The Great American Myth? Part 2: Superman

My apologies that this is so late in coming. I started a series on "The Great American Myth" months ago, and promised this entry. I began it in March, but haven't finished it until now. This series is a search for what might be the great "story" of American culture, and an exploration of several candidates. You may wish to read the first entry, which is more of an introduction, before this, though it is not necessary.

We may think of comic books and "graphic novels" as a mainstay of our entertainment world, but this was not always the case. While graphic storytelling has a history stretching back to prehistory (...if that makes sense), the familiar superhero comic book is a product of the 20th century and, I would argue, uniquely American. Though the form has taken off in Japan, pioneered by men like Tezuka Osamu, this art owed much of its genesis to American artwork (compare Astro Boy's design with Mickey Mouse, for example). And if it is indeed an American art form, the superhero comic book owes its existence to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and their creation of Superman.

The superhuman powers, the flashy villains, the colored tights that we associate with the genre date back to the 1930s and Superman. Other cultures have certainly had their heroic figures. Greek mythology features great men and demigods and their cosmic struggles. Yet the modern superhero is an American creation; a character with an elaborate backstory, a secret everyman identity, and the power to do the jobs our civil servants cannot. Superheroes never take the place of police or federal agents; they always work in tandem with them. Why? Because Superman did. Even the more subversive comic book characters generally only bend the rules that Superman established.

All right, you may be saying. Comic book heroes may be American, and Superman may have been instrumental in that origin, but what makes his story the great American myth? Is Kal-El of Krypton really any more relevant than Batman or Spider-Man? Stan Lee and the people at Marvel do deserve high praise for the work done in the genre. Spider-Man excelled at portraying a young hero protagonist in a real life city. And while Batman has steadily trounced Superman in popularity over the past twenty years, in essence he is a different type of character. Strictly speaking, Batman is not a superhero. Many argue this point, and will lump him in with other costumed heroes; but were it not for the Justice League of America Batman could be considered entirely separate from the superhero world. He is a superhero only by association. In reality, Batman is a costumed vigilante detective; this is especially evident in the early comics. While his brooding darkness and tragic backstory may resonate with readers and viewers, it is Superman's story that ultimately expresses American ideology.

Most Americans are familiar with Superman's origin from comics, books, films, TV or radio. Krypton was a dying alien world. It's destruction was foreseen by a scientist named Jor-El who, to protect his infant son Kal-El, sent him in a ship to the far away planet Earth. The boy's ship crashed in Smallville on Earth, where he was found by Jonathan and Martha Kent. The more familiar version has them adopt the boy and name him Clark. [The very first Superman origin comic depicted the Kents leaving Clark in an orphanage. That story soon changed, I think to give him more of a growing-up backstory, and to facilitate the Superboy comic series.] Clark grows up, moves to the big city of Metropolis and becomes a reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper, where he meets Lois Lane, the girl of his dreams. But Clark is no ordinary man. When trouble calls, his Kryptonian physiology and the radiation of Earth's yellow sun (along with gravity and half a dozen other conflicting factors) give him super-human powers; he puts on tights and a cape with a big red and yellow S on the front (all sown from the blankets found in the ship with him from Krypton) and becomes SUPERMAN! Though he hides this identity behind the guise of Clark Kent, and nobody knows they are one and the same, Superman fights for truth, justice and the American way!

When you look at it in its simplest terms, Superman is an immigrant who came to America for a better future. Isn't this the fable of Ellis Island that we've all come to know? He's just a boy who grows up to make something of himself. He not only becomes a great, productive American, he literally becomes superhuman and wins the adulation of the nation and the world. Is this not the American Dream restated? Do we not want to believe that anyone can be anything here? His origins further substantiate this myth by placing his childhood in Smallville. Not only is Clark Kent an immigrant, he is also the son of rustic country folk. He's a country boy who makes it big in the city. That notion of upward mobility cannot be overlooked.

But, you may say, Superman is an alien. This is true. It is Kal-El's uniqueness that empowers him to be the superhero for the nation. What once was Kryptonian became folded into the fabric of America, part of its crime-fighting and national propaganda. In this way, we might view Superman as emblematic of the "Great American Melting Pot" philosophy; the great parts of our foreign heritage is added to America without taking away from it. While he is Kryptonian, Superman still sees himself as American. He has a sense of loyalty to its people. He has familial love for the Kents. He stands for good American values. It is no coincidence that every episode of the old series stated he fought for "truth, justice and the American way." And what is the American way? What makes it better than any other way? The comic doesn't ask these questions because we aren't supposed to. The American way of life is perceived as a noble goal to do good; to right wrongs by strength if necessary, but never use that power for evil. It's a nice idea. Now, any student of recent American history knows that's also reasonably false. But the idea of that America is strong, and Superman is a poster boy for maintaining that illusion. It's curious that Superman seems to fight ONLY for America. Very rarely is he used on a global scale. Many comic authors have had fun in recent years positing scenarios wherein Kal-El doesn't land in America but in Soviet Russia (Red Son) or in England (True Brit). Such stories reinforce the notion that Superman isn't JUST a product of solar radiation and an alien genome; America is as responsible for making and maintaining the Superman as he is for maintaining her. And while I do not want to make to great a point of it, he does appear completely human, and as a white man. Life for this character would have been very different were he to be black. Maybe it's best that he share low origins, but be easily accepted into wealthy white society. The book's origins are in the 1930s, after all, and I don't wish to be racist about it. I simply point that out. In fact, some have argued that Superman represents something Jewish, noting that his creators were Jewish, and even his name Kal-El shares similarities with Hebrew words. Whatever that may mean, it is clear that Superman is an "other", one from outside the homogenous America who was able to join it.

I feel I would also be remiss if I didn't explore for a moment Clark Kent's job. Superman is not the only caped hero to be employed by a newspaper (Peter Parker is as well), but he was the first. But unlike Parker, who got the job at the Daily Bugle because of Spider-Man, Clark worked at the Daily Planet before becoming Superman, or at least before really bearing that mantle. They were separate notions. Now, we could delve into the holy apocrypha of the Superboy books, which feature Clark growing up and into his powers, which goes even further in the television adaptation known as Smallville. But even were we to believe Superman preceded Kent the reporter, they were never intentionally mingled. It is not Clark who does all the reportage on Superman, it is Lois. The Daily Planet was a way for Clark Kent to have a job; to be productive in society as a man, and not jut a thing. He has a boss; this being who could theoretically rule the planet submits himself to outside authority. Why? Because he just wants to be a man. And why a newspaper? Perhaps because part of what America prides herself in is freedom of the press. Clark Kent works for an American institution that is about the free exchange of ideas. How different we might feel as readers to see Superman disguised as Clark Kent, the banker!

