My Love Letter to Sex and the City: The Movie

I know that I am strictly a television blogger, but this is the first and last time that I will discuss a film here- unless, of course, Rob Thomas ever makes a Veronica Mars movie. Or Amy Sherman-Palladino makes a Gilmore Girls movie. Fingers crossed.

It's impossible for me to convey to you how nervous I was about this movie. I was beyond excited to be seeing these characters again and watching more of their fabulous story. Yet, at the same time, I was afraid that it would ruin everything. The series finale, "An American Girl in Paris," was perfect in every way imaginable. It brought the storylines to a close, while expressing the true heart of what the show had been about for 6 seasons. Four years later... This movie is released, and I wavered between confidence--knowing that I trusted Michael Patrick King to write a good story for the girls--and anxiety that no ending could be better than the one they already had, and that opening that neatly tied box to put something new in there could disrupt the balance of it all. Previews for the film hinted at a wedding for Carrie and Mr. Big, the destruction of the wedding of Carrie and Mr. Big, and a catastrophe occurring in the marriage of Miranda and Steve. (Witness me moving steadily from the "trust" side of the spectrum to the "fear" side). But I had to see for myself. Even after the mixed reviews. And after waking up today, finding the earliest movie time available, and journeying alone to a movie theatre full of only women, I watched it. All 2 hours and 26 minutes of it. Afterwards, I understood why so many critics had panned it, in the same way that I ever "understand" how people can't see what I see in the things that I deeply love. If they don't feel the same connection that I do, I merely feel sorry for them to be missing out on a magical experience and immediately disregard their opinions.

In my opinion, the movie was amazing. It offered new elements to the glamorous saga--a glimpse into how our characters deal with situations from the perspective of 40-something women--and it stayed true to the 4 girls we have known and loved for so long. I could not be any happier about it. This may be hard for some to believe, given Carrie's depression and Miranda's struggles, but I found it to be not only realistic to the wide scope of the human experience but also necessary for the characters themselves to grow. Learning is a lifelong process, even for fictional people. Love and forgiveness were the themes of this movie. After 6 seasons of wonderful Sex and the City goodness, it turns out that the girls still have some things to learn about those virtues, and so do we.

In conclusion, I'd like to apologize to Michael Patrick King for ever doubting him, and to thank him, and all the actors, for giving me more of what I love. And especially for adding a few excellent scenes to my stockpile for Big-athons. Mr. Big, I will love YOU forever.

Finales R Fun

So, my absolute favorite time of the year is Finale Season. I mean, sure, Christmas is awesome. Summer's pretty fun, I guess. But nothing truly compares to those few weeks in May that are full of season finales. Every episode is (or should be) exciting and bittersweet at the same time. Each minute is worth so much more because you know that it will be a few months (or, in the case of LOST, a million months--really it's just 8, but it seems like forever) before you and those characters are reunited again. And a good finale manages to send you off with closure for that season and anticipation for the next. My standards are high for finales, but it's only because I've seen some great ones in my time: Alias Season 2, LOST Season 3, Buffy Season Everything, to name a few. I have also seen some pretty lame ones that were depressing and/or unsatisfying: Grey's Anatomy Season 3 comes to mind, and Heroes Season 1 (only because it fell short of the quality I had come to expect from every episode before that).

