I see some potential for a fan favorite here. Maybe she will shine when some famous choreographers are creating her dance moves.
• Evan Kasprzak – I thought I recognized this Gene Kelly-esque dancer from last season. He was thoroughly entertaining, and his old-style technique stood out from the crowd of more contemporary dancers. I look forward to seeing more of him, but hope he can take on a variety of dance styles. I didn’t quite get his brother’s whoopie-cushion accompanied performance. A bit too cheesy for my taste. But both of these guys will be fun to watch in Broadway routines, should either of them make it into the Top 20.

Tomorrow night we’ll see auditions in Los Angeles and Seattle. I’m anxious to move on to the real competition!

24: Digesting the Last Four Hours May 25, 2009

So I finally finished watching this season of 24. Considering that I was five episodes behind as of three days ago, it’s impressive that I only finished a week past the finale’s air date. For some reason, my interest in the show waned about mid April. Crazy, right? How can you just stop watching 24 midstream? It was around the time that it was revealed that Tony was, in fact, bad after all. I was disappointed by this turn of events, and was annoyed by all the drama with Olivia at the White House. Thankfully, I was happy to see the plot take a couple of last minute detours to give us a high octane, fascinating finish to the season.

I’m always amazed when I think back to the beginning of any given season of 24, and realize how many turns the story has taken since then. It’s no different this time around. I blogged about the first four hours of season seven back in January; so many characters that were integral in those episodes, and all the storylines that kept us tuning in, are things of the distant past now. Jack was working with Agent Walker, as well as Bill, Chloe, and Tony. Their enemy was a Sangalan warlord who had ties to corrupt American goverment officials. Fast forward to the end of the season, and all the Sangalans have either been killed off or taken into custody. Jack’s crew changed several times over the course of the season. He turned on Agent Walker a couple of times, and Tony turned on Jack a couple of times. Bill sacrificed his own life to save the President, and Chloe was arrested and then released again to help save the day. As for the White House events, I wasn’t a huge fan of the siege during which Bill died. Once that settled down, though, I found the family politics of President Taylor and her daughter mildly entertaining. Olivia could have been this year’s Kim, but she was just intriguing enough to escape that stigma.

Rather than summarize the closing hours of the season, since everyone probably watched them before I did, I’ll give my opinion on the major plot turns the writers gave us as the clock ticked down.

• The Shadow Organization’s Plot to Release a Bioweapon in D.C. – As ludicrous as this story was, that a secret organization would throw caution to the wind and throw together a last minute terrorist attack in a desperate attempt to seize control of the U.S. government, it was highly entertaining. I try not to analyze the motivations of this organization too much. I mean, we don’t know what issues they had with the current U.S. government (other than what Jonas Hodges ranted about), or what they intended to do if they somehow gained control and seized power. But at least the writers tied up some loose ends from previous seasons, including explaining President Logan’s involvement with these people and identifying the mastermind responsible for Michelle and President Palmer’s deaths. Back to the bioweapon plot: they cast a likable actor (Omid Abtahi, who recently played Tony the tech guy on My Own Worst Enemy) to play a character we wanted to survive his unfortunate circumstances. As Jibraan, the innocent immigrant that Tony’s gang chose as the fall guy for their operation, he humanized the already disturbing chain of events. To say that the action in these episodes was fast-paced is putting it mildly. From Jack and Renee’s frantic rush to locate Tony and the device, to Jibraan racing up the stairs of the subway, and finally to Jack throwing the bioweapon into a sealed compartment just in the nick of time, this would have been a satisfying final chapter to the season. Instead, we got a final burst of intense plot twists.
• Olivia’s been a very bad girl – Another silly element of this season was President Taylor’s quick reconciliation with her estranged daughter Olivia, and her even swifter appointment of her as her Chief of Staff. But once I got used to Olivia acting like a spoiled, selfish child all the time, I was entertained by this campy diversion from the main events. In a moment of understandable anger over Jonas Hodges’ escape from prosecution for a life in Witness Protection, she orders a hit on his life, only to back out at the last minute. Too bad for her that her shady contact told the hitman to proceed anyway. What followed was a series of events during which Olivia got what she’d had coming to her for a long time. I love that Aaron and Ethan Kanin worked together to uncover the truth – I knew that Ethan didn’t have the real data card on him when Olivia detained him. At least Olivia came around in the end, and was brave enough to confess the truth of her actions to her mother and father. That scene was well played by all involved. How awful was it when Henry Taylor told his wife that her career is the reason that their son is dead? I really thought that maybe she was going to resign the presidency and try to work on the issues with her husband and daughter. But instead, she alienated herself from both of them by doing the right thing – turning Olivia over to the justice department. I’m curious about who actually planted the bomb that killed Hodges, and if this story will surface again next season. I see some potential for more development…
• Kim and the Cougar – In a strange and subtle way, the 24 writers revisited the now infamous scene from season two (?) in which Kim evaded a cougar in the California wilderness. This time around the cougar wasn’t an animal, but the human version, as in an older woman (Sarah) dating a younger man (Bob). Maybe it’s a stretch for me to find a connection between the two, but that’s how I see it. I’m happy to say, though, that this time around, the story was much more believable and entertaining. Kim has wised up over the years, and it was fun to see her step into her dad’s role of following a suspect, once bad guys Bob and Sarah realized their act as a married couple wasn’t fooling her anymore. (And that quick and deathly airport shootout was really something, too.) Kim’s quick thinking move to grab Bob’s laptop from his burning car ultimately led the FBI to Jack, and allowed them to take Tony and Wilson into custody. Well done, Kim. Now get back home to your husband and daughter. And really, there’s no need for you to pay your dad a visit next season. Quit while you’re ahead.
• Jack in mortal peril – Poor, poor Jack. If he’s not being exposed to a deadly bioweapon or betrayed by his longtime comrade, he’s being blackmailed into helping terrorists escape custody and having his organs harvested to engineer a new strain of the bioweapon! Of course, we knew he wouldn’t actually die, even though various characters kept reminding us that he had only hours to live. They even sent in a spiritual advisor to talk to him in his last moments. By the time next season begins, Kim’s willingness to try the stem cell treatment will have proved effective, and Jack will be back to his superhero strength and resolve – maybe with an occasional moment of confusion or some anger management issues as remnants of his exposure. But even though we knew Jack would survive, watching him endure all these horrible things while also dealing with incapacitating symptoms, made for some exciting television! I was certainly surprised when he jumped off the stretcher and killed Tony’s medical team with a few flicks of a scalpel and a couple of head locks.
• Tony’s Grand Plan for Revenge – This remains the most disappointing aspect of the season for me. In the initial promos, we saw Tony was clearly the bad guy. But then, a few episodes in, they told us he wasn’t actually bad. Then we found out he was bad after all and had been playing both sides. But wait… that wasn’t exactly the whole story. He wasn’t doing all this because he was evil. He was simply trying to find closure on what happened to Michelle. Turns out that the same mastermind of this shadow organization is the man responsible for ordering the hit on Michelle. So, we’re supposed to believe that Tony was willing to let thousands of innocent people die, and betray his few remaining friends, just so he would have a chance to meet face to face with Alan Wilson, and kill him? I like to think that Tony was a bigger person than that. He wouldn’t be so self-absorbed and obsessed with revenge that he would forget all his training as a CTU operative, his oath to protect the innocent, and so on and so forth. But as much as I hated seeing Tony so lost and gone over to the dark side, the final revelation that he was motivated by revenge was a better option than that he was simply evil or crazy. Well, I think he was a little crazy – make that a lot crazy. Attaching explosives to Jack and using him as a weapon to reach Wilson?! I really thought Jack was going to have to kill Tony when Tony wouldn’t get out of the way for them to detain Wilson. Instead, Jack shot him in the arm. Tony’s deranged, furious speech in this scene was a bit too campy for my taste, but then the climactic 24 moment of the villain’s fall is often over done. Such is the nature of the show.

