LOST
Season 3
Episode 21
(WARNING:
SPOILERS)
“Greatest Hits”

Now this is Lost at its best, when the emotion which accompanies the focused character’s story is potent and incredibly moving, while the Island story’s plot is cruising at a rapid clip. The success is all the more notable in that the Island story isn’t just “cruising at a rapid clip” in this particular episode, it’s careening into overdrive as we speed on towards this season’s finale.

Charlie’s the focus this time out, as he learns from Des that he needs to die in order for Claire and Aaron to get on board a helicopter, apparently to get rescued. It seems Charlie will flick a switch, and then drown, and this event has to take place, in order for the “rescue” to occur.
So, facing his impending death with as much courage as he can muster, Charlie sets out to write a list of the 5 best moments of his “sorry excuse for a life,” his Greatest Hits, spurred on by Naomi mentioning that his “death” in the Oceanic 815 crash caused a big stir, and even led to a new DriveShaft album, a Greatest Hits package.

And herein are some of the most moving bits in Charlie’s story thus far. Weighted by all the emotional baggage that his character carries (and which we’ve been privy to over the past 3 seasons), we’re in on the process of letting go, just as Charlie is. The journey is astoundingly moving, and I guess I should’ve been psyching myself out for that goodbye, given that Charlie’s death has been in the cards since early on in this season, but there you go.
Man, this was a toughie to get through, what, with all his goodbyes, to Claire, Aaron (you left the ring in the crib! Doofus!), and Hurley.
And then, the apparent last minute reprieve, as Des offers Charlie an out, but Charlie opts for the Ferro Lad Gambit. (Sorry, comic book reference. In case that went over your head, Bruce Willis pulled the Ferro Lad Gambit too, in Armageddon.)
And then!
Oooh, these sneaky little buggers!
You get all worked up and prepare yourself for Charlie buying it at episode’s end… and he doesn’t! Some gun-toting women are in the Looking-Glass Station and they’ve got Charlie in their sights.
Great. Now I’ll have to go and psych myself out from square one all over again…

Parting shot 1: I’m sure the Lost people know this, but Michael Giacchino is such a prize. Man, he does know how to rachet up the suspense with that score.

Parting shot 2: That was Nadia, right? In Covent Garden, with Charlie? If that was, then she’s crossed paths with 3 survivors thus far: Sayyid, of course, and Charlie, and Locke. I guess she really must’ve gotten around in her life as a fugitive.

Parting shot 3: Wow. I didn’t even get to talk about the Island story…
Okay, Lemme just say, I apologize for not trusting Rousseau and her motives for raiding the Black Rock’s store of dynamite. Apparently, it was for Jack’s scheme to get back at the Others (Jack, who I also mistrusted for a spell back there; sorry, the Island doesn’t really foster trust, if you know what I mean).
Oooh, we’re leading up to a doozy, aren’t we? With the shooters staying behind, and the rest hiking to the radio tower…
Next up, the two-part finale, with Jack as spotlight character.

COUNTDOWN: 50

(Image courtesy of sparklies.org.)

LOST
Season 3
Episode 19
(WARNING:
SPOILERS)
“The Brig”

Given the pet theory I’ve been nursing for quite awhile now (that Locke’s scumbag dad is the conman responsible for Sawyer’s childhood tragedy), I quickly smelled Locke’s lie. Still, it led to one of the most intense sequences this season, as Sawyer is trapped in the Black Rock with the man who destroyed his life and single-handedly made James the man he is today. (A sequence that also led directly into one of the most morbid endings I’ve ever seen on network television.)
Ultimately though, Locke used Sawyer. Sure, dear old Daddy deserved it, and yes, the old fart is responsible for Sawyer’s pain as well, but Locke used James. How honest is that in Locke’s journey to discover the Island’s mysteries?
At any rate, Sawyer now has the evidence of Juliet’s hidden agenda, so, uh-oh, Julie baby…

Speaking of mysteries though, so Juliet and Jack are sharing a secret, a secret Juliet says they should share with Kate, but Jack resists that idea. What is up with that? Has she told Jack about her secret tapes to Ben? (He was nosing around Sun last episode…)
I still think it was a mistake to tell Jack about Naomi (Parachute Girl has a name now) and the high-tech satellite phone thingie, but hey, let’s see where that goes.

