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Twitter'Lost': 7-7 = Kaboom
I was for the most part pretty pleased with what happened on this week's Lost, but there is one big nagging issue to deal with first.
And that is this: When did John Locke become such a fool?
It's not that he decided not to share his findings of what happens when you beat the computer chess game with Sayid and Kate right away -- that was bad, but in keeping with the things about this show that drive fans crazy. It was that he was playing computer chess in that circumstance in the first place.
When you have a former Soviet soldier who's just shot one of your friends tied up somewhere, you really ought to keep an eye on the man. I'm fairly certain Season One Locke would have realized that, and even Season Two Locke, pre-crisis/restoration of faith. Maybe all that time cooling his heels on the beach has made Season Three Locke a little soft, though, and so what was, as far as he knew then, a doofy computer game lured him away from his job guarding the dangerous man who just shot his friend.
That is one maddening choice there, moreso than his decision to keep the Dharma chess game to himself. I realize that his pressing 7-7 and the Flame station going boom is necessary to extend the life of the show, so while it feels like a half-assed way to make double sure Sayid couldn't get the satellite dish working again, I at least understand it. Locke's sudden lack of survival skills? Bah.
Happily, though, Wednesday's Sayid-focused episode was otherwise good enough that Locke's stupidity is not what I'm going to dwell on. Because hey, what's this? Why, it's a little bit of forward momentum. Thank goodness for the former Republican Guardsman's direct nature.
Yes, most of what One-Eyed Mikhail told Sayid and Kate initially was a lie. But within that were a couple things we didn't previously know, such as the fact that Others ("Hostiles," in Dharma parlance) and the Initiative folks had a battle some time back, and the Others apparently believe every Dharma worker is now dead. We also know that Dharma was aware of the Others' presence (hence the need for a fail-safe) and that the big cable Sayid found way back in season one led to a sonar beacon, now disabled. It also seems that the Others are now living in the houses they took from Dharma after the "purge."
The flashback scenes pretty much covered the same ground in Sayid's past as his others have, namely that his former position as an interrogator has led to some deep moral conflict. In having the tables turned on him, though, we got a little bit of insight into how he deals with that conflict.
I'm curious to hear your opinion on the final flashback scene: Was he telling the restaurateur's wife what she wanted to hear, or was he really confessing? I'm inclined to believe he was going along to get along, but not just to save his own skin (though that was surely a big part of it). I think he also realized the woman's need to forgive her torturer and reclaim a part of her life, so why not let her have that?
And, oh yeah, Hurley's a ping-pong ace? As B-stories go, this one was a trifle, but it was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, from Sawyer's "Who the hell are you?" challenge to Niki to Sun and Jin's genius no-nickname idea to Hurley's final insult: "I don't think that last slam caused any permanent damage to your forehead." Just good stuff, that.
I'm not yet ready to declare Lost "back" or anything -- fool me once and all that. But if Lindelof, Cuse (tonight's writers) and Co. can deliver more episodes like this one for the balance of the season, the show might just be able to recapture some of the stuff that made it so good in the first place.
Don't you think? Can Lost get its bearings back, or is it too far gone?
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Zap2it Twitter Talk 
One of the best episodes of a slightly uneven season. A good mix of search party scenes and beach camp scenes mixed with mysterious others, a la seasons one and two. The show's no longer the Jack show it was for the first 9 episodes of the year, it's back to what made viewers love it, and hopefully that quality can continue to the finale now only 2 months away.
It's not that Locke is stupid or gone soft, it's the obsession for games he's had from the beginning mixed with his natural curiousity and his faith. It's been his downfall from the beginning. It got him nailed by the monster at least twice, it got him to the hatch, it got Boone (and in a way, Eko) killed, it got him inside now three hatches, it cost him a kidney and Helen and last night nearly got him blown up. But at least it's all been true to character.
Can't wait for more Locke next week!
One of the biggest overall themes of Lost is that secrets bind us. They prevent us from reaching our fullest potential. If more people were honest with one another, and weren't so clingy with the details of their lives, Jack would know Claire is his sister, Desmond would know Kelvin was the guy who taught Sayid the art of torture... etc. The same goes here. Locke found his niche in finding answers, he was playing the game with full awareness that it'd lead to something important. Sayid & Kate, on the other hand, felt they'd learn more by finding Miss Clugh (because we know how easily the Others will talk!) The only stupid thing Locke did was not tell the others what he was doing. But it's no more stupid than their not telling him the place was wired with C-4. We've all got secrets, and even the smallest can be deadly.
You think Locke is going soft, what about Sawyer? A first or second season Sawyer would have never conceded to a ping-pong match for his stash, let alone a week without nicknames!
All in all, one of the best episodes of an uneven season, something that I have said about Lost the last two weeks in row. Hope it gets better and better. Unlike some episodes this year, this one did have a point and moved with it. I would have liked to see them take some of the Dharma manuals, but oh well.
Locke is just being Locke. He likes to operate alone. Sayid's flashback was at least subtle enough not to distract from the whole story. Unlike season one, thought, they were not a lot of big twists and turns, just subtler moves. I like it
a completely unbalanced episode where the happy funtime ping pong game is more exciting than the serious flashback of Saiyid.
The only thing remotely exciting is that Walt's Dog now has a creepy cat to chase and kill.
I think Naveen Andrews deserves an Emmy nomination for his performance in this episode. He is still one of the stand out characters on this show. He always manages to do the MOST with his character and story! Bravo!!
an edge of your seat episode. i loved it. and i feel like it will continue to pick-up from there even thpugh i still am enjoying the entire season. as for locke being foolish, i am not surprise at all. jeff's comments earlier were spot on. and sayid was brillant, hopefully he does get an emmy nod, i believe he is the only one already with one
Did anyone else get freaked when the hell-cat appeared in the jungle? The writers should really do more with smokey- it is the one "mystery" of the island that I think most of us would like to see looked at a little more closely.
And, Navin, you are fantastic! Why they have not used him more is a crime, especially when you consider the trite Jack stuff that has been focused on.
Do we know for sure that the Other's living quarters were the Dharma people's? I dozed off a little (darn that 10:00!!) and may have missed something, and I know Mikhail was lying, but didn't he say that the Hostiles had been there a long time, longer than Dharma? Also - does anyone else think that Rosseau was part of Dharma, that's why she avoids the Others and Mikhail, because they may recognize her somehow? And maybe the Others and Dharma were initially friendly but somehow split, and that's how they got Alex? I liked tonights episode - was so sick of JaSawKate, nice to see Locke and Sayid back in action, although I too agree that it was very unlike Locke to just sit at the computer rather than sniff around for more clues.
If they bring Michael back, then maybe. If we never see him again, then we know this was just mad e up as we go along. And we the viewers are the fools.