LOST 1x25 – Exodus 3
May. 3rd, 2024 08:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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tori_reviewsLOST 1x25 – Exodus 3
Oddly enough I feel like this episode would be way better if it was the last thing one saw before a long hiatus, especially with other people to talk and speculate with, rather than now when I can just go on to season 2. I may or may not go right on to season 2, but I know that I can; I know the answers exist whether or not they will ultimately be satisfying.
But on its own, I found this episode kind of disappointing. Like maybe this three part finale really only had enough material for two parts, and even though the stretching that went into part 1 worked, it didn’t in the second two eps.
And while I think the original viewing style would have been effective for a lot of people, given my current opinions on the show, if I had to wait months for new episodes I’d have a hard time maintaining much investment in where things go from here. Being spoiled on top of that lack of investment doesn’t help, as I think the thing I’d be the closest to being invested in would be where Walt was being taken to and unfortunately what I know suggests that’s not going to be what the show focuses on next.
Because I’m not all that invested in any of the characters and the hatch mystery does nothing for me. I’m actually more interested because I know where it’s going, because the setup has done nothing for me.
I will admit that it would have probably worked better for me at the time. I was less jaded on mystery boxes at the time, and I think the same is true of a lot of other people. However, I still don’t know that I would be all that optimistic, because the setup has not been good.
I forgot to get into it last time, but when Locke and Hurley were talking about what might be in the box I didn’t love either of their answers. Hurley’s is the definition of JJ Abrams’ mystery box, anything could be inside that hatch (is it really a hatch if it doesn’t open?), all of the things you most want could be just inside that box. But that is literally why the mystery box causes so many writing problems, give people time to think of the very best things that could be in the mystery box and the story can never live up to them; certainly not for everyone, because very few people have the same things that are exactly what they want.
And Locke’s answer is worse, even on two levels. One, it’s vague and meaningless; Hurley’s hope is getting off the island, it’s literally what he just described to you, but Locke seems to have some abstract concept of Transcendent Hope but does nothing to describe what that means. Probably because he’s just smart enough to know that he’ll just sound crazy and delusional if he says it’s hope for the future of the world or something. But it’s worse in character, because that’s just Pandora’s Box, and if you’re going to talk about these ideas in such mythological/transcendent terms, then maybe you should have looked into mythology like that. He could literally be playing the part of Pandora, the gods put some box with him and told him it was important but that he couldn’t open it, but his curiosity means he’s going to open it. And Pandora is not the hero of that particular myth, she’s an example of the frailty of humans (and probably particularly women) when dealing with things beyond their understanding.
Oh, and the main character clique effect shows up; Jack brings up Boone’s death and Locke calls it a sacrifice the Island demanded (already fucked up enough), but Jack could then ask whether Arzt was also a sacrifice the Island demanded.
Also, as much as I don’t want to validate Jack’s dick move with the dynamite, Kate didn’t take off her backpack when they started having to run through the forest. At first, I had to assume they had switched packs at some point since Kate didn’t take off hers but Jack did; but no, Kate got lucky that Jack is a controlling asshole. I think the director probably whiffed on that one more than the writers, but I wouldn’t quite bet on that interpretation. That ambiguity seeping in also makes me unsure how to take the final Jack and Kate exchange where he needs to know that she’s on his side. Because my main reaction is to point out that he’s never on her side, certainly not without needing questions answered and taking it on a case-by-case basis. My feelings past that are different if Kate was written to leave her bag or if she did just get lucky the explosives weren’t in it. In the case of a production gaffe, then Kate’s entitled to point out that Jack doesn’t trust her either; but if it was written that way then I’m more mad at the writers for making Kate a screw up who needs leading man Jack to save her bacon.
The flashbacks in this one mostly left me cold. The only times I thought there was any impact was when it showed minor interactions with dead characters; spotting Arzt in the back of so many other stories (Scott -or is it Steve- probably was too, but he died longer ago), one last but also kind of first decent interaction between Shannon and Boone. I guess I don’t feel that much dramatic theming in the characters not knowing each other in the beginning, because in most cases they still don’t. This might have worked a lot better if it had been paired with the community project of launching the raft, or if the whole community had come together around Aaron in some way, then there’s a contrast between the strangers they were and the bonds they’ve formed. But even the main clique doesn’t seem all that close most of the time, they just have to work together.