The finales this year have been a mixture of good and bad, leaving me with feelings of hopefulness and hopelessness. It's caused quite a confusion...
Grey's Anatomy: I give this finale a grade of A-. It was a definite improvement from last year and left me very happy. Not every character's situation is perfect (because there has to be both sadness and joy to remain true to life), but the outlook for the future is "very good" across the board. George stood up for himself and gets to retake the intern exam, the Chief is back with his wife, Dr. Bailey is trying to fix things with her husband, Callie realized what she wanted, and Meredith FINALLY worked through some of her mommy issues and let herself love Derek (Lighting candles on his land in the shape of a floor plan was a great move- her "Ask me to stay" moment that every great television couple has to have- complete with a good line: "I think we can be extraordinary together, rather than ordinary apart"). Alex is in a rough place right now because he had to admit that Rebecca needed help that he couldn't give her. Izzie was a good friend to him even when he yelled at her, which I think shows some amazing growth for her. The main message of the episode was about breaking free from your personal prison, whether it be a block of cement or an emotional issue. And I, for one, love freedom.
Ugly Betty: My grade for this finale is a C. It's partly my own fault- I let this show fall through the cracks this season. I would say that this is my one casualty from the strike. I missed some episodes, so I didn't really know what was going on, so I didn't watch the new episodes. But, as someone who does like these characters and cares what happens in their lives, I would argue that Betty has gone astray from what the show used to be about: Betty. Her romantic entanglements with Henry and Gio are sloppy and don't make much sense. Wilhemina, ever the complicated villain, has gotten everything she ever wanted and didn't deserve thanks to Alexis' betrayal of Daniel. Mark and Amanda are the only consistent ones, in that they are simple but always funny. So where does this leave us? Wondering whether Betty went to Rome with Gio or Tuscon with Henry, how MODE is going to be without Daniel, and if we are even going to bother finding out next season. (Answer to the last question: Probably. Many shows have fallen to the Sophomore Slump. Almost all of those that have deserved a second chance, and so does Betty.)
Desperate Housewives: Grade, B+. Most of what was fantastic about this episode was the shock factor, the 5-year leap forward that occurred in the last 3 minutes and offered us a glimpse of the ladies' futures. Everything that happened up to that point was good, too. I especially loved the scene where Bree has to go pick up the ice sculpture and then her car breaks down and she starts pushing it down the road in her baby stroller until Orson comes to the rescue (Love that man- so glad to see she manages to forgive him in the future). Tom finally recognized that Kayla was his family's big problem when she got Lynette arrested and sent her to live with her grandparents. I wasn't sure how he was going to forgive his wife for that one- the man puts up with A LOT- but his speech to Bob and Lee about how relationships have to go through horrible things, from diseases to disasters, and you have to know if the other person is worth it was incredibly touching. You want to know what's not touching? Mike being gone. Only a few years down the road, Susan is already living with another man. I don't know how I'm going to handle that... The conclusion to the Katharine-Dylan story was very good. (Major points to Nathan Fillion in his final performance as Adam Mayfair. It was most excellent). Gary Cole finally got what was coming to him, and the girls all dealt with the situation in the best way possible and stood by Katharine. I'm also glad to see that Gaby gives Carlos children- 2 girls- but I'm sad to say goodbye to the superficial, gorgeous Gabrielle I know and love. Next season is going to be, perhaps, the biggest mystery of all as we discover how the girls have changed in 5 years, and we don't even have a murderer/crazy person to think about yet.
Gossip Girl: I've gotta give GG a B- finale. Even though I thought that everything that happened made sense, I still felt like we were thrown off a horse and left for dead as the characters continued on without us. Dan and Serena are over (that'll last, I'm sure), Jenny is going to be working for Blair's mom, Rufus went on tour, Blair and Chuck were together for approximately 14.5 minutes before he went back to being Chuck Bass and she went on to France without him, Nate and Vanessa were inexplicably through with each other, Dan is going to hang around with Vanessa all summer, and Serena and Nate are going to the Hamptons to hang out. Hmmm... Even after writing everything out, I'm still confused.
The Office: Grade, A-. Whoa. For a show that's generally about the mundane events in an office, this episode threw quite a few punches. 1) Ryan arrested for fraud. 2) Jan is pregnant. But wait, it's not Michael's. Keep waiting, she didn't have an affair, she used a sperm bank. Huh?? 3) Just as Jim is about to propose to Pam, Andy proposes to Angela. 4) After accepting Andy's proposal, Angela has sex with Dwight on her desk. The episode was mostly wonderful. Jim pulled a classic prank on Dwight. Creed tried to remember what his job was ("What do I do? Quar... Qua... Quabity... Quabity assuance!! No, but I'm close"). Michael sang a parody song called "Goodbye Toby." Dwight told the new HR representative that Kevin was mentally slow as an act of hazing. All great things. The only thing that could have made it better is if Jim and Pam had actually gotten engaged.

Counting down to Thursday- whoo, LOST!

The Catch-Up Post: LOST, Battlestar, Brothers & Sisters, and more...

I am a horrible person. I have not posted anything in over a month. You know what I say to that? Whatevz! It's my freakin' blog!! I do what I want! But in all seriousness, I'm sorry for being so absent. I do have an excuse- whenever I have had time to think about tv, I have spent it watching Buffy and Angel for the first time (more on that to come later) instead of writing about things I have already seen. I know that my loyal readers (all 2 of them) have been suffering withdrawal from my television rantings. Fear not! This is going to make up for all of that- a summary of everything I've watched since April.

