'Lost': My recap for 'Recon' is live
So here's, the deal, "Lost" fans: I woke up yesterday morning to find that my basement looked like New Otherton in the sideways timeline. Water water everywhere, not a drop to drink. Water water everybody, boy did that sure stink. So to say I've had a rough few days is an understatement. Thankfully, I had the show to take my mind off things for a while. While it was a good diversion, it wasn't a spectacular one.
That's not damning the show with faint praise. I found a lot of it very enjoyable, especially in the first half of the hour. But as the show dragged on, it definitely dragged a bit. I had sort of the same problem as I did with "Sundown": I could see where the show was going, as sometimes happens when the show has to emphasis plot over story. The story of the War of the Island? Interesting! This particular segment of plot points to set the stage? Not as much.
In essence: this was the logical sequel to "The Long Con," in which on-Island Sawyer learned to meld his ability to get people to fight each other with his newfound compassion for other people. Does that sound like a good episode? Yes, and for the most part, it was. But once you saw this episode's antecedent, the beats became a little predictable, and predictability is a death knell no matter what episode in what show.
Read my whole take here. This week's code word for questions to be considered in the next "Letters from the Flame"? SQUIRREL BABY! Because this ep might be that little bigger's swan song. Sigh. We hardly knew ye, squirrel baby.
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Photo credit: ABC
SQUIRREL BABY!
- Let's assume that Smocke's story about his mother was truthful, or at least truthful from his own perspective.?Do you think that he became "evil" and forced to be imprisoned by his once-friend Jacob because of a crazy mother's neglect? Or did Smocke just consider his mother crazy because she saw what her twisted son was becoming and tried to stop it? Just seems to me like the Island endgame has become all about these characters facing their mommy & daddy issues.
Ryan, great recap! One thing you missed - when Miles said he was setting Sawyer up on a date, he said that she works "with his dad" at the museum. So apparently Miles' father (Dr. Candle) also came back to the mainland from the Dharma Initiative, just like Ben and his dad.
I enjoyed the episode a lot! Yes, it wasn't as emotionally intense as last week's, but there is no way they can do that every week, especially since these days each episode is more a 40-minute segment of a long-form story than a self-contained episode. (At least the island story... and even the Sayid and Sawyer and Kate sideways stories seem as if they are probably going to be multi-part, not one-shot.)
And as a big fan of Little House -- in fact, one who still to this day periodically rents a DVD full of them or watches them on cable -- I never felt more connected to Sawyer than tonight!
I've been off-line for the last 48 hours... I'm getting caught up on all of the blogs, comments (and chat) in order, so I haven't read the recap yet (but I will shortly).
POLARBEARSOHMY -- Thanks for the analysis on why Widmore couldn't kill Alex directly... sounds logical to me.
SPLINTER -- I never thought about it before, but seems to me that (in the pilot) Smokey probably pulled the pilot out of the cockpit before realizing it wasn't the candidate after all.
NOTNOTLOCKE: "in the "Island" timeline, Jacob is the ultimate absent father figure..."
Interesting perspective.
DANH: "That doesn't necessarily mean they want the pieces to go through a metamorphasis of spiritual improvement. They want to manuever the pieces into a spot where they can win....
You've articulated something that I've been trying to for a while -- well done!
RE THE PRE-SHOW CHAT:
Thank you Ryan for continuing to try to supress whatever Darlton says. As I've previosly mentioned, I avoid their podcasts or interviews like the plague, and I think more and more people are seeing why (from what I infer Darlton said and how they said it). I hope from now on this site people will even make less reference to anything Darlton says on this site than they even are now. (It's easy to figure out the jist of what Darlton said, and it is certainly doing nothing to help me appreciate the show, or them, more.)
RYAN: "As soon as we know the answer to the sideways flashes, we no longer need to see them."
Man, I coudn't disagree with that statement more.
Part of the reason I felt so good after "Dr. Linus" was I finally felt the side-stories were really getting good, regardless if they were epilogue or wounds (sources o bleeding) or whatever.
Perhaps this should be a subject of one of your blogs -- will the side-stories continue once we know what the nature of the timeline is?
"This is not a flash-back or flash-forward"
More and more I'm beginning to think that the literal interpretation of what we're being told about the sideways timeline is true: It's what would have happened if 815 hadn't crashed. And thus all of the differences in the characters histories (Ben being on good terms with his father, etc.) are what would have been the case if 815 hadn't crashed, and ultimately made the changes back in 1954 and such. Thus, the flashbacks of S1 and S2 are actually of the CHANGED backstory, not the original.
If this is the case, the every scene we're seeing in the sideways timeline from the last part of 815's (successful) flight onward is simply illustrative, not literal... but the flashbacks are literal.
No, this doesn't make much sense... or at least I HOPE it doesn't. That would be a bummer to find out that all of these side stories never happened (they are just somebody telling a story to someone else, a la a certain movie that I didn't like but was fairly popular and highly regarded.)
Okay, onto the recap...
I also loved hearing "LeFleur"!
