Join me for another Virgin Diary entry on my favorite stranded castaways. This time I’m taking on the remainder of Lost’s Season 5 (Episode 11 “Whatever Happened Happened” through 17 “The Incident”) and the first six episodes from the final season, from Episode 1 “LA X” through 6 “Sundown.”)
I’ve finished Season 5 and have plunged straight into the beginning of Season 6 and I have a confession to make. I really have not been enjoying the new chain of events that have happened since Jack blew up the hydrogen bomb in the past at the end of Season 5, making it as if the plane crash never happened. It feels like a cop-out on the writers’ part to prolong/stall the events of Season 6 and also to keep me more confused than ever.
I don’t enjoy seeing a handicapped Locke struggling around (maybe that’s because I hero-worshipped him from afar to a certain extent), nor do I care about seeing Jack as a clueless father to a gifted pianist. And I especially didn’t enjoy watching Charlie almost overdose on the plane and being escorted away by the police in handcuffs, though it was good to see Charlie’s face again. He was a sight for sore eyes.
Maybe I’m the only one who doesn’t appreciate this “what if” scenario the writers threw like a curve ball out to left field, but there you have it. It feels like the entire past five seasons (and all those precious little moments of characterization and revelations that I enjoyed during them) have been wiped clean. If the Oceanic plane crash never happened, then why should I care about the survivors and their stories any longer? That’s a rhetorical question of course. Really I’m still enthralled with the series and am feeling bittersweet about it coming to an end for me soon. I don’t like change very much.
What lies in the shadow of the statue? This question, which has been repeatedly asked now, fittingly reminds me of a Mad Hatter idiom from Alice in Wonderland. Why is a raven like a writing desk? I never understood that riddle either! As creepy as I find that enormous statue (which I guess is known as the Statue of Tawaret, the Egyptian goddess of protection, birth and fertility) that I’ve now seen in its entirety, I’m puzzling over this riddle with much anticipation in its answer. Please tell me they actually solve it?!
While Googling the Lost statue, I found some interesting results. I find it amusing that this one single image threw so many people into a frenzy during the last two seasons, as people struggled to figure out who the statue represented and what its presence on the island meant. Had I watched the series live, it certainly would’ve piqued my curiosity too. However, my curiosity about the statue mostly stems from fear. With its head of a hippopotamus, it looks more like a monster than the black mist ever did. If that thing suddenly came to life and walked around the island, I think that would be just about the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.
Events on the island are building to a climax, as pseudo-Locke is rallying his troops for a final showdown between good and evil. I’ve just witnessed the chaos and panic of the temple being set on fire and Locke (who is apparently the black mist monster incarnate now) making good on his promise to smite those who don’t have an interest in leaving the island with him. I’m not sure what’s going to happen next. And for once, I’m trying to ride out the tidal wave of changes that are surely coming as this series ends. Does anybody have any recommendations on what I’m going to watch next?
WTF Moments (Season 5, 11-17 & Season 6, 1-6):
Memorable Quotes:
“No matter what he’s going to grow up to be, it’s wrong to let a kid die.” – Sawyer (about 12-year-old Ben Linus)
“Time isn’t a straight line for us anymore.” – Miles
“I came back because I was supposed to.” – Jack
“I’ve seen this island do miraculous things. I’ve seen it heal the sick, but never once has it done anything like this. Dead is dead. You don’t get to come back from that. Not even here. The fact that John Locke is walking around this island scares the living hell out of me.” – Ben
“I died an hour ago. I was killed by an old friend who grew tired of my company.” – Jacob (appearing to Hurley)
“Nothing’s irreversible.” – Jack to Locke about his paralysis
“John Locke was a believer … a man of faith. A much better man than I will ever be and I’m very sorry I murdered him.” – Ben (as they buried Locke’s body on the island)
“If I never meet you, then I never have to leave you.” – Juliet (to Sawyer)
I think the flash sideways have more of a point the further the season goes on, that these people are tied together in some way, regardless of the plane crash.
I was going to start watching the Wire, but then Amazon Prime started to stream the West Wing and Fringe, so that went out the window for awhile. But would someone please let me know if Fringe gets better?
Not knowing what you’ve watched before, I’ll throw bunches of suggestions out there.
Battlestar Galatica.
Jekkyl
the BBC Sherlock
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (I was really surprised how good this was)
Game. of. Thrones.
Wonderfalls
The Middleman!
Eureka
I’ve been trying to watch Twin Peaks, but I just can’t. And this list just made me realize I watch way more fantasy/sci-fi then I thought.
*POST AUTHOR*
I love Fringe! Hmm…I haven’t watched any of the other titles you mentioned. I haven’t had cable in like 5 years, so I’ve apparently missed a lot. I keep hearing I need to watch Firefly and Alias. I just got Netflix so I can catch up on some of those shows that are older anyways. I really wish I could watch Game of Thrones – I hear nothing but good things. Maybe I will check out the books first. I’ve also been meaning to watch Twin Peaks – I have it queued up :)
If you haven’t watched The Wire, go ahead and make that your next show.
*POST AUTHOR*
I haven’t watched that one either, thanks for the tip!
I’m not sure where you are in Fringe, but I’ll give you my opinion on the first two seasons. I did enjoy some of the monster of the week episodes, but I think the series picks up toward the end of the season, and I really enjoyed the S1 finale. I like season 2 better, and the last 1/3 of that season is really good, with an excellent finale.
So, if you prefer a more serialized show, it gets that way eventually. And, after re-watching recently, the season 1 stand-alone episodes have more meaning, as some of the elements from those episodes pop up later
*POST AUTHOR*
I’m looking forward to seeing how Fringe ends.
Firefly for sure. I’m pretty Game of Thrones is on DVD, at least the first Season. Firefly and Battlestar Galatica would be my recommendations. Firefly is only one short season. It’ll be a space fest. Jekkyl is really great too. It’s a 6 episode series (I think) and pretty intense.
I was thinking Alias too. I watched the first couple of seasons, then stopped because 1) it started to be bad and 2)life before DVR. But it’s not online and my DVD queue is huge.
And, I’ve discovered that Amazon Prime has a wider selection of free streaming shows that I’m interested in lately. But I’m an Amazon junkie, and the cost of membership is justified for me with free shipping, special pricing, and the Kindle lending library alone. The Instant Videos is a new added bonus, even if it has a very awkward interface.
Fringe gets really good around the last half of the second season. Sherlock was VERY good and BSG is also really good. One show I have been really looking for is Babylon 5. It was a great series. It is really expensive to buy it but I may have to bite the bullet and buy it though. As for Twin Peaks, I watched it in the initial run in the 90’s and ended up so confused when it was over I swore I would never watch it again. It was worse than Lost(which I loved by the way).