Posted on March 19, 2008 @ 10:43 am
Welcome to Lost-vivor — all the mystery and adventure of Lost with an added dash of Survivor-style competition! Please note that the section ahead contains spoilers for last night’s episode of Lost. Proceed at your own risk.
Sorry about the delay in posting this week’s recap. I was off on a brief adventure in San Diego and didn’t have a chance to watch “Meet Kevin Johnson” until after I returned Saturday night. That being said, I thought it was a fairly underwhelming episode (at least compared to the rest of Season Four). Michael’s uninterrupted flashback seemed to drag a bit; I wish they had broken it up with more “present day” scenes scattered throughout the episode. Also, it might have been nice if Michael’s flashback included a few more revelations about Michael and Walt’s actual escape from the Island. What’s so special about Bearing 325? Were they eventually picked up by another ship and brought back to the mainland? How did Michael explain their return to his mother? In my opinion, a little less “suicidal Michael” and a little more “rescuing-my-boy Michael” would have improved the episode.
It was great seeing Tom again; I’ve missed the guy since he was killed last season. Plus, his appearance in New York adds some interesting wrinkles to the Lost timeline. If Lostpedia is to be believed, Michael and Walt left the Island at the end of Season Two on Day 67. Then, we saw Jack and Tom playing football in Otherville somewhere on Day 80. Naomi parachuted down to the Island on Day 87, Tom and the Others’ assaulted the beach on Day 92, and Tom was killed on Day 93. If Naomi arrived on Day 87, that means that Michael was contacted by Tom (between games of two-hand touch and assaults on the beach) and posted on the freighter less than twenty days after leaving the Island. Of course, all this assumes that time off the Island works the same as time on the Island — which it almost certainly doesn’t. Still, it’s food for thought.
Let’s see…other news from “Meet Kevin Johnson.” Karl’s dead? Meh. I’m surprised it took this long. Rousseau’s shot? I have a feeling she’ll pull through; there are still too many unanswered questions about her time on the Island.
Okay, enough of my rambling. Let’s get this week’s scoring underway:
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Michael:
Slammed against the bulkhead by Sayid…and with good reason. I can forgive working with the Others and killing Ana Lucia. But, Libby? I liked Libby: -2
Apparently, Bearing 325 sets a direct course for a crappy post-Island apartment: -2
Wow, Michael is a really bad driver. I mean, he ran right into that giant shipping crate: -6
Survived crash: +3
Visited by Libby in the hospital, offered an extra blanket: +1
Unfortunately, Libby turned out to be a ghost. And the blanket? Probably just an ectoplasmic projection (one assumes): -1
Chewed out by his mom, forbidden to see Walt. SHE TOOK HIS BOY!!! WAAAALT!!!: -3
Pawned Jin’s Rolex watch. Oh, man…Mr. Paik is gonna be pissed: -2
Ready to take second crack at suicide: -3
Life saved by Tom: +2
At whom Michael shoots (and misses): -1
Disarmed by Tom: -1
Whacked Tom with a champagne bottle: +1
Apparently, the Island won’t let him kill himself. I guess that means Michael survives at least a few more episodes before his inevitable redemptive sacrifice: +4
Agreed to work with the Others. Couldn’t he have at least negotiated for a better alias?: -1
Recognized Naomi’s accent: +1
Uh-oh…I guess that briefcase bomb means Michael is on a suicide mission for the Others: -3
Despite the best efforts of the ghosts of both Libby and Mama Cass, Michael detonates the bomb anyway: -3
Hey, it turns out it wasn’t a bomb after all! That Ben…such a kidder: +2
Got a crank call from some jerk pretending to be his son: -1
Roughed up a little more by Sayid, exposed to Captain Gault. Luckily for Michael, the Captain seems like a reasonable, forgiving type of guy: -5
Net gain/loss: -20
Current score: 79
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Sayid:
Wore his shoes to bed. Much like Chuck Norris, Sayid does not sleep…he waits: +1
Confronted Michael about his true identity and purpose on the boat…above deck and in view of several crew members. Usually, Sayid is a little more subtle than that: -2
Roughed up Michael: +1
Roughed up Michael some more. Apparently, Sayid was just as bored by Michael’s 45-minute flashback as I was: +2
Exposed Michael to Captain Gault. Hmm…as much as I enjoy awarding you points, Sayid, I’m not sure if I can go along with this one. I know Michael and Ben aren’t your favorite people, but is now really the time to give up the tactical advantage of having an inside man on the boat?: -5
