Docarzt Jumps the Shark
Okay, so I’ve been thinking, which believe me, is never a good thing… and you’re about to find out why. One of you brilliant comment contributors, El Prez to be precise, got me started when he said ‘Did anybody notice that Locke was watching Expose’ last week’. I had to investigate, and sure enough, the claim was absolutely correct. (Not that I doubted El Prez, just needed a dramatic segue) The proof is in the mention of Expose’ baddie ‘the cobra’.
Here’s the tell tale bit of dialog that gives it away:
"Here’s what we know Crystal. The bolivian gold deposits were stolen last night around 2:00am. That means, ‘ The Cobra’, he’s back."
Ever since Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof graced us with a podcast this week I’ve been wondering something. What is the reveal that Carlton felt so compelled to use the most loathed phrase in the world ‘Jump the Shark’ to describe. Between our own hawkish commentor’s discovery, Carlton’s foreshadowing of a risky bit of reveal, and severe sleep deprivation… I think I’m prepared to make a predication as just what it is that is going to stun us all.
First, let me put it in terms you would understand. What if there is this box… you see where I’m going with this right? Expose’ is supposed to address a major piece of LOST mythology tonight. Now with these crazy guys, you never know if they are being serious or not. You can hear the exasperation when they talk about the ‘fan’ base’s griping for more answers, and we all know that Carlton and Damon do not pull any punches when it comes to a little dead pan irreverence targeted at that sector of the LOST faring population. For all we know, the ‘Major’ piece of mythology could be what the mysterious rash Aaron had on his ass was in ‘Maternity Leave’. One thing is for sure though, I think… the ‘Jump the Shark’ moment is coming tonight, and i
f I am correct (which I’m not, but allow me these few hours of feeling ingenious) I know exactly what it is.
It is based in the manifesting ability of the island, and a screen play which Hurley finds for the Expose’ show, one of his favorites. It also deals with a certain fan of that show, John Locke, who we know the island responds quite favorably too. Still with me?
In one of the promo scenes for Expose’ Paulo is burying… TADA… gold bullion. We already know from the promos that Nikki is looking for a bag that was worth eight million dollars, and we also know there is a satchel of diamonds in the plot as well. The interesting thing is, these are all also part of the plot of the fictional show Expose’.
Now I ask you, how much of a game changer would it be if the island were not only capable of healing people, and seemingly raising the dead, but also capable of pulling fictional characters from the printed pages of screenplays into the reality of the island?
Expose’ being a television show, they wouldn’t have any reason to have real gold bullion on their set, would they? I mean, The swan wasn’t REALLY built underground, with working plumbing and everything.
So what do you think folks? Am I right? Have I jumped the shark? In only a few hours, we’ll know.
If thats the case Docartz and theyre fictional characters come to life then im afriad they would have jumped the shark in my opinion because i just dont like that idea!
The stuff we already know about the island and wot it can do such as the healing power and seemingly raising the dead is all cool because it attains to some sort of higher power and mysticism and brings strong mythological elements to the show bringing fictinal t.v charcters to life from some shoddy t.v programme will just ruin all that for me!
But hey thats me!
By the way just want to say thanks for this great website and the constant updates and posts i check your site every other day and it rocks man! Keep up the good work!
Comment by 24Luke — March 28, 2007 @ 11:42 am
Take it a step further. What if an island with creepy smoke monsters, polar bars, and wheel chair ridden mad men was something that someone imagined.
Comment by thefallguy1 — March 28, 2007 @ 11:43 am
I think you might have lost it. I think the answer is far more simple: She gets fired from the show she works for, she meets Paulo, rips off a rich guy and they crash on their way back to the states. The alleged jump the shark moment may have been the end of last week’s show — Locke’s dad on the Island — and someone along the way miscounted the number of episodes.
Comment by Jeff — March 28, 2007 @ 11:51 am
well, i’d HATE that solution to the puzzle. I think it would be a cop out and LOST would become the synecdoche for ‘great idea, great start, bad follow through’ shows forever.
It doesn’t seem too far fetched though, considering the polar bears from season 1. who knows. i’ll be pissed if it is, but we’ll see.
Comment by peter — March 28, 2007 @ 11:54 am
And somehow I am reminded of Charlie and the Make Believe Peanut Butter.
Maybe one issue the Others have with the LOSTIES is that the Losties keep manifesting stuff on their Island.
Comment by downthehatch — March 28, 2007 @ 12:10 pm
I put 2 & 2 together and came up with Shark when I was watching TMFT on Sunday night, then I remembered the clip you had with Hurley finding a script…
http://www.thetailsection.com/lost-news/expose-exposed.php#comments
Comment by Richardstone — March 28, 2007 @ 12:58 pm
“pulling fictional characters from the printed pages of screenplays into the reality of the island?”
interesting idea but then it becomes a little too much like “the neverending story”… which as we all know could be an approprite alternate name for lost…
“say my name bastion, say my name”
Comment by justaslostasyou — March 28, 2007 @ 12:59 pm
I don’t think Doc is too far off on this idea at all. We all know how much these guys love The Dark Tower and this flows right into Father Callahan scenario.
I don’t exactly know what it means for the show on the whole. But I wouldn’t be put off if there’s a suggestion that Nikki and Paulo are fictional characters that have somehow manifested themselves into the Lostie’s world (”There are other worlds than this.”)
