The Rewatch Column for "Exposé" has been RAZZLE DAZZLED for your reading pleasure on Chud.com.
Feel free to try Digging it! Just click the Digg link at the bottom of the column.
FYI: the link to the confirmation of the spiders-as-Monster theory was lost in translation, so here it is for those of you who're curious:
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Official_Lost_Podcast/March_21,_2008
"Yes, the spiders are a form of the Monster. Lindelof confirms this HERE."
ReplyDeleteWHERE?
Fans didn't hate Nikki & Paulo due to impatience, they hated them for being sloppily introduced and haphazardly utilized.
ReplyDeleteEko's death is a major development for the show, and for the fans, and throwing Nikki into that scenario for a useless reaction shot of fear and sorrow ("Oh God, not Eko! Who I've never had a single scene with!) is false and insulting.
I agree that Expose is a great episode, in that it gives the fans what they want by punishing Nikki & Paulo while also punishing the audience for demanding such harsh fates.
I enjoy this column since I've been bringing my girlfriend up to speed so we can watch the final season. We finished season three last weekend, and I'd like to add that Sayid's flashback in Enter 77 was LEAGUES better than most this season (Ever Man For Himself, Par Avion, etc.)
Keep up the good work...even though I find myself disagreeing with you on some of the weakest episodes (Hurley flashbacks make me want to vomit up cheese.) The final third of season 3 is unstoppable gold, though.
Anon,
ReplyDeleteIn the link I've posted on this blog. The link in the column itself got lopped off when chud's valiant editor slapped it up on their site.
Que Lindo,
I encourage you to disagree with me - it makes things interesting. As for Nikki and Paulo, I can only comment on the feedback that I've personally read/recieved, and that feedback lead me to believe that a combination of (1) the both of them being pretty boring characters and (2) impatience to 'get to the good stuff' on the part of the viewers (myself included) lead to a lot of the hate.
I'm glad they're gone, but I appreciate what the writers were attempting, and I think it was an interesting (if ineffectual) possible fix for their problem.
At this point in the show, Lost had no end date and it was becoming obvious that the writers were starting to have trouble mining some of the characters for worthwhile flashbacks. I admire their solution to this problem, in theory. They assumed (correctly, in my opinion) that in a castaway community of this size, most of the people would know each other. Their plan, as I understand it, was to begin introducing 'new' characters in a way that reflected this fact.
Obviously, that backfired. But I don't know that it was sloppy, per se. Just a wrong move, and one that they moved to correct with impressive speed. Ultimately, the fact that it backfired may have been one of the best things to happen to this show, as it helped to convince the powers that be to end it, and not keep it chugging along indefinately. In that light, Nikki and Paulo were two of the most important characters on the show.
I'm with you on Par Avion and Every Man For Himself (and I think I made it clear in those columns that I found the flashbacks pretty dull), though Enter 77's flashback was essentially a return to Sayid-and-Rousseau from Season 1 for me as a viewer.
As for the cheese-vomiting thing, well, I'm sorry to hear it. Can't be pleasant! But Hurley's a favorite of mine, and so I typically enjoy spending time around him on this show.
Keep letting me know what you think - I love that I've gotten such an intelligent cross-section of Lost viewers posting here.
Best,
M
I think the Nikki/Paolo hate came from a mix of things. I think the biggest one was what you mentioned - impatience. But I also think there was the issue that they were introduced in a forced kind of way (a sort of 'they were here the whole time, we promise!') and they were also pretty dull. One of those two things would be okay, but both is a little too much.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the meta-commentary in this episode. "We all know what happens to guest stars." "Apparently, back home, he's the 'Wolfgang Puck of Brazil.'" (A probable nod to Damon/Carlton's description of Rodrigo Santoro as the "Brazilian Tom Cruise.")
ReplyDeleteWilliam Mapother's never been a full cast member, but I like the fact that Ethan's been fleshed out as much as most of the castaways (More so than some, like Nikki and Paulo.).
I just noticed that Charlie wears a shirt with a cross on it in a few episode this season. Foreshadowing? Coincidence?
Hearing your own eulogy then unknowingly being buried alive would be an interesting death, I think.
The ending, the reveal with the slowly crescendoing music and that shot of Nikki's eyes opening are all amazing.
Ha ha! I loved this episode!! It saw the end to the characters that were forced upon us that we didn't like, and it gave the writers of the show the direction we wanted them to go in. To AVOID JUMPING THE SHARK! Although I will miss the show when it is gone, ending on a high note will make this the best show ever to be on television for a long time to come.
ReplyDeleteDuring the Season 5 and 6 break, I recruited 6 people to start watching the show from season 1. It took them all a quick 2 months to watch all 5 seasons. WE ALL joke about Nikki and Paulo. We have knicknamed them "Obvious Girl and Take A Shit Guy" since most Paulo scenes have him coming from, or going to, the bathroom.