Navigating the Mind-Fuck

Well hot damn! if Lost and BSG haven't just been a roll this season! I wish I could just marathon it all cause I'm sitting there at the end of each episode feeling like it's only been 20 minutes and suddenly the show is over and I have to wait another week to find out what happens. Soooooo much information!


BATTLESTAR GALACTICA:

This show has been information overload and with only 3 episodes remaining (though the 9th is a three-parter - so 5 hours left) I just don't see how they're gonna tie all this up! The fact that the Final Five were the creators of the other 8 - and yes, that there's an eighth model, #7, that was permanently boxed - was just such a doozy! Caprica Six lost her baby, Ellen Tigh is just as crazy as ever, Anders is in a freaking coma, despite seeming the most well-adjusted of the Final Five - the most helpful! - and now we've got freaking Boomer screwing with Chief's mind, fucking Helo, and kidnapping Hera - for what? How is Hera gonna help Cavil? Is she a bargaining chip to force the Final Five to recreate resurrection? I know there are answers, but 5 hours seems like a limited time to put it all together!


(Also - Jacob at TWoP had an interesting theory about that boxed #7, Daniel: what if he is Kara Thrace's father? I don't know the timeline of when he was boxed and it seems a stretch, but that could partially explain Starbuck's strange incarnation, plus that would make her the first Cylon/Human Hybrid - basically a foreshadowing of what Hera will be? And last week's episode where it seems both her father and that song he taught her tied into the Final Five and Hera. Don't know how it all adds up, but it's plausible. Can we just figure it out so that Starbuck can go back to being awesome and sure of herself and a little emotionally fucked up? I miss that girl!)



Still to be handled:

• The Opera House Visions: they stopped when Caprica Six was pregnant, but she lost the baby. Then Laura passed out when Hera was kidnapped. Will they be starting up again? Will we finally understand all that bull about Hera being Caprica's child and how Baltar fits in with all that? And why Roslin is there too?
• The Angel Caprica Six/Gauis Baltar: She's been gone for a will, but Gauis finally saw another Caprica vision two weeks ago. What is their purpose? Are Caprica and Baltar just batshit crazy? If not, WHO ARE THOSE FREAKING PEOPLE IN THEIR HEADS AND HOW DID THEY GET THERE? WHAT DO THEY WANT?
• Is Galactica out of commission now? I love the way they've progressed this development, especially how is relates emotionally to Bill, and I never thought that would be a deciding factor in their future; that Galactica would just break down. That moment when Boomer jumped and the side blew was devastating.
• Showdown with Cavil?: Now that Hera's been taken, there has got to be a confrontation of some sort. But will Galactica even be able to compete? Will it be the Basestar with the 268's that will lead the charge, cause they seem mostly eager to get the hell out of Dodge and avoid Cavil.
• I will be really disappointed if most of the remaining major characters die in some violent series finale. A showdown, a fight, yes! And things don't need to be all wrapped up in a shiny bow for me. But I want some of these characters to have some satisfying closure, and there to be hope for the future. Right now, everything's looking a little dismal.

I was really rooting for Chief and Boomer to finally have some happiness and peace together, but I guess Boomer is too screwed up for that. Part of me really wants to hate her now, but part of me remembers all the crap she's been put through, how her identity has been changed for her dozens of times and she doesn't know who to trust, where to turn, and how to go back. And it seems so unfair that she's held solely accountable for the shooting of Adama (she was programmed - by who? Perhaps some of the Cylons they are currently in an alliance with?), and for the Cylon Civil War. Yes she took Cavil's side, but does that make her actions war crimes? I'm sure she and Cavil see the destruction of the Hub as a war crime comminted by the Rebels. It doesn't seem fair that she is the vessel in which all of this blame is to be placed and judged. So she's sticking with Cavil. I guess I can't blame her.


But then she went and screwed Helo and that pisses me off! Seriously, first Helo/Sharon sex scene we get in 4 years and it's actually Boomer??? So fucked up! Also, hating the writing a little bit that has neither Helo or Hera able to recognize the slight differences between their wife/mother and Boomer, but having Chief able to recognize her at first sight after not seeing her for 4 years! That just doesn't seem fair.


LOST:

I've been really impressed with the rhythm of the show this season. I like that we're skipping around in a lot of different groups and the show is providing some answers, and then bringing up a lot more questions. I don't mind viewing this show like a big puzzle; I like being challenged every week. What will piss me off is if when we reach the end of the series, there's a lot of hanging shit that isn't explained or doesn't fit with the answers that were provided. I love "Roswell" but halfway through Season 2, they just up and changed the mythology of the show and it never made sense again. Took my right out of that reality - couldn't believe it anymore. As long as "Lost" stays true to the facts and reality they have already established, and continues to explain and unfold the mysteries of this island, I'm there.


