Posted on March 28, 2007 @ 11:47 pm
Welcome to Week Fourteen 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 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 at the Lost-vivor archives.
Please note that the section ahead contains spoilers for last night’s episode of Lost. Proceed at your own risk.
Why do I get the feeling that “Exposé” is really going to divide the Lost fanbase? Personally, I loved the episode. In fact, it’s one of my favorites so far this season. The idea that Paulo and Nikki were these unsavory characters trying to track down $8 million in stolen diamonds — and not just annoying characters who popped up out of nowhere — was simply brilliant. They finally had a purpose. Even better, they’re dead now, so I never have to see them again. It’s a win-win! All the same, I imagine some viewers found the “buried alive” twist a little too Twilight Zone. I thought it was a nice, creepy way to end the episode — a throwback to the darker storytelling of the first season.
I’m a sucker for on-the-island flashbacks, too. How awesome was it seeing Boone, Shannon, Dr. Arzt, and Ethan again? As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the episode in the comments section. Now, let’s start slinging around some points!
| Nikki:
Nikki was a stripper?: +2
Who stripped to “Rump Shaker” by Wreckx-N-Effect: -1
No, wait. She was an actress: -1
An actress who starred opposite Lando Freakin’ Calrissian: +2
Unfortunately, her character’s catchphrase was “Razzle dazzle!”: -3
Dated some dude who’s old enough to be Céline Dion’s husband’s father: -4
Fell for the old “bracelet in a basket of rolls” trick: +2
Nikki’s a murderer? I didn’t see that coming. Looks like she got away with it, too: +3
Tricked Dr. Arzt into mapping the trajectory of the plane wreckage: +2
Found the drug plane and Pearl Station with Paulo before any of the main characters: +10
Spider attack! What are the odds she could sling that spider out of a jar and hit Paulo on the neck from five feet away?: +4
Instant karma’s gonna get ya, Nikki. Bitten by spiders; should have paid attention to Dr. Arzt: -6
Buried alive: -200
With diamonds: +5
Net gain/loss: -185
Current score: Eliminated |
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Paulo:
Paulo was a chef? He and Sayid should swap recipes sometime: +2
Poisoned food, killing Nikki’s elderly boyfriend. They don’t call him the Wolfgang Puck of Brazil for nothing: +3
Quit smoking: +1
Played Xerxes in 300: -10
Smart enough not to climb up into the drug plane. Well, at least smarter than Boone: +3
Found Pearl Station before any of the main characters, resisted taking a dump in it (for now anyway): +10
Displayed superior diving skills: +2
Found diamonds, hid them in the Pearl toilet: +5
OMG! His obsession with crapping was a clever diamond-stashing ruse all along! I take back all the mean things I’ve said in the past, Paulo. You’re a criminal mastermind: +9
Dropped his nicotine gum, tipping off Nikki in the process: -4
Paralyzed by Dr. Arzt’s spider: -6
Buried alive: -200
With diamonds: +5
Net gain/loss: -180
Current score: Eliminated |
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Charlie:
Noticed grime under Nikki’s fingernails. Charlie should audition for CSI: Mysterious Island: +2
Confessed to kidnapping Sun. It takes a brave hobbit to admit when he’s done something wrong: +3
Net gain/loss: +5
Current score: 100 |
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Dr. Leslie Arzt:
He’s stranded on an island — possibly for the rest of his life — and he almost immediately starts collecting specimens of the local fauna? A geek after my own heart: +2
Folded like a cheap lawn chair the moment Nikki started flirting with him: -3
Net gain/loss: -1
Current score: NA |
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Hurley:
Beat Sawyer at ping pong (again): +1
“Paulo lied”? Dude, she totally said “paralyzed”: -2
Found Paulo’s waxy-looking corpse in the jungle: +2
Displayed considerable detective skills in his investigation of Nikki and Paulo’s deaths. Hurley is like a hairier version of Velma from Scooby Doo: +7
Net gain/loss: +8
Current score: 126 |
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Boone:
He’s been dead for two seasons and he’s still getting bossed around by his sister/secret crush: -2
Net gain/loss: -2
Current score: NA |
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Locke:
Dispensed some old school Locke wisdom (”Things don’t stay buried on this island”): +1
Net gain/loss: +1
Current score: 76 |
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Shannon:
You know, I kinda miss having Shannon around. She and Sayid made a cute couple: +3
Net gain/loss: +3
Current score: NA |
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Desmond:
Provided Hurley with vital information on Sawyer and Nikki’s argument. “I’m helpful even when I can’t use my precognitive abilities, brotha”: +1
Net gain/loss: +1
Current score: 154 |
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Sawyer:
Lost to Hurley at ping pong yet again: -1
Found Paulo’s waxy looking “corpse” in the jungle: +2
Bestowed nickname on Nikki and Paulo (”Nina and Pablo”): +2
Found the diamonds. If I were Sawyer, I’d use that eight million dollars to hire the other Losties to perform Nikki’s Exposé script for my entertainment (with Claire as Corvette and Jin playing the smooth-talking Mr. LaShade): +10
Gave the diamonds to Sun: -10
Had his scheme to gain control of the guns — and his role in Sun’s kidnapping — exposed: -8
