Thursday, April 24, 2008

Ep. 4.9: The Shape of Things to Come

What an amazing hour of TV. Does this show just keep getting better, or what? How much clearer can it be that the central story to Lost is not about Jack or Locke or Sawyer or Kate or any of the Losties we have seen so much of in Seasons 1-3. This is Ben’s story, and the island has given him power to manipulate space and time. We still don’t know exactly how or why, but we are beginning to see more and more how real this actually is.

Was that not the coolest return from commercial break when we see Ben sprawled out on his back in the middle of the Tunisian desert? Wha???

This is Ben moving through space, from one location to another. And it was unsettling enough to make him vomit. And his interaction with those guys on horseback (or were they camels?) – do you speak English? No. Mental note to self – quickly consciousness-travel back in time and learn a little Arabic to distract them – wham, bam, thanks Imam.

What is the date? Still 2005, right? He just wanted to make sure that when he “space” traveled he didn’t accidentally “time” travel as well. Because time was of the essence – he had to get to Sayid while he was still grieving.

And poor Sayid – he made it back to LA as an O6 and married his long lost love, Nadia. But the long awaited honeymoon was cut tragically short. Why? Because Ben had her killed. Then he blamed it on Widmore’s guy. Now we know how he ensnared Sayid’services. Wicked, evil, manipulating, “I find what they are invested in and I exploit it” Benjamin Linus, with that conniving little grin. Something tells me that Ben knows all too well the grief that comes from the death of a wife, and the extreme measures a person will take in the wake of it.

Which brings me to Alex. I will miss Alex. She was interesting and cute. I was moved by Ben’s grief for her. What an amazingly complex character – so capable of outright malice, but so full of feeling for those who he loves...

(Smokey was terrifyingly menacing, no? Looks like the island’s Davy Jones has his own pet Kraken)

…and so capable of vengeance. I’m going to kill your daughter so you know how it feels.

That final scene with Widmore was completely amazing. So who else thinks after this episode that Widmore is Jacob? Ben can’t kill him. Why? What would happen? Could it have something to do with Widmore being Ben’s constant? The island always has been and always will be Widmore’s – fascinating! And he knows Ben – “I know you boy” – like a former mentor, a father figure. Widmore has bad dreams – could this be related to Jacob – a piece of his soul that is still imprisoned on the island? What did it mean that Charles “changed the rules?”

I absolutely LOVE this show. Now I have to go and watch it again.

9 comments:

Kristine Van Buskirk said...

I agree! WOW!! Loved it! My question is, what's up with the Dr. dead on the beach, (my guess is they were trying to act like he's fine, not knowing they found him) and the army guys from the boat making it to the island. Crazy! Loved the part of "smokey." Still wonder how it works. How does it grab people. "Curiouser and Curiouser!" Loved Widmore part. Very questioning why he called him "boy." Like a slave trader, maybe on the shipwrecked boat? Hmmm. Love we got to see more into how Ben maniputlated Sayid. Ben's good! Can't wait for next week!

Melissa said...

SO much to talk with you about, too much to write, but here are my top 2 ideas from this episode-

1. Smoke Monster- What If the big pylons are not meant to keep anyone/thing OUT, but to create a monster from with in. Remember in "Man behind the curtain" when Ben & Annie were in school learning about VOLCANOS? The classroom shook just like in last nights episode before smoky came to kill the "bad" guys. Also the same sounds were coming from outside the classroom, the monster sounds. Wouldn't it be cool if somehow they learned to harness the power of the volcano to use against their enemies. I have more thoughts on this-
Ben is in control of it as we saw. He summons it to kill the people he wants, (this is a bit more of a stretch), but he killed the pilot so he couldn't tell the losties where they were when the plane crashed. He tried to kill Locke, but the island wouldn't let it. He killed Eko with it once Eko was starting to believe, and therefor he was becoming a threat.
2. Widmore- I also think Widmore is one of the "Island original Inhabitants" whatever that means. I don't know If I think he replaces Jacob as you talked about in your other blog. I think he was exiled long before Ben came to the Island. That Ben became maybe a replacement in Richard/Jacob's eyes for Widmore. I also think Dharma was Widmore trying to regain a presence on the Island, hence all the fighting between Hostiles & Dharma. Richard & Jacob used BEn to get rid of Dharma and he did it- further angering Widmore and starting this feud between them that over the years has grown to all out war."Don't come here and act like your the victim." (however he said that). "The Island was mine before and will be again" Suggesting that it was his long before Ben ever came there- That Ben has no right to be in the situation with the power that he has because he is merely "boy", not one of them.
Call me- I have lots more to talk about!
It was AWESOME!!!!

