TBG TV: Lost -- "The Package"

Three Things I Dug:

Yay, Aphasia!: The scene only ran a few seconds, but I loved the machine-gun give-and-take between the characters while Jack was examining the lump on Sun's head. Ben's exasperated "Look for the FOURTH time...!" alibi explanation and the patter between Miles and Lapidus kept the mood around one of the show's more ludicrous plot points relatively light. I remain frustrated that characters as potentially useful as Miles and Lapidus are relegated to comic relief most weeks, but with six episodes left, I guess I'll take what I can get.

Evil Hulk Locke Rules!: Terry O'Quinn is killing it this season. The overt manipulative turn from the smiling, polite, "I won't make you do anything against your will" Dark Locke to the version that coldly motivated a disenchanted Claire -- with Kate's life as the bargaining chip -- was fun to watch unfold. Dark Locke's frustration with the assortment of road blocks (Sun's refusal to follow him, the loss of Jin to Widmore's unit) has been a sweet little slow burn.

Mart'in!: If there's a way for Martin Keamy to be involved in everyone's alternate reality flash-sideways, I'd be on board with it. Kevin Durand has been fantastic in the two episodes he's appeared in this season. He plays Keamy with a controlled lunacy that's right on the edge of the shoot-first mercenary he portrayed in season four. The scene where Keamy tends to Jin's head wound while simultaneously revealing that he's been hired to kill Jin was FEE-nominal.


Three Things I Didn't Dig:

"Sun Fail English? That's unpossible!": There was an episode of Gilligan's Island where Gilligan got popped in the mouth and the fillings in his teeth somehow turned his pie-hole into a radio receiver. This is where I'd slot the "Aphasia Sun" storyline. And, I don't care that aphasia is a real thing. Especially, if the end result is going to be more of Sun giving viewers a Korean take on the tired I Love Lucy bit where Ricky Ricardo expresses rage by screaming in Spanish for five minutes while Lucy, Ethel and Fred stand around dumbfounded.

I'm Not Buying What Sun's Selling: I never connected with the post-island rescue "Sun Bradshaw Layfield" corporate shark character and the whiny, fruit-throwing version that opened this episode didn't do it for me either. I'd nearly forgotten about her and Jin's daughter until Widmore broke out the digital camera. I get that Sun is frustrated and wants to be reunited with Jin, but...well, let's put it this way: Mrs. Bootleg loves me and she loves our son. But, I'm not entirely sure she'd leave Jalen behind for a wild goose chase to find me when there's a real possibility that neither she nor I would return home. Am I alone on this?

Zombie Sayid: I've defended Sayid when others have taken their shots at him, but his unintentionally funny "I feel nothing" spiel perfectly summed up my reaction to (formerly) one of my favorite characters. Apparently, Sayid's been infected with milquetoast. And, not to be "that guy", but if Sayid feels no fear, no pain, no emotion...why does he raise up with a start when Widmore's crew invades Locke's camp? It also sounded like he grunted in pain when he was shot with that dart. But, I don't wanna be "that guy".


The Verdict: The Keamy and Dark Locke stuff was enough to cancel out the ridiculous "Aphasia Sun" stuff. The Desmond twist at the end came off a bit flat, but at least things continue to move right along to the eventual endgame.