1) Grey's Anatomy. Welcome back into my life! I had almost given up on it, but I gave it a second chance hoping that the strike would give it a renewed sense of purpose. Indeed, the last 3 episodes have been quite good. I didn't even realize how much I missed the characters. Well...really just Derek, Dr. Bailey, Cristina, and Sloan. But now we are happily reunited. The writers have toned down the soap opera factor, and the dialogue is actually funny again. The Addison episode, in particular, was classic Grey's. Although I would have to say my favorite scene so far has been Dr. Bailey advising the nurses to stop boycotting Dr. Sloan's surgeries because they all knew he was a whore when they slept with him. I'm so glad Meredith has found a forum for her whining in therapy. And that Izzie and George are now firmly back in their "just friends" corners. Overall, I'm enjoying my return to Shonda's world, and I hope that I'm never forced to leave again.
2) New Amsterdam. This show started at the beginning of March and ended after only 7 episodes. I really wanted to find a new show this semester (something to fill the void in my heart left by Chuck and Pushing Daisies), and I wish that this one had turned out as amazing as it could have been. I was very intrigued by the story- it's about a New York cop who is immortal until he finds his one true love. Each episode had some murder case that related to his past, so there were lots of flashbacks, ranging from Colonial times to the '50s. I loved some of the details put into the show: in the pilot, he goes to the middle of Times Square and takes a picture. He goes back home and puts the picture on the wall alongside dozens of other pictures of the same spot, labeled by year, so you can see the evolution of just that one section of the world. Amazing, really. Unfortunately, the acting was nothing memorable. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played John Amsterdam, was good, but the other characters were pretty thin. Truthfully, I don't regret watching the show, but I don't regret it being canceled either.
3) Samantha Who? This show is fun, and that's all there is to it. Every single member of the cast is perfect in his or her role: Christina Applegate as Samantha Newly, the amnesiac learning about the world and herself one day at a time; Melissa McCarthy as Dena, Samantha's childhood friend who just wants to be included; the scene-stealing Jennifer Esposito as Andrea, Samantha's long-time best friend who is trying to keep "old Samantha" alive by making sure she doesn't become too good of a person; Jean Smart and Kevin Dunn as Regina and Howard Newly, Samantha's HILARIOUS parents; Barry Watson as Todd, Samantha's sweet and adorable ex whom she falls in love with again and has to steal from his crazy new girlfriend; and, finally, Tim Russ as Frank, the stoic, but wise, doorman who reluctantly has gotten to know Samantha. I really appreciate this show simply for consistently making me laugh. I don't love it like I do The Office, but I get the same enjoyment out of it that I think other people get from Scrubs, which I refuse to watch because I think Zach Braff is a major tool.
4) The Bachelor. Well, he chose Shayne! I resisted her all the way up until the finale, but I guess she kind of ended up growing on me. The best part about her is that Matt really seems to be himself around her. Even though I loved Amanda, and then rooted for Chelsea, Matt said that Shayne made him feel something he had never felt before, so I am satisfied (I keep telling myself). It is totes adorable that he calls her "Monkey" because of how she holds onto him so tight when they cuddle. I just watched this little video of the two of them finally able to do a public interview as an engaged couple, and I can't lie, it was really cute.
5) Gossip Girl. Such intense drama, I am exhausted just from watching. I probably won't be able to write about it very long before I need a nap. Anyways, let me try to break it down! Jenny Humphrey and Blair have engaged in a war of social power. Each one does something petty to try to gain the advantage. Little J starts dating a very wealthy, very preppy boy from another school who makes out with Serena's little brother, Eric, on the side. Serena has been pushing Dan away in the post-strike episodes because a friend from her past has returned: the truly devilish Georgina Sparks, played by Michelle Trachtenberg. Georgina wants things to go back to the way they used to be when she and S were wild- drinking, doing drugs, doing whatever they wanted. She knows the real reason Serena left town for boarding school and holds that secret over her head. The only person that Serena can really talk to is Chuck, who has become my favorite character. Like, seriously, I love him. Turns out Serena killed someone. Except not really, because all she did was hand a guy some of his own drugs that he used to overdose. Before everything gets resolved, though, Georgina, who has become friends with Dan as a girl named Sarah, seduces him to hurt Serena. Also, Nate likes Vanessa now. And for the first time, he seems like an actual human being. And Rufus and Lily sleep together on her wedding night to Bart Bass. The end. (Naptime)