Decent recap, but I really like your "mythology" points!
"Wait, The Smothers don't know he's the monster? Oh for the love of..."
Funny, you'd think that would bother me too but it didn't. I guess I am a changed man. Or maybe it's just that I liked this episode significantly more than you (and some others) did.
"...giving them loads of answers (even mostly false ones) must taste like cool water on their mental tongues..."
I like that metaphor!
"I guess Charles Widmore thinks "Lost" fans are collectively a sad bunch, then."
This was the only part of the episode I didn't like -- how Sawyer didn't get us more answers before telling Widmore that he'd help him.
JONDOE: "Does anyone see that Smocke told Kate about his mother being crazy like Claire was only to get Kate to side with him, So that Kate would want to return home to take care of Aaron?"
Yes, I think that is quite possible.
I'm a big Sawyer fan, so I loved this ep. From the moment the chick called him Dimples & Miles hands him his PD ID...
Predictable? Somewhat, but not totally. But, that is the beauty of LOST. Sometimes we are led down a path straight to that which we thought we knew, only to have 'the rug pulled out from under us' in the next ep, as another said earlier this week. And, some info stands pat, when we are expecting it to not be 100%!
I haven't read the recap just yet...and have only watched the ep one time.
SQUIRREL BABAY:
1) Did Claire convincingly apolgize to Kate, or was she just following Locke's orders, to get Kate drawn in to following Smocke? (Noting, Smocke seemed to try several angles to get Kate on his team - hatred for another, his mommy issues & relating them to Claire/Aaron. Loved when Kate did not accept his outstretched hand in the Banyan trees) This seemed a bit more difficult then getting Sawyer & Sayid to play in his games. Which is similar to Jacob's comments about the differences between Hurley & Jack finding their way. (Sometimes, all you need to do is get in a cab, others, well...)
2) Is Smocke's story about his mother actually Locke's mother or the MiB's mother?
3) ...and can we assume Locke's 'dad' that is being invited to the wedding is really Cooper, based on this ep?
ok, one more....
4) Did you get the idea Charlotte was looking for more than a t-shirt in Sawyers drawers & Sawyer was being set-up by Miles seeking more info? or, Charlotte was looking for more scoop on Sawyer of her own accord? If so, whassup with that?
Good morning to all members of DHARMA (Die-Hard Association for Review on the Morning After)! Haven't read the recap yet; just wanted to post a couple of points here before I go over to IHLN:
1. Overall, solid B+ LOST episode (meaning A++ compared to everything else on TV).
2. We have another spinoff show to add to our post-LOST network - "LA(PD) X" featuring Miles and Sawyer. Ken and Josh were absolutely fantastic together in these scenes!
3. Loved how Sawyer is playing his Island con right now - everything he told Widmore, Smocke and Kate was absolutely true, just not the ENTIRE story.
4. Nice call-back with Zack and his teddy-bear-on-a-rope; although, he's like what - 12 now? Wouldn't he get teased in Temple school for that by now?
5. Finally, a question -
SQUIRREL BAYBEEEEE!
Just what the **** is Widmore up to?? His deal with Sawyer does not jive at all with his efforts to get (Bentham) Locke back to the Island. How significant do you think it is that the entire terms of the "agreement" were developed by Sawyer? Charles' only comment during the entire exchange was "Yes, I believe we do" when Swayer asked if they had a deal? Could he be playing Sawyer as much as Sawyer is playing him?
My take on Smocke's "crazy mother" comments to Kate:
Smocke is now recognizing that Kate has the potential of "dis-infecting" Claire (if it hasn't happened already with the apology scene). So he is playing a little defense on this one, switching to Plan B - making Kate think twice about getting Aaron back with "Crazy Mom Claire", and ensuring that Goober continues to be "raised by another".
I always hate scenes like that in movies/shows. If you are hiding something in a drawer that you don't want people to see, don't let them look for something in that drawer. Even if she looks like Charlotte and is completely naked. They make men seem like they loose all brainwaves after a good roll in the hay.
But to get to the subject of the episode. I wasn't crazy about it. I felt like we were no closer to the endpoint after the episode then we were before. I enjoyed watching it, but at this stage I want to feel like I am moving toward the end.
SQUIRREL BABY!
Were you as disappointed as I that you were never going to have a scene with Claire developing a ventriloquist personality for Squirrel Baby!
Claire: Squirrel Babay, why don't YOU tell Kate why you're heah.
(Claire begins talking in high-pitched voice out of the side of her mouth.)
Squirrel Baby: 'Cause I'm all she had, you naughty naughty Dingo Lady!
well i used to think widmore used to work for smocke, but now i've got my doubts from the episode. but that was about the only think i liked. except for maybe topless sawyer putting on the cop badge. that was really hot.
i suppose they are setting up for the war coming to the island. and again the only good thing out of that episode is now, i'm really not sure who is on who's side when it comes to widmore.
but then again. maybe widmore and smocke are on the same side and they are conning sawyer instead. i mean everything sawyer said was his own assumption. what if they are just playing along with his assumptions.