the five wan vagabonds descended upon oakland’s fox theater last night, and brought friends, music, and an evening to remember — as they are want to do.
for those unfamiliar with the decemberists’ latest effort, ‘the hazards of love,’ please stop what you’re doing and sink into the album with a nice cup of tea, some liner notes, and an open mind. for those already indoctrinated, the album can only be described as inevitable, given the band’s lit-rock-meets-thematic-concept proclivities. frontman colin meloy has stated in many interviews that ‘hazards’ was originally conceived as a musical. once deemed too complex for the stage, meloy opted for the rock opera treatment.
either way, the ability to bring the conceptual telling of a love affair between a changeling and a bowery girl to the stage has piqued many a interest. in fact, some of my co-workers are avidly working on a music show for current, and in the process spent some time with the band during their rehearsals for ‘a short fazed hovel’ tour. to say that i was a little jealous was an understatement.
amidst questions about the feasibility of bringing the album to life on stage, the band has responded in kind — performing the entire album in one full 62 minute set during the tour, and packing pivotal guest vocalists shara worden (of my brightest diamond) and becky sparks (of lavender diamond) along for the ride.
Since the first day Rousseau pointed a rifle at the losties of Oceanic 815, her backstory has taunted us. Finally, FINALLY we get the juicy bits we’ve all craved so much. The sickness. Montand’s arm. And Jin? With timejump flashes wreaking havoc on our dear losties, it makes sense (in a LOST sort of way) that Jin might find himself displaced in time, but this raises all sorts of questions about time and those pesky little things called paradoxes.
Case in point, when Danielle’s scientific team decides to explore the tunnel below the hieroglyph adorned temple, Jin senses danger and implores her to remain with him above ground. Later, Jin witnesses as Danielle murders her husband, believing that he has become infected by smoky. This certainly fits with the story present-day Danielle has told Sayid (and others). We know that the fate of Danielle and her team is a direct result of her decision to stay above ground. The question is, was Jin always the reason she decided to stay above ground in this crucial moment? Did she have any recollection of Jin in the present timeline?
someone just asked me for a link to my blog, and i realized i hadn’t posted since April 26th, 2009.
boo!
well, with the finale last night, i’m calling it — lost…in deconstruction is getting back on track. tonight! look for it kids, and if it doesn’t happen, mock me.
i love the new flash video player Jonathan and Rod crafted. it’s pretty lightweight, sleak, and damn if it doesn’t function well. granted, i’m completely biased, but i think it’s one of the best players out there. i’m super stoked to see it live.
this 25 things meme is too big to ignore. i wrote, re-wrote, revised, and re-wrote this list only to lose it entirely. i finally got around to re-re-rewriting it, and here are a few choice snippets:
2. I’ve ducked death a few times. The first time I was skiing with my family at Alpine Meadows. I spent the day in ski school — they taught me how to board a lift and ski to safety. When my parents picked me up from ski school, I was eager to show them what I learned. I showed them to the lift, boarded it, and then froze up during the “skiing to safety” portion of the demo. It turns out, I picked the wrong lift (one that was closer to the bottom of the hill). I was racing towards a drop off, which would’ve landed me on some pretty nasty boulders in a creek bed. Luckily, my dad raced after me and pulled me to the ground a mere feet from the drop off. I’ll never forget how safe I felt, lying in the snow while he checked to make sure I was OK.
3. I’m a comic book nerd. Growing up, I truly thought I was a mutie, and each day that my powers neglected to surface ended in disappointment.
4. As a kid I wanted an Atari 2600 so badly that I started having re-occurring dreams about it. In the dream, I would wake up every morning, race to the living room, and find one installed under our TV. I was so happy I would dance for joy, until I woke up, raced to the living room, and was crushed under the absence of an Atari 2600 under the TV. My dream, ultimately, would be realized.
5. I’ve always been able to enter a meditative state-like trance by concentrating on my the palm of my hand and repeatedly focus on the following concept: “this hand is a part of you.” I find the process of exploring that I am simultaneously looking at a living organism, and that said organism is, in fact, a part of me extremely transfixing and calming.