Another fundamental aspect of what Superman is can be defined by his reality as Clark. They are the same, yet they are different. Clark Kent is a disguise, and yet more than a disguise. In some ways, it is a life that he has lived since he was a child. But he's also the man who can fly. So he lets the cape and the suit, the "big blue blur" as he's sometimes called, be the hero. He lets the world know about Superman. But the man who is Clark hides that identity behind a pair of glasses. In this way, there's a nobility represented about the good things done in secret. He's not only a hero because of what he does; he's a hero because he doesn't glory in it. Much has been made of the glasses disguise. How could Lois never know it's the same guy, but with spectacles on? The simple genius of the glasses, is that they are a barrier to the truth, but no so great a barrier that they hide all signs of it. They remind us that anyone we know, even those we least suspect, can be heroic in some way. Superman inspires us to be more than we think we are.

Quentin Tarantino puts some interesting observations about Superman and Kent in the mouth of Bill in his Kill Bill movie. I present that dialogue for you here. There's a teeny bit of profanity in this clip, if that bothers you, but nothing R-rated.

So Bill argues that Superman sees humanity as weak, and that Clark is a mirror of that. I agree with most of his observation, but not necessarily with his assessment. I think he puts on that costume because he wants to share that existence, and not solely as a necessary evil or a commentary on society. But yes, it may be a mirror for humanity, and that leads us to the final point about Superman; he is an alien Messiah.

There are many who read a Christological undercurrent into the story of Superman. Even the Superboy stories mirror those nonsensical Gnostic gospels where a young Jesus raises the dead. Bill is right, Superman does make himself like us. But maybe that's the point; he becomes like us to show us the way; he chooses to lay aside his "godly" attributes and walk among us. Yes, he does seemingly miraculous things, but doesn't seek great credit for it. In Jesus' early ministry he often expressly told people to keep their healings secret. This idea of a Superman who parallels Christ is perhaps most striking in Richard Donner's Superman film. In the movie, Jor-El has passages of seemingly biblical dialogue: "They can be a great people, Kal-El. They only lack the light to show the way. For that reason, I have sent them you, my only son." Other religious metaphors can be seen in that Kal-El is sent away in a ship, like Moses in the rushes. America, though never truly a "Christian nation", prides itself on many seemingly Christian ideals, and to equate our great hero with our great Savior seems to be an acceptable allegory to many. It plays into our notions of a country founded in religion. Yet in its own way, this red and blue Christ supplants the other in the popular mind. While not uniquely American, this devaluing of Christian faith is also not un-American. Many of our Founders were Deists, believing in a Creator who made things, but is no longer bothered in the day-to-day inner workings of them. Jefferson famously edited a Bible which presented the gospels stricken of supernatural elements. The "magical" Jesus was left to be Clark Kent; a man with something to say. There are indeed also those who read Superman as an anti-Christ, though this view is not as prevalent. In America today, as we endlessly debate such trivialities as whether to avow this nation "under God" or not, the thought arises that maybe it doesn't matter from what Krypton we sprang. Krypton has exploded. Superman, unlike Jesus, has no father and home to return to when he ascends into the sky. Those heavens have been destroyed, and there is only the here and now. America in her own way lives for a universe of freedom, even from our pasts. Superman lost his. We threw out Britain. We continue to lose those things which we were in efforts to be something else, to make ourselves better. To be stronger, faster, and without spending six million dollars. Superman is an expression of that ideal. America's blind faith in itself may in fact be its religion.

In Clark Kent, and his true super self, we have a figure who is so unlike us, and yet so obviously and acceptably one of us. And though his storyline became muddled again and again over the course of sixty years, and though his list of powers is seemingly unending, making him almost too powerful, he still gets up in the morning, puts on his suit and goes to work each day as an example to all of us. Superman is a living expression of the American dream, who speaks only truth, who fights for justice, and who models for us the American way of life daily, challenging us to look behind the glasses for the superman in all of us.

to be continued in "The Great American Myth?" part 3:

Star Wars

Losing Our Language

During this time of year, I volunteer my time at the local Catholic high school where I prepare the used textbook sale for the coming year. I take in students' books, go through them to be sure they are still sellable and sort them all for the day of the sale. This process has allowed me to peek into the minds and writings of this generation of youth. Most scribble some sort of notes in their books. There are those who write their own names over and over, those who love so-and-so, those who write notes in Korean that I can barely read (there's a sizable Korean exchange population), and the obscene notes.

But there are also real academic notes taken, most often in English texts. Usually this is to put confusing Shakespeare talk into plain modern English. Reading these notes has left me disturbed at the state of literacy in this country. Never mind how much they can't read, which cannot be gauged this way, but the way they write, and even worse the way they spell, is atrocious for students who are high school seniors. Has the system failed them, have they failed at it, or is it both? To illustrate, I will now list a number of misspelled words that I found in textbook notes. I assure you, these are all real. I wish they weren't. Can you guess what they meant?

wimon

glomy

battel

flosify

sailer

pardox

pilgram

pilgrum

serman

visious

ecordian

faillecy

lyk

Among these, the most painful I think is "flosify"; would you have guessed she meant "philosophy"? Or fallacy ("faillecy")? While I had resigned myself long ago to the fact that young people use "like" every other word as an expletive, I never thought I would see it spelt l-y-k.

In looking at this, I began to think that perhaps the way we've been teaching English literature has been all wrong. Generally, it is taught chronologically, beginning with Shakespeare or earlier Middle English, through the King James Bible and stodgy American writings of the 18th Century. Even the language of 60 years ago is vastly different to the young today. I propose that language is difficult for this generation to wrap its head around, and they need consistency. Can we expect them to use standardized spelling when they are reading works which feature non-standard spelling and usage? For my part, I think maybe these readings should be taught in REVERSE order. In that way, students could be eased into the more variant language, and hopefully have a stronger foundation. Can we really expect the attention deficient youth who don't use full sentences or words in general to read Chaucer and not be confused? I'm not sure if there is a solution, but I wonder if that might help make a difference.

The title of this post I took from a fascinating book of the same name which analyzes how the reading selections given children in grade school are far more simplistic than they were years ago. If you have any interest in the subject, I highly recommend seeking it out.

Play that Funky Music, White Girl

Last night's Glee mostly focused on funk music, and cleverly as a way to get people "out of a funk." This is not a review of the episode, but an observation of one element.

Early in the episode, Mr. Shuster gives the club the assignment to look for a funk number for regionals. Mercedes, the black girl on the team, says "I got this," but then Quinn, the blonde, white, former cheerleader says that she wants to try a funk solo. Mercedes laughs at this suggestion, thinking it a joke. She furthers it by essentially expressing that white people can't do funk; it's a ridiculous idea. Those are not the exact words, but absolutely the exact sentiment. Then, in what I consider a brave call-it-like-it-is move on the part of the show, Quinn calls Mercedes' comments racist. I was SO glad to hear that, because it's true! That point wasn't dwelt on in the episode, it was said and they moved on. But I think just to SAY that these days is fabulous. Doesn't Mercedes know that's racist? Doesn't she know that Wild Cherry said to "play that funky music, white boy?"

