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Post by bobdoc on Mar 25, 2010 18:30:54 GMT -4
"Ab Aeterno." I was not all that impressed by it.It was OK, and Richard's love story was nice. But we already had an epic love story with Desmond and Penny, so it wasn't as if the show needed another one. And I'm just hoping all this talk about hell and "Evil Incarnate" is just misdirection, or I will be disappointed. I would have hoped those themes would have been much more nuanced and complex. It was all just a bit too simplistic for me. oops, sorry about the omitting spoiler tags I'm in a similar boat. I was impressed with the episode as far as Richard's story, and enjoyed the love story (although I think it was best that they kept it within this one episode and didn't make it a long-term storyline over several episodes and seasons like Des and Penny). For me, this was an ep I wanted to rewatch right away. There was a lot of information and references I wanted to make sure I understood. But like Mythic, I'm a little concerned about the whole "evil incarnate" thing. I'm actually pretty confused by it. If MIB is evil, and the island (and/or Jacob) is a cork that holds him in place, prevents him from escaping...then are things that happen off the island, in the "real world", not evil? 'Cause isn't the rest of the world protected from him while the island holds him? Exactly what kind of "evil" is being contained, then? And where would it go if the cork, the island, wasn't there? There are still evil things in the real world - evil is everywhere. But human kind can keep it in balance enough to preserve a stable civilization. Yet MIB's brand of darkness is likely so toxic, it would upset the balance and no one would be able to overcome it if it spread around the world. Look at the infected Sayid and Claire as proof.
Of course, it is still a matter of discovering what makes his darkness that powerful, and what made him that way - but that will come in time. |
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Post by fearandloathin on Mar 25, 2010 21:08:22 GMT -4
To be honest, I didn't think much of this eppy, yeah it gave us answers, but I do think it's not as exciting as it used to be. Still gunna keep watching to the very end though! I want more Charlie action! lol
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Post by benlinusisagoodguy on Mar 26, 2010 3:35:40 GMT -4
I thought Steph vowed to quit watching after "Sundown", then came back just to watch "Dr. Linus" hated that and gave up for good. So I'm just surprised she came back again to see this one. it was because i kept pushing her to watch it |
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Post by gem10 on Mar 26, 2010 7:31:06 GMT -4
This was a great episode ! Amazing acting from Nestor.  |
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Post by dkiddo on Mar 26, 2010 13:22:46 GMT -4
I thought this episode was OK... I agree, Richard is more mysterious without the whole love story. Now... as a latin person and please somebody (latin too if possible) correct me if I'm wrong, for me it felt like I'm watching a mexican soap opera, the whole "no Isabella mi amor no te mueras" bs for me was so corny! Nestor is a good actor, but this acting reminded me soooooo much of latin cheesy soap operas! Also, in some latin forums (and I share this opinion) it's said that Nestor didn't even try to have a spanish accent, he used his natural accent. Not only him, everybody had a mexican/cuban accent when the setting of his story was Spain. I'm rather picky when it comes to accents of languages I know, and listening to him speaking in a Latin-american Spanish didn't make me believe a word he was saying or feeling. And his acting is rather common in Latin America, maybe that's where he learned... All the same, I know this is an American show and most Americans shouldn't care about this, but us Latins watch Lost A LOT too (especially in Argentina) and it's a bit annoying to notice things like these.
I don't want to sound like a troll, this episode is my 3rd favorite of this season, but I just don't share the thought that Nestor was amazing in this episode, he was above his average, but he's not even close to Terry's or Michael's acting.
Now about Lost, what did we learn? Richard arrived in the Black Rock, an old theory that has been around for a while now. He's "immortal" because Jacob touched him, which we also knew... The important questions (like who the heck is Jacob and why is/was he so powerful, why are they candidates, what the heck is the island -a cork to stop evil from spreading all over the world, yeah I know but seriously what is the island- etc...) remain unanswered, while trivia things like "where is Richard from?" are being answered. Time is running and there are so many things left to know, I hope they have time.
