Tuesday, April 13, 2010

An early, verbose, and calorie free reaction to Lost 612

Boy, that is one wacky sideways world.

OK, so the early reaction to Lost 612, Everybody Loves Hugo, is that, like Dr. Jack Shepherd, I am learning to let go.  I just let this one wash over me, basking in the glow of vibes both creepy and sublime, until    BANG   Desmond went demolition derby on John Locke's ass in one universe, while at the same time (but in another universe) Desmond played a freaky game of chicken with Locke on the Island;  a game that he appeared to win right up until he got thrown down a well.

Well, OK then.

Yeah, I'm just going to check right out the theory game right now.  Can I get my deposit back?

I liked seeing almost all of the remaining surviving members of the original cast all link up for the first time in YEARS!  It was only the one scene, but it was electric to see them all (minus Jin and plus Lapidus) giving each other the stink eye over a campfire again.  The look that passed between Jack and Smocke was beyond the pale.  Smokey had all sorts of confidence it appeared, while Jack looked sort of blissed-out and scared at the same time.  ("I am Jack's Medulla Oblongata, and this is me letting go.")

And you can let go and learn more by clicking 'read more' below.


Meanwhile, Larry, Curly and Mo Miles, Ben and Richard decided to take their hand grenades and Dharma boomsticks and go play on their own.  Richard had his epiphany, dammit, and he's sticking to it    although it bears mentioning that he seems to be forgetting who gave him his epiphany in the first damn phinay place.  For it was one Hugo Hurley Reyes who put Richard on the blowin' shit up path in the first place.

With everyone Jacob said was special, including Jack, who brought Richard back from the brink even before Hurley, telling Richard to take a deep breath, Richard's still not getting it.  Not sure how much I buy into that.  Not even Ilana going all Arzt on his ass gave our Maybeline Man even a moment's pause.

Yeah, let's call those three The Stooges    for now.  Wonder if me thinking that means it's going to end up with The Three  Stooges being the only ones who are right?

I mean, you want to tell me the sideways world is evil   OK.  You want to tell me the sideways world is a blissful epilogue---OK.  You want to say it's a mixture of both--I'm down with that, too.

How about Sun walking into yet another new locale filled with people who aren't her husband?  Occasionally her fruitless search for Jin has felt shoehorned into episodes, but tonight it was a quick and quiet moment of crushing resignation to the inevitable for Sun.  Broke my heart to see her eyes dart around and then come back to center; with barely a hint of an expression change on her face.  It was as if she is becoming resigned to being resigned.  Things look bleak for my favorite Island couple.

So, seems to come down to this: do the candidates buy into what Smocke's selling, and then they all fly the friendly skies together, and that is what causes a semi-evil sideways world, and now it's time to play match maker or psycho killer if that is what it takes to set things right, or...

...Or it's that defeating Smocke entails killing him, sinking the Island, rebooting the universe, and at the end of the day you get whatever you can get for yourself in your life as a sideways settler, and maybe what you get for yourself is a chance to die when Desmond goes all Charles Manson on your ass, or maybe what you get is a chance to remember and make a love connection when Desmond goes all Chuck Woolery on your ass, or...

...Or it's that the Sideways World is a temporary escape   one caused by person or persons unknown but possibly named Eloise    that is going to shatter to pieces once enough people find their Constants or get run over by Desmond in his re-imaging of Death Race 2000, or...

...Or it's something else.

But those are my best guesses just a scant hour after seeing it once.  It was a crackerjack episode.  It was filled with callbacks within callbacks, but rarely did they feel the slightest bit forced.  Certainly the callback to all the dynamite runs to the Black Rock ended with a surprising bang and an hilarious Arzt impression by Illana (Darlton really knows when the audience is done with someone, and the Island is usually done with them at the same time), and then with a really big BANG from the Black Rock saying goodbye in it's own unique Black Rock fashion.

The role and power reversals between the Losties and what is left of the Others during that scene was deft and appropriate.  And Ben's line about the Island using people up and then killing them gave me chills.  That was reason #1 for why I came out of this episode wondering if it is possible that the Island itself is evil, which is something I've never really considered before.  Maybe The Three Stooges are doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.

Finally, the Hurley power grab over Richard was sweet, and it was made all the sweeter by a constant through line all season long that came to fruition tonight with Hurley's elevation to Pope Hugo I.  They have been building Hurley up subtly and consistently all season long, and that paid off in a big way tonight.  And kudos to Jorge Garcia, who had it all going on tonight, dude.  His Sideways Hurley was a combo of the Hurley we know and love and a much more together and confident Hurley than we've ever seen.  Imagine our Hugo whipping out his checkbook and blowing right past all the doctor-patient formalities so convincingly.  That was not the guy we've known all these years, but at the same time it was.  Jorge Garcia's sideways work was some of the best this season.

And so now we are headed to the final chapter, boys and girls.  The second set of six episodes ends with the band finally back together, and now push is going to come to shove with six hours to go.

Oh, man.  Lost only has six more hours to go.

I'll have more tomorrow, but I have to let this one marinate for a while.  It was all gooey and sweet while being simultaneously creepy and disturbed.  It really was sort of all Charley Manson and Chuck Woolery at the same time.  If those guys had a love child, Everyone Loves Hugo might just have been it.

EDIT - Just a reminder that the comments section is wide freaking open.  No passwords, no "ajaha3l2nas" to type in to prove you are not a Skynet computer, and no limit on how stupid, verbose or insane you may be.  All delusions and neurosis are welcome.  All are welcome.  Come into the light.

2 comments:

  1. I'm wondering if hitting Locke with the car was the equivalent to Charlie driving into the drink. Locke didn't have an Island honey to hook 'em up with, but he did have an date with Jimmy the Island Gravedigger to remember, so maybe that is what Des was trying to accomplish.

    I thought it was a BAM-BAM-BAM episode, and not just because everyone ended up with pieces of Ilana all over them.

    Is it next Tuesday yet?

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  2. I agree, Anon, that it's far too early to say that Des was trying to kill Locke, although I'm not certain how easy it is to just make someone mostly dead with any kind of precision by hitting them with a thousand pounds of car. Right now, I buy that what you are saying could be right, but I also think it could have been Des trying to damage Smocke via Locke.

    There is just no way to know for certain until they tell us. That's how close they are playing their cards this season. We got a lot of answers tonight (the whispers are dead people), and we got a lot of forward momentum on a lot of fronts, but still that is not enough to let us make any definitive claims.

    And the puzzle continues. I hate that there are only six hours left, but I love that there are only six hours left and I STILL can't figure it all out.

    Bellissimo!

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