By Jeff Jensen
'SHEPHERD OR SHEEP?
A preview of ''Follow the Leader''; a prospective eulogy for Daniel Faraday
He's dead. That's the word. No miracle resurrection like John Locke. No trips to the Temple for a restorative cure like Young Ben. Nope, this time, dead is dead. R.I.P. Daniel Faraday, survived by a pair of monstrous parents (presuming you believe Charles Widmore is indeed his pop) and bunches of unanswered questions. How did he know that Dr. Pierre Chang was Miles' father? Why was he so certain that his Mother Other would know how to get the castaways back to the present? What exactly was he doing for the Dharma Initiative back in Ann Arbor, Mich.? And what exactly did he mean back in the season premiere when he called Desmond ''uniquely and miraculously special''?
Last week, in my recap of ''The Variable,'' I noted that there seemed to be something calculated and intentional about his reckless chaos-making, and I speculated that Daniel may have blustered into the Others' tent city knowing exactly what was going to happen, and even wanting it to happen. I could be wrong — and I'll be fine if I am — but I think it would be cool if we learned there was more to Daniel's actions last week than meets the eye. According to the previews for tonight's episode, ''Follow the Leader,'' Jack will take up Project: Paradox — altering the past to alter the future — by using the frazzled physicist's notebook as a step-by-step guide to changing time. Looks like Doc Shephard — opting for a new wait-and-see approach to heroism during this tour of Island duty — has finally identified his moment to act. If Daniel's notebook really is some kind of Bible that holds the key to castaway salvation, then Faraday's legacy will be redeemed. He'll have been transformed from a sheep led to slaughter — by his own mother no less! — to a Christ-like good shepherd, sacrificing his life to bring his Lost herd home.
I like the idea of ''Daniel Faraday, Lost messiah.'' A man of science making a crazy leap of faith would make for a nifty reconciliation of the show's warring themes and an apt conclusion to this ''316'' season, which is now one week away from being history itself.
''LOST UNTANGLED''
For ABC's action-figure re-enactment of ''The Variable,'' press play. But also check out the new installment of Totally Lost at the end of this column for the Dan-and-Jeff take on the episode.
'Lost': Long Ago and Faraday
Doc Jensen on tonight's ''Follow the Leader,'' where Jack takes up the idea to alter the past as a way to alter the future. Plus: A couple of comics connections, tickling the ivories, protons vs. photons, and a season-ending survey for ''Lost'' fans
Buzz up!More
FARADAY IS DONE This time, the Doc pronounces, dead is dead
All About
Lost
By Jeff Jensen Jeff Jensen
Jeff Jensen, an EW senior writer, has been despondent since the cancellation of ''Twin Peaks''SHEPHERD OR SHEEP?
A preview of ''Follow the Leader''; a prospective eulogy for Daniel Faraday
He's dead. That's the word. No miracle resurrection like John Locke. No trips to the Temple for a restorative cure like Young Ben. Nope, this time, dead is dead. R.I.P. Daniel Faraday, survived by a pair of monstrous parents (presuming you believe Charles Widmore is indeed his pop) and bunches of unanswered questions. How did he know that Dr. Pierre Chang was Miles' father? Why was he so certain that his Mother Other would know how to get the castaways back to the present? What exactly was he doing for the Dharma Initiative back in Ann Arbor, Mich.? And what exactly did he mean back in the season premiere when he called Desmond ''uniquely and miraculously special''?
Last week, in my recap of ''The Variable,'' I noted that there seemed to be something calculated and intentional about his reckless chaos-making, and I speculated that Daniel may have blustered into the Others' tent city knowing exactly what was going to happen, and even wanting it to happen. I could be wrong — and I'll be fine if I am — but I think it would be cool if we learned there was more to Daniel's actions last week than meets the eye. According to the previews for tonight's episode, ''Follow the Leader,'' Jack will take up Project: Paradox — altering the past to alter the future — by using the frazzled physicist's notebook as a step-by-step guide to changing time. Looks like Doc Shephard — opting for a new wait-and-see approach to heroism during this tour of Island duty — has finally identified his moment to act. If Daniel's notebook really is some kind of Bible that holds the key to castaway salvation, then Faraday's legacy will be redeemed. He'll have been transformed from a sheep led to slaughter — by his own mother no less! — to a Christ-like good shepherd, sacrificing his life to bring his Lost herd home.
