LOST: In Translation

It appears that my post last year about what the lives of the Oceanic 815 survivors would have been had the plane never crashed was even more pointless than if the writers had decided not to do flash-sideways. Each week, the differences between the universe we've watched for 5 years and the alternaverse seem to get bigger and bigger. In "The Package," we are led to believe that Sun never learned English. Oh yeah, and she and Jin never got married.(!) Also, they're happy in this universe (also, Mikhail never lost his eye). At first, I thought the show was telling us that the two of them were not meant to be, but we soon learned that they're having a steamy affair (sexy buttons!) that Mr. Paik would be very angry about if he knew about it. After all, you don't screw the bosses daughter. Unfortunately for the star-crossed lovers, he does in fact know about Jin, Sun, and their forbidden unbuttoning. Turns out, Keamy had Jin locked up because Paik hired Keamy to kill Jin. Fortunately for Jin, the money that got tied up in customs was Keamy's fee. Jin was eventually able to escape, but in doing so, Sun ended up getting shot by a ricocheting bullet, and as Jin carried her away, she announced she was pregnant.

So let's transition to the other universe on that note. Widmore's people kidnapped Jin so that he could explain his mapping system from his days in DHARMA to them, and to convince him to help, Widmore showed him photographs of Ji Yeon, the daughter he is aware of but has never seen. The reminder of her existence led many people to believe that SHE is the Kwon referred to on Jacob's lighthouse and Titus' wall, rather than Jin or Sun. For the past few weeks, I've been thinking that the Kwon is Jin, and that he will end up being the candidate, finally cementing the fact that Jin and Sun aren't meant to be together. Now, this would make me sad, because I like seeing them together (and would want them to get at least a goodbye before Sun is forced to leave Jin behind), but it would make for a good sacrifice story. But what if Jin and Sun had to give up their daughter, knowing that they likely would never have another one? After all, off the Island, Jin is sterile.

Speaking of reuniting Jin and Sun (they haven't been together in the present time of the original universe since the end of Season 4), Titus tried to get Sun to go with him by telling her that Jin was with him. She declined, and ran away from him, and in doing so, hit her head hard against a tree. When she woke up, she could still understand English, but was no longer able to speak it. Jack concluded that she struck the language center of her brain, and that he ability to speak would likely return soon. Miles and Lapidus made a joke about how crazy this development was, as did many in the fan community, but I've heard a story (don't remember how reliable the source was) that an American man who had been unconscious from a car accident woke up speaking in a French accent, so this definitely isn't the craziest thing to happen on this show. In addition, this development will make for an interesting turn on events WHEN (not IF) Jin and Sun are reunited, because, for most of the series, Sun had to be Jin's interpreter. By the way, did Jack and Hurley tell Sun that Jin now knows English?

This was very much a relationship episode rather than a plot episode. We looked at how far Jin and Sun are willing to go to see each other again, even if that means not doing everything possible to stop Titus, who both Widmore and Richard assure us is bad news. But we got a big twist at the end with the return of Desmond Hume to the Island.

Up next: The Island's not done with you yet...

LOST: Time Immemorial

This week didn't present us with visions of the altneraverse. Instead, we saw how Richard Alpert came to the Island, and what a story it was. As was basically confirmed two weeks ago (and long predicted by one of my friends), Richard (or Ricardo as he was known back then) was on the Black Rock, a slave being brought to the New World. He was a peasant from the Canary Islands (so what part of the New World were they going to if they went from the East Atlantic to the South Pacific?) who accidentally killed a rich and uncaring doctor while trying to save his wife's life. Poor Ricardo didn't have the money to pay for expensive medicine from the doctor, and when the doctor tried to force Ricardo to leave, Ricardo grabbed onto him and threw him into a table. His wife died, and he was arrested. The prison priest refused to absolve him for murder but was fully willing to sell him to the Hanso family.

Upon reaching the Island, Titus, in the form of the smoke monster, killed the remaining members of the crew, leaving Ricardo chained up and alone. Eventually, Titus returned in the form of Ricardo's wife, explaining that they were both dead and in Hell. Finally, Titus appeared as himself (assuming Titus Welliver's body is his true form), and explained that Ricardo could get his wife back if he killed "the Devil": Jacob. After giving Ricardo the same warning that Dogen gave Sayid upon sending him to kill Titus (don't let him speak, or it will be too late), Ricardo set out to kill Jacob. However, Jacob used some amazing fighting skills (where were these when Ben attacked him?) to subdue Ricardo, and explained his view of the world. Jacob believes in letting people figure out right and wrong for themselves, because it would be pointless to tell people how to think. He also explains that the Island is a kind of cork, keeping malevolence at bay. Is Titus a special kind of malevolence? Because the world is not a nice or innocent place, even with Titus on the Island. Jacob made Ricardo his new lieutenant, gave him immortal life (which Ricardo asked for so that he would never have to die and go to Hell for murder), and gave Ricardo a white rock to give to Titus (many have said that it represents Jacob claiming another soul for his side; when Titus threw the white rock off the scale in "The Substitute," it was probably his way of claiming Sawyer for himself).