As long as Sawyer doesn’t jump in front of a careening VW van to save JJ Abrams from getting hit as he walks along the beach, I’m okay. And if a giant spider like baby kills Vincent I’ll officially stop watching. Oh no I won’t.
Thankee Sai. Long days and pleasant nights!!
Comment by JakeNRoland — March 28, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
I don’t know what’s more troubling: The fact that I wasn’t mentioned by name when my discovery was addressed above OR that the good DocArzt had to CONFIRM it…..Dang, Doc..I’ve been accused of a lot of stuff but a LOST Liar?!?! How dare you sir!!! Had I a white glove, I would slap thee across thy face!
That being said..not a bad theory…
Comment by El Prez — March 28, 2007 @ 1:28 pm
No you fools!!! (just kiddin
)….teh jump teh shark moment, is nikki being BURIED ALIVE……and/or PAOLO bein shot in the fricken head!….grr…nikki is bitten by a spider, and the 815′ers (sawyer, hurley..idk who else) think she’s dead..so bury her….OMGAW! i will not like the show if this happens, just……..wrong
Comment by Daniel — March 28, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
Just want to say that I find your site enough interesting for me.
Comment by Nick Safrasoff — March 28, 2007 @ 1:34 pm
Just want to say that I find your site enough interesting for me.
Comment by Nick Safrasoff — March 28, 2007 @ 1:41 pm
I don’t like that theory, and the manifestation thery. If this theory is true, then… you might as well put that pixies hid in the trees. I’m looking for a scientific answer in the Dharma flashback about the numbers, radio tower, polar bears, the sickness, and stuff like that.
Comment by Martin — March 28, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
“manifestation theory”
Comment by Martin — March 28, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
I think the question is, where is this show going? Would your jump the shark idea move the show along in it’s story and towards an eventual resolution or does this just complicate things so that there can never be a satisfactory ending? Why don’t we write a story about a helicopter and a never ending tank of gas or a cell phone?
What do you think Doc? Does this theory move the show along?
Comment by JoefromUtah — March 28, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
Joe… your right. Of course, the fact that the island can only manifest real things also establishes a set of rules which is worth considering.
El prez! It was YOU!? I just forgot and was pressed for time! LOL
Comment by docarzt — March 28, 2007 @ 2:30 pm
You are forgiven..This time..But your name is going on the list..
As far as the island manifesting things: where was Yemi’s body the second time Eko visited the wrecked plane? Wasn’t it missing? Like Jack’s dads body was missing?
I can’t help but think that when the writers said that when you die on LOST, you stay dead…I think tonight’s episode might bend that rule slightly, allowing for the idea of being “born again”…which might be why Patchy and Klugh were so willing to die for the cause…But then I contradict myself with Juliet killing Danny..Did she know that the bullets would just temporarily stop him? If so, then why was she branded?
This show makes my head hurt..like brain freeze..I just can’t stop!
Comment by El Prez — March 28, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
I was almost onboard Doc, but then I started thinking, there’s a lot of “literature” on the island. From Sawyer’s Playboy and Guns ‘N Ammo collection, to Juliet’s book club, Stephen King on Ben’s nightstand, Hawkings, Desmond’s unread Dickens, even Bad Twin. Why would such a phenomenon be wasted on such trite content as a bad TV script?
Comment by gusteaux — March 28, 2007 @ 5:10 pm
Simple Gusteaux… it relies on someone who is in tune with the island and known to manifest, such as Locke (who was watching Expose in MFT) and Hurley (Who manifested Dave and was reading an expose script.) We could assume this is only a very select group of people.
Comment by docarzt — March 28, 2007 @ 5:42 pm
Wow, Doc, were you ever off. Not really any mythology in this episode…
SPOILERS PROBABLY
Man, when I heard of this episode I thought it would just be bad bad filler. It turns out it’s actually pretty good. If it’s filler, it’s good filler. And the ending was good too. I was shocked, but still thought to myself “OMG ZOMBIES LAWL”. Heh. Now THAT would be a jump-the-shark moment. This episode wasn’t at all.
And I find it funny what Nikki said early in the episode… We all know what happens to guest stars, right?
I was also excited to see Shannon again…until I heard her speak. *Shudder*
NO MORE SPOILERS MAYBE
Comment by theletterp — March 28, 2007 @ 6:17 pm
Look this pic, posted by MaDeRa from http://www.lostbrasil.com
http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/3254/exposox2.jpg
Comment by Jo�o Telles — March 28, 2007 @ 6:37 pm
So you were wrong, I appreciate the imagination.
It was a really good episode, just standing by itself, which seems to be more what they are going for right now because so many are having trouble catching up (let’s be honest, they’re kind of running out the clock the way “The Sopranos” does); but it was a very good episode. Didn’t tell us a damn thing and wasted Shannon and Boone’s return, but a good episode.
Comment by OY — March 28, 2007 @ 9:22 pm
Firstly and second of all, that pick is bogus crap…
first of all, this episode was great. I thought it was pretty much both and explanation and an apology for the fans. A “sorry for creating niki and poulo”. It was perfect. It helped perpetuate the story somewhat, while closing doors that should have never been open. a wonderful episode!
Comment by skaught — March 28, 2007 @ 9:22 pm
Great episode, you know it’s good when the writers have you thinking so hard between the lines.
Comment by Lance — March 28, 2007 @ 9:54 pm
On the contrary, I thought this episode was absolutely awful. It accomplished nothing, had no riveting plot revelations, and at a point in time where many have called Lost’s plot development “slow”, this episode basically brought it to a screeching halt. It was, perhaps, the first episode of Lost I have ever watched and have truly been displeased at the end.