I like the idea of ''Daniel Faraday, Lost messiah.'' A man of science making a crazy leap of faith would make for a nifty reconciliation of the show's warring themes and an apt conclusion to this ''316'' season, which is now one week away from being history itself.
''LOST UNTANGLED''
For ABC's action-figure re-enactment of ''The Variable,'' press play. But also check out the new installment of Totally Lost at the end of this column for the Dan-and-Jeff take on the episode.
'Lost': Long Ago and Faraday
Doc Jensen on tonight's ''Follow the Leader,'' where Jack takes up the idea to alter the past as a way to alter the future. Plus: A couple of comics connections, tickling the ivories, protons vs. photons, and a season-ending survey for ''Lost'' fans
Buzz up!More
FARADAY IS DONE This time, the Doc pronounces, dead is dead
All About
Lost
By Jeff Jensen Jeff Jensen
Jeff Jensen, an EW senior writer, has been despondent since the cancellation of ''Twin Peaks''SHEPHERD OR SHEEP?
A preview of ''Follow the Leader''; a prospective eulogy for Daniel Faraday
He's dead. That's the word. No miracle resurrection like John Locke. No trips to the Temple for a restorative cure like Young Ben. Nope, this time, dead is dead. R.I.P. Daniel Faraday, survived by a pair of monstrous parents (presuming you believe Charles Widmore is indeed his pop) and bunches of unanswered questions. How did he know that Dr. Pierre Chang was Miles' father? Why was he so certain that his Mother Other would know how to get the castaways back to the present? What exactly was he doing for the Dharma Initiative back in Ann Arbor, Mich.? And what exactly did he mean back in the season premiere when he called Desmond ''uniquely and miraculously special''?
Last week, in my recap of ''The Variable,'' I noted that there seemed to be something calculated and intentional about his reckless chaos-making, and I speculated that Daniel may have blustered into the Others' tent city knowing exactly what was going to happen, and even wanting it to happen. I could be wrong — and I'll be fine if I am — but I think it would be cool if we learned there was more to Daniel's actions last week than meets the eye. According to the previews for tonight's episode, ''Follow the Leader,'' Jack will take up Project: Paradox — altering the past to alter the future — by using the frazzled physicist's notebook as a step-by-step guide to changing time. Looks like Doc Shephard — opting for a new wait-and-see approach to heroism during this tour of Island duty — has finally identified his moment to act. If Daniel's notebook really is some kind of Bible that holds the key to castaway salvation, then Faraday's legacy will be redeemed. He'll have been transformed from a sheep led to slaughter — by his own mother no less! — to a Christ-like good shepherd, sacrificing his life to bring his Lost herd home.
I like the idea of ''Daniel Faraday, Lost messiah.'' A man of science making a crazy leap of faith would make for a nifty reconciliation of the show's warring themes and an apt conclusion to this ''316'' season, which is now one week away from being history itself.
''LOST UNTANGLED''
For ABC's action-figure re-enactment of ''The Variable,'' press play. But also check out the new installment of Totally Lost at the end of this column for the Dan-and-Jeff take on the episode.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid22077170001?bclid=22163154001&bctid=22186728001
DOC JENSEN'S NO PRIZE WINNER
Last week, I wrote these words: ''Think of this column as a trading ship traversing the channels that exist among countless alternative potentialities that glitter within Lost like a monolithic theoretical snowflake floating in 196,833 dimensional space, whose captain is fond of stopping on the most unlikely and obscure of many possible worlds.'' The comic-book fanboys who read this column had no trouble identifying the reference to the best damn superhero comic book of the past decade, Planetary. Written by Warren Ellis and drawn by John Cassaday, it's about a trio of super-powered archeologists who dig up the strange secret history of the 20th century, a history that has been suppressed by a mysteriously sinister quartet known as the Four. Ellis and Cassaday used this premise to canvass every possible genre of fantastic fiction imaginable, from Japanese horror to Kubrickian sci-fi, from early-century pulp fiction to late-century Marvel Comics. I was obsessed with Planetary the same way I am currently obsessed with Lost. I loved scouring Cassaday's panels for ''Easter eggs,'' loved parsing all of Ellis' carefully written lines for code words that might illuminate the larger mystery. In fact, I've often wondered if there could be a link between Planetary and Lost...but I'm saving my reasons why for another day.
