In a comment just posted today, I asked for the produces of LOST to finally start delivering, as they set a firm end date for the show and promised us this would allow for tight story telling and ending the show how they wanted.  That to me meant no filler, all killer.  Up to now, Season 6 had an intolerable level of filler.  6×07 might have had its share of filler, but its other qualities made up for it.  Spoilers and more after the break . . . .

***SPOILERS***

Easily the best episode of the season so far.  Ben re-establishes himself as the most interesting character on the show, and provider of the best acting.  Helluva choice he made to protect Alex’s future.

WHAT I LIKED:

• the principal pulling up an e-mail of his own, outstanding twist
• the revelation that Dr. Linus also spent time on the island!
• the source of Richard’s chains, yet another very well done revelation
• Hurley giving perhaps his most passionate dude yet!
• Ben still feeling the pain of Alex being killed in front of him
• Miles finally getting to burn someone instead of being picked on all the time
• obviously the badass, yet campy, arrival of Widmore on the sub
• ending the episode with a classic LOST poignant piano slow-mo beach scene

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

• Jack just betting it all with the dynamite
• Jack lighting the fuse and not pumping Richard for answers first

I saw Alan Dale’s name in the opening credits so I knew he’d be appearing sometime, so I was not surprised by him on the sub, unfortunately.  I was surprised that Mario Van Peebles (!) directed this episode!  He did a helluva job I think.

Just a classic LOST emotional episode.  The way they wrap things up with that piano slow-mo scene at the end, makes you feel good about watching LOST, like getting a spoonful of medicine that warms your insides right up.  Glad to see them seemingly setting up to make a last stand on their beach.  Back to the water, tents up, exactly where I’d want to be, especially with such lively reading material still lying around!

Anytime the Black Rock comes into play basically rules.  Great flash sideways with Dr. Linus showing compassion and cunning.  Alex looked good!  I did not recognize her until the end of the doorstep conversation.

Maybe not much happened plot-wise, not sure, it is easy to get distracted by the power of Ben’s acting.  No doubt now Candidates are to replace Jacob.  Seems Flocke thinks he can choose who the replacement is by offering control of the island back to Ben.

How did Widmore find the island?  What does he want?  To replace Jacob?  We thought he was a bad guy all along, but it would seem Widmore is the person Jacob wanted to find the island.  So this just further muddies the waters to me on who is the true good, Flocke or Jacob?

I was somewhat tempted to give this episode an extremely rare 5-star rating, but I’ve calmed down and will give it 4-stars.  Got to assume the series finale will be a 5-star affair so can’t just toss that rating out casually.

Due to a set of very unusual circumstances, I found myself with 4 hours of sanity today.  It was a preview to how my days will be once I win the lottery this year, except of course in the parking lot will be a Porsche 911 Turbo instead of a Saturn Vue.  I found myself being very grateful for something that should be a given, not an extraordinary exception.  Such are the ill things one is often trapped into when living in the world of Men.

There is absolutely nothing I like greater than traveling to some place I have never been before and having that feeling of discovery.  It used to happen often in my early years of living abroad, but much less so the past few years.

Nevertheless, I found myself behind the wheel on a brilliant Florida sunshine day, crisp not yet spring air, with Kiki sniffing out the window as is her greatest traveling thrill.  I saw on a map the night before a place called Crystal River Preserve State Park.  This is the place I headed for expecting a formal state park with ranger station, info board, pamphlet, but there was none of that.  Just two long winding roads leading to the coast, independently of each other.  I took the northernmost one first.

Stopped at what turned out to be a boat ramp surrounded by a nice, finite park with a t-shaped pier.  Saw several manatees swim by then gave veteran Florida travel advice to a very nice older British couple.  One of the other great things I like about travel is chewing the fat with people I meet out on the Road.  I hope they enjoy their time in my suggested destination of St. Augustine, after they visit Kennedy Space Center of course.

The grasslands Kiki and I ran free on reminded me of places I explored as a child in Cape Cod.  I was quite ecstatic to have been lead to this place.  Kiki being a lover of tall (for her) grass and new smells I believe was ecstatic as well.

The 4 hours of sanity continued thusly.  For a good 45 minutes of that time I just sat on the white sand beach (first photo) doing no-thing.  It really, really feels great to do no-thing.  Kiki did dig a few holes before calming down herself and lying in the sand with a nose that looked like it was dipped in sugar crystals.

It was a 4 hours I used all my senses.  A time my eyes almost never left the horizon . . .

A Sayid-centric episode.  I have always been very interested in Sayid.  I like his quiet demeanor and ability to handle himself in any situation.  Review continues after the break with spoilers.