Though I am glad this is the last we have seen of Nikki and Paolo, two utterly pointless characters, they could’ve written that in without dedicating an entire pointless episode to their very brief rise and fall.
Comment by Roger — March 28, 2007 @ 10:05 pm
Well Roger, we’ll just have to agree to disagree, but I thought this episode was pure artistry. I’m not one of those who thinks that every episode has to further ‘plot development’ or give big reveals. I just enjoyed the masterful unfolding of this (isolated?) story within a story.
I’m also not so sure this is the last we’ve seen of Nikki and/or Paolo (and after tonight, I don’t mind at all).
Comment by Lance — March 28, 2007 @ 10:19 pm
Wow Doc. Every time you make a prediction on an episode, you prediction is actually cooler than the episode. I vote DocArzt for LOST! His version would have been much more watchable. This one sucked.
Comment by PaoloSucks — March 28, 2007 @ 11:01 pm
The “artistry” of Lost, as I see it, is the fact that the writers are brilliant at utilizing progression in an interesting way. Things in Lost are not meant to stay static — there are constantly new additions and twists that complicate the scenario. I saw tonight’s episode as an unfortunate “apology” as someone else on this thread called it for two useless characters who did not deserve to even be named in the first place, much less an episode.
Comment by Roger — March 28, 2007 @ 11:19 pm
wasn’t this supposed to be the big bomb dropped episode?
Comment by Daniel — March 28, 2007 @ 11:44 pm
Lame filler episode. Paulo and Nikki were pointless. This episode did not have a jump-the-shark game changer…it was just lame. 2nd worst episode of the season behind the VW van episode.
Comment by thedanceman — March 28, 2007 @ 11:48 pm
First off the VW ep was good, it was a fun episode that you could just enjoy the characters together & seeing them return Locke,Sayid,Jin, etc. after a long absence. come on! the male bonding! anyway… do you think the black pouch the diamonds were in is the same one from the cave with the b & W stones? Hmmmm. If so why go through that whole story just to introduce the pouch? Any thoughts on where’s Bernard & Rose too!!??
Comment by Daniel — March 29, 2007 @ 12:12 am
if you didn’t “like” expose’ then yer an useless tit!
Comment by skaught — March 29, 2007 @ 12:46 am
I thought the “Jump the shark” and “game changer” episode was the Desmond episode way back. I thought we’ve seen all the episodes now that were filmed way back when they said that. I don’t know why people keep expecting something big, we had time travel.
Comment by Fyodor — March 29, 2007 @ 3:28 am
thedanceman, maybe Tricia Tanaka, and Expose, didn’t have enough uh, dancing for you. Unless you count Nikki’s Razzling Dazzling kick! But seriously man (or woman, whatever the case may be), these two episodes were fun breathers from the heavy drama or mythology episodes. You know how to have fun, right? Razzle Dazzle! Kick!
By the way, I loved the subtle hint that Smokey manifested into the spiders and bit Nikki as sweet revenge.
Comment by Dusk — March 29, 2007 @ 4:32 am
Fyodor…because Damon and Carlton said in a podcast that the Flashes episode was just a grenade and that the real bombs are only coming.
As for Expose, I was expecting so much more, it really didn’t deliver. No jumping the shark in my opinion, no big reveals (except that the Others did use the Pearl). No more insight in the Others or mythology…we did see what appeared the monster turning into a spider tho…but who knows. In any case we didn’t see much.
The begining was fun tho, an apparently serious start turning into a cheesy tv show. Nice.
Comment by teataine — March 29, 2007 @ 4:47 am
Well, it seems everyone’s predictions and theories were COMPLETELY WRONG.
Expose filled nothing in for me, it was a complete utter waste of LOST time. In fact my time was lost, I could have been downstairs finishing the desk I have been building for the last month!
I for one had no feelings for Nikki and Paulo to begin with as I do for DocArtz (sorry dude no offense). I see no reason to bring them up to speed to knock them off. I was never vested in them, like all the other invisable extras on this show. Just because they had a couple of lines in the show at some point does not mean the writers of Lost “have to deal with them”.
There was no Jump the shark, no Others, no underlying plot subversion going on. In fact like Iced Green Tea and Oreo moments together, it left a bad after taste.
I thought this is another example of how stupid the writers have protrayed the characters on this show:
1 - Nikki could not act her way into a bad High school musical!
2 - Paulo looked foolish every time he spoke.
3 - They did have the same lack of common sense and stupidty all the other characters on this show have.
So on this point I am not suprised. After 75 days they are still worried about diamonds???? They discover the plane & station weeks ahead of Locke and Ecko and say nothing to anyone?????? And Nikki acts like she strolling down the streets of Sydney instead of stranded on a island??????
Gosh I could go on and on and on….Sorry producers it SUCKED!!!
The only things I gleamed from the episode….
1 - Nikki looked hot
2 - As did Sun for a moment
3 - Juliet/Ben looked like they came in a different way into the station
4 - Juliet seemed to be on Bens side
5 - Edited out last night was the section of Hatch explosion. We saw promo pics of it (or what appeared to be it).
6 - Billy Dee Williams part was so small, Paulo has had more screen time up to this point than him. If I was him I would be pissed. ‘Gee, I came all the way here, put make up on to do 5 lines????’ What a waster of talent. I am sorry Billy Dee. I hope you are not this desperate for money.