Anyway, kudos to Canadian reader Jason Fedorchuk for being the first reader to get an e-mail into my inbox with the correct answer. Part of his No Prize: He gets space to advocate his belief that there's another comic-book series out there with even more relevancy to Lost:
''Did you really just reference Planetary in your column? Wow. I know you like the comic books like I do; why have you not yet name-checked Grant Morrison's The Invisibles? Secret wars, weird powers, time-jumping mind projection, confusing Us-versus-Them dynamics, themes of identity and purification of self, mystery figures who show up spouting enigmas, and cool heroes who do uncool things. It's all there.''
Jason offers an interesting reading recommendation, though as a Lost touchstone, I'm not sold — not until the show finds a way to incorporate tantric sex, alien demons, and a ''Brazilian transgender shaman.'' FUN FACT! One of the many talented artists who helped bring The Invisibles to life was Doc Jensen's college roommate and good friend, Phil Jimenez, who is probably tickled by this shout-out but also quite concerned that his old friend is now referring to himself in the third person....
All right, enough geeky comic-book stuff. It's time to class up this nerdy joint with your theories!
RAINBOWS AND GOOD VIBRATIONS
The significance of Daniel Faraday, Piano Man
Jennifer Alexander from Ontario, Canada, sent me the following e-mail the other day:
''Your episode recaps are infamous for your attention to all the minutiae of each scene. However, it seems you neglected to note the choice of music Daniel was playing on his piano, first as a child and then later as an adult: 'I'm Always Chasing Rainbows.' This song selection certainly reflects Daniel's life...and its theme — the failure to achieve happiness by chasing after goals that are unattainable — could come to represent the castaways' plans to alter the future.''
The lyrics to the song — from the 1918 Broadway musical Oh, Look! — go like this:
At the end of the rainbow there's happiness
And to find it often I've tried,
But my life is a race, just a wild goose chase,
And my dreams have all been denied.
Why have I always been a failure?
What can the reason be?
I wonder if the world's to blame,
I wonder if it could be me.
I'm always chasing rainbows,
Watching clouds drifting by,
My schemes are just like all my dreams,
Ending in the sky.
Some fellows look and find the sunshine,
I always look and find the rain.
Some fellows make a winning sometime,
But I never even make a gain, believe me,
I'm always chasing rainbows,
Waiting to find a little bluebird in vain.
Irene forges an intriguing connection, though I really can't tell you if she's correct: Pre-'60s music ain't my area of expertise. In fact, according to other Lost recappers, Faraday actually may have been playing another tune altogether: Chopin's ''Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31.'' But I could see how there could be confusion; as it happens, the melody of ''I'm Always Chasing Rainbows'' was adapted from another Chopin tune, ''Fantasia-Impromptu.'' FUN FACT! Like Faraday, Chopin was a child prodigy, had a gift for mimetic recall (though Faraday would ultimately lose this ability due to his time-travel experiments), and kept a notebook full of secrets. CREEPY FUN FACT ABOUT CHOPIN! Apparently, it was his wish that his heart be removed after he died and preserved in alcohol. Something to do with his fear of being buried alive, according to Wikipedia. I hear that you can currently find Chopin's marinated heart in one of the jars in Jacob's cabin...