Meanwhile, another of the many theories regarding the nature of the Island is tossed out there and apparently shot down. Here, it’s “the Island is Hell”; in episode 2.18 (“Dave”), it was “the Island is someone’s wild imagining.”
Of course, based on Daddy’s story of how he got to the Island, it seems that Ben’s “magic box” isn’t only a metaphor, it’s an outright lie. The man is such a mindf*cker.
So to the outside world, Oceanic 815 crashed into the ocean and all the passengers died. Is that a massive cover-up, or what? So if Dharma is keeping the gears moving so efficiently out there, how can they not know what’s going on on the Island?

Meanwhile again, Rousseau is scrounging around the Black Rock for dynamite? Whatever for? Honestly, I’m still dubious about the whole Alex is my daughter/Alex is Ben’s daughter/Ben conveniently stepped in one of Rousseau’s traps deal, that I’m leery about her motives. But, as with telling Jack about Naomi, let’s see where this one goes too.

Heading into this season’s home stretch, people.
And yes, gentlemen, you are dazzling us. (See Lost Episode 9 review. Archive: March 2007.)

(Image courtesy of aol.com.)

LOST
Season 3
Episode 18
(WARNING:
SPOILERS)
“D.O.C.”

Crackerjack cliffhanger right there!
But let’s backtrack, shall we?

So Eyepatch Dude is still alive?! And Desmond makes a deal with him to help Parachute Girl (who’s apparently multi-lingual like nobody’s business). Urg. These people.
And what does Eyepatch Dude do? He tries to steal the satellite phone thingie. And they still let him go!
Why do I think Charlie’s supposedly impending demise will have something to do with Eyepatch Dude? If so, it’ll all be on Des’ head, for letting the bugger go.

Meanwhile, Juliet helps Sun by bringing her to the medical station, where an ultrasound machine is kept in a secret room. The size of the fetus can help them determine when Sun conceived. If it was off the Island, then fantastic; if it was on, then she’s in the deep doo-doo I mentioned in my review 2 episodes back.
And in the flashbacks, we see Sun as a newly-married woman, approached by Jin’s mother, whom Jin was told was dead. Well, not only is she alive, she’s also an ex-prostitute! So Sun is blackmailed into getting the woman a hundred thousand dollars (I think was the sum) to keep her mouth shut regarding her former profession, money Sun asks from her father.
Interestingly enough, the price of her father giving her the money is that he’ll “promote” Jin, which is how Jin ended up being Mr. Paik’s enforcer!
In all of this, there are a bunch of really great scenes: Sun secretly meeting her father-in-law; Sun and her father, making the deal that will get all that blood and guilt on Jin’s hands; Sun and Juliet, in the medical station, where she confesses to her infidelity with bald hotel owner guy.
Man, I’ve always loved Sun, and this episode was a motherlode of Sun Moments.

Of course, she’s got about two months left to live, so… arrrggghhhh!!!
As it turns out, the baby is Jin’s. (Apparently, just as the Island is particularly brutal to pregnant females, it also ups a guy’s sperm count into the stratosphere; in Jin’s case of being infertile, well, it apparently just made him fertile. What a chauvinistic Island!)
So Sun’s got this death sentence on her now. (First Charlie, now Sun!)

And Juliet’s making tapes for Ben. And apparently remorseful about it.
Okay. Sorry for calling Juliet a “two-faced lying slag.”
Still.

And back to that cliffhanger.
Parachute Girl comes to and says that Oceanic 815 was found, and that there were no survivors…
Hmmmmm…

Parting shot: Fine. If Juliet really busts her a$$ to save Sun’s life, then maybe I’ll consider getting her off my Sh*t List.

(Image courtesy of sparklies.org.)