Sunday, October 25, 2009
Tabula Rasa: Good vs Evil
Ostensibly Tabula Rasa is about Kate and her "clean slate" on the island. but it seems to me to follow directly from Locke's "light and dark" discussion on the beach in the pilot. Several characters are presented in this episode as having indeterminate morality, most notably Kate. It is revealed that, before the crash, she was a prisoner of "the law" for having committed an unknown crime. And yet she shows real compassion for the people around her, including the marshall himself. She helped him on the plane, and she had a chance to kill him on the beach, but didn't. It isn't clear from this episode whether the marshall himself is good or evil. Jin and Sawyer both seem to be less than stellar individuals, but both show flashes of compassion in the episode. Perhaps most enigmatic is good old Locke, already a figure of mystery. He seems to be a decent chap in his relationship with Walt and Michael, but oh, that episode-ending, bone-chilling scowl....
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Carlinville Color Tour
Friday, October 23, 2009
Tabula Rasa
Having just watched Tabula Rasa, I know all over again why I fell in love with this show. The ending scene of the episode is classic Lost. Even though I knew what would happen, I was enthralled. In a way it was even more interesting to watch the tableau unfold, knowing what the last shot would be......
The arrow-straight line between Locke's "light and dark" conversation with Walt in the very first episode, and the iconic conversation between Jacob and his Nemesis on the beach in the very last episode becomes crystal clear upon rewatching. Light and dark, good and evil, which is which is which?
The arrow-straight line between Locke's "light and dark" conversation with Walt in the very first episode, and the iconic conversation between Jacob and his Nemesis on the beach in the very last episode becomes crystal clear upon rewatching. Light and dark, good and evil, which is which is which?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Lost clips
I’ve finished rewatching the first two episodes (Pilot, Parts 1 and 2). I found two different series of YouTube clips summarizing the major themes of seasons 1 - 5. They were put together by fans, ttheblackbox and campetin, using music not original to the series, but appropriate and moving, mostly. The first series (ttheblackbox) is far superior to the second series (campetin), except I enjoyed the second campetin episode “Happy Moments” very much. I think even non-Lost fans would be moved by it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxT3Z_Wz6oI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVMZGYJFpxE
Watching these and the Pilot have raised some questions and thoughts. See my next post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxT3Z_Wz6oI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVMZGYJFpxE
Watching these and the Pilot have raised some questions and thoughts. See my next post.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Lost Rewatch
I'm starting Lost all over, because I was undergoing withdrawal. Watching the second time is an odd experience. Some of the charm is gone because half the fun is not knowing what will happen next, and of course now I do. On the other hand, it is fun to see the familiar characters develop, form their relationships and experience their lives on the island all over again.
I have just finished the first half of the pilot, and already I have noticed some things I didn't notice the first time. I hadn't remembered that Rose said about the tree-crushing monster the first night: "That sound that it made, I keep thinking that there was something really familiar about it." I wonder if that has any significance. And now I'm not so sure that that monster is the same as the smoke monster we meet later. And why would it have killed the pilot so quickly?
It's also fun to compare incidents with what we now know to be significant about them from later episodes. For example in the first episode, Jack tells Kate the famous story about overcoming his fear during his first spinal surgery. What he doesn't tell her is that it was his father who gave him the idea, which we only find out in a flashback in season 5.
Did the monster kill the pilot because Jacob had no use for him? If so, why not any of the rest?
This is going to be fun! (And no spoilers possible, so we can discuss it in as much detail as we want!)
I have just finished the first half of the pilot, and already I have noticed some things I didn't notice the first time. I hadn't remembered that Rose said about the tree-crushing monster the first night: "That sound that it made, I keep thinking that there was something really familiar about it." I wonder if that has any significance. And now I'm not so sure that that monster is the same as the smoke monster we meet later. And why would it have killed the pilot so quickly?
It's also fun to compare incidents with what we now know to be significant about them from later episodes. For example in the first episode, Jack tells Kate the famous story about overcoming his fear during his first spinal surgery. What he doesn't tell her is that it was his father who gave him the idea, which we only find out in a flashback in season 5.
Did the monster kill the pilot because Jacob had no use for him? If so, why not any of the rest?
