TV Review: I still hate Hugo.

Libby brings two friends to her date with Hugo.

Ah, LOST. My friends Tom and Nikki were having a minor disagreement about last night's episode, with Tom claiming it was a 6/10 episode, and Nikki being more positive, calling it a 8/10. My own rating reflects more of a fencesitting: I give the first 20 minutes a 4/10, and the final 20 minutes a 10/10, for an average of 7/10. (Sorry I couldn't really settle the dispute, pals.)

As the title of this entry implies, I still find Hugo to be a miserable, sad character. He is still strictly the fat dude comic relief, even if he's the only one outside of Miles who can reasonably talk to the dead. In Bizarro LAX, at least he has finally managed to make some moves on Libby, which will probably allow Cousin Brandon to rest in peace. In fact, let's tackle this episode, from bad to good:

Bad: Ilana going out like a bitch. It's weird, in that while I'm not her biggest fan, I still thought Ilana deserved to go out a little bit better than, well, being the only character on the show to get exploded besides the dorky science teacher. LOST earns some points for making her death a complete "out of left field" shock, but I openly laughed when it happened, because it felt more appropriate for Loony Tunes as opposed to a serious drama.

Bad: Hurley's continuing pussification. Dash Worthington would not approve of Hurley. Specifically, he pulls a FLocke move in last night's episode and tries to lie to the group to get them to follow him to FLocke's camp. Hasn't he learned anything from how he has been treated on the Island??? One of his biggest complaints during the past seasons has been about being lied to, and the very second he's in a position of power, he uses his "I can see ghosts!" power to lie to people.

Bad: Michael's odd cameo on the episode. It's nice to know that the whispering from all of the past seasons are ghosts haunted by what they did on the Island, forced to remain; it's nice to know that Michael will be spending an undetermined amount of time living in damnnation on the Island. However, like Ilana, most people people will probably consider this a disappointing use of Michael's character. While I was never a huge fan of him, he probably deserved a bit more than this, and maybe they'll address his fate more in Bizarro LAX.

Good: Hurley and Libby FINALLY hooking up, even if it is in Bizarro LAX. This also seems to kickstart his memory, as Desmond seemed to want, and has interesting implications. Hurley clearly has a much, much better thing going on in Bizarro LAX, since he is not cursed, filthy rich and now, with the presence of Libby, in love. If the worlds are somehow merged again, then what happens to her?

Really Good: Desmond knocked Locke out with his god damn car! Wow! That was a wickedly satisfying scene to watch for some reason; I'm not entirely sure why. Also, I think the whole chain of events is part of a plan by Desmond to reunite Locke with Jack. With his injuries, Locke will get taken to the hospital where Jack works, where either the operation or something post-surgical will make their memories kick back online.

Good: Desmond is still the mother effing man, and he is now equal to Jack in my mind. To me, it seems like he has a Luke Skywalker-esque endgame in mind, which is why he appeared fearless in front of FLocke. It wouldn't surprise me if he somehow knows the "secret" to thwarting him and "fixing" the two worlds.

Good: It was nice to see a larger role for some characters, like Ben and Miles, even if they were still mostly supporting characters. And hey, no awkward scenes between Kate, Jack and Sawyer - just awkward gazing. We're improving! Hurrah!

TV Review: LOST back in high gear!

After some merely very good episodes, LOST kicked it back up a notch last night, to steal some terminology from a hack-like television chef. While the first 20 minutes or so just seemed to add further to the mystery, the last half of the episode was just some nice, gooey explanation. The episode was like a chocolate chip cookie in that way - It just got better as it heated up.

Unlike past episodes, which normally intersperse the different stories going on, last night's episode of LOST seemingly only focused on Richard. Except for the beginning and end portions of the episode, the entire episode was a simple flashback. However, I think it's more accurate to say that the episode focused on the "deity" characters of LOST - Richard, Jacob and Fake Locke / The Man In Black, who were definitively revealed to be one and the same.

Like I originally thought, I think last night's episode revealed that Jacob and Fake Locke are good and evil, respectively. Fake Locke tried to manipulate Richard from the second he got on the Island by using his dead wife, whereas Jacob seems to operate more by free will with small signs. I've ripped on Hurley in the past, but his role as the Haley Joel Osment for Jacob and other ghosts has finally given him a purpose outside of being Fat Guy Comic Relief.

