Oh, hello there. My name is Henrik, and, believe it or not, I have never watched Lost.
Here’s how it went. When the show premiered five years ago, I wasn’t really interested, dismissing it as being just a show about plane crash survivors living on a secluded island. Time passed by, and friends tried to convince me that it’s waaay beyond that. I tried watching some time during the third season, but decided that I can’t pick up from there because, as we all know now, the show can be quite confusing at times. I could’ve started catching up earlier, but I didn’t have any time to just sit back and watch from the very start.
Since my friends said it’s possible for me to watch all five seasons–that’s a hundred episodes or so–within five months, I decided to give it a try. And, well, write about it here, because I think I need some help in figuring things out. Or, I need to humiliate myself.
I borrowed a box set of the first season from a friend. One disc popped in, and I began.
What I Watched in Week 1: Season 1, Episodes 1-6 (“Pilot”, “Tabula Rasa”, “Walkabout”, “White Rabbit” and “House of the Rising Sun”)
Watching the pilot gave me a weird feeling. I start the series in an extraordinary manner: I already know what will happen to some of the characters. I know Charlie’s dead. I know Michael’s dead. I know Shannon’s dead. Oh, wait, presumed dead, thanks to writing about their return to the show for the final season. I don’t really like spoilers (unless I have to deal with them, something that comes with my work) and this is a totally surreal experience.
That said, the pilot kicks a lot of ass. Obviously we have to begin with the crash’s aftermath; just seeing the first scenes made my heart go faster than usual. And then I finally realize the point of the flashbacks.
From my standpoint, the large number of flashbacks in the show meant it’s really hard for someone to start from the middle. Get it from the beginning, and it doesn’t feel as jarring as it used to be. I’ve seen flashbacks in so many television shows, but how Lost does them is genius. Jack’s flashbacks were OK. Kate’s were a bit better. Locke’s? Oh, hot damn, who would’ve thought he was bound to a wheelchair? To think I thought he’s just old, supposedly too old to go to Australia.
“Don’t tell me what I can’t do!” Baaaah.
But “White Rabbit” bored me. Did I expect too much? Was I watching too much Lost in one sitting? It was only the second day and I felt my brain turn to mush. It took the discovery that Sun actually speaks English for me to turn myself back on–I was already wondering whether they can sustain Sun and Jin talking in Korean for, like, forever. But after that, I thought it was time to give it a break. That’s one week down, and (roughly) 19 more to go.
First thoughts? Whatever Locke said in “Walkabout”–about the island being special–I’m guessing it should be crucial to the episode. I always have the idea that Locke’s this guy who knows more than he should be. He’s like the guy you don’t want to be with because he seems too weird, at least initially.
And then there’s Charlie. My friend who owns the DVD set is a big Charlie fan; and when she found out he’s returning to the show, she wore this grin that you couldn’t wipe off of her face. I paid a bit more attention to him, just to see what makes him tick. I was scared afterwards, because he’s so much like me–the guy who always has a story that nobody seems to want to hear. (“I play bass.” I think Jack went ugh.)
I’m barely there, sure, but let me play the role of giddy first-timer now. Did I get it right? Did I? Did I? Did I?
– Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
