LOST- He's Our You

Turns out the island still needed me, so I'm back after two years. Let's get right into it.

Previously on LOST, young Ben Linus met a disheveled hostile named Richard in the jungle, who told him to be patient. Years later, adult Ben hired Sayid to kill all the Widmore boys who might hurt Sayid's buddies. Still later, Sayid was transported back to the island and captured as a hostile by Jin. Oh, and it's the 70's so it's not really "later" at all. Ugh!

If there's one thing we've learned about Sayid, it's that his flashbacks are boring and predictable. When he was a boy in Iraq, his brother (?) friend (?) who cares (?) was assigned to kill a chicken but the future PETA member couldn't do it. Young boy Sayid broke a chicken's neck and handed it over, but the other boy wouldn't go along with the ruse. Dad was impressed by Sayid's killer instinct and told him he would be a man.

In 1977, young Ben Linus has taken an active interest in Sayid, the hostile prisoner. Phil tries to talk him out of bringing in another sandwich since Sayid is not eating, but Ben insists. He tells Sayid the story of how he met Richard and says that if Sayid is patient, like Ben has been, then Ben can help him. Cue creepy LOST title screen.

During the Oceanic Six days, Sayid was a hired assassin and here he is again, breaking into a panicked man's apartment and shooting him dead. The attempted bribe did not work. Sayid meets Ben in a back alley and is informed that the list is complete. Assignment over. Instead of being happy, Sayid seems to take this news like a teenager being dumped. So Ben doesn't even want to go out for cake to celebrate? That's it?? Ben tells him to go live his life.

In 1977, a grim-looking Horace enters Sayid's cell with an implement of torture, but it's a fake out. He just cuts the restraints off Sayid's wrists. Horace introduces himself and asks what Sayid was doing in the jungle, but Sayid remains silent. Horace gives him an hour to decide to talk or the stakes will get higher.

Elsewhere, Sawyer finds Juliet sadly staring out their window and asks what's up? She thinks their time playing house together is over. She never thought the O6 would come back, thus implying that maybe she didn't even want them to. She is concerned that Sayid will give them all away. Sawyer assures her he has things under control, but he uses his extra sweet voice. Ya know, distract her with kindness. Because the look on his face when Horace shows up and says there's a problem with the prisoner reveals that Sawyer is far from in control. Horace wants to bring in Oldham but Sawyer is against using "that psychopath." Instead, he offers to talk to the prisoner himself...alone.

Sawyer barges into the security station and dismisses Phil from his post. And finally, Sawyer and Sayid get to have a little quality time to work out a plan. Sayid asks how Sawyer can live there with Ben and Sawyer replies that he has no choice. Sawyer enters the cell and headbutts his friend, starting a fight. Sawyer's plan is to make it look like Sayid struggled with him as Sawyer beat a confession out of him. Then they'll say that Sayid gave up intel on the hostiles in exchange for living there with them. Voila! Problem solved. Except for......

Oh yeah, Sayid doesn't like that plan. He doesn't want to live there with them in perfect Dharma harmony. He would rather just be let go. Sawyer can't do that because he is trusted and it would blow his cover. It's either join the party or be on your own. "Then I guess I'm on my own," Sayid says determinedly.

In the Dharma cafeteria, Kate asks Jack what the plan is, but what she doesn't understand is that Jack is no longer the man with the plan. This is the new "go with the flow" Jack and he is leaving everything up to Sawyer. Happily, too. Hurley mentions the other elephant in the room (that wasn't a fat joke, I swear)- the fact that Sawyer and Juliet are together now. Kate looks understandably sad. Is it too late to change my mind about getting on that flight? Oh, crap, it is!

Back at the cell, Ben's dad, the janitor, starts mopping up and makes fun of Sayid for getting caught. Ben comes in with more food for the prisoner and receives a verbal, then physical beat down from his angry father. Sayid is shocked and angry but can do nothing from behind bars except glare. Glare and think.

He thinks about when he was building houses in the Dominican Republic and Ben came by to see him. Ben tells him about the new danger. Locke is dead and there's a thug staking out Hurley's mental institute. Sayid, still feeling like the jilted lover, questions why he should help Ben again. "You're capable of things most other men aren't," Ben tells him. Sayid says he doesn't like killing people. Ben apologizes for calling him a killer. (It was a compliment, man!) Ben walks away defeated, but not really, as we and probably he knows.

