Hurley: "I'm one of the Oceanic Six! I'm one of the Oceanic Six!"
When we last left our heroes, Charlie was dead. Locke killed Naomi, who didn't stay dead. Desmond killed Mikhail, who didn't stay dead. And we were all confused by the shift from flashback to flashforward. Looks like we get to stay confused.
Flashforward Hurley was seeing dead people. Mental illness, or Island weirdness? (I vote for Island weirdness.) Was that what was wrong with flashforward Jack, too? Maybe Christian Shephard is following Jack around, like Charlie was following Hurley. Maybe Christian and Charlie are both telling Jack and Hurley that they have to go back to the Island. That would explain why the stoned Jack thought his father was still alive in "Through the Looking Glass." Yes, I like that explanation.
Actually, "Charlie" was real. One of the other mental patients saw him. And Hurley also saw Christian Shephard sitting in the rocking chair in Jacob's cabin, which I find so utterly bizarre that I have no theories about it. Who was in the cabin with Christian? Whose eye was it? It looked like a dark eye, so it wasn't Locke. And how could the cabin actually move?
Jack must be near the end of his rope; he would have killed Locke, but I kind of get that. From Jack's perspective, Locke has really gone off the reservation: blowing stuff up, killing Naomi, and so on. The continuing conflict between Jack, man of science and Locke, man of faith just caused a serious division among the Losties, like season one's division between the caves and the beach. Jack was wrong then, too... that is, if he's wrong now.
Hurley told Jack that he should have gone with him instead of Locke. And yet, in the flashforwards, they were two of the "Oceanic Six." Does that mean that the current division between the Barracks and the Beach doesn't have anything to do with who ends up leaving the Island? Did everyone else stay, possibly voluntarily? If Kate is another of the six, who are the other three? Are we going to continue getting flashforwards instead of flashbacks?
What do I want for the abbreviated season four? I'm not sure. I love this show, and they're definitely still on their game. I think I'm going to let them take me wherever they want to go. And I certainly want more than eight episodes, so let's hope the writers' strike is resolved soon.
Character bits:
I loved the way they made us think this was a Jack episode before we realized it was about Hurley. Flashforward Jack was drinking, but clearly hadn't gone off the deep end yet. Since he said he was thinking about growing a beard, this must have taken place before "Through the Looking Glass."
Hurley did an OJ car chase with Cheech's Camaro. Yet another car crash. One of these days, I'm going to rewatch the series and keep count of all the car crashes.
There must be barbers in the Afterlife, because Charlie had short, darker hair. There was a black bird, a harbinger of death, on Charlie's tee-shirt.
Ben spent the entire episode at the end of a leash. It was a good look for him. He and Danielle were acting almost like battling, homicidal divorcees.
Why did Naomi cover for the Losties before she died the second time? "Tell my sister that I love her." Was she a good guy, trying to secure rescue, or a bad guy determined to carry out her mission, perhaps for the sake of her sister? (Little parallel there to Juliet.)
I thought Kate would be reluctant to leave the Island. Isn't she still wanted? Of course, the marshal is dead and buried on the Island. Maybe, in her flashforwards, she'll be followed around by the marshal.
Sawyer tried to get Hurley to talk about his grief for Charlie. That was actually sweet. Maybe Sawyer is recovering from the trauma of killing the original Sawyer.
Rose suggested that Claire reward Charlie with sex. Too bad he missed that. Lucky for Bernard, though.
The cop in the flashforward was Ana Lucia's partner, and asked Hurley about her. Why didn't Hurley tell him anything? Was it part of the deal with Oceanic?
Creepy Oceanic attorney Matthew Abaddon wanted Hurley to tell him if they were still alive. The rest of the Losties on the Island? Abaddon had no business card. Maybe he isn't from Oceanic. Maybe he works for the still amorphous bad guys.
Fisher Stevens was listed as a guest star, but I don't think we saw him. Was he George Minkowski? And who parachuted in at the end?
Bits and pieces:
— Dominic Monaghan was still in the cast (probably because we saw him), and Harold Perrineau (Michael) returned (but we didn't see him). And we have three new cast members: Jeremy Davies, Ken Leung, and Rebecca Mader. Was Jeremy Davies the parachute guy?
— The story began right where it left off. Ben told Jack that making the radio phone call was the beginning of the end, so that was where the title came from.
— Gold acting stars for Jorge Garcia. This was the best Hurley-centered episode yet, and Jorge was just terrific. He even made me cry.