Net gain/loss: -3
Current score: 129 |
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Ghost Libby:
Brought Michael a nice warm blanket in the hospital: +1
Unsuccessful in her attempt to stop Michael from detonating the bomb: -5
But, it turns out it wasn’t really a bomb in the first place: +2
Net gain/loss: -2
Current score: NA
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Tom:
Stopped Michael from committing suicide: +2
Avoided being shot by Michael at virtually point blank range. It reminds me of the good old days when the Others seemed to have almost superhuman abilities: +3
Disarmed Michael: +1
Whacked in the head with a champagne bottle: -2
Figured out that Michael told Walt about Ana Lucia and Libby: +1
Has a penthouse suite: +3
After hints had been dropped here and there in previous episodes, it’s finally revealed that Tom is gay. I’m proud of the Lost writing staff on this one: +5
Knew about Widmore and the fake Flight 815: +2
Successfully recruited Michael: +2
Sadly, he’s still dead: -17
Net gain/loss: 0
Current score: NA
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Karl:
Ambushed, shot, and killed en route to the Temple: -100
Net gain/loss: -100
Current score: NA
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Rousseau:
Took a much-needed shower at some point after taking up residence in Lockeville: +2
Ambushed on her way to the Temple. What happened to her vaunted jungle survival skills?: -4
Shot by unseen assailant. I guess that whole “wait until the count of three and run” plan didn’t work out so well: -15
Net gain/loss: -17
Current score: NA
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Locke:
Called a Lockeville town meeting, proclaimed “no more secrets”: +5
Continued to keep at least a few secrets. I guess that’s his executive privilege as mayor of Lockeville: -3
Net gain/loss: +2
Current score: 125 |
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Ben:
Spilled the beans to all of Lockeville about Michael being his man on the boat. I’m perplexed by Ben’s increasingly forthcoming nature: +1
Sent Alex to the Temple to ensure her safety. In all fairness, he didn’t say anything about keeping Karl or Danielle safe: +1
Apparently has a conscience, unwilling to kill everyone on the H.M.S. Penny’s Father’s Boat. So, does that mean all the members of DHARMA who died in the purge had it coming?: +3
Net gain/loss: +5
Current score: 127 |
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Alex:
Ambushed in the jungle along with Rousseau and Karl: -4
Survived ambush unharmed (unless you count the psychological trauma of having your boyfriend killed and your mom seriously wounded, if not dead): +2
Net gain/loss: -2
Current score: NA |
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After eight weeks of Lost-vivor, here are your updated standings:
- Daniel (138)
- Sayid (129) (-3)
- Ben (127) (+5)
- Locke (125) (+2)
- Sawyer (118)
- Desmond (116)
- Frank (116)
- Hurley (115)
- Jack (109)
- Juliet (109)
- Sun (108)
- Vincent (106)
- Jin (104)
- Kate (102)
- Bernard (102)
- Charlotte (100)
- Claire (98)
- Rose (97)
- Miles (93)
- Michael (79) (-20)
Ouch! It’s a tough week for our friend Kevin Johnson, as Michael drops to the bottom of the rankings faster than a suicidal Kahana crewman wrapped in chains. Meanwhile, the ever-elusive Ben adds a few points to his total and moves into third place. With five episodes remaining this season, it looks like we’ll have several solid contenders for the top spot.
That wraps up this week’s slightly-delayed installment of Lost-vivor. As always, feel free to comment, complain, or offer your predictions below. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time.
What??? A late LOST-vivor? I need an instant recap in order to have a true LOST experience! What to do?? Start patronizing some other blog? I guess we will just have to suffer through…
Kidding…hope you enjoy your vacation!
Whoah. I was totally thrown for a loop by seeing this. I seriously looked at the page, looked at the date, looked back at the page, looked back at the date, etc. for a good fifteen seconds before I started reading your words. I seriously worried that I had lost track of what day it was and that I had missed Lost. Thank God I haven’t. Have a good time.
I’m with Michael. Started to freak a little bit… then I read on.
Enjoy your time away.
How can this be???? Lost-Vivor is my Friday morning delight!!! I will anxiously await the blog!!! Enjoy your time off. Tonight was a great episode.