9. I’ve always been obsessed with death and chance. In 2nd grade, one of my friends was supposed to come over for a sleepover on a weekend. He canceled at the last minute, and that weekend his father came home with a machine gun and killed him and his mom. He thought she was going to leave him. In 7th grade, one of my close friends was hit by a school bus on his way to school. I’ve never fully been able to shake these moments.
10. I was an English Lit major before I switched over to Film and Digital Media. I originally wanted to be a lawyer after watching Judd Nelson in From the Hip. I grew to despise this idea and opted to be a doctor instead. That didn’t really work out.
12. I’m obsessed with LOST. Seriously. Ask me about it if you dare.
13. By 3rd grade, my obsession with horror films had fully burgeoned. I watched A Nightmare on Elm Street with my cousins and couldn’t sleep for a week. I was hooked, and drew mazes colored in red and green, with blades and spikes all over the place. My teacher found my mazes and suggested my parents meet with the principal. I’m still not sure what happened.
14. I’ve shot one feature film, one documentary, and written several scripts that may never see the light of day.
18. When I was 11, I got the opportunity to sit in on a press conference interview with Bill Walsh, the then head coach of the 49ers. I was writing for a local youth oriented newspaper at the time. I’ve always been a little football oblivious, but I did it anyway. During the press-conference, I asked him a question and it made all of the local papers (SJ Mercury News, SF Chronicle, etc.). One headline read: “Walsh sacked by 11-year-old.” I lost sleep thinking that I’d somehow squandered my “15 minutes of fame.” The question was: “What was running through your mind when Joe Montana was sacked for the 4th time in the same game?”
19. I played clarinet in elementary, sang in the choir, started a rock band in high school, and have always longed to play the accordion.
20. I’m an insomniac, but deep down I think I’m really, really tired.
23. I’m a film junkie — I’ll watch anything and everything. I’ve been obsessed with film from an early age, but the fact that I don’t get to sate this urge more often is crippling.
24. I’m a sushi, pizza, and soup fiend. Some would say on the verge of snobbery.
25. I don’t just like cheese. I love it. It’s an unhealthy relationship, but I can’t help it.
There was a time when Sawyer did little but sit around on the beach reading books that he’d pillaged from wreckage, or discovered elsewhere on the island. These interludes provided tiny clues into the subtext of the larger story at play, and frankly, I was beginning to miss the infusion of literary influence on LOST.
Then those sneaky writers go and pop in a title like The Little Prince. Sure, there’s plenty to discuss in regards to the story fitting in with tales from the island, but before we dive too deep in the obscure, let’s get one thing out of the way.
Jin! Alive! Jumping right ahead to the closing seconds feels, somehow, appropriate. After all, this was one hefty dangling thread from last season. Many suspected this arc would head in this direction, but toying with expectations is exactly what makes the LOST writers so successful at pulling the rug out from under us.
But more on that later.
The opening flashback is of particular interest, as we find ourselves back on Penny Widmore’s boat with Kate and Jack on the eve of telling the rest of the losties Jack’s intent to lie to the world. Kate share’s an additional request, the desire to present Aaron as her own.
What intrigues me about these flashbacks to Widmore’s rescue boat is that we seem to be moving backwards through time in this flashback space. The first time we were introduced to this period in time this season was Jack’s plea to lie in the season opener. Now we are given a glimpse at Jack pulling the strings with Kate the night before — seems perhaps he and Benjamin Linus are more alike? Or Ben has perhaps rubbed off on the good doctor?
Kate’s story introduces us to yet another player in the game, a lawyer named Dan Norton. What interests me in Norton is not that he turns out to be under Ben’s employ, but what he represents on a grander scale. Sure, we’ve long suspected that Ben has pulled strings and manipulated events, but how far does his reach actually extend? Norton’s execution of manipulating Kate suggests he may have more pull than anyone has really imagined.
And if said manipulation was intended to steer Jack and Kate in the direction of Claire’s mom, then what was the purpose? For what gain? Norton was also clearly involved in her settlement with Oceanic Airlines, but to what degree? Curious.