The only other thing I have to say about the final episodes is that there was a recurring theme of making tough choices and dealing with the consequences. Olivia chose to end a man’s life, but couldn’t handle it when people found out what she did. President Taylor had to decide between maintaining her integrity as a world leader, or keeping what remained of her family in one piece. Kim had to risk her own safety to keep sight of the man who could lead to her father, and she succeeded. Tony stubbornly stuck to his plan to carry out revenge for Michelle’s death, despite the high cost of lives and his own conscience. Chloe risked losing her life to help Jack save countless more lives, even though it meant she might never see her husband and child again. And perhaps most chilling, Agent Taylor apparently succumbed to her season long battle between doing what was right and doing what was necessary, as she took off her badge and stepped into Wilson’s interrogation room, to, we can assume, torture him into giving up the names of the other people in his organization.

All things considered, I think this was one of the best seasons of 24. It was well worth the long, strike-induced wait. I look forward to watching next season, but I don’t mind having seven months to catch my breath!

Related Post:

• 24: Digesting the First Four Hours
  

Lost: Season Two Revisited May 22, 2009

Upon my second viewing of Lost’s second season, I came away with a similar opinion to the first time around: it wasn’t as all-around amazing as the first season, but it introduced some interesting new twists. Knowing all that we know now, the developments of season two don’t seem as earth shattering. That being said, there was still a lot to enjoy.

The Characters

• The Original Cast – We didn’t spend as much time with Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and the other “cool kids” (and the writers continued poking fun at the fact that everyone acted like the other survivors didn’t exist or matter). We continued to piece together their back stories: the dissolution of Jack’s marriage, the truth about Kate’s criminal past (she murdered her “step” father), the stranglehold that Locke’s despicable father had on his life and relationship, the not so innocent side of Sun, the softer side of Sawyer’s nature, the crazy side of Hurley, etc. Over the course of the season, we saw Sayid mourn and recover from Shannon’s sudden death, Kate and Sawyer develop more of an attraction for each other, Jack and Locke clash over leadership direction, Sun and Jin celebrate over the news that she is pregnant, etc.
• The Newbies – Ah, the now infamous tail section survivors of Flight 815: Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Libby, Bernard, and that other chick who got taken by the Others before we got to know her. Ana Lucia was always super annoying, but she didn’t bother me as much this time around – probably because I felt sorry for the gruesome death for which she was headed. Mr. Eko was actually more annoying this time. He was always speaking in cryptic, mysterious ways, and wandering around looking creepy. I’m still bugged that we never got all of Libby’s back story before she died. The fact that three of these survivors died within a season of first appearing makes them feel like an after thought, or like filler until the writers could get to the good stuff. Sure, initially it was fascinating to think that there were other survivors, and it was heartwarming to see Rose and Bernard’s reunion. But introducing this group didn’t give us any clues about the mysteries of the island.
• Desmond – With a skipping record player, we met the beloved Desmond. In the beginning he was a bit loopy from being closed up in the hatch by himself for so long. And then he disappeared for the whole season! The writers redeemed themselves by centering the season finale around him and his back story. We learned that he arrived on the island during a boat race around the world. He had embarked on that race to regain his honor (after being dishonorably discharged from the Queen’s army), and to win back Penny. Instead, he ended up stuck in a hatch pushing a button every 108 minutes to, presumably, save the world. He is one of the more fascinating characters on the show, and we saw a lot more of him in season three.
• Henry Gale/Benjamin Linus – We didn’t learn his real name until, I believe, the beginning of season three. But from the very beginning, he was uber creepy! The scene where he is eating cereal at the table with Locke, and laughingly talks about what he would do if he were an Other (lead them to a secluded spot, have my people ambush them…), perfectly demonstrated Ben’s manipulative, disturbing personality.

The Mythology

• The Hatch – We learned that the Hatch was one of many stations set up by the Dharma Initiative, a group who lived on the island and performed scientific and sociological experiments. I liked how we were introduced to Dharma via the warbled, unsettling Orientation film strips. All season we wondered along with Locke and the rest whether or not it was really necessary to push the button. We found out it was in the season finale, when the electromagnetism went berserk when Locke didn’t push the button and destroyed the computer. Thankfully, Desmond seemed to save the day by turning a failsafe key – but we had to wait until the next season to find out what happened to the Hatch and everyone in it. The Hatch’s main purpose was to set up Locke’s struggle between reason and faith. After his temporary skepticism, the incident at the Hatch made him a believer once more.
• The Others – We only saw them lurking around the jungle, barefoot, wearing ragged clothing. And then we saw them living in huts on the beach. But, we also had some hints that they were pretending to be savages: the medical station where they treated Claire, the fake beard and stage makeup in the locker, and the civilized people (Ethan, Goodwin, and Ben) who infiltrated the survivors’ camps. We didn’t know how long they had lived on the island, but we pieced together that they thought of themselves as Good, and they were taking the Good people from the flight survivors and leaving the Bad ones behind.
• The Dharma Initiative – At this point we weren’t sure if the Dharma people and the Others were different groups, although it seemed to be so. We did know that they were studying the electromagnetic qualities of the island, as well as sociological experiments on the people living in the Hatch.

