REVIEW: Lost 6x12, Everybody loves Hugo

NOTE: you might notice that we're missing a review for Lost 6x11 ("Happily Ever After"). You can feel free to blame me for being crazy!busy with all things RL. Or my dislike for Desmond. Your choice. MOVING ON.


Thanks to theloveumake.com for all caps not stamped

Can you guess who the episode was about this week?

I'd like to say that this week's episode was actually pretty good, at least when it comes to progress. As much as I am at least somewhat interested in the sideways!verse I am much more eager to make progress on the Island, and we got quite a bit of Island time. Let's see what this week brought us.



Fandom seems to be torn between those who liked Libby and those who don't, and I will firmly side with the former; her death was horrible and tragic and I really did feel for her relationship with Hurley. As soon as they showed the cross on her grave, my heart squished a little inside. It got even better when we saw her again in-episode, and I really love how Hugo didn't shoot her down and instantly dismiss her as simply crazy.



"Wow, I sound insane, don't I?" says Libby.

Um, Libby?



'nuff said.

Back on the Island, Hugo gets another visit from another dead person we'd rather forget.



I am keen to forget everything about this character, because whenever he's onscreen I am constantly on edge, waiting for him to shout some combination of "WALT! WALT!!", "HE'S MY SON" and "WHERE'S MY BOY?". Do. Not. Want. Michael goes on much later in the episode to explain what the mysterious Island whispers are - spirits of the dead who cannot leave the Island - and he tells Hurley to apologise to Libby for him if he ever sees her again. Apparantly he doesn't care that he shot Ana Lucia in the same room at the same time. Don't worry Ana, Eko and I loved you.

IN OTHER NEWS.

We find out just what Illana had spent her entire life training for:

Now you see her...





Now you don't!
Yeah, WHO saw Illana the Artz coming? Show of hands. Nope? Didn't think so. What the hell, Lost? And how much time do we spend mourning the several remaining pieces of Jacob's Favourite Trainee? (she could have worked part time at the Island employment agency!) Answer? None at all. Richard seems too keen to blow more stuff up - because apparantly, blowing up the only other person who approves of your plan is a GREAT IDEA. I'm losing faith Alpert, I'm losing faith.



OK, sorry man, I take it back. You're the man.
Hugo and Rich get into an argument. Hugo pulls the "I see dead Jacob" card. Rich pulls the "If that was Jacob we'd still be clueless" card. Richard wins, the team break up, Rich, Miles and Ben go to blow more stuff up and the remaining Candidates are left with Frank.



Yes.
Good luck Frank.
Hugo decides that the Candidates have to go and hang out with Locke. I don't support that idea at all.

OVER ON TEAM SMOKEY.



Locke has been talking to his wood.

No, honestly, that is the most interesting thing goin' on over there. Have the rest of Team Smokey lost ALL kind of interesting behaviour over there? Is that the price you have to pay to hang out with the smoke monster?



Bored now.



BORED now.



BORED NOW JESUS CHRIST TEAM SMOKEY DO SOMETHING INTERESTING. What do you have to DO 'round here, kidnap a strange elecromagnetically-immune Scotsman?



Oh.

Now I've always been a fan of Locke and Ben sharing scenes, but as much as I dislike Desmond I have to admit that he and Flocke really work well together. Locke takes Desmond to visit a well, and explains that Widmore is only after power. Locke has amazing eyes.



Desmond is distracted by these amazing eyes, and gets thrown into the well. Probably should have seen that one coming Des. But wait, what's that you're saying, comeuppance? What's that Des, you want us to go with you into sideways time? Ok ...



GOODNESS! First Illana, then Locke. Who, might I remind you, I'm pretty certain is actually Flocke.