In real life, I wouldn’t have listened to Hurley’s paranoia about numbers either, but I mostly think Locke is being selfish at the end. If he really believed in some grand plan, then it would be just as reasonable to think they brought Hurley along on this away mission so that he would be able to warn them of signs only he knew about. But no, Locke doesn’t believe in anyone else’s signs, not Walt’s warning or Hurley’s, he only cares about his belief that this is some grand destiny; a destiny he assumes was meant for him. And I at least would have waited to hear what Hurley was so upset about before lighting the dynamite, Locke heard the warning and then lit the fuse, because his destiny was all that mattered to him.
And in some ways, this gets into the problem with the science vs. faith talk that Jack and Locke have (and will probably feed into my view of the later parts of the show). Because I don’t like either character, but it’s not just my hard agnosticism that responds worse to Locke’s arguments (although they may come from the same place). Yes, Locke knows there is something weird going on on the Island, he’s had his legs healed, he’s had visions that led him places he didn’t know to go…okay mostly those two things. But accepting that there are things in this world that we can’t explain (yet) and ascribing intent (much less benevolent intent) behind those events is not the same question. But he thinks that because he’s had those potentially supernatural experiences he can deduce not only that there was intent behind those things, but what that intent was and that that intent applies to everything else that has happened to them.
Well, I think it’s fair to say I would have gotten into at least some discussions on this topic back in the day. I’m apparently not all that interested in referencing the other plots of the episode. Except that even if I didn’t know that Walt was taken by Others from the Island, I’d be suspicious it was possible; that boat they were on was way too small to be going far from port. And, in a reaction I might have predicted if I had thought about it, I really don’t like Charlie yelling at Danielle; it feels wrong to me somehow coming from Charlie, even though it really shouldn’t when I think about it, but I think I mostly don’t like seeing Mira upset.
Maybe I need to go watch so B5; more Mira Furlan and better reactions to finding oneself in the midst of mysteries you can’t explain yet. Ant on a glove, people; ant on a glove.
Oddly enough I feel like this episode would be way better if it was the last thing one saw before a long hiatus, especially with other people to talk and speculate with, rather than now when I can just go on to season 2. I may or may not go right on to season 2, but I know that I can; I know the answers exist whether or not they will ultimately be satisfying.
But on its own, I found this episode kind of disappointing. Like maybe this three part finale really only had enough material for two parts, and even though the stretching that went into part 1 worked, it didn’t in the second two eps.
And while I think the original viewing style would have been effective for a lot of people, given my current opinions on the show, if I had to wait months for new episodes I’d have a hard time maintaining much investment in where things go from here. Being spoiled on top of that lack of investment doesn’t help, as I think the thing I’d be the closest to being invested in would be where Walt was being taken to and unfortunately what I know suggests that’s not going to be what the show focuses on next.
Because I’m not all that invested in any of the characters and the hatch mystery does nothing for me. I’m actually more interested because I know where it’s going, because the setup has done nothing for me.
I will admit that it would have probably worked better for me at the time. I was less jaded on mystery boxes at the time, and I think the same is true of a lot of other people. However, I still don’t know that I would be all that optimistic, because the setup has not been good.
I forgot to get into it last time, but when Locke and Hurley were talking about what might be in the box I didn’t love either of their answers. Hurley’s is the definition of JJ Abrams’ mystery box, anything could be inside that hatch (is it really a hatch if it doesn’t open?), all of the things you most want could be just inside that box. But that is literally why the mystery box causes so many writing problems, give people time to think of the very best things that could be in the mystery box and the story can never live up to them; certainly not for everyone, because very few people have the same things that are exactly what they want.