Random Observations and Questions:

• Visions of Dead People – By the end of season two, Jack had seen his dead father, Mr. Eko had talked to his dead brother and the just deceased Ana Lucia, Kate had been spoken to by her dead step father (who had, it seemed, momentarily possessed Sawyer), etc. These instances, except maybe for the Sawyer/Kate’s step dad one, are like the more recent visitations (Alex telling Ben to do what Locke says, Jack’s father guiding Locke, Hurley’s conversations and chess matches with his deceased friends). But what about Shannon’s visions of Walt, and Hurley’s conversations with his imaginary friend Dave from the mental hospital? We knew that Walt had telekinetic abilities, so that probably explains why Shannon and Sayid saw him. And Hurley was going through some major stress related to his overeating and his crush on Libby, so his hallucinations of Dave were probably not island related as much as in his head. The vision that doesn’t make sense to me is from season four, when Kate saw Claire in Aaron’s bedroom, and Claire told her not to bring Aaron back. We don’t know if Claire is dead or alive, but since they didn’t show her die, I have to believe that she is alive on the island. One of the latest theories is that not-Locke (aka Jacob’s nemesis) has the ability to appear as anyone who has visited the island and who is dead: Jack’s father, Mr. Eko’s brother, and more recently Locke. So Kate’s vision of Claire could mean that Claire is dead and that was actually not-Locke in Aaron’s room. Or, it could be some other force at work, regardless of whether Claire is alive or dead. That’s a head scratcher.
• Why did the Others dress in ragged clothes and pretend to be savages, when they were really living in a civilized community? And why did they abduct the “good” survivors? How did they determine who was good and who was bad? The answer to the good/bad part of this question seems to lie with Jacob. He chooses people for a list, based on how worthy they are to remain on the island as an Other. And I guess the Others could maintain more control over the island visitors by creating a sense of mystery about themselves. Had the Flight 815 passengers known that the Others lived on a commune and had book clubs, they would have been less likely to cooperate. But still, it seemed like an awful roundabout way to distract.
• “What Kate Did” – This episode answered the burning question of what Kate did, but it also raised a couple of lingering questions for me. What was with the black horse? Can not-Locke appear as animals, too? The appearance of the horse doesn’t fit with the rest of the mythology. Another question: Why did someone cut part of the Dharma film out and hide it in a book? Who did that? Was this question ever answered?
• “Maternity Leave” – Claire, Rousseau, and Kate discovered the truth about Claire’s abduction. She was held captive and sedated, and was told that her baby needed a continued treatment of a vaccine to prevent him from getting sick. This could have just been a ruse, to convince Claire to let the Others keep Aaron, just as Desmond injected himself with the vaccine and stayed inside the Hatch to avoid “the sickness.” However, Rousseau thinks Aaron has the same sickness that infected her crew. In season five we saw her crew turn on one another from whatever sickness they contracted. I wonder now if their sickness is related to Not-Locke. Something else in this episode that reminds me of Not-Locke is when Ben, then known as Henry and being held captive in the Hatch, asked John whether he’s the genius or the guy living in the shadow of the genius (a comparison at the time between Locke and Jack, and Hemingway and Dostoevsky). If Ben has been involved in not-Locke’s plan all along, then perhaps he was already planting seeds of desire for leadership in Locke’s mind, to position him to a place where Not-Locke could get to him. I mean, think of all the times Ben tried to kill Locke. Maybe he was always following orders of not-Locke!
• In “Two for the Road,” Locke asks “Henry” why he tried to kill Ana Lucia but not him. Henry/Ben answers that the man in charge (Jacob, we now know) is a brilliant man, but not a forgiving one, and he wouldn’t be too happy that Ben failed in his mission (when Rousseau caught him), which he claims was to bring Locke back to their camp. I wonder if Jacob really wanted Ben to bring Locke back to the camp. Probably not. This was more likely Ben’s way of manipulating Locke, either for his own purposes or perhaps for not-Locke.

• Season finale: “Live Together, Die Alone” – Desmond’s backstory. We see that his Hatch partner, Kelvin, was the man who asked Sayid to torture his commanding officer. Then, we learn that Radzinsky was Kelvin’s partner. He’s the one who came after Sayer, Juliet, etc. We saw many connections like this in season two. When Desmond turned the failsafe key, what happened to the hatch (did the electromagnetism reset, did destroying the Hatch negate the effects of the magnetism, etc.)? Why did the sky turn bright white like during the time flashes? And why did this flash seem to only affect Desmond, who ended up going on a journey through time? I don’t have any good answers to these questions.
• I liked how the finale developed Desmond’s character more and introduced us to his relationship with Penny. Their love story is so much more epic and touching than the Jack/Kate/Sawyer stuff, which has always seemed juvenile.

Best Episodes

• “Man of Science, Man of Faith” – This episode had the single greatest opening scene of any season, and perhaps of any show! We didn’t know who this man was who was going about his morning routine. Our first assumption was that it was one of the crash survivors, and we were seeing a flashback. But then, with a skipping record and a loud “BOOM,” we realized this man was living in the Hatch! The rest of the episode introduced us to Desmond, to the Hatch, and to Jack’s struggle between science and faith.

• “The Other 48 Days” – Despite all my complaining about the addition of the tail section survivors in season two, I thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating episode that showed what was happening at their camp while Jack and company were creating a near tropical paradise on their side of the island. The question remains, why did the tail section folks have such a horrific time of it in their first 48 days, while the other group survived relatively unscathed? For one thing, they must have had more “good” people in their camp, since the majority of them were taken, whereas only a couple were taken from Jack’s group. Whatever the case, this episode, which consisted entirely of chronological flashbacks starting with the crash of Flight 815, gave us yet another new perspective of the island and its inhabitants.

• “Lockdown” – This episode was the first one in which Michael Emerson was really given a chance to be super creepy, plus show off his acting abilities, as Henry Gale. It was fascinating, especially the second time around, to watch him manipulate Locke and bide his time, rather than escaping when he had a clear shot. This episode also gave us clues about the greater scope of the Dharma Initiative, when Locke discovered the mural when the hatch doors closed. Psychologically gripping, plus plenty of exciting plot development, this was a great episode.
• “S.O.S.” – I really enjoyed this episode, which finally gave us a Rose and Bernard flashback. Their backstory was very touching, from the way they met when Bernard helped Rose get her car unstuck from the snow, to his romantic proposal at Niagara Falls that turned into Rose tearfully telling him she had terminal cancer. I’ve wondered over the years why these characters weren’t given more screen time. My guess is that they both have either family obligations, or other television or theater work, that prevents them from having more active roles on Lost. Whatever the case, their episode was probably my favorite in terms of the flashbacks of season two.
• “Live Together, Die Alone” – Two hours of Desmond flashbacks! How great is that? He disappeared for most of the season, so I was thrilled when he showed up on his boat. I just said that Rose and Bernard’s flashback was my favorite of the season, but Desmond’s was great as well. But, I liked the parts of his flashback on the island more than the off-island parts. It was interesting to see how he came to be on the island, and how he ended up pushing the button in the hatch for three years. Meanwhile, the current events on the island were interesting as well. It was tense watching Michael lead Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley into a trap, and wondering what was going to happen when Locke didn’t enter the numbers and push the button. And we got our first glimpse of the giant four-toed statue that was so pivotal in this season’s finale. How strange that we didn’t hear anything else about it for three years.

I’ve now moved on to season three, but I’m slowing my pace a bit. I need to make these episodes last awhile, since I have to wait so long for season six!

Welcome to SYTYCD 2009 May 21, 2009

Now that the lackluster season of American Idol has come to an end, it’s time for the real fun to begin! For the past three years, So You Think You Can Dance has been the bright spot in an otherwise barren summer television landscape. In this week’s premiere episode, auditions were held in New York and Denver. The producers kept the ridiculous dancers to a minimum, leaving plenty of time for true talent to shine.

