Lost - "What Kate Does"
Geez, talk about a serious fumble. After a great, albeit somewhat confusing premiere last week, this latest episode is a long slow slog that doesn’t seem to do much (I know this is Lost, and appearances, and slow slogs, can be deceiving, but seriously, this one was irritating).
Sayid is alive again. Or is he? Is he Jacob? Or is he MIB? Or is he Dorothy from Kansas? Meanwhile in the alternate universe, Kate is on the run. Big effing surprise. Yes, that’s a theme for the character, but it’s grown tiresome to say the least. Kate even takes Claire to the home of the couple that’s supposed to adopt her baby. Most kidnappers would balk at that, but not Kate. And what does it say about pregnant Claire, who accepts a ride from Kate who, minutes earlier had abducted her at gunpoint. It makes Claire look like an Aussie idiot.
Meanwhile Jack is getting the usual Others' Bullshit Answers to Simple Questions ™. Jack is a board-certified spinal surgeon; a highly educated man. He should be screaming, Just give me a simple answer you douchebags! Stop talking around a subject. The Temple Others brought Sawyer to the Temple offscreen, but he breaks out, but the Temple Others say they "need him" and of course they do not say why. WHAT IS IT WITH THESE PEOPLE AND THEIR NON-ANSWERS?
I love Lost, but this crap bugs the shit out of me. At this point it appears they’re just rolling with whatever is thrown their way. Smoke monsters? Polar bears? 19th century slave ships in the middle of the jungle? 1970s era hippie scientists? Ancient Egyptian statues? A dude with great eyelashes who never ages? Time travel? An island that can be moved? Island wormholes to Tunisia and the Arctic? Age-less god-like figures who manipulate events? Nuclear bomb blasts to re-set the timeline? Sayid coming back to life? IT’S ALL GOOD, RIGHT? Whenever you ask anyone a straight question, they NEVER simply answer you. I wish someone would just speak like a normal person. "Come with us for this reason: (and they give the reason, not talk around it)." "You're important to us/your friends/the universe for this reason: (and they give the reason, and not talk around it)." I hate when they go to the trouble of making characters look, speak and act real, then pull horseshit like this. There is so much ridiculous secrecy that it's a wonder ANYTHING can get done!
This is the season where we finally get (some) answers. But this whole episode felt just like a big “wheel spinner” going nowhere. Ugh.
Man, I couldn't agree more. It's episodes like this that made me give up on the series long ago when it spent the better part of the second season spinning its wheels and treating us to truncated seasons and recap "clip-shows" while the producers and writers tried to figure out what the heck they were trying to do and how to fill the number episodes they were obligated to make.
ReplyDeleteThey really recaptured my interest with the premiere episode--I've pretty much had to watch the show all along because B likes it --but this one just killed it again. I don't give a flying flip what Benjamin F-ing Linus is up to or why. Or who Jacob is. JUST GET ON WITH IT ALREADY. About the only thing I enjoyed over the last season or so was the whole Sawyer and Juliet relationship and even that took a trip into cliche-ville.
Pity because the actors are all very strong and the conviction of their performances makes all the scripted treading water bearable if no less frustrating. I'm straining my memory to come up with another show with an equally strong ensemble cast of this size but then I haven't watched much network TV in a long time (I'm sure many people can point to any number of Cop/Lawyer/Doctor shows but those bore me to tears).
Perhaps when all this is over there will be a massive fan-edit of the series that can cut out all the chaff and condense things down to the essentials (I think it will take something of an editorial nature to accomplish this rather than just skipping the episodes you don't like).