— Hurley, Sawyer, Claire, Danielle, Ben, Alex, and Karl went with Locke. Kate, Juliet, Desmond, Sayid, Sun, Jin, Bernard and Rose went with Jack. Looks like Kate and Sawyer just broke up.
— There was another return to season one: Jack and Kate looking into the front section of the plane, and remembering Charlie.
— Action 8 news in Los Angeles. There's no channel 8 in L.A. But 8 is one of Hurley's numbers.
— In the mental hospital, Hurley was doing a watercolor painting of someone in a parka in front of an igloo. Which we can add to all of the other arctic or antarctic references.
— In this week's hair report, Hurley's was noticeably longer.
— The night before this episode aired, ABC aired a pop-up video version of "Through the Looking Glass." It was tremendous fun; I loved it. There were a few tidbits I hadn't known before: a semi-confirmation that the coffin contained a man from New York. (Michael? He couldn't have been one of the Oceanic Six, though, because it would have been a big article in the paper, not a tiny one.) We learned for certain that Christian drank himself to death. Richard's last name is Alpert. Bernard's is Nadler, which is the same last name as the doctor who operated on the woman Jack pulled out of the wrecked car. And they pointedly did not explain Jack saying, "Get my father down here."
— During the premiere of Eli Stone that aired after this episode, there was an Oceanic commercial about the "golden pass" that gave a web site address: http://www.flyoceanicair.com/.
Quotes:
Sun: "I can't believe I'm actually going to have my baby in a hospital."
Claire: "Rub it in, why don't you?"
Hurley: "You don't wait with warnings. You warn."
Charlie: "I am dead. But I'm also here. I can prove it."
Hurley: "You checking to see if I went nuts? If I was going to tell?" Tell what?
Excellent. I have so missed this show. Four out of four polar bears,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
On the BluRay, they start the season with an eight minute and 15 second (of course!) recap of the past three seasons. Great fun, but fascinating not only for what they include, but what they exclude.
ReplyDeleteWorth a watch.
The Oceanic Six? This series certainly loves to start its seasons with ??? moments.
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason, I was convinced it was Michael in the car. When Hurley got out, I was flummoxed. So, at least Hurley, Jack and Kate have gone home in the future. Hmmm...
In addition to the shorter hair, Charlie looked noticeably thinner to me as well. I loved the scene between Hurley and him and the way that Hurley made him disappear -- almost as a child would. Speaking of which, how very sad is that Hurley was relieved to be sent back to the hospital. I love this character and his vulnerabilities make me very weepy. But, just as I think he is done, he calls Jack out. My boy hasn't lost his touch.
I thought the same thing about Charlie. My original comments on the discussion group said "He must not be eating enough in the afterlife."
ReplyDeleteI think it's cool that you are getting to watch this show after you've become familiar with some of the guest faces (or new cast) in other venues. Did it blow your mind when Agent Broyles showed up as creepy attorney Matthew Abbadon? (It blew my mind, but because I knew Lance Reddick as Lt. Daniels from The Wire). And soon you'll be meeting Jeremy Davies in a pre-Dickie Bennett guise. You'll have to let us know what you make of him after getting to know him on Justified.
Jess -- your comment made me laugh. I had written about Lt. Daniels/Agent Broyles in my first draft of this comment, then deleted it. I think Lance Reddick is amazing and he plays that deadpan, creepy thing so very well. I love him in this role already.
ReplyDeleteAnd, the first time I saw Jeremy Davies, I just kept staring at him. For the life of me, I couldn't place him, so I went to that trusty standby, IMDB. My jaw dropped. He looks and acts so differently -- the sign of someone who can really act.
Nice echo, with Charlie slapping Hurley just like Hurley slapped Charlie in a Season Three episode and told him that sometimes "we have to look death in the face and say 'Whatever, man.'"
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of the end:we have to embed the FlashForward's jigsaws. Hurley so alone and depressed is heartbreaking(great acting).
ReplyDeleteThe island's community splits:Locke is a creepy crazy bomber,a killer intimidating,who would folllow him? All sane people would go with Jack.
I understand Claire's and Hugo's decisions (affected by Charlie's death) but Sawyer?he suddendly doesn't want to get a way out from the creepy island anymore. Obviously he'not a great matter of concern to Kate(their relationship is anything but romantic...)
This season premiere tastes bitter,every hope looks lost for our losties.
It's been so long since I read my own reviews that I don't remember writing them, and it's like a stroll down memory lane. I'm such a fan of Lance Reddick now that it was like a surprise visit from an old friend.
ReplyDelete