Unfortunately for me, this very good point was undercut later in the episode. Quinn performs her funk number, and everyone is into it; we get a sort of stunned reaction shot from Mercedes. Later, Mercedes, Puck and Finn (both of whom are white, by the way) perform their own funk number... and it's Marky Mark. Mr Shuster correctly points out that it wasn't really funk, even if it's by the Funky Bunch; it was rap. Once again, Mercedes is a little embarrassed. So she goes to talk with Quinn. Here's where it gets interesting. Before she even sits down, Quinn profusely apologizes to Mercedes, saying that she didn't realize how hard she had it. It's never said why, but you know she means because she's black. Basically, she equates being teenage and pregnant with being black, and instead of making about how they are the same, it's all about "How do you stand it every day, Mercedes?" And I'm thinking to myself... where did this come from? Why is Quinn saying these things when it's Mercedes who made the racist comments? In the end, Mercedes recognizes that Quinn got into the spirit of funk, and makes her an honarary sistah. I'm not making that up. She says "we sisters gotta stick together" or something like that (and this in context means black women, and not women in general), and then they fist bump, which Quinn isn't good at (because she's white). What I took from this scene is that Mercedes still views funk as "a black thing", and rather than recognize the equality of everyone, she ushers Quinn under the black umbrella. White girl got soul, but I guess it's despite the fact she's white.

While I was glad they reconciled, and Mercedes sort of softened, I thought the scene undercut the very relevant message about black racism. For a series that last week called out good kids for using the word "faggot", I find this episode a little hypocritical in that regard. Still, I was glad to hear it said on TV, which is all too infrequent. There was a Boston Public episode about it, and my favorite episode of Star Trek: Enterprise was all about it, "North Star". Am I reading this wrong? Take a look for yourself. The first scene is at the 10-minute mark, and the racism issue comes up around minute 11. The second scene is at 29:47.

In Memorium

If you think this is about Dennis Hopper or Gary Coleman, then you must not be an American who observes Memorial Day. No, this post is a reminder to observe this holiday set aside to honor those Americans who fell in battle. Sometimes it bothers me when living veterans are brought up on Memorial Day, and the dead are brought up on Veteran's Day; they're separate days. But let's do remember those currently fighting, lest they become one more Memorial Day statistic.

I know everyone sees this as a day to party or see a movie or open the pool, but try to give some thought today about the dead. And not just the obvious ones. Yes we remember those who stormed Normandy or fell in 'Nam. We remember those who fought in the Pacific. We remember all those Americans who killed each other at Gettysburg and Antietam. But let's remember ALL of them. Remember the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Remember the ones in all other military conflicts abroad that don't earn the memorable "american war" status. Remember the ones in Korea. Remember the ones in World War I. Remember those in the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, the Mexican-American War. Remember all who fell at the Alamo. Remember the American Revolution beyond the tea parties and committees; beyond frozen wooden teeth crossing the Delaware. Remember the men. Remember the women. Remember the white, the black, the hispanic, the American indian, the Asian, the arab, the gay, the straight, the old and the all-too-young. Remember those who died on the ground and those who died in the air. Those who fled sinking ships and those who went down with them. Those who stood against the British, and those who fought beside them. Remember the medics who tended the wounded, some of whom went down with them. Remember those who served and never saw combat, but have died with the distinction of serving our country however they could in whatever thankless job in time of crisis. Remember the typists, clerks and translators. Remember the recruiters and technicians. Remember the people at home who suffered loss, and the ones they wept for. Remember the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, the minutemen, the militias, the National Guard. Remember them, and never forget.

"War must be, while we defend ourselves against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." -- Lord of the Rings, book IV, chapter 5

LOST: "The End" -- Reflections on the Long Con of the finale

Be forewarned that there are SPOILERS contained herein. If you have yet to watch this episode, or the episode in its entirety, you would be wise not to read. I also may spoil other endings as well (though nothing too recent). You have been warned!!

Well, here we are, the very end of Lost. I have a lot to say regarding the finale. I'll begin with a few general thoughts before moving to the specifics.

First, we have the title "The End." Simple and straightforward, the title was an object of derision among some of us who hoped for a title more engaging. But I've been thinking about it and there may be intentional meaning to it. The first thing it calls to my mind is the final book in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which curiously also ended on an island. I also think of the Beatles song which (almost) closes out the Abbey Road album. "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." Essentially, that's the point of the finale for good or ill, and so it is very possible the title was deliberately chosen to reference this, and not merely to signal a finality (a finality I might add which is lacking).

For the most part it succeeded as a final couple hours of television better than some series have. It certainly has its issues, but I think it's safe to say that it will be remembered in the annals of television finales. While it doesn't approach the perfect brilliant tie-it-all-up-neatly package of Arrested Development's finale, it does avoid some cliches. Though on the other hand, it also lovingly rips off like 15 different endings. The joke "alternate endings" on the Jimmy Kimmel show focusing on other famous finales sadly rings a little true. And I'm mostly not talking about TV either; I mean film and literature as well. Some of these I will point out more specifically, but at various times the finale seemed to me to echo Star Trek II, Star Trek III, The Sixth Sense, The Lovely Bones, The Third Policeman, The Matrix Revolutions, Children of the Mind, The Last Battle and Lord of the Rings.

Due to the revelations of the episode I can no longer refer to events in the sideways universe seperately. So this will be a little more stream of consciousness as I watched the episode than prior reflections.

It was an interesting choice to open the episode with the delivery of Christian's coffin. The coffin played a big role, and echoes the coffin stuff from the first season. Jack fought so hard to get that thing on the plane (it was the whole reason he was on the plane), so to see it finally arrive where it should is a certain closure. This coffin is different from the coffin seen in the real universe though. I wonder why that is. Also, in the prior episode, Desmond called Jack PRETENDING to be the airline, saying they'd found the coffin. So did Desmond just go buy a coffin and pretend it was Jack's? Or did he somehow find out about it? Was the coffin always empty? If so, that points much more to it being a ruse of Desmond's to get Jack to the church.

The first shot we see on-island is of jack in the water, and we see the sunlight reflecting prominently off of the surface. This image of light and water struck me, considering the importance of the water and light in the cave. This shot was intentional, and to have it be the first island shot of the episode drives the theme home subtextually.

I was waiting for the Star Wars reference, and thought it had passed when Hurley mentioned Yoda. But then we got it; Hurley says "I've got a bad feeling about this." It was an appropriate choice, and also a great Star Wars shout-out, since the line has been used in every Star Wars film.

It was interesting to here Kate tell Jack that nothing is irreversible. This is an echo of what sideways-Jack told Sideways-Locke at the start of the season. Are we to infer that he remembered it from Kate having said it? I'm also wondering what the significance of the line is. What does that mean, that nothing is irreversible? Are we supposed to agree or disagree with that statement? I'm not sure it really tied into the other themes of the episode, and I'm not sure how I'm meant to take it.

I love that Charlie returned. It was always such a waste that Charlie died (and note: Desmond was bloody wrong and no helicopter ever took Claire and Aaron away; Charlie died for nothing!). I thought it was hilarious when Hurley shot him with the tranquilizer. Sayid's just dumbstruck: "What was that?" "Oh, that was Charlie."