***SPOILERS***

I was excited that it was a Sayid flash sideways this time.  The storyline it took was a bit too cliche though.  Badass family member returns.  Brother is in trouble with bad dudes.  Sayid with ass kicking ability in to take care of it.  This episode was definitely a diminishing returns one.  Was stoked at first, then merely excited, then wondering what exactly in the storyline was progressed this episode besides a few no reason deaths.  We all knew the smoke monster (Flocke) was coming.  All there was, was some broohaha first before its entrance.

WHAT I LIKED:

• There being no blood on the knife when Flocke pulled it out of his chest.
• Sayid shooting the one-time mercenary, not cutting a deal…badass.
• Pulling a cool dagger out of a plant box
• Miles continuing to live on
• The glimpse of Jack in the hospital

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

• The Rome chick, Ben & company showing up out of nowhere
• Sayid drowning Dogen, and just trying to understand Sayid’s motivations in general
• No real plot advancement at all, no answers still
• Why does Flocke want anybody to leave the island with him anyway?
• Crazy Claire – enough of singing lullabies to inanimate objects
• Jin in the meat locker, or do I actually like that?
• The false sense that there was action in this episode, many die, but no real action took place

Big question that occurred to me….if Sayid loved Nadia so much, how could he fall for that fool Shannon so quickly?

As I mentioned above, was really big on this episode at first, but by the time LOST thumped onto the screen at the end, I was thinking was this a good episode at all?  I’ll give it 3-stars, but maybe really should only garner 2-stars.

I think what I really do not like is seeing the same actor play a different character, as in Terry O’Quinn playing Locke and now Flocke, just confusing and gimmicky.  Now maybe Sayid is not really Sayid.  Same for Claire.  But when you still see Flocke you have sympathy for him maybe because you see Locke’s face.  Really annoying.  Feels like a HEROES level gimmick to me.

So who thought we were going to get nothing but answers with LOST in its final season?  Seems the questions are still coming full force.  More after the break . . .

***SPOILERS***

So . . . there are many new questions that need to be answered, first and foremost being WHO is coming to the island?  Widmore?  Or maybe Desmond?  Or Aaron?  Or Walt??  Those are the only ones not already there that have ever been there before.  For some reason my guess is either Widmore or Aaron.  Or Desmond with Aaron.  Hedge your bets much?

Another question, who is Jack’s (ex?) wife?  What is a candidate?  Candidate for what?  Manchuria?  Why in the hell did Jin tell Claire he lied about Kate taking Aaron?  Why isn’t Claire curious why Jin can suddenly speak English?

WHAT I LIKED:

• umm, hello, the revelation of the Lighthouse itself…a new relic structure on the island, awesome
• Claire’s wardrobe
• The view from Jack’s crib
• Hurley’s dialogue & his nostalgia for old times
• Names being etched onto the lighthouse wheel, again, awesome
• Jack finally once again seeming like an appealing character, but…

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

• …Jack smashing the mirror, dude, look at all the other settings first at least, especially 108 degrees fool!
• Any and every scene Hurley was not in
• The whole Jack’s son storyline
• The whole is Claire going to ax that dude “tension”
• Claire saying she would kill Kate
• Jin lying
• Too much mystery, Jacob just tell us who the hell is coming to the island!!

I thought the strengths of this episode (Jack & Hurley & the Lighthouse) far outweighed the negative, allowing me to vote it 4-stars.  Really, really loved the reveal of the Lighthouse.  Even knowing the episode name ahead of time, and knowing they were going to help someone find the island, never dawned on me their destination was a lighthouse.  Ignant.  Then having more names etched into that wheel, the person coming being at 108 degrees, the creaky gears, loved it all.

Jack smashing the mirrors totally pissed me off though.  Total over reaction.  Jin lying, don’t like that either.

At the start of this episode I was thinking to myself, “I am watching the very last episodes of genre TV in my life.”  Nothing has come about since LOST in 2004, and I doubt anything will in the foreseeable future as horrid, HORRID crap reality TV shows dominate everything.  It is kind of sad that the finale of LOST will end a 20 year golden age of television for serial dramas of movie-like quality that The X-Files launched.  My TV watching will only be sports.  I think the ’00s will come to be known as the end of culture, the first decade with no identity of its own.  No new music genre came out of it, very few great movies, some great TV shows, but they were not the most popular viewer-wise by a longshot, and in general lewdness, crudeness and a lack of sense of decency and shame became socially acceptable norms.  Dressing like a prostitute became NORMAL.

No matter how good or bad LOST’s last 12 hours are, I will savor them as the true last bits of fandom morsels in my life.  There was a 20 year feast, but the next 20 will be nothing but leftovers.