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Post by Edith S. Baker on Mar 26, 2010 14:25:03 GMT -4
I thought this episode was OK... I agree, Richard is more mysterious without the whole love story. Now... as a latin person and please somebody (latin too if possible) correct me if I'm wrong, for me it felt like I'm watching a mexican soap opera, the whole "no Isabella mi amor no te mueras" bs for me was so corny! Nestor is a good actor, but this acting reminded me soooooo much of latin cheesy soap operas! Also, in some latin forums (and I share this opinion) it's said that Nestor didn't even try to have a spanish accent, he used his natural accent. Not only him, everybody had a mexican/cuban accent when the setting of his story was Spain. I'm rather picky when it comes to accents of languages I know, and listening to him speaking in a Latin-american Spanish didn't make me believe a word he was saying or feeling. And his acting is rather common in Latin America, maybe that's where he learned... All the same, I know this is an American show and most Americans shouldn't care about this, but us Latins watch Lost A LOT too (especially in Argentina) and it's a bit annoying to notice things like these.
I don't want to sound like a troll, this episode is my 3rd favorite of this season, but I just don't share the thought that Nestor was amazing in this episode, he was above his average, but he's not even close to Terry's or Michael's acting.
Now about Lost, what did we learn? Richard arrived in the Black Rock, an old theory that has been around for a while now. He's "immortal" because Jacob touched him, which we also knew... The important questions (like who the heck is Jacob and why is/was he so powerful, why are they candidates, what the heck is the island -a cork to stop evil from spreading all over the world, yeah I know but seriously what is the island- etc...) remain unanswered, while trivia things like "where is Richard from?" are being answered. Time is running and there are so many things left to know, I hope they have time. Actually, speaking as a Latina and as an American, I can see both sides. I don't mean this as a harsh criticism, it is a fact that Americans tend to have too much hubris. So much so, that a lot of our movies about foreign affairs are many times inaccurate and more often than not, we don't even bother with displaying that languages other than English even exist. LOST is an amazing show. It is a TV show, which means it started with a small budget, but it had no fear of not only acknowledging the existence of other countries, but hiring actors from abroad and having no fears about showing scenes or even episodes wherein they had to use subtitles. I am awed by their innovative ideas. You are right about Nestor’s accent. He is Cuban, and though, his family come from Catalan, he speaks Latin-American Spanish. Perhaps he should have learned Castilian Spanish, but the mere fact that he was allowed to do the scenes in Spanish was, in my book, amazing. Now onto another point, Nestor’s acting capabilities. Was he equal to Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn? I don’t know that anybody can come close to Michael’s acting skills. Michael is Shakespearean-trained actor. He has training that few have. It’s not fair to compare him with the others. I think Josh Holloway has come a long way. He learned a lot these past 6 years. I saw him blossom. Nestor did a fantastic job as well. He was asked to use all his acting skills in this episode and some. It’s not that easy to pour your heart out as he did. Whether it is Emmy worthy, I don’t know. But I certainly enjoyed every bit of it. Yeah, we didn’t learn much about his background, but we learned how, why, and when he came to the island. We knew that he had eternal life, but we learned why he was given that right. So, in essence, we learned some new things. I think that most of our questions will be answered. I don’t think that we will learn about the Others of Season 3. I, personally, would love to know more about Coleen, Danny Picket, Isabel, etc. I was in love with those characters and they only lived for one season. We all need to realize that LOST can’t give us all the answer right away. If they did, the show would be over tomorrow. |
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Post by dkiddo on Mar 26, 2010 15:38:16 GMT -4
I thought this episode was OK... I agree, Richard is more mysterious without the whole love story. Now... as a latin person and please somebody (latin too if possible) correct me if I'm wrong, for me it felt like I'm watching a mexican soap opera, the whole "no Isabella mi amor no te mueras" bs for me was so corny! Nestor is a good actor, but this acting reminded me soooooo much of latin cheesy soap operas! Also, in some latin forums (and I share this opinion) it's said that Nestor didn't even try to have a spanish accent, he used his natural accent. Not only him, everybody had a mexican/cuban accent when the setting of his story was Spain. I'm rather picky when it comes to accents of languages I know, and listening to him speaking in a Latin-american Spanish didn't make me believe a word he was saying or feeling. And his acting is rather common in Latin America, maybe that's where he learned... All the same, I know this is an American show and most Americans shouldn't care about this, but us Latins watch Lost A LOT too (especially in Argentina) and it's a bit annoying to notice things like these.