It was good to see Rose and Bernard again, though I figured they would show up again. It was only fitting. Kind of a bummer Walt never gets his dog back, though. It was good of them to help Desmond, but unfortunately the reappearance of Rose and Bernard also creates a major continuity question. They built that little house and all in the 1970s. Then they flashed forward in time with everyone else after the Incident. But the house doesn't time travel with them. In the time travel we saw in season 5, the only objects that traveled with you were ones you were in contact with. So it is impossible that their entire living complex traveled with them. This means that either A) their house remained untouched and undiscovered for thirty years on the island until they flashed back into it and took up residence again or B) it was destroyed at some point in the thirty years and they rebuilt it. Rose's statement strongly implies it wasn't B, but I think that the other scenario strains credibility. I'm willing to suspend disbelief about a magical cave of light never being found, but a big house? Nobody ever came across it in thirty years? And it didn't even show any wear! That was a misstep, or at least a bending of the rules solely to give them a cameo appearance.

Did Sawyer call Miles "Anus" several times in this episode?

I knew that Richard wasn't dead. Though he seems to no longer be immortal; his hair has started to gray. I wonder when that transition happened. Was it after Jack became the new protector?

In the sideways land, we finally saw Juliet. There were good things and bad things about her presence. First, I was shocked that she and Jack had ever been together. That's just insane, and seems to come a little left-field. Frankly, I had stopped even thinking about Jack and Juliet as an item, even though they were leaning that way in season three. To think of her as the mother of his child though is odd. And they didn't stay together, which makes me wonder why. (Not that any of this really matters, as we will soon see.) This smacks of the Star Trek: The Next Generation finale wherein Captain Picard had been married to and divorced from Beverly Crusher in the future. Juliet's surname here was Carlson. Is that her maiden name? Was her sister's name Rachel Carlson? In the island universe, her surname was Burke. We know she had been married and her ex was hit by a bus. But I find it interesting that she kept his name (or some dude's name) there, but reverted to her maiden name after leaving Jack. ...Unless she and Jack were never really together, and David is just the product of a random hookup.

There's more sideways confusion when it comes to Jin and Sun. I suddenly got to questioning why Jin isn't sterile in this universe. Never mind the question of what becomes of babies in this world; I just didn't get how he could even have one here. The Sun/Jin story was also the first time I got a hint of where they were really going with this. Up until then, characters had had flashes of the island lives when they were happiest and in love. These connections I got, but I thought it was more a past-life sort of remembrance; or an other life. In all that it still seemed to me almost like the sideways people were tapping into the minds of the island people. That's how it seemed to be in "Happily Ever After", when Desmond went in the box thing. But here, for the first time, when we see Sun's island memories it included their deaths. And I wondered how it could be possible that they had memories of dying. That was my first hint that they were actually leading us to see the sideways world as post-death.

It was also funny that Sun and Jin not only remembered who they are, but suddenly remembered how to speak English.

When Locke is being wheeled into surgery, he's wearing a shower cap. ...um, can I just ask what the necessity for this is since he's bald anyway? I'm no surgeon; just asking. It stuck out as odd to me.

I was bummed that Lapidus survived the submarine sinking, but not Jin and Sun. I know Sun was trapped, so maybe she was done, but it seemed a little unfair, especially since Lapidus is there only as a narrative function to get the plane in the air.

Now let's discuss one of the big similar endings this show rips off, and it's an odd choice. The Matrix sequels are generally derided, a tad unfairly, for the conclusion they gave to the saga. Why then, would Damon and Carlton borrow from it for their ending? It was right around the time Jack and Locke were both planning to head to the cave with Desmond that I sensed a Matrix ending coming on. So much of the Jack/Locke stuff in this episode recalls the Neo/Agent Smith stuff in the third Matrix film. There, it all built to a big fist fight where there could be only one winner and one ending. Think of Jack as "the chosen one", just like Neo. The One has a function to serve to put things aright, just as Jack has a "destiny" to do this. Jack claims he will kill Locke, something seemingly impossible. In fact, the Agent Smith in the movie is not even exactly the original Smith; it's Smith copied over the Oracle. Here, the enemy is Smokey in the guise of Locke. So Jack is facing a familiar foe who is more than that, just like Neo. As their fight actually built, the similarities seemed greater. In the film, Smith gets the upper hand on Neo after they have been very evenly matched. When Locke becomes mortal and Jack thinks he will win, Locke keeps fighting. There comes a point in the fight where I think Jack even said "you were right", which seemed to me to directly echo the end of the Matrix fight when Neo says Smith was always right. It's not exactly the same of course, but lest my argument here seem specious, I must point out that their climactic fight on the cliff occurred during a rainstorm, just like in the Matrix. They even went for the dramatic slow-motion jumping punch, which resulted in both Jack and Locke knocking each other back. This visually is a complete echo of the Matrix movie.

It was good to see Shannon again, and I like that she reawakens Sayid. Turns out he is more than a torturer; the things that woke his memory were the times he spent with Shannon. I want to know how she got to LA so quickly. The implication was that Boone brought her up specially for this. It seems also from here and from "LA X" that the wasn't on the plane. So why was she important? And how did Boone get awakened an privy to Desmond's plan? He just suddenly showed up with no explanation.

Jack and Locke peering down into the cave purposefully mirrored the closing shot of season one with them looking down the hatch. The dialogue mentioned that already, and I thought it was a great scene. Jack acknowledging that Locke was right, and Smokey holding on to his insistence that Locke was a fool, even while he pretends to be him. The shot down the hole was just a very nice touch, icing the cake. There were a lot of nice mirror images and shots that recall others in the episode, though some were more successful than others.

Not being able to resist a final numbers gag, Jack's table at the concert was table 23.

I have to say, I was fine going along with the metaphor this season that the island was like a cork. ...But Desmond got down to the heart of the island and we learn that the island has a LITERAL cork. That to me really stretched credibility and bordered on the silly; and I'm talking sillier than the frozen donkey wheel stuff. What exactly does this cork do? It lets bad stuff out? That's it? If the electromagnetic magical light or whatever is harmful to most humans, why exactly does this spot need to be protected? Isn't it unlikely that anyone besides a Desmond (Arthurian?) figure could pull the stone out? Is the stone somehow related to the Smoke Monster, or not? The one thing that I did like about it was it opened a vent that seemed to be volcanic. This is the only time we've finally been told more about the volcano on the island alluded to in "The Man Behind the Curtain". Did the volcano ever erupt before? If so, was it a catastrophic uncorking event, or something different? Is this cork chamber a low-tech ancient version of the Swan Hatch in its own way, trying to contain massive geothermal energy from escaping and wreaking havoc?

I liked Daniel's concert with DriveShaft. It's a shame we didn't get to see a bit more of Liam; all the cutting away made me wonder if they'd even gotten Liam for the show. I also wanted to hear more of that musical experiment; it seemed really interesting, and reminiscent of Symphony and Metallica. I was expecting the piano strains to eventually lead into "You All Everybody". I'd have liked to have heard a bit more of the music.

