LOST - 4/11/07 - One of Us (spoilers)

[Hand of Evil]

A mediocre and only slightly-annoying episode.

Jack = wrote as a fricking idiot.

Fixed that. This is the biggest issues I have with the show at this time. The characters are inconsistent. Don't get me wrong episode TV has had this issue for years but it is not like years or months have passed on the island, we are talking days here and yet all of them are wrote as freaking idiots!

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

A mediocre and only slightly-annoying episode.

Jack = fricking idiot.
Juliet = still annoying.
Others = still suck.

People trusting Juliet is the height of idiocy. Sayid, Sawyer, and anyone else should simply tear her to shreds to get the necessary information about the island and the Others. The gauntlet was thrown long ago.

And get the hell over to the town, for pete's sake!

However, the fact that they gave us further information about the island (unfortunately through the PoV of crappy Juliet and the sucky Others) was nice, and I very much appreciated it. Those parts were the best part of the episode.

My feelings pretty much. There were elements I liked, but as many things that annoy me.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

They did a good job with the excitement and drama, which I think has been really lacking since the first season. They've had glimmers over the course of the past two years, but I thought they really nailed a lot of good stuff that I've really missed about the show.

However, my question is: do a few good episodes make up for 1 and 1/2 seasons of throwaway characters, endless plot-threads, pointless flashbacks, and sloppy storytelling? My gut answer is no, they don't.

Maybe when the show wraps, we'll all look back on Lost and say, "Yeah, Seasons 2 and most of 3 were pretty bland, but the sum of the whole is greater than its parts." I'm open to that possibility.

But then, dying animals make lots of noise when they expire violently too.

 

[Demmero]

Some random thoughts:

1) Implants. Sawyer seems likely to have one since the Others cut him up during captivity. If the internet chatter about Jack now having a new tattoo is true, then maybe it hides a scar where he received an implant as well. And we still haven't seen much of what transpired with the two weeks of hell Ben promised Kate, so she may have one as well.

2) Karl. Gee, he didn't seem like the lovestruck rebel in this episode that we'd seen in past ones. Are all the Others exceptional actors or did something happen to change his attitude?

3) Jack. Very suspicious behavior on his part. Maybe he's got the hots for Juliet and that's blinding his judgment. Or maybe he's in on her scam. Who's to say that Ben didn't have a similar little chat with Jack before the Others vanished? Jack insists that the other Lostaways give Juliet time to come around and spill info about the Others...and then at the end of the episode we learn that Ben's expecting a reunion with Juliet in a week. Coincidence?

Also, there was a scene at the start of this week's episode where Sayid, Jack, Kate, and Juliet are walking through a field on their way back to the Lostaways' camp. First comes Sayid, eyes forward on the trail ahead. Next comes Juliet, who throws a quick glance off to the left. Then we see Kate trudging, head down. Last comes Jack...and he, too, throws a quick glance off to the left. Maybe nothing...or maybe he knows that someone is out there watching/following.

4) Juliet. Not sure why there's so much hating on her. I don't like her character, but I'm still interested in seeing how she's developed. More please. It seems damned obvious that she wants off of that island. I want to know what it is that Ben has over her to control her or how she turned from a shy, unsure researcher into the cold, calculating Other she seems to have become. Maybe she and Jack have some sort of agreement and she's going to turn against Ben and not do whatever it is that he's ordered her to do. I wouldn't bet the farm on it...but I'm interested in seeing where things go in the next few weeks.

 

[IcedEarth81]

Another good episode. This episode was all about trying to make you feel compassion for Juliette and then pulling the rug out from under her. Jack continues to be an a-hole and an idiot. Sayid and Sawyer still have the ability to read people. If I had to pick one guy from the island I would want on my side it would be Sayid, hands down.

It puzzles me why Sayid puts up with Jack's crap. Jack likes to talk like he's the baddest mofo around but Sayid and Sawyer could take him easily. Particularly Sayid. When he had the mini face-off with Sayid I wanted Jack to be put in his place. I grow tired of Jack's "because I said so" attitude.

I continue to like Ben. The guy is excellent in his role. Also, the rule of seeing the others less being better is still true. We see them here and there and the episodes are better for it. They need to remain somewhat mysterious until the end.

No doubt about it, this season, even with the weaker episodes in the first half, is way better than last season.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

If I had to pick one guy from the island I would want on my side it would be Sayid, hands down.

Word.

It puzzles me why Sayid puts up with Jack's crap. Jack likes to talk like he's the baddest mofo around but Sayid and Sawyer could take him easily. Particularly Sayid. When he had the mini face-off with Sayid I wanted Jack to be put in his place. I grow tired of Jack's "because I said so" attitude.

