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« Roush Dispatch
Tripping with Lost
Henry Ian Cusick in Lost by Mario Perez/ABC
Lost has been blowing my mind all season with those crazy flash-forwards: Kate's baby is who? Sayid's working for who? But the time-tripping went into overdrive with this week's brilliant episode, concocted by Lost's A-team: Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof on script, Jack Bender directing. Well done, blokes. There hasn't been an off episode yet, and each one feels more amazing than the last.
If you've got complaints about time spent away from Ben, Locke, Kate, Sawyer and most of the rest of the folks left behind on the island, take them elsewhere. This episode worked beautifully as a showcase for Henry Ian Cusick as the tormented Desmond. It was almost a stand-alone episode, a Twilight Zone/X-Files-style adventure with a start, middle and killer finish. And yet it also advanced our knowledge and teased the mystery of what’s happening on the “rescue” freighter, while giving us a rapturously romantic climactic reunion (on the phone, but hey) between Desmond and his impatiently waiting lady love, Penelope (he’s her Odysseus).
As the 'copter taking Sayid and Desmond from island to freighter goes through turbulence — the stormy manifestation of whatever time paradox is cloaking the island — Desmond becomes unstuck in time, losing his present-day memory while being thrust back to 1996, when he was in boot camp in Scotland. Zipping repeatedly between then and a confused now on the boat, he screams, “I’m not supposed to be here!” (Welcome to Lost, brother.)
In sick-bay lockup, Desmond encounters the ship’s incarcerated communications officer, George (Fisher Stevens), who’s suffering from an advanced case of the same time-travel heeby-jeebies, a condition that proves fatal to an Oxford University lab rat and eventually to George. Nosebleeds are the first sign (followed by seizures and death), and once Desmond’s starts to drip, his anxiety to clear up this crazy situation intensifies.
All it takes is a phone call back to the island for absent-minded Professor Farraday to diagnose Desmond as having fallen victim to one of the “side effects” of leaving the island. His cure: first send Desmond to the 1996 version of Farraday at Oxford, then contact his one “constant” (that would be Penny) who bridges these points of time. What a wild fable, so much more fun to watch than it is to try to explain.
But it all ends happily enough, by Lost standards anyway, and along the way we discover that in present time, it’s Christmas Eve, and that back in 1996, Penny’s dad (the ubiquitous Alan Dale, the late Bradford Meade from Ugly Betty and the late Caleb Nichol from The O.C.), spent a fortune at auction to purchase the first mate’s journal of the infamous “Black Rock,” the boat lost at sea — and we know where it washed up — as it sailed from Portsmouth to Siam. What’s this little tidbit mean? Yet another of the myriad mysteries for the more fanatical Lost lovers to obsess over.
Final detail as the episode went to black: In Farraday’s journal, he has written that should anything go wrong, Desmond is his constant. Shudders, anyone?
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Feb 29, 2008 12:18 AM
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Awesome review, Matt. This truly was one of those amazing episodes of television that you will remember for years to come.
And I'm not a crier, but the end scene between Desmond and Penny had me welling up slightly. It was that good.
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Feb 29, 2008 1:35 AM
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BRILLIANT!
This is an amazing show. It brings the best emotions, and it makes you love these characters. This is the best show ever on television and it was showcased in tonight's great episode.
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Feb 29, 2008 1:44 AM
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Like you said, it was a mind-blowing episode. I didn't miss seeing the other islanders at all and I teared up at Penny and Desmond's phone conversation at the end.
Hearing the Hanso name again in the auction of the Black Rock journal was also intriguing. I also want to know why Penny's dad told Desmond to ask Penny about why he hates Des so much.
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Feb 29, 2008 2:33 AM
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Yes, I meant to mention the Hanso connection to the Black Rock journal. Let the theorizing begin! (Even the morning after, my brain is buzzing from this awesome episode.)
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Feb 29, 2008 8:01 AM
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This was a wonderfully trippy episode! Thank God for Desmond. He has been one of my favorites ever since we were first introduced to him. I'm also very happy to say Faraday is sitting right along with him in my book. Both so intriguing and the characters are so charismatic that you want to know more and more about them.
Now if we can just get some more Juliet time......
I cant wait to see what's next!
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Feb 29, 2008 9:34 AM
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I still can't stop thinking about last nights episode! This is by FAR the BEST season of the series. I was yelling out at almost every scene and reveal last night. This show kills me and I love every freaking second.
