Lost-vivor: “The Brig”
Posted on May 2, 2007 @ 11:25 pm
Welcome to Week Nineteen of Lost-vivor — all the mystery and adventure of Lost with an added dash of Survivor-style competition! Note that the section ahead contains spoilers for last night’s episode of Lost. Proceed at your own risk.
“The Brig” was a decent enough episode — nothing spectacular, but a solid effort overall. Josh Holloway’s performance as Sawyer just keeps getting better and better. He was one of my least favorite characters on the show when the season began, but he now ranks near the top of my list (both figuratively and, in the case of Lost-vivor, literally). Meanwhile, Locke wasn’t as frustratingly smug as in recent episodes. That’s definitely a plus.
Unfortunately, I can’t say “The Brig” held any major surprises for me. I had been working under the assumption that Locke’s father was the same guy who conned Sawyer’s mother ever since he first appeared back in the first season, and John’s claim that he had kidnapped Ben just never rang true. I will say that I didn’t expect Sawyer to actually kill Locke’s dad. I thought he’d decide to spare his life at the last minute. So much for my “Sawyer’s redemption” theory.
I really wish the producers would stop throwing Cindy (the flight attendant from the tail section) into episodes if they’re not going to explain what’s up with her. Was she converted by the Others, or was she working with them all along? I guess we’ll find out eventually. Oh, and what was the deal with Rousseau showing up just long enough to borrow some dynamite from Locke’s pirate clubhouse? Is it really worth paying the actress to show up for an appearance like that?
I suppose what intrigued me most about “The Brig” was the secret being shared between Jack and Juliet — the one Juliet wanted to tell Kate. It feels like the Losties are heading toward a major leadership crisis in the episodes ahead, and I look forward to seeing how it all shakes out.
All right, let’s take a look at this week’s scores!
| Locke: |
 |
|
|
|
| Sawyer: |
 |
|
|
|
| Desmond: |
 |
|
|
|
| Kate: |
 |
|
|
|
| Juliet: |
 |
|
|
|
| Sayid: |
 |
|
|
|
| Naomi: |
 |
|
|
|
| Jack: |
 |
Now this is interesting. Sawyer has managed to tie Desmond for first place in the Lost-vivor standings, while Jack has tied Locke for dead last. What are the odds? So, after nineteen weeks on board the Lost-vivor rollercoaster, here are the latest rankings:
- Desmond (161) (-1)
- Sawyer (161) (+8)
- Hurley (139)
- Jin (136)
- Sayid (134) (+5)
- Kate (130) (+4)
- Sun (114)
- Naomi (112) (+3)
- Vincent (109)
- Charlie (104)
- Claire (103)
- Juliet (89) (-4)
- Jack (71) (-5)
- Locke (71) (+4)
Thanks for reading Lost-vivor! We only have four episodes left this season, and it looks like things are about to get very interesting. Next week’s episode, “The Man Behind the Curtain,” will feature Ben’s first flashback. giving us a little more insight into DHARMA’s backstory. Personally, I just want to know whether Ben is really Alex’s biological father. Surely he didn’t make sweet island love to Rousseau, did he? One shudders to think.
I think that’s my cue to leave. See you next week!
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Lost-vivor |
22 comments so far...
Leave a Comment
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
Great performance by the guy who plays Sawyer (James Ford)!
I liked the cameo by Rousseau - intriguing and in character for both of them… hopefully we learn what Rousseau is up to with the dynamite eventually (maybe just some more fun booby traps?)
I knew Sawyer would kill Locke’s dad - they wouldn’t make that character so detestable otherwise (he was so over-the-top evil, even less appealing thatn the manipulative Ben, they just couldn’t keep him around after this episode).
I think Jack and Juliet are plotting against Ben… the writers are intentionally pulling our strings to make us think that Jack is on the Others side. No idea what the ’secret’ is yet though.
This was one of my favorite episodes. Sawyer is very quickly becoming my favorite character. His performance last night was awesome. I was pretty ticked at Locke for using him though. Locke is definitely on his own journey which includes using anyone in his path that can help him. Sounds like an other to me.
I am excited to see Jack in last place. His character is really becoming the BIGGEST LOSER. He use to be one of my favorite characters!
If a split occurs on the island between the losties…I am heading out with Sawyer! He’s the man.
Rousseau has major plans with the dyanmite…she may take over John Locke’s place as the official island destroyer!
Thanks for doing this every week. I really look forward to it!
If there were a split, I would go with Sayid. He wasn’t about to fall for the whole “my helicopter fell out of the sky and I had a punctured lung” story…until he say the radio/phone.
I have a question: If the Island eats pregnant women, how is Rousseau still alive? Is it a recent thing?
I agree with everyone else, Lost-vivor is great creation and a lot of fun!
I think Hurley needs to lose a point or two for his comeback remark to Sawyer about him and Jin just taking a piss together. What? Were they shaking each other off? As much as I like Sayid, he should lose points for telling Kate about the phone, you just knew she was going to run to Jack! Naomi should get a point or two for her snide remarkt to Sayid about “remind me not to have you rescued.” or something like that. And how did Sun get a point? She wasn’t even in the episode.
You have to be very curious about the super secret. Something tells me that they’re not getting their hopes up about the “rescue attempt” because they know nothing can come from it.