This is going to be fun! (And no spoilers possible, so we can discuss it in as much detail as we want!)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Beaver Dam with Jack
Sunday afternoon we took Jack for a walk at Beaver Dam. It was a wonderful day, weather-wise. Cool but not cold, overcast but not dark. The sun peeked through
the clouds occasionally. Jack enjoyed himself very much. All sorts of new sniffs to experience.
Besides the nice scenery, the summer flowers are just barely hanging on. Here is some goldenrod,
and a low leafy plant who's leaves have turned bright red.
Some tiny pink flowers growing up amid the ground clutter,
onelonely pink clover,
The summer's last chicory flower,
and LOTS of fungus.
This interesting box-like growth on the side of a tree :)
and a tiny red-spotted fungus(?)
Most dramatically, Mom spotted a huge hanging wasp nest off in the woods. Of course I had to get close enough to take some pictures. There were wasps going in and out of the round black hole on the side.
The thing is about twice as big as my head, and hanging from a branch by a thin vine.
It really was quite beautiful, intricately made with soft swirls and patterns of bumps.
That's it for now. I have lots more pictures if anybody is interested.
the clouds occasionally. Jack enjoyed himself very much. All sorts of new sniffs to experience.
I went a little crazy with my cell phone camera. Here are some shots of the park. The leaves are just beginning to turn. In another week should be gorgeous.
Besides the nice scenery, the summer flowers are just barely hanging on. Here is some goldenrod,
daisy fleabane,
and a low leafy plant who's leaves have turned bright red.
Some tiny pink flowers growing up amid the ground clutter,
onelonely pink clover,
The summer's last chicory flower,
and LOTS of fungus.
This interesting box-like growth on the side of a tree :)
and a tiny red-spotted fungus(?)
Most dramatically, Mom spotted a huge hanging wasp nest off in the woods. Of course I had to get close enough to take some pictures. There were wasps going in and out of the round black hole on the side.
The thing is about twice as big as my head, and hanging from a branch by a thin vine.
It really was quite beautiful, intricately made with soft swirls and patterns of bumps.
That's it for now. I have lots more pictures if anybody is interested.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Multi-verses
Thanks to the article Mom sent us all (which, interestingly, mentioned both Anathem [favorably] and Lost [jeeringly]) I started thinking about the multi-verse. The obvious question for us Losties is: Did Juliet manage to detonate the bomb, thus negating everything that happened in seasons 1-5 ("If I never meet you, I never have to lose you.")? Or did she not? The obvious answer is: Both! I'm wondering if we now will start on a two-track plot in which our heroes in one universe continue their struggles in 2007/1977 on/off the island, at the same time they live their lives in the other universe, having safely arrived at LAX blithely unaware of each other. In the latter universe, I bet they begin to form relationships, and somehow become aware of the goings-on in the other universe. Just a thought.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Incident
Well, I’m finally done with Season 5. Now you don’t have to worry about spoilers, Dan, at least not for me. I appreciate your keeping quiet. It must have been hard to watch me flounder with weird theories.
The first ten minutes of The Incident were awesome. The music, the visuals, the shocking dialogue, the understated emotions played superbly by two fine actors, answers to lingering mysteries, new mysteries revealed: all made for classic television – LOST in a nutshell.
The last ten minutes of The Incident were likewise amazing. So much action and raw emotion, several major twists, all setting up the ultimate cliffhanger with questions we’re dying to have answered.
The rest of the episode was good, but not up to the opening or closing. The bulk of the episode dealt with four ideas. (1) Who will support Jack in his quest to nuke the island, who will support Kate in her quest to stop him, and who just wants to get outta there? Loyalties and emotions shift. I must say Juliet’s waffling was irritating, but her line “If I never meet you, I never have to lose you.” was heartstabbing. Eventually, everybody gets on board with Jack’s plan, even Kate. And it was nice to see Miles and Chang united. (2) Jacob fiddling in the lives of the Losties at various times was intriguing at first, but once we got the idea, we got the idea. A couple of fascinating questions did arise: Did Jacob resurrect Locke after his fall? If so, given later developments, why?? Was Jacob responsible for Nadia’s accident? (3) The survivors of Ajira flight 316 are Jacob’s allies. Jacob recruited Alana, who already seemed to know him when he contacted her in the hospital [Did she have plastic surgery? If so who was she really? My guess is Ana Lucia, or possibly Libby.] They need to be able to identify Jacob once they arrive, thus the question about the shadow of the statue, and the possibility that Frank might be him. Alana’s sidekick asked Miles the same question when they kidnapped him in Some Like it Hoth. [So did they think Miles might be Jacob???] (4) Locke v.2 is not really Locke. I had already suspected as much (see my last post).
