EVIL PUPPET MASTERS

 EPM Podcast 1X06 [95:00m]: Download (883)

Listen to us pontificate about the “Fall Finale” of Lost, plus some news items related to Six Degrees and What about Brian, and Listener Questions!

The Associated Press has put up their video recap of “I Do.”

There is some crazy chick with glasses who throws in her buck-fifty regarding the “Fall Finale” of Lost.

Oh wait…that’s me

Here are my notes on last night’s “Fall Finale” for Lost. Feel free to comment and add things I may have missed

• Kate’s husband Kevin is played by Nathan Fillion, who may not be recognizable to the general viewing public, but is HUGE in the cult fanbase. He played Mal on Firefly (and in the movie Serenity), and is fondly referred to as “Captain Tightpants” by the fanbase. His character “Kevin” on Lost is a police officer with the Miami Dade police department (patch on his sleeve and logo on police car). He also mentions Tampa.
• NUMBERS — Not many. The only one I picked up on was when Kate was talking to her mother-in-law and she said she had four boys.
• Jack “grew a pair” and has taken the control away from Ben — but is Ben really the “Him” that has been referred to by The Others as who they answer to? A comment is made by Danny that “Shephard wasn’t even on Jacob’s list” — WHO is Jacob? Could he be the real leader? Could he be the guy with the patch we saw last week? (whom I like to call Patchman)
• Alex (who we assume to be Rousseau’s daughter) tries to help Kate and Sawyer escape by using a slingshot and rocks (Danny in the walkie - “How the hell did she get over here?” — So she is usually on the main island?). She says, “I wanna talk to Ben” and that they “killed my boyfriend” (who would be Carl who used to be in Kate’s cage). Later, as Ben lies facedown on the table before his surgery, he asks Juliet if “Alex asked about me” and Julies says “No, we took her home last night. I don’t know where she is now.”
• Kate’s choice seems to be Sawyer — they get busy in the cell (and were watched by Ben) and they exchanged “I love yous” kind of. Jack is crushed twice by Kate’s choice — once when he realizes that Kate asks Jack to do the surgery to save Sawyer and the second time when he sees them post-coital in Ben’s viewing room. Ben is obviously upset that Kate doesn’t break Jack (and admits to Jack later that he thought Kate would chose him), but is even more surprised when Jack agrees to do the surgery anyway.
• Jack takes control — he doesn’t take the tumor out (yet), but he doesn’t discreetly kill Ben either (for Juliet). Jack has become the hero (again?). He gave up the girl and intends to sacrifice himself in order to give freedom to Kate (and Sawyer?).
• Locke is mid-eulogy when he notices the words “Lift Up Your Eyes and Look North” — which partly comes from the scripture next to it: “Lift up your eyes and look north, south, east and west” (God to Abram, Genesis 13:14). The northern part of the island is probably where you can see the other island.
• In the scene when Juliet comes to get Kate, Danny is arguing with Juliet and says something like “supposed to be 2 weeks!” and “it’s stupid!” What was supposed to be 2 weeks? How long they kept Kate/Sawyer/Jack? Or was that part of Ben’s original plan on how long it would take him to manipulate Jack into doing the surgery?
• When the intercom wakes Jack up (and finds the door open), the voice sounds like Alex.

So, what answers did we get? Not a lot really, but is that a bad thing? We know that the tumor IS Ben’s (there was speculation that it was part of the ruse) and that there is someone named “Jacob” who seems to have made a list that Jack was NOT on. Ben’s premonition-type comment — “Whatever happens, it’s going to change everything.” Jack agrees. Kate and Sawyer can be controlled by threatening the other, but Jack has his own power over The Others now. Also, we have true hope that Kate (at least), and possibly Sawyer, will make it off Bencatraz — and that Locke is going to head North and SEE Bencatraz.

 EPM Podcast 1x05 [90:00m]: Download (879)

Here it is! I warn you, we both kinda liked this eppy

Entertainment Weekly has their review of last night’s episode of Lost up. It’s long, but it’s thorough, and hits on some things that I missed the first go ’round.

Wow. What an amazing episode! Gotta love those Alias writers Here are my thoughts:

• The Smoke Monster — Where to begin? Smokey the Monster seems to manifest itself into whomever (or whatever) the person encountering it is seeking judgment from. Jack sought the judgment of his father (”White Rabbit”) — which he STILL has guilt over and still seeks redemption over, so he has not been “judged” by the Monster yet. Locke sought the judgment of the Island (represented as a “bright white light”? — multiple episodes) — the first time he saw the Monster, he was spared because he was still seeking to please the Island in repayment for being able to walk again; but the next time he was confronted by the Monster, he was grabbed…because he was DOUBTING the Island and whether or not he owed it still. Eko sought the judgment of his brother Yemi (this episode and “?”) — when he first met the Black Smoke version of the monster, it seemed to “read” his memory, maybe to determine who he sought judgment from; as he followed the wishes of “Yemi” (building the church, pressing the button), the Monster let him live; but when he faced “Yemi” (in the Smoke Monster form) and REFUSED to repent his sins (those things which he believed that Yemi would have judged him for) — he paid the ultimate price. Judgment was the cost of living. Eko chose not to be judged anymore, so his life was forfeit. Now, if this theory is correct — what the hell did that Pilot do to make Smokey take judgment on him so quickly?
• [Related to previous]Is it really a “sickness” on the island? Or does Smokey invoke evidence of “guilt” in those it is seeking to judge?
• White tunics donned for the funeral. White = purity. Part of Ben’s ploy to manipulate Jack into believing that the Others are the “good guys.” Wants him to see them as pure. Wants him to see them mourn and invoke feelings of pity. Of course, Jack blew that out of the water by bringing up the X-rays.
• Locke taking the mantle of the Kinder, Gentler, Fearless Leader of the Lostaways. Asks if there are others who want to go on their trek to the Pearl station, and Hurley comments that Jack never asked — he just went alone or chose Sayid or Kate to go with him.
• “Don’t mistake coincidence for fate.” Locke says this to Desmond in this episode. This line was originally spoken by Eko TO Locke in the S2 episode “What Kate Did” — when they first meet in the hatch and Eko reveals that he has a missing portion of the Orientation film that was hidden in the Tailies hatch.
• Ben seemingly “confesses” to Jack that he had meant to break Jack, then get him “invested” in the Others, so that Jack would “want” to save Ben’s life (it’s Ben’s spinal tumor, by the way). But since Jack knows about the tumor already, now Ben is at a loss. He asks Jack if he believes in God. Jack doesn’t really answer yes or no — asks Ben why he asks. Ben claims that 2 days after he found out he had a life-threatening tumor on his spine, a spinal surgeon “dropped out of the sky” — then says “If that’s not proof of God, I don’t know what is.” Ben admits that is it “no coicidence” that Juliet resembles Jack’s ex-wife Sarah. That was part of the attempted manipulation.
• Juliet’s video is a play on the famous Bob Dylan video “Subterranean Homesick Blues”. You can find the video on YouTube, but it originally came from the “Don’t Look Back” documentary — which I HIGHLY recommend.

Juliet’s placards tell Jack that Ben is a liar and that many in their group are looking for changes. She wants Jack to kill Ben during the tumor surgery, but make it look like an accident. She tells Jack that she will protect him. It is unclear whether or not Jack is going to go along with Ben or Juliet.

• After Eko commits murder in Yemi’s church, the villagers board the church up. Eko says it is Yemi’s church, and the villager lady tells him that Eko “owes him one church” — THUS why Eko was building a church on the island. This was part of him fulfilling the judgment. When Smokey the Monster grabs Eko and begins to beat him to death against the ground and trees — Eko is starts to recite the 23rd Psalm (which was the name of the S2 episode that was also Eko-centric).
• As Eko is dying, he whispers something in Locke’s ear. After he dies and Locke closed Eko’s eyes, Sayid asks what Eko said. Locke responds that he said, “We’re next.”

That’s all I got for now. Anything I missed? Let me know

On a personal note, I for one am going to miss Adewale. He has one of the most commanding screen presences I’ve ever witnessed and I hope to see him in many, many more television and/or film projects. He knocked my socks off tonight.

Entertainment Weekly’s resident Lost expert is at it again, dropping tidbits and doing the BEST kind of theorizing (which would be the kind that actually makes SENSE) in his latest commentary. Watch him draw a magic thread connecting Stephen King, a bunny, a Swan, a Pearl, the Island, Alvar Hanso, the Dharma Initiative, AND…Reality TV.

No, REALLY. Thank goodness there is at least one frellin’ critic out there who can review, analyze and critique — all while managing to keep his humor and wits about him.

You know, if someone would actually pay me to write about Lost, then I would have the time to write some truly introspective and OMGWOW theories about the show. Instead, I have to count on Jeff Jensen at Entertainment Weekly to do it for me.

Lots of solid theories, including what he thinks the probability that he is right or wrong. Also, FABULOUS breakdown of how Lost and Heroes could be intertwined somehow (including noncommittal, Damonesque-type responses from Tim Kring). But the best part is that he is one of the rare theorists that can recognize the ridiculousness of his own theories and embraces that.

Can I ’ship a reporter?

 EPM Podcast 1x02 [75:59m]: Download (395)

Discussion of LOST Ep 3.02 The Glass Ballerina, What About Brian S2 premiere, and where Six Degrees is going, as well as JJ’s interview in Star Trek Magazine and recent EPM article entitled Too Much of a Good Thing?

For a more thorough discussion of “The Glass Ballerina” and what we did or didn’t learn, check out this semi-humorous piece from The Washington Post. There is some theorizing and some links to other articles in it as well.

 EPM Podcast 1x01 [68:00m]: Download (368)

Discusses LOST Ep 3.01, Six Degrees and 10 Burning Questions about LOST.

Craig Berman over at MSNBC.com gave a wondefully unbiased account of “A Tale of Two Cities”.

When he mentions a “Skinner box” — he is referring to a psychological testing device that was developed by B.F. Skinner. Check out those wiki articles and let your little theorizing minds go wacky

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum (in comparison to the Time magazine article about LOST that I was very disappointed in), Entertainment Weekly has this fabulous “need to know” about 12 main characters from the show.

They break each character down with Backstory, Island Life So Far, Burning Question for Season 3, and EW’s We Predict for Season 3.

Go, read, enjoy.