In 2007, Richard tried to return to the good graces of Titus, believing he was the only one who could get them out of Hell. But Hurley brought him a message from his wife (not the Titus incarnation, but her actual spirit), stating that failing to stop Titus would be what would send them all to Hell. The final scene of the show was another conversation between Jacob and Titus, ending with Titus smashing a bottle of wine. Jacob had earlier used the bottle as a metaphor, stating that the wine inside was malevolence that could not escape, and the Island was the cork. In his review of this episode for the AV Club, Noel Murray referred to this act as symbolic of Titus contemplating alternatives to merely escaping the Island. That, along with a friend's statement about Titus being present in the alternaverse, led me to this theory: Maybe Daniel died in Ann Arbor in 1977, and the the Daniel who told Jack about detonating the hydrogen bomb was really Titus. After all, he went against everything Daniel ever said; he said that they could change the future and he broke his promise to Charlotte to never tell her not to return. The purpose? He knew that setting off the nuke would destroy the Island, allowing him to escape. If the cork/bottle is destroyed, he will have free reign.

Up next: Hopefully a reunion...

LOST: The Other Side of the Law

With the end near for LOST, talk of spin-offs has been running fairly rampant. I came up with an intentionally absurd idea about Ben Linus going on missions every week that don't quite make sense, but fully allow Michael Emerson to be creepy. And Hurley is his sidekick. Why? Comic relief. Many people want a Locke/Ben spin-off (which apparently may happen... sort of). But with the episode "Recon," the creators presented us with a spin-off idea that has been embraced as THE spin-off of LOST: Sawyer and Miles: Officers of the Law. You see, in the alternaverse, Jimmy Ford and Miles Straume are detectives for the LAPD. AWESOME! The first alternaverse scene is a variation on a sequence that we have seen three times now, with Sawyer sexing up a hot woman, realizing he is late for a "meeting," and "accidentally" opening his brief case full of cash. The first time, the woman fell for it. The second time, the woman knew what was happening and asked to be his partner in crime. This time, the woman knew what was happening and threatened to kill him, stating that her husband was a con man. Which is why Sawyer was there. He was setting up a sting to capture the bastard. And when she didn't believe him, he said the magic word (LaFleur), and his partner Miles, as well as a group of other officers, busted in and took control of the situation.

Although Sawyer's alternalife is pretty sweet - he and Miles make a good team, he gets set up on a date with Charlotte, who works with Miles' dad (Dr. Cheng) at a museum - he still had to suffer the loss of his parents when Anthony "Sawyer" Cooper conned them out of their life savings. But in this world, he channeled his rage into a pursuit of justice rather than taking on the mantle of the man he was pursuing. But he isn't a saint; he still wants to find and kill Cooper, and he is close to tracking him down. The question is, what will it mean in the alternaverse? In the other universe, Locke was the one who brought Sawyer and Cooper together, knowing full well that Sawyer would kill Cooper. And that's how Locke wanted it. But in the alternaverse, Locke and his dad have a good relationship (as does Ben and his dad; too bad Jack and Kate still hate their fathers this time around).

Back on the Island, Titus is marshaling his troops after their attack on the Temple. Kate, Sawyer, and Jin clearly don't want to be associated with him any more than they have to. For Sawyer, Titus is a means to an end (getting off the Island, where he has been for 3 years). Kate was brought to him in order to keep living, while Jin is only there because of his hurt leg. Otherwise, he'd be off looking for Sun (assuming Titus didn't stop him). Sayid, on the other hand, seems to have lost all motivation and faith in anyone; when Claire attacked Kate for "stealing" Aaron, Sayid stood by and watched with a blank look on his face. Titus eventually sent Sawyer on a mission to Hydra Island to find any remaining Ajira 316 survivors. Instead, he meets Tina Fey... I mean Zoe, who is one of Widmore's sub crew members. She takes him to Widmore, and Sawyer promises to lure Titus over to the Island so Widmore can kill him, in exchange for passage off the Island. But when Sawyer gets back to Titus, he tells Titus of his bargain with Widmore. But then, Sawyer reveals to Kate that he is working his greatest con ever: He is pitting Widmore and Titus against each other so that, while they are preoccupied, he and the other 815 survivors can take Widmore's sub and finally get off the Island for good.

Up next: The next episode can't come fast enough...

LOST: Redemption

Wow I'm cutting it close to not getting this up before the following episode. "Dr. Linus" was a fairly strong episode that was slightly marred by an implausible plot element meant to aid in creating a thematic moment. I'm always up for learning more about Ben Linus, and this episode showed both his Machiavellian side and his true, scared self.

On the Island, Illana learned from Miles that Ben killed Jacob, so she chained his leg to a tree and forced him to dig his own grave. Rightfully fearing Illana and her rifle, Ben decided to dig, hoping that in the interim, he could appeal to Illana's humanity to spare him. But Titus showed up and offered him a place in his camp (I don't think they ever explained how Titus was able to undo the chain on Ben's leg, which I think we're just supposed to see as another of his powers). Ben decided to take him up on his offer by running to take a rifle that Titus provided. But instead of killing Illana, as Titus wanted, Ben tried to explain himself. He talked about killing Alex and how he hates himself for doing so, and that the only reason he's going to Titus is that he believes no one else would want him around. Illana says she will accept him, and he returns with her. But when Jack, Hurley, and Richard reunited with Sun, Miles, Lapidus, Ben, and Illana, Ben is left out of the happy reunion.

Before the reuniting, Richard explained a little bit more about his origin, and went back to the Black Rock, where he said he'd been before (most likely as a slave), so that he could use dynamite to finally end his life. He asked Jack and Hurley to light the fuse, because, due to Jacob's "gift" of life (though he calls it a curse), he can't end his own life. However, Jack talks him out of it by explaining that he has finally accepted that he is on the Island for a reason, and Jacob still has a purpose for Richard. Looks like Jacob was right about Jack needing to sit and think about things.

