Whetting your appetite for the final weeks of 'Lost'
So this past Tuesday, as many of you already know, I hosted a mega-sized "Lost" chat. Rather than have the time simply amble on by without anything specific to talk about, I suggested beforehand that everyone chatting watch two episodes of the show in the background: Season 1's "White Rabbit" (Jack's first character-centric episode) and Season 5's "316" (Eloise Hawking, The Lamp Post, "We're not going to Guam, are we?")
I picked these two episodes because I thought they were both important to rewatch in light of recent actions on the show. What I didn't plan on was the way these two episodes complimented each other. In "Rabbit," we have the first big Jack/Locke scene, in which Locke tries to get Jack to believe in the Island's special nature. In "316," Jack reads Locke's suicide note, which simply reads, "I wish you had believed me." I had inadvertently picked two episodes that on some level bookend the first part of the Jack/Locke journey and catapulted the good doctor into a solo mission in which he belatedly tried to work together with the deceased man of faith.
So that got me thinking: what other episodes would work in illuminating ways as a pair? I started to think of the way chef's menus tend to pair certain wines with certain foods, and looked for non-obvious pairings of episodes that worked in concert with each other. Thing is, I'm not actually that much of a foodie (you can probably hear my wife nodding vigorously right now), so I asked fellow blogger and major foodie Jace Lacob (aka, Televisionary) about certain ways these menus are conceived.
As luck would have it, there's an 8-course version of these events! Since that's one of The Numbers, that seemed like the best way to go. He informed me that the courses usually go in this order: amuse bouche, starter/soup, salad, fish, meat, palate cleanser, dessert, petits fours. Now, I don't know if he was messing with me to exploit my lack of culinary knowledge (that amuse bouche sounds like a line from "Lady Marmalade"), but I'll roll with that for now. The next step? Get episodes to start pairing! Rather than come up with the pairings entirely on my own, I went on my Twitter account and solicited eight episodes for me to pair for your reading pleasure.
So, going off Jace's list and Twitter suggestions, here's your 8-course "Lost" chef's menu to enjoy before the series ends!
Course: Amuse Bouche (single, bite-sized hors d'Å“uvre)
Twitter Suggestion: Stranger in a Strange Land
My Pairing: Raised by Another
I should have known that some smart aleck would throw "Stranger" at me. Oh well. Since this course isn't very substantial, I'm opting to get this one out of the way first in order to move to better flavors later. And I'm pairing it with "Another" since not only do both eps deal with half-siblings, but are extremely concerned with their existence apart from those around them. Even when in a crowd, these two are very much alone, singled out by the burdens placed upon them.
Course: Starter/Soup
Twitter Suggestion: Deus ex Machina
My Pairing: Dave
Both episodes concern important players at a point in which their faith/sanity have reached a critical point. Both need a sign to continue. Both get signs, which they mistake for a turning point towards complete happiness. This is a completely depressing soup. Let's move on.
Course: Salad
Twitter Suggestion: Not in Portland
My Pairing: Special
An interesting salad, to say the least. Let's take two characters with no on-screen interaction: Juliet and Walt. Let's think about the ways in which they defy the normal order of things. Let's think about how these actions are both impressive and more than a little terrifying. Let's think about how much we miss these characters.
Course: Fish
Twitter Suggestion: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham
My Pairing: The Cost of Living
Poor John Locke's swimming with the fishes by the end of "Bentham," and while Terry O'Quinn luckily still graces our screen, the Locke we knew, loved, and occasionally wanted to smack died onscreen here. So to match this episode up, I thought about Locke's once-upon-a-time foil: Eko. He, too, met something of a senseless end, another man of a different type of faith that didn't die due to a lapse but rather a reaffirmation of it. Given what we know The Man in Black thought of Locke, one can only imagine what he thought as Eko defiantly told him he was not sorry for the sum total of his life.
Course: Meat
Twitter Suggestion: The Constant
My Pairing: Greatest Hits
OK, let's sink our teeth into some romantic tears, shall we? Des and Charlie have been intertwined for seasons now, so let's pair up their two finest hours into one course of television heaven. If you sit stoned-faced during these episodes, well, why are you watching this show?
Course: Palate Cleanser
Twitter Suggestion: The Last Recruit
My Pairing: The Long Con
OK, that last course was pretty heavy, albeit made of all things awesome. To cleanse the palate, let's hook up two episodes largely centered around strategically placing groups in opposition to one another. Sure, "The Long Con" does it on a smaller scale, but in some ways, more satisfactorily. And Sawyer doesn't end up looking like a chump in the end, unlike in "Recruit." Score one for Season 2!
Course: Dessert
Twitter Suggestion: Dead is Dead
My Pairing: The Other Woman
It's a pretty introspective dessert, I'll admit. But both concern people that feel the weight of previous actions weighing heavily upon them, and that guilt clouds their ability to see how badly they are being manipulated. Ben's journey ends with being played by The Man in Black; Juliet's ends with a passionless kiss from Jack. I'll let you decide who got the bum deal here.
Course: Petits Fours (small confection generally eaten at the end of a meal)
Twitter Suggestion: Ab Aeterno
My Pairing: Walkabout
There's nothing really "small" about "Ab Aeterno," but it's quite the confection all the same. Epic in ways the show rarely can afford to be (both on a practical and storytelling level), it nevertheless hinges around a few small, yet crucial, moments on the Island. I'd argue that Richard's conversation with Jacob is as important to the Island's overall history as Locke seeing the white light in "Walkabout." When doling out the (admittedly quantum-laced) timeline for the Island, these two events deserve a callout.
