Paradise Lost
What's happened to LOST? Formerly the show that brought you the reinvention of television narration, it's fallen flat, and borderline comatose-inducing this season. What happened to the great storytelling of "Walkabout" or the energy of the insanely wonderful second season opener "Man of Science, Man of Faith"? Last night's episode, "Fire and Water," another rehashing of Charlie's drug obsession, was just another example of how boring Charlie's addiction story is and has become. I used to giggle every time I heard the refrain "Come on, everybody!" but after seeing DriveShaft in all their infantile/junkie glory, I just wanted to start watching "Project Runway" and Heidi Klum and her bump instead.
Every time LOST attempts to do one of these Charlie addiction episodes, something always falls flat. Even during the first season when we were introduced to Charlie's habits in "The Moth," the schtick felt a bit weathered and already overused. But it's become a go-to theme for the island to which all our characters were brought "for a reason" (Locke's infamous quote). One of the brilliant points that was brought up during our friend-filled screening last night was that the characters seem to not focus on what happened on the episode before, as though they can put action-filled stuff on hold. In last week's show, Michael went after Walt, Jack made Locke go after Michael (and Sawyer hopped on the bandwagon), and then Kate went after the triple threat. The Others captured Kate, pointed a gun at her head, and threatened to kill her if Jack, Locke and Sawyer didn't hand over their guns and go back to camp.
As "Survivor"-esque as the magical torch-lighting might have seemed for that scene, there was some interesting tension. But it's all been forgotten in Charlie's "crazy" episode. Kate is trying to protect Claire from Charlie's misbehavior, but there is no sign that she's traumatized or bedraggled by the experience. She's only concerned about Jack's budding friendship with Ana-Lucia? That seems a little thin to me. Speaking of Ana-Lucia, what happened to the awesome army that she and Jack were going to build together, using Michelle Rodriguez bad-girl expertise? Also, where's Rousseau? And perhaps more importantly, where is Michael?! Has he found Walt? What has Walt been up to? Who are these Others? Why don't we get to see what the deal is with them? A fantastic analogy to this phenomenon was also made last night: LOST has become some sort of boardgame. Instead of dealing with and juggling the stories efficiently and engagingly, we pause simply to see how one person is dealing with their flaw. This is LOST not Sorry! The approach seems lethal for a television show that's based on character-driven action. Where has all the action gone? And a Charlie-concocted fire doesn't count.
Oh, LOST! I only ask these questions because I know you can do better. There are so many strands that the show can start tying together, so many storylines to further. But hitting us over the head with faith seems like a strange strategy for putting it all into place. There's more on the island. You can have the faith, but let us see the adventure too.
Every time LOST attempts to do one of these Charlie addiction episodes, something always falls flat. Even during the first season when we were introduced to Charlie's habits in "The Moth," the schtick felt a bit weathered and already overused. But it's become a go-to theme for the island to which all our characters were brought "for a reason" (Locke's infamous quote). One of the brilliant points that was brought up during our friend-filled screening last night was that the characters seem to not focus on what happened on the episode before, as though they can put action-filled stuff on hold. In last week's show, Michael went after Walt, Jack made Locke go after Michael (and Sawyer hopped on the bandwagon), and then Kate went after the triple threat. The Others captured Kate, pointed a gun at her head, and threatened to kill her if Jack, Locke and Sawyer didn't hand over their guns and go back to camp.As "Survivor"-esque as the magical torch-lighting might have seemed for that scene, there was some interesting tension. But it's all been forgotten in Charlie's "crazy" episode. Kate is trying to protect Claire from Charlie's misbehavior, but there is no sign that she's traumatized or bedraggled by the experience. She's only concerned about Jack's budding friendship with Ana-Lucia? That seems a little thin to me. Speaking of Ana-Lucia, what happened to the awesome army that she and Jack were going to build together, using Michelle Rodriguez bad-girl expertise? Also, where's Rousseau? And perhaps more importantly, where is Michael?! Has he found Walt? What has Walt been up to? Who are these Others? Why don't we get to see what the deal is with them? A fantastic analogy to this phenomenon was also made last night: LOST has become some sort of boardgame. Instead of dealing with and juggling the stories efficiently and engagingly, we pause simply to see how one person is dealing with their flaw. This is LOST not Sorry! The approach seems lethal for a television show that's based on character-driven action. Where has all the action gone? And a Charlie-concocted fire doesn't count.
Oh, LOST! I only ask these questions because I know you can do better. There are so many strands that the show can start tying together, so many storylines to further. But hitting us over the head with faith seems like a strange strategy for putting it all into place. There's more on the island. You can have the faith, but let us see the adventure too.
posted by Melissa at 9:17 AM
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