I think its obvious that Rousseau was pregnant before she landed on the island; that explains why her and Rousseau is still alive. I’m curious to know how Karl got on the island. Did his pregnant mother land on the island too somehow?
I predict: Kates preggers with James’/Sawyer’s baby. My friend Robin will be excited that Kate will be out of the picture unless Juliette does something to make baby-having safe on the island. The Others will come in and demand Sun & Kate come with them. Jack will come along, too. Elvis will be sited.
Rumors are that 5 of the Losties will die in the upcoming episodes. The bottom five on your list perhaps????
@Jeff: I suspect Jack is still on the side of the angels, too, but I find I’ve been over-thinking Lost lately. I keep expecting the writers to employ mis-misdirection, but they keep going with regular misdirection instead.
@Jeannie: Thanks! I’m glad you’re enjoying Lost-vivor. As always, I’m having a blast writing it.
@David: It’s my default position to always side with Sayid.
@Adam: Oops! That point for Sun was a typo. It’s been fixed now. Thanks for the heads up.
@Randy: I’m hoping that Kate isn’t pregnant, but the writers certainly seem to be hinting in that direction. Once again, though, it’s probably just misdirection and not the far more clever mis-misdirection.
@Adam: I’ve been hearing that five Losties rumor, too. I’ve also heard it phrased “five deaths” in general — including the Others, etc. I first saw that rumor before the Nikki and Paulo episode, so that may account for two deaths. Locke’s dad would be a third.
I still have a feeling Desmond is going to die in Charlie’s place before the season ends. We’ll see…
I’ve heard it as “five deaths” too - not necessarily five of the principal cast. Locke’s dad was #1, so that pretty much proves it. Any of the minor Others characters (like Mikhail, Tom, Richard, Cindy) are also up for grabs (I think Richard has a bigger role to play though).
I _DO_ think one or two of the principals will depart by end of the season (the “obvious” target is Charlie, but they could be employing mis-direction).
I think Locke should lose points for playing into Ben’s hand with the “Juliet is a mole” thing, personally. Surely Ben knew that John would yoink the tape recorder first chance he got.
Jess, thanks for doing this each week. Some weeks my wife and I are as excited about Lostvivor as about LOST!
thank you thank you thank you for the “that thing you do” reference.
oddly enough, i woke up thinking about that movie.
I agree with Randy. I thinke Kate is pregnant. I think they let Sawyer and Kate get together for just that reason. The cameras tell us they knew it was happening. Maybe there was something in the food Ben fed her at the creepy dinner.
I hate Locke. Locke has gone from super bitchin’ survival zen guy to whiny ass with only himself in mind.
Jack is following his nads instead of common sense. But really, he never was that quick on the uptake. He was just surrounded by people that helped him make better decisions.
I think they keep throwing in Rousseau to remind us she’s the wild card. We know what she says her motivations are but we can’t trust that. Besides, it’s nice to see Delenn get the work.
How can Desmond get minus three points for Naomi doing a piss poor job of rescuing the Lost-ies? Not his fault…
Regarding Cap’n Geech, I was actually in a movie some years back with Steve Zaun. True story.
Lost rocks.
I think we’ve seen that Ben can make mistakes, so I think Locke recovering the tape recorder was actually more to do with him still retaining some of his jungle mojo than Ben having a plan for everything. Sayid has turned into the only character on the island that seems to remember things for more than a day. Although I’m disappointed that he didn’t introduce himself as “My name is Sayid, and I am a torturer” when he met Naomi.
Sawyer also deserved some points for his brilliant “Looks who’s back from his ‘blow up everything that could get us off this island’ tour.” That’s one of the best lines on Lost, ever.
@Greg: My pleasure! Thanks for reading.
@april5k: The fact that someone picked up on the Cap’n Geech reference makes the entire season of Lost-vivor worthwhile in my eyes.
@Michael: My thinking is that Desmond didn’t “lose” three points because Naomi is doing a bad job of rescuing him. Rather, he didn’t gain as many points as he would have (+5) if she hadn’t managed to impale herself on a limb while parachuting down to the island. Basically, it’s a correction instead of a deduction.
@Ruko: Okay, now you totally have to spill the beans on your Steve Zahn connection.
@Thom: I think I’m going to start introducing myself by saying, “My name is Jess, and I am a torturer. And a blogger, too. But mostly a torturer.”
Hi everybody
I’m reading you from France, so maybe my point of view on american people is somewhat biased, but tell me just one thing: surely no one would think of ending the story this season, with a poor explanation of hell/heaven and purgatory ?!? that would spoil the whole story totally, would’nt it ? I mean: promise me even american writers can’t do that !
I liked the show, but my coworker liked it a lot more. He made a special point to praise the writers for the dialogue and situations that he was putting the characters in. The Philosophers, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau, “facing off” in the “slave ship”. A bit about, “we are slaves to society” or “we can choose our own paths”…
It was at that point that my head started hurting. I was just happy that Sawyer got back to the nasty streak, both with Locke’s dad and Kate.
Sophie, don’t worry. The show’s creators have stated in several interviews that the characters are not in purgatory.
Jess,
I’m sorry to say that I must cease reading this at work as the tremendous guffaws coming from my cubicle are starting to be noticed. Seriously, brotha, you rock!
I think the writers were actually poking fun at all the people theorizing that it’s hell or purgatory. Either that, or they’re madly scrambling to re-write the scripts after so many people figured it out.