I like that Charlotte appeared again, and the gag with the note on Charlie was hilarious.

I will maybe give them a little bit of wiggle room in this area since the sideways world isn't exactly real (or is it?), but that was the quickest birth I've ever seen, even for TV. Claire suddenly just says "The baby's coming!" Does her water even break? I like that Charlie gets involved, since he was there for Claire's birthing on the island and it lends it a nice symmetry. But on another level, he's been drinking and tranquilized for the past several hours; is he the best choice to rely on for help with a delivery? I also question the logic of him being there, since it's shortly after the concert began. Either it was really short or there's an early intermission, but he seemed to have left the stage awfully soon.

I find it very funny that Kate essentially discovers the island in Claire's vagina. She looks inside, probably sticks a hand in the area, and all her memories of light are awakened! It was just oddly comic to me. I hope Claire doesn't have a Smoke Monster in THAT magic light cave.

Getting back to the illogical birth, Claire literally sits down and then the next minute pops out a baby. That's ridiculous. I thought I saw a peek of an umbilicus at one point, but can't be sure. Regardless, it stretched credibility. Was that the point? Was this not literal, exactly?

Of all the sideways love reunions, I liked the Claire/Charlie one best. It was effective. For sideways Charlie, it was something that didn't just come out of the blue; he'd been actively searching for this person all season. There was something very strong about their reunion. I kind of wanted him to call Aaron "turnip head".

Even though it led to the aforementioned Matrix moment, I was pretty pleased to see the rain. It used to rain every five minutes on the island, and now I don't think it has rained literally all season long. Maybe not even for much of a whole two seasons. So that rain was a long time coming I think, and made it feel more like the old times. Also, our characters' first real meeting with the monster (when he ate the pilot) occurred in the rain, and its fitting that it ends in the rain too.

Right around this point in the episode I had a bad feeling I knew where the story was going. I thought that the island would indeed sink, and that they would all leave it. Then somehow they would transport or reawaken in the other universe so that the other universe was actually the future of this world. Maybe it was all a kind of Matrix-like hallucination, or maybe some other manipulation of their minds, but the sideways were a construct after the island until their island memories were reawakened. Or even worse, for a moment or two it seemed that the Losties in both universes would head toward the source of light, and the universes would cancel each other out, while everyone lived on in the light ("heaven" as it were). While some of this sort of panned out, I was glad that it didn't exactly, and was happy that the finale kept me guessing, at least on the island side. Just when I thought I knew how certain beats would play out, things shifted. I liked that; I hate when stories get too predictable.

Jack and Locke's struggle reminded me so much of the end of Star Trek III when Kirk fights Kruge on the dying Genesis planet. The earthquakes and falling debris. The fight on the cliff, even as large chunks fell away. Much of the fight, right down to the chokes, reminded me of that movie. If Kate hadn't shown up, I was wondering if Jack would have kicked Locke off the cliff. It was right around that time I started to get frustrated with all the many ending similarities I was seeing. I mean, if Locke had suddenly told Jack that he was Tyler Durden, I wouldn't have been surprised at that point.

The show also recalled for me Spock's climactic death scene in Star Trek II. In the film he goes into this chamber full of dangerous radiation that would kill a normal man and dies to turn on the main energizers which are on this pilar in the center of the room. At first I thought of this when Desmond went in, and then again when Jack said that he had to go in and fix it, and they tried to talk him out of it.

Best line of the night goes to Miles: "I don't believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape." That's a motto to live by.

If you've read my previous posts, you'll remember my disdain for Juliet's appearance at the start of the season. I didn't understand why they brought her back only to kill her again. But when Juliet reunited with Sawyer by the vending machine, that conversation finally made sense. Somehow dying Juliet transferred to this universe briefly, just as Desmond did, or sideways-Charlie did. So when she says that line about getting coffee and how they could go dutch, she's reminiscing about this conversation by the vending machine, which she must have had a peek at. This brief knowledge of the sideways land also must be what prompted her to say "it worked". So at least that's something. I liked that moment finally connecting.

It's interesting that Hurley was appointed the protector of the island, the job he didn't want. And maybe that's the way it should be. ...of course, that's just like the end of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. So when he said last episode "I'm just glad it's not me," that was set up for this. I like Ben being his number 2, kind of his Richard. There was also an interesting point about Jacob made. Jacob was still good, but you don't have to see him as fantastic, and the show didn't paint him that way. Ben says "That's the way Jacob ran things; you can do things differently." I wonder how Hurley runs things. Does he get Desmond off the island? And more importantly, are Cindy and the kids safe? What about them?? Does Hurley ever let them go home too? Because poor Zach and Emma haven't seen their mom in over 3 years! I wonder what Hurley did with the job, and whether he ever appointed a successor. Do he and Ben both die leaving the island without a human presence, or were they replaced to start things over again? Is it ever possible for a Smoke Monster to rise again if someone goes inside, or is that all done with? I'm not really sure I see what exactly needs protecting in that case...

I note that the shoe is still in the tree, which is a nice symmetry to the pilot even if it's a little silly that it's been there for four years. And I must say that I am so pleased with myself about the ending (at least on the island). I called about a month ago what the final shot of the series was, and I was totally right. Matthew Fox said that he's known that was the end all along, and it really wasn't all that hard to figure out, especially toward the end. Right around "The Candidate" I decided definitively that the end of the show would have Jack in the jungle and a close-up on his eye closing, mirroring the first shot of the show. And that's exactly what happened. They even threw in Vincent! Did Vincent die too, or was he just sleeping?''

Now let's get to the kooky end of the sideways world. We are told that Jack in fact is dead. That they are all dead. When he goes inside the church, it is not specific to one religion, but has articles of most major faiths, most notably expressed in the stained glass window. Now, on the outside it is clearly a Christian church. At first it bothered me, thinking it was a very ecumenical church, and then (knowing they were leaning heavily to the death angle) that they were going to say all faiths are they same. They ain't. Not all dogs go to heaven (not all faiths even HAVE a heaven). Christianity especially is exclusive; it cannot coexist with some of those others. So that I found somewhat trite, patronizing, or just silly. But when Christian said that this was a place they all made, I looked at it differently. It was no longer the SHOW preaching a message that all roads lead to heaven or whatever; the church interior was a place of community for all the Losties. Therefore, it's representation was a mix of all of their faiths. The church outside was Christian, the church inside was a different place. That's how I saw it. Some might interpret Christian's words to mean that the whole sideways universe was created by the Losties, but I don't buy that. I think he was just referring to the church; the place where they would all meet. It's also interesting that Ben chooses to stay outside; they welcome him in, but he remains outside because perhaps he feels he's not exactly one of them. I really like Locke's forgiveness of Ben. It was a nice scene.

