I thought this was a great scene (English notwithstanding), and it helped me get over their less-than-inspiring reunion in which 1) I was distracted by the killer fence that could surely go off and end them both at any moment and 2) the fact that they had already reunited via the sideways storyline took away some of the urgency of their meeting. As pointed out above, this tempering of the emotional urgency works both ways – while they are dead in the central storyline, they are still very much present in the LOST world, which makes it harder to mourn their characters. I think this is one of the more interesting effects of the side story and I’m interested to see where it leads.

The other reason I thought this scene was pretty great is that it continues the mystery of the Kwon candidate. Either 1) we will never find out whom it was meant to be – a question I would welcome or 2) as I’ve been hoping against hope since the lighthouse scene, the Kwon in question is Ji-Yeon, who – perhaps with the island’s other miracle baby, Aaron – will play some role in the fate of the island. Surely this is the raving fantasy of someone who really wants LOST to be about something other than a power struggle between two white guys, but given the show’s other identity politics, I’m going to latch onto anything I can get.

But honestly, the whole Episode felt Rushed to me. As always there were some great character moments and exchanges but as a Whole…Rushed!

I have been complaining about not getting enough answers and the story unfolding too slow. Last night felt like the writers just threw non-believable, to me, scenes together in hopes of quickly tugging at emotions and concluding storylines.

As a stickler for story line and character development, without those two ingredients it is hard for me to believe or invest emotionally when I don’t believe the plot/story line(s).

In no particular order here are some of the story lines that Tugged/bugged and made it hard for me to buy into the plot lasr night.

–Lapidus, if this is how he was fated to die (and I am not saying he is dead, for sure…) what was the point of his character??? He was not a main character, and recently, other than a few comic lines his character has done nothing to move forward or clarify the plot in forever. Hit by a sub door and now your possibly dead…Please! The hope was his character had some higher purpose that none of us could figure out. Turns out, perhaps, Jeff just had a good agent.

–Sun & Jin’s (enough already) overly long dramatic we are going to die together because our love is so strong, even though we have a young child that at least one of us should raise…??? I got enough of the reunion last week and again other than all the candidates being together the Kwon’s storyline did not seem to advance/clarify plot.

And yes, inhindsight there maybe some overarching theme that said everything had to happen as it happen for the story to end as it will end. I’m still not buying that arguement. I know when we get to the end we will understand the snap shots we’ve been given better…but come on tell a coherent story. This death for Jin at least seemed pointless.

–Kate is not a Candidate? Ok. LOL! Sawyer conveniently telling us her name WAS on MIB’s wall but it was cross off… And yeah, I know just because he said it does not mean she isn’t still a candidate.

It just seemed artificially thrown in so Sawyer could justify giving up the gun to dough boy. If they wanted us to know or clarify/confuse us about Kate being or not being a candidate there were many opportunities before now to do that. And if Sawyer and group were going to be captured anyway, what is the point of the kate reveal, only to still be captured?

–The whole on submarine action just entirely sucked for me. And I am not even going to majorly complain about how such a talented team of writers and producers and consistently come up with the Crappiest CGI and underwater graphic scenes ever…YUK!!!

–But worse this week, were the improbably story lines. Sawyer taking over for Smokey and leading the team in the shootout didn’t ring true to me as it was happening. Smokey was pulling all the strings on when and how people would move out until here. But I will allow perhaps this was part of Smokey’s master plan to get all the candidates together so they can kill themselves.

–Then the ease with which they took over the sub was stretching my ability to believe, but ok…we need that to happen. And I guess Widmore has been a bit Impotent since his days on the Island in terms of protecting anything or reclaiming anything but the blackrock auction items. Ok and recreating flt 815 wreckage. But how he can set up the sonic fence and somehow zombie Sayid can disarm it at will and easily free the candidates when Widmore knows Smokey was coming….ok maybe?

–Sayid getting Illana-ed, although his blow up we could see coming, though not before he gave up the “..Desmond is Alive Reveal…” and “…Jack is the One…” again, like Saywer giving up Kate not being a candidate, Sayid’s last reveal felt rushed. And yeah, the bomb was going to go off and He was trying to save the crew and potentially redeem his soul…maybe plausible???

–And speaking of Bomb going off. Why in the world would the group just let Sawyer make the choices for everyone. I understand after Jack’s last trust me speech and Juliette getting killed that Sawyer would not Trust Jack… But come on, if I am Sun/Jin/Hurley even Lapidus…I’m saying…Maybe Jack has a point?

–I would have like to see that story line if they didn’t explode the bomb and we got unseen tangible evidence that Jack indeed is becoming intune with the Island. Then to see Smokey extra pissed off that is plan didn’t work and look forward to his plan B for keeping the Candidates on the island…I would have liked to see that story more than the string of Rushed Deaths.

–So, for me, the fake, “…I can’t sit here and do nothing…” chain of events that lead to the 3 or 4 deaths just further strained my already strained sense of Believability.

There are several more both on island and alt Universe examples where I think the writers were rushing to an end and straining story arch and character(s) crediblity.

But again, as I said in the beginning maybe I was just in a Mood last night and am being even more critical than normal. Perhaps, when/if I see this episode again, I will find it rings true and I am just being an Ass.

Despite all my ranting and even if it does not end in a manner I would hope or would call emotionally satisfying, this has been one of the most complex, intruiging and ground breaking in terms of how to tell a story Series perhaps ever on tv.

So please do not take my rants and moans more than I was hoping for more. And I know I have to let the writers tell the story they want to tell, not the version I hope they tell.

On the other hand, the beauty of Blogs is I can bitch and Moan, if to no one else but myself.

And Strangely…Complaining does feel a bit satisfying :–)

P.S. Are Linus, Miles & Richard ever going to come back? They left for the plane way before our favorite group of Smocke Cast Aways. And Richards sole and soul purpose now seems to be stopping Flockey. Yet no where do our merry group of “…Let’s stop Unlocke and Save the day…” secondary players show up. They missed Smokey on the plane, on the sub at their camp…Ok, I am just complaining again aren’t I.

I’m sure in the next few episodes our merry men will have that show down with Unlocke and help Desmond seal the rift while watching Jack Ascend to Island Obie Wan. Who knows, it could happen??? *grinning*

On the other hand…I thought that entire scene got much too much screen time.

I have to say, something’s been off for me with the Kwon storyline since they started talking to each other in English. Their final scene especially — you’re dying and you’re speaking to each other in your second language?? After all we’ve stuck through at this point, it seems the producers could trust the viewers’ intelligence a little more and stick with the subtitles.