Re: Lost: Kill, *****cat, kill!

Ubiquitous wrote:

> Kill, kill, kill. In the old days, when in doubt, the writers solved 
> plot problems with mysterious clouds, polar bears, Dharma initiative 
> clues, and the appearance of some im****tant figure in a person's past in

> the middle of the jungle. These days, plot problems are solved by 
> killing or threatening to kill characters. We find out Charlie is going 
> to die somehow, and then he does. Locke kills Naomi. Sayid becomes a 
> paid assassin once he leaves the island. Juliet's lover Goodwin ends up 
> killed, thanks to Ben. Jin is going to end up dead. Michael is trying to

> kill himself because he killed two people, but he can't, so now he has 
> to kill a whole boatload of people before they kill the people on the 
> island. And how did the episode end? With Alex's lover, Karl, and 
> mother, Rousseau, being killed by sniper fire. Maybe they should change 
> the name from "Lost" to "Killed."

I guess you forgot when the writers silenced Ethan Rom in season 1, just 
as he was being asked who and what he was, by having Charlie shoot him 
in cold blood.  And Goodwin was killed by Ana-Lucia in season 2.  We 
just revisited his death this season.


> The flashbacks used to reveal a character's personality and the 
> formative experiences that shaped his or her worldview. 

That's true, but the writers have started to reach closure on those 
issues.  That's a good reason to switch from flashbacks to flashforwards.

How much more remains to elucidate Jack's past "worldview"?  We already 
know he's a control freak who won't let go, who's tormented by his daddy 
problems, etc.  I think we pretty much understand his worldview now. 
Ditto for the other main characters.  Kate's worldview was summed up 
succinctly in the Season 2 episode "What Kate Did."

Past a certain point, the flashbacks for a character are going to start 
resembling Forrest Gump or Chauncey Gardiner:  Contrived and episodic. 
Do we really want to see flashbacks of teenage Jack losing his 
virginity, college-age Jack at his Commencement Exercises, neophyte 
Doctor Jack performing his first surgery on a patient, etc.?


> And now even the flash forwards feel flat. Having 
> Jin run around town, looking for what we thought was a present for Sun 
> was a nice misdirection, since we thought he was finding a gift for her 
> while she was in the hospital having their baby, and revealing his grave

> at the end was surprising, but what else did we learn about Jin or Sun 
> in that episode? 

We learned that Jin may well be dead and buried in the future, and that 
Sun had a successful pregnancy and is now raising her child Ji Yeon as a 
single mom.  We learned that she and Hurley will remain friends; unlike 
Kate (who has Aaron) who wants nothing to do with Jack as we saw in that 
other flashforward.

That's a lot.



> Remember how Locke's flashbacks demonstrated his 
> stubborn pride and his unrelenting determination to win his father's 
> love? Remember how we learned in a flashback that Michael had 
> transformed from a reluctant to a dedicated father? There was growth in 
> those scenes.

There's plenty of room for growth for Sun's character in the future now 
too.  Will she join Jack to go back to the island?  Will she and Hurley 
become romantically involved?



> This show once centered on the clash of various 
> characters' philosophies. Remember? Those days make the current season, 
> with its little skirmishes on the boat, look like a Steven Seagal movie 
> in comparison. 

That's true.  But the show doesn't have the luxury of meandering around 
in philosophy and soap opera as much as it used to.  It now has a 
definable endpoint--two more (short) seasons--and it has to start 
pulling all these disparate elements together toward an ultimate 
resolution and conclusion.

And some philosophies are still cla****ng:  Ben (representing The 
Others); Widmore; Jack (one group of Lostaways); Locke (the other group 
of Lostaways).  Those conflicts continue.


-- 
Steven L.
Email:  sdlitvin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 the NOSPAM before replying to me.