So here’s my theory: Jacob’s companion on the beach (aka Locke2 aka Christian2) is a deity, the Island incarnate. Jacob is an evil entity who has somehow gotten control of the island and uses it for his own fun and games. The Island deity can’t kill him, and can’t get rid of him, but a mortal can. Thus Ben becomes a pawn in the grand game.
We shall see.
The first ten minutes of The Incident were awesome. The music, the visuals, the shocking dialogue, the understated emotions played superbly by two fine actors, answers to lingering mysteries, new mysteries revealed: all made for classic television – LOST in a nutshell.
The last ten minutes of The Incident were likewise amazing. So much action and raw emotion, several major twists, all setting up the ultimate cliffhanger with questions we’re dying to have answered.
The rest of the episode was good, but not up to the opening or closing. The bulk of the episode dealt with four ideas. (1) Who will support Jack in his quest to nuke the island, who will support Kate in her quest to stop him, and who just wants to get outta there? Loyalties and emotions shift. I must say Juliet’s waffling was irritating, but her line “If I never meet you, I never have to lose you.” was heartstabbing. Eventually, everybody gets on board with Jack’s plan, even Kate. And it was nice to see Miles and Chang united. (2) Jacob fiddling in the lives of the Losties at various times was intriguing at first, but once we got the idea, we got the idea. A couple of fascinating questions did arise: Did Jacob resurrect Locke after his fall? If so, given later developments, why?? Was Jacob responsible for Nadia’s accident? (3) The survivors of Ajira flight 316 are Jacob’s allies. Jacob recruited Alana, who already seemed to know him when he contacted her in the hospital [Did she have plastic surgery? If so who was she really? My guess is Ana Lucia, or possibly Libby.] They need to be able to identify Jacob once they arrive, thus the question about the shadow of the statue, and the possibility that Frank might be him. Alana’s sidekick asked Miles the same question when they kidnapped him in Some Like it Hoth. [So did they think Miles might be Jacob???] (4) Locke v.2 is not really Locke. I had already suspected as much (see my last post).
So here’s my theory: Jacob’s companion on the beach (aka Locke2 aka Christian2) is a deity, the Island incarnate. Jacob is an evil entity who has somehow gotten control of the island and uses it for his own fun and games. The Island deity can’t kill him, and can’t get rid of him, but a mortal can. Thus Ben becomes a pawn in the grand game.
We shall see.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Follow the Leader: A Classic LOST Episode
I’ve suffered recently from a terrible case of blog fade, I admit it. What with school starting and all…. Ah, but I’ve managed to watch most of LOST Season 5. My report:
This season is different than the others. It starts off with a bang, and just keeps going at breakneck speed. The first several episodes seem like one long episode, and the time jumps, both literal, and flashback, are confusing but exhilarating. Even though the off-island parts following the Six left me a little cold, each episode gives us plenty to chew over. The relationship development is slowed, although the Sawyer/Juliet relationship blew me away at first. I still don’t quite buy it.
My main purpose here is to sing the praises of two of the later episodes, and in particular the last one I watched: Follow the Leader.
First, I loved Some Like it Hoth. Of course, I’m partial to Hurley, and I have developed an appreciation for his relationship with Miles. This episode gives that relationship a full airing (which the van needed at one point [yuck yuck]). I loved the scene where Miles, Hurley and Chang were in the van, and Hurley kept needling Miles to tell Chang he’s his son. [Realistically, how could Chang have not suspected? I mean, how many Chinese guys are named Miles?] But I was totally impressed by the scene after they got back to the barracks and Chang had left them, when Hurley was trying to persuade Miles to approach Chang. He used his own experiences and those of Luke Skywalker as examples. That scene was both laugh-out-loud funny, and tear-jerkingly touching AT THE SAME TIME. Quite a feat.