Stewart Van Buskirk said...

I am interested in how this is going to play out with Penny and ultimately Desmond. She is very much what/who Desmond is invested in, so Ben will no doubt try to exploit that if he needs to. Obviously Ben wants to kill her (I hope not because I really like Desmond), as he stated, but if he needs whatever Desmond can offer him in terms of ability, then we will see him get played like Sayid.

Also I want to know what happens behind that secret door. Where does it go? Is it a passage to another part of the house (like Emmanuel Lewis in "Benson")? Another Station? How come he is so filthy when he comes out and what significance does that have to how he summoned Smokey?

Overall, great episode!

Stewart Van Buskirk said...

Uh, make that Emanuel Lewis in "Webster". Sorry all those early 80's show tend to run together.

Stewart Van Buskirk said...

Another thought about Desmond. I think it is possible that Widmore will try to exploit Desmond also. If there really is this Yoda – Obi-wan –Anakin Jacob – Widmore – Ben relationship happening, then that could be where Ben learned it from. I think Desmond will learn to use the time/space travel thing, as he has started to experience it, but will learn how to control it.

Glenn Ostlund said...

Kristine,

Dr. Dead on the beach – I think this will be a result of what happened when Sayid told Captain Gault about Michael/Kevin Johnson. But there’s this whole time fluctuation piece. There is something like an atmospheric bubble that surrounds the island. If you hit it at the right trajectory, you are able to pass through without any time distortion. If you pass through at a different angle, you could jump forward in time, backwards in time, or simple “bounce off” and not get through the atmosphere at all (which is why season-2-Desmond couldn’t get away from the “bloody snowglobe” with his sailboat). So I think Dr. Death is killed in future events, but hit the atmosphere at a trajectory that sent him back a little to this moment on the island.

Smokey grabs people with its smoke-like hands and hickory aroma.

Good guess about Widmore’s ‘boy’ comment and slave trader. Did you see the portrait of the Black Rock hanging next to his bed? Very possible he could have been the captain of the black rock and that’s how he first came to the island. Although his “the island has ALWAYS been mine” comment suggests that he has had it longer than that would suggest (1800’s or so).

Melissa,

Hmmmm… I don’t think the sonic pylons create Smokey, although there may be a connection to the volcano and Smokey. The pylons are clearly a shield that repels the smoke monster. I don’t know how they would actually create the thing. But agree, it looks like Ben has some control over it. I still don’t really know what to make of Smokey.

Widmore may very well be one of the original inhabitants. I’m not sure how he fits in with Jacob or not, either. I think it would be cheesy if Widmore was Jacob, but it if you take his “nightmare” comment along with Ben’s “sleep tight” farewell, it could MAYBE suggest a dream-like-connection to Jacob on the island. Again – cheesy – probably (hopefully) not the case. I think it is more likely that Jacob is a separate individual – maybe some kind of demi-god or spirit of the island – someone who maybe took Widmore under his wing but also chose Ben as a successor to Widmore – absolute power corrupts absolutely, so maybe the island has a history of leaders turning against and betraying each other, and we are just seeing the Ben vs. Widmore part of that right now. I definitely think there was some kind of teacher-student relationship between the two of them, and that is why Widmore calls him ‘boy’ like he did.

Stew,

Yeah, the Penny thing is interesting. I like where you are going with the Sayid connection as a way to get to Penny. And I agree that Desmond will learn to control his ‘unstuck’ abilities as well. In fact, Widmore may have used his own foresight to set Desmond up to be able to protect Penny like this. That makes a lot of sense.

Webster – I love that kid! Especially when he scrunches up his nose and says ‘whatchoo talkin’ bout Willis.” Dy-no-mite! He’s the one with the big glasses and the suspenders, right?

(friggin racist)

:)

Kristine Van Buskirk said...

I had previously told you about the jewelry lady and Widmore, but I was wrong about who. It was the Monk that fired Desmond, and then he met Penny.
When Desmond brings in his robes to his office, on the desk is a picture of the jewelry lady and the monk. It looks pretty badly done in photoshop, but that might be on purpose. This show seems to be setting everything up for something else. No mistakes. The episode is in 3rd season, "Catch-22." Let me know what you think.

Glenn Ostlund said...

Here is what I think about Ms. Hawking.

Here is what I think about Brother Campbell.

And here is what I think of you not having read those pages yet.

Kristine Van Buskirk said...

YOU MAKE ME LAUGH! When Stew and I read those pages, you had only a few profiles done. You're right, I haven't checked it out lately. My sincere apologies. I will get on it right away. Good points!