LOST #314: "Expose": Sheer Brilliance
There are many casual viewers of "LOST" out there who think the last Nikki and Paulo-centric installment was an awful stand-alone "filler" episode of the series that the writers should not have even bothered with. That is what happens when you're too busy making a sandwich or browsing a magazine while watching an absolutely brilliant television drama.
I couldn't possibly explain how regretful I am for not trusting the genius minds of executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse who had been promising all along that the introduction of the two characters that initially seemed so rude, forced, messy and out of place in early season three would go on to make perfect sense by episode #14.
What an entertaining clever well-made treat of an episode that revisited a number of classic LOST moments from previous seasons and proved that the writers do indeed know where they are headed with their intricate web of storylines.
Sawyer often said "Who the hell are they?" generating our laughter and voicing our concerns as we wondered who on Earth were those two beautiful people and why we were being asked to care about them.
Well, it turns out Nikki and Paulo were living in their own universe all along searching for an 8 million dollar diamond loot, caught up in a game of deception and, in a shocking twist at the end of the episode, paying the ultimate price for their greed.
Since the opening 'Charlie's Angels'-inspired flashback (a shout-out to Rodrigo Santoro who played homicidal surfer in the movie) the hour unfolded like an Alfred Hitchcock style mystery including another reference to Rodrigo Santoro ("Paulo is the Wolfgang Puck of Brazil"), a clever spider metaphor, a delicate blink-and-you'll-miss-it outing of Boone, LOST's first gay character, and many other exceptional moments.
Given the gullible producer's line at the beginning of the episode ("We can always bring you back from the dead") as well as Locke's piece of advice ("Nothing stays buried long on this island") I have a feeling we have not seen the last of Nikki and Paulo and having seen the brilliant "Expose" episode I would now be genuinely happy to see them back.
This is TELEVISIONISTA
Labels: Lost, Lost Recaps, Rodrigo Santoro
posted by Justin Van De Kamp at
1:30 PM
10 Comments:
" couldn't possibly explain how regretful I am for not trusting the genius minds of executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse who had been promising all along that the introduction of the two characters that initially seemed so rude, forced, messy and out of place in early season three would go on to make perfect sense by episode #14."
No offense but it hardly made any sense. To me the killing of the two characters, was more like the writers submitting to fans reaction towards them rather than being planned from the start. Good episode, but a waste as it was meaningless to the overall plot.
I have to respectfully (and obviously) disagree.
Apart from the obvious concern that we may not always understand what is meaningful and what is not (unless we have seen the entire series till the end), I don't see why getting a little breather from all that heavy Others stuff especially with such a funny, light and simply different episode is a waste.
The beauty of LOST is in its compelling storytelling. Honestly, I don't think the ultimate answers will give us as much pleasure as this enjoyable ride that gets us to them.
Having said that I expect the island's interference in Nikki's demise at the end of the episode to have new sense as the mysteries unravel in future episodes.
By far, not my favorite episode of the series, but not the worst. In fact, other than the creepy crawlies, I found no problem with this episode at all. Sure, Nikki was a B and I'm almost glad she's dead, but I think that this episode holds more than meets the eye.
Did anyone else catch Hurley's comment as he read one of the Expose' scripts that Nikki had in her belongings? It said that Billy Dee William's character was the Cobra, the villian whose identity was shrouded in mystery for 4 seasons. Could this be foreshadowing Lost? Jacob, HIM, the magnificant man who brought all the others to the island, could he be someone we already know and perceieve as a good guy? Could this be a big reveal to happen in season 4?
Great post, Justin! Can you clarify one thing for me, though? Yes, I watched the episode, but I don't recall any gay character.... or are you saying that it IS Boone? (I know Shannon made a comment in the airport about "another one of his boyfriends" .... ?) Can you clarify for me? Thanks, and keep up the GREAT work!
Hey, guys!
First to JJ - no I did not catch Hurley's comment, but as we all know anything is possible with Carlton and Damon and I am looking forward to seeing the episode again, so I guess I'll get back to you on that one.
Anonymous - thank you very much. I really appreciate that. :) Yes, Boone is the gay character. And yes, when Shannon said that little line, that was the instance the writers outed Boone. What a shocker, ey? The writers kept teasing us about Tom, but in the end it was one of the cutest guys on the show. Although he's been 'dead' for two years now. Bummer. :)
I love how they outed him. Blink and you'll miss it. That's the way it should be. Don't make a two-month long buzz over it ('Dirt's' clumsy kiss comes to mind), but say it naturally the way you state any fact. Bravo.
And of any of you doubt this was the proof of Boone's sexuality, the writers did reveal in their podcast several days before the broadcast they would be outing LOST's first gay character.
Who would've thought...
Was Boone being gay planned all along because I thought from his Season One flashback and have indeed thought all through the series that he was in love with his stepsister Shannon.
I'm the same guy who first asked for clarification on Boone being gay... You know what? In the first season, there was a scene where Shannon said a very similar line... I don't recall it exactly, but does anyone else remember it? I think it was about Locke.... She said something about "So is Locke your new boyfriend?"
I just assumed it was her being jealous and in a way teasing him about spending so much time with another guy... but I guess if Boone is indeed gay (or I guess bi, since he did sleep with Shannon and was pretty much still in love