March 30, 2010 · 11:00 pm
“The Package”
March 30th, 2010
There are plenty of reasons to be apprehensive about “The Package.” It’s coming off of an epic mythology episode of romance and intrigue, it features a vague title that seems to refer to some sort of MacGuffin, and it has the unfortunate task of “filling in the gaps” in its flash sideways as opposed to telling its own story. Because we saw a small glimpse into Jin’s fate in “Sundown,” we can be fairly certain that the show will be colouring in the lines this week, and after a week when the show was willing to go off the page entirely it means that the show is facing an uphill battle.
Like the season’s weaker episodes, “The Package” struggles with a flash-sideways that proves completely inconclusive and an island scenario which feels like pieces moving on a chess board, but it ultimately works because it doesn’t feel like those pieces are being moved. When things stall in the episode, it feels like they’re stalling for a reason, and everyone involved knows why they’re making the choices they are. While things may not be moving as quickly as some fans want them to be, they seem to be moving faster than the characters were prepared for, and there’s a nice tension there which bodes well for the remainder of the season.
And, let’s face it: the reveal of just what “The Package” is was way too good for me to be too cranky.
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Filed under Lost
Tagged as Analysis, Candidates, Charles Widmore, Claire, Countdown, Daniel Dae Kim, Desmond, Dharma Initiative, Electromagnetism, Episode 10, Flash-Sideways, Henry Ian Cusick, Jack, Ji Yeon, Jin, Kate, Keamy, Korean, Language, Locke, Man in Black, Mikhail, Patchy, Plane, Pregnancy, Review, Richard Alpert, Room 23, Sawyer, Sayid, Season 6, Smokey, Submarine, Sun, Television, The Package, TV, Understanding, V, War, Yunjin Kim
March 2, 2010 · 10:58 pm
“Sundown”
March 2nd, 2010
“You think you know me but you don’t.”
The Flash Sideways structure this season has been taking a lot of criticism from those who think that its opaque intentions are obscuring any meaning that it might have, but I think that in terms of its immediate function it has actually been quite clear. As the show confuses the question of identity through the Man in Black and his various influences, the Flashes offer a glimpse at characters in a far less confused universe who are still just as confused as they were before. Yes, there seems like there is a deeper meaning behind the scenes that is being withheld, and there are times when the connections are too simple to feel eventful enough for the show’s final season, but “Sundown” is a pretty clear example of the basic dramatic purpose of these scenes.
“Sundown” is not the best episode of this short season, nor is it a particularly pleasant one: it is an episode filled with darkness, showing characters taking actions and getting into situations from which there is no real escape. However, it’s a nice bit of analysis of the determinism that dominates this universe, and with a strong performance from Naveen Andrews the episode is able to entertain even if we are none too happy with its outcomes.
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Tagged as Aaron, ABC, Ben, Carlton Cuse, Catch a Falling Star, Claire, Damon Lindelof, Darkness, Dogen, Episode 6, Flash-Sideways, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ilana, Infection, Jin, Kate, Keamy, Lennon, Man in Black, Michael Giacchino, Miles, Nadia, Naveen Andrews, Review, Sayid, Season 6, Sun, Sundown, Television, TV
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