I don't want to sound like a troll, this episode is my 3rd favorite of this season, but I just don't share the thought that Nestor was amazing in this episode, he was above his average, but he's not even close to Terry's or Michael's acting.
Now about Lost, what did we learn? Richard arrived in the Black Rock, an old theory that has been around for a while now. He's "immortal" because Jacob touched him, which we also knew... The important questions (like who the heck is Jacob and why is/was he so powerful, why are they candidates, what the heck is the island -a cork to stop evil from spreading all over the world, yeah I know but seriously what is the island- etc...) remain unanswered, while trivia things like "where is Richard from?" are being answered. Time is running and there are so many things left to know, I hope they have time. Actually, speaking as a Latina and as an American, I can see both sides. I don't mean this as a harsh criticism, it is a fact that Americans tend to have too much hubris. So much so, that a lot of our movies about foreign affairs are many times inaccurate and more often than not, we don't even bother with displaying that languages other than English even exist. LOST is an amazing show. It is a TV show, which means it started with a small budget, but it had no fear of not only acknowledging the existence of other countries, but hiring actors from abroad and having no fears about showing scenes or even episodes wherein they had to use subtitles. I am awed by their innovative ideas. You are right about Nestor’s accent. He is Cuban, and though, his family come from Catalan, he speaks Latin-American Spanish. Perhaps he should have learned Castilian Spanish, but the mere fact that he was allowed to do the scenes in Spanish was, in my book, amazing. Now onto another point, Nestor’s acting capabilities. Was he equal to Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn? I don’t know that anybody can come close to Michael’s acting skills. Michael is Shakespearean-trained actor. He has training that few have. It’s not fair to compare him with the others. I think Josh Holloway has come a long way. He learned a lot these past 6 years. I saw him blossom. Nestor did a fantastic job as well. He was asked to use all his acting skills in this episode and some. It’s not that easy to pour your heart out as he did. Whether it is Emmy worthy, I don’t know. But I certainly enjoyed every bit of it. Yeah, we didn’t learn much about his background, but we learned how, why, and when he came to the island. We knew that he had eternal life, but we learned why he was given that right. So, in essence, we learned some new things. I think that most of our questions will be answered. I don’t think that we will learn about the Others of Season 3. I, personally, would love to know more about Coleen, Danny Picket, Isabel, etc. I was in love with those characters and they only lived for one season. We all need to realize that LOST can’t give us all the answer right away. If they did, the show would be over tomorrow. I agree with you on many many things, - especially on having an episode of Lost in Spanish he-he, that was strange but nice, yet I still believe that if you do something you either do it 100% well or just don't do it, if the writers/producers/director didn't really care about telling "Hey Nestor you're going to have to do a Castillian Accent" then they should have let him speak English and figure a way to make that believable. Now, about comparing Michael and any other actor. I'm not really comparing the acting techniques, I have no idea about acting techniques to be honest, I'm more of a "Tarantino school" kind of person: I learned everything I know about movies by watching lots and lots of films from all over the world, and I'm no expert at all, I'm just somebody who loves movies/shows and I think I can recognize a great performance. So, with that said, regardless of where, when or how any of the actors learned how to act, from my point of view, Nestor didn't do anything extraordinary in this episode, he was above his normal acting (he had to, this Richard wasn't meant to be the cool, calmed Richard we know, he was meant to be a desperate man trying to save the love of his life, it's almost a completely different character), and probably this isn't Nestor's fault, maybe it's the writer's fault, it's just that the whole "Man in love commits accidentally a crime, loses his wife and is now broken" cliche has been