It was nice to see Nigel and Mary again, as well as Tabitha and Napoleon, who were guest judges in New York. I wasn’t as thrilled with Sonja’s first turn as an audition guest judge. Her ooing and ahing were very distracting. She needs to save some of her gusto for the competition! There was the usual drama, with physically challenged contestants, those mourning the loss of a loved one, and those just being crazy (the pair of male ballroom dancers?!). About those guys, if you can’t find a female dance partner that you get along with well enough to do ballroom, then maybe you shouldn’t be a ballroom dancer. That form of dance is designed to display the beauty of male and female form and movement. Their audition was just silly.

I’ve blogged about SYTYCD for the past two seasons, and will be doing so again this year. Welcome back, if you have kept up with my episode reviews in past seasons. I was thrilled when Joshua won last year, and hope there will be at least one person I love as much as him this season. If you are new to my blog, check back each week for a quick recap of the audition rounds, followed by more detailed reviews of the performance episodes (once the Top 20 dancers are announced), and occasional videos of my favorite dances. And just a note about my credentials – I don’t have any! That is, I don’t have any professional knowledge of dance. I’ve never taken a class, don’t know the terminology, etc. However, I have picked up on quite a bit listening to the judges on this show. But mostly, I bring the opinions and perspectives of a general viewer to my blog. I like to think that I know good dancing when I see it, even if I don’t always know the best way to describe it. Can’t wait to get further into this season!

The dancers who stood out to me tonight:

• Gabi Rojas - I liked the circus performer/trapeze artist vibe she brought in her audition. Her routine was very enjoyable to watch, with its grace, fluidity, and charisma.
• Peter Sabasino – This “boxer in tap shoes” from Philadelphia didn’t exactly wow me with his tap audition, but he was entertaining, had some cool moves, had a nice personality, and he made me interested to see him do more when he listed off all the styles he’s been trained in. Versatility goes a long way in this competition.
• Kayla Rodomski - This blond-haired girl whose grandparents tagged along in Denver, danced to a nice song (“Blackbird”) and made a difficult routine look easy.
• Natalie Reid – Katie’s roommate from last season returned, and wowed the judges with an amazing audition. You can tell she has spent a lot of time with Katie (and probably with the same dance instructors), because they have a similar style and movements.
• Brandon Bryant – Wow. I remember this guy from last year and was disappointed that he didn’t make the top 20. When he dragged himself across the floor – WHAT? And then stood on tip toe on one foot while exhibiting such strength with the rest of his body? His audition was a great way to end the episode. He was fully committed, emotionally invested, and had the raw talent to go along with it. Hopefully he will bring more personality with him this year, since that is a key component on this show.

Before we dive into this season full force, take a moment to remember how it all ended last year:

• SYTYCD: The Winner is Revealed

Lost 5.16: The Incident May 14, 2009

Jacob is Paul (Mark Pellegrino), Rita’s ex-husband from Dexter! He visited all the Losties at some point in their lives, thus weaving them into his grand island tapestry! Locke isn’t Locke?! Real Locke is dead in the cargo box, and not-Locke is manipulating Ben into stabbing Jacob?! Jack drops the bomb, but it doesn’t detonate. But wait, Juliet falls to her death at the Swan. But wait. She’s still alive and detonates the bomb herself! These were only some of the developments on the crazy good, fast-paced, fully loaded Lost season finale.

Making Sense of the Madness – I’ve divided my post into sections, based on the various threads of the finale’s plot: the flashbacks, the events of 1979, and the events thirty years later. For each section, I’ve tried to establish what we already knew, what we learned, and questions we still have.

In the beginning – In classic Lost fashion, the finale opened by taking us back to the beginning, at least the beginning of what we know about the Island. As the Black Rock approaches from a distance, we meet the mysterious Jacob, who seems to be an ordinary guy who likes to eat fish and weave fabric on a loom. He has a cryptic conversation with some guy in sackcloth about how he keeps bringing people to the island in the hope that one day things will end differently than with “they come, fight, destroy, and corrupt.” Jacob says that “if it only ends once, anything that happens before that is just progress.” At that point the other man turns to him and says, “Do you have any idea how badly I want to kill you?” Jacob says he does. The other man continues, “One of these days, sooner or later, I’m going to find a loophole, my friend.” Jacob responds, “Well when you do, I’ll be right here.” The camera then pans up to reveal the four-toed statue in all its alligator snout, cat-eared glory. The exchange between Jacob and this man set up the theme of this whole episode, and gave a larger perspective to the series as a whole. Come. Fight. Destroy. Corrupt. That’s kind of what has happened over and over again, and now everyone is coming to some end point at which the cycle can either continue or be broken.

• What we already knew: Jacob is in charge of the island. The Black Rock is a ship that wrecked on the island, which has been referred to at various times during the five seasons of the show.
• What we learned: Jacob is real, not an apparition, and he apparently has the same anti-aging solution as Richard. Jacob “brought” the Black Rock to the island, as part of his plan. He weaves together the fabric of the island and its inhabitants just as he weaves his baskets and wall hangings. Not everyone loves Jacob – this unnamed man wants to kill him. And the giant statue was still standing when the Black Rock arrived.
• Questions we still have: Where did Jacob come from, and why is he conducting this social experiment? Who is the unnamed man, and why does he want to kill Jacob? How did such a huge statue get demolished?

The Flashbacks – This week’s flashbacks took us back to earlier times in the Losties’ lives, at the moments they encountered Jacob. I loved the shout outs to previous seasons in these scenes: Patsy Cline playing during Kate’s failed attempt to shoplift a NKOTB lunchbox, a young Sawyer writing his vengeful letter to the man who destroyed his life, Jack freaking out while performing the surgery he talked about in the pilot, Locke being pushed out of the window by his father.

• What we already knew: We already knew the circumstances in which we saw the characters – we just saw them from a different perspective.
• What we learned: It wasn’t just “fate” that led these people to the island – it was Jacob himself. Apparently, by visiting each of them at some point in their lives, and touching them, he made them part of his grand plan, and from that moment on they were attached to the island, and being woven into its tapestry. It was suggested that Jacob healed Locke by touching him, after Locke fell to an almost certain death. We finally learned how Hurley ended up on Ajeera Flight 316 – Jacob told him to get on it, if he wanted to. Jacob is all about free will and giving people choices. Not all of Jacob’s visits were friendly. He orchestrated Nadia’s death, and it’s horrible to know that Sayid witnessed her being hit by a car, when moments before they were happily discussing their anniversary.
• Questions we still have: Why did Jacob cause Nadia’s death? Was that the only way to get Sayid to return to the island? And what made each of these people so special that he wanted to draw them to the island?

Thirty Years Later – Locke leads Richard, Ben, and the Others on his quest to see Jacob, but only Ben knows that he plans to kill him. We should have known something wasn’t right when Locke lied to Richard, saying he only wanted to thank Jacob for bringing him back to life, when he had already told Ben that he wanted to kill him. Another clue that something was amiss was when Richard said he’s seen a lot of things on the island, but had never seen someone brought back to life. Add this to Benjamin’s statement from a previous episode that “dead is dead; there’s no coming back from that,” and we had major signposts that all was not what it seemed to be. Despite all of that, I was completely shocked when we learned what was in the cargo box!! But we had to wait until the end of the episode to learn that a very dead Locke was in the box. Leading up to that moment, we got some more hints about Ilana, Bram, and the other Ajeera passengers that were also on a mission to visit Jacob.