Back on the island, Charlotte awakens from her nosebleed collapse and the group (Faraday, Miles, Locke, Sawyer, Juliet, and Charlotte) head toward the Orchid in an attempt to realize Locke’s plan to leave the island. Here’s where things get spookily brilliant. During their trek, the group experiences another time jump, after which Locke sees a beam of light shoot out of the jungle and straight into the night sky. Later, Sawyer stumbles upon Claire giving birth to Aaron with Kate’s assistance. The significance of this night is resounding, because it’s actually the intersection of several key events from the first season — Boone’s death, Aaron’s birth, and Locke’s spiritual rebirth after pounding on the hatch in frustration.
From now on, let’s call the evening of November 1st, 2004 the nexus of the LOST trilogy. Exactly how it all fits together is elusive, but watching the events transpire in Season 1, it was impossible to deny that this night was of great importance. Revisiting it here in Season 5 just reinforces the scale of the scheme, as laid out by the writers.
Another thought, now that the island losties are jumping around time, could we presume that they might, in fact, be the sources of the voices that haunted previous seasons? That’s not the only question raised in The Little Prince. After all, who was shooting at the group while paddling on the canoe? And what does the titular French novel have anything to do with this episode in particular?
I’m lost when it comes to the former, but the latter seems to hold weight when taken in context of the entire show. To touch on just a little bit of thise, consider some of the key themes running through Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novel. I’ve drawn up some LOST parallels with some of these themes below:
“It is the time you have spent with your rose that makes your rose so important.”
Is this reflected in Sun’s absence from Ji Yeon? Or Jin’s absence from both Sun and Ji Yeon? Or consider the meta implications: the numerous daddy issue story lines permeating the series.
“You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”
I immediately think of Locke’s sense of ownership over the island and the Others, but this could easily be extended to Jack and the losties, or better yet Alpert, or Jacob for that matter.
“One cannot see well except with the heart. The essential is invisible to the eyes.”
Some context, in The Little Prince the narrator is stranded in the Sahara when they meet the titular Prince (hello! stranded?) In the first 8 days (ahem, numbers?) of being stranded in the Sahara, the Prince demands a drawing of a sheep from the narrator. After many failed attempts, the narrator draws a box and explains that the sheep is inside the box. Since the Prince can see through the box, he exclaims that the drawing is perfect.
Need I mention the constant scrutiny Locke is placed under? He’s somehow special, and the island recognizes this, but why? Because he sees with his heart — he believes. He is a “Man of Faith” remember? That, and I recall Ben mentioning something about a box in a previous season (removing tongue from cheek).
Bullet round:
+ The Prince focuses on caring for his planet…planet = island? Jacob? Locke?
+ The King can move the stars, etc. King = Jacob?
I digress. The brilliance behind literary infusion on LOST is that it can provide rabbit holes for us to get…ahem, lost in.
So yes, Jin returns, but even that isn’t enough to knock the wind out of any dedicated lostite, so the writers toss us the prelude to another long requested answer in the form of a very young (and pregnant) Danielle Rousseau and her research team, led by Montand. What happened to her in the early days on the island? Something tells me we are about to learn a bit more about our rifle wielding friend.
Something occurred to me during the opening of Jughead. Time has always been at the focal point of the series, but there is an important distinction to make — playing with “time” as a conceit is not limited to “time travel” as a device.
Case in point, in the early minutes of Jughead Desmond frantically searches for a doctor in the Philippines to assist Penny, who is in the throes of labor. Their son is born, and we learn that the couple has chosen the name Charlie. The implication here is that time is cyclical — Desmond’s time on the island resulted in his meeting Charlie, who then died while re-uniting him with Penny, which then influenced the couples’ name selection. In a way, the legacy of Charlie lives on.
Another interesting tidbit to keep tucked away for later is that we’ve seen three births thus far: Claire’s son Aaron, Sun’s daughter Ji-Yeon, and now Penny’s son Charlie. Although there isn’t much to make of this yet, it is important to note. After all, both birth and rebirth seem to be emerging themes this season.
