Lost Season 5 - Spoilers Inbound

[Worm of Despite]

Where to begin? I thought the premier was deliciously confusing and hectic, with the time-shifting, and Hugo sure had some funny moments (the gravitas with which the camera filmed a Hot Pocket and then him snatching it out of the microwave made me laugh; him eating at any point makes me laugh).

Overall, I see this season as ratcheting up the concept and complexity, and I'll be amazed if, as the writers say, they will leave more answers than questions. The opening scene was typical Lost...show hints of a place that may be on the island, may not; BAM--it's the Dharma guy from all the videos, and not only that, but we realize Faraday and others have penetrated their era.

I'd love to drop more comments, but I'm still kind of stumbling from the aftermath of those two episodes. But just think--Lost on its own is deep and mythological, and now add time-travel to the mix. It's going to get very, very...well, Lost.

[wayfriend]

I thought it was a great show last night. The geek in me was a little perturbed by the way the time travelling was handled. (Why did the camp disappear, but not the zodiac; the "everything you do will fail" rule.) Hurley stole the show; the Hurley episodes always seem to be the bestest ones.

I can't help but notice that the castaways seem to be turning into some sort of Super Friends.

Hurley - Speaker with the Dead.

Desmond - Time Travel Man.

Locke - Miracle Max the Chosen. (Gee, is there any doubt he'll be resurrected?)

There're probably more if we can find them.

[Zarathustra]

There're probably more if we can find them.

Miles - Ghost Buster
Walt - telepathy?
Sayid - desert ninja

(not really "super" powers, but . . . )

Ana Lucia - unrealistically, can beat up men far stronger than herself.
Jin - learns a foreign language in a couple months.
Kate - ability to be cast on hit shows despite poor acting ability
C.S. Lewis - ability to remain on hit show despite having no purpose.

[Harbinger]

I saw a movie once, don't recall the name, that had a badass female protagonist that was going after some men. What I liked about it was this: Her trainer specifically told her that she could not get hit by a man because that would pretty much end the fight. She had to strike first by surprise and stealth and not give any quarter once she began her attack- and of course, not get hit or grabbed. It seemed to be very realistic and in this particular case, it didn't seem unrealistic for her to be beating the shit out of men.

[lurch]

Season 5 ratches up the feel and texture of a slo motion Nightmare in progress..on and off the Island..The opening scene ,,very much like those dreaded dream within a dream,,were you think you woke up from a dream but actually just went into another one..Heck, according to some, the tune in the T shirt shoppe was Cheap Trick's " Dream Police."..The dark humor was pretty good thru out the opener too..Froburts rage over not having fire and the reward he got..very out of control nightmarish,,as was all the time tripps. Everything was so out of control, bizzare in distortion and exaggeration..all the fodder for a good nightmare.

Seems to me the nightmare will continue to get worse and worse thru out the season. It will have to do with getting all the off islanders ,,all at the same Place and Time,,as the Island " pops" back to "real " Time for a moment or two.

I mean ,Ben has 70 hours to make the nightmare situation work out..Jack is withdrawing from a drug dependency.. Kate is on the run ,,with Aaron,,and Sun is in it deep for revenge,,Sayid is so conflicted he don't kno which end is up..and Hurley, no matter what he says,,he comes off as crazy..classic stuff of nightmares..
Everytime time skips the Islanders don't know who or what awaits them,,totally out of control..Lots of parallels between LOST and FR.

Anyway..one can see the cliff hanger at end of season 5 already..( perhaps Damon and Carlton are making it too easy for the audience)..but one can see the increasing tension, anxiety, fears,,etc etc as the Off Islanders are brought to the the correct Time and Place and the On Islnders just try to survive to that Time and place..where..just like in a nightmare,, the instant before the inevitable.. the moment of the most unbearable..one decides to wake up.

[Worm of Despite]

and Hurley, no matter what he says,,he comes off as crazy..classic stuff of nightmares..

I think that's debatable...Hurley might actually be seeing dead people, considering how Lost is. And he's a genuine person with good emotional range (for comedic relief). I wouldn't put him out to the funny farm just yet... It is interesting how the show keeps you teetering either-or. Lots of folks who go to a nuthouse, though, aren't really crazy but just trying to escape something (as he often did). He seems to take joy in letting authority keep him away from the stream of bad luck and/or the Island's calling.

[Cagliostro]

It seems some of the characters are changing roles in this too. There is an English ad for the show that was a very artful piece with them dancing around the plane wreck, and it started calling the different cast members by, "One of us is a fugitive, one of us is a junkie," etc. So now we have Hurley as the fugitive, Jack is the junkie, Kate is the mother, Sayid is the cold blooded killer...I can't think of more. Anyone?

Also, can anyone else not stand the interaction between Kate and Aaron? It's almost as bad if not worse than the family scenes on Millenium.

[Worm of Despite]

I get the sense she's more his caretaker, though she's committed in her mind that she's the mother. But her actions say otherwise, such as when she's running: she basically tells the kid "Look at the coloring book while I run from the cops," etc. It gives me the sense she's shoving him under the carpet, and also the kid sounds British/unintelligble to me, so maybe that's why it's laughable.