And Locke’s answer is worse, even on two levels. One, it’s vague and meaningless; Hurley’s hope is getting off the island, it’s literally what he just described to you, but Locke seems to have some abstract concept of Transcendent Hope but does nothing to describe what that means. Probably because he’s just smart enough to know that he’ll just sound crazy and delusional if he says it’s hope for the future of the world or something. But it’s worse in character, because that’s just Pandora’s Box, and if you’re going to talk about these ideas in such mythological/transcendent terms, then maybe you should have looked into mythology like that. He could literally be playing the part of Pandora, the gods put some box with him and told him it was important but that he couldn’t open it, but his curiosity means he’s going to open it. And Pandora is not the hero of that particular myth, she’s an example of the frailty of humans (and probably particularly women) when dealing with things beyond their understanding.
Oh, and the main character clique effect shows up; Jack brings up Boone’s death and Locke calls it a sacrifice the Island demanded (already fucked up enough), but Jack could then ask whether Arzt was also a sacrifice the Island demanded.
Also, as much as I don’t want to validate Jack’s dick move with the dynamite, Kate didn’t take off her backpack when they started having to run through the forest. At first, I had to assume they had switched packs at some point since Kate didn’t take off hers but Jack did; but no, Kate got lucky that Jack is a controlling asshole. I think the director probably whiffed on that one more than the writers, but I wouldn’t quite bet on that interpretation. That ambiguity seeping in also makes me unsure how to take the final Jack and Kate exchange where he needs to know that she’s on his side. Because my main reaction is to point out that he’s never on her side, certainly not without needing questions answered and taking it on a case-by-case basis. My feelings past that are different if Kate was written to leave her bag or if she did just get lucky the explosives weren’t in it. In the case of a production gaffe, then Kate’s entitled to point out that Jack doesn’t trust her either; but if it was written that way then I’m more mad at the writers for making Kate a screw up who needs leading man Jack to save her bacon.
The flashbacks in this one mostly left me cold. The only times I thought there was any impact was when it showed minor interactions with dead characters; spotting Arzt in the back of so many other stories (Scott -or is it Steve- probably was too, but he died longer ago), one last but also kind of first decent interaction between Shannon and Boone. I guess I don’t feel that much dramatic theming in the characters not knowing each other in the beginning, because in most cases they still don’t. This might have worked a lot better if it had been paired with the community project of launching the raft, or if the whole community had come together around Aaron in some way, then there’s a contrast between the strangers they were and the bonds they’ve formed. But even the main clique doesn’t seem all that close most of the time, they just have to work together.
In real life, I wouldn’t have listened to Hurley’s paranoia about numbers either, but I mostly think Locke is being selfish at the end. If he really believed in some grand plan, then it would be just as reasonable to think they brought Hurley along on this away mission so that he would be able to warn them of signs only he knew about. But no, Locke doesn’t believe in anyone else’s signs, not Walt’s warning or Hurley’s, he only cares about his belief that this is some grand destiny; a destiny he assumes was meant for him. And I at least would have waited to hear what Hurley was so upset about before lighting the dynamite, Locke heard the warning and then lit the fuse, because his destiny was all that mattered to him.
And in some ways, this gets into the problem with the science vs. faith talk that Jack and Locke have (and will probably feed into my view of the later parts of the show). Because I don’t like either character, but it’s not just my hard agnosticism that responds worse to Locke’s arguments (although they may come from the same place). Yes, Locke knows there is something weird going on on the Island, he’s had his legs healed, he’s had visions that led him places he didn’t know to go…okay mostly those two things. But accepting that there are things in this world that we can’t explain (yet) and ascribing intent (much less benevolent intent) behind those events is not the same question. But he thinks that because he’s had those potentially supernatural experiences he can deduce not only that there was intent behind those things, but what that intent was and that that intent applies to everything else that has happened to them.
Well, I think it’s fair to say I would have gotten into at least some discussions on this topic back in the day. I’m apparently not all that interested in referencing the other plots of the episode. Except that even if I didn’t know that Walt was taken by Others from the Island, I’d be suspicious it was possible; that boat they were on was way too small to be going far from port. And, in a reaction I might have predicted if I had thought about it, I really don’t like Charlie yelling at Danielle; it feels wrong to me somehow coming from Charlie, even though it really shouldn’t when I think about it, but I think I mostly don’t like seeing Mira upset.
Maybe I need to go watch so B5; more Mira Furlan and better reactions to finding oneself in the midst of mysteries you can’t explain yet. Ant on a glove, people; ant on a glove.