THE LO-DOWN
MICHAEL: -400 (bad start)
...not shouting about his son: +20
Richard has a new shirt!: +30
"What if Richard's wrong?": -80. Richard is NEVER wrong.
ILLANA THE ARTZ: -200
Team Smokey's fail: -30
Team Blow Stuff Up: +100
"I have nowhere to run to, brother.": +70
Shouty Richard shouting at Jack: +100
Richard showing up Hurley: +100
HURLEY AND LIBBY: +200
"Why aren't you afraid?" // "What's the point in being afraid?": +220
"You have my word.": +100

TOTAL: 230

A smooth episode both in terms of sideways-time sweetness and on-Island awesomeness. Let's just hope that it stays this way 'til the end!

- Break

REVIEW: Lost 6x10, The Package

Thanks to theloveumake.com for all caps not stamped

After last week's distraction to flashback-land, it was good this week to get back to juggling life on the Island and life in Sideways Time, and boy what busy lives they are! Sideways Time saw us following Jin and Sun on their arrival to LA, and I will admit right off the mark to being rather pleasantly surprised - normally I have little patience for the Kwon storylines, but in Sidewaysville I'm really enjoying their development together. I'm also really enjoying topless!Jin. For any particularly perverted reasons? No. But because without a body like that I doubt they'd make him pose like this:



Did anyone else think of those cardboard-box moments in Metal Gear Solid, when the box is pulled off you but you're STILL curled up underneath just in case?

And hey, guess who else came to visit the Kwon party?



Mikhail! It's Mikhail everyone! Look at him and his eyes! I might have let out a small excited chirrup when everyone's favourite Patchy returned to the screen, and might've had to surpress a second one when he started reeling off the Korean. Who would have thought that Russian-accented Korean would sound so good?

I'm also glad that Kevin Durand got more screentime as Keamy in this episode, because I'm really endeared by his acting. I don't know whether to love him or hate him, really, and so I think that I shall compromise and settle for a love-to-hate relationship.



Look, it's Mikhail again!

It was great going back in time to see just how Jin ended up in the cupboard, but Keamy's talk of how some people "just aren't meant to be together" is definitely foreshadowing in the worst kind of way. And did you hear him mention the Island too?

Oh quick, look! It's Mikh-



... oh. But honestly, who here wasn't shouting "THE EYE, THE EYE, GET HIM IN THE EYE! IT'S THE SOURCE OF HIS POWER!". Was that REALLY just me? Nah.

BACK ON THE ISLAND



We have MORE Sun! But that's ok by me, because she was actually pretty hardcore in this episode. I got very angry when Flocke approached her - in fact I get very angry whenever he approaches anyone (Team Jacob of course) - but I was so darn proud when she turned tail and ran from him. Seriously, I don't want to be losing anyone else to Team Smokey.



I have to add here just how much I love Terry O'Quinn. The difference between Locke and Flocke always alarms me, and I think it really is impressive to see the same actor playing what is essentially two characters so well. His delivery of that line repeated back to Widmore in the episode was so very brilliant, as was his telling Sawyer that he doesn't like secrets. Very well done Mister O'Quinn.



Now it must be said that I am disappointed: after living for over a century and a half, Richard Alpert hasn't made any effort to learn any more languages. And if he HAS, I am disappointed that Jacob didn't tell him to try his hand at Korean. I'm going to give him a Korean Bible for his next birthday (he does remember birthdays, doesn't he?)

(as a side-note, I must confess that I lost quite a portion of the episode to daydreams after Miles made the suggestion of covering him in bacon grease)



Sayid tells Locke that he doesn't feel anything. Locke says that maybe that's for the best. I DON'T THINK THAT'S THE MOST REASSURING THING TO SAY THERE, FLOCKE. Especially to a man with an identity crisis:

VS

:(

That aside, on Island Pt2, who can honestly tell me they weren't excited by this:



Yes, Room 23! That room was honestly one of the highlights of series 3 for me, and I'm so glad it got a cameo in the final season. However I really wish that Jin could've stopped and watched the screen for a while before our new Zoe lady came to have a word with him. For the record, I don't like new Zoe lady.