In the alternaverse, Ben has a doctorate in European history, but sadly goes through his life teaching high school history to people who could care less. The bright spots in his life are his ailing father and his history club, attended by his brightest students... including Alex Rousseau. Ben hates the principal, who has forgotten what it means to be a teacher, as well as the joy of teaching students who want to learn. When he discovers that the principal may be doing some things that could get him fired, he takes the opportunity to blackmail him for his job. Here's where the episode falters: Alex wants to go to Yale, but Yale will only accept a recommendation from an alum (bullshit), and the principal is the only alum she knows. The principal tells Ben that if he makes his move for the job, he will write Alex a poor letter. But all Ben had to do was tell him that he'd release the info if the principal failed to write a good letter. Ben had all the power right there. But the writers wanted Ben to have to "save" Alex after he failed to do so in Season 4. They sacrificed believability for a theme, and I think it hurt the episode (also, in another example of my well-documented fictional character sadism, I almost would have liked to have seen Ben make his move and the principal write a bad letter, to show that no matter what, Ben cannot save Alex, no matter how hard he tries).

Still, overall great episode. Especially because, at the end, we saw a submarine approach the Island, containing none other than Charles Widmore.

Up next: Time permitting...

LOST: Evil Incarnate

What is good? What is evil? Can there be evil without good or good without evil? "Sundown" concluded the first third of LOST's final season, and although the show continues to frustrate with its lack of answers (or rather, the frustration increases because there are 45 fewer minutes in which to wrap everything up), the episode presented an extremely interesting idea. Dogen tried to tell Sayid that Titus was the incarnation of Evil, which would likely make Jacob the incarnation of Good (although this was part of a plan to trick Sayid into trying to kill Titus, which Dogen hoped would end in Sayid's death, so he may not have been completely sincere). He also told Sayid that every human has a balance of good and evil, and that it is possible to discern if someone has too much evil in them. So my thought is, what if Jacob and Titus do not represent good and evil. What if Jacob stands for a black-and-white worldview, while Titus represents moral ambiguity? It is clear that Titus has done some bad things, but could it be possible that he does these things because he feels that he is serving a greater good? Or that he has his own sense of what is right and wrong? Still, he has killed a lot of people.

In the alternaverse, things were crazier than ever. Sayid's brother is married to Nadia! Keamy is a mobster/loan shark! Boomerangs break stuff! Anyway, I enjoyed the philosophical aspect of the episode, but am starting to get antsy about the speed with which things are being revealed.

Up next: ABC or HBO?...

LOST: Go Ask Jacob

It's getting harder and harder to keep up with these posts, but dammit, I'm going to do it. This week's episode showed us Jacob's system for keeping track of the names and locations of the candidates (I'm guessing that the cave was Titus' method of keeping tabs on Jacob). Jacob has a magic lighthouse that he can use to spy on the lives of his candidates, and the numbers refer to the degree at which he positions the mirror to see a given person (Jack is at 42 degrees, out of 360). Interestingly enough, someone new might be coming to the Island, someone who is at 108 degrees (108 is the total of the numbers). Is this person going to have the sum traits of Jack, Hurley, Sayid, Sawyer, Locke, and Jin/Sun? Will it be Desmond, the person who "the rules" don't apply to?

Across the Island, Jin and Claire got reacquainted, and Claire is even crazier than Rousseau. She is convinced the Others have her baby, and no one can tell her otherwise. Jin briefly convinced her that the possibility of Kate taking her baby was remotely possible, but he quickly reassured her that he saw Aaron at the Temple when he realized what she might do to Kate (or himself) if she came to believe Kate had Aaron. Couple other things about the new Claire: she has a (very professional, factory-massed produced looking) cradle in her tent, which is home to the creepiest skull baby thing I've ever seen. Also, she's been hanging around with Titus, which might explain some of the "darkness" inside her that Dogen referred to (did anyone else think of Sweeney Todd when she referred to Titus as her "friend" in that really creepy way?).

In the alternaverse, Jack is still divorced (most likely from Sarah, although she did not appear, and they never mentioned his wife by name, so he could have ended up marrying Libby for all we know), but he has a son. A son who sees Jack the way Jack sees Christian. David Sheppard is a genius pianist who hides this from Jack because he can't stand the pressure that Jack was unknowingly putting on him. Fortunately, good things happen in the alternaverse, and instead of continuing to live through a poor relationship, the two talk things out and Jack explains that he will always be proud of his son, and promises to be less intense. If the characters in the Island universe could do this, who knows what kinds of troubles they could have avoided?

Up next: Most likely next week's episode, but there is some HBO show I've been talking about...

LOST: Candidacy

Austen. Littleton. Hume. Straume. Lapidus. Linus. Kwon. I'll get to what these names mean soon. Needless to say, "The Substitute" does what LOST does best, answering questions with more questions, and these names have to do with said answer. However, the episode was great, and although we have more questions, the answers we were given have been hinted at and alluded to throughout the series, so they made sense and do not open up brand new areas to explore (unlike learning that the Others are stealing kids because women die during pregnancy).