Now to Follow the Leader. This episode, left me gasping. It features humor, raw emotion, shocking moments, major questions answered, and gaping holey questions. We can see the season finale taking shape. At the same time we’re left wanting to know how it’s all going to come together.
Humor: (1) Hurley (of course) tries to convince Chang that they AREN’T from the future, fails miserably, gives up. “OK, Dude, we’re from the future.” (2) Sawyer sees Juliet safely into the sub, then turns around and views the panorama of the island. The audience naturally believes he will bolt and head back to the island for any number of reasons. Instead he murmurs “Good riddance” and ducks inside.
Raw emotion: (1) Kate and Jack talk about Daniel’s plan to blow up the island. Jack’s all for it, to wipe out the death and misery so many have experienced over the last three years, to bring back Charlie and Shannon and Boone and…. On his face, we can see the misery he has experienced himself, what he has felt at losing friend after friend, and yes, the sadness of knowing the implications for him and Kate. Kate’s miserable because she realizes it would mean she never meets Jack or Sawyer (not to speak of all the people who will die in the explosion). Both actors (neither particularly impressing me in the past) wring the most out of that brief scene. That scene is immediately followed by (2) Ellie talking to them, the realization coming over her that she has killed her son, then that Daniel has given her a way to wipe out that sin. This actress is awesome. (3) Miles watching Chang roughly dismissing his mother and his baby-self, finally understanding his whole life story in that one bit of a scene. (4) Kate joins Sawyer and Juliet in the sub. No words are spoken, but the emotions playing on all three faces speak volumes about their past relationships.
Shocking moments: (1) Alpert tells Sun he watched Jack, Kate, and Hurley all die 30 years ago. (2) Locke tells Sun if there’s a way for Sun and Jin to be together, “to save OUR people”, he’ll find it. (So he still considers Jin et al to be his people. Or is he lying…?) (3) Locke reveals his purpose for bringing the Others to Jacob: “I’m gonna kill him.” (4) It was LOCKE who directed Richard to go to Locke and pull the bullet out, and also relay the message from Locke, that Locke would have to die. My head spins. (5) Sun: Will this man Jacob be able to bring Jin and the rest of our friends back here? Locke: Absolutely. Richard aside to Ben: I’m beginning to think John Locke is going to be trouble. Ben: Why do you think I tried to kill him?
Questions: Did Eloise send the Six (and Locke and Ben) back (even though she knows she kills Daniel) so, ironically, they would blow up the island and thus she never shoots Daniel? Did Widmore fund Daniel’s research and recruit him for the freighter so he would go back and explode the bomb? Did Widmore recruit Miles so he could talk to the dead Daniel? Did Widmore know Miles was Chang’s kid? Tangentially, why was Charlotte recruited? And why Frank both times? Purely coincidence? We know Christian (or his manifestation) was resurrected on the island. Is that the same thing that happened to Locke? Is he real, or a manifestation? When did the Locke/Alpert/Locke bullet extracting scene happen? Obviously in 2007, but we first saw it immediately after the wheel-turning in 2004, during the mad time shifts. Does that mean that at least one of the shifts led them to the future? And how did Locke know the exact moment to set the scene in motion? “The island told me.” Again, is he the real Locke?
And the big question: Can the human variable really change the time-line as Daniel suggests, or are they destined to repeat the same history (What Happened, Happened). My guess is the latter. Evidence: Daniel knew he talked to the little-girl Charlotte and scared her by warning her about leaving the island. He was determined not to repeat that, but in the end, he had to to save her.
All in all, a wonderful episode.
This season is different than the others. It starts off with a bang, and just keeps going at breakneck speed. The first several episodes seem like one long episode, and the time jumps, both literal, and flashback, are confusing but exhilarating. Even though the off-island parts following the Six left me a little cold, each episode gives us plenty to chew over. The relationship development is slowed, although the Sawyer/Juliet relationship blew me away at first. I still don’t quite buy it.
My main purpose here is to sing the praises of two of the later episodes, and in particular the last one I watched: Follow the Leader.