used so much in so many movies/shows/books/ and mostly in Latin soap operas that his acting comes to me as regular, nothing wow but not bad either, meaning I believe he doesn't deserve an award for it. About what we learned from Lost, I think you are right, we can't have all the answers because the show wouldn't last, but can't they just answer us something important? pretty please? Like in the Substitute I think, where we finally know *why* they crashed on the Island (no, not b/c of the hatch), because they're candidates, that was a huge revelation, but ever since that episode, nothing truly important has been revealed and it has been like... I don't know, 3 or 4 episodes? Of course in these episodes a lot of things have occurred like Ben's "redemption", Widmore's arrival, Sawyer's alliance, Claire showing up, the downfall of the temple, etc., but revealed as in answers, just the candidates thing. I won't give up on Lost at all, I will watch it 'til the very end even if I get cranky and frustrated sometimes, it just worries me that all the things I want to know (especially: why couldn't pregnant women give birth and live in the Island? if that's not important, then why would they use that along season 3 and 4?) may not be answered, since there's only like 7 more episodes until the end of the show. |
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Post by Edith S. Baker on Mar 26, 2010 15:46:53 GMT -4
Frankly, I think that the producers were forced to make LOST end in Season 6. It was during Season 3 that the pressure was on. Probably If they had decided when the show was created that it was going to run for 6 seasons, they might not have introduced the fertility problem or any other question that will not be answered. I truly think that Season 3 was a filler. A way to stretch a show that was not meant to run for that long.
I think that ABC, being greedy, as all major TV production companies are, was hoping that LOST would run 10 years or so. But the fans were upset with Season 3 and the producers were forced to negotiate a time limit or face the demise of the show before its story could be told. Hence, a lot of questions are opened and will never be closed. It's so sad!
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Post by dkiddo on Mar 26, 2010 16:21:28 GMT -4
Frankly, I think that the producers were forced to make LOST end in Season 6. It was during Season 3 that the pressure was on. Probably If they had decided when the show was created that it was going to run for 6 seasons, they might not have introduced the fertility problem or any other question that will not be answered. I truly think that Season 3 was a filler. A way to stretch a show that was not meant to run for that long. I think that ABC, being greedy, as all major TV production companies are, was hoping that LOST would run 10 years or so. But the fans were upset with Season 3 and the producers were forced to negotiate a time limit or face the demise of the show before its story could be told. Hence, a lot of questions are opened and will never be closed. It's so sad! I know, so sad  Well let's hope all the major questions will be answered  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2010 19:29:07 GMT -4
I realize that I will inevitably be disappointed with some aspects of how LOST ends. We have had several seasons to think about it, dwell on it, develop our opinions about what it is. The resolution is bound to disappoint in some ways, but if the core of the story holds together, and — more and more I'm convinced this is necessary — if it doesn't lose its mystery, I will on balance be very pleased.
Perhaps that is what worries me most in this last season, that LOST will reveal too many secrets and not keep us fascinated. It's a tough challenge, but it can be done. "The Prisoner" is one such story that comes to mind. "2001: A Space Odyssey" is a movie that did that.
I am a Babylon 5 fan, but I was disappointed with its conclusion. The network played around with it, first saying it had to end a season earlier, then expanding it a season, bowing to fan reaction. But in some respects, you could say the fans played a role in its demise. Having to rush the conclude the show earlier than planned, then expanding it its original run, made Babylon 5's ending spotty. It could have been so much better. But that's baseball, as they say. Sometimes you get extra innings, and while that might give you your money's worth, it might not end the way you hoped.