The flash-sideways this week focus on Locke, who, despite being in a wheelchair, is living a rather good life, all things considered. Locke in the alternaverse is much better off than the real Locke: He and Helen are engaged, neither of them are angry at the world, Locke and his dad have a good relationship (which means that he ended up in a wheelchair some other way), and he has made peace with his condition. But, Locke being Locke, he just can't seem to avoid screwing things up. He gets himself fired from his job at the box company because he tried to go on his walkabout when he was supposed to be at a conference (what do box companies have conferences about?). But in this reality, he ends up on his feet (not literally). Helen understands why she lied and Hurley, the owner of the company, comes along and hooks him up with a substitute teacher job... at the same school where alterna-Ben teaches.

On the Island, Sun, Lapidus, Illana, and Ben bury Locke's body and begin their trek to the Temple. Meanwhile, Titus-Locke, after thoroughly scaring the crap out of Richard (it was interesting to see Richard showing fear), tried to recruit Sawyer to join his quest to get off the Island. Sawyer followed Titus (reluctantly and as snarky as ever) to a cliffside cave that Titus claimed to hold the answer to why everyone was on the Island: It was one of Jacob's old hang-outs where he scrawled the names of various people on the walls and ceiling (all of which were accompanied by one of the numbers). Many names were crossed out, but those that weren't included Sheppard, Ford, Reyes, Kwon, and Jarrah. The are the names of the candidates for the position of Island protector (i.e., the new Jacob).

The show reminded us that in last year's finale, Jacob visited most of the major characters, including Kate and both Kwons. However, Kate's name is not on the wall, and there is only one Kwon (Titus mentions that Jacob didn't know if Jin or Sun was the special one). Other people not on the wall are Desmond, Frank, Miles, Illana, or Ben (though the bigger surprise would have been if his name had been on the wall). So now we know why they are there. The question becomes, what was Jacob looking for in a replacement? In a substitute?

Up next: Empty promises...

LOST: The Darkness

Three episodes down, fifteen to go. Overall, this was definitely not one of my favorite episodes, but it had some interesting scenes between Jack and Dogen. It also reintroduced the 2007 version of Claire (after briefly seeing her for the first time since Season 4 last week). In this episode, we saw what happened next with the alternaverse Kate and Claire (is every flash-sideways going to begin at LAX and show the characters' immediate journey, or will we pick up months later with a few of them; for example, showing Sayid after a few months of futilely looking for Nadia would be interesting). The pair start off on bad terms when Kate hijacks the cab Claire is in, but they end up as buddies when Kate (foolishly) takes Claire to the hospital even though she is a fugitive. Claire's doctor is none other than Ethan Rom, but in this reality, he goes by his family name of Goodspeed. And when Claire mentions the name Aaron, Kate seems to recognize it, similar to the way alterna-Jack seemed to realize something wasn't quite right last week.

Back on the Island, Sawyer escaped the Temple and Kate and Jin went after him. They told Aldo (played by Rob McElhenny of Always Sunny fame), but each had their own motives for leaving. Jin wants to find Sun, and Kate wants to apologize to Sawyer before fulfilling her intention of finding Claire. The scenes with Sawyer in the Barracks and on the dock are some of the better aspects of this episode.

Back at the Temple, Dogen and Lennon perform torture on Sayid to see if he is "infected." I liked how, eventually, Dogen gave up a bit of information (are we finally going to learn about the sickness?), but why did he not just outright tell Jack? Also, it's pretty clear now that I was wrong about Sayid; his body is not a vessel for a reincarnated Jacob. The question now is, why did Jacob tell Hurley to bring Sayid there? And why did the ankh contain a message instructing the Others to heal Sayid? I would say that Hurley's dead people are manifestations of Titus, but it appears that (1) he can't leave the Island (and Hurley was seeing people off-Island), and (2) Titus can only be in one place at a time (as opposed to the First Evil from Buffy, who is everywhere). Finally, Claire returned in 2007, sporting a rifle and some messed up clothes/hair. The show treated this like a big revelation, but they have been hinting at (if not outright confirming) this plot point for a while now.

Sadly, Ben, Richard, and Titus were not in the episode, but next week's episode is most likely based on Locke/Titus (it's called "The Substitute," which is how Eloise Hawking referred to Locke's body when she told Jack he needed someone to stand in for his father on Ajira 316).

Up next: I swear I'm going to talk about Rome at some point...

LOST: Changes

Because this is LOST's final season, I may try to do one post for each episode. Whether I follow through on this will depend on whether I think each episode fully merits its own post and when I can get access to the episodes. I forget whether or not I've said that I have a class the runs through the first half of the episodes' run time. I wanted to get to this sooner, but life is hectic. Anyway, like I predicted, the scenes of the alterna-verse take the place of flashbacks/forwards (the producers refer to them as "flash-sideways," so I will as well until I get tired of that word). The teaser segment this week shows Flight 815 successfully getting through turbulence. But this is just one of many changes to the timeline in this alternate reality. We also learn in the opening segment that Desmond never crashed his sailboat onto the Island when we see him ON THE PLANE. Also, the Island is underwater.

After the first commercial break, things pick up on the Island, with the characters who were at the Swan site in 1977 back in the present (2007). The characters try to reorient themselves (also, Sawyer kicks Jack in the head (!) and yells at him for being "wrong"). Juliet survived being at ground zero and called for help, but died shortly after Sawyer was able to dig her out and give one final goodbye. Throughout this, Jack sat dejectedly off to the side, realizing that his plan to avoid all the pain and suffering caused by coming to the Island simply resulted in the death of Juliet and the very likely death of Sayid, who obviously did not have long for the world. But when all seemed lost for Sayid, Jacob's ghost appeared to Hurley (are what Hurley sees "ghosts"?) and told him to bring Sayid to the Temple.