First, I loved Some Like it Hoth. Of course, I’m partial to Hurley, and I have developed an appreciation for his relationship with Miles. This episode gives that relationship a full airing (which the van needed at one point [yuck yuck]). I loved the scene where Miles, Hurley and Chang were in the van, and Hurley kept needling Miles to tell Chang he’s his son. [Realistically, how could Chang have not suspected? I mean, how many Chinese guys are named Miles?] But I was totally impressed by the scene after they got back to the barracks and Chang had left them, when Hurley was trying to persuade Miles to approach Chang. He used his own experiences and those of Luke Skywalker as examples. That scene was both laugh-out-loud funny, and tear-jerkingly touching AT THE SAME TIME. Quite a feat.
Now to Follow the Leader. This episode, left me gasping. It features humor, raw emotion, shocking moments, major questions answered, and gaping holey questions. We can see the season finale taking shape. At the same time we’re left wanting to know how it’s all going to come together.
Humor: (1) Hurley (of course) tries to convince Chang that they AREN’T from the future, fails miserably, gives up. “OK, Dude, we’re from the future.” (2) Sawyer sees Juliet safely into the sub, then turns around and views the panorama of the island. The audience naturally believes he will bolt and head back to the island for any number of reasons. Instead he murmurs “Good riddance” and ducks inside.
Raw emotion: (1) Kate and Jack talk about Daniel’s plan to blow up the island. Jack’s all for it, to wipe out the death and misery so many have experienced over the last three years, to bring back Charlie and Shannon and Boone and…. On his face, we can see the misery he has experienced himself, what he has felt at losing friend after friend, and yes, the sadness of knowing the implications for him and Kate. Kate’s miserable because she realizes it would mean she never meets Jack or Sawyer (not to speak of all the people who will die in the explosion). Both actors (neither particularly impressing me in the past) wring the most out of that brief scene. That scene is immediately followed by (2) Ellie talking to them, the realization coming over her that she has killed her son, then that Daniel has given her a way to wipe out that sin. This actress is awesome. (3) Miles watching Chang roughly dismissing his mother and his baby-self, finally understanding his whole life story in that one bit of a scene. (4) Kate joins Sawyer and Juliet in the sub. No words are spoken, but the emotions playing on all three faces speak volumes about their past relationships.
Shocking moments: (1) Alpert tells Sun he watched Jack, Kate, and Hurley all die 30 years ago. (2) Locke tells Sun if there’s a way for Sun and Jin to be together, “to save OUR people”, he’ll find it. (So he still considers Jin et al to be his people. Or is he lying…?) (3) Locke reveals his purpose for bringing the Others to Jacob: “I’m gonna kill him.” (4) It was LOCKE who directed Richard to go to Locke and pull the bullet out, and also relay the message from Locke, that Locke would have to die. My head spins. (5) Sun: Will this man Jacob be able to bring Jin and the rest of our friends back here? Locke: Absolutely. Richard aside to Ben: I’m beginning to think John Locke is going to be trouble. Ben: Why do you think I tried to kill him?
Questions: Did Eloise send the Six (and Locke and Ben) back (even though she knows she kills Daniel) so, ironically, they would blow up the island and thus she never shoots Daniel? Did Widmore fund Daniel’s research and recruit him for the freighter so he would go back and explode the bomb? Did Widmore recruit Miles so he could talk to the dead Daniel? Did Widmore know Miles was Chang’s kid? Tangentially, why was Charlotte recruited? And why Frank both times? Purely coincidence? We know Christian (or his manifestation) was resurrected on the island. Is that the same thing that happened to Locke? Is he real, or a manifestation? When did the Locke/Alpert/Locke bullet extracting scene happen? Obviously in 2007, but we first saw it immediately after the wheel-turning in 2004, during the mad time shifts. Does that mean that at least one of the shifts led them to the future? And how did Locke know the exact moment to set the scene in motion? “The island told me.” Again, is he the real Locke?
And the big question: Can the human variable really change the time-line as Daniel suggests, or are they destined to repeat the same history (What Happened, Happened). My guess is the latter. Evidence: Daniel knew he talked to the little-girl Charlotte and scared her by warning her about leaving the island. He was determined not to repeat that, but in the end, he had to to save her.
All in all, a wonderful episode.
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