"That's one stubborn tomato."Okay seriously, Lost people. We've been cheerleading all season, constantly saying "We KNOW they have a plan" and "It'll ALL pay off in the end" but come ON. As this episode wound down last night and there were only a few minutes left, we sat there stewing in our blogger juices and pretty righteously pissed off that we STILL weren't going to get some sort of resolution on the Sun and Jin
separation even though the entire episode was based on Sun and Jin and even though we have been patiently waiting for a season and a half. And let's face it, when they were separated by thousands of miles and 30 years, the separation was poignant, but now that they're both on the island and in the same time period - and have been FOR TEN EPISODES NOW - the whole thing seems played out. Get it over with, for God's sake. And we say that knowing that, with this show, there's a distinct possibility that the resolution of this storyline will be tragic.In fact, we think we may have reached our own personal saturation point for this season. When we finally got the Widmore and Smokey face-off, what was it? A lot of chest-puffing and "I know you are, but what am I?" verbal bitchslapping. Then they just...walked away from each other. Obviously, their confrontation is just beginning, but it was another of those "moving the pieces around the chessboard" episodes and we've about had our fill for the season. If there's a war coming, can you wussies please start shooting at each other or something? You're starting to get on our nerves with all the rapidly shifting alliances and ominous declarations of what's to come.
Enh. We sound crankier than we mean to. We didn't hate this episode but we can't say we loved it either. Commence verbal spew as we attempt to work our way through it.
Let's start with the B-timeline: As a lot of people suspected, Jin and Sun aren't married in this timeline. We were mildly surprised to find that they are still a couple, although this time, it's all in secret for fear of Sun's father. This was a pretty good alternate timeline aspect to explore, because, like Jack's newly discovered teenage son, it managed to play with all the things we know about the characters from the previous 5 seasons, while putting an interesting and revealing spin on it. B-Sun still wants to run away, but this time with Jin instead of from him. Sun unbuttons her top for Jin, an overt callback to our introduction to these characters all the way back in the pilot episode when Jin harshly ordered Sun to keep her top button done. An iconic scene is turned on its head and what originally looked like an indication of a terrible marriage is turned into a sexy and cute striptease.
So in B-ville, Sun's father is an even bigger dick than he is in A-town because he pretty much ordered the assassination of Jin and apparently, didn't care if Sun got in the way. So things aren't looking too good for B-Sun, as she bleeds out from a stomach wound. You don't suppose she might need the services of a good spinal surgeon in the near future, do you? Then again, she's pregnant. She might just need the services of a world-class obstetrician to save her baby. Any names come to mind who might be an expert on saving the lives of endangered pregnant women and their babies? Hmmm.
Meanwhile, back on A island, A-Sun has HAD IT, to which we can only add "FUCKING FINALLY!" She's been wandering around that island for an entire season, doing nothing and knowing nothing and her passive responses have been getting on our last nerve. This is the woman who defied her dangerous and overbearing father and took control of his company. This is the woman who sought to leave her unhappy marriage by constructing a fake life for herself and an elaborate plan to run away from it all. This is the woman who stared down Charles fucking Widmore and got the man's respect in the process. This is not a woman who waits around to see what's going to happen. The whole point to Sun's character is that she's got all the trappings of the stereotypical submissive Asian woman and yet she's the complete opposite of that. It just feels better to see Sun acting instead of walking around wondering what's going on all the time. She got two tantrums this episode but the more entertaining one by far was the one spit out at Richard in Korean.
Oh, about that. What are we to make of Sun's new found inability to communicate? A strange little development, wouldn't you say? Is it merely a callback to Season 1, when she could communicate but pretended not to? Or is it some sort of overlap with the B-timeline, in which Sun can only speak Korean? See, just before Juliet died, she appeared to get some sort of glimpse of the B-timeline. Sun gets knocked unconscious and wakes up ... how to put this? She wakes up a closer version to her B-timeline self. Does that make sense? B-Sun can't speak English. A-Sun gets knocked unconscious and then SHE can't speak English. Is there some sort of crossover of timelines when a person loses consciousness, either temporarily or in the process of dying? And what about all these goddamn mirrors everyone in the B-timeline keeps peering into?