At the statue, Titus-in-Locke's-body continued to rock as he explained some of his plans to Ben, including his master plan of "going home." He also explicitly revealed himself as the Monster (let's not resort to name-calling) when he took out Bram and a bunch of the Shadow of the Statue guys (so is Illana the only one left?) in front of Ben. In another great instance of one character man-handling another, Richard threw Ben around and showed him Locke's body when Ben lied about the situation inside Jacob's home. When Titus-Locke emerged, he expressed his "disappointment" with Richard and the Others, knocked Richard out, and started a trek toward the Temple. But first, he said something to Richard that lent credence to one of my friend's theories: My friend stated that he believed that Widmore was a crew member aboard the Black Rock, while Richard was one of the slaves in transit. Titus-Locke commented that it was good to see Richard out of his chains...

At the Temple, the characters encountered various Others, including flight attendant Cindy as well as Zack and Emma. They also met Dogen and Lennon, who seem to be the Others in charge of the Temple. Using a strange spring inside the Temple (whose water had mysteriously changed from clear to murky), the Others were (eventually) able to revive Sayid. The question is, did they revive Sayid, or did the reincarnate Jacob in Sayid's body? I immediately thought the latter, but an interview with Lindelof and Cuse gives evidence for the former. They pointed out that the spring is what allowed the Others to revive young Ben in Season 5. On the other hand, they said that Ben wouldn't be the same. On that note, I'd like to point out how upset with myself I was that I did not make the connection between the spring and young Ben's revival. The producers have said that many answers will have to be inferred, including why Sun did not end up in 1977; they will give us the means to figure things out, but we have to connect the dots ourselves. We also learned two other things about Jacob and Titus this episode: The ash surrounding Jacob's cabin creates a barrier that is impenetrable by Titus (which is why Illana was so concerned when they noticed the circle of ash was broken). In addition, it appears that the ankh is one of Jacob's symbols. To have Jacob represent life and Titus death is a bit simplistic, but that may provide a starting point through which to view their alignments.

Finally, the flash-sideways. Like I said at the end of last season, the plane crash had an aggregate positive effect on the characters. We already see that Charlie is much worse off for not crashing, while Kate continues to make life hard for those she encounters. After getting off the plane, she was able to escape from Marshal Mars and ended up commandeering a taxi containing Claire. But even more strange is the fact that there are differences between the alterna-verse and original timeline that are not a result of the plane not crashing. Shannon was not on 815 in this reality, leading to Boone sitting near Locke in coach, instead of in business class. Hurley sees himself as the luckiest person alive. And check out this rather large difference that occurred years before 815 took off:



My theory on the flash-sideways is that Titus can see both realities and will be able to merge the consciousnesses of the characters with their alternate selves. He will try to explain that their actions were short-sighted and self-centered because they thought that by changing the past, they would be the only ones affected. Why he wants to show them this, I'm not sure yet.

As I said, I will try to do a post for each episode, but in between, assuming I have time, I will continue the stuff about Rome and The Wire.

Up next: All roads...

Deadwood: Social Study

The first season of Deadwood introduces us to the town and its inhabitants, and slowly shows us how everyone works together in this "lawless" society to ensure things run as smoothly as possible. There is a doctor (the camp would be pretty screwed without him), a hotelier, some saloon owners, miners, shopkeepers, whores, a newspaperman, and a reverend. What Deadwood does NOT have is a mayor, a sheriff, lawyers, teachers (let alone a school), or bankers (let alone a bank). And things actually get well enough. Sort of.

People have to resort to self-help when they feel they are wronged, and whoever has the most muscle (Swearengen) will likely win any resulting bout, but the camp is still standing. I've sometimes said that society could survive without lawyers but not without doctors (keep in mind I'm a law student), but there is a difference between surviving and flourishing. But lawyers, police, and politicians do not inherently bring law and order. Deadwood citizens are forced to rely on themselves, but that also means that people can get to the root of the problem themselves. When the people hold a criminal trial after the death of a prominent citizen, Swearengen ensures that a corrupt man is chosen as a lawyer in the case for political reasons. By the first season's end, the citizens realize that they will soon be a part of the United States, and accordingly elect a mayor and a sheriff.

The next two seasons show the transformation from mining camp into actual community. Slowly but surely, people start coming to Deadwood to make changes. Bullock's wife (I understand that I'm kind of skimping on character information in this series to focus on the meaning, but there is a lot to be said about the Bullocks' relationship) is a teacher. When telegraph wires are erected, a Russian telegraph operator shows up. And a man named Silas Adams (played by Titus Welliver, who now plays the character on LOST I refer to as Titus, AKA Jacob's rival) becomes Swearengen's pocket magistrate, the man who is bargaining with different states to make Deadwood an official part of them. Throughout this transformation, Deadwood remains a dangerous town, but as the city comes closer and closer to being a legitimate town, various people's illegal acts have to be hidden or given political spin. Suddenly, Swearengen has to sway certain people to his side to get them to do his bidding, while his rival, Cy Tolliver, has to convince others that the political situation Swearengen favors is wrong so that they will upset his plans. Nothing that is unfamiliar to us.