6) Brothers & Sisters. A lot happened at the end of this season. Nora spent lots of time with Isaac. Isaac asked Nora to move with him to Washington, D.C. She accepted. Her kids became insane. She decided to stay. Sarah was sleeping with Graham (Steven Weber). He lined up a business deal in China that would be a huge commitment for Ojai. Sarah wanted Saul to reject the deal because she couldn't tell Graham herself. Saul went behind her back and signed the contract anyway. The business partner in China went bankrupt and put Ojai $20 million dollars in debt. Sarah needed Walker Landing to bail Ojai out. Holly came up with a scheme that created a merger between the two companies, so that Sarah and Tommy would be co-Presidents and she would be CEO. Kitty and Robert tried to get pregnant. After many failures, they decided to adopt. Kevin proposed to Scotty. Kevin married Scotty. Rebecca had doubts about whether William Walker was really her father. Justin admitted that he had feelings for her when he thought about her as not being his sister. Rebecca discovered that David (Ken Olin) was actually her father. She lied to Justin because she didn't want to leave the Walker family. She then told the truth. He was mad. Then he forgave her. Then they kissed. Oh, and William Walker probably fathered another child, some boy named Ryan.
7) Desperate Housewives. Gaby adjusts to married life with blind Carlos. One very amusing episode has her using his handicapped parking tag. He gets a seeing-eye dog. A cocaine dealer moves into their spare bedroom, and the cops want them to act like nothing is wrong because they want to arrest her supplier. Susan is the funniest pregnant woman alive. There is one scene where Mike has just come home from rehab. She wants to make his favorite dinner, and when she finds out that it's not actually his favorite, she breaks down and leaves to put her emotions in the metaphorical box that Bree told her about. Mike and Susan find out that Orson was the one who ran over Mike and put him in the coma. They manage to forgive him, but Bree kicks him out. He spends a drunken night at Edie's, and Bree gets the wrong idea. Edie finds out the truth about Danielle and Austin and Benjamin. She blackmails Bree, who finally comes clean with the girls about everything. Cue dramatic walking scene. They inform Edie that they are cutting her out of their lives. Rick comes back into town. His restaurant is burned down, and Lynette is convinced that Tom did it. It was actually the twins, Porter and Preston. They were given the idea by Kayla. Lynette thinks Kayla needs counseling. Kayla does need counseling because she is a manifestation of evil straight out of The Bad Seed. She convinces one of the twins to jump off the roof. The shrink thinks that Lynette and Kayla need to spend time together so that they will come to see each other in a real mother-daughter way. Kayla tells Lynette that she convinced the twins to try to jump off the roof (which one of them did, causing him to break his arm). Lynette slaps Kayla, who later calls the shrink and says that she is afraid because she is being abused. Katharine and Bree bond after planning a party together, and it is wonderful. Dylan's dad (Gary Cole) makes contact with her, and they secretly begin spending time together. Katharine finds out and wants to prove that he is a horrible man who is incapable of love. She tells him that she had affairs when they were married and that Dylan is not really his daughter. He has a DNA test done, confirming what Katharine said. He gets drunk and watches old home videos of Dylan as a little girl- one in which she is riding her bike and shows her dad some stitches on her arm. Later, Dylan comes over to see him, and he notices that there is no scar on her arm. OMG. I did not see that coming. Different girl.
8) The Office. Michael and Jan have a dinner party. Hilarity ensues. They break up. In the next episode, a few months have passed. Jim and Pam are still going strong. In fact, he tells her that he is going to propose to her. Dwight and Michael party with Ryan in New York City. Ryan is a coke head. Stanley yells at Michael in front of everyone. He tells Michael that he has no respect for him. Michael is upset that his friend would say those things to him (haha). He doesn't want to fire Stanley but tells him that he can't talk like that to his boss at work. Dwight makes his usual power plays. More hilarity ensues.
9) Battlestar Galactica. The most recent episode, "Faith," was incredible. The ones before that have been kind of...confusing. There hasn't seemed to be much purpose, except to show that the Cylons are fighting amongst themselves (The Brother Cavils killed a bunch of Sixes, Eights, and Leobens). And Tory killed Cally, who found out that Tigh, Tory, Anders, and Tyrol are Cylons. The Chief has since become a very angry man. Colonel Tigh is adjusting to his discovery that he is a Cylon by visiting the captured Six every day. It's sorta weird... Apollo has been MIA since he became a member of the Quorum. His new role hasn't done anything more than show that Laura Roslin is abusing her power. She is, however, dying of cancer. Admiral Adama sits by her bed during treatments reading books to her. Starbuck and the crew of the Demetrius have been searching for Earth. Starbuck has become a bit of a nutjob. Everyone except Anders becomes part of a mutiny (I still love you, Helo!), but then Leoben comes upon them. He wants Kara to come see the Hybrid and continue her journey to Earth. She finds out that she has to unbox D'Anna (yay Lucy Lawless!!) to reveal the final 5 Cylons, who can then lead her to Earth. The Hybrid also mentioned that she is "the harbinger of death." Or something like that. Intense. And intensely awesome.
10) LOST. Episodes 7-11: "Ji-Yeon," "Meet Kevin Johnson," "The Shape of Things to Come," Something Nice Back Home," and "Cabin Fever." Each amazing in its own way. So it would be inadequate to merely summarize them in one paragraph here. Also, this has become the longest blog in history. And my hand hurts. So I'm going to put it off a few more days until I can sit down for another length of time and write about each episode in detail. I will say one thing, though. In the future, Jack and Kate get engaged. And, although my heart belongs to Sawyer and I am a Skater through and through, it was kinda hot.

