Lost-vivor: “Not in Portland”
Posted on February 8, 2007 @ 12:34 am
The hiatus is finally over! Welcome to Week Seven of Lost-vivor — all the mystery and adventure of Lost with an added dash of Survivor-style competition. Here’s the deal: after each week’s Lost, I’ll arbitrarily award and deduct points from the characters based on their actions during the episode. I’ll tally up the Lost-vivor scores as the season progresses, and, at the end, we’ll declare a Lost Season Three champion! You can catch up on the action so far here.
Please note that the section ahead contains spoilers for last night’s episode of Lost. Proceed at your own risk.
So, did anyone else notice a shift in tone toward Lost while the show was on hiatus? Everywhere I looked — magazines, blogs, message forums — it seemed like people were starting to wonder whether the show is, you know, actually going somewhere. There were some great moments in the first six episodes of Season Three, but the consensus seems to be that the show is moving at a snail’s pace and not providing the answers that fans crave.
That being said, “Not in Portland” is another relatively down-tempo episode starring the Big Three — Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. We got a little more drama with Ben under the knife, Juliet’s flashback provided additional insight into DHARMA’s sinister nature, and Alex’s rescue of her star-crossed boyfriend supplied a refreshingly straightforward (and, dare I say, cute?) B-story. The good news is that the status quo has finally changed. Kate and Sawyer have escaped DHARMA Island, and their attempt to free Jack from the Others should prove interesting. Or at least that’s what the brief clip of an explosion from next week’s episode would lead me to believe.
On an unrelated note, is there such a thing as a creepy hairstyle? Because if there is, I nominate Ethan’s hairdo from Juliet’s flashback. I can’t put my finger on what it was, but something about it gave me a case of the jibblies.
But enough recap already! Let’s take a look at the score sheets and see how the Big Three fared this week.
| Jack:
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| Kate:
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| Sawyer:
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It’s another big week for Sawyer, as he extends his lead in the Lost-vivor standings. When in doubt, I suppose throwing out a new nickname every five minutes is a solid strategy. Kate’s performance wasn’t too shabby either; she posted 17 points, leapfrogging her from twelfth place into fourth. Jack, on the other hand, continues to fall farther and farther behind. Rumor has it that the good doctor will be MIA from several upcoming episodes this season. That’s good news, because if he keeps appearing on a weekly basis, he’s likely to reach a negative point total before April rolls around.
After seven intense weeks of Lost-vivor, here are your standings:
- Sawyer (172) (+32)
- Locke (137)
- Desmond (119)
- Kate (113) (+17)
- Jin (110)
- Sun (107)
- Hurley (105)
- Claire (101)
- Vincent (100)
- Charlie (99)
- Paulo (99)
- Nikki (98)
- Sayid (88)
- Jack (74) (-12)
Will another Lost-vivor manage to close the gap on Sawyer, or is everyone’s favorite con artist off to the races? Tune in next week to find out!
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Lost-vivor |
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1) “aesthetic” => “anesthetic”
2) Jack should get some points from extracting some info from Julliet about her situation
3) I think Kate/Sawyer should both lose a few points for having to be first rescued by a girl with a slingshot, then that fails, finally being rescued by another Other… can’t they do anything themselves?
4) Also, maybe tone down Sawyer’s nickname bonus in the future (+1 max?) - they’re funny and all, but he’ll really be un-touchable if you keep that up.
I skipped pretty much all of season 2 and the beginning of season 3. But with the new time I figured I’d tune in. I was completely lost, no clue who half the people are and quite frankly, I realized yesterday why I stopped watching the show. I just don’t care anymore. I don’t care why they’re on the island, I don’t care if they get off it. Such a switch from season 1 when I was totally hooked. I’m gonna give the show another go next week but I think, really, I can probably just skip it all and just keep up with Lost-vivor!
Jeff: Thanks for the feedback. I fixed the typo (that’s what I get for staying up past my bedtime). You’re right on Sawyer’s nicknames; usually he doesn’t throw out four in a single episode, but they do start to pile up after awhile. Maybe I’ll set up a system of diminishing returns from now on; the first nickname gets +2, and it’s +1 for every nickname thereafter.
Pea: I really hope the pace picks up now that Sawyer and Kate are off Dharma Island. My biggest frustration at this point is the separation between the “stars” (Jack, Kate, and Sawyer) and the “supporting cast.” I preferred the show back when the show was more of an ensemble. When was the last time Kate, for instance, interacted with Charlie? Or Sawyer spoke to Claire? With such a talented cast, it’s a shame to see so many characters stuck in the background.
Ethan gives off a pretty creepy vibe. Back in season one an eloquent friend of mine on the first appearance of Ethan said “That dude jacked up. He ain’t right.” and then gave us a hardy “Toljall!” when he really did turn out to be sinister.
On the plus side for the actor though, you’re doing pretty well when your character is killed in season one and you appear in each season thereafter anyway. Not the steadiest work, but he’s getting a pay check and trips to Hawaii, and his fashion sense questioned thanks to their hair and makeup team, so it’s not all bad.
I don’t think anyone is giving Jack enough credit! I loved his performance last night…I mean if it wasn’t for him Sawyer would be dead and who knows what would be happening to Kate! Where are the points for that! He also risked his own life in the process of saving Sawyer’s and Kate’s…where are the points for that! Jack once again saves the day! His numbers should be improving! We need to take another look at how these characters score points!
Jeannie: I’ll admit that Lost-vivor has been tough on Jack this season. I think it’s because he hasn’t been terribly proactive; instead, he just keeps reacting to what’s going on with Ben and Juliet (and, to a lesser degree, Sawyer and Kate).
Maybe I’ll go a little easier on him next week.
Ok, well now that they’re officially showing “Others” flashbacks, you’re going to have to start tracking them. At least Juliette and Ben, they deserve no less.
Shouldn’t Sawyer get at least an extra point for electrocuting Danny before locking him and the other Other in the cage?
The guy who plays Ethan has looked creepy in everything he’s ever done.
And as much as I hate Kate, I think she should have gotten some points for threatening to shoot that guy in the knee. Oh, and Sawyer definitely should have lost more than 1 point for turning into some slack-jawed idiot in the drum ‘n’ bass room.
Oh, what Babs said! That electrocution thing was brutal.
Babs and Veronica: You know, Lost-vivor scores are usually set in stone, but I looked back at my notes (yes, I keep notes while watching Lost), and I’d originally awarded Sawyer points for zapping Danny. Somewhere in the translation to blog entry, however, the points disappeared. So, I’ve added them back in. Thanks for the feedback!