Throughout this transformation, no one character is the show's true hero or villain (Tolliver comes closest to the villain role). Everyone does good things and bad things, sometimes because they blindly follow the advice of someone with more information, and everyone has their own motivations for doing things. But then, George Hearst shows up. Hearst is the father of newspaper magnate and Citizen Kane corollary William Randolph Hearst, and he is BATSHIT CRAZY. Hearst has one love in his life: gold. The man comes to Deadwood with plans to buy out everyone's gold claims, mine the mountains dry, and leave the town in financial ruin. Hearst is only concerned with himself, and has absolutely no regard for any social contract. He does not hide the crimes he commits, and when people challenge him, he simply pays them off. If the challenger doesn't accept the payoff, he takes care of them in other ways. He buys out media outlets to keep stories about him favorable, but doesn't care if people actually see how heartless he is.

It is because of Hearst that Deadwood, for the most part (Tolliver tries to stay on Heart's good side), comes together as a single unit, because they are united by a common enemy. Unfortunately, the show was canceled after its third season (creator David Milch envisioned one more season), and I would very much have liked to see how the characters picked up the pieces of their lives in the wake of Heart's machinations. He rocked the community to its core by doing as he pleased (the very goal many people had in coming to Deadwood), and sacrifices were made when the community came together to oppose him. Obviously, even if people don't realize it, doing what you please without regard for the people around you requires lots of money and influence, not an absence of formal laws. And breaching the social contract comes with very high prices.

Up next: Roman holiday...

Dollhouse: Wake Up

On Friday, the final episode of Dollhouse aired, and unfortunately, I wasn't as blown away as I could have been. I understand that the writers rushed to wrap up the stories and condensed a few years of stories into a couple episodes, but for whatever reason, the acting and writing were not up to par. Therefore, I must give it my lowest rating yet: seven thumbs up... Sorry, Simpsons reference. Anyway, I'll get back to "Epitaph Two: The Return" in a moment. First, a brief look at where the series has gone since I went all radio silent.

Things went to hell for a while, with Keith Carradine's Harding taking over the L.A. Dollhouse after the debacle in D.C. that ended with Echo escaping. During that time, she became fully self-aware, and she and Ballard prepared to return to L.A. to free Victor, Sierra, and the other dolls. Topher, under pressure from Harding, figured out how to make a device that could remotely wipe and imprint anyone, even people without "Active architecture." Alpha returned and caused trouble (including leaving Ballard brain-dead, requiring Topher to turn Ballard into a doll of himself). Victor's contract expired, he and Sierra declared their love for each other, only for them and Echo to wind up in the Attic. Let me just say that while the entire concept of the Attic was pretty creepy, the saran wrap over their bodies unsettled me to no end. We also got to see Dominic again, which was great. And then we learned the identity of the head of Rossum: Boyd Langdon. Now I have to go back through the series to see if there are any subtle hints to his true identity. The penultimate episode was very thrilling, as well as heartbreaking (November had been recaptured in D.C. and her original personality was lost, so they put Mellie back in her... then Paul told her that she was an imprint). Although the characters thought they had saved the day, the episode ended in 2020, where we last left Mag, Zone, and mini-Caroline.

So "Epitaph Two." The story wasn't amazing, in my opinion, but I'm letting it slide a bit because of the circumstances. Regarding the characters, they are obviously in very different places than they were in 2010. For the most part, we got hints as to why they are the way they are now, but, obviously, it would have been so much greater to actually see them evolve. Speaking of evolving, Alpha is good now. Echo alluded to him switching sides in "Epitaph One" (although I thought her statement, coupled with her tone, was ambiguous and could have implied that Alpha did not intend to help), and in this episode, she said that he had evolved. But that was it. Nothing explaining how he was able to get control over himself the way Echo did. It was fun seeing him on our side, but it was like seeing Spike from Season 2 of Buffy, then, without warning, five episodes later seeing Spike from Season 7/Season 5 of Buffy/Angel.

My other big complaint with the ending was that things turned out relatively happily. Yes, I am a sadist when it comes to fictional characters, but I was fine with the happy ending of Buffy because they earned it and it fit with the story (as dark as the show could be, and as many shades of gray they added, Buffy's characters were Whedon's closest to traditional "heroes" and "villains"). The technology on Dollhouse was the problem, and, rather easily, the technology provided the answer. I have no idea how I would have ended the show, but allowing everyone to regain their original personalities without consequence (Victor and Sierra were able to avoid consequences by staying underground) and very little sacrifice (Ballard died, but was kind of reborn, and Topher sacrificed himself, but he was barely himself anymore anyway) didn't seem right to me. Once again, though, I acknowledge that the writers were working under a impossible situation.

Unfortunately, I can't give the acting and writing the same pass. Most of the regulars' acting was fine, but the two guest stars playing Harding and Ambrose (in new bodies; one of them was Eliza Dushku's brother) were painful to watch. And the writing for the entire first act (which was the only act the included Harding and Ambrose) was pretty bad. Eliza Dushku is not an amazing actress, but I like her more than many critics, but she had a hard time selling the "kick-ass" dialogue she was given in these scenes, and that is usually what she excels at. Oh well, the episode was still good. Much better than the back-up singer or blind girl episodes from Season 1. I'm probably just bitter that the show is over.

Up next: Social construction...