Battlestar Galactica

I'm doing another post today because I have some catching up to do. It's that stupid strike! It threw me off my television groove ("I'm sorry, sir, you've thrown off the Emperor's groove." "Ahhhhh!!!!"). As soon as all my shows come back- starting with The Office tomorrow- everything will be back to normal. Just in time for summer to get here and all my shows to go on hiatus again...

The 4th and final season (*tear*) of Battlestar Galactica kicked off with a great premiere titled "He That Believeth In Me." The best part of the episode was that they put us right back in the action. Most premieres tend to be catch-up episodes where they show you a little about where each character is now and show you what the season is going to be about. Well, the people at Battlestar Galactica don't mess around. Starbuck returns. She thinks she's been gone 6 hours when she has, in fact, been presumed dead for about 2 months. Her story is that she followed the Cylon Raider into the storm back in "Maelstrom," blacked out, woke up orbiting Earth, took some pictures, and then joined back up with the fleet. People are obviously concerned that she is a Cylon. [My theory: Roslin is the Final Cylon. More on why I think this is true at the end of the post.] Lee, bless his sweet soul, could care less what she is. The second he stepped out of his Viper, he rushed over to her and hugged her like he would never let go. Meanwhile, Anders, Tori, Tyrol, and Tigh, have to adjust to the realization that they are Cylons. They don't know what their purpose is, or when they will lose control of themselves, which makes things very exciting- and tense for them, I'm sure. Tigh has made it clear that he will shoot himself if need be, yet he daydreamed about shooting Admiral Adama in the head... Baltar's trial has just ended and now fears for his life. Luckily (?), he is taken into the protection of a cult of women who worship him. Starbuck wants to lead the fleet to Earth because she now has some mysterious connection to it, but the farther they jump away from it, the weaker her link becomes. Adama wants to trust her, but he feels like he needs to listen to Roslin and keep going in the direction she thinks Earth is. So, Starbuck's solution is to go to Roslin while she's sleeping and point a gun at her...

So Season 4 is off to an excellent beginning. Each character has plenty to deal with. This should be a very intense 10-episode arc, and I, for one, will love every second of it. So say we all.

Why I think Roslin is the 12th Cylon: Her visions. What other characters have had these kinds of visions? The Chief. Cylon. D'Anna. Cylon. Granted, Starbuck has had some crazy dreams before, too. But I truly believe that she will not be the Cylon. Perhaps she does have some greater purpose (Kara Thrace and Her Special Destiny), but I think the ultimate Cylon plan involves Roslin- who is much more influential in the human race than Starbuck. Another clue is her cancer. Cylons are biologically the same as humans in every way, except for their programming. Wouldn't it be a masterful Cylon trick if Roslin were programmed to have cancer- just to convince everyone that there was no way she could be a Cylon? But, by some amazing skill from Dr. Gaius Baltar, he found a cure for her the first time: the blood of the Cylon-human hybrid. I read in an interview with Ronald D. Moore that the hybrid blood will not be used now that her cancer has returned. Thus, I started to think that the Cylons might have reprogrammed Roslin's cancer so that it could not be cured in the same way. Perhaps she will even die. But I think that everything that has happened to Roslin aligns very nicely with a Cylon plan to take over the humans. She is not only the President, but she is also close to Adama. He listens to her advice. Control of the government + control of the military. Why, then, would Roslin be guiding them in the wrong direction? My guess is that the Cylons don't want the humans to reach Earth. Not first, at least.