My only regret about last night's episode? Well, I couldn't think of a better way to work in this image to the right that I originally saw on the excellent Mel Got Served. Screw it though - I'm posting it anyway! Take that!

Grade: A+

DON'T READ THIS: Blogging LOST, Week 7

As the name of this post applies, don't read this post if you don't want to know spoilers for the season premiere of LOST. In lieu of a picture, please enjoy this montage of Claire craving her baby. Huge, huge spoilers no doubt appear right after this...

9 p.m. - We begin the episode on the Island, as Ben scrambles out of the Temple, and runs into Ilana and some others. He suggests that they retreat to the beach, and the others agree.

In Bizarro LAX, Ben is teaching European history to a high school class, and of course, there are some parallels between his lesson on Elba and Napoleon and his situation now. And of course, one of his co-teachers is the nerdy science teacher who dies from the exploding TNT. This leads to another "coincidence" scene, as Locke the Substitute suggests to Ben that he become the principal, and he'd listen to him if he was the leader. ooooo.

On the Island, Ilana hands Miles the bandanna from Jacob's body, and asks about his death. Miles does his freaky mind-meld thing, and discovers that Ben Linus killed Jacob. "Uh oh," as one of the character says.

9:08 p.m. - We stick with the Island through the break, and Ben, Ilana, Miles and company have already made it to the beach. It is only a quick scene though, as Ben tries to get back in Ilana's good graces, to no avail.

In Bizarro LAX, Ben is taking care of his elderly father, who is on some sort of oxygen mask. In some more plot revelation, Ben's father DID take him to the Island, but they both apparently left at some point, which has caused his father regret - What would have become of his life? And THEN, shockingly, Alex (Ben's "daughter" from the Island) is now one of his prized pupils in History Club!

On the Island, Ilana knows that Sun or Jin are candidates, and she tells Sun. But, only six are left alive, and like Fake Locke, she doesn't know whether Sun or Jin is the candidate.

In another plot line, Hurley and Jack are apparently in this episode as well. At first, it appears like we're headed for a Hurley slapstick episode, but then Richard pops up out of nowhere. He convinces Jack to follow him back to the Temple instead of going with Hurley.

On the beach, Ben and the Pilot exchange some light dialogue, until Ilana presses a gun up to Ben's neck. She has him march out to a clearing, and then ties him spread eagle on a tree. She tells him to start digging a grave - For himself.

9:17 p.m. - In Bizarro LAX, we find out that Alex's mom (Rousseau?) works two jobs to support her. Also, her principal and Ben's boss is a pervert. Nice?

On the Island, Miles brings some food to Ben. He reveals that right up until Jacob got stabbed through the heart, he was hoping that he was wrong about Ben. Awwww.

On the other part of the Island, Hurley starts asking Richard about why he is still alive and doesn't age, which is pretty comical. It is not time travel, or a Terminator thing. Richard tells them both that everyone at the Temple is dead, and he wanders off, telling them that he's going to go die now. (I'm presuming that like Tuck Everlasting, Richard views his immortal status as a blessing and a curse now.)

9:30 p.m. - In Bizarro LAX, Ben starts scheming to get the principal fired. He asks the Bio Teacher to hack the nurse's e-mail account, and he agrees, in exchange for a better parking spot. He then jokes, "Linus you're a real killer!" Ha ha ha!

Back on the Island, Ben is still digging his own grave, and then we flash over to Richard exploring the wrecked ship that he came to the Island on. He is toying around with dynamite, and says that he can't die because Jacob touched him. He expresses disbelief with Jacob, and says that he wasted his life, and asks Jack to kill him. Jack lights the fuse for him. However, he then sits by him and says that it is time to talk. Commercial!

9:40 p.m. - Thankfully, we are back to the Island, and Jack and Richard with the dynamite. He asks Richard the Lighthouse, of which he seemingly has no answer for, and as the dynamite fuse burns down, it extinguishes. Jack is now apparently the man of faith, since he trusts his life to the idea that Jacob won't let him die. He says they'll go back to the beach now.

We flash over to the beach, and Fake Locke is trying to talk Ben into leading the Island when he leaves with the others. He invites Ben to come to the Hydra station on the other island with him, to save his own skin, and tells him where a rifle is to shoot Ilana. He hesitates for a second, and then runs.