So there's might 8-course "Lost"-infused meal! Sure, it's not something Hurley might have whipped up as a chef in the Dharma Barracks (not enough ham flavor in my choices), but hopefully appetizing enough for you to sink your teeth into as the series comes to a close.
What's your favorite course listed above? Leave your choice in the comments below!
Photo credit: ABC
I'd like to pair some Widmore episodes since, to me, he seems inconsistent. We first believe he wants to harness and exploit the island's unique energy. Then he wants Ben brought to him, after everyone on the island is killed. Now, he's saving the world from Evil. I've never trusted him; and clearly, I'm confused about his motives, the rules between him and Ben, what he knows about the candidates and when did he know it, and if he's in cahoots with Eloise.
This has absolutely nothing to do with your article, Ryan (sorry), but it's something that crept into my head this morning.
I was thinking about the stakes for the writers and fans going into the finale and the general sense of angst that pervades the community at the moment...
And I think the fan angst and crisis of faith so many are experiencing will only ever happen once. No other fans of this series, in generations to come, will ever feel quite the same deep connection to the show as the current fans do.
That's a sad thing, in that they'll never experience the theorizing, the musings, the recaps, the fan humour, the learning, the easter egg hunting, the speculation, the anticipation, the collective joy or the collective angst and most importantly the COMMUNITY that currently exists.
But it's also a good thing, because they'll be able to enjoy the show as it was always meant to be shown; in an unbroken, seamless experience where the story will speak for itself before the eyes of the audience and the answers are only a DVD away.
Us fans live in a very interesting and incredibly unique time. The LOST experience as we know it will only ever happen once, and when it's over that experience will be forever and irrevocably changed.
Ryan, I'll pair two episodes that I think gave us BIG answers only we never knew it at the time.
How about One of Us, where we learn but do not recognize that Juliet is the reason women are dying in childbirth (because Jacob needed her to want to come to the Island), and where we can now see that Ben wasn't an entirely willing participant in Juliet's continued servitude?
And then pair that with Live Together, Die Alone, where we learn, but don't recognize, that Desmond is the fulcrum on which the show will turn. This also gives us our first big peak into the long con, which we also do not recognize as a con at all, that Widmore is running on Desmond.
@JeffC: On the other hand, Jeff, it will take so long to get through the entire series---months and months, in fact---that people will still get their own personal version of what fans deal with now. Could you imagine being halfway through and knowing that you have 60 hours to go before you can figure it all out? You're sitting on your couch, and you just finished Not In Portland or One of Us, and you are thinking, damn, it's going to be another three or four months of this; or I could sit here for 60 straight hours and finish them all.
What a choice!
Also, not having to wait so long between episodes will allow future watchers to completely by-pass the counter-productive confusion that the long breaks sometimes created for us. Without the time to parse episodes to death, a lot of mistaken and frustrating conclusions will be avoided. A lot of people gave up on Lost when it appeared, quite incorrectly in hindsight, that the show was pulling stuff out of its butt during the middle years.
I have thought about the same thing. There might be theorizing on a small scale for these people in the future watching it on DVD, but it certainly will be different knowing that everything has already been written, filmed and aired.
"Petits Fours" are totally eaten before a meal, dude. Not at the end of it.
Dude, come on!
To JeffC
Totally agree with you!
I had exactly same thoughts couple of years ago, when my son and I were expecting the arrival of the 7th Harry Potter book.
@J. no they're not, the amuse bouche happens before the meal (literally "mouth amusement") and is intended to whet the appetite and compliment the flavors of the upcoming meal. of course, one could always have petit fours with/after tea. but, if you're having afternoon tea, chances are supper won't be served until 7:30-8, which is a more civilized time to eat anyway.
good grief, WHY do i know this crap? :-)
Actually, you're right, I was wrong.
I guess I was so hungry by the end of the article that I could not think clearly anymore... :)
@Schmoker - have we actually been told that the reason women died in childbirth was all so Juliet would come to the island? This is the first time I've heard that.
Also, I'm not sure about knowing that Ben was reluctant to keep Juliet on the island - again, where's that from??
It just comes from me, fiftypence. And I think it's all the confirmation we are likely to get. I understand I could be wrong, but that is my take after trying to put two and two together. Maybe I got five, but I don't think so. I think the whole women in childbirth problem was to get Juliet to "want to" come to the Island, because Jacob knew that Juliet would be needed to
1. Save Ben's life in both 2007 and 1977, while turning him into an Other in the bargain.
2. Save Ethan's life in 1977.
3. Save Sawyer and Kate's life by shooting Danny in 2007.
4. Save Jack's life with the emergency appendectomy.
5. Turn Sawyer's head and turn his worldview upside down.
6. Set off Jughead in 1977.
Without Juliet, does not Jacob's plan completely fall apart?
As for Ben regretting what he's doing to Juliet, that was my take when I rewatched an episode called One of Us recently. Watch it, because I'd love to know what you think. Ben and Juliet have a scene in Ben's kitchen where it appears to me that Ben is very broken up about having to force Juliet to stay. I believed him. A lot. Knowing what we know now, it appears that Ben was under orders the keep her there, and that they were orders he did not understand at all.
As for the childbirth, until someone sits down and says, "This is why...," which I don't see happening, that is my take.
I really think it's better when we can figure out the mysteries, rather than a character addressing them in dialogue ("Yeah, the Whispers are all ghosts"). I hated the that part of the scene between Michael and Hurley.