Joss Whedon and others talking about how awesome BSG is

The Bachelor

For the most part, I resist reality television as a rule. My one exception used to be Beauty and the Geek, which I found irresistibly charming until they made it into Beauties vs. Geeks, eliminating the partnerships that made the show appealing in the first place. I have, however, found a very worthy replacement in a show that I hated on principle up until now: The Bachelor. Matt Grant is pretty much the epitome of everything I find attractive. He's 6'5. And British. End of story.

It's hard to believe that there could be a sane girl amidst the 25 competing for Matt's affections. Luckily, one such girl does exist. Her name is Amanda. She is sweet, funny, gorgeous, and gets the hiccups when she's nervous. All I can say is, "Totes Meeps yo!" I also like Chelsea, mainly because she's hilarious, but scenes from next week's episode show that she might mess things up in her one-on-one with Matt by talking about how she doesn't like to hold hands. Hmmm... Intimacy issues, Chels? The rest of the girls are crazy, which of course creates some amusing scenes. Like Kelly, a.k.a. Drunky, flashing Matt when he was trying to have a serious conversation with her. Good thing she went home. Also good riddance to Ashlee who was going to make me kill myself if she kept giggling and singing. I hate Robin, mainly because she has zero respect for the other girls, which is not classy at all. Hopefully she will leave soon. Shayne is annoying when she gets all melodramatic (bad actresses...), but I can appreciate her for being sarcastic. She better not win, but I'm ready to see Robin and Marshana go before her. Plus, I wouldn't mind if Shayne lasted to the visiting-the-family stage so that I could see Lorenzo Lamas being all dad-like.

LOST episode 4.06- "The Other Woman"

What happened in this episode: When Daniel and Charlotte leave the beach without explanation, Juliet and Jack go after them. A woman from wherever the Others are living these days comes to Juliet and tells her that Ben wants her to go to the Dharma Station where the 2 Freighties are headed- a chemical station called The Tempest- and kill them before they can release the toxic gas. Kate comes back from the Barracks, finds Daniel and Charlotte in the jungle, gets knocked out by Charlotte, and gets found by Juliet and Jack. Juliet uses this opportunity to slip away from Jack so that she can get to The Tempest first. She finds Daniel working on a computer, trying to do something to the chemicals. Charlotte and Juliet engage in a cat fight. Charlotte persuades her that they are not trying to release the gas but to neutralize it so that Ben can't order another Purge like the one that killed all the Dharma people. Meanwhile, back at the Barracks, Locke tries to establish control over "I always have a plan" Ben, who shows him a videotape of Charles Widmore- the man trying to find the island so that he can exploit its special qualities (like healing Locke). Supposedly. Who really knows why Widmore is looking for the island or why he sent out a team to get Ben. Except Ben. And he's certainly not sharing everything he knows. But he did manage to persuade Locke to release him from his basement prison, presumably by telling him who his man on the freighter is.

Flashbacks show Juliet living on the island with the Others prior to jumping ship for Dr. Shepherd. She tries to discover the reason that pregnant women die on the island. She figures out that their immune systems turn on the fetus... Whatever that means, I'm not a science person. Anyways, Ben has some weird, schoolboy crush on Juliet, but she's having an affair with Goodwin (Brett Cullen = awesome. I have great respect for actors who choose to be on fantastic shows, a.k.a. shows that I love- and he's had guest-starring roles on LOST and Friday Night Lights). His wife, Harper, is the psychiatrist for the Others ("It's very stressful being an Other, Jack"). During a session, Harper informs Juliet about Ben's feelings for her- which she says makes sense because Juliet apparently looks just like "her" (Probably Annie, Ben's childhood sweetheart)- and also that she knows about Juliet's affair with Goodwin. Harper warns her about what Ben will do if the relationship doesn't end. Well, as we know, Ben sends Goodwin to infiltrate the Tailies, and Goodwin ends up getting killed when Ana Lucia discovers who she is. Ben takes Juliet out to see the body. She is distraught, especially when she realizes that Ben knew what the outcome would be of sending Goodwin (did he also send Ethan to his death for some indiscretion on Dr. Rom's part???). It is a chilling moment indeed when Ben screams at Juliet that he did it because "you're mine."

Who I thought was the most awesome in this episode: Juliet. I think Elizabeth Mitchell is a phenomenal actress, and while Juliet is not the main female character on the show, she has definitely become a formidable force. I continue to be interested in what motivates her. Clearly getting off the island is her top priority, but as long as she is living here, why does she make the choices she does? The best piece of acting during this episode, in my opinion, was the scene where Ben and Juliet go to see Goodwin's body. He's impaled on a large branch, his skin is gray and there are flies around him. Immediately I am disgusted. But Juliet runs to him, kneels next to him, and caresses his face. It goes against my instinct to see her do that, but it's beautiful at the same time. Add to that Michael Emerson being his crazy incredible self and yelling like an angry child that she's his before calmly saying, "Take all the time you need." Whoa.