I knew it had to be a great ep when I saw the 2 boss men wrote it, you can't go wrong with Darlton That whole Black Rock story made me scream, "it's on the darn Island, it's not lost at Sea." LOL
I didn't think once about Locke & crew because this just had my enthralled. I'm so glad that other fans feel the same way about this season. Every episode is better than the last...how they do that? I hope they get those extra 5 episodes filmed quickly, I don't think I can handle the break!
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Feb 29, 2008 10:19 AM
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You have hit the nail on the head. Lost is better than it has ever been, including Season 1. Each episode adds to the mystery. Nearly every episode has ended with a "jaw-on-the-floor OMG!!!" moment. This is what Lost is meant to be, and wasn't most of last season. I wait impatiently for Thursday every week.
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Feb 29, 2008 11:22 AM
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Great recap/comments Matt, as usual. This episode blew me away. Was getting so confused between the flash backs/flash to now action but it worked out so beautifully. So, Farraday is going back and forth as well? Is that why he cried when he thought 815 had crashed in the ocean? Is that why he seems a little bit out of it? So many more questions than answers. One that really got me was Sayed asking him to remember the number - I thought he meant the number of the phone on the island - DID he mean the number for Penny and HOW did he know anything about that. Curiouser and curiouser and more and more fantasticly great. Love it to death and it's all I can do to turn the brain off after these current eposides air - driving me CRAZY - and loving every part of it!! Brilliant. Mind blowing. Satisfying. Can't wait for more!!
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Feb 29, 2008 11:31 AM
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This show works on so many levels, and last night's episode was such a perfect sci-fi episode rivaling the great episodes of The Twilight Zone. It was nice to see Penny and Desmond's mini-reunion after the almost meeting in the season finale.
For my money Daniel is still the best of the "rescuers" and he brings such tortured insanity to the role.
Just like every week I can't wait for next weeks episode. Thank God the writer's strike ended so that we can get more LOST goodness this year!!!
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Feb 29, 2008 11:45 AM
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This was an awesome episode, and I can't wait to watch the enhanced version next week. Didn't Desmond have a similar experience last season, when, during his flashbacks, he was cognizant of ending up on the island, and the jewelry store worker told him that he couldn't escape his fate?
Once again, jaw-dropping ending with the reveal of Faraday's journal entry about Desmond being his constant. I admit that I hadn't given a thought to the idea that Faraday might also be "unstuck" in time.
I know that people have given up on the show, complaining about too many questions and not enough answers. I like answers to mysteries as much as the next person, but for this show, I just suspend my need to know and go along for the ride. Whatever else Lost may or may not be, it's definitely entertaining, more so this season than any other. Good thing, too, or I would start missing Charlie too much.
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Feb 29, 2008 11:55 AM
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Oh.My.God. That is all I can say. This season of LOST has been so good that I get excited just thinking about it. All the answers and adrenaline! This is quickly becoming my second fave show (if Friday Night Lights stays), maybe even my favorite show ever (if Friday Night Lights goes)... So. Good.
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Feb 29, 2008 12:52 PM
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I am anxious to see next weeks repeat of "The Constant" with all of it's explanatory pop-ups!
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Feb 29, 2008 2:00 PM
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What an amazing, AMAZING episode! For some reason, I wasn't looking forward to it from the previews, maybe I thought they'd just be treading water or it would be covering things we already know about.
BUT, as soon as Desmond slipped back into his army skivs in 1996, I knew it was going to one hell of a ride!!! It's so fun having expectations on this show, and then being totally proven wrong!
I mean, this episode completely blew my mind!
And what an amazing scene at the end between Desmond and his lady love Penny - it brought a tear to my eye thinking about how much our Dessy's been through trying to find his Penny, and now they finally reunite (sort of) 8 years on!
I just feel sorry for all those fickle fans who abandoned Lost so easily in the last 2 seasons - they are missing out on the best, most dramatic, exciting and heartfelt show on TV.
Can this season get any better????
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Feb 29, 2008 7:26 PM
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This season is so excellent that, for the first time since the show began, I am downloading each episode from iTunes instead of waiting to buy the Season 4 DVDs. I didn't think the story could get better, but it has. The funny thing is, I never thought the whole story would turn out to be about Desmond, and not about the original Losties from Season 1. He is like Anakin Skywalker, except not. Brilliant!
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Feb 29, 2008 8:37 PM
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