I don't get why the coffin was STILL empty. I kind of expected it to be, but what it did was call to mind that we never learned why the original coffin was empty! There are a number of mysteries I didn't expect them to answer here, but that's one since it's so thematic to the show that would have been answerable in this episode. Just have Christian say one or two lines about where his body went. The fact that there is a Christian Shepherd ghost person also corroborates my theory that this Christian was the one who appeared to Michael on the freighter (and maybe even to Jack off-island?).

As an ending, it's hard to say how to feel about the "and they all died" bit. With all the talk about light and such I expected they'd get to the heaven bit eventually. And I'm glad they didn't try to say that the sideways land WAS heaven, because that would have made no sense (people got shot!). Still, there's a certain unsavory taste about it. On one level it mostly works for this episode, and gives it all a certain emotional feel, but taken with the whole season it starts to become shaky, as it opens the doors for too many questions. The whole season has literally been one of smoke and mirrors, and it felt like we were getting that sort of trick played on us here. That the whole season with its flash-sideways had been a long con perpetrated by the writers. We knew from the beginning of the series that the island was real; that they were not all dead and the island was not purgatory. ...So then they decided they'd make up a world AFTER the island that WAS. Well, that's not even the right word. Purgatory is so named because it burns away your remaining misdeeds until you are purified for heaven. But that doesn't quite seem to be what's at play here. I don't exactly understand the purpose of the sideways world. Why even have it? Why not just die and go into the light? Why is there an in-between place at all? It's a strangely common idea in literature, and one I simply do not understand. Why would someone WANT to believe that there's another barrier in your way before you get to heaven? And what suddenly made it time for them to all go? Ms. Hawking was apparently trying to keep them from going. What was that about? And does that mean that she was dead there too? Jack just had to realize he had died? That's it? That's just (SPOILER ALERT) Bruce Willis realizing he's a ghost at the end of Sixth Sense! Only in that, it was the real world! Here, they've created a whole separate world for that delusion. There's a sort of sense of time to the place, even if it's outside of normal time, and it's logic is lost on me. All the Losties were there together, but they all died at vastly different times. Charlie died three years before Jack, who died after Jin and Sun, but they all died before Ben and Hurley, etc. And yet they all coexist in this sideways world at the same time. So if you enter this world when you die, did they all enter at different times? People may want to cite The Third Policeman, but in that instance it was a big final joke. That was all one man's experience, and it was hell; a hell that repeated. That's not what we saw here. I would have been able to go with it had it been solely Jack's experience, but it wasn't. We saw the re-awakenings of ALL the Losties. This means they were all there at the same time having the same experiences as Jack. And as I said before, it also wasn't just some kind of collective dream created by them. There were others who didn't go yet. Ana Lucia "wasn't ready". Eloise seemed frightened that Daniel might be taken away from her, and Desmond told her he wasn't going then. So clearly this is an actual place, a kind of spiritual dumping ground that people leave at different times. That makes the times of their arrivals even more bothersome. We saw days pass in this world. It was a normal sort of world. People were shot! People DIED. What the heck happens to people who die in the sideways world? Are their souls obliterated? And then there's the more confused issue of children. We saw two babies, one in utero and one being born! That baby Aaron is not the soul of dead Aaron, is it? I should hope not! Why do they even exist? And Jack "doesn't have a son", but David is there. So what is he? Is he just a spectre created by Jack's fantasy until he realizes he's dead? It just seems bizarre to me for a whole world to be created where people go on living normal lives where good and bad things happen to them until they "move on". What if they had never awakened? What then? If this universe had existed only in this episode, or maybe a couple before it, I might have bought it. But after a season's worth of seeing events play out, it just seems wrong to think of this whole universe as some sort of limbo.

The bonding beyond time and space with bonds of love, the "light within all of us" as Jacob might say, seems also to recall what Orson Scott Card might call philotic connections between these people. It's similar to the end of the Ender saga.

Desmond on-island got a peek of this universe while in the box, and it was in search for that light that he went into the cave. He was trying to get to the wonderful universe with no island just like everyone else was trying to get to the one where there WAS one that they remembered. Fine. But what about sideways-Desmond? Now, in "Happily Ever After" I presumed that we were witnessing something like "The Constant" or "Flashes Before Your Eyes" and that island Desmond had jumped into sideways-Desmond. But now it seems that's not exactly it. So was sideways-Desmond dead too? And why did he seem to have all this power of manipulation and such that no one else seemed to have? What was so special about him? And I also noticed that Penny wasn't there, which troubles me if Desmond was indeed dead like everyone else. Had she already passed on? Had DESMOND already passed on, and was sent as an emissary like Christian?

I noticed that Michael wasn't there in the church, but I guess that's because he's a Whisper on the island. ...So the Island IS in a way a purgatory, so what use is this sideways land, again? It's a bummer Michael can't leave. Maybe when Walt dies, that love connection will draw Michael's ghost away and they can "move on" together. It was a bummer not to see Walt. Was there even a mention of him? I think we were lied to when Carlton said Thursday, and I quote, "But you will actually see Malcolm before all is said and done." I am bummed about not seeing Mr. Eko. Perhaps he still had some things to work out? More likely they couldn't get Adewale for the finale. I just hope he's not cursed to be a Whisper too... And wait another second.... if all these people are dead and they don't know they're dead, what about the dead who visited Hurley, like Charlie and Mr. Eko?? Did Charlie (who KNEW he was dead) visit him, THEN get stuck in sideways land with amnesia? I mean, it just doesn't seem to make sense. An idea like this frankly doesn't work on a large scale with so many characters. I appreciate the intent and on an emotional level it works okay, but even different worlds have their own logic, and I just feel right now that the sideways world doesn't.

On the whole, it was a relatively satisfying finale. I was with it for most of the show. I was a bit off-put by the whole dead ending, but mostly because of the broad logical consequences it has. I still think there was a nice emotional element to the piece. While I do find this sort of "in-between" afterlife thing to be a silly idea in general (not just in this story but in others as well), it was more satisfying to me than something like Pan's Labyrinth, which I felt really cheated by. If they had ended by saying that EVERYTHING was a con and they had been dead they whole time I would have been as annoyed as if it had been a virtual reality game. But they didn't do that. It was saddening that so many children were left orphaned. For all their talk of it being a definitive ending, I disagree. We could have a "Ben and Hurley: The Lost Island Years" show. And consider that all the Losties had issues with their parents, and now we leave so many kids without parents. How many failed projects will it be before Lost: The Next Generation, when Zach, Emma, Walt, Ji Yeon and Aaron all return to the island for their own adventures? There were a number of things not really explained by the finale. In fact, besides the nature of the sideways universe, and a couple other things by inference, I'm not sure they answered ANYTHING with the finale. It's unfair to expect the last episode to do the work of a whole season or so. I did not expect a lot of answers frankly, but I am disappointed at the number of threads from the first season (or even first episode) left unresolved. This I do not fault the finale for; it's something that should have been done two seasons ago. So I can't lay that blame on the finale, but on the whole the show dropped the ball in places. We never learn WHY the numbers were being broadcast from the island's radio tower, or why the Others wanted Walt, or why Libby was in Santa Rosa, or why the Smoke Monster used to rip trees out of the ground for no reason. And Isn't it odd that Rousseau called the Monster a security system protecting the island when in reality everyone else was protecting the island against him? The one answer I fault the finale for not giving is what happened to Christian Shephard's body. That was a mystery very relevant to Jack and to the themes at the end of the episode with the empty coffin reprised. That was a mistake. Still, there was a certain goodness about the finale. It wasn't horribly lame, and if it took a leap and stumbled at the end, at least most of it worked pretty well. It doesn't all work. It thankfully doesn't hurt the entire series too much, but does make this season seem a little off. Honestly, if all that I'm left with is some open-ended questions and a not-quite-logical final season thread, that's better than I got with Galactica which was disjointed from the beginning. I'm glad they didn't pretend to give an answer that was impossible, and just at least gave us none. For some strange reason that's better.