And while we're at it, here's your OTHER alternate timeline theory to ponder for the week. Widmore tells Jin that if Smokey gets off the island, "Everyone we know and love would simply cease to be." Not "die," but "cease to be." So, is the B-timeline what happens when Smokey gets off the island? After all, the A-versions of the characters simply don't exist in the B-timeline, as if they have "ceased to be." If that's the case, then it becomes more clear what the characters are fighting for. Some will fight to preserve the A-timeline and some will fight to preserve the B-timeline. After all, Jack has a son in the B-timeline and Jin and Sun have a daughter in the A-timeline. That would seem to pretty firmly put them on opposite sides if they have to choose whether or not to let Smokey leave the island. Of course, Jack doesn't know he has an alternate timeline son ... yet.
Begin Verbal Spew 2.0, in which traditional paragraph and essay rules are completely tossed out
the window in favor of bullet points:* With his heartfelt plea to Sun on the beach at night, we see the long-promised and long overdue return of Jack The Hero, Jack The Good Guy, Jack of the "live together, die alone" speech. He was charming and empathetic and sincere when he promised to help Sun find Jin. "Do you trust me?" Considering she trusted Kate to get her husband on the helicopter, we suspect she doesn't trust Jack as much as she says. When the time comes, Sun is going to do what's right for Sun. And hasn't that always been the case with her? She said it herself: she's not here to "save the damn world."
* Jack talks of the lighthouse and of their "purpose" like a man converted. "There's a reason," he says to Sun and he sounds exactly like Locke used to.
* Smokey himself is not sure if Jin or Sun is the candidate. Interesting. Also interesting to note that he told Claire that Kate wasn't a candidate. There seems to be some dispute about that and we wonder if Smokey is just lying. Pretty chilling that he basically told Claire she can do whatever she wants to Kate once he's done with her.
* Also interesting to note that Smokey says he needs all the candidates on the plane in order to be able to leave, which makes us think of Eloise Hawkings' directive that they needed all of the Oceanic 6 on the Ajira flight in order to make it back to the island. Considering Sun is the only one of them who didn't wind up in the '70s out of that group, wouldn't that be an indication that Jin is the candidate and not her?
*The DANGER NERDS!!! We hate that Zoe chick but we love Charles Widmore's band of nerdcenaries. Apparently he figured it wasn't worth it to hire real mercenaries after everyone from the freighter wound up dead. We think the DANGER NERDS need to get their own show. Scientists with rifles! It's a ratings gold mine, we're telling you. Only, it should be a cool acronym, like D.A.N.G.E.R. N.E.R.D.S. Comments section fun: come up with the actual acronym. We're too lazy to do so.
*Interesting that the DANGER NERDS kidnapped Jin specifically because he mapped the island back in the '70s and knew where the electromagnetic energies were. But wasn't Widmore on the island for at least 30 years himself? How is it he doesn't have that knowledge already? And what's he planning to do, anyway? Are the electromagnetic pockets the way to keep Smokey "corked" on the island?
*The bit with Sun's camera was sweet and poignant, but also firmly cemented Jin on Widmore's side of the war.
* We love when the writers play around not only with the mythology they've created, but with the setting. It made for nice callbacks to previous seasons to see Sun's garden and Room 23 again. It gives the whole story more depth when they move around like this. It feels grounded in a cohesive reality.
* "Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I'm not sure Hurley can track anything."
"Hey, don't talk about bacon."
God bless Lapidus and Miles. They make the perfect background characters.
* "Can't you just turn into smoke and fly your ass over the water?"
* DESMOND ON THE SUB, Y'ALL. Who didn't see that coming? Oh, please don't kill Desmond off, Lost people! Why did Widmore call him "the package?"
* Why can't Smokey take the sub off the island instead of the plane? After all, that plane's not in such great shape.
[Photo credit: abc.go.com/shows/lost]
