LOST Update: Jeremy Bentham

Jensen’s Preview:  What you should have read before watching on Wednesday evening.  Still has great info.

Jensen’s Recap: A quote:

To be honest, I was surprised to see Locke resurrected so quickly. Whenever I envisioned his reanimation, I always saw it at the end of an episode — a big reveal, a swell of Michael Giacchino score, and then BONG!…title card. Nope. We got the Risen Locke right away, in a moment that belongs on a clip reel of Quasi-Mystical Pop Culture Characters Who Introduce Themselves With A Dramatic Removal Of An Oversized Hoody. (See: Obi Wan Kenobi; Gandalf; Spock in the original Star Trek movies.)

Tom on Life with Mrs. B from Facts of Life:

A recent episode of Life, my second favorite TV show, had Tom appear, again as a bad guy, biker dude.  His mother, played by the lady from Facts of Life, got scammed, so he scammed the scammers.  I still get chills thinking about Sawyer shooting him in cold blood.

“That’s for takin the boy off the raft.”

The weird sky behind Hurley at Santa Rosa  Mental Facility

Did anyone else notice the Hawaiian skyline above Hurley’s Mental Facility behind the haze and occasional flashes of white?  I don’t know if it was a hazy day or some remastering to hide the local background which may or may not be similar to Santa Rosa, CA.  I doubt it is plot related, but I did notice it.

A good ep, but not a great one.

For some reason I didn’t enjoy this ep as much as I thought I would.  Maybe my expectations were too high.  I knew from the previews that Locke was alive on the island.  There was some interesting background about Widmore and a shocking scene with Ben.  We knew Locke would die, but we only thought we knew how.  But overall, it was filler, part of the story that had to be told.

Most interesting quote from the ep:

Charles Widmore: ”There’s a war coming, John, and if you’re not back on the Island when that happens, the wrong side is going to win.”

Lost Links Has Returned!!

Lost is back.  I am excited. Last week set the stage, we can expect the pace to pick up tonight.  I can’t wait for the next “NO WAY!” experience.

A Great Recap of the Opener.  Includes thoughts such as, what if the whispers in the jungle are when a character’s past self and present self are in the same place?!

Cuse and Lindelof interview

My predictions for Season 5

• We will get to see Rousseau arriving on the island on Black Rock.
• Sawyer dies by the end of the season, heroically like Charlie, most likely in the finale.
• Season finale is the Oceanic 6 either back on the island, or finally assembled to return.

Lost Links

Lost Links took a week off since I was TV fasting. I finally watched last week’s ep on Sunday night. And it was awesome! Spoiler alert: I am going to list the top 10 most awesome moments in last week’s episode. If you haven’t seen it it…WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??? GO HERE AND WATCH IT NOW!!

A good link with thoughts and theories about last week from Jeff Jensen.

First, here is the link to the ep summary at Lostpedia.

1. The misleading Risk opening. I love risk.
2. Ben waking up in a heavy jacket in the middle of the Sahara desert with no tracks/footprints around. Then he overpowers the two guys and steals a horse.
3. Ben opening the piano bench to reveal a shotgun when he finds out about the panic code, and Sawyer’s expression.
4. Gut-wrenching scene when Alex is shot, and Ben is stunned. I think my allegies started acting up at that point. There must have been something in my eye.
5. Ben in Tunisia, asking the clerk what year it was.
6. The smoke monster wiping out the mercenaries.
7. The standoff between Locke and Sawyer about Hurley, and Sawyer’s concern for “one curly hair” on Hugo’s head.
8. Learning that Sayid did find his love, married her, but then she died.
9. Ben’s smirk while walking away after Sayid commits to killing whomever Ben wants out of revenge.
10. The last ten minutes of dialogue between Widmore and Ben. Wow!! Revealed a lot. Of course, brings up more questions. Ben announcing he was going to kill Penelope. (Where is Desmond?)
    “The Hunt is on!”

One final thought/question: Is anyone else out there still a fan of Jack’s character?  I keep hearing people call him names and attack his integrity.  He is still my fav.  You can have that lunatic, John Locke.  I even bought the McFarlane figurine of Jack.  🙂

One Week to Go, Lostophiles!

Here are some links:

Season 4 Trailer

Dead Man Raising

Exclusives from Early Filming of Season 4

Interview with Matthew Fox (Jack)

Get caught up on characters: Here is Desmond’s Story

Lostaholics

Links from John Hobbs Blobb

Here are some questions:

-Who is your favorite Character?

-Which episode was your favorite?

-How do you think it will end?

-Do you think Kate should get with Jack or Sawyer?

-Do you think Jack should end up with Juliet or Kate?

-Who is the most important character in the over-arching story?

-Who will be the next character to die?

-Will there ever be a show as complex, fascinating, surprising, and fun as Lost?

On books and judging and covers

I have really enjoyed John Dobbs’ recent thoughts inspired by Lost (here, here, here, here, here, and here). I can’t hardly watch anything without trying to make a sermon illustration of out it (it’s a curse, I can’t stop it). And art so often imitates life and is universal, so it makes for good reflecting.

James “Sawyer” Ford is good at being bad. He has some of the best one-liners and is easy to hate. He is a jerk. He is cruel. Everyone wants to beat him up. He steals. He lies. He is selfish. He is the kind of person most of us would want to avoid and would simply endure if we worked with him or lived in his neighborhood.

He clashes with everyone because of his attitude. But only one person gets to know him and find out more about him. Kate read his letter and discovered his secret. She began to look at him differently and treat him differently from the moment she realized he was the one who wrote that letter instead of being the recipient. I had more compassion for him at that point. I hope he still has chance for redemption and hasn’t simply been given the miraculous opportunity for revenge.

IMO, Jack’s flashbacks are the only ones which evoke more pity that Sawyer’s.
When he quits the con after seeing the little boy.
When he realizes he has been conned into killing the wrong man.
And most of all, the night his father kills his mother and then takes his own life while Sawyer is hiding under the bed.

These sad things don’t make him more likable. They don’t excuse his behavior. But they do help us to understand him. You can have compassion without condoning one’s behavior. I worry that many Christians don’t get that.

I often hear Christians say things like, “I just don’t understand why so and so misses church so much” or “I can’t figure out why they couldn’t salvage their marriage” or “It seems they they just didn’t try hard enough.”

Unfortunately, as minister, I am often more aware of someone’s baggage such as depression, addiction, childhood trauma. Maybe I was surprised the marriage lasted as long as it did. That doesn’t mean the divorce was okay with God or me. It is easier to understand why people are mean and bitter and do the things they do when you know more about them.

I am not saying a person is not responsible for his/her actions and attitudes. I am not suggesting we should empty the prisons and make sin okay. But we need compassion.

Anyway, this was just a longer way of saying this, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be used to you.”