It's not the best finale ever, but it's also not the worst. How I feel about it will change a bit I'm sure over the years as I watch the series as a whole. I think what bothers me most is that the children ended up being forgotten collateral. This was just like Sam's wife on Quantum Leap. That's another series who's finale was weird, and I liked it, but it fell apart at the very end. I wouldn't say the entire Lost finale fell apart, and I certainly don't think that the whole series fell apart (not like say, making every other person a Cylon for no reason). But there was something unsettling. I did like that when the credits began to roll, we were shown just bare wreckage on the empty beach. That was a nice final image; the island with the remains, but with no human presence. Humanity banded together and went to a higher plane (no pun intended). Maybe that's what we are supposed to take away from it; that they left behind the shell that brought them there (the plane), and moved on. Lost has always been about letting go, and whether or not I agree with the way they did it, they absolutely carried that theme through the end of the series.

It's been quite a ride.
"Let us also go, that we might die with him." -- Ben Linus, quoting Thomas

LOST: "What They Died For" Reflections

As usual, there are major spoilers contained herein. But honestly, why would you be reading this anyway if you hadn't already seen the show and/or wanted to be spoiled?

It was so good to see Richard, Ben and Miles again, and that a majority of the episode focused on them (or one of them anyway).

When they make it back to the Barracks, Miles gets all weirded out by the buried Alex. Richard tells Ben that after Ben left the island (that's back when the island moved), he buried Alex. ...Okay, um, what? Or did he not mean when Ben left the island, but just when Ben left the Barracks and went to the Orchid? Maybe that's it. ...But no, wait, Ben had sent all the Others to the Temple before that. So when the heck did Richard bury Alex? And really, why aren't all the dead Losties and Others and Freighties still there rotting in the sun? Did Richard bury all of them? So, the Others just went about their lives for three years and Richard came back one day arbitrarily to bury the dead? After Locke disappeared before his eyes he said, "Well, till he comes back, guess I'll go dig a grave or something." ...and why did the Others not flash through time the way the Losties did?

I like that Widmore is always one step ahead of Ben, and tells him so. "Ben, I rigged that plane with explosives like a week ago! Get with the program, dude!"

Widmore says he was sent back to the island by Jacob. Okay. And that Jacob came to see him (okay) shortly after the freighter blew up. okay... wait, what? After the freighter blew up the island moved so that Charles Widmore could never find it. ...Then Jacob shows up to tell him to go to the island. He obviously doesn't right away. Three stinking years pass. Then Locke shows up in the desert and Widmore tells him that a war is coming and that "the wrong side will win" if Locke DOESN'T go back to the island. Now, Locke going back to the island is how Smokey killed Jacob. So who exactly was Widmore working for at this point? He seemed to have more knowledge of things than he had before, but did Jacob visit after the whole John Locke thing? How does Jacob leave the island anyway, if the Man in Black can never leave (even before he was smoke). What did Widmore want with the island before, since his motives have now changed?

That mysterious boy showed up again, stole ashes from Hurley, then Hurley ran into Jacob burning said ashes. So is this further evidence that the boy is Jacob (he did say "they're mine")? I think this will be yet another thing they bring up in the finale, but did we really need another mystery?

Speaking of kids, just where the heck are Cindy, Zach and Emma? And why did Jacob let them get brought to the island in the first place? I can buy that all his candidates were unhappy and lonely and whatever. But Zach and Emma had a mommy waiting for them. Were they just collateral damage when he decided to crash a whole plane? Or were they seriously considered to be candidates? ...Here's a really crazy idea: the planes instruments showed them to be off course long before they crashed, and we know they only crashed because of the system failure with the Swan hatch. So might it be that Jacob intended the plane to land on the island relatively safely, and didn't mean for so many to die? Because I doubt Jacob has control over the button and everything...

Back to the ashes now. First of all, there's like a handful of ashes. I don't know how long it takes to burn ashes (since usually the ashes of something are whats left after it burns), but Jacob says he'll be gone when they are all burned up. And then like hours go by. Them's some slow-burning ashes, yeah? And what the heck is that about anyway? Besides the fact that suddenly now Jacob can be seen and heard by everyone because his remains glow in a magic fire? His spirit will hang around until his remains are fully destroyed? When did Jacob become Freddy Kreuger?

Well, bye Richard, so unceremoniously blasted by Smoke. We never did see a body though, so maybe he's not dead, just wounded (considering his immortality this seems very likely). Still, funny how he's all "I'm gonna go talk to him", then step outside and bam!

We haven't heard almost anything about Penny all season. Good to see Locke bringing her in as part of negotiations with Widmore, and nice to know that the Ben/Widmore rule game is still in play. When he leaned in close and whispered to Locke, I knew he would die but I expect Locke to knife him. I like that Ben killed him, kind of as payment for Alex. I wonder if he still plans on killing Penny, or if this makes them even. His last attempt wasn't very successful. I love when he says "He doesn't get to save his daughter."

Miles had some really fun lines in this one. I don't remember specifically. But like when he goes "both good plans, but I vote for surviving." I wonder where Miles has gotten to now.

For everyone still not liking Jacob, here's a first: he admits wrongdoing! After "Across the Sea" people were complaining that Jacob is a jerk who made the Man in Black the way he is so it's all his fault. Well, here Jacob admits the mistake! And he says that he's been bringing people to the island looking for a replacement. This tells me that, if he's telling the truth (and remember, "Jacob doesn't know how to lie"), he never intended to toy with random people until after the MIB set his mind on killing him. ...of course it's a delicious irony that MIB was only able to kill him through the bringing of new people to the island.

It suddenly struck me: this whole show then begins because one guy messed up with his family thousands of years ago, and now has been whisking people away against their will looking for someone to take over. ...This is the exact plot of Star Trek: Voyager. I've been watching Voyager this whole time!

For all of that talk about why Kate's name was crossed off, Jacob wasn't very concerned about it. "It's just a line of chalk in a cave," he says, "if you want the job it's yours." So does this hold true for everyone? Could like Bernard be the new island keeper? Funny that Kate was eliminated for being a mother, which she never really was. ...and doesn't that mean that she DIDN'T have to come back to the island in "316"??