So, lets get the game on, I hope they shot this on video so they can reuse the tapes, cause the film processing was a waste of budget!
Comment by thirdflr — March 29, 2007 @ 5:46 am
Uhh, yeah thirdflr.
Comment by Dusk — March 29, 2007 @ 6:33 am
Totaly no jumping the shark this episode. It wasn’t a good one, but I’ve heard a lot more complaing about The Glass Balerina for example. In short it didn’t suck, but it didn’t give us anything really…whic kind of makes it suck.
It was more of a recap, with some minor minor light shed on some characters. (Showing Ethan was actualy really nice, offering clothes and stuff.)There was also a lot of self-referencing through the show-in-the-show stuff, and a lot of the stuff Niki and Paulo say ends up being true.(Let us not poison ourselves., Promise me we won’t end up like them. etc)
Oh, and now the monster can morph into spiders?
Comment by teataine — March 29, 2007 @ 6:47 am
I may have missed something: several people here are saying that the spiders were actually the monster. What’s the evidence of that? I’ll go back and rewatch.
I’ll still keep watching Lost, but “Expose” was kind of the breaking point for me as far as the producers building up an episode in the Podcast only to let us down. A couple of months ago they promised a “character bomb” and “game changer” that then either didn’t happen, or didn’t happen in a clear enough way that we all agree on what those events were. And then they promise the Nikki and Paulo episode will reveal why they were introduced … but, nope.
They also said the gay character would appear in this episde. So who was it? Whoever it was, obviously it wasn’t important enough to the story to mention it.
Finally, why would Paulo keep his knowledge about Ben and Juliet to himself? (There are other people here! And they have hatches with television monitors! And they’re watching us!) Even for a con man, this stretches believability.
Comment by Ken — March 29, 2007 @ 7:21 am
I’m cross-posting from my comment at Buddy TV, but am I the only one who noticed that (1) the Losties now have one of the Others’ walkie-talkies and (2) we got a hint that, as in Expose, a shadowy character’s identity will be revealed in season four? And that it will be someone people think is a “crime fighter” but turns out to be a “crime lord.” So maybe someone we know and trust is Jacob, or perhaps Jacob, whom the Others know and trust, is also behind much of the evil on the Island.
Plus, come on, the way they integrated Nikki and Paolo’s story with all we’ve seen of them and with their perspective on scenes we saw through other characters’ eyes–that was good writing. A good episode.
Comment by Tim J. — March 29, 2007 @ 7:24 am
When did we see the monster turning into a spider? Why is everyone assuming that? Clearly Artz said to Nikki that the scent of the female spider was so powerful it could attract a bunch of male spiders in seconds. Please, stop trying to find misteries in every single shot.
I agree this episode wasn’t good enough, but as a previous post said, they are just running the clock so the story fits in their big season finale.
Comment by sebastian81 — March 29, 2007 @ 7:41 am
Per Ken’s comments a few posts ago … yes, Ken, we did hear Doc Arzt say that male Medusa spiders are attracted by femal pheromones so, on the surface, it would seem that Nikki’s biting buddies were attracted by the spider she threw at Paulo. However, shortly before Nikki is swarmed by those maurauding spiders, we hear the familiar clockwork sounds of … THE MONSTER! Even Nikki heard it, as she was looking around the jungle for a sight of Mr. Smokey, shortly before she was bitten.
Remember Cuse and Linds saying, waaaaay back last year, that viewers spotted The Monster in almost EVERY episode, and didn’t even know we were looking at it?
Comment by jenndavo — March 29, 2007 @ 7:42 am
If the monster wanted to kill Nikki then why turn into a spider that only paralyzes people? Maybe because the monster is a smooth criminal? I don’t think so. If smokey really wanted to kill Nikki, the fist combo would’ve been faaaar more effective.
Comment by sebastian81 — March 29, 2007 @ 7:49 am
Also wondering why some peopley say that the spiders were the monster? Didn’t the doc say something if you kill one spider others will come to defend it?
The promo for the episode was really good but as a whole there wasn’t anything groundbreaking.
Comment by ManFromSweden — March 29, 2007 @ 7:50 am
True, Sebastian81 … the smokey fist was MUCH more effective on my beloved Eko. (Lord, I loved that man. Such a badass!) But the island loves to punish the wicked … what better way than subjected darling, devious Nikki to the same fate she had planned for Paulo? Setting off a chain of events that ends with the bitch being buried alive seems like a suitable end for a murderer of her caliber.
Comment by jenndavo — March 29, 2007 @ 8:18 am
That picture you have there is of Paulo and his nicotine gum. He wasn’t burying gold. He was burying the diamonds until Locke told him to find a better hiding place. There was not connection to the plot of that Expose episode and this one, other than the easter egg that Locke was watching the same show. Likely it was in its first season at the time, since Locke was in a wheelchair for four years and Hurley said the show was on for four seasons.
Comment by pj — March 29, 2007 @ 8:44 am
Jenndavo, I don’t think Nikki wanted to kill Paulo. I presume she knew that he had the diamonds hidden in his body so she paralyzed him to be able to search for them. Altough I may be wrong and forgot something she said.
My point is that the writers took their time to explain us that the scent of the female was strong and would attract many more in seconds, I don’t think the would’ve done that if the spiders were going to end up being the smoke.
Oh btw I loved Eko too but he was enmasculated by the button on the hatch. He was never the same after finding out what it meant.