My guess is it's basically because he's The Doctor. With him around they could basically grab anyone and beat the snot out of 'em and Jack would be there to fix them. But imagine if, for whatever reason, they grabbed Jack and went a little too far. Not only would they lose a person, but they'd lose The Doctor. The only doctor.

Plus he was sort of the original rallying guy. That probably gives him some measure of diplomatic immunity, even if he's being a tool.

 

[Atavar]

Kind of obvious, but I'll throw it out there anyway: Who else thinks Juliet's sister, Rachel, never had a cancer relapse?

Think about it. Ben says Rachel's cancer is back, and that she will die before the baby is born. One of Juliet's reasons to leave the island (i.e. to be with Rachel when the baby is born) is moot, and the other reason (to be with Rachel when she dies) is eliminated with Ben's "promise" to cure her of cancer and save her life if Juliet agrees to stay. So, Juliet stays.

Then, when Juliet accuses Ben of lying about Rachel because he now apparently has cancer, and demands to leave, he shows "proof" that he kept is promise: Rachel is cancer-free with a healthy baby.

All of the above could easily, and more simply, play out if Rachel's cancer never returned in the first place, and those medical records Ben showed to Rachel of the cancer's returning were simply fakes.

Occam's Razor, doing its thing again.

Thoughts?

Later,

Atavar

 

[Hand of Evil]

Another good episode. This episode was all about trying to make you feel compassion for Juliette and then pulling the rug out from under her.

But no viewer I know of feels compassion for Juliette, no one cares, so it was wasted to make us try to like her or understand her. She is an Other, we already know she will do any and/or every thing in her power to get off the island, she demo'ed that when she shot and killed the guy that was about to kill Kate & Sawyer a few weeks ago.

Sayid needs a focus in his life, he is a henchman and will always be a henchman. Yes, he is able to do bad things to people but outside of a group he is lost. The Others could pick him up and use him just like anyone else. Jack, sees him as a person, not a tool and Sayid respects that in him.

I don't think Sawyer could take Jack. I think there is still more to Jack than is being told.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Kind of obvious, but I'll throw it out there anyway: Who else thinks Juliet's sister, Rachel, never had a cancer relapse?

Think about it. Ben says Rachel's cancer is back, and that she will die before the baby is born. One of Juliet's reasons to leave the island (i.e. to be with Rachel when the baby is born) is moot, and the other reason (to be with Rachel when she dies) is eliminated with Ben's "promise" to cure her of cancer and save her life if Juliet agrees to stay. So, Juliet stays.

Then, when Juliet accuses Ben of lying about Rachel because he now apparently has cancer, and demands to leave, he shows "proof" that he kept is promise: Rachel is cancer-free with a healthy baby.

All of the above could easily, and more simply, play out if Rachel's cancer never returned in the first place, and those medical records Ben showed to Rachel of the cancer's returning were simply fakes.

Occam's Razor, doing its thing again.

Thoughts?

Later,

Atavar

Agree, it is what Ben does best, finds what is most important to a person and uses it against them.

 

[Demmero]

3) Jack. Very suspicious behavior on his part. Maybe he's got the hots for Juliet and that's blinding his judgment. Or maybe he's in on her scam. Who's to say that Ben didn't have a similar little chat with Jack before the Others vanished? Jack insists that the other Lostaways give Juliet time to come around and spill info about the Others...and then at the end of the episode we learn that Ben's expecting a reunion with Juliet in a week. Coincidence?

Also, there was a scene at the start of this week's episode where Sayid, Jack, Kate, and Juliet are walking through a field on their way back to the Lostaways' camp. First comes Sayid, eyes forward on the trail ahead. Next comes Juliet, who throws a quick glance off to the left. Then we see Kate trudging, head down. Last comes Jack...and he, too, throws a quick glance off to the left. Maybe nothing...or maybe he knows that someone is out there watching/following.

OK, after rewatching the episode, it's clear that Jack and Juliet aren't in on the scam together...but it's still possible that Ben has some separate deal/agreement on the side.

One other thing that I wanted to mention--the scene between Juliet and Hurley was GREAT! She tries to make the lame joke to ol' happy-go-lucky Hurley about "having the day off" when the Others captured Hurley, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. Hurley almost cracks a smile but then immediately points out what happened to the last Other to infiltrate the survivors, telling her where Ethan's buried. That was sweet!

Maybe the file the Others have on Hurley isn't quite as accurate as they believe.