Scattered (like the light) is how I would describe this episode. It's like they wanted us to have a bunch of info, but just kind of threw it out there all willy nilly. Not much seemed connected, it was very fractured and not enough of anything to make sense of any of it. I didn't hate it, but wish they would have picked a couple of things and stuck with them.
I hate to neutralize this thread but I thought this episode was a big improvement over the season premiere. The island and its characters were losing a little steam. The newcomers and their FBs allowed us to see the island and its people from a different perspective. I think its interesting how some people look at FBs as the thoughts of the characters in them. But FBs always show the characters that are supposedly having them, so they're not what the character remembers, unless the losties have a lot of out of body experiences. FBs are just a simple way for the producers to show us the characters' back stories. The lessons from the FBs aren't for the characters, they're for us.
The lessons I got from this current batch of flashbacks is that this new group of people are not representing the freighter people so much as doing their dirty work. In Naomi's FB, we got her talking about the rest of her group like their not all that professional. Besides being a ghostbuster, Miles is a con artist. He and the woman seem to have a little too much of the Nikki and Paulo thing going on. (What was that thing she stole from that digging site?) Their motives, whatever they might be, don't seem all that pure. I see them as out for whatever money the freighties are throwing their way. The other two I'm not so sure about.
As for the losties, it was good to see Jack and Kate flirting again. Even Sayid and Juliette seemed to be loosening up. And I don't know how far Sawyer can follow Locke but so far it's been pretty much fun. Confirmed Dead is the best episode so far of this season.
I have only watched the epi once (I plan to watch it again)...anyway, the more I read and think back on what I remember from just the first view I kind of think it was meant to be choppy. I have been thinking about the flashbacks and focusing not so much on the content but more so on what they told me....what each character has to offer. Why would that person be needed for that "mission"? I'm wondering if the writers wanted us to see that...not so much the content but what each person means to the direction of the show. (Although the content was somewhat interesting too.)
The lessons I got from this current batch of flashbacks is that this new group of people are not representing the freighter people so much as doing their dirty work. In Naomi's FB, we got her talking about the rest of her group like their not all that professional. Besides being a ghostbuster, Miles is a con artist. He and the woman seem to have a little too much of the Nikki and Paulo thing going on. (What was that thing she stole from that digging site?) Their motives, whatever they might be, don't seem all that pure. I see them as out for whatever money the freighties are throwing their way. The other two I'm not so sure about.
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Yeah I kind of got that idea as well when I saw Naomi's FB with the creepy tall man. Oh ... from the excavation site in Tunisia, I think Charlotte took a harness with a Dharma seal on it. Looked like the Medusa station seal.
from the excavation site in Tunisia, I think Charlotte took a harness with a Dharma seal on it. Looked like the Medusa station seal.
the polar bear skeleton was wearing a leather collar that had a DHARMA tag, bearing the symbol of the Hydra station.
i tend to agree w/ Calvin Hobbes, that the flashbacks are not intended to represent thoughts/flashbacks/recollections of the people they feature. they are there to give context to the viewer, to give US insight.
i don't get why everyone is freaking out all of a sudden, over the whole ghost hunter/spiritualist thing. if the supernatural/ghost element is such a turn-off, shouldn't that freak out have come during Man Behind the Curtain? if the events in the cabin didn't reveal a definite supernatural element, i don't know what could. not to mention that, at the very least, apparitions have been showing up since day one. jack has been seeing christian since he first arrived on the island.
What I find extremely interesting is not the inclusion of the "ghost buster" persay, but the fact that whomever orchestrated the mission must have known a tremendous amount about the island. Consider the occupations of the freighties: a paleontologist, a physicist, a spiritualist, and a seemingly military trained naomi. They had to know about the physical properties of the island aka the physicist, the fact that a lot of strange spiritual phenomena occurs, the existance of the ruins (why else include a paleontologist) and the existance of the hostiles.
If it were strictly an opperation to extract Ben, why not send in a crew of ex military types, they'd have a much better shot of a hot extraction than this motley band.
i don't get why everyone is freaking out all of a sudden, over the whole ghost hunter/spiritualist thing. if the supernatural/ghost element is such a turn-off, shouldn't that freak out have come during Man Behind the Curtain? if the events in the cabin didn't reveal a definite supernatural element, i don't know what could. not to mention that, at the very least, apparitions have been showing up since day one. jack has been seeing christian since he first arrived on the island.
I can only speak for myself regarding all the ghost stuff. I didn't have a problem with Jack's dad or even Kate's horse bc we knew that the island was different and I was eager to get an answer for that. Even the stuff with Walt was ok, but again, I knew there *had* to be something different.
Then the blatent Ghost Whisperer, just seemed I dunno, too elementary for a show of this intelligence. I hope that it's a momentary thing brought it for a greater purpose, or a storyline for a springboard to another. I just hope it's not the end result, kwim?
I walked away from it with mixed emotions. I really didn't expect the new people to be so different. A ghostbuster, and a guy who cries all the time was far off from the re-con team I expected. These people are going to get schooled by Ben, heck they were already ambushed an hour on the Island I thought it ended strong with Ben being the focal point, and I like the question Locke asked. I have confidence the writers are going to make this all look brilliant.
Well i'm actually happy with the supernatural element added to the show. Maybe not Miles the ghostbuster, but i love the Jacobs, the Christian Sheperd visions, the whole vision angles actually. One of my favourite moments from Season 1 (The best season) was Locke's vision of Boone bloody standing on top of the hatch.
Science can't explain EVERYTHING after all, and if you think LOST is a pure science fiction show, then you're not going to be happy with the answers. This isn't Star Trek, or Battlestar Galactica we're watching here. LOST is part drama, part science fiction, part fantasy, part comedy etc .
My predicament is that i don't think the show will ever reach the highs of season 1 ever again, yet i am frothing at the mouth for the next episode, which i'm sure will be fantastic.
Is it just my nostalgia? Was Season 1 really that much better?
After all the build up about how much of a threat these freighter people are, we get a muttering geek, a psychic with a dust buster, a condescending anthropologist, and a pilot that was supposed to be flying 815?
When I first saw pics of Ken Leung, I was excited, cause he looked like a badass. I was hoping the rest, even the geeky looking Faraday, would be as nefarious as Miles looked. But no, we get this crew, who seem about as threatening as Alex's slingshot. I hope they'll prove me wrong, but this episode left me quite underwhelmed with them.
Proud 
I thought it ended strong with Ben being the focal point, and I like the question Locke asked. I have confidence the writers are going to make this all look brilliant.
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