Peace
Comment by sebastian81 — March 29, 2007 @ 8:51 am
Everyone needs to calm the hell down. LOST is not a show like friends or law and order that you can just carry on for 10 years by keeping each episode, more or less, self contained. It’s an epic. Everyone who is crying for more and more answers are ultimately asking for the show to end because thats the only way you’ll get your answers, in the SERIES finali. That means in order for it to last any length of time, the show has to take a break now and again and just try to entertain, as in the case of the VW and last night’s episode. Relative to the whole plot, no it wasnt brilliant but it WAS entertaining in its own right.
LOST is a form a torture and thats what we enjoy about it. Always left guessing, always left wanting to know more. Think of how plugged into this you are and then step back and stop being so critical. It’s serving you well. Pushing for answers is just pushing for it to end and then what will we all do with our spare time?
Comment by Ian — March 29, 2007 @ 9:02 am
KEN - The Gay Character was obviously Boone . Quote Shannon in airport flashback “if you wanna stay here chatting up random guys…”
And I loved this episode. The opening scene was a definate WTF moment, which is why I love Lost so much.
Finally - who said the spiders were smokey?? Doc Artz said that the pheromones were so strong in the female spider that it would atract males from miles around, or something like that. Jeez, do you people watch the same program as me?????
Comment by Roger Work Man — March 29, 2007 @ 9:13 am
I dont think the monster morphed in to the spiders..if you remember doc artz said that it gives off enough pheromones to attract all the males… the spider was all smashed on his neck and all his juices and stuff were on Paolo, so i think that might have happened, or the monster morphed,..lol who knows.. Did nobody else hear what ben said last night? when juliet asked how he was gonna get jack to do his surgery? he said he wasnt going to take him, but have him come to him, alla Michael… so taking walt was alla bout getrting michael, to get jack to do the surgery???
Comment by themachine — March 29, 2007 @ 9:28 am
Roger & Gang:
Okay, fine, let’s say the spiders were NOT Smokey, or any manifestation there of. But do you at least agree that, shortly after Paulo passed out and Nikki was bitten, that we did hear the sound of Smokey approaching — that itchy, clockwork-y sound that usually heralds the passing cloud? If the spiders had nothing to do with Smokey, that’s fine, but … wouldn’t you say Smokey was close at hand? (I have Tivo and a lot of time on my hands on Wednesdays, so I did a bit of rewinding during this scene … hence my obsession with detail. Sorry.)
Also, if Boone DOES had “tendencies,” then he’s bi, not gay. Remember the semi-icky torch he carried for step-sis Shannon.
Lastly, Ian, I’m with you. Why rush the big “payoff”? Enjoy the ride, dammit … this show will be gone someday, replaced by god-knows-what reality show, and we’ll all bemoan the loss of “Lost.”
Comment by jenndavo — March 29, 2007 @ 9:45 am
I heard the monster sounds too, right before the spiders appeared, and it really seems like the monster shape-shifted into those spiders. However, this brings up a tricky question. If the monster is over on the 815′ers side of the island turning into spiders, it can’t be over in Otherton at the same time turning into Cooper, so does that mean that Cooper is really Cooper, or is there more than one monster?
Comment by Dwight — March 29, 2007 @ 10:04 am
maybe shannon was really a man. Would certainly make for some interesting Sayid flashbacks
Comment by Roger Work Man — March 29, 2007 @ 10:04 am
Great comment Ian!!!!!!!!!!!
Bernard & Rose?….& was that the same pouch as the b & w stones in the cave??!???
Comment by Dannyboy — March 29, 2007 @ 10:07 am
I don’t think this was a pointless episode. I think they took the time to give us the story of Nikki and Paulo for a reason. I think they have either something to do with the Adam & Eve skeletons or Rose & Bernard not being around. I also am not convinced this is the last of them, I think either Vincent is going to dig them up (he seemed to sense that they were still alive because he took the blanket off of them), or someone is going to go digging for the diamonds and end up rescuing them. I think their odd actions of not telling anyone about the stuff they found (the Pearl, the drug smugglers plane, the walkie talkie, overhearing Ben & Juliet) must have a greater significance which we will find out eventually.
Comment by Allison — March 29, 2007 @ 10:08 am
Roger: Hilarious! You know, Sayid DOES wear an awful lot of muscle shirts … makes you wonder, eh?
Dwight: Hmmm … I dunno. Of course, it could be argued that a “monster” sophisticated enough to do the whole angry fist thing could be in two places at the same time. Or, maybe there ARE two monsters: the angry type (the one that did Eko in) and the mess-with-your head type (Kate’s horse, Jack’s dad, the “eye of the island” that Locke confronted at one point).
TheMachine: No, that doesn’t sound right. Walt was special … he had that weird pseudo-Shining thing going on. Maybe his abduction helped Jack fall into line, but that wasn’t the be-all, end-all reason. That kid helped them in some way … a way that we’ll have to wait until next season to figure out, since Michael’s having a teensy contract dispute with the produceers.
Comment by jenndavo — March 29, 2007 @ 10:11 am
I posted this over on Dark UFO’s site, but thought the Doc might also enjoy it. It’s fun piece of crazy analyzation I came up with today….
EXPOSE’S MIND-BLOWING REVEAL REVEALED! OR My “Ben Pulls a Homer” theorem-
The more I think about the episode, the more I realize the subtle reveals in it. By thinking things through a little bit, “Expose” shows us something potentially huge, with ramifications for the entire series. “Expose” showed us (albeit indirectly) that the Others are fallible and make mistakes too. Follow me here for a bit:
In a recent podcast, DL & CC said that the Others had little or no knowledge of the Swan station. Obviously after “Expose” we realize they were aware of it, but maybe didn’t know where it was. They knew of the Pearl and its surveylance component.