LOST: Final Pre-Season Predictions

Wow I have been busy. I swear that I will get back to Deadwood and Rome (and The Wire, which I am nearly done with). However, with the premiere of LOST's final season debuting in less than 5 days, and a certain other thing (see below), I wanted to get this out sooner rather than later. First, I always wanted to put out this post so that I could detail a few of my pre-season predictions. In addition, The A.V. Club posted a "leaked" clip from the Season 6 premiere, "LA X." One of my friends told me about it and pointed out that it ends with an ABC ad, so it was released by ABC themselves. At first, I simply assumed that it was misdirection by them, so I watched it, believing that Lindelof and Cuse were screwing with us, but my friend and I came to the conclusion that it could in fact be real. Anyway, the question is definitely whether ABC is messing with us or not, rather than whether some random person got a hold of it. In addition, it is only 4 minutes long, and the first minute and a half or so is footage from "The Incident."



Anyway, my predictions. Ever since Comic Con, when they released the Mr. Cluck's commercial featuring a Hurley that never crashed on the Island, it has been pretty apparent that the writers were going to do something with alternate realities (see my old post about the characters' would-be fates). However, they cannot simple reset the timeline because that would negate the past 5 years and would probably end with a geek riot. My theory on the subject is that the visions of the alternate reality will be in place of flashbacks/forwards, and that the alternate characters will be vaguely aware that something is not quite right with the world (kind of like Buffy in the episode "Superstar," when Jonathan's fantasy world didn't sit right with her). Daniel and Eloise have pointed out that "the rules" of time travel don't apply to Desmond, so he will likely have a very important role to play in setting things right (even if he won't have a starring role this year). Some kind of sacrifice, maybe?

I'm sticking with my prediction from last year that Titus (who I will soon be referring to by a different name) and the Smoke Monster are either the same entity or principal and agent, respectively. The Huffington Post predicted that Rose and Bernard end up as "Adam and Eve" from the caves, and I'm going to agree with them. Assuming the producers make good on some old promises, if we see the adult version of Annie (young Ben's friend from the DHARMA barracks), I believe that she will be played by Elizabeth "Juliet" Mitchell. The producers have said that Annie will play a "seismic" role in Ben's story, and in Season 4, Juliet's therapist commented that Ben took a liking to her because Juliet "looks just like her." Who's the "her" in that sentence? I'm guessing Annie.

I wouldn't be too surprised if Illana and Bram are agents of Widmore. The commando approach (come back, Keamy!) failed, so maybe this is his attempt to retake the Island through a small infiltration? They clearly have knowledge of the Island and currently oppose Ben while supporting Jacob. However, they only oppose Ben because he is with Locke (though maybe Widmore knows that Ben has been unable to actually see Jacob). In addition, Widmore does not seem like the kind of guy Jacob would grant an audience to any more than Ben. As for the "magic box" from Season 3, I think that, like Ben said, it is just a metaphor. The Island is a place of miracles, and if someone wants something bad enough, it will be granted (though there is likely a price). People get healed (Locke wanted nothing more than to be a hunter, and suddenly, his legs were restored and he was the designated hunter/tracker), Jin and Sun's marriage was restored, Michael and Walt became close, Sawyer settled his score with the "real" Sawyer, Kate became free. On the other hand, the Island was a source of strife for people like Jack, Juliet, and Desmond. I think the magic box is as subjective as it is not a box. It is for believers like Locke and Ben, and rewards the righteous (Locke was healed) while it punishes the wicked (Ben contracted cancer). I have competing theories about it, which is why my analysis here is so scattered.

Anyway, I really need to get back to work. I'll probably do a final Dollhouse post before getting back to Deadwood (I didn't realize that I haven't spoken about the Attic or the founder yet!). The final episode airs tonight! Until then, here's a neat little video:



Up next: Where mind and body are as one, forever...

Deadwood: The Birth of a Community

Holy crap, it's been a long time. I got tied up preparing for final exams, watching Rome (and now The Wire, which I'll probably get to after I finish Deadwood and Rome), dealing with a family tragedy, skiing, and getting reoriented for the new semester, and have had little time to work on this. In addition to getting the HBO posts done, I want to do a bit of a catch-up for Dollhouse (final episode airs in less than two weeks) and a pre-season prediction post for LOST's final season. But first, the intro to Deadwood, a show very much about the birth of a society.

The series takes place in Deadwood, South Dakota before the Dakotas were part of the United States. In the summer of 1876, people came to Deadwood for two reasons: to make their fortune (mining gold or exploiting the miners) and to escape to a place governed by no laws and part of no sovereign nation. The first scene of the series takes place in the Montana territory, where Seth Bullock is leaving his position as Marshal. He and his friend/business partner, Sol Starr, plan on going to Deadwood to open a hardware store (when I said "exploit" earlier, I didn't necessarily mean illegal; Bullock and Starr plan to legitimately rely on the miners' needs for equipment to keep their business running). His last prisoner asks him if it's true that there is no law in Deadwood, and men are free to do as they please. We soon learn that, even though Deadwood lacks formal government and legislation, to call it a place without laws is not exactly true. Like all communities in Western society, the citizens of Deadwood carry on their business operating under a social contract with each other to prevent pure chaos.

Deadwood is by no means a safe place. Local bartender Al Swearengen acts as a kind of overlord of the town, with his hands in nearly every aspect of the town. He owns the most popular and, for the first two episodes, most "full-service" saloon in town, where people spend their hard-earned money on liquor and women. He has powerful influence over many important (relatively) figures in town, notably hotel owner E.B. Farnum. Through E.B., he gets notice of who comes through town and what their likely intentions are. He also has his hand firmly on the pulse of the political scene, and closely monitors the inevitable movement toward incorporation into the United States. He portrays himself as ruthless, and is not afraid to kill (whether it be personally or by one of his minions) people who stand in his way, but he also knows that in order to maintain some level of order, murder is usually the last resort. If he were too bloodthirsty, people would move away or would rise up against him (both bad for business). He is keenly aware of the social contract and knows when the rules can be bent and when they can be broken.