• What we already knew: Jacob is in charge of the island, and there’s a constant rotation of island leaders who answer to him, through Richard. These leaders have included Widmore, Eloise Hawking, Ben, and Locke. Until now, as far as we know, only Richard has interacted with Jacob, so not-Locke is bucking the trend by meeting Jacob face to face, and by bringing Ben with him.
• What we learned: The biggest revelation of the whole episode is that born again Locke isn’t Locke at all. He’s the man who was talking to Jacob at the beginning of the episode. Apparently he found a loophole and was able to return to the island, or at least jump into Locke’s body, so he could challenge Jacob’s position as island head honcho. Not-Locke made it into the foot of the statue, and easily convinced Ben to kill Jacob. Meanwhile, Ilana and the gang looked for Jacob at the cabin and determined that he hadn’t lived there for some time, and then continued on to the site of the statue. They called themselves the “good guys” and brought Frank along because he might be a “candidate.” Speaking of Ilana and her friends, it seems clear that they weren’t on Flight 316 by accident. Jacob probably told them to get on it. I suppose they aren’t crazy after all – they are just on a mission. We saw a brief flashback of Ilana, her face bruised and bandaged, and Jacob paying her a visit asking for her help. We’ll have to wait until next season to learn more about this newest group.
• Questions we still have: This part of the episode was interesting to me and suggested a few things. One, if Jacob hasn’t lived in the cabin for several years, who or what did Locke and Ben encounter on their visit there, when things were flying through the air and a disembodied voice cried out “help me”? Two, when Ilana arrived on the beach where the Others were camped out, she asked to speak to Ricardos. When she asks him what lies in the shadow of the statue, he responds in Latin, saying “He who will protect/save us all.” I still believe that Richard arrived on the island via the Black Rock. I am still hoping for a Richard-centric episode next season. Bram told Frank that what they (the Others) are up against is something a lot scarier than Locke’s dead body. So then, who is not-Locke, and why is he so scary? When not-Locke’s group came across the old Losties’ campsite, Sun found Aaron’s crib, and Charlie’s ring inside it. This reference to our favorite family trio suggests that Claire and Aaron will play a role next season, and that perhaps that Charlie’s death wasn’t pointless.

Back in 1979 – Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate easily made their way off the sub and back to the island, while Jack and Sayid transported the bomb through the Dharma village (with the ultimate goal of detonating it at the Swan, to change the future), but ran into some gunfire before they could make it into the jungle. Sayid got shot, but Hurley, Miles, and Jin showed up in a blue VW van to save the day. Several frantic moments later, Jack and Sawyer faced off and had a fist fight in the jungle. They were interrupted by Juliet, who changed her mind and decided rather than try to stop Jack, they should help him. Why? Because he was right. But I think more than saving the lives of hundreds of people in the future, Juliet was trying to save herself the pain of the rejection she believed she would receive from Sawyer eventually. I thought it was a pretty weak explanation, for her to say that she knew what they had wouldn’t last, just because of how Sawyer looked at Kate on the sub. But, I suppose the flashback about her parents splitting up was an okay explanation for her way of thinking.

• What we already knew: We knew that some sort of incident took place at the Swan around this time – we’ve known that since Season One, when Dr. Chang basically said as much on the Dharma Orientation video. We also knew that Daniel came back to the island to try to prevent this incident from happening, and that Jack wanted to continue his plan after Eloise shot and killed Daniel.
• What we learned: Thank you, writers, for finally letting us know what became of Rose and Bernard (and Vincent). It turns out they decided to “retire,” and they’ve been living happily in a hut just off the beach for three years, since the day that Sawyer’s crew fled the flaming arrows to join the Dharma Initiative. I liked their outlook – that their would always be something to worry about, so they just chose to let it go and be thankful that they were together. If only Sawyer and Juliet had shared their philosophy and taken that sub off the island… Instead, the electromagnetism pulled Juliet down into the hatch, where she survived long enough to detonate the bomb. (What a horribly sad scene it was when she let go of Sawyer’s hand.)
• Questions we still have: What happened when Juliet detonated the bomb?! The writers cruelly will make us wait until next January or February to find out. It seems clear that it killed Juliet, but did Jack, Kate, and Sawyer have time to get out of the blast radius? What about Hurley, Miles, and Jin? What will be the implications of the bomb? Is it going to change the future, or was the bomb the incident in the first place?

The Big Questions

• Not-Locke and Ben vs. Ilana, Bram, and the Others: Not-Locke promises Ben that things are going to change after Jacob is gone. The question is, how will they change? A more interesting question related to this one is, who is or will be on whose side in this battle?
  • Ben – What if Ben was in on the plan to bring not-Locke back as Locke all along? Maybe that’s why he killed Locke. He reemphasized this week that he’s a liar, that that’s what he does. So it’s strange that he would suddenly be this naive, broken man. That being said, his speech to Jacob about his years of service to the island, was quite touching. Who can blame him, that when Jacob’s only response to his question, “What about me?” was “What about you?” he wasted no time stabbing him. Even so, I don’t think we can ever trust Ben, so maybe making a deal with not-Locke is his final power play after all the failed moves that came before. I’m not sure how his encounter with Alex and the smoke monster would fit into this equation, but it’s something to keep in mind.
  • Richard – Richard is the advisor to the island leader, but since not-Locke isn’t technically Locke (who is the current rightful leader), and since Locke is dead in a box, who will Richard side with? Will he work with Ilana and Bram, will he support not-Locke, or will he branch out in his own direction?
  • Charles Widmore and Eloise Hawking – They have both spoken of the coming war. We can now assume they were referring to the war between not-Locke and Ilana’s group. So which side are they on? I need to go back and watch this season and last to refresh my memory on who told who to go back to the island, and why. That may give us some clues about the two sides.
• What happened after Juliet detonated the bomb? - Miles made a good point that perhaps by detonating the bomb, they would simply be causing “the incident” they were trying to prevent. However, they chose to ignore his advice that “maybe the best thing to do is nothing.” What does this mean for the final season? Here are a couple of scenarios:
  • The bomb demagnetizes the Swan, but doesn’t cause a time flash – In this scenario, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and the others who are stuck in the ’70s stay stuck in the ’70s. This doesn’t seem likely. I think the whole “stuck in the ’70s” story has been played out.
  • The bomb caused the incident that led them to the island in the future – If this is true (that the detonation of the bomb was the incident), then Flight 815 would still land on the island, in which case perhaps when the bomb went off, they were time flashed back to the present, where they will meet up with not-Locke, Richard, Ilana, and everyone else about to go to war by the four-toed statue. I kind of like this scenario, and I think it’s the most likely.
  • The bomb changes the future, and Flight 815 never crashes on the island – This scenario gets too complicated. Why? Because some of the Flight 815ers are still on the island in 2000-whatever. Surely the writers are going to show us how all of that resolves. It would be anti-climactic if we just saw Flight 815 land in L.A. and all the passengers go on their merry way. I mean, there are still 16 episodes left? The only way this scenario would make sense is if they had some memory of their past experiences, and were drawn back to the island. But if Flight 815 never crashed, then that makes most of what happened over the past five seasons pointless, which would be sad. Charlie’s sacrifice, Sawyer and Juliet’s relationship, Miles reuniting with his father, etc.