LOST episodes 4.03, 4.04 and 4.05- "The Economist," "Eggtown" and "The Constant"

First of all, many apologies for falling behind on my weekly LOST updates. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been busy putting off studying for midterms, actually studying for midterms, trying unsuccessfully to wish myself into Spring Break, and thinking about life. See, BUSY. Throughout this time, LOST has been a real haven for me, as it always is, but especially recently. This season's dynamic is particularly fantastic and mind-blowing, with the introduction of the Freighties and the Oceanic Six and the 2 island teams. I've read articles about how the show is "back on track," about the "10 reasons why LOST is found." I'm personally one of those who thinks the show has never had a time when it was off-track. And that's not just me being overly-loyal like I can sometimes get (*cough* Alias Season 5 *cough*). But I do agree that there is some special element this season. Perhaps it's the newness of the flash forwards, perhaps its a new group of characters who don't make me want to kill anyone I meet for the rest of my life named Ana Lucia, Nikki, or Paulo. Or perhaps it's the knowledge that the end is near, that every episode is full of purpose, that people are actually going to get off the island. I really should give credit where it's due: My discovery of Doc Jensen at EW.com has significantly enhanced my LOST experience. His pre-episode cheat sheets/post-episode recaps are freakin' phenomenal. They are insightful, fascinating, and truly inspirational from a potentially-aspiring-television-journalist standpoint. I've printed all of them out and put them in my official LOST box so that I can reference them later to see how much he gets right.

What happened in "The Economist": Sayid, Miles, and Kate arrive at the Barracks to find nobody there except Hurley, who is tied up in a cabinet. He says that Locke went crazy and left him there because he tried to stop him from kidnapping Charlotte (a believable claim since Hurley had earlier said that he didn't sign up to take anyone prisoner). Sayid searches Ben's house and finds a hidden room behind the bookcase- it's full of clothes and passports. Kate is looking in the bedroom and is apprehended by Sawyer. Locke and Rousseau capture Sayid at gunpoint. In a moment of sweet vulnerability, Sawyer tells Kate he wants to play house with her. She decides to stay. Sayid convinces Locke that he only stayed with Jack to find out the real reason why the Freighties came. He doesn't expect Locke to give Charlotte to him- he trades her for Miles so that Frank will take him on the helicopter back to the boat. He also says that he will report back to Locke what he discovers on the freighter. Meanwhile, Jack, Juliet, Daniel, Frank, and Desmond wait for Sayid to return with Charlotte. Desmond still wants to know why Naomi had a picture of him and Penny. He tells Frank that he is coming with them to the freighter. Daniel does an experiment that reveals a time discrepancy between the island and the outside world. At the end of the episode, Frank, Sayid, and Desmond take off in the helicopter.

Flash-forwards show Sayid looking very dashing in suits, working as a hitman in Germany. He starts dating a woman named Ilsa with a mysterious boss (my theory: Penny Widmore's father). She tells him she loves him, he feels guilty because he's using her to get to her boss, she shoots him because she's using him to get to his boss, he's badass and kills her. He works for- pause for dramatic effect- BEN, killing people who are on a list. Apparently Sayid is "protecting his friends" by what he does off-island, and apparently Ben becomes a veterinarian in the future.

Who I thought was the most awesome in this episode: Hurley. He acted as the bait for Locke when Sayid came looking for Charlotte (According to the enhanced episode, this part was an homage to The Empire Strikes Back). Miles called him Tubby, to which Hurley responded, "Awesome. The ship sent us another Sawyer." It was pretty adorable. He had another great line when Sayid said that he wasn't going to hurt him: "Yeah, I saw you snap that guy's neck when you did that break-dancing thing with your legs. I think I'll hang back here."

