Lost and other things...
Apr. 14th, 2010 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatSaw Lost last night...and it was actually better than the last two episodes. Not as many cliche moments. Also the most character development for Hurley since well forever. I think the last time we got a decent Hurley centric episode - was maybe when Libby was still alive. Although, crazy Hurley was amusing for a bit - until it got old.
I think I've figured out the plot now. Or rather what is going on. Thank you, Desmond.
What this means is that Buffy wins in the battle it is currently waging with Lost for craziest and most insane/illogical plot on the planet.
But enough grousing. Desmond - apparently is aware of both universes. He is flashing between them. What the Generator Experiment did - was in effect the same thing that happened several seasons back when Desmond absorbed all the magnetic energy that Lock set off when Lock chose to not push the button. As a sort of experiment. At least I think it was Lock, I don't tend to re-watch these episodes, people. This is from memory.
The energy Desmond absorbed the first round - caused him to float in and out of time mentally. His body stayed put, but his mind traveled backwards and forwards to younger versions of his body - so that he literally switched bodies with his younger selves. In other words, Old Desmond on the Island - would go back and inhabit young Desmond in Scotland pursuing Penny or arguing with Widmore, while young Desmond would be inside Old Desmond on the island. Confusing? Yep. Time Travel Story Lines - require an aptitude for logic games and logical reasoning - and I happen to be very good at both.
Now, Desmond's mind is floating between universes. He is aware of both universes, present in both, at the same time. But, here's the thing - he is not omniscient, he's limited, much as he was before. Desmond only knows what he can perceive in his own body.
This means, that Desmond knows that there are two universes. He knows what is in both.
What has happened more or less in both from his perspective. He also knows that they can't co-exist. Faraday said - we are living a life we shouldn't be living. This should not exist.
The reason that everyone who died in PrimeVerse is still alive in ALT!Verse - is that in Alt!Verse - everyone who died on the island, left. I'd say it never existed - but Ben's father refers to it. So it did, but they had to evacuate before it got sunk. Apparently everyone did. It doesn't make a lot of sense - since I remember Miles' father getting killed in The Incident and here he is in this episode. So, I've decided that somehow - in the Alt!Verse - the temporal anomaly caused by the fact that Juliet/Jack/Hurley/Kate/Sayid/Miles/Jin/and Sawyer going back through time and setting off a bomb - did not happen since they never landed on the island in order to go back in time. The setting off the bomb - made their act of setting off the bomb impossible - this caused a rift in the time-space continuum - which in turn caused two universes to exist simulataneously - one the Alt!Verse - is what would have happened if the island did not exist or was a not a factor in anyone who came to it - lives, and one PrimeVerse is the island is a factor in their lives. But there's a hole - caused by the anomaly. One universe has to be sucked into the other - they can't co-exist. The main theme of Lost is that events which are seemingly random to us, if seen from a distance are not random at all - each person's life builds on the next. Each event causes the next. Like a woven tapestry - which we see Jacob weaving in different episodes. Pull a thread - just one, and the tapestry unravels.
This is hard to explain. At any rate - the gist is that both universes can't co-exist. Holes will start emerging. Inaccuracies. Bits and pieces that don't make sense. The story will unravel. They are going to have to choose just one.
Why did Desmond in the altverse hunt down wheelchair bound Lock and choose to run him over? Well, each of Altverse' Desmond's actions is oddly tied to what happens to PRimeverse Desmond in some manner.
Smokey or Not!Lock asks Desmond why he's not afraid at the well. I was afraid for Desmond - because I knew Smokey planned to throwing Desmond down the well. The very same well, oddly enough, that Lock fell into - last season, before he left the island. I remember telling Desmond on the screen - get away from the well you nitwit.
But, when Not!Lock asks Desmond if he knows who he is - Desmond says yes, Lock. Remember - Desmond doesn't know Lock is dead. Nor does he know that Smokey is inhabiting Lock's body. Desmond doesn't know what we know or anyone else knows. He was off the island last season and uninvolved with the island shenagians.