We know that the Others are not DHARMA and purged all of them off except Kelvin. So, if the Others took over all that, they likely knew where the Swan was (because of the maps in the Flame).
If the Others found the Pearl station first, there’s a good chance they watched the same Orientation video that Locke and Eko watched. It asserted that what was going on inside the Swan was all fake. We know this is actually false, the Swan had a purpose, and the Pearl was itself a psychological experiment on observation.
But, Ben screwed up and actually believed the Orientation tape, allowing the Others to not bother with finding the Swan. This also sets them up for being totally caught off guard when the Swan went KABOOM and the discharge knocked out sonar and communications. I think this fact was hammered home last night with seeing Ben using the Pearl to monitor the Swan.
This explains why Ben, as the captive Henry Gale told Locke that “this whole thing is a joke.” He thought what he was telling Locke was the truth, which is why it was so darned convincing to both Locke AND us viewers. Compounded with the false information on the video, Locke lost all faith in the button, resulting in the discharge.
So, the all wise and knowing Ben made a crucial error- he trusted something other than himself. Granted, the discharge has played into his hands by knocking out communications and Locke has helped by seemingly blowing up the submarine (though I’m still not convinced). Now nobody can leave, which is what Ben wants, but his trust has also betrayed him, because the discharge has alerted Penny Widmore to the approximate location of the Island.
It’s a bit of dramatic irony that we know Ben’s greatest error (seemingly so small) will likely be his undoing, wrecking his plot for total control over his minions. And yet, nobody on the show realizes this. That’s how I know this is a secret tid-bit for us viewers alone. It acts as a clue, filling in a few pieces of the puzzle that is LOST.
So really, “Expose” lived up to its title, but only if you’re willing to sift through all the clues. The focus on Nikki and Paulo was a rather clever use of distraction, as Ben’s blunder was the needle in the haystack that was last night’s episode.
Comment by G-Man — March 29, 2007 @ 10:55 am
Ian: I get what you’re saying about waiting for answers. I am actually okay with waiting for answers. That doesn’t bother me. What does bother me is the fact that they promise things in the Podcast that they then fail to deliver on. Don’t say, “This episode will answer why we introduced Nikki and Paulo” and then kill them off before that question is answered. It’s one thing when NBC over-hypes ER every weeks in their promos, saying “The most important ER ever!” That’s just the normal network hype machine at work. But when you create a special internet Podcast every week, presumably aimed at the show’s most detail-oriented fans - hosted not by some anonymous PR person but by the actual creators of the show (!) - why go out of your way to make promises in it that won’t be kept? That’s the sort of hype, I think, that will lose you fans.
Comment by Ken — March 29, 2007 @ 11:01 am
Ken,
Nikki and Paulo’s characters were introduced solely for this episode. Their entire existence was to get us to this episode where we can tie up some of the loose ends of the past events of the island.
1 - Boone was the gay character.
2 - Ben specifically created “the list” of people he wanted to take so that he could manipulate the Jack/Kate/Sawyer love triangle, resulting in Jack performing the surgery. Ben: “Find out what he’s emotionally invested in, and exploit it.”
3 - Paulo didn’t tell anyone about the Swan because he didn’t want anyone finding his hiding spot for the diamonds.
4 - As someone stated before, the Losties now have one of the other’s walkie talkies.
5 - Charlie came clean to Sun
I think the reason that there was so much talk of this episode “Jumping the Shark” was that they turned an episode of LOST into a cheesy murder mystery. Plus, I don’t think that we’ll see them again for 2 reasons: 1) Sawyer buried the diamonds with them, 2) as Nikki stated “We all know what happens to guest stars right?”
Comment by Alan — March 29, 2007 @ 11:09 am
INTERESTING:
- Doc’s comment about how he’s going to be the next Darwin - there are so many ‘new’ species on the island. This sounds like additional proof that the island has been truly isolated or hidden for a long long long time. Its evolution is out of sync with other South Seas islands.
- Desmond sees his visions in ‘flashes’. So he’s not reliving and recreating loops of time, a la Groundhog Day - at least, not consiously.
PUZZLING:
- Doc Artz collected the Medusa spider before he blew himself up, way back in season one, before the Swan hatch was first opened. Who fed and cared for the spider in the jar in all that time since then? Are we to assume that Nikki located the jar, looked at the dried up spider corpse for identifying marks, then went out in the jungle and caught a new specimen of the same species?
- There is no such thing as a Medusa spider.
- Was it unwise for Nikki to rip the necklace from her sugar daddy’s neck? Since they were expecting a coroner to examine him for cause of death, why risk unexplained abrasions when a small wire-cutter would have done the job?
- When Nikki and Paulo were searching the jungle for the script bag, they saw the small plane and the Pearl station entrance. It seems reasonable that Paulo might not want to risk climbing into the plane, and that the presence of the plane might not set off any mental alarm bells, but finding the hatch entrance is a whole different scenario. It establishes that there is, or has been, civilized presence on the island, which would be a major point for people who want to be rescued - why didn’t they pursue this further?