Chopin or no Chopin, the revelation that Faraday can tickle the ivories is also interesting for this reason: He's not the only one. Lost has also shown us that Charlie, Jack, and Ben can play the piano. Why might this be significant? Because as Lost blogger JOpinionated reminds us over at docarzt.com, there's a music-based mystery in the Lost matrix that has never been resolved. Recall, if you will, when Charlie swam down to the Looking Glass at the end of season 3 to turn off the jamming device preventing the castaways from communicating with the outside world. He learned from Bonnie — one of the lovely Other ladies that Ben had stationed down there — that the code to shut off the jamming device was harmonic, set to the tune of the Beach Boys' ''Good Vibrations.'' Right before Bonnie died, she said that the code ''was programmed by a musician.'' At the time, these cryptic words inspired a great deal of wild theorizing. Many of us wondered if it wasn't an accident that the Dharma programmer created a code that rock star Charlie would be uniquely qualified to crack. What if the musician behind the Beach Boys puzzle knew Charlie's destiny?
But in light of what season 5 has shown us, should we be wondering if this mystery musician was one of the castaways? It's JOpinionated's theory that Faraday himself created the code, leveraging his knowledge of future events as well as his all-access Dharma pass as a member of the Initiative's Black Swan team. It's a nifty theory — it very much echoes my long-held assertion that much of Dharma was created or at least revised with the castaways in mind — and I suggest you click over to docarzt.com to read it in its entirety.
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS: GEEK SEMANTICS EDITION!
PLUS: An important survey for Lost fans!
Last week, I compared the act of changing time to Luke Skywalker firing two photon torpedoes to blow up the Death Star. Oops:
''As much as I hate this kind of geeky nitpicking, I had to take the opportunity to correct your crossing of Star Wars/Star Trek lore. I'm sure I'm not the first fanboy to point this out, but the Death Star was blown up by two carefully placed proton torpedoes, while the photon variety would be found in the Starship Enterprise's arsenal. (Though, I do love the mental image of the Death Star being destroyed by the Enterprise.) Since they're only one letter different, we'll call it a late-night typo. (Yes, I should really get a life.)'' —Chris Bisgard
Chris, thank you for being the vigilant nerd that you are and setting me straight. And your nitpicking brings me to two burning questions I have for you guys today:
Last week in my recap of ''The Variable,'' I discussed the continuity fluctuations that many fans have seized upon this season, such as Young Ben's roaming bullet hole. I suggested that these ''glitches,'' noticeable only to the very few of us who insanely scrutinize every single detail of the show, are either early warning signs of the imminent collapse of Lost history due to actions in the past, or...simple continuity errors that mean nothing at all to the story. I clicked through a number of scenarios without really taking a stand on the issue, so let me do so now: While I think it would be neat if these apparent mistakes were intentionally made to create a narrative that metaphorically resembles the imperiled continuity of Lost history, I would also be absolutely fine with learning these things mean nothing. The roaming bullet hole could be just an error; the altered or telescoped lines upon second reference mere creative license for the sake of narrative expediency. No big whoop, in my book. So my first burning question is this: Do you mind if Lost makes mistakes? Would your enjoyment of season 5 really be diminished if these glitches prove to be meaningless? Or do you think you'll pull a Faraday and pretty quickly forget they ever even happened?
My second burning question is more important to me. As we find ourselves almost at the close of season 5, which mysteries do you feel Lost must absolutely resolve during its sixth and final season? Don't tell me ''all of them,'' because (a), that's unrealistic; and (b), ''all of them'' is a matter of opinion: One fan's unresolved mystery can be another fan's ''Who cares?'' What I want is what I would call your ''non-negotiables'' — the mysteries that Lost NEEDS to resolve. And to make you think even more carefully about this question, I want you to submit only your top three non-negotiables. I recognize that all of you probably have a lot more than three — I know I do — but for the purposes of this exercise, I want you to be choosy and discerning. In other words: Be nitpicky about your own nitpickiness. Send your submissions to JeffJensenEW@aol.com. (And yes, I'm clearing out my mailbox to handle the influx.) The results of this extremely informal and unscientific survey will be shared in my final Doc Jensen column of the season. So take some time, think this through, and hit me back with an e-mail — but first, please enjoy our newest installment of Totally Lost.
Be seeing you — tomorrow, at the recap!
Doc Jensen
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid22084043001?bclid=22163156001&bctid=22195565001
No comments:
Post a Comment