While everyone else was rushing around like maniacs (myself especially included) trying to post an immediate reaction to Lost last night, the man himself, Doctor of Doctors, King of Kings, EW's Lunatic-in-Residence, Jeff Jensen, either spent the night writing the longest dissertation in the history of Lost, or else he got some sleep.
Who would have thought Doc Jensen was the most sane man in the cyberspace room? Show of hands, everyone.
I know this to be true because I went over to his online pad this morning at 10 am---and still no recap. Now that is a dude who secure in his Lostinlinity. Here I thought I'd be the one to not write much of anything last night, only to cogitate and come up with something definitive later. Turns out I was only just barely behind the commercial scribes with my post, and I was at least half a day in front Doc J, who likely has much more interesting (or at least crazy) things to say about Poor Richard's Bogus Journey than I ever will.
Of course, I didn't lurve it like he did, so that gives him a leg up on me (and get your frickin' leg off me, Doc). Oh, and he's paid to do it, so that gives him a leg, an arm, a shoulder and a toe up on me.
After sleeping on it, I am still mystified that the very smart dudes who run Lost thought I should and would become emotionally invested in Richard the Cipher and Isabella the Heretofore Unknown and Mostly Dead's 15-minute microwave Chiquita banana love story. But apparently I am alone on this one, as the early reaction I have seen has been overwhelmingly positive, with one dumb douche even going so far as to rip Zap2It's Ryan McGee a new one over the fact that Ryan merely said, "I really liked it, and that it was "only" the third best episode of the season," rather than, "I frakking lurved it and want to make love to it over and over for the rest of my pitiful little existence."
Gotta love the Internet, don'tcha?
Anyway, I did love the Jacob-MiB stuff, and I talk about that love, as well my quibbles, in my mini-recap below. But I would have loved all of that stuff even more if it had been allowed more time to grow and breathe and develop at leisure. All we really got from those handful of minutes of screen time was pretty much summed up with Jacob giving Richard the, "Jug of wine, loaf of boar, and thou," line from the Rubaiyat of Omar Kayyam. I would have enjoyed more time and depth to that explanation, if not for clarity's sake (because I thought it was pretty clear), then for an increased and more nuanced dramatic stake, and perhaps for a bit more myth downloading since, in my mind, they really did have the time for it.
I'll probably dissect the Island, Richard and Randall Flagg more later, but for now check out my quick grasp below, while I actually try and get some real work done today. Gotta support my new blog habit, you know.
"I am still mystified that the very smart dudes who run Lost thought I should and would become emotionally invested in Richard the Cipher and Isabella the Heretofore Unknown and Mostly Dead's 15-minute microwave Chiquita banana love story."
ReplyDeleteI doubt we've seen the last of her, if that helps.
Not to be flip, but it really doesn't. It won't make that hour last night any more engaging to flesh her out down the road. You only get that first viewing experience once, and an emotional story that predominates an episode is one of the things that should work the first time through.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm really not interested in any serious time being spent trying to flesh out Isabella later, because, god, what a waste of time. I like the idea of Richard, but I sure as hell do not care enough about him to invest even more time in that love story. I've never said this before, but I just want time with the characters I know. We are nine episodes from the end, so let's forget about Isabella.
By the way, I actually liked Dogen a lot, and I had no problem with how those new characters were handled. Even Lennon was fine for me, because I think using someone such as Sol Star to play the guy made it completely shocking when Sayid slit his throat that it simply would not have been had the guy been a nameless, faceless red shirt that I wasn't ever expecting to see more from.
So, I am fine with new characters, even at this late date, but Isabella did nothing for me, nor did her story with Richard.
I do agree, by the way; they spent an hour telling a tangential story when a much more interesting story just lay there, asking to be told - what leads to Ricardo pointing out that Smokey will always interfere if Jacob doesn't? I mean, that's why we're here, right?
ReplyDeleteAlso: Where's the money, Lebowski?
Pellegrino certainly gets typecast; he's either inappropriately baptising people or playing the devil, or maybe both..