Now, Wiidmore is a character I go out of my way to avoid. Seriously, there are in fact three characters I do not like dealing with at all in Lost (Whidmore, Desmond-brother and Claire), but Widmore as a character is growing on me. Don't get me wrong, I can't STAND him, and when it comes down to Widmore versus Ben it's no question whose eyes I'm siding with, but I am definitely becoming more and more interested in his investment in the Island. I don't trust him (says the girl who just claimed allegiance to Ben "Henry Gale" Linus!), but I really did let out a motherly cooing noise when he gave Jin the camera and pointed out that he had never seen his daughter before.



... or maybe I'm saying all of this pro-Widmore stuff so that I don't have to laugh out loud again about him telling Jin that it's time to check out his package! Oh Lost, where would I be without you?

Oh, and speaking of Widmore's package:



I wonder what connection you could make there if you had never seen the episode?

THE LO-DOWN
"Maybe that's the best,": -60. I AM NOT REASSURED.
Alpert deciding that blowing up the survivor's escape route is a great plan: -200 >.<
Sun not siding with Flocke: +70!
Jin being built like a Korean Action Man: +70
MIKHAIL! MIKHAIL! +100
The Eye Shot!: +300!
Room 23: +300!
Zoe-lady: -30
Distrusting Locke even more than normal: -50
"A wise man once said that war is coming to this Island. I think it just got here.": +400

TOTAL: 360

You DO know it's good not to take that scoring system seriously, right? Because I think that "The Package" was a great episode, with loads of progress. I want the Kwons to reunite now, I think it's time for that to happen.

Be sure to drop some feedback, and don't forget to swing by next week for Happily Ever After!

- Break

Coming up shortly, Smoke Monsters and Immortals - a discussion of team players and just who is on whose side.

Review: Heroes 412, Upon This Rock

"He thought he was losing his mind when the moss and the flowers started growing in his footsteps."


Thanks to www.chevronone.com for all screencaps

Now I doubt that Heroes reviews will be as regular as Lost reviews, nor as extensive, but I couldn't let this episode slip under the radar. For a note I would like to add that I gave up after the second series of Heroes, and didn't pay any attention at all to the third. I agreed for a friend to watch the new series, and I can do nothing but recommend it, even if you gave up just like I did. Excuse me just breezing through key points here. In this episode we have continuation of Hiro's arc, and despite Hiro and Ando often providing the comic relief I am more than certain that this storyline will eventually break my heart. However:



I am SURE that we need a Heroes/X-Men crossover comic. Heroes 412 also brings us the next part of Samuel's ongoing mission, as Sullivan Junior tracks down his next "person of ability".



A major point to understand: we know of my love for Richard Alpert, right? Now that love is very almost equalled by my love of Samuel, so much so that I am actually willing to throw all logic to the wind. He's meant to be a bad guy, isn't he? He's going to try to kill people, or blow stuff up, or destroy a city, isn't he? Well this humble blogger is consciously choosing to believe every manipulative word that comes from that silver-tongued carni's mouth. Every word he speaks is magical, and I hate to say it but up until recently I have been so struck by Samuel that I completely forgot about Sylar. THERE, I SAID IT. And besides:

Carnival compass:


Island compass:


Not that I would ever use that to write crossovers featuring Jacob, Richard, Esau and Samuel. What? Stop looking at me like that.



Every bit of this scene (Emma's siren-song in Central Park) was downright beautiful. From Samuel's words ("Make your prayers into song") to Ian Michael's anxious approach right down to the colouring of the whole thing, absolutely fantastic. All apart from this:



Because I really have had enough of the tedious magic cello thing now. Great concept, but I'm fed up of the glowy-glowy.

And finally, we joined the Mister Bennet, Claire, Peter and Mama!trelli to Nathan's funeral, which I admit was a lot more touching than I thought it would be. I think I am actually growing out of my disdain for the Petrellis now.