Back in '77, Sawyer is back with a security team. When Sayid remains silent during his last chance, Sawyer has no choice but to stun him and order, "Take him to Oldham."

Oldham is a creepy looking loner who lives on the outskirts of Dharmatown in a teepee. Sayid asks Sawyer who he is and Sawyer replies in a whisper, "He's our you." Hey, that's the name of this episode! Sayid tries to struggle so security ties him to a tree where he is force-fed Oldham's special brand of truth serum. That smell is Sawyer's trousers.

Back at the pier in 2007, Sayid dismisses himself from Ben's O6 reunion and goes off to a bar. He meets a beautiful woman and aw, hell, I'll just skip this part because it's boring and obvious and I mean, really, didn't we go through this exact same thing in Sayid's last episode, "The Economist?" Oh, and is the mysterious Economist dead? Ben said the list was complete! What the hell? Anyway, whats-her-name seduces Sayid, kicks him in the face and says he is going to Guam to answer for the murder of the dude from the golfcourse.

In 1977, Sayid's drugs are taking effect and he loopily answers question #1. His name is Sayid Jarrah. Then the fun really begins as Sayid is forced to spill, via truth serum, how he really came to be on the island...twice! And he knows the purposes of three Dharma stations- including the Swan which hasn't been built yet! He's from the future and you're all going to die! Wheeeeee!!! Fortunately for Sawyer and everyone else we know and love, this all sounds like crazy nonsense. Oldham apologizes for using too strong a concoction. In one of the best moments of the season, a loopy and defeated Sayid laughs maniacally and says that the dose was exactly enough. I think he finally reached that Jack-like breaking point. You win, island! Let's just do what you will!

At the motor pool, apparently no one has questioned why Juliet was suddenly an expert baby deliverer and she's back to fixing Mystery Mobiles. She has a tense and overly-polite, faux-friendly conversation with Kate about how she and Sawyer are together now.

That night, Horace has a meeting in his home with all the Dharma team leaders about what to do with Sayid. Radzinsky wants to kill him. They have no choice. He knows too much. Sawyer, obviously, is against this but slowly and surely, the argument begins to favor Radzinsky. Even the reluctant and possibly benevolent Horace calls for execution when it's finally put to a vote. He turns to Sawyer, the lone "nay" vote and says that he would really like to call it unanimous. Giving in to peer pressure and self-preservation, Sawyer has no choice but to raise his hand and vote his friend dead.

Saywer's last ditch plan is to have it look like Sayid beat him up and escaped. But Sayid will not go, even in the face of execution. Sayid explains that when he woke up in the jungle and realized where he was, he felt he had no purpose left. But now he knows what it is. Sawyer thinks he's crazy for thinking his purpose is to get shot and leaves the cell in a huff.

Sawyer gets to his own doorstep, pauses and walks over to Kate's house. Oh, so it's starting already. Poor Juliet! He asks why she came back (and messed up everything!!!!!) Kate says she only knows why she came back. (LOST- proudly serving answers that don't answer anything since 2004!) Before the conversation can go further, they are distracted by the old flaming Dharma van crashing into a house and starting a massive fire trick. The fire brigade springs into action and saves the occupants of the house. Jack asks what happened and Sawyer says, "Three years and no burning buses! Ya'll are back for one day..." (and messed up everything!!!!!!) And that line cements in Sawyer the opinion that Juliet expressed earlier. They waited so long for something that they forgot why they were waiting... and maybe they didn't even want it anymore.

The burning bus, it turns out, was young Ben's plan to distract everyone so he could spring Sayid from jail. Sayid plays along and says that he has been sent to get Ben. They run off together into the jungle and I think it's safe to assume what Sayid thinks his new purpose is. Because he's boring and predicatable. Jin finds the two runaways and starts to call it in, but Sayid kicks his butt and takes his gun. Then he says, "You were right about me. I am a killer." Sayid pulls the trigger and shoots the surprised boy dead. Predictable in execution, gigantic in canonical implications!

Next time: Horace knows someone let Sayid out of his cell and Sawyer's long con starts crumbling down thanks to those damned O6ers!

