Dharma Initiative Tomato Catsup

Well, I am not.

Unwell, I am.

Shiver me timbers, I’ve got the shivers and shakes and aches and pains to match the moans and groans of the sickness.  Pardon any rambling as the fevers may have addled the mind, and the pain of the throat has prevented me from partaking of sustenance (save for a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast).  In this depleted state, I bring you today’s edition of ketchup, Dharma Initiative style.

It’s been a few weeks since I last posted a recap of “LOST”, so you’re in for an industrial-size portion of Dharma Initiative Tomato Catsup.  But that’s how Dharma Initiative does everything, isn’t it?

Star Date: 10-11-06…oops, sorry, wrong show.

Air Date: 10-11-06  Episode: “The Glass Ballerina”

Wow, there’s more to this Sun character than we give her credit for.  She’s got…chutzpah!  Standing up to Daddy dearest, getting the maid fired, all without flinching.  Watch out you don’t cross her in a dark alley.  Unlike many Losties, I enjoy the Jin/Sun backstory.  To sum up, Jin feels trapped by Mr. Paik, who wields a rather brutal bat.  Although Mr. Paik graciously “allowed” Jin and Sun to marry, he obviously has no intention of allowing the lovebirds to live “happily ever after.”  Jin, a wise man, chooses not to confide in Sun about her overbearing, meddling father.  Sun, however, interprets Jin’s silence and continual obligations to Mr. Paik as an indication he loves his work more than her.  She feels abused and neglected, and turns to the welcoming arms of Jae for comfort.  Since they can converse in two languages, apparently they have better communication skills.  We witness the ultimate consummation of their “tutoring” sessions, only moments before Sin is exposed (nearly literally) before Daddy with no way to lie her way out of this one.  We are left to surmise that Jin is unaware of his wife’s wanderings, that he simply follows orders from Mr. Paik – who has now turned on the charm and referred to Jin as “his son,” which makes Jin feel all the more trapped in his obligations.  I found it ironic that during Sun’s desperate dinner conversation with Jin, she encouraged him to leave the country and start a new life – which, coincidentally, was precisely why they were on Oceanic flight 815 that day, if I’m not mistaken.  So, Jin really DOES listen to Sun, he just doesn’t like to appear that he does.  Jae, in tragic form, knows he’s done for one way or another, so he figures it’s better to go out in a blaze of glory his way than to be systematically dismembered by Paik & Co.  He jumps from the window of his hotel room, landing – very conveniently – on the hood/windshield of Jin’s car.  In Romeo’s hands we see the vial of poison string of pearls he had offered to Sun to run away with him – meaningless, we assume, to Jin.  But as all Losties know by now, things are not always what they seem.

Sun surprised me by shooting Colleen.  Sayid surprised me by building a bigger bonfire to lure “the Others.”  Kate & Sawyer surprised me by kissing.  Jack surprised me by “submitting.”  All in all, a surprising episode.

Air Date:  10-18-06  Episode:  “Further Instructions”

I enjoyed seeing Locke return to his mystical form.  The whole hallucination thing was a bit freaky, and I hope that in the future we will understand Boone’s cryptic comments about the Losties.  But I digress.  What I really want to focus on is Locke’s backstory.  Locke has perhaps the most tragic backstory of all the Losties.  He has such a desire to trust others, be a leader, to be regarded as a leader and revered by others that he ends up getting screwed time and time again.  Here we see that again with the whole commune situation.  He so desperately wanted to be a father figure to Eddie that he was blinded to the fact that he was being set up and played for the fool.  Poor Locke.  This guy’s gotta catch a break at some point.  But it’s good to see him back.

I also liked seeing the return of the Polar Bear.  It is nice that we are returning to the Island as a force within itself.  While I don’t understand the whole polar bear bit, it was a nice diversion in season 1 and I’m glad we’re returning to it.

Air Date: 10-25-06 Episode: “Every Man for Himself”

I guess I’ve delved too far into the “Lost” concept to believe anything is what it appears.  My main comments revolve around Kate and Sawyer, and Sawyer’s backstory.  Jack is coming back to form, so all is well in the Nautilus. 

1)  Kate and Sawyer:  I, for one, do not subscribe to the theory that Kate is an other.  Kate is a con artist, just like Sawyer.  She does what she needs to do to get by, or to accomplish her agenda.  Who knows if Kate is really attracted to Sawyer or just playing the part to get out of their cages.  For all his street-smarts, Sawyer seems to be kinda dumb when it comes to Dharma.  Hasn’t he figured out yet that he is constantly under surveillance?  That “The others” are continually watching him and can hear him?  And the whole pacemaker thing…I don’t trust Benry farther than I can throw him, so who knows when he’s lying and when he’s telling the truth.  The whole “Other Island” thing….I’m not buying it.  Too many holes in that theory.  I believe it was some kind of an illusion.

2)  Sawyer’s backstory:  Does he really have a daughter, or was he conned?  Did he really get the money?  Was he being played by Costanza?  Thinking about all this makes my head swim, and in my current condition that’s not good.  So many questions, so few answers.

Air Date: 11-1-06  Episode: “The Cost of Living”

LOVED this episode.  HATED that Eko got the boot.  Loved his dynamic with Locke.  Now we are down to one mystic sage on the island, and that’s a sad thing.

The black smoke…so good to see that again.  My original theory is that the black smoke takes out bad people.  That is why it killed Eko.  But if that’s the case, then why did it grab Locke?  And why did Locke say he saw a bright light that was beautiful?  From where I sat, that smoke was as black for Locke as it was for Eko.  Hmmm….

Jack is back!  I am intrigued by the whole Juliet/Benry triangle.  Who is REALLY the bad guy?  And are those X-Rays REALLY Benry’s ’cause that’s just too convenient.  And isn’t that glass around Jack’s cell so reflective that Benry could see that Jack wasn’t watching “To Kill a Mockingbird”?  Either Benry & Juliet are in on this together, or Juliet is not so smart.

And can we please get rid of Nikki & Paolo?  Their dialogue ruins the whole dynamic of the show.  They are the recappers, and it’s annoying.  Their clothes are too clean, they are not disheveled or traumatized enough.  They don’t fit in.  The black smoke needs to do some bashing on them.  At least Desmond and the tailies were introduced in a way where they fit in and it seemed natural.  The introduction of Nikki/Paolo was too abrupt, too sudden, too contrived to be believable.  Bring on the magic, mystical stuff.  That’s much more plausible.

Okay, that’s it for now.  It’s taken me all day to get this post written (between naps and breaks).  Hopefully it’s coherent.  I’m certainly not.