Got back the diamonds. Exposé time!: +10
Dumped the diamonds in the grave: -10
Net gain/loss: -5
Current score: 158 |
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Jin:
Found Paulo’s waxy looking “corpse” in the jungle: +2
Net gain/loss: +2
Current score: 124 |
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Jack:
Where was Jack when they needed a physician to determine whether Paulo and Nikki were, you know, actually dead? Probably on the other side of the island playing two-hand touch with Zeke: -2
Net gain/loss: -2
Current score: 87 |
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Sun:
Given 8 million dollars worth of diamonds by Sawyer. If I were Sun, I’d use that money to build a Swiss Family Robinson-style tree house and staff it with monkey butlers: +10
Slapped Sawyer for masterminding her kidnapping last season: +3
Gave back the diamonds. Hello? Monkey butlers?: -10
Net gain/loss: +3
Current score: 113 |
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Vincent:
Tried to pull back the sheet covering Paulo and Nikki, proving he was the only member of the Scooby Gang who knew they were still alive: +4
Net gain/loss: +4
Current score: 109 |
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Nikki and Paulo weren’t exactly vying for the Lost-vivor lead, so their eliminations don’t create a major shake-up in the standings. Hurley and Charlie made respectable gains this week, while Sawyer continues to stall out in the top spot. Can Captain Nickname get back on track, or will the Psychic Scotsman eventually overtake him? Oh, and don’t count Kate out either; she’s hanging in there in third place.
After fourteen weeks of nonstop island action, here are the updated Lost-vivor standings:
- Sawyer (158) (-5)
- Desmond (154) (+1)
- Kate (134)
- Hurley (126) (+8)
- Jin (124) (+2)
- Sayid (123)
- Sun (113) (+3)
- Vincent (109) (+4)
- Claire (107)
- Charlie (100) (+5)
- Jack (87) (-2)
- Locke (76) (+1)
With that, we bring this week’s installment of Lost-vivor to a close. Kate takes center stage next week in “Left Behind.” Will our favorite fugitive continue her steady rise through the Lost-vivor ranks? Maybe. Will her flashback involve running away from some difficult situation in her past? Almost certainly. See you next time!
Not that it matters, but Nikki wasn’t trying to kill Paolo, she was just trying to paralyze him.
Yep, I thought this was a fantastic episode too! What a great twist at the end… also loved seeing old characters like Shannon and Boone.
I really give props to the writers for continuing to establish continuity - though weren’t the Pearl Station doors covered by dirt when Locke discovered them? Maybe Paolo covered them up when he stashed the diamonds later…
I think it suddenly became very clear to me during Ben’s dialogue why the Others took Kate and Sawyer along with Jack. Kate and Sawyer were forced to do sweaty work, they gave Sawyer opportunities to look like a hero, they kept the two of them in cages, they let Kate clean up and gave her a new dress - the Others were setting things up for Kate & Sawyer to do the nasty on camera and make sure Jack saw it. All to break his heart/spirit and get him to operate on Ben. Talk about a masterminded plan!
Presumably, Ben had gathered hints about this “love triangle” thing from Ethan. Though maybe he needed to observe things a little more closely to be sure - so that’s why he got himself abducted as “Henry Gale”? So was the scene with Ben & Julliet in the Pearl station from tonight’s episode before or after Ben was abducted as “Henry Gale”?
I don’t think Hurley deserves to lose three points over: “Then again, maybe your murder investigation should have included checking their pulses at some point, Sherlock: -3″ They did say the spider’s venom would slow your heart rate down enough that even a doctor would have a hard time finding a pulse. So even if he had checked the pulse, it probably wouldn’t have done any good.
So what happens when Locke’s words end up being true? Will Nikki and Paulo both gain 200 points and reenter then standings?
I’m not sure based on the times they flashed, but I would assume that the scene in the Pearl Station was before he was “abducted”. He didn’t look quite so beat up.
And while I didn’t love this episode, it was definitely an improvement over most of the crap they’ve been putting out lately. It was enjoyable, and the ending taught you an important lesson - don’t use the female spider for poisoning your significant other!
As for your points, I agree with them except I think Hurley did check their pulses at some point (which was why they had Nikki explain the effects in the flash back). And if Hurley lost 2 points for “Paulo Lies”, Sawyer should lose 4 for “Power Lines”. What the heck was that guess about?
Jeff: I think Thom’s right; from Ben’s condition (and his clothes), I’m betting it’s from before the abduction. Oh, and for what it’s worth, I tweaked that bit about attempted murder to reflect the fact a little more clearly that Nikki’s goal was paralysis by spider.
Andy and Thom: You’re right; the pulse thing was a screw-up on my end. This is what I get from recapping with pen and paper instead of DVR.
Anyway, I added the points back for Hurley and did what I always do when in doubt — took a few away from Jack instead.
As for the “Power Lines” guess, I was assuming Sawyer was just being sarcastic/dismissive. Didn’t he guess “plywood” at one point, too?