• How and when did not-Locke jump into Locke’s body? – This question could drive me crazy. I tried to think about it last night, but I got confused thinking about present Locke, time jumping Locke, etc. One thing that I think I understand is this: not-Locke had Richard tell real Locke that he had to die to save the island. We saw that scene again last week, where Locke was shot by Ethan, and then flashed into the future, where Richard came over and doctored his wound, and told him that he had to die. So, not-Locke orchestrated the circumstances of Locke’s death. What I can’t figure out is how there can be two bodies that look like Locke. Someone needs to explain this to me next season!

That’s all I have for now. Any thoughts, theories, disappointments, etc. that you’d like to share?

Related Post:

• Lost 5.15: Follow the Leader
  

Lost 5.15: Follow the Leader May 8, 2009

Why did Kate have to show up on the sub and mess up Sawyer and Juliet’s happily-ever-after? How annoying! Sorry, I just had to start with that because of all the developments in this week’s episode, that was the one that stuck with me the most. This will be a scattered post because I don’t have the benefit of my Tivo to review the episode (I’m in a DVR-less hotel room in Los Angeles).

This episode’s dominant theme was leadership, thus the title “Follow the Leader.” The question is, who is the rightful leader, and who’s leading who? We have Locke as the new leader of the Others, with Ben as his sidekick and Richard as his advisor. Then there’s Jack unofficially declaring himself leader of the 1970s gang, while Sawyer throws in the towel to run off into the sunset with Juliet. There is also tension between Eloise Hawking and Charles Widmore in the ’70s, as they argue over what’s best for their people. And perhaps most intriguing, Locke has positioned himself to challenge the ultimate island leader: Jacob.

A Role Reversal:

• In the past, it has always been Jack who made rational decisions and seemed to act in the best interest of everyone on the island, while Locke was the one putting too much trust in the Island’s mystical forces, relying on faith rather than reality to guide him. In this episode, however, their leadership roles are shifting. Kate even told Jack that he was beginning to sound like Locke, when he told her his plan to detonate the bomb to change the timeline of island events. Has life really been so miserable for Jack that he’s willing to risk everything to reverse all the events they’ve been through? I must say that I agreed with Kate when she said it hasn’t all been bad. Regardless of his motivation, Jack is now looking crazy-eyed, as he swims through underwater tunnels to what appears to be the same subterranean passages in which Ben was confronted by the Smoke Monster. Eloise said that the bomb was located right under the Dharma camp, so I’m guessing that the pool of water under Ben’s house drains to that area.

• While Jack is talking crazy and hypothetically, Locke is suddenly Mr. Straightforward. He somehow knows exactly when to lead Richard to the old crashed plane (from season one – the one that was Boone’s deathtrap), so that Richard can treat other Locke’s gunshot wound and tell him that he has to die to save everyone. (I was glad they explained that encounter that we only had half the story of before now – interesting that it was in the future). Then he demands that Richard take him to Jacob without delay. Not only that, but he takes the entire camp of Others with him, and tells Ben that he plans to kill Jacob! Some of this is crazy talk, but Locke is certainly taking matters into his own hands and seems more grounded in reality than in the past.

I Wash My Hands of It:

• I thought it was realistic that Sawyer was ready to be rid of the island, when it became a choice of protecting the whereabouts of Jack, Kate, and Daniel, or preventing Radzinsky from torturing Juliet. He made a reasonable decision to tell Radzinsky what he wanted to know so that he and Juliet could go back to living a life of domestic bliss. After all, he has nothing to go back to in 2009, but has a woman who loves and respects him in their 1970s present. It seems like Juliet would want to make it back “home” to see her sister and her sister’s child, but perhaps at this point she cares more about just getting off the island.
• Of course, all of these plans for happiness and freedom are moot, since Kate shows up just before the sub leaves the island. Boo! Based on the preview for the season finale, it looks like she’ll convince Sawyer and Juliet to go back to the island to rescue everyone from Jack’s crazy plan.

A Happy Answer to a Lifelong Question:

• One bright spot in this episode was Miles’ semi-resolution with his father. Dr. Chang basically interrogates Hurley about current events until he caves and admits they are, indeed, from the future. This frees up Miles to admit to Chang that he’s his son. And then later on, in an even better moment, he watches from afar as Chang verbally assaults (in a display of impressive theatrics)Miles’ mother as she waits to board the sub. Miles realizes at that moment that Dr. Chang wasn’t really a deadbeat, uncaring dad. He cared for Miles and his mother so much that he did what was necessary to make her leave the island, so she wouldn’t be in danger. It’s really sad that she lived the rest of her life thinking that Chang didn’t love her and didn’t want to be a part of their family, but at least now Miles knows that the truth is more complicated, and that Chang was a decent man.

Crossing Over to the Dark Side:

• Sayid made his first appearance (that I can remember) since shooting Ben. It is appropriate that he is dressed in black, as he seems to have resumed his remorseless, amoral attitude. He has no qualms about killing two of the Others (albeit to protect Kate), and he sounds similar to Jack in his belief that he has already changed things by (as far as he knows) killing Ben. Kate broke the news to him that he didn’t succeed. So now Sayid is willing to ally himself with Jack, most likely for another chance to reunite with Nadia, no matter how small the likelihood of success is. I can’t blame Sayid for his willingness to destroy the island. It’s been nothing but bad news for him, as I discussed in my review of this season’s episode “He’s Our You.”

The Mysterious Mr. Alpert:

• When the episode opened with Richard working on a model of a ship, I was momentarily excited, thinking that maybe we would finally get a Richard-centric episode! I am dying to know his back story. We got a couple more hints in this episode. One is the fact that he has a ship in a bottle that resembles the Black Rock. This reminds me of the episode a couple seasons ago when young Ben encountered Richard in the jungle. At that time, Richard looked very old school, with longer hair and a ruffly Pirate-esque shirt (reminsicent of Seinfeld’s puffy shirt, actually). Could it be that Richard arrived on the island via the Black Rock, when it wrecked years ago? Ben did say that Richard has had the role of island advisor for a very long time. Hmmm…

Collision Course:

• There seem to be four paths headed toward one another as we come to the season finale: Jack and the Others who are trying to detonate the bomb, Radzinsky and the Dharma-ites who are trying to apprehend them, Locke and the modern Others who are going to confront Jacob, and newcomers Ilana and Bram (with Frank as their captive) who are seeking what lies in the shadow of the statue. The variables in this recipe for trouble are Sawyer, Kate, and Juliet; Hurley, Miles, and Jin; and to a certain extent, Ben, since he probably wants to do anything in his power to prevent Locke from gaining even more power. Will Rose and Bernard play a role somehow? And will Claire reappear? So many questions, so little time for answers!