Jacob go down to the pool of light. As I predicted, Jack is going to be the new guy, and as I predicted they do the little drinking ceremony. Watching that scene got me thinking... how is Jacob holding that torch? Like, he's just an apparition, right? I know that Dave threw a rock and stuff, but is the torch real? If the ashes burn up and Jacob disappears, will the torch fall on the ground?

Jack is the new Jacob. For how long? For as long as he can, says Jacob. I never thought when I started watching this show 6 years ago that it would eventually have the same plot as The Santa Clause.

Now Smokey wants to destroy the whole island. Yeah, what else is new?

Oh Benji, you flip flop more than John Kerry. Is Ben really with Smokey at this point, or is he just biding his time? I know he hated Widmore, so that part's understandable. But I wouldn't put it past Ben to still be manipulating.

Alt-2004
Jack has a new cut on his neck; where did that come from?

I know TV is always full of off-brand food names, but tonight's I found humorous. The cereal Jack, Claire and David eat is called Super Bran. Doesn't sound very appetizing. All I could think of was that SNL commercial about Colon Blow cereal.

Desmond has really stepped up his manipulation game. He's even making phony phone calls. I'm not sure why he bothered lying to Jack about the coffin though since he's just planning to be at David's concert (I'm assuming that's the concert he means at the end of the episode). And he does a good fake accent.

Part of my problem with this episode is that it's all about gathering all the sideways-losties together. Well, I was all ready for that three episodes ago! Then it started, nothing happened, and the separated again. So a lot of this felt been-there done-that. which makes the sideways even more annoying.

It took a whole season, but even sideways Ben gets beaten to a pulp! He wouldn't be Ben without a beating!

Of course, Danielle shows up. We learn that in this world Robert died when Alex was two. I still would like to know why they are living in L.A.

I like that we get the people in prison rounded up. This would have been a nice episode to see Jin and Sun again, though. I love when Sayid says Desmond is crazy, and Desmond backs him up essentially by saying he turned himself in after running down a man in a wheelchair.

Locke and Jack have some familiar dialogue, throwing around the "don't mistake coincidence for fate" slogan and such. Now Locke wants the surgery because he's "meant to". That's the Locke I remember!

Ana Lucia is here! And she's a crooked cop. ...Really not much of a stretch there. Good to see Hurley come to the rescue. I wonder if Ana Lucia will show up ultimately in Desmond's plan. He said she wasn't ready. I guess she was on the plane too, and I wonder if she knew Sawyer was there.

Another recurrence of a stranger giving Kate a dress to wear. Why is Desmond taking her to the concert? Will any of this really make any sense? Will it make any difference?

We come to the end now people. Personally, I hope the sideways stuff doesn't end up being a big waste of time. Even if the finale resolves it nicely, I hate when series finales end up just wrapping up season arcs rather than whole series. Well, we'll all know soon. Sunday's on the way!

New Glee soundtrack coming Tuesday!!

On Tuesday, volume 3 of Glee music will hit stores. I bought the first two as soon as they came out, and even got the Power of Madonna one they put out. I look forward to the new one, but have some problems with it.

Firstly, be warned: there are two versions being released. Frankly, I HATE this trend of releasing "deluxe" versions with more stuff on them just to confuse buyers. Why would I not want a complete recording? It's worse than those "highlights" discs that you get of Broadway musicals because at least with those you know you're not getting everything. If you didn't explicitly know there was a deluxe version, you would miss out on several more songs. This disc covers the rest of the season up through the upcoming Lady Gaga episode. For anyone on the fence about buying the deluxe, you get Kurt's hilarious and amazing take on "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy from this week's episode.

Now, I've been a little disappointed here and there with the past releases. I was bummed that we never got the awesome mash-ups from earlier in the season. Some other great performances were not included. I bought the Madonna disc even though it's just seven songs. But then, at least they didn't try to squeeze it onto this release. But there's more disappointment coming this time too. Here's the track list of the deluxe edition:

1. Hello, Goodbye

2. Gives You Hell

3. Hello

4. A House is Not a Home

5. One Less Bell to Answer/A House is Not a Home

6. Beautiful

7. Home

8. Physical

9. Total Eclipse of the Heart

10. Lady is a Tramp

11. One

12. Rose's Turn

13. Dream On

14. Safety Dance

15. I Dreamed a Dream

16. Loser

17. Give Up the Funk

18. Beth

19. Poker Face

20. Bad Romance

Of course, releasing this so early means we are kind of spoiled about what's coming up this season. It's nice we get more Chennoweth here. And I am totally looking forward to "Dream On", featuring Neil Patrick Harris! And yes, this show has so much music that maybe they don't want to include everything, but there are two major absences. First, Finn's recent rendition of "Jessie's Girl", which was a perfect choice for the current plotline. And secondly... where is "Run, Joey, Run"??? I'm not surprised they left off "Ice Ice Baby". But "Run, Joey, Run" was so awesomely bad it was good! Rachel's video was the highlight of that episode last week. It had all those bits from bad '80s videos you expect. In fact, it visually seems to even nod to the "Total Eclipse of the Heart" video, which is sung later in the episode. Now, that's a song that doesn't make any sense and is overused. They oddly jumbled the words on the show, and frankly I always think of Sailor Moon when I hear it (try playing it instead of "Moon Revenge" during the R movie; it's amazing). I just loved the "Run, Joey, Run" so much that today I was hoping it would get on the album. No such luck. If you haven't seen it, check it out (I have no idea why the image was flipped when they uploaded it):

My other problem with it is the Lady Gaga content. I just don't get it. The show doesn't need to truck out Lady Gaga to seem relevant. I got through the "Single Ladies"-heavy episode. And sometimes Glee does great things to mediocre music. The album cut of "Defying Gravity" is for me the best ever version of that song. Much as I hate Kelly Clarkson, the arrangement of "My Life Would Suck Without You" also elevated a lame song. But there's not much to be done with Lady Gaga. It's just such... Lady Caca. Put it this way, if music were a professional sporting event, Lady Gaga would be the cheerleader. She's just there to be seen in a ridiculous outfit and shout nonsense words in cadence. Just like cheerleading pretends to be athletic but is essentially performance art, Lady Gaga is not music. Sometimes it bothers me when characters will say "All we ever sing is show tunes" and I'm thinking, no you don't! Regardless, I'm not holding my breath about those songs, and probably won't play them much.

Despite my hatred for all things Lady Gaga and the exclusion of some hoped-for content, there's still good stuff on this record (hmm, record; look how old I am), and I will definitely be buying it next week. If you're into the show, pick one up! I'm still hoping for a volume 4 that includes all the stuff they left off previous albums. And yes, I know I can buy some of this on iTunes, but I shouldn't have to, should I? I'm a hard-copy kind of guy (if you couldn't figure that out from my use of the word "record"). Fingers crossed, gleeks!