Top 101 of 2008

101. White Winter Hymnal- Fleet Foxes
100. Between Us & Them- Moving Units
99. Mother Mary- Foxboro Hot Tubs
98. Language City- Wolf Parade
97. Better Things- Passion Pit
96. One Month Off- Bloc Party
95. Let’s Dance To Joy Division
94. Elvis- These New Puritans
93. Sausalito- Conor Oberst
92. You! Me! Dancing!- Los Campesinos!
91. Top Drawer- Man Man
90. GfC- Albert Hammond Jr.
89. California Girls- The Magnetic Fields
88.Cath…- Death Cab For Cutie
87. Futures & Folly- Blitzen Trapper
86. The Age of the Understatement- The Last Shadow Puppets
85. While We Go Dancing- White Rabbit
84. Bathosphere- Smog
83. You Don’t Know Me- Ben Folds w/Regina Spektor
82. Working Part Time- The Henry Clay People
81. Buildings & Mountains- The Republic Tigers
80. For Emma- Bon Iver
79. Rat is Dead- CSS
78. Creeper- Islands
77. Seeing Hands- Dengue Fever
76. The Step & The Walk- The Duke Spirit
75. Alarm Clock- The Rumble Strips
74. Dawn of the Dead- Does it Offend You, Yeah?
73. New Soul- Yael Naim
72. I Will Possess Your Heart- Death Cab For Cutie
71. Shut Up and Let Me Go- The Ting Tings
70. The Kelly Affair- Be Your Own Pet
69. Sax Rohmer #1- The Mountain Goats
68. Fools -The Dodos
67. Get Better- Mates of State
66. Is There a Ghost- A Band of Horses
65. Mirando- Ratatat
64. Highways of Gold- Jaguar Love
63. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa- Vampire Weekend
62. Keep Your Eyes Ahead- The Helio Sequence
61. Regrets a Paradise- Japanese Motors
60. A & E- Goldfrapp
59. Ghosts- Ladytron
58. Paper Planes- MIA
57. Lights & Music- Cut Copy
56. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?- She & Him
55. Hummingbird- Born Ruffians
54. Cannibal Queen- Miniature Tigers
53. Oxford Comma- Vampire Weekend
52. Sex on Fire- Kings of Leon
51. The Plot- White Rabbits
50. Take Me To the Riot- Stars
49. No One’s Gonna Love You- A Band of Horses
48. Hang Them All- Tapes ’n’ Tapes
47. Balloons- Foals
46. The Beginning of the Twist- Futureheads
45. The Engine Driver- The Decemberists
44. Veni Vidi Vici- The Black Lips
43. The Nun’s Litany- The Magnetic Fields
42. Sour Cherry- The Kills
41. Lucid Dreams- Franz Ferdinand
40. Do The Panic- Phantom Planet
39. Second, Minute or Hour- Jack Penate
38. Lolita- Throw Me the Statue
37. Grounds For Divorce- Elbow
36. Publish My Love- Rogue Wave
35. My Drive-Thru- Santogold, Julian Casablancas and N.E.R.D.
34. Sentimental Heart- She & Him
33. West Coast- Coconut Records
32. A-Punk- Vampire Weekend
31. I Woke Up Today- Port O’Brien
30. Please Stop Dancing- The Magnetic Fields
29. Skinny Love- Bon Iver
28. Some Are Lakes- Land of Talk
27. Walk it Off- The Breeders
26. Lovely Allen- Holy Fuck
25. Homecoming- The Teenagers
24. Featherbeds- Oxford Collapse
23. Grip Like a Vice- The Go! Team
22. Kids- MGMT
21. Mercury- Bloc Party
20. No Sex For Ben- The Rapture
19. Rich Girls- The Virgins
18. Big Mistake- Tim Fite
17. Good to Sea- Pinback
16. That’s Not My Name- The Ting Tings
15. 2 Atoms in a Molecule- Noah & The Whale
14. Little Bit- Lykke Li
13. Rocky Took a Lover- Bell X1
12. Oh No You Didn’t!- Wojahn Bros
11. Electric Feel- MGMT
10. I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You- Black Kids
9. Handlebars- Flobots
8. Bruises- Chairlift
7. Great DJ- The Ting Tings
6. No Children- The Mountain Goats
5. Bag of Hammers- Thao Nguyen
4. Time To Pretend- MGMT
3. L.E.S. Artistes- Santogold
2. URA Fever- The Kills
1. Five Years Time- Noah and the Whale