I look forward to next week’s season finale, but at the same time I know that it will leave me with tons of questions that I’ll have to wait months and months to have answered! Thank goodness I have five seasons to enjoy rewatching until next January.

Related Post:

• Lost 5.14: The Variable
  

Lost: Season One Revisited May 5, 2009

Plane crash. Mysterious island. Smoke monster. Life. Death. Survival.

That’s what season one of Lost boils down to. I’ve been loving the show so much this season that I decided to rewatch from the beginning. So over the past two weeks, I made my way through all 24 episodes of season one. If only there were eight more episodes this season – I’m sad that there are only two left! Season one was far less complicated than this season has been. There was only one known camp of people on the island – our Oceanic Flight 815 survivors – plus that crazy lady Rousseau and creepy Ethan. Time travel hadn’t even crossed most fans’ minds yet, the Others were only mentioned in passing, and the fateful connections among the survivors had only been hinted at. All the elements I just listed have become integral to the show over the past two seasons, so in their absence, what was season one all about? Well, the characters. To borrow from Rodgers and Hammerstein, “Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.” So what were our favorite (and not so favorite) characters all about in the beginning of this fantastic show?

The Characters

• Jack – Jack had a lot of screen time, and more flashbacks than anyone else, as far as I can tell, with Kate running a close second. (I always find myself feeling disappointed when I learn that it’s a Kate or Jack episode, even though some of those are really good.) We learned about Jack’s troubled relationship with his father, about his hero complex (which led him to marry the girl he managed to “fix” after her car accident), and about his refusal to accept failure as an option.
• Kate – We quickly learned that Kate was being transported by a U.S. marshall and that she had been a fugitive. We had to wait awhile longer to learn exactly why she was in trouble with the law. The writers portrayed Kate as someone who fears commitment, preferring a nomadic existence over settling down and dealing with sometimes difficult circumstances (she wandered back and forth between the beach and the caves, and flirted with both Jack and Sawyer). She also appeared somewhat devious and untrustworthy, traits that the writers have put on the back burner since season one. You’d hardly know now that she was a fugitive and a murderer.
• Sawyer – He has probably changed more than any other character on the show. The first several episodes he was the stereotypical bad boy, hoarding food, stealing stuff off of dead bodies, and using his stash as bargaining tools to get more things that he wanted. But before long, we saw the softer side of Sawyer, and he has continued to transform over the past five seasons. He was plagued by guilt over becoming a con man, when his original goal had simply been to exact revenge on the con man who destroyed his family. The episode in which Kate discovered and read the letter he had written to Mr. Sawyer was heartbreaking. Once we learned why Sawyer was the way he was, we cared much more about him. One of the stand-out moments of the entire series for me is from the episode”Exodus: Part I,” where Sawyer finally tells Jack about his encounter with his dad in Sydney. That’s the moment that Sawyer really started to become a good guy. He had nothing to gain from telling Jack that his father was proud of him and loved him, but he did it anyway. In addition to giving us insight into both characters, and developing their relationship into something more than a rivalry, it was simply a very well done, powerful scene.
• Locke – I think Locke has the best back story on the show. We had to wait so long to find out the whole story! His first flashback episode revealed that he had been paralyzed before the plane crashed, which explained why he was so excited about being there. The contrast between his job at a box company and his adventureous spirit on the island was so drastic. It was as if the island not only took away his physical paralysis, but also his emotional/psychological paralysis. On the island, his tendency to be passive and ineffective was replaced by an almost super human ability to solve any problem, hunt any animal, and face any fear. He was also kooky sometimes, with all his talk about “the island will tell us what to do” and “it’s a sacrifice that the island demands.” In season two the writers would develop Locke as a man of faith even more, in contrast to Jack’s man of science. The back story about his father conning him into giving him a kidney was so horrible (horrible for him, but fascinating to watch). No wonder this man has issues.
• Sun – It’s weird how mysterious the writers made Sun and Jin out to be in the early episodes. I guess that’s how the others would have perceived them, since they couldn’t communicate with them. What a surprising twist it was that she could speak near perfect English! Sun and Jin’s imperfect, yet loving relationship was one of my favorite things about season one. Seeing the flashbacks about their courtship, followed by the struggles that came along with Jin’s job for her father, and finally their separation and reunion on the island, were all so emotionally engaging.
• Jin – Like Sawyer, Jin has come a long way since the first season. In the beginning, he came across as a stern, insensitive man who ruled over Sun with an iron fist. Over time, though, the experiences on the island softened him, and he loosened up a lot. The episode where he pummels Michael over the misunderstanding about the watch was effective in revealing what made him tick (pun intended – sorry). We’ve had to wonder about his fate several times over the seasons, and the first time came in the season one finale, when he went overboard from the raft during our survivors’ first encounter with the creepy Others. Thank goodness he is still with us, not to mention speaking perfect English now!
• Charlie – Of all the people who have died or disappeared, it is saddest to see Charlie, knowing what eventually happens to him. He was so laid back and fun loving, a breath of fresh air in a group of so many Debbie Downers. It was hard to watch him go through the ups and downs of his heroin addiction, but was sweet to see his relationship with Claire and Aaron develop. He always tried his hardest to protect them, but didn’t always succeed. One of the most heart wrenching scenes of the series was when Jack and Kate discovered Charlie hanging from a tree, and it seemed that all efforts to revive him would fail. We really thought he was dead that time, and just when we were starting to mourn the loss of this great character, Jack beat on his chest one more time, and with a great gasp, Charlie breathed again! Those pesky writers, playing with our emotions!
• Hurley – I was surprised during my rewatch that Hurley only had one flashback episode in season one. In that episode, we learned that he won the lottery using numbers that he heard a guy repeat over and over again at the mental institution he stayed in for awhile. We didn’t know why he was there, though. Hurley was mostly comic relief, and still is, but his discman also provided a great soundtrack during most of the first season. I guess ipods weren’t popular yet.
• Sayid – Sayid’s season one flashback episodes weren’t my favorite, even though I really like his character. I always had trouble believing that he would be attracted to, much less get involved with, Shannon, especially since at the time of the plane crash he was so focused on reunited with his true love, Nadia. The writers played up the tortured soul angle in season one. Here was a man who strived to do what was right and good, and to play by the rules, but whose training as an interrogation specialist would lead him down dark paths from time to time. I am still hoping Sayid can have something go his way before the show ends, because so far he always seems to get the bad end of the deal.
• Claire – Claire was a sweet character – probably the only female character that I would describe as such. Here she was, a young woman, on the brink of becoming a mom to a baby she was about to give up for adoption, and now she was stuck on an island, with a recovering heroin addict as her new closest friend, and with plenty of time to sit and ponder the warnings that the psychic gave her that it was imperative that only she raise her child. I miss her presence on the show now (although I’m sure she will resurface at some point), because I think her kind, softer personality would balance out some of the more abrasive, dominating female personalities that still remain.
• Michael and Walt – I haven’t missed these two very much, but their season one back story was sad. I felt sorry for Michael, over how Walt’s mom manipulated him into giving up his parental rights. It was ridiculous how controlling she was, and I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t want Walt to know his father. We got some hints that Walt had some psychic abilities, and Michael’s temper led to some run-ins between him and other survivors. It was sad to see these two again, knowing what Michael was willing to do later on to get his son back.
• Shannon and Boone – I’ll lump these two together, since that’s what the writers always did with their flashback episodes. They always kind of grossed me out. Boone was in love with his step sister, and Shannon used this to her advantage time and time again. Neither of them was as annoying after they developed a healthy distance from each other, when Shannon started hanging out with Sayid and Boone became Locke’s apprentice. As much as these characters didn’t interest me, Boone’s death was so tragic and sudden, that those episodes left their mark. Watching them for a second time, they were just as devastating. I always liked Shannon more after Boone died.
• Rose – As held true in the following seasons, Rose only made an appearance a handful of times in season one. This has always been a frustrating aspect of the show, but I always enjoy seeing her. In the early episodes, we thought she was in denial about Bernard’s fate. Surely he died in the crash! But then we started getting clues that maybe he and some others in the tail section had managed to survive, clues that turned into huge revelations in season two. We didn’t have a Rose-centric episode until season two, so we didn’t know much about her until then. But one particular episode, Rose reached out to Charlie, who was hurting over his failure to protect Claire from Ethan. This came across as a “pay it forward” gesture, since Jack had approached her in a similar way shortly after the plane crash.

