Requisite Lost Notes

Glad to see I'm not the only one online who was seriously irritated with the constant onscreen V countdown during Lost last night. I got this particular image from Sepinwall, but I've read a lot of other complaints about ABC's tacky in-show advertising on the internet today. I know we're all supposed to accept this now, but just because it's commonplace doesn't mean it isn't graceless and vaguely insulting, both to the viewers and to the people who make these programs.

And I didn't end up watching V. I wanted to like it when it was on months ago, but I just couldn't get into it. Outside of solid performances by Elizabeth Mitchell (does she give any other kind?) and Morena Baccarin, I just wasn't that into it. It was pretty much exactly what I would have expected from a remake of a series from the 80s. I know it's got new showrunners and it could turn around, but after that damn onscreen countdown, I just didn't give a shit about V anymore.

As for the episode of Lost last night, I really enjoyed it, mostly because I just wanted to see Jin and Sun together again. Of course, this isn't the real Jin and Sun, such as it is, but it was nice to see them in love and together, even if only in an alternate universe. After watching Daniel Dae Kim play the scene where he finally gets to see pictures of his daughter for the first time, I can't wait to see their reunion. Jesus, I hope they have one.

For a long time now, Sun and Jin have been the couple I've been most invested in. As much as I loved Juliet and Sawyer, it's Sun and Jin that I relate to and Sun and Jin that I've long rooted for. And it helps that Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim are such talented actors. I really hope I see more of Yunjin Kim in the future; she's sexy, beautiful, powerful, and immensely likable--thought it's not hard to come across that way when set next to Evangeline Lilly...

Also...

:: I thought Sun losing her ability to speak English was a little on the cartoony side. Becca and I have been noticing that in each episode this season there's been the one thing that's just a shade too far on the wrong side of plausibility, like a wooden galleon taking out a stone statue. I really hope the show doesn't do the usual cheesy cliche in this situation: just have Sun get hit in the head a second time! If TV and movies have taught us anything about disability, it's that repeating an accident a second time will yield the exact opposite results.

(Much the same way science fiction has taught us that sending more power through something than it was originally intended to handle will make it work better; don't engineers know anything about voltage in the future? "Divert all power to," my ass.)

:: I don't like this Zoe person. I just find her unlikable in the extreme. And she's a terrible liar; bad to the point where her attempts to lie are insulting.

:: I loved the moment where Sawyer asked Locke why he couldn't just turn to smoke and fly over to the other island and Locke's exasperated explanation, culminating in Sawyer's wonderfully sarcastic "No, 'cause that would be ridiculous." I think he was speaking for a significant portion of the audience with that one.

(And damn it, Josh Holloway has gotten so damn good on this show. I keep looking at him wondering why the hell no one thought he should play Thor in Kenneth Branagh's movie...)

(And, I'm still not sure I buy Locke's explanation. I mean, we didn't see him take the outrigger to find Sun, so... did he just fly over there?)

:: Terry O'Quinn had a great moment, too, when he went over to talk to Widmore and said "I come in peace." Just that little flash on his face afterward said it all. No... no, he doesn't.

:: I'm worried about Sun and Jin and their future. In the alternate universe, Keamy's "Some people just aren't meant to be together" really felt like heavy foreshadowing. We've seen the two of them pulled apart so many times, I'm feeling like they might never be together again.

:: No surprises that it was Desmond on Widmore's sub. I assume this is how they're going to bridge the two worlds together, and that the island's electromagnetic hot spots play into that. What I'm curious about is how Desmond ended up here. The last time we saw him, Widmore was urging Desmond to take Penny and baby Charlie and take them as far as he could. But, of course, Widmore was partially responsible for Desmond being on the island in the first place. So... did something happen to Penny and Charlie, or did Widmore just realize he needed Desmond for some reason? And what reason? I mean, it's not like he can know about the alternate timeline, right?

And... does Widmore even know of Desmond's ability in the first place?

Can't wait to find out.