What happened in "Eggtown": Kate is living in a house with Claire, Sawyer is living with Hurley, and Locke is trying to find answers. Holding Ben captive in a basement (sounds familiar, doesn't it?), Locke wants to know about his inside man on the freighter (favorite theory of most people is that it's Michael). Kate really wants to talk to Miles because she wants to know what he knows about her /what's waiting for her if she gets off the island. Locke refuses to let her speak with him (They aren't living in a democracy anymore, but at least it's not a dictatorship, in which case he would just shoot her), but since when does Kate listen to anyone? She finds out where Miles is, and he says he'll tell her if she gets him in to talk with Ben. When she does, Miles tells Ben that he would tell his boss that Ben was dead in return for $3.2 million. Locke finds them and kicks Kate out of the Barracks. Sawyer says she can stay under his protection. Lots of hotness ensues, but Sawyer says the wrong thing (something not very nice about Kate using Sawyer and Jack to fulfill her needs), causing her to head back to Team Jack. Locke ties Miles back up, pulls the pin from a grenade, and sticks it in his mouth. As long as Miles keeps his mouth shut on the trigger, he won't explode. As Locke leaves, he says, "Enjoy your breakfast." Whoa.

Flash-forwards follow Kate's trial for murder, arson, theft, etc. The main witness for the prosecution is her mom, whom she confessed to right after she blew up Wayne. Her attorney wants to bring in her son to get sympathy from the jury, but she says no. Jack testifies about how Kate saved his life. Based on the Oceanic Six story that he told, 8 people get off the island, but only 6 survived. So 2 bodies. Kate's mom says that learning about Kate's heroism has made her not want to testify against her, but she wants to meet her grandson. Kate adamantly denies her this, saying she doesn't want her son anywhere near her. Her mom backs out of testifying anyway, so the DA makes a deal with Kate: 10 years of probation and she can't leave the state of California. Kate quickly accepts. I guess she's done running for good. She and Jack talk (he's still in love with her). He wants to get together with her, but she says that she can't until he can come visit her son. Kate returns home and hugs her little boy: Aaron.

Who I thought was the most awesome in this episode: Kate. For some reason that I am very interested to learn, Kate is the supposed hero of the Oceanic Six, according to the testimony Jack gave at her trial. I loved the scene with her mom because she showed some serious integrity and a maternal protectiveness that I never would have believed she possessed. The reveal of Aaron being her son was, in my opinion, the best of the season. What happens to Claire??? Another great moment: she tricks Hurley into telling her where Miles is. Or as Hurley says, "You totally just Scooby-Doo'd me, didn't you?"

What happened in "The Constant": Jack is freaking out about not hearing from Sayid and Desmond, who left with Frank on the helicopter more than a day ago. Daniel tells him that time doesn't work the same way on the island as it does everywhere else. (It makes you wonder: If and when the Oceanic Six get back to the island- years later for them, it seems, since Jack has grown a mountain man beard- how much time will have passed for the people left behind???) Frank flies straight into a storm, Desmond flashes into the past- a time in which he is part of the Scottish regiment- and his 1996 consciousness returns to his body in the helicopter, making things very confusing. They land on the freighter, and Desmond is taken to sick bay where he meets Minkowski, who is experiencing the same condition. Sayid and Frank come to see Desmond because Daniel wants to talk to Desmond on the phone. He tells him that when he returns to the past that he needs to go visit him in Oxford. He gives him some numbers so that Desmond can convince past-Daniel that he is really time-traveling. Desmond does what he says, and Daniel shows him an experiment in which his rat, Eloise, has the same consciousness transfer that allows her to complete a maze that she hasn't yet learned. Then she dies. Daniel tells Desmond that to prevent that from happening to him, he needs to find a constant- something to connect his past to his future. Desmond needs to call Penny from the boat. Minkowski was the guy in charge of communications and shows Sayid and Desmond where they need to go. Then Minkowski dies. Flashing into the past, Desmond goes to see Charles Widmore so that he can find Penny. He goes to her address, she doesn't want to see him, but he convinces her to give him her phone number so that he can call her on Dec. 24, 2004. He begs her to answer that call, 8 years away, if she still cares about him. Back on the freighter, Desmond dials the number, it rings for what seems like forever, and then Penny picks up. What follows is one of the sweetest scenes in television history. He tells her over and over how much he loves her. She promises that she won't stop looking for him. And then Desmond is okay. The constant has allowed his consciousness to settle again.


Who I thought was the most awesome in this episode: Tie between Daniel Faraday and Desmond. Daniel is brilliant and quirky. Without his help, we never would have understood what was happening to Desmond. Which brings me to... Desmond. Favorite character #2. Has been ever since the Season 2 finale when he returns to the island. He was amazing in this episode, shifting between his 1996 and 2004 selves. I cried when he finally got to talk to Penny, tell her he was sorry and that he loved her, and realized how much she still cared for him. That was enough. He was going to be okay.