Wow. There are a lot of characters on this show! Thank goodness the writers chose to devote individual episodes to developing each person, rather than try to cram information about everyone into every episode. That would have gotten way out of hand. Like I said before, the primary focus of the first season was on developing the characters’ back stories and their role on the island. But we did get a taste of the island mythology that we know and love. It’s hard to believe that we didn’t meet Ben until well into season two, and that Juliet and Richard didn’t appear until season three. It was a totally different show back in season one!

The Mythology

• The Smoke Monster – I had forgotten that Rousseau referred to it as the island’s “security system” later in the season. Thinking of it as something designed to patrol the island takes away some of the creepiness of it, but there’s still something unsettling about the humming, clicking, and crashing noises that it makes.

• The Black Rock – This ship supplied the gang with the dynamite they needed to blow open the Hatch. But it also suggested that it wasn’t a coincidence that planes were crashing on the island. First this slave ship wrecked there, then Rousseau’s crew met the same fate, and finally Flight 815 crashed on the beach. Something must have been drawing these vessels to the island. We would get confirmation of this in season two.
• Strange Visions – Our first hint that this island was inhabited by a supernatural force is when Jack’s father (who was supposed to be dead and in a coffin) started appearing and leading him into the jungle. By the way, I’m not clear on one thing. When Jack discovered his father’s coffin at the caves, his body wasn’t in it. Are we to believe that he actually came back to life, or was the absence of his body just meant to frustrate Jack – since if his father’s body had been in there, he could have shrugged off his visions as just “seeing things”? The next time I recall someone having a vision is when Shannon saw Walt appear in the jungle, shaking, wet, and telling her to be quiet, when the audience knew that he had just been taken by the Others from the raft. As I recall, I think that vision foreshadowed Shannon’s tragic fate in season two.
• The Others – We had no clue that these people had an organized civilization with book clubs, full kitchens, and indoor plumbing! Our first glimpse of them was via Ethan, when we learned that he wasn’t on the flight manifest, and he tried to abduct pregnant Claire (presumably because he wanted the baby). And then came the big introduction to the Others, in the season finale: “the thing is, we’re gonna have to take the boy.” What?! That has to be the most famous line from this show. I was so creeped out the first time I heard it. One moment Walt, Michael, Sawyer, and Jin were celebrating, thinking they had been rescued, and the next, they were encountering these strange people, dressed in tattered clothing, and speaking so matter-of-factly about abducting a child. At the time we also associated them with the plume of black smoke. They seemed very primitive, violent, and super creepy! And they always went around whispering in the jungle.
• The Hatch – For most of the season, the hatch was little more than a mysterious door in the ground. The only question we had was what, or who, is in there?! We had to wait an entire summer break to find out, but it was totally worth the wait. (The opening of season two is the best opening sequence of the series!) Our heads were spinning as season one came to a close, with Locke staring down into the freshly opened hatch. Were the Others down there? Was there really a reason that it didn’t have a door on the outside? Would it provide safety or danger? By climbing into the hatch, Kate, Locke, and Jack ushered the show into its first of many shifts in direction.
• Glimpses of things to come – In the episode “The Numbers,” Sawyer was reading Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, which is a book about travel through time and space. I had forgotten about this little hint of things to come, if I ever noticed it in the first place. Another major clue came when Boone made contact with someone on the Nigerian plane’s communication system just before it fell down the cliff. When he said “We’re survivors of Oceanic Flight 815,” the voice on the other end answered, “We’re survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.” Between that exchange, Rose’s belief that Bernard was alive, and Jack’s airport bar encounter with Ana Lucia, we had some pretty big indications that there were other survivors on the island.

Best Episodes

• “Pilot” – I was blown away by the pilot the first time, and I’ve enjoyed it just as much every time I’ve watched it. I’d never seen anything like it on tv, and its recurring use of flashbacks added so much insight into the characters. We didn’t have any idea where the show was going, and it’s hard to believe it has taken us so far now (Dharma Initiative? 1970s?…)

• “All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues” – Jack’s daddy issues made for good tv in this episode. He sets out with a search party looking for Charlies and Claire, who had been abducted by Ethan. Jack’s discovery of Charlie’s seemingly lifeless body, and his subsequent refusal to give up on saving Charlie, is brutal to watch. (At least it ended well.) Meanwhile, we were also introduced to the hatch.
• “Do No Harm” - This episode, where Boone dies and Aaron is born, is one of the best of season one in terms of drama and emotion. It still made me cry all this time later. The contrast between Boone’s life draining away, and Claire’s struggle to give birth to Aaron, followed by the celebration of the survivors over Aaron’s arrival, while in the background Jack broke the bad news to Shannon that Boone had died, was all so well done and moving.
• “Exodus” – The season finale brought us full circle, showing us flashbacks of all the survivors on the fateful day they boarded Flight 815. The plot also progressed quickly, as one group set sail on the raft in hope of rescue, while another group sought a place to hide from the Others, and while Locke and his gang worked to finally open the hatch. The only unnecessary part of this episode was Dr. Arzt’s ramblings about dynamite, followed by his explosive death, and Hurley’s off the cuff remark to Jack, “You have some Arzt on you.” I suppose this was all meant to provide comic relief, but I found it distracting from the otherwise intense happenings.

It was hard to compose all my thoughts on season one into one post. Did I skip over any of your favorite moments or forget to mention a key character or plot point?