*Episode 6: "316": This is the only episode that seemed a little off kilter. We start with Jack back on the island, so we know we'll be there by the end of the hour, but all of the events that take place within that 24 hours are confusing as hell. The sideplot about of Jack's grandfather seemed a little forced, but it was really satisfying to see everyone back on that plane, heading back, for some reason. But so much left unexplained: Why was Kate so upset, wouldn't talk about Aaron, and why did she immediately jump Jack's bones? That felt odd and their relationship is just so dark and twisty. Who got Hurley out of jail and convinced him? How? It couldn't have been Ben cause Hurley does NOT trust Ben. Sayid is the only person I see him trusting at that point, but Sayid was also completely against the idea. But then Sayid shows up onboard with a Marshal - what did he do? Was that all staged? So there are three members of the Oceanic 6 who apparently did a 180 in 12 hours and there are no explanations.


Then we see Ben looking all bloody and messed up out by the marina - what was he doing? There's been speculation that he went after Penny - who is living with Desmond and little Charlie on a boat - but I pray that didn't happen! Either way, no idea how all these people got there together and for many of them, why? I'm sure we're gonna get a bunch of flashbacks in future episodes that will explain it all, but by the end of that episode I was feeling a little pushed around.


I did love that Frank Lapidus was the pilot - that part seemed unforced and a little magical, plus I like the character and want to know more about him. I also loved Hurley buying up as many seats as possible to protect innocents from getting involved in the island mess. Very in character.

*Episode 7: "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham": Locke frequently frustrates the hell out of me with his unfailing and crazy faith, but he's seldom dull. Most of his storylines are fascinating and this was no different. It was great to see Abbadon again and understand part of his role in all this. And Charles Widmore is just such a mystery to me. He definitely seems more on the level than Ben, but it just seems like those two men are in a full-out blood war and using our guys as pawns - just like Desmond said! If Widmore was the leader of the Others, well that doesn't make him the good guy just because Ben unceremoniously outsted him, and the fact that he hired Martin Keamy and sent him to the island to kill Alex is just sketchy as hell.


It was sad to see Locke so disheartened, and even though Jack was perhaps unduly harsh, it was great to see Locke's special destiny called out. What makes him special? I don't necessarily doubt it (and don't blame Jack for doubting it), but all the people who tell him that are connected to the island in crazy ways: Widmore, Ben, Richard Alpert, Abbadon, Jacob, the spirit of Christian Shepard - can you trust a thing any of these guys says? I intially thought that Locke was gonna kill himself in good faith that is would bring everyone back together and to the island (which is of course what eventually ended up happening). But he was really just killing himself. He had given up. And it was so sad to see Locke without his faith. But of course Ben killed him! What a sneaky, selfish, manipulative bitch! He's the only person the island doesn't need back but he killed Locke after getting the information he needed and got himself on that plane and is headed back to a place he's not meant to be. What an egomaniacal fuck!

*Episode 8: "LaFleur": I loved seeing Sawyer taking charge and making a credible leader. I've always had a soft spot for this character in spite of his laconic attitude, sneaky tendencies, and hot-headed stupidity, so it was nice to see him playing with the big boys. The cover story about the shipwreck was clever, the way he went head to head with Alpert was impressive, and the overall steadiness of his character throughout the episode was refreshing. Sawyer and Juliet make a kinda cute couple! I wasn't expecting to like them so much. I guess after all the Jack/Kate/Sawyer mess, it was nice to see Sawyer and Juliet just being happy together. They are both much more straightforward about their feelings than either Kate or Jack, so I'm glad they are in a reciprocal relationship for once. I just hope that the return of Kate doesn't meen a whole new love triangle - or square.


The thing that intially confused me about the episode was the time shift; I was sure once Locke fixed it, they would be back in the present. But they're in the '70's? So strange. But then I thought, of course, that's perfect. From Day 1 the show has been building the mythology of the Dharma Initiative, so why not go back and see it all first hand, especially if it turns out that our Losties are actually a big part of that. And since it seems like both Charlotte and Miles births could be traced to the island and the Dharma Initative, is makes sense for Daniel and Miles to be there as well. According to Alpert and Widmore, Locke was supposed to be the leader of the Others way before the present, and Ben was not. Ben also wiped out the Dharma Initiative. So by taking us back to the '70's, killing Locke and having him also return at this time, before Ben's rule, it's almost like the island is trying to fix that mistake. Here in 1977, Locke can become the leader of the Others like he's supposed to (?), and Ben can be contained. This is also sets the story prior to the time when pregnant women and their babies always died (as we saw in Juliet's storyline), so the island is perhaps trying to alter whatever significant event set that chain of events in motion. All I can say is I'm stoked. I like this idea.


Final thoughts: I wanna know more about Horace Goodspead. Sawyer needs to grow the facial hair out again. We need to know more about Miles backstory - why did he come to the island originally? I'm curious to see how Desmond will once again come into play. Everyone else is now in 1977 - how does Des get back there?

ETA: I've been on a "Friday Night Lights" marathon this last week, so it was especially funny to me to see random Dharma Initiative employee Jerry (actor Kevin Rankin) running around on the island when he also plays the wheelchair bound Herc on FNL. So random.