THE LO-DOWN
Clone-clone-cloney man stalking Claire (YAWN): -50
Emma getting refused her place: -10 (sad times)
Samuel visiting to make everything better: +30
Ando finally catching on to Hiro's clues: +50
The Central Park Scene: +1,000
Claire losing faith in the carnival/Samuel...: -100
... and gaining it again in the valley: +400
Every damn thing that Samuel says in the entire episode: +1,200
TOTAL: 2,520

(yes, that DOES make this episode three times greater than Lost's Ab Aeterno. I question myself sometimes too, don't worry) I'm actively putting off the moment that Samuel does something bad. The carnival warms my heart to a ridiculous extent. It feels like home. Gypsy blood yo ^-~

- Break

REVIEW: Lost 6x09, Ab Aeterno

Thanks to theloveumake.com for all caps not stamped

So these week's offering of Losties comes in the form of Ab Aeterno, an hour dedicated almost solely to Richard Alpert, Jacob and Jacob's Nemesis/Esau/Smokey/MiB/et cetty rah (with an added shot of Ilana, not that that scene got us anywhere spectacular). From the second we heard who this episode focused on we knew that this was going to be a major episode, a major episode. Even for those of us NOT entirely obsessed with The Ageless Wonder With The Magical Arms (such people I do not understand), we knew that it was going to be important. Important. So did it deliver?

Yes and no.



We were treated to our first full flashback episode of the season, which proved the highly popular theory of Alpert's arrival to the Island on the Black Rock. Hell, we were even given the answer to what happened to the rest of the statue! What this episode was lacking was anything remotely shocking. We found out about the mortal life of the man who doesn't age! We found out how a ship could land in the middle of a jungle! We found out how a regular man can suddenly live forever! And yet none of this seemed at all remarkable.

In a sense I suppose that this could actually be quite the skill, taking the truly otherworldy themes and making them so very very ... worldly. And I will confess that it is only in retrospect that I started to frown upon this episode - whilst I was watching it, I was well and truly absorbed.



Now we know I'm always happy to see Alpert in any episode ever, but I really must praise Nestor Carbonell's acting in this episode. I was admittedly worried about how he'd handle a whole episode as opposed to just a couple of enigmatic scenes, and I'll admit that I didn't expect it to turn out so well. It did. And someone else who deserves a major shout-out is this gentleman:



I really and truly fell for Titus Welliver/Esau in this episode, which is both good and bad. On the good side, I really never realised how much I liked his acting. On the bad side ... Jacob's girl through and through. And the more enigmatic Esau becomes, the harder it is to convince myself that Jacob is the right one to side with after all.



I wasn't a fan of Jacob in this, I was quite taken aback by his sudden and rather overreacting aggression, and not liking Jacob makes me a sad reviewer :(

All in all I just spent most of this episode being startled by how similar 1800's!Richard and Lord of the Rings Aragorn look o.o


=


Y/Y??

THE LO-DOWN
Giggling!Alpert! +1,000
Prison Priest denying Richard his redemption...: -20
... and then taking away his Bible!: -100
"I see the Devil!!": +80
Alpert watching his wife die at home, and then watching his DEAD wife die again: -200
The shouts of "WHAT COLOUR IS HIS TOP?? IS HE WEARING SHOES??" when we first see Esau: +20
The shouts of "WHAT COLOUR IS HIS TOP?? IS HE WEARING SHOES??" when we first see Jacob: +30
Aggressive!Jacob: -800
"I am in Hell, I know that I am in Hell.": +20
Jacob running the Island's Job Centre!: +300!
Jacob's gift to Esau: +20
Esau giving Richard the necklace at the end: + AND -80. I don't like siding with him.
And the killer line, "Tell him his English is magnificent", because in that whole really touching scene, that line nearly broke me: +500

TOTAL: 820

All in all another tear-jerker of an episode with some unexpectedly brilliant acting, and more answers given than questions.

Be sure to drop some feedback, and don't forget to swing by next week for The Package!

- Break
Highlight of the Richard Alpert Party: an hour after the episode finished, my flatmate - a newly obsessive Lost fan - coming out with the words "So, which one is Richard Alpert?"