LOST Two-fer.

How do I get so far behind on these things?

The Other 48 Days



I really liked this episode. It says something for the show's creators that even though I knew who survived and who didn't, and what was coming, I was still on the edge of my seat.

~ They set me on the edge of my seat with the crash at the opening of the show. I missed the first 5 or 10 minutes of the series premiere and so missed the first crash; if it was half as chaotic and frightening as this one, I'm sorry I missed it.

~ I was reserving judgment on Ana Lucia, for the most part, waiting for them to flesh out her character, and I'm glad I did. She's not necessarily likeable, but she's definitely more sympathetic after last night. I think people began deferring to her because she's a natural leader (maybe from military service, i.e., the knife?), saved a little girl's life, got Bernard down from that tree and is willing to make the tough choices (even if she was wrong about Nathan). Or maybe she's just bossy. I actually found myself misting up when she broke down crying with Eko.

~ Anyone else thinking Eko is/was a priest? The praying, the bible, the 40 days of silence? What an awesome character he is. They had better allow him to live at least through the season.

~ The reveal of Goodwin as an Other totally took me by surprise. I knew he would die and was bummed because I liked the character and then wham! they throw me for a loop. The scene between him and AL, when she figures it all out, was well done.

~ So Nathan wasn't taken, according to Goodwin, because he "wasn't a good person", huh? That would explain why the children are being taken and brings up a couple of interesting question: Why do they need "good people"? Are they saving them from some terrible fate that the Others feel the "not good" people deserve? Are they continuing experiments on the island and need "bad" people for them? And what does it say about the people who have not been taken? I find it hard to believe that Bernard wouldn't be considered good.

~ That was a nice loose end tied up with the radio scene.

~ Interesting items they found in the bunker: a bible, blankets, a radio and a glass eye. What on earth could that mean?

~Finally, the big thing: Ana Lucia DID kill Shannon. It was fun to speculate, but in the end, I'm happier with this version. It's a much braver choice on the part of the writers and there will be a much bigger dramatic payoff, I think.

Collision



This show is on a roll. Another very good episode, at least as far as I'm concerned.

~ We finally get Ana Lucia's backstory. She is no more likeable for me, but certainly more sympathetic. After being shot, miscarrying her baby and having her boyfriend leave her, she trusts no one, least of all her own judgment. And so she turns to her gun. Question: Were we suppose to infer that she was telling Sayid that she shot and killed her shooter, vigilante-style, while she was flashing back? Because that's the impression I got. Why else would he say they were both "dead already"? Great chemistry between them, btw.

~ So, Kate and Sawyer, huh? I was half-expecting Jack to suggest they get a room. I get Kate and Sawyer together, but then I was looking at screen grabs from the trailer for this week's episode and Kate's kissing Jack. Okaaaay.

~ One of my favorite parts of the episode was the Locke/Eko (I wonder if Eko's initials are "C.L."? Stretching it, I know) meeting. "Hello." "Hello."

~ While I never really bought the Sayid/Shannon relationship, Naveen Andrews made me believe it when he sadly picked up her body and carried it past Jack.

~ The reunions! At last, the groups are merged and we can get off of the sort of schizophrenic track we were on and start focusing on the new, combined group. The last 5 minutes or so had me all misty - Michael and Vincent, Sun and Jin and most of all, Bernard and Rose, at last. What a payoff that was. I need to see her give him that candy bar now.