I miss Lost-vivor, but as per the post, I’ll try to bring a little originality to the comments so that we can talk about the episode a little bit.
Well, it was good to see Michael’s back story. It was very interesting…
Nah, forget it. I can’t do it. It’s no use without you Jess. We need the funny.
Jess:
* Went on a nice vacation: +5
* Postponed Lost-vivor for three days: -20
At least I hope it was at least a vacation…
I’m with Jess…but in addition:
- Wrote a blogpost letting us know your plan so we’re not left hanging: +10
- Sepia toned Lost-vivor logo representing no episode recap: +5
- Postponed Lost-vivor for three days: -30
Happy vacation! Can’t wait to read your recap when you get back!
- took a vacation +5
- Postponed Lostvivor -5
- Went to New York +2
- took in a show +5
- The Color Purple The Musical… songs about rape and patriarchy??? -7
- Met Tom in a dark alley and decided to work for Ben -20
- Tried to blow up Penny’s Dad’s ship +5
- bomb didn’t work -5
Nevermind, it’s too hard to keep reality seperate from the show.
Dude, I miss you, like kind of more than a lot. Please come back.
Hey, everybody! I’m writing from my hotel in San Diego on Saturday morning. I’m hopping on a plane in a few hours to return home. “Meet Kevin Johnson” is waiting for me on my DVR, so I should have it watched an recapped by…I’m thinking Sunday afternoon.
Thanks for the comments!
I just got into Lost-vivor and then this?!? Good thing this is addicting as hell, I’m excited to see the standings!
c’mon Jess–get typin!!!
Loving it! Thanks for getting it up and on Easter, no less! You’re a committed type of guy.
While I agree with the reality of Michael being on the bottom of the standings, I think you’re a little harsh on him. A lot of the stuff seems a little overboard.
But, that being said, I’m glad to see that you deducted some points from Sayid for exposing Michael. That just didn’t sit right with me. And also, as soon as Karl started talking about how he didn’t trust Ben to send them on this route, I instantly knew that he was going to die. I was SHOCKED to see Rousseau get shot. Of course, I don’t think that Alex needed to announce that she was Ben’s daughter. I think Ben set that whole thing up. I think Ben’s right where he wants to be, just like we’ve heard. He’s scary. (Totally agree with everything in the Tom points section. Good that they straight out showed us he was gay, good to see some of that pseudo-supernatural powers from the Others and sad that he’s still dead.)
Way to go and thanks for entertaining so many of us.
And I quote: “How cool is Sayid? So cool that he throws away cell phones when he’s finished talking on them: +1″
C’mon, how bout an easter gift for Michael–His phone won’t be recovered by a Deutsch Hobo at least.
Karl was pretty weak, in many ways, but I think he deserves at least one point for doubting Ben’s intentions seconds before he was killed. “I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling about this. What if your dad is… playing us?” He may have lost it with the “Well, at least we’ve got something in common” comment, referring to not wanting Alex to be hurt. But still, a point earned and taken away is still a point. Plus, is it just me or does Karl look like Richie Cunningham? How did Sawyer miss that one?!
@Daniel: Believe it or not, I actually considered that discrepancy. In Sayid’s case, he threw away the phone ’cause he’s crazy awesome. In Michael’s case, he threw away the phone because Tom said “toss the phone.” Hence, no points. Or, perhaps I should award a point to Tom instead.
I just love Lost-vivor - thanks Jess.
). It seems like a play to make Michael go on the boat.
I belive that Tom changed guns after disarming Michael and gave broken one back to him (skill worth a point or two
Perhaps Alex’s ‘don’t shoot, I’m Ben’s daughter’ speech could have been made BEFORE the poisonous arrows of doom started flying. Minus 5, Alex. Here’s hoping that some of those darts were the non-lethal, kidnapping kind used in season 2. Because killing off Rousseau is not cool, even if she got a heart felt speech in beforehand. Karl…well…it was nice knowing you.
i know whos in the coffin…
juliet!
it makes perfect sense think about it
oh and micheal is not one of the oceanic six so we are still missing someone does anybody know who it is?
jack hurley kate sun sayid ?
@lostnerd: If the promo for the next episode is accurate, Aaron is the final member of the Oceanic Six. Which is pretty lame, if you ask me…
Great to have you back, Jess, and a great round-up! One question, though - no points for Ben for scoring some of that delicious Lockville pound cake?