doctorfrog on 5/10/2006 at 16:17
I've forgotten a good deal of the last two seasons over the summer; guess that's what happens. However, the show has me hooked again in the first ep. There's more head-scratching to be done here, thankfully, but nothing like the beginning of the last season.
What I was wondering was what Stephen King book Juliette was reading at the book club. It seemed to be rather thin, esp. for a King book, and the title seemed a little too deliberately hidden. An early one? I'm thinking Firestarter. I haven't read anything King for years, but I think I remember this book had a dirty tricks outfit called The Shop, a top-secret house of unscrupulous brain and muscle that performed dangerous experiments and defended itself swiftly and violently. Like the Others.
That this was Juliette's choice for the book club, and a personal one, this book may also give insights to her character. One character that worked on breaking the little girl in the book was a safecracker, a slimy chap who likened breaking someone down and earning their trust to cracking a safe, something that Juliette is obviously doing to Jack. Or perhaps this sort of thing was once done to her, which may cause her to identify with the character from Firestarter.
Or, the King book may give away some clue to the nature of the island, or the central secret of the series. Or it is just an homage. I don't think it is a red herring, since there have been surprisingly few of these in the series. It would be easy to throw bad clues all over the place, and it is a credit to the series that this hasn't happened. Which is, of course, no reason to extrapolate from the King book as massively as I have done here.
That sheaf of papers Juliette had that told all of Jack's life, I'm thinking that was a bluff. If not, the Others have either air drops of information and supplies, or some kind of two-way connection to the outside. This detracts too much from the isolated, island feeling, though, and seems unlikely... just as unlikely that Michael is going anywhere with Walt in that little boat. Which is most unfortunate, as I'd had more than enough of the kid-psychic cliche and the little-dad-who-could in season 2. Perhaps the shark could eat them both. Twice.
The Jack storyline, of course, was angst incarnate, and dreadfully dull. The fish biscuit toss from Sawyer to Kate was surprisingly touching, however. I know the romance between these two is supposed to blossom, which will inspire some angry yawns from me (given that it will be taking away precious screen time in order to court a different demographic), but the way this was done wasn't irritating.
Oh, and the cage-kid-escapee screams "I'm a plant!" in a very Star Trek: TNG way.
The_Raven on 5/10/2006 at 16:19
I would have to agree with almost all of the comments here. Hopefully, things will start to pick up soon with the fate of The Swan, Locke, Eko and Desmond; Sayid's rescue attempt; Michael and Walt and all the other stuff that they didn't cover already but probably should have. I guess we can only hope they don't do what they did last year and have two different episodes take place at the same time.
TheAlbaniac on 5/10/2006 at 16:24
I enjoyed the episode despite the fact that I hate Jack.
What bothers me most of all is the way all the characters seem to make a conscious effort to be as mysterious and oblique as possible. The vagueness doesn't seem to serve a purpose half the time. I can (just barely) accept this from the writers who want to keep us on a leash, but it's just nonsensical when the characters do this.
I mean, why not elaborate to Jack as to why he shouldn't open that door? And why not simply tell Sawyer that he will get shocked by pressing the button a few times.
"I wouldn't do that", or "You'll kill us all" is needlessly vague and very irritating.
The_Raven on 5/10/2006 at 17:03
I was bored and was surfing wikipedia when I came across the entry for the (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities_%28Lost%29) recent episode. The Page contains a synopsis (you're welcome Cookie Dough) revealing the Stephen King book to be Carrie and the observation that the earthquake was probably due to Desmond not pushing the button. The links on the page to the next two episodes mention that we will not find out what happended to Locke and company as well Hurley's return to the beach camp till the 3rd episode :(
jimjack on 5/10/2006 at 17:26
I think that the book Juliet is reading is [SPOILER]The Talisman being that the main character is JACK SAWYER[/SPOILER]
I might be digging to deep but whats going on with the polar bears?
I'm finding Jack's flashback is making him lose his grip. That and a load of new characters to keep track of. Too much.
Haegan on 5/10/2006 at 17:30
Obviously I haven't seen this episode, however...
I really enjoy 'Lost,' but have a deep fear that we will never get a complete conclusion to the story, and that it will become painfully similar to 'The Prisoner' therefore never finding out what the hell is going on. And most annoyingly NEVER REACHING AN ENDING!!!!
(if anyone has any info on how many seasons they hope to make, please tell me...)
TheAlbaniac on 5/10/2006 at 17:42
I don't know...they might have to 'disregard' bits they brought in during the first season, but most of what they've done lately seems explainable. I can actually imagine possible endings, mainly because of the whole 'crazy experiment / utopia-with-mad-dictator' angle.
I must say I preferred the mysterious 'spiritual' slant the whole thing had in the first season. Now I'm just afraid it will turn out to be a quasi-scientific strung-out Star Trek/X-Files episode; everything will be 'explained', but in an unsatisfying far-fetched way.
Hewer on 5/10/2006 at 19:39
I think good ole Ben and company gave Kate some sort of task- something to get out of Sawyer, or some way of getting them to escape so she can get something else for the Others. Similar to Michael. The chafing of her wrists comes from the Others 'convincing' her to do so. She was told that 'the next two weeks' would be very unpleasant for her, and she's just starting that time period.
doctorfrog on 5/10/2006 at 20:03
Quote Posted by TheAlbaniac
I mean, why not elaborate to Jack as to why he shouldn't open that door? And why not simply tell Sawyer that he will get shocked by pressing the button a few times.
"I wouldn't do that", or "You'll kill us all" is needlessly vague and very irritating.
I think that's deliberate on the part of the characters, not the writers. By refusing to explain
why he should obey them, then immediately reaping the consequences of disobeying, they are hoping for future compliance, trust, obedience based on this idea that they know more than him. (Will it work?) I think the papers on his life are a bluff, and the water door may be real, but is also part of a deliberate program to gain his trust, or at least break him down. Shortly after this incident, Jack is in tears, and has lost some of his defiance.
