Tuesday, April 13, 2010

>: 108 HAPPILY EVER AFTER

So, even before the episode begins, point of contention about whether this will be yet another all-out Desmond-centric shooting-for-the-Top-5-yet-again sort of ride or if having ended with him last week, they’re just going to twist us in the wind for a week or three, even now. When I pointed out the episode number, it was decided that we’d have to drink all the whiskey in the house if it was, in fact, time for Desmond. Fortunately, there wasn’t much left.

The pre-title sequence is insane! From the opening Desmond eye shot to quite understandably and wonderfully beating the shit out of Widmore with the IV stand to Schillinger’s kid all of a sudden Scientist Prime to dude getting cooked by the solenoids since he’s not Desmond or Jon Osterman. So great, only question was, WHEN they put Des in, was that just going to send him over to the parallel stream for the whole episode, or maybe bunches of them why not? or were they just going to go for it and all of a sudden it be the hide Desmond’s big blue cock with carefully placed furniture episode. I’m glad it turned out the way it did.

The guest star list is astounding. The entire Widmore family that wasn’t, Charlie, Minkowski, and Penny. Out of control.

Pause right when Schillinger’s kid turns around before not throwing the switch when it’s Desmond’s turn. Check out his face. It’s hilarious, when the dude came out from nowhere at the beach hollering and barrel trained on Sawyer, I bet you a hundred dollars the actor had no idea he’d be in here doing this shit this week. Aaaaaand, now you’re Widmore’s EMF guy!

They totally tease you, too, after the fantastic Dr. Manhattan discorporation moment, cut to blue sky like, Yes, it IS Superman time, we are totally now making Desmond a superhero here at the end but hey it’s all right we’ll certainly give him clothes since it’s network, then the pull-back, nope, this was just that time that Desmond was on the 815 flight and disappeared when Jack came back because he’d gone up to the cockpit for a quick peep out the front window for this absolute fucking cocktease POV shot, because now fade to him trying to figure out which baggage claim he needs to hit, the result of the Manhattan experiment is actually only going to be that we catch up with him after those first five minutes that opened the season.

Cusick obviously crushes everything within sight this episode. Every one-on-one is immaculate. He nails every beat of the encounter with Claire. And, as if we weren’t expecting it, it’s A-team time, Lindelof/Cuse/Bender. Hold on.

Great to see George Minkowski up and about. Him and Trixie, man, as soon as they showed up, both taken out in their debut episodes, such a waste.

And I love how horrifying it is to watch Widmore’s reception of Desmond in LA. How normal it would seem, if you didn’t know, except for the music, but how really wrong it is. Reminded me of the bit with Jack catching and spiking Tom’s pass, the inversion of surface appearance.

The conversation in the bar with Charlie might win. Dom crushes fantastic writing, drops my first pick for episode title with the “This Feeling, This Love” speech before Desmond brings us right back with killer read of “that’s poetry, Brother.” Charlie’s story about seeing, I presume, Claire and then being yanked away at the moment of realization foreshadows the fake ending of the episode, when we think he’s carried away from Penny at the instant of contact.

“The Beginning of Everything Great” is my second pick.

And of course insane the way that car ride ends up in the harbor. Same marina? Why not, same marina! Season Three finale hand on the glass! It’s all too much.

The panic button! The Penny vision! Might should just finish this one out via exclamatory summary.

This is a perfect Desmond episode, a recapitulation and summation*. Just when you think they’re not going to be able to logically pack any other perfect encounter, we get that little exchange with Jack.

Is it significant that Jack In The Box advertise during this episode? Should we read anything into that?

“What Happened, Happened!”

Penny’s last name is Milton here? She’s Widmore’s daughter and that’s her mom’s name? Certainly not a surprise that they grabbed the author’s name, but interesting detail to fill in in such a strange context. “The Perfect Life!” Does Eloise’s voice do some weird sub-tonal thing when she tells Desmond he needs to stop looking for it? Reminds me of the effect they used on the Visitors in those first two V mini-series way back when. And of course, she’s here to course-correct Desmond. Or maybe prevent him from doing same?

“Because I bloody do,” takes best delivery of the week, no problem.

“Just Drive, George.”

Faraday in the All Things Must Pass hat! Too many crushing potential episode titles**!

“Love At First Sight!”

I have really missed Daniel Faraday, didn’t know how much until seeing him.

“You Felt Love!” “She’s An Idea!”

Penny rocking the Tour de Stade! Just the sight of that stadium sends lactic acid firing through my calves and makes me so happy.

And Giacchino drops the fakeout music, when Desmond asks Widmore when they start, you totally expect Drum-cut to L E T T E R S.

“A Lot Can Happen In Twenty Minutes!”

Random Sayid Neck-Breaking Glory!

“Aye!” “Lead the Way!”

And then, second complete shock ending, they make it not contingent on the machine and ol Des just slides right back over to Penny to close things out, totally undercutting the brilliance of jumping back when the two made contact, but completely worth it with the mad notion that Desmond is going to get his hands on the manifest and cause all kinds of mayhem, if the look in his eyes is any indication. “I Just Need To Show Them Something!”

“The Corner of Switzer & Melrose” is a late dark horse contender. I really love the idea of the folks who do know the title ahead of time puzzling this one out until the last two minutes. The Wife suggested "Electromagnetic Love," which maybe trumps all these others.

Oh, the laugh Penny gives him turning around on the way out.
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*Thinking about this a bit later, no, it's not PERFECT, there's no Brother Justin Clancy Brown drunk at the charity ball with girls young enough to be his kids on either arm. That is the only subtraction that keeps this episode from being mathematically perfect. But so close!

**and, really, I’ve been guessing hard what the finale could be called for weeks now, and that’s the first one that I’d be happy with***

***massive and total understatement

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