So do we know for sure that they’re dead? I mean, what about Locke’s whole “buried” speech? I don’t know, it seems like a waste to introduce two new characters and kill them off immediately…
I thought when Sawyer guessed “Power Lines,” Nikki had maybe run into the sonic gate somehow and was having some kind of brain meltdown from it.
Still, “killing” her off within the first five minutes of the show was sheer genius. Especially after that razzle-dazzle blurb.
Fuzzball: My guess is that they’re really dead. With that much dirt piled on top of them, surely they couldn’t dig their way out before suffocating. Of course, I suppose nothing is out of the question on Lost. I’m almost starting to think the show introduced them just for the sake of killing them off. If so, that’s pretty awesome. Of course, I’m hoping we’ll see ZOMBIE NIKKI by the end of the season.
Datadog: I agree. Killing Nikki off five minutes into the episode definitely gave me the biggest laugh I can recall getting from Lost in a long time.
I hope they do come back alive, for if they don’t have some bigger purpose, then why were they on in the first place? I mean, think about it. Them being on the show didn’t uncover any mystery at all. I think one of the Lost writers just had an idea about a story line involving killing someone by burying them alive and since they didn’t want to use any of the current cast, they invented these two morons. Good episode, but really not necessary to the overall story.
And why wouldn’t Sawyer keep the diamonds?! Totally not smart. I think it would have been cool if he threw the bag of diamonds in there then dug them up to find them still alive…then killed them with a shovel.
I loved it too!! It was awesome how they incorporated all the losties into the Nikki and Paulo story. Even remembered to include why he used the restroom when they all visited the hatch together. When benry and Juliett were in the hatch spying on the Losties too, that was awesome. I thought it was awesome they got buried alive. I will love it even more, if the island somehow lets them out and they are some type of misfits on the island. But, that’s more just the horror fan in me, vs. the Lost fan. And I agree with fuzzball, John didn’t say that stuff doesn’t stay buried for long on the island for nothing.
I think if you followed the time line they provided, how many days ago things happened, it made it that much more interesting, remembering when jack and kate and michael were captured, when artz got blown up…etc
And I agree with fuzzball, John didn’t say that stuff doesn’t stay buried for long on the island for nothing.
It seems like some ppl came to the island for a new beginning, while others just came there to DIE. It’s almost tragic, except that it’s hard to feel bad for ppl like Nikki and Paulo.
The moment Vincent appeared and started dragging off that cover, the first thing I thought of was Lost-vivor
I think I have an answer to everyone’s question regarding when Paulo saw Ben and Julliet (pre vs. post Henry). Paulo was able to access the hatch to the Pearl easily because the airplane was still stuck in the tree, meaning it happened before Boone got up there and knocked it down, which happened well before Ben pretended to be Henry Gale. I think Hurley should get a couple more points for taking the lead in the investigation and for having the guts to stand up to Sawyer.
I lol’d at the +5 points for being buried with diamonds.
did no one else think this episode had way too many cheesy overtones? the way nikki and paolo fit into the story was a little too perfect…and knowing they were definitely not on the show during the first season (because nikki (keile sanchez) was on a WB show) means they did some major blue-screening them in…..nice attempt, but i thought it was a bit too contrived.
I neither hated nor loved the episode? Seriously, and I’m not proud to say this, the only reason I’m watching the silly show this season is so I can keep up with Lost-vivor. -18 points to pea for being such a lemming.
However, I do object to Jack losing points for not being around. It’s not the man’s fault people on the island are idiots who can’t keep out of trouble. Are you going to take points away from Sayid every time someone gets kidnapped and he doesn’t rescue them and torture the kidnappers? Or take points *away* from Sawyer when he doesn’t give someone a nickname? I didn’t think so. Blah.
I agree with Pea…Jack shouldn’t have lost points. I think Jack gets a bum wrap. He is actually the only one on the island with a plan to try to get off….a plan which is failing…but right now that is the only plan they have.
I think the creators of Lost tried to introduce two new characters this season, fans expressed their immediate dislike for these characters, so this was the Lost writers’ way of saying: “Ok, we’ll kill off Nikki and Paolo, but first we’ll turn them into interesting characters, and then kill them off in a cool, twilight-zonish way - that’ll teach you”
Btw, since a nickname is Sawyer’s “super-move”, I think Jack’s super-move should be any time he pulls a “Jack-Face”.
I read an interview on tvguide.com recently with Carlton Cuse recently that said exactly that Jeff. They introduced the two new characters and suffered the public outcry. They figured they could just let them fade into the background by not having them on anymore, but they didn’t want to take the easy way out and came up with a cool way to kill them off.
Juliet has another FB after Kate’s and I hope you catch her up (or just start her at 100 and move on) and start scoring her also.
Here’s what’s going to happen. Saywer, because he’s Saywer, will probably go back after dark and dig up the graves to get the diamonds. Only to find out that they’re not paralyzied. Though the magic of TV physics, they will not have entirely suffocated yet because the paralytic will have slowed down their heart rate and metabolism, therefor having them not use oxygen as much. Or something.