In any case, I never sat down to the show for family moments; it's just a necessary plot device about her un-readiness as a mother, since she's running from authority yet again. I found it amusing it only took her one scene in season 5 to be a fugitive.

[sgt.null]

nice to see Ana Lucia back. and Ethan. I was hoping for Mr. Friendly. i knew Fogurt would die, but I miss him already.

[Cagliostro]

Just about as good a death as Arzst (or however you spell his name).

[Zarathustra]

We need a list of Big Mysteries (or heck, small ones, too) that aren't solved yet.

I'll go first.

1. What is the smoke monster?
2. How does the island heal people?
3. What are the numbers?
4. Why did the Dharma Initiative have to be destroyed?
5. Why doesn't Richard age?
6. What's up with the 4-toe statue (and other ruins)?
7. Why take the children?
8. What are the whispers?
9. How do so many people have "super" powers?
10. What's so special about Aaron?
11. Why do pregnant women die on this island?
13. What was the real purpose of all the hatches?
14. What was the real purpose of the Dharma Initiative?
12. What is the island?

What am I missing? If any of these are left unanswered, I'll be pissed. We're getting close to the end. You could have a single episode for each of those questions. There's really not much room left for answers, considering all the little character details that need to be addressed, too.

[lurch]

We need a list of Big Mysteries (or heck, small ones, too) that aren't solved yet.

I'll go first.

1. What is the smoke monster?..the conscience
2. How does the island heal people?..it allows them the freedom to imagine that they are healed
3. What are the numbers?..superstition
4. Why did the Dharma Initiative have to be destroyed?..they put parameters on the imagination..
5. Why doesn't Richard age?..he is free of time
6. What's up with the 4-toe statue (and other ruins)?..mystery..the unknown..deal with it..
7. Why take the children? ..because they are uncorrupted,,and besides..the unborn tend to die before birth..so there is a " shortage"..as metaphor,,the Dharma concepts are failing, so they have to steal other peoples ideas, concepts, inorder to continue....Dharma is failure.
8. What are the whispers?...paranoia
9. How do so many people have "super" powers?..everyone has super powers..iits just a matter of finding it..
10. What's so special about Aaron?..hes a child..free, innocent and uncorrupted
11. Why do pregnant women die on this island?...because they are Dharma
13. What was the real purpose of all the hatches?...attempts at controlling,containing the imagination
14. What was the real purpose of the Dharma Initiative?..to put parameters on the imagination
12. What is the island?...the unencumbered imagination...a great place to start over when everything else fails..

What am I missing? If any of these are left unanswered, I'll be pissed. We're getting close to the end. You could have a single episode for each of those questions. There's really not much room left for answers, considering all the little character details that need to be addressed, too.

The answers have been there all along..and each new episode re endorses all the other episode..

[Zarathustra]

The answers have been there all along..

Well, then I missed them. Care to tell me what those answers are?

[Worm of Despite]

That answers the symbolic connotations, lurch, but I believe the writers are worth their salt and will have concrete answers to all of this.

The answers have been there all along..

Well, then I missed them. Care to tell me what those answers are?

Lurch put his answers in the quote box there, Malik. You might've missed that; I almost did.

[Zarathustra]

Yes, I did miss that! I don't usually reread my own quoted posts.

[Worm of Despite]

Too modest eh... I understand.

[Cagliostro]

Also, is that kid significant that the doctor who opens each of the Dharma films has which we saw at the beginning? Seems funny that they'd show him having a kid.
Miles, perhaps? Could that be how he has the ghostbusting powers? He was on the island and certainly young, and the time line about works out. He at least knew that Charlotte was trying to get back to the island where she was from.

[Zarathustra]

Good call on Miles. Could be.

Also, is the compass Richard gives Locke the same compass he showed him as a small boy?

Did Ben know that his successor (Locke) was coming to the island because of the Ethan/Locke encounter? Is that why after shooting him, he said that he should have realized he couldn't kill Locke (because that Ethan encounter hadn't happened yet)?

[lurch]

and Hurley, no matter what he says,,he comes off as crazy..classic stuff of nightmares..

I think that's debatable...Hurley might actually be seeing dead people, considering how Lost is. And he's a genuine person with good emotional range (for comedic relief). I wouldn't put him out to the funny farm just yet... It is interesting how the show keeps you teetering either-or. Lots of folks who go to a nuthouse, though, aren't really crazy but just trying to escape something (as he often did). He seems to take joy in letting authority keep him away from the stream of bad luck and/or the Island's calling.

A slite mis understanding...In " The Lie" Hurley is the only one who has it rite..tell the truth and see what happens...But he goes along with the rest of 'em instead..He ends up in a no win situation. People will think he is crazy if he tells the truth about he Island..and he is crazy for fostering a Lie..His Mother is the beautiful point about Love.." I don't understand , but I believe you" she says after Hurley tells the Truth.

[Worm of Despite]

Yeah, I figured I'd gotten it wrong even before I posted that, but I figured if there were any folks who thinks Hurley's nuts (like my friend on the phone the other night), then that'll give me some good rebuttal-power.