Bullet Points

• I am wearing a sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up and a long-sleeved T-shirt without the sleeves rolled up. I've never seen this done and I am going to keep doing it until I see someone else doing it. I invented a style! I think. My wife says I look stupid. She may not have been referring to my clothes, though.
• Regardless of the fact that I don't get NFL Network and can't watch the game anyway, I find Thursday night football utterly annoying. It's oversaturation. We don't need games on Sunday, Monday and Thursday and sometimes Saturday. I like to take all week to think about the games and who I'm going to pick. Now I have to rush my picks in because the deadline got pushed back three days for the sake one of stupid game I can't watch and don't care about! Annoying.
• Yesterday on my way home from work, I saw a house fully decorated for Christmas. Lights, gigantic Santa blow-up- the works. Trying to make Christmas last four months is annoying enough when retail stores do it, but there is no commercial gain for someone to decorate their house 2 months in advance! When I used to say things like, "I can't wait for summer vacation!" my mother used to say, "You're wishing your life away!" And I think to a degree, we all do that. We look forward to things that are going to happen more than we enjoy the things that are happening now. "Why should I have to wait for something? That's boring! I'll just make it Christmas now and put up my decorations!" In that spirit, I'm totally making my Best of 2008 song list and posting it within the next week. Hey, the second week of November is practically the end of the year, right? I'm too excited about it to do any of that stupid waiting stuff.

The Worst Week

My favorite new show of the TV season is "Worst Week". That show has made me LOL literally in three out of four episodes.

Since Hollywood rarely has an original thought, it was no surprise that "Worst Week" is yet another Americanized version of a British show. So out of curiosity, I watched the first season of the BBC's "Worst Week of My Life." Though I haven't seen Season 2 or 3 because they are not yet available here, I am happy to report that the two shows are very different. The US version seems to be only inspired by the original, instead of a word for word remake like The Office was at first. The premise is exactly the same- likeable guy who can't do anything right exasperates his inlaws. But the plotlines have been completely different with almost no stolen gags.

Spoilers ahead...

I was expecting the British version to be even more madcap than America's but it is actually more morbid. The British version has a subplot of Howard being stalked by his ex-lover for the entire week, which eventually builds into the focal point of the last episode. The American version is significantly tamer by comparison. Instead of a co-worker stalking him, Sam had only to deal with a drunk co-worker who he dropped off at her house after she came on to him. Perhaps more will come of that, but for now, she has not been heard from again.

The accidental death of the family pet was toned down from "dog in a cement mixer" to "parakeet being poisoned." I shouldn't even have to tell you which one was funnier- you can probably deduce it from shock value alone.

All in all, both shows have their charm and I like them both equally. I can't pick one over the other- which is, I suppose, a compliment to the version that came second. They are different enough that you don't have to choose.

Worst Week: A The Worst Week of My Life: A

Relaunch

AOL threatening to delete my old journal really bugged me. I may not have written in it anymore, but I still used it for research (like what songs I used to like) or for nostalgia purposes. I'm glad that I was able to keep the archives on Blogger. I'm thinking about starting to write here again. Start over. Maybe make some new friends. I met so many people back in 2004-2005 and now it seems lately like I have nobody left. Of the dozen or so people I befriended, I have 2 left. They are 2 of my very best friends, but still, only 2? Out of all of AOL Journal-land? I want to fix this.

The New One

The VCH is no more.  I started a new livejournal.  I hope you follow me there.  If not, thanks for reading. 

My new blog is here:   The Blue-Collar Scholar

Also, I posted every LOST recap I have ever written into a seperate livejournal.  It has all of Seasons 1 & 2 and the parts of Season 3 I completed.  I really slacked off this year and for that, I apologize.  All of the "coming soons" will be replaced eventually.  I promise.

LOST Recap Central

See ya!

Hello

Sorry to anyone who checks here everyday to see if I have posted anything.  I really thought there was no one left out there. 

I haven't had much opportunity to write in here because of a lot of stuff going on, but I was thinking about giving this journal up anyway.  I am going to move to an internet journal very soon.  My PC wouldn't open AOL for a while (and now has no net connection at all!) so I couldn't even post from the other room while my wife used the laptop.  When I decide where to go, I will let you know here. 

The one thing I am definitely going to do when I get enough time to do it is collect all my LOST recaps and put them in their own journal so anyone can access them at anytime.  I will try to catch up on all the episodes I missed and put the whole show in order.  It would be a lot easier than digging through the archives of a three year old journal looking for original airdates.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned here for further announcements.  :)