Lost: D.O.C.I know there are some fans out there who just love flashbacks to Sun and Jin, but if I never see another one again, it will be too soon. Wait, let me clarify that--if we never see a flashback of their relationship and/or marriage before they came to the island, I will be happy. Honestly, I think we've gone to this well one too many times now and its really starting to show.
So, Sun was being blackmailed by Jin's prostitute mother who wasn't even really certain if Jin's father was really the father. Sun goes to her dad, asks for money to keep from embrarrassing her husband and gets Jin on the path toward being a bigger part of the family business. This path is what leads to the estrangement of their marraige and Sun sleeping with another guy who Jin later pursuades to throw himself off a hotel balcony. I get what the producers are trying to do here but at this point, I'm not sure we can go back to this same series of events again and mine any more significance or details out of it.
And I get that part of it was to show how much like his father Jin would be had the baby turned out not to be his. I don't think it would count one bit in Jin's loving and raising the child, just as the question of who his father was didn't make a different to his father in the long-run. The fathers would still love their children.
I did like that the show confirmed that Jin is the father, though that isn't what I'd call definitive. For all we know, it's another way Juliet is playing the group in order to gain some trust. Finding out she's a double-agent has put anything she does or says into serious doubt. And why did Sun let her go back inside alone so she could send the secret message to Ben.
Apparently, Juliet's mission is find out if any of the group from the plane can bear children, which fits into the whole theory I've had for a while that the Others are obsessed with the children.
Meanwhile in the headscratcher department, the Russian shows back up, feeling no ill effects from being, well, dead. So, at this point, my mind got to thinking--does the island have some kind of regenerative powers that it can give to people? Apparently if your injuries aren't too severe, it can heal you, though it looked like Russian guy was pretty messed up last time we saw him. Following this trail of logic, is this the explanation for why the women can't conceive and bear children. Does whatever is "healing" people see the babies as some kind of virus or something to be cured, and is thus healing the mothers by killing the babies? If that's what it turns out to be, you can credit me with the theory, though I doubt I am the first person to consider it or postulate it.
Also lucky for us, the Russian has had medical training and speaks all the languages the new girl speaks. Again, if he translated everything correctly, I'll eat my hat. He does have good reason to lie and cover things up. I don't think she was as thankful as he made it out to be.
But the big news is that the plane crashed with no survivors....though that could be some kind of lie as well.
I really have no idea what or who to believe anymore on this show. Maybe the show will start providing some definitive answer to some of these puzzles soon...or at least gives us clues from very reliable sources.
24: Day Six, 12 - 1 a.m.Hey, remember when there used to be this guy on 24 named Jack Bauer, who was, oh I don't know, the star of the show.
If you'd just tuned in this season, you'd wonder if this was some kind of ensemble show instead of the Jack Bauer kicks terrorist booty and takes name hour. Has there ever been a day of 24 that had less Jack per average episode than this one?
This week, Jack runs off, makes a deal with the Chinese and then waits around for them to show up. Oh please, don't make me get up to get a drink for fear of missing something.
Seriously, what the heck has happened this year?
Oh and let me do my happy dance that I called that the Chinese would somehow get hold of the triggering device and run off with it, thus leaving Jack to pursue them. I am thankful they will only chase it now for the next five or so hours and not all of next season. I can't wait to see Jack go mano-a-mano with the guy who has held him prisoner and tortured him for the past 18 months. That could be a great epiosde...
Assuming we can cut away from the White House drama long enough to show it. So, Daniels and the woman from Invasion are hooking up. And they dance around like this is some great secret, when I think Secret Service is fully aware of it. I guess maybe it being secret makes it more exciting for them. I hope it's exciting for someone, because watching these two kiss and paw each other in the Oval Office is almost as creepy as Milo putting the move on Nadia a few weeks ago. Seriously, has there been less romantic chemistry between two characters ever?
The most interesting plot thread in all of this is Karen has to fire Bill. Man, that was well done. Seems that Bill is low man on the "we have to blame someone" totem pole and gets the axe. And Karen has to axe him. Bill's slow burn and anger at this news was perfectly done and I bet we have not seen the last of him. I still contend he's the real CTU mole this year, but that is only because I refuse to let that theory go, no matter what evidence to the contrary the show gives me. It does set things up now for Bill to head out, help Jack out in the field and kick some serious Chinese booty.
Of course, the thing with Jack is that no matter what happens he always seems to pay some price...this time it appears that Audrey has been brainwashed. (Yeah, like that took much). I found myself recalling other shows that included the ability to copy people and wondering if this was a model whipped up to look like Audrey, programmed with a few key phrases and sent to draw Jack out into the open....all while the real Audrey is somewhere else. Yeah, I'm not even sure
24 would go that absurd...
Or would they?
Heroes: .07%So, we waited five weeks for.....that? The big fight between Sylar and Peter lasts all of ten seconds. I was pretty stoked for it, what with Tim Kring and everyone talking about how great it was in all the publicity leading up to the return of the show. Color me officially disappointed on that count.
And pretty much disappointed overall with the episode as a whole. I think a lot of it is that we got our characters to certain places to end the last run of episodes and now this episode is burdened with getting things moving again.
We got a lot of hints of things to come, though it's interesting to see that Linderman doesn't want to stop the coming explosion, but embrace it as creating the future. It opens up the debate of if we can change the future at all or is it set in how some big things will play out? It should be interesting to see next week if Hiro and Ando can find Issac, since the last time Hiro jumped forward Issac had just been killed. And now with Issac being dead now, how has that changed things in the future? And I do wonder--seeing future Hiro come out and talk to his past self--is future Hiro necessarily on our side? Could his idealism have been corrupted somehow?
The future and how it plays out played a big role this week--from Nathan's refusal to accept that Peter could be dead because that's not what the paintings showed to the way Linderman has embraced what is to come. I wonder if Linderman as a threat will be dealt with this season or if he's more a long-term villain to the show. (I guess it all depends on the availability of Malcolm McDowell in the role....)
I wanted to like the episode and there were some parts I did. Mama Patrellis' revelation that she was once part of some kind of team with powers was intriguing and leaves some doors open to future exploration. Also, Nathan's contemplation about the inevitable nature of his destiny was nice.
But overall, the epiosde was just OK and not the strong return from hiatus I was hoping for...
Labels: 24, heroes, Lost, tv shows
posted by Michael Hickerson at 4/28/2007 10:18:00 AM |
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