- Why would Paulo hide the diamonds in the Pearl? (!) If he is expecting to be rescued, when the rescuers arrived, was he planning to excuse himself and take a hike into the jungle to ‘gather his things’? And wouldn’t this attract attention that he doesn’t want? And wouldn’t he be concerned that someone might find the diamonds? - especially after Ben and Juliet show up?
- Did the Ben/Juliet conversation really make sense? - Why does Ben need Jack to come to the Others? There were several easy opportunities to just grab him, and they have certainly shown in the past that this is one of their preferred methods of taking people - e.g. the tail section folks, Claire, Charlie. This was an opportunity to overhear some new info, but we just got a rehash of old news.
- ‘thirdflr’ said above: “Juliet/Ben looked like they came in a different way into the station” … this seems fairly obvious; the underground stations would be expected to have their primary entrance somewhere else. e.g. the Swan had a disguised easy entrance. No rabbit hole has only one entrance - that would be foolish, possibly suicidal.
- Why did Sawyer give up the diamonds - first to Sun, then into the grave? Since when is he trying to be a nice guy? Generally, he seems to go out of his way to antagonize people and make them think he is a bad boy.
- If he is planning to come back later and dig up the diamonds, why did he let everyone see that they exist, and where they are? Maybe someone else might be fancying them.
- What the heck is Sawyer thinking nowadays, with regard to being rescued? Is he waiting around for the Coast Guard to show up? Or does he believe that the only way off the island is to deal with the Others? And if so, why isn’t he working on an action plan? Or is he planning to live on the island forever, and catch up on his reading? Say, maybe the Others would be willing to let him go in exchange for, hmm, eight million dollars worth of diamonds. Why hasn’t this thought crossed his mind?
- Hurley, Charlie, Claire and Desmond (who all know about the Others) seem similarly unconcerned about how to get off the island. Maybe Desmond and Charlie are a bit preoccupied with time and fate and such…and it does seem rather pleasant there on the beach. Except for the occasional deaths.
Comment by Mike B. — March 29, 2007 @ 11:10 am
I just watched the “monster” scene and i gotta disagree. It didn’t sound like the monster sound to me. The sounds of the monster are very loud, and have a definate metal clanking and ratcheting to them. This sound when the spiders appear is little more than a slight rattle. If this was the sound of the monster, they have now introduced a completely new sound for it. But i could be wrong i guess, this is JMO.
Comment by Dr. nope — March 29, 2007 @ 11:14 am
Getting back to the earlier posts about characters from books appearing in reality — Walt also experienced it when he made the bird appear in Australia.
The difference is that this manifestation was off the island, not on the island like the rest of the examples.
Comment by debbie — March 29, 2007 @ 11:31 am
“Boone was the gay character.”
If you really believe that, I have this tower in Paris that I’d like to sell you.
My take:
The producers said at the beginning of the season that we might find out someone is gay. This got more buzz than they were probably expecting it to.
So I think Shannon’s remark about hitting on guys was just an inside joke. First of all, it’s totally fitting for her character at the time to make a juvenille remark like that in an attempt to be insulting.
More importantly though, if Boone is gay, then we have to pretty much disregard his backstory and all of the dynamics between him and Shannon in Season one.
The gay thing was just a little red herring.
Comment by Rain — March 29, 2007 @ 11:34 am
jenndavo: I hear you, i didnt exactly mean to write the whole walt thing, but i do think it is very interesting how he was using michael as his pawn to get jack..what do you think?
Comment by themachine — March 29, 2007 @ 11:50 am
I see what you mean, t-machine. Michael was definitely the weak link in the chain … very easy to exploit.
Dr. Nope, I know the sound you’re thinking of, and you’re right. In the case of, say, the pilot’s bloody death in the first season, the monster definitely made a big ratchet-y clank before making his move. Same thing with the time Locke was almost dragged into that strange hole in the ground. But think of other episodes, specifically the first time Mr. Eko sees the monster. It’s just a wispy cloud of smoke snaking through the woods, minding its own business … and its making that soft “I mgiht be coming back for you” noise as it moved along.
And Boone was soooooo not gay. That whole heterosexual sex/unrequited sisterly love thing kind of takes that theory off the table, don’t you think?
Comment by jenndavo — March 29, 2007 @ 12:02 pm
I think people are all butthuut about this episode because it was filled with subtle jabs back at the fans on behalf of the writers, and I for one liked it a lot. And to the superfans, calm down a little. Not every scene in every ep contains a mystery, heh. That said, I’m pretty sure smokey was around during that spider attack. Maybe he was just one of the spiders, not all of them.
Funny line no one but me seems to have caught?:
The producer guy that Nikki and Paolo kill refers to Paulo as “Brazil’s Wolfgang Puck”, Which is similar to the way Lost fans call him the Brazilian Tom Cruise.
And c’mon now, Locke’s dad is Locke’s dad, not Smokey. Quit being foolish.
Comment by Jimmy Zer0 — March 29, 2007 @ 12:03 pm
And I could be wrong about this since someone stole my season 1 dvds, but didn’t Boone totally pole out Shannon in a flashback? Im not saying he can’t still be gay, but thats some STRONG evidence to the contrary.
Comment by Jimmy Zero — March 29, 2007 @ 12:09 pm
JimmyZero, the phrase “pole out” made me do that stifled laugh/snort thing you have to do when you fool around with TheTailSection at work. My coworkers are all looking at me now.
And yes, they did “pole out” in Season 1.
Hmmm … maybe Ben’s the gay one? My money’s still on Tom, but if the gay character DID appear in this episode (as CC and DL said he would), then Ben would be my second choice.