Back to Bizarro LAX, Ben has 30 e-mails that cover a three-month period between the principal and the nurse. He tries to blackmail the principal into resigning... and he reveals that he has gotten the e-mail from Alex Rousseau (ooo!) and will torch her "life" (wording mine) with a bad recommendation to Yale. This clearly parallels the situation when Alex was held hostage by Ben's lust for power, and now, we have a redux of it.

Oddly enough, back on the Island, Ben almost immediately brings this up. He gets to the rifle first and doesn't shoot Ilana, and instead, confesses that he was angry when he killed Jacob, because Alex died because of his decision, and Jacob never let him in on what the plan was. He breaks down and says he'll go with Fake Locke because no one else will have him, at which point, Ilana says that she'll take him. As the show fades to a commercial, Ben follows her instead of going with Fake Locke.

9:54 p.m. - We start back from the final break with Ben in the principal's office, but we find out that he didn't screw up Alex's life this time. Awww.

Back on the Island and the beach, Ben makes his way back to the camp, like a puppy with its tail between its legs. He offers to help Sun out making some huts. And as the sad music plays - you know, the usual sad LOST-y music - Hurley, Jack and Richard have made it back to the beach.

To end the episode, hey, I guess the submarine works now! And Charles Widmore is in it!!! An officer asks him if he wants to stop with the plan, because there are people on the Island, and he says no. How mysterious! What is Charlie Ballgame up to now?

TV Review: Even more answers as LOST progresses

I'm also thinking deeply about this episode, Jack.

Before I start, the usual LOST caveats apply for this post - Big time final season and Tuesday night spoilers are in the following post. Read at your own risk!

Anyway, I thought the season's fifth episode, "Lighthouse", did a great job at continuing to provide some answers, at least from the perspective of Jacob as opposed to FLocke (Fake Locke / Old Smokey / The Man In Black). Of course, my main Jack figured heavily into the episode, as he was at the crux of the Island and Bizarro LAX stories. This was also a surprisingly strong episode for Hurley, who I don't normally like, and a surprisingly weak episode for Claire and Jin, who I'm normally more into.

Hitting on the big part of the episode first - Apparently in Bizarro LAX, Jack has a kid with a similar relationship between himself and his father. By the end of the episode, they have patched things up. While it seems like some of the people in Bizarro LAX are destined for more misery, such as Charlie the Convicted Drug Addict, Locke and Jack have both carved out seemingly-happy niches for themselves. Neither one has a perfect life - Locke is still crippled, and Jack is still divorced or separated - but they both clearly have relationships with people they love.

Using this as a springboard to talk about the Island, I think this is the biggest difference between Jacob and FLocke's methods. I ultimately think they represent good and evil, and the show is not pulling a swerve on us.

Jacob's method of "pushing" the characters relies on manipulation, and it requires them to make tough decisions and deal with emotional trauma. Are the characters being manipulated? Sure, you could say that. However, there is a sort of paternalism to his actions. They have to have trust that what they're doing is correct. While I'm not into religion, I am into trusting my instincts and gut reaction, which often suggests I have to do things that will be a pain in the ass.

I think this all contrasts vividly from FLocke's game, which relies upon more heavy-handed manipulation and outright deception. FLocke essentially turned Ben Linus, the evilest character on television for close to four years, into a blubbering, whiny idiot that you could actually feel sympathy for. He's also providing tantalizing "answers" for Sawyer and (apparently) Claire that paint Jacob as the enemy.

To me, it reeks of a classic distraction technique - FLocke is so busy pinning the woes of the Island members on Jacob that Sawyer, Ben and others don't have the presence of mind to grill him on his own plans. To again parallel this to real life, I don't like people who insist on blaming others, whether it be a boss or some other force, for something that prevents their own happiness. Jacob and the Bizarro LAX scenes seem to suggest that hard work, trust and introspection can lead to happiness, regardless of the initial genetic hand or stumbles you might have along the way. FLocke is too busy assigning blame and gaining revenge to be concerned with happiness. (And, for this reason, I think Sawyer eventually comes to his senses and screws up the entire plan for FLocke, ultimately fulfilling Jacob's goal.)