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Post by melissaq9 on Mar 27, 2010 1:17:38 GMT -4
How I wish they would tell us more about Isabel! She has been one of my favorites since we saw her and she was only on screen about 5 minutes. It is a bummer that a lot of things will go unanswered but I trust that they will conclude everything in a satisfying way. On a different note, I enjoy the many cliche moments LOST offers. I think they make it more believeable as a tv show because it is still that. The best tv show ever, but still a show. |
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Post by tigerlily on Mar 27, 2010 12:11:49 GMT -4
hrrmmm.....not my favorite epi. I'm seeing a pattern this season - I'm really digging the on-island action, but the off-island adventures (apart from Locke and Jack), not so much. I felt that Richard's backstory could have been much shorter, and I agree with several others - I prefer him to be more mysterious. What I really wanted to see was his time ON the island, not how he got to the island. How/when did he collect the Hostiles/Others and become their guide? What is his relationship with young Ben like? These are the scenes I would have preferred, not the melodramatic period story with his one true lost love. Don't get me wrong, I *adore* historical fiction, but it just seemed very out of place and experimental to me. In other words, it's the Island that I love, and this is the character I would like them to focus on - everything else, to me, is just peripheral and uninteresting. What I loved in this epi was the interaction between Jacob and Smokey. They just rock together. Their conversations are just packed with tension, yet they play off each other in such a casual, low-key way - it's so bizarre! I also loved Hurley taking charge - I have always believed that Hurley will have a major role in the final battle, and he is stepping up to the plate beautifully. Jack who??? Now, Jack was super cute in this epi, but I agree that he needs to be put in his place once in a while. He had his chance to be a leader, and sort of f-ed it up, so now he can just sit back and look cute.  I also loved the old-fashioned campfire storytime, for some reason I found it really cute, especially because we're left with a bunch of misfits who don't particularly care for each other but are forced to be a "family." We need more Lapidus and Miles, though. I keep waiting for them to have their big moments. I was left wanting to know much more about Ilana's story, and what her connections to Jacob are. I was excited at the beginning of the epi because I thought we were going to get some of that, but they misled me a little bit. Soph, I have a wee crush on Smokey as well. I can't figure out why!!! But I tend to agree with the people who think that these two characters aren't simply good and evil - I think they are both good AND evil, we just haven't seen Jacob's dark side yet - but I think we will. They are going to change everything on us, like they always do. I also don't think the island is actually Hell - that's just Richard's interpretation. |
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Post by inia on Mar 27, 2010 13:50:15 GMT -4
I also loved the old-fashioned campfire storytime, for some reason I found it really cute, especially because we're left with a bunch of misfits who don't particularly care for each other but are forced to be a "family." We need more Lapidus and Miles, though. I keep waiting for them to have their big moments.
I was left wanting to know much more about Ilana's story, and what her connections to Jacob are. I was excited at the beginning of the epi because I thought we were going to get some of that, but they misled me a little bit.
I agree with you, i love the bunch of people on the beach, I like all the characters there are( not so much Jack though, sorry ).
I also hope more Ilana, but I think there will be something more of her to come.
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Post by tigerlily on Mar 27, 2010 14:17:02 GMT -4
I agree with you, i love the bunch of people on the beach, I like all the characters there are( not so much Jack though, sorry ).
Horrors!!!!   |
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Post by bobdoc on Mar 27, 2010 19:56:32 GMT -4
I realize that I will inevitably be disappointed with some aspects of how LOST ends. We have had several seasons to think about it, dwell on it, develop our opinions about what it is. The resolution is bound to disappoint in some ways, but if the core of the story holds together, and — more and more I'm convinced this is necessary — if it doesn't lose its mystery, I will on balance be very pleased. At this point, with all they've filled in and confirmed, there's really only a few questions I have left on a big picture level. They only need to answer these - and do it well of course - to provide a satisfying ending, IMO. 1. Although we now know the island's purpose, why is this specific island the host of this grand battle? 2. Likewise, although we now know why the survivors were needed by Jacob/the island, why were these specific people chosen as candidates? 3. What is the truth behind the Jacob/MIB war? 4. How did the MIB become the smoke monster? 5. What is the truth behind the Ben/Widmore war, and how did it impact the larger Jacob/MIB struggle? 6. Will the real John Locke ever come back? 7. Why is Desmond so significant? 8. Why do the flash sideways exist? Those are really the last questions I urgently need answered by now. The rest are just for filling in smaller pieces, and for character resolution. |
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Well let's hope all the major questions will be answered 