So when Lock throws him down the well - he's shocked. And it is, from his perspective, Lock that does it. His assumption is that Lock is afraid of him for some reason and will most likely try to kill him in the Alt!Verse. Remember Desmond does not know that Lock in the Primeverse is either dead, or that Smokey has taken on his form.
Not all that surprising he runs Lock over with his car - from his perspective - he is getting rid of a possible threat. Also Alt!Verse Desmond is fairly ruthless - he's afterall been Charles Widmore's go-to guy, right hand man, favorite son in Alt!Verse. And we all know how ruthless Widmore is.
Hurley? There really isn't much to say about Hurley. Except I loved him in this episode and it is the first episode for quite some time that Hurley did not grate on my nerves. So I'm no longer rooting for him to die. But seriously they need to kill a few of the guys - I vote for Sayid (who walks about like a bored zombie when he's not killing people, I mean seriously kill the guy already), Richard Alpert, Lapidus or Miles - all of whom appear to have nothing to do. I rather like Miles and Lapidus...but Alpert, I'm growing bored of. Can't say I'll miss Illana - she was poorly developed and didn't have much to do. But I'd read a spoiler that Ben Linus was about to get a love interest - uhm, if Illana is dead, whose left? Unless it's in the Alt!Verse, in which case - I really hope it isn't Juliet. Because that would squick me. For a lot of reasons. I like Ben. But their relationship was unsettling. And I personally believe Ben belongs with Lock and Juliet with Sawyer. (I'm stubborn about this - they have to sell me otherwise and there's no time to do so. I guess I might be able to deal with Kate and Sawyer - but it's a hard sell, after Juliet.)
So far my favorite romantic pairing of lost lovers is Hurley and Libby - whom Desmond pushes towards each other. My other favorite pairing is Ben and Locke - yes, I think of them together. That should be Ben's romance, in my opinion. Yes, I admit it, I'm a Ben/Lock shipper. The actors have great chemistry. Juliet/Sawyer, Ben/Lock, Rose/Bernard, and Libby/Hurley. The rest? Are sort of cliche to me and somewhat boring.
Overall, an entertaining episode. I particularly loved the stand-off between Hurley and Alpert. Illana blowing up was unintentionally funny - a true Looney Tunes moment. Ben's comment was priceless: "Yep, the island was through with her." My thought when she was lugging that dynamite in her satchel - how stupid are you? It's unstable. And we all know what happened to the last person who played with that stuff. This comment of Ben's is echoed by Not!Locke or Smokey to Desmond - who says - "The island isn't through with you." To wit, Desmond replies, "The island isn't through with any of us, brother." I hate the brother - they really should drop that...it's worse than mate. Who says that? I've been to Scotland and Ireland and Wales and England and Australia and met people from those countries and none of them use "brother".
Other fun bits - Ben racing to Lock after he got hit by Desmond. Ben questioning Desmond in the car. And the Hurley/Jack scene, as well as the Hurley/Libby one.
So ...we now have what five good episodes? LAX 1&2, Lock, Ben, and Hurley, with the Sawyer one a sort of honorable mention.
Saw Glee tonight. It was fun. But I'm not sure what it means that I enjoy the musical numbers and find them more entertaining than the writing or actual story or characters? (Although I rather adore the new characters who were just introduced and love the guidance counselor, Sue Slyvertrie, and Mercedes...plus Kurt. But, I admittedly may be watching it solely for the musical numbers, which are often satirical. I like the characters well enough. But Glee is a satire, and a bitter one at times. Satire isn't exactly known for its great character building and development.
I think I've figured out the plot now. Or rather what is going on. Thank you, Desmond.
What this means is that Buffy wins in the battle it is currently waging with Lost for craziest and most insane/illogical plot on the planet.