As the series progresses, certain characters come to dominate the the town. In Todd VanDerWerff's spectacular series of AV Club posts on Deadwood (the man analyzes the show in ways I can only dream of), he refers to these characters as gods, watching over the city from their balconies and directing various events. Each character brings their own perspective to the town and tries to bring it closer to their world view. Bullock brings a nearly uncompromising law-and-order view, which contrasts with Swearengen's fluid method of dealing with situations. Alma Garret is a high society woman from New York who tries to make the town closer to cities back east, while newcomer Cy Tolliver, who opens a "classy" saloon/brothel near Swearengen's Gem, is out to make the city serve him and him alone. None of these characters is a traditional hero or villain (Tolliver comes the closest, though), and the series follows them as they work together and against each other to shape Deadwood into a society.

Up next: Building blocks of a community...

The Way We Were

I don't know why I don't watch HBO shows when they are actually running (I mean, aside from the fact that I don't have HBO). During the summer of 2008, I watched the entirety of Six Feet Under, 3 years after it ended, and enjoyed it immensely. The Sopranos and The Wire have been hailed as two of the best series of all time, and based on other things I like, I should love Curb Your Enthusiasm (though I've seen 2 episodes and was not won over, though I may try again, if only to see the Seinfeld "reunion").

I also saw Deadwood that summer, 2 years after it ended, and was once again blown away by the depth of the show, as well as what the writers were able to do without the constraints of network standards and practices. I am currently watching Rome, after it was heavily recommended by some friends, and so far it is incredible. So my next series of posts will be on Deadwood and Rome (hopefully by the time I get to that series, I will have nearly completed it), examining their views on society, politics, and life in general.

Deadwood was about the creation of a society, following a town in a part of the North American continent that was destined to become, but was not yet, part of the United States. The inhabitants initially lived without actual laws, but had to conform to some kind of system in order to avoid pure chaos. Rome starts at the twilight of the Roman republic, a decade or two before the rise of the empire. So far, the class struggle has been a central aspect of the series, and it examines the lives of various types of people in the ancient democracy.

Up next: The wild west...

Glee: We Are The Champions

It's been many weeks since I've covered Glee, meaning that I haven't been able to talk about "Proud Mary" in the wheelchairs, Artie and Tina's romance, the drug-infused mash-up songs, the mattress commercial, or Suzie Pepper. To make a long story short, Glee remains a very fun show to watch, and although I will definitely be sticking with it, it continues to do some things that I find very off-putting. These things can take me out of the episode because they are so jarring. The end of the episode "Hairography" was nearly unwatchable due to forced dialogue, and plot points still come up for about one episode only to be neatly resolved by the end. The mid-season finale, "Sectionals," had some of these issues, but all-in-all, I was able to look past them for the most part because of how fun the episode was. Right now, the show's biggest sin isn't its fault: not coming back until April?! What the hell, FOX!?

"Sectionals" was written to be a potential (open-ended) series finale if it did not become the phenomenon that it has become, so many plotlines were essentially wrapped up (thankfully, the fake pregnancy story was one of them). All hell broke loose for the club because, in addition to Mr. Schuster not being able to attend the Sectionals meet due to accidentally and unknowingly accepting consideration for professional work, Rachel told Finn that Puck was the father of Quinn's baby. Finn's reaction and flight from the club was good, but Quinn's reaction was pretty unbelievable. Her rival for Finn's attention ratted her out (how did she figure it out... aside from her "psychic" powers, because her only evidence was Puck's devotion to Quinn), and she not only let Rachel off the hook, she told Rachel she was glad Finn knew. Which makes no sense because prior episodes have definitively shown us that she would rather have Finn as the father figure than Puck. I do like that Finn and Puck did not make up at the end; when Puck asked if they were cool, having Finn say no was very satisfying.

My other huge gripe with the episode was the way New Directions was able to come up with TWO new routines, which helped them win the competition, in about 20 minutes. Granted, one of them was pretty much a solo number by Rachel, which she claims she had been working on since she was 4 (note: I had no idea Barbara Streisand was the original singer of "Don't Rain On My Parade"; I have only ever heard the amazing Bobby Darrin version). But for them to choreograph "You Can't Always Get What You Want" so quickly is pretty unbelievable. Their final song was "Somebody To Love," so they didn't show it again.

However, in spite of the suspension of disbelief requirement, the episode was incredibly fun and rewarding. Emma took charge and represented New Directions at Sectionals, and showed some backbone by standing up to the cheating heads of the other two glee clubs (who received the set list for New Directions from Sue). Speaking of Emma, I'm really happy her wedding plotline ended; I like Ken, but the quickie wedding was almost as unbelievable as Terry's fake pregnancy, especially because of all the conditions Emma placed on their relationship and Ken's awareness that the whole thing was a sham. Things are going to be awkward between him, Emma, and Will when the show starts up again. The two new numbers used for Sectionals were great, and the final song was a great way to end this stretch of episodes (or series had it come to that). Too bad we won't get more Glee until April.

Up next: HBO presents a history lesson...