Comment by jenndavo — March 29, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
Good point, they said the gay character would appear, not that he/she would be revealed. They may have tossed in that Shannon line to throw us off.
Comment by Rain — March 29, 2007 @ 12:44 pm
When Kate was getting out of the shower, Tom did say that she wasn’t his type.
Comment by Neal — March 29, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
I think what Carlton and Damon meant about the gay character being in this episode was the joke Shannon made: something about Boone flirting with Paulo.
Very classical tragic episode.
I miss them.
Comment by Stan — March 29, 2007 @ 1:34 pm
Neal:
I totally agree. Tom is so gay! He told Kate she wasn’t his type and then you saw him introducing himself and making eyes at Jack. Not to mention his girly run during their football game.
I am going to remake a point I made in another forum:
Tom and Jack have made some kind of deal. That’s why he warned him of the rec room being bugged when Jack was going in to talk to Kate. Juliet cannot be trusted. Her and Ben have something all together different going on. That’s why in the clip for next weeks episode you can see her trying to manipulate Kate by telling her that she broke Jacks heart.
Comment by thefallguy1 — March 29, 2007 @ 1:36 pm
the gay link - in the airport flashback for paulo and nikki where they were sitting down, didnt Shannon say to Boone something along the lines of ‘We’d of got a seat if you werent so busy chatting up every guy you see’ or something along those lines……
Comment by woahwoahwoah — March 30, 2007 @ 6:05 am
I have said a few hundred times here….the characters here on this show have no common sense, no logical thought process, and ZERO desire to leave this island. After 80 days of no showers, baths, toothpaste, hot food (remember these Dharma drops are staple goods only),almost no entertainment (gee HOW many books can exist on a plane for gosh sakes??), no clean clothes (washer was blown up several weeks ago), hurleys lack of weight loss, the list goes on and on…..
you would think these LOSTIEs would say ONE thing to next body that breathes that they come into contact with……
I DON”T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT ANYTHING YOU ARE DOING, I JUST WANT OFF THIS ISLAND!!!! IF YOU ARE CHILD MOLESTERS, CRIMINALS, PSYCHO-WHACKS…I DON”T CARE, STAY HERE FOR I’ll I CARE….JUST SHOW ME THE KEYS AND I WILL LEAVE YOU ALONE.
SO until the writers can somehow muster up enough letters (that somehow my 1st grader can do) to actually write a line such as this, I WILL continue to say this show is stupid! I will continue to watch because at this point of 80 episodes, I want to know the mystery. But I still think until the writers address some basic questions, I could care less who is gay or who Nikki and Paulo are and why he took bathroom breaks….. COME ONE WRITERS GIVE SOMEONE ON THIS SHOW SOME INTELLIGENCE!!!!!!!!
Comment by thirdflr — March 30, 2007 @ 6:41 am
FROM LATEST ABC PODCAST..They ran out of time to use the Paulo and Nikki storyline.
They said they went to the store and bought too much food at the start of the season and when they got back to the 815er beach Paulo and Nikki were that extra food in the fridge that you didn’t eat. So they had to write them off. So yes..they are making this up as they go. Listen to the podcast on abc.com.
Comment by thepantsman — March 30, 2007 @ 9:24 am
thrdflr, Who would they be saying this stuff to? The scary others who have been kidnapping and killing them? Who even knows whether or not most of the backround losties are echoing you’re exact sentiment?
Also, dont they hunt down the cable in the beach, the hatch, the pearl etc? Why are they doing that? Didn’t Michael kill two of his own just to get himself and his son off the island?
Isn’t Jack trying get off the island right now?
Are we watching the same show?
What I’m trying to say is, the main characters on this show are all proactive go-getters with actual brains in their heads. Some REALLY want to get off and some of them actually have good reason for never going home (Kate, Locke) Instead of going batshit crazy and engaging in pointless nonsense like grabbing someone and saying “OMFG GET ME OUTTA HERE”, which I guess is what you would do, theyre out there looking for the way off, and dealing with all the crazy shit that the island throws at them as it comes.
Much more interesting drama than watching some high strung people panic, (which is what I tend to assume the background losties do, hence their uselessness)?
Not to mention the fact that NO ONE’S COME TO SAVE THEM YET, which basically makes everything both you and I just said moot.
Basically all you’re saying, all you ever say on here, is that you just want the show to be over already. My advice is to go write yourself some nice lost fanfic and end it however you want. Just quit bitching already.
Comment by Jimmy Zer0 — March 30, 2007 @ 12:34 pm
Jimmy,
You miss the whole point of my post. I am not asking for finale next week.
I could give 100+ examples why I think these characters are idiots. I and others have detailed this fact many many times.
FYI…Michael’s efforts were NOT to get off the island but to get his son back!
But alas mindless panic is not what I want to see. I want to see what a normal person like you and me would do. You can not tell me if that was you in that story that would act the way they do! Heck no.
I have said this before….one can not take anything for granted on this show. Because the producers are insanely anal in every minut detail of this show down to what the AD billboards are in the soccer game played on the TV, that they expect no one watching the show to assume any of the things I have suggested to occur in the background. If it ain’t on a frame of video it doesn’t count! Therefore there is too much to assume anyone has 70 IQ points in thier head. Because I Garuntee, you would NEVER act this way if you had been on the island for 80+ days in those conditions.
Comment by thirdflr — March 30, 2007 @ 2:08 pm