But enough grousing. Desmond - apparently is aware of both universes. He is flashing between them. What the Generator Experiment did - was in effect the same thing that happened several seasons back when Desmond absorbed all the magnetic energy that Lock set off when Lock chose to not push the button. As a sort of experiment. At least I think it was Lock, I don't tend to re-watch these episodes, people. This is from memory.
The energy Desmond absorbed the first round - caused him to float in and out of time mentally. His body stayed put, but his mind traveled backwards and forwards to younger versions of his body - so that he literally switched bodies with his younger selves. In other words, Old Desmond on the Island - would go back and inhabit young Desmond in Scotland pursuing Penny or arguing with Widmore, while young Desmond would be inside Old Desmond on the island. Confusing? Yep. Time Travel Story Lines - require an aptitude for logic games and logical reasoning - and I happen to be very good at both.
Now, Desmond's mind is floating between universes. He is aware of both universes, present in both, at the same time. But, here's the thing - he is not omniscient, he's limited, much as he was before. Desmond only knows what he can perceive in his own body.
This means, that Desmond knows that there are two universes. He knows what is in both.
What has happened more or less in both from his perspective. He also knows that they can't co-exist. Faraday said - we are living a life we shouldn't be living. This should not exist.
The reason that everyone who died in PrimeVerse is still alive in ALT!Verse - is that in Alt!Verse - everyone who died on the island, left. I'd say it never existed - but Ben's father refers to it. So it did, but they had to evacuate before it got sunk. Apparently everyone did. It doesn't make a lot of sense - since I remember Miles' father getting killed in The Incident and here he is in this episode. So, I've decided that somehow - in the Alt!Verse - the temporal anomaly caused by the fact that Juliet/Jack/Hurley/Kate/Sayid/Miles/Jin/and Sawyer going back through time and setting off a bomb - did not happen since they never landed on the island in order to go back in time. The setting off the bomb - made their act of setting off the bomb impossible - this caused a rift in the time-space continuum - which in turn caused two universes to exist simulataneously - one the Alt!Verse - is what would have happened if the island did not exist or was a not a factor in anyone who came to it - lives, and one PrimeVerse is the island is a factor in their lives. But there's a hole - caused by the anomaly. One universe has to be sucked into the other - they can't co-exist. The main theme of Lost is that events which are seemingly random to us, if seen from a distance are not random at all - each person's life builds on the next. Each event causes the next. Like a woven tapestry - which we see Jacob weaving in different episodes. Pull a thread - just one, and the tapestry unravels.
This is hard to explain. At any rate - the gist is that both universes can't co-exist. Holes will start emerging. Inaccuracies. Bits and pieces that don't make sense. The story will unravel. They are going to have to choose just one.
Why did Desmond in the altverse hunt down wheelchair bound Lock and choose to run him over? Well, each of Altverse' Desmond's actions is oddly tied to what happens to PRimeverse Desmond in some manner.
Smokey or Not!Lock asks Desmond why he's not afraid at the well. I was afraid for Desmond - because I knew Smokey planned to throwing Desmond down the well. The very same well, oddly enough, that Lock fell into - last season, before he left the island. I remember telling Desmond on the screen - get away from the well you nitwit.
But, when Not!Lock asks Desmond if he knows who he is - Desmond says yes, Lock. Remember - Desmond doesn't know Lock is dead. Nor does he know that Smokey is inhabiting Lock's body. Desmond doesn't know what we know or anyone else knows. He was off the island last season and uninvolved with the island shenagians.
So when Lock throws him down the well - he's shocked. And it is, from his perspective, Lock that does it. His assumption is that Lock is afraid of him for some reason and will most likely try to kill him in the Alt!Verse. Remember Desmond does not know that Lock in the Primeverse is either dead, or that Smokey has taken on his form.
Not all that surprising he runs Lock over with his car - from his perspective - he is getting rid of a possible threat. Also Alt!Verse Desmond is fairly ruthless - he's afterall been Charles Widmore's go-to guy, right hand man, favorite son in Alt!Verse. And we all know how ruthless Widmore is.