Let’s dig into some of the meat of Jughead, most of which pertains to Faraday. Desmond follows Faraday’s direction, and travels to London, more specifically Oxford University, in search of Daniel’s mother. What he finds instead is far more creepy. While rooting through Daniel’s now-defunct lab, a janitor confuses Desmond for a run-of-the-mill gossip seeker. Apparently Faraday’s work has become somewhat of a university-wide legacy, and the janitor explains its allure, “after what he did to that girl?”
The girl in question, it turns out, is living in a vegetative state. She suffers from similar symptoms that Desmond experienced while on the freighter. As if that wasn’t enough, Desmond learns that Widmore is footing her hospital bills, and he even was the primary financial investor in Faraday’s research.
The question you are asking yourself is, “Why?”
More on that in a bit. Back on the time-displaced island, it appears The Others have far more secrets to reveal. After being attacked by a pair of uniformed grunts, Juliet, Locke, and Sawyer try to get them to talk. The pair are tightlipped until one asks the other a question…in Latin.
What’s more? Juliet responds. She’s certain they are Others, because they speak Latin. Meanwhile, Faraday, Miles, and Charlotte (don’t you just love the balanced pairing?) are subdued by another band of Others led by a woman named Ellie, whose significance I’m sure will factor in eventually. They are taken to a camp where they bump into Richard Alpert, and Faraday deduces that they are in the 1950s and that the Others believe that the US military is on the island — seeking to use it for nuclear testing.
Faraday convinces Alpert to let him have access to the bomb on the island, and assures him that he does not have intentions of detonation because “I’m in love with the woman sitting next to me and would never do anything to cause her harm.” He is, of course, referring to Charlotte.
After escaping from Locke, Sawyer, and Juliet, one of the two grunts returns to camp to report in with Alpert. Locke had a chance to shoot him as he fled, but decided not to stating, “He’s one of my people.” Later, we learn that the grunts name is Charlie Widmore.
Ellie escorts Faraday to Jughead, which is a hydrogen bomb left on the island. He tries to explain time travel to Ellie and instructs her to “bury it in the ground.” Sawyer and Juliet turn up in time to disarm her, and a flash in time occurs.
Historic tidbit: Jughead was the name given to a test device prepared in case the tests at Castle Bravo failed. They didn’t, so Jughead was cancelled and all EC-16s produced were disarmed and dismantled.
Before the jump, Locke meets with Alpert and because this meeting takes place before the two of them have ever met, Locke uses the compass to gain some level of trust. He also informs Richard that he is their leader, but Alpert is not entirely convinced. When the Others pick a leader, rigorous testing is done and it begins at an early age. Remember that meeting between young Locke and Alpert? During the visit Richard had asked, “Which of these items belongs to you?” The young Locke selects a vial of sand, the compass, and a knife — which seemingly angers Alpert.
Recall what I mentioned about time?
As if all of this wasn’t enough, following the time skip Charlotte suffers a nosebleed and collapses to the ground just as the already packed episode draws to a close. I’m sure we’ll be learning more about this from Faraday
So, thoughts on the birth/rebirth baby connection? Or do you want to expound on Widmore’s “Otherness?” The comments are wide open.
If the wizards behind Lost have made one thing apparently clear, it’s that they are certainly attentive to pacing. OK, I’m sure that many of you out there will disagree with that statement, but hear me out.
Damon and Carlton didn’t set out to stretch the Lost story arc into a thinly strained line that tests the limits of sustainability. Truth be told, they did their best to keep the arc on track while juggling the trials and tribulations of network jockeying. Sometimes this resulted in an ebb and flow that frustrated many viewers — tell the story that satisfies, then tell the story that lays the groundwork.
It’s understandable that many took umbrage with the amount of time spent in “foundation laying” mode, but these episodes have typically paid off in the long run. Getting back on course, Damon and Carlton’s attentiveness to pacing was proven in their successful pitch to ABC to set Lost story arc firmly upon a fixed timeline. By doing so, we now have an end date, and I like to picture the sigh of relief that filled the writer’s room upon hearing the news. Finally, we can plot this thing out and tell the story accordingly.
So far, so good. Last season certainly knocked it out of the park with it’s concluding run, and Season 5 shows promise with the season premiere. The fan base was given a spoonful of the good stuff with Because You Left, and the team set squarely to work on foundation building with the Hurley-spun yarn, The Lie.
Truth be told, had The Lie not aired as the second half of the premiere, disappointment would have certainly won over. Don’t get me wrong, there’s an important story here. While he was certainly not the only one with difficulty coping, Hurley is the one fragile link in the group of “survivors” with potential of breaking loose. In fact, The Lie suggests that Hugo’s institutional stint may have actually been influenced by his desire to tell the truth.
The lie in question refers to the “survivors’” story, post-island. Essentially, Jack urges the group to tell a different tale, one that involves more deaths in the actual crash, and less “survivors” on the island itself. The reasoning here is to protect those still on the island, but the underlying truth is that no one truly thinks that anyone would believe the real story. Hurley, the sole voice of reason, stands firm against the group. More specifically, he pleads that if they all support the same story that people would be forced to believe them. Betrayed by all, Hugo finds himself in a mental hospital once again.
The brilliance behind this episode is really in testing the limits of Hurley’s dedication to truth. He endures a lot, and even after telling Sayid that he will never forgive his betrayal (or help him again), Hurley goes against his own word and saves Sayid from peril at the hands of some would-be attackers. In a funny cameo, we see the return of Ana Lucia to the show, in the form of a ghostly apparition who advises Hurley along the way.
This episode stresses importance in Hurley’s ability to believe. When advised by Sayid to never trust Ben, Hurley takes heed. After delivering Sayid to Jack, Hurley hides at his parents’ home. When Ben shows up to fetch Hugo and return him to Jack and Sayid, Hurley trusts his Sayid’s word despite his betrayal and turns himself into the police.
While not the strongest episode, the truth in The Lie will be told in Hurley’s seasonal arc. There’s a reason for dedicating this level of detail to the big guy, and I’m certain the implications will play out in time.
LOST certainly has one thing going for it. Security. This comes in several forms, the most significant being a diehard fanbase and a secured run with an agreed upon end date. This sense of security brings an unprecedented amount of creative freedom, and the first episode of season 5 exemplifies this to perfection.
Flying off the rails, “Because You Left” dives deep into the mythology of LOST right from the onset. We get a glimpse into Dr. Marvin Candle’s work on the island, chiefly his attempt to film an orientation video for The Arrow station, someone referring to him as “Dr. Chang,” and some details about the “seemingly unlimited power” that will help the Dharma initiative control time.
Furthermore, we get answers to several questions. How does Faraday know so much about the island, and has he ever stepped foot on the island before? Moreover, how will the time convention be turned on it’s ear for a fifth season? We all know that the LOST creators have played with the flashback/flashforward conceit of the show over the past few seasons, and season 5 takes things to a new level of mindbending confusion.
We learn that Ben’s season finale “island move” has had further repercussions. Namely, either the losties or the island itself may have become dislodged from time. Things shift frequently, accompanied by flashes of white light. One minute, Sawyer and company are standing on an abandoned beach where their camp used to stand, the next they are standing next to the blast site formerly known as the hatch.
Locke is also set adrift, one minute watching as Eko’s brother’s plane crashes into the trees, the next being saved by Richard Alpert who gives him some unsettling news, “You’re going to need to convince them to come back, and to do that John, you’re going to have to die.”
Faraday remains at the forefront for this episode, and we get a sense that he’s going to continue to play an integral role in the fate of our dear survivors. After all, he understands more about the time conundrum they are all trapped in than anyone else, and he also possesses knowledge about the rules at play. When Sawyer flips out about the loss of his friends, it’s Faraday who informs him that he cannot change what has already happened. This is evident in Sawyer’s attempts to roust Desmond. Faraday explains that because Sawyer has already met Desmond, he will never answer the hatch door no matter how hard he pounds. But Faraday also knows that Desmond is special, and the rules do not necessarily apply to him in the same way that they do to the others. It will be interesting to see how much of Faraday’s knowledge gets parsed out over the course of the new season.
As for the first episode in, it’s a rollercoaster ride (and a welcomed one at that). For fans of the show, “Because You Left” is chock full of the very same labyrinthine frustrations that make the show so compelling. The nice thing is, fans of the show can sit back and enjoy the risky storytelling without fears of cancellation.