Hurley? There really isn't much to say about Hurley. Except I loved him in this episode and it is the first episode for quite some time that Hurley did not grate on my nerves. So I'm no longer rooting for him to die. But seriously they need to kill a few of the guys - I vote for Sayid (who walks about like a bored zombie when he's not killing people, I mean seriously kill the guy already), Richard Alpert, Lapidus or Miles - all of whom appear to have nothing to do. I rather like Miles and Lapidus...but Alpert, I'm growing bored of. Can't say I'll miss Illana - she was poorly developed and didn't have much to do. But I'd read a spoiler that Ben Linus was about to get a love interest - uhm, if Illana is dead, whose left? Unless it's in the Alt!Verse, in which case - I really hope it isn't Juliet. Because that would squick me. For a lot of reasons. I like Ben. But their relationship was unsettling. And I personally believe Ben belongs with Lock and Juliet with Sawyer. (I'm stubborn about this - they have to sell me otherwise and there's no time to do so. I guess I might be able to deal with Kate and Sawyer - but it's a hard sell, after Juliet.)
So far my favorite romantic pairing of lost lovers is Hurley and Libby - whom Desmond pushes towards each other. My other favorite pairing is Ben and Locke - yes, I think of them together. That should be Ben's romance, in my opinion. Yes, I admit it, I'm a Ben/Lock shipper. The actors have great chemistry. Juliet/Sawyer, Ben/Lock, Rose/Bernard, and Libby/Hurley. The rest? Are sort of cliche to me and somewhat boring.
Overall, an entertaining episode. I particularly loved the stand-off between Hurley and Alpert. Illana blowing up was unintentionally funny - a true Looney Tunes moment. Ben's comment was priceless: "Yep, the island was through with her." My thought when she was lugging that dynamite in her satchel - how stupid are you? It's unstable. And we all know what happened to the last person who played with that stuff. This comment of Ben's is echoed by Not!Locke or Smokey to Desmond - who says - "The island isn't through with you." To wit, Desmond replies, "The island isn't through with any of us, brother." I hate the brother - they really should drop that...it's worse than mate. Who says that? I've been to Scotland and Ireland and Wales and England and Australia and met people from those countries and none of them use "brother".
Other fun bits - Ben racing to Lock after he got hit by Desmond. Ben questioning Desmond in the car. And the Hurley/Jack scene, as well as the Hurley/Libby one.
So ...we now have what five good episodes? LAX 1&2, Lock, Ben, and Hurley, with the Sawyer one a sort of honorable mention.
Saw Glee tonight. It was fun. But I'm not sure what it means that I enjoy the musical numbers and find them more entertaining than the writing or actual story or characters? (Although I rather adore the new characters who were just introduced and love the guidance counselor, Sue Slyvertrie, and Mercedes...plus Kurt. But, I admittedly may be watching it solely for the musical numbers, which are often satirical. I like the characters well enough. But Glee is a satire, and a bitter one at times. Satire isn't exactly known for its great character building and development.
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no subject
Date: 2010-04-15 04:02 am (UTC)Yes. That's what I've thought for a while. It's really difficult to explain because it's counter-intuitive, but I think that the island is now a self-fulfilling loop. The time travel to 1976-1979 exists on the island because Sun saw the photo of the Lostees in Dharma and because Zoe has Jin's map. But there's actually little to indicate that any of it went down in the Sideways story and, actually, Miles's father still being alive instead of dead by bomb seems to indicate that their timeline is substantially different.
And my impression with Faraday's statement a couple of episodes ago is that he feels that they (collective Lostee they... although he seemed to be taking some personal credit for it) created thie Alt!Verse. So I don't think that he thinks that it's wrong so much as thinking that they created the Alt!Verse in defiance of original timeline. It shouldn't be here, but it is.
At least that's what I think this week. It's always subject to change.
Your point about Desmond in two places is interesting. That would explain why he went for overkill with Locke's 'near death experience'. Since he apparently thinks that MIB really is Locke.
And Richard Alpert is so going to die. He practically has an expiration date stamped on his forehead. :) (And I'm pretty sure that Sayid will too in the island!Verse)
Re: Glee... yeah. I love the musical numbers but a lot of the plotting does nothing for me so currently it's on my "to see on Hulu or DVD" list. The DVR can only take so many things at once.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-17 07:52 pm (UTC)And Richard Alpert is so going to die. He practically has an expiration date stamped on his forehead. :) (And I'm pretty sure that Sayid will too in the island!Verse)
God, I hope so. I've grown tired of both characters. Which is disappointing, because they had a lot of potential. The writers just don't seem to know what to do with them. I swear the wrong people get writing jobs.
Yes. That's what I've thought for a while. It's really difficult to explain because it's counter-intuitive, but I think that the island is now a self-fulfilling loop. The time travel to 1976-1979 exists on the island because Sun saw the photo of the Lostees in Dharma and because Zoe has Jin's map. But there's actually little to indicate that any of it went down in the Sideways story and, actually, Miles's father still being alive instead of dead by bomb seems to indicate that their timeline is substantially different.
I'd agree. The time travel caused the Sideways/alt verse, but only happened in the island/prime verse - which is why the time travelers go back to the Island/prime Verse and think it did not work, except for Juliet who discovers that it did work when she dies. The others aren't privy to the other verse or its creation.
This is different than what happened in the Star Trek film - hence the confusion. In that film, both universes can co-exist. Here they cannot.
I'm not entirely sure why both universes could exist in Star Trek and not here. But I'm also not sure it matters. TV often doesn't make sense.
And considering what I've put up with regarding a certain comic serial? (shrugs) This is nothing.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-15 04:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-17 07:35 pm (UTC)But...the writers are apparently reading blogs on Glee and paying attention to them, so we shall see where this goes. It is the only high-schoot cult hit to break into the mainstream.
And the musical numbers rock. It's worth watching for those numbers alone.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-15 05:09 am (UTC)I really liked Hurley in this episode. I think the last time I really liked Hurley was last year--when he bought up the tickets for half the plane, so that no civilians would get stuck on the island again. Since then...meh.
I find it hilarious about Ilana blowing up, especially since such a big point was made of Jack and Richard being immune to exploding dynamite a few episodes ago.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-17 07:31 pm (UTC)Agreed - the other best Hurley bit was buying up all the plane tickets to save as many lives as possible from the idiotic island. If he can take that sort of action - why does he allow himself to me manipulated by dead people? Or Jack? Or Jacob? I miss the earlier seasons - with Hurley convincing Sawyer and Jin to grab the car. The later ones - where he's basically everyone's dog, are annoying.
I'm not sure if Desmond was trying to give Lock the near-death experience or not - possible. It may very well have been killing two birds with one stone - a)taking care of a potential threat, and b)waking Lock up. Or...since, Desmond sees Lock as the same person in both universes and does not know he's inhabited by MIB (aka Smokey) - he may well think Lock knows what he knows...remember, he told Widmore that he'd help him after he found out about Sideways Verse. And he became oddly happy and content, no longer desperate to leave. This leads me to believe that he sees Sideways verse as the way out. And is intent on making that happen.
I think what I like about Lost - is I'm not sure. It can go many ways.
That and the characters continue to intrigue me.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-18 03:11 am (UTC)I hadn't thought about Desmond not caring about the original universe because he sees the sideways verse as the way out. I saw his complacency as sort of parallel to Sayid's, except where Sayid was filled with bitterness and cold rage, Desmond is filled with a euphoric contentment. Both Sayid and Desmond are (in the original universe) mostly without agency of their own. But that might just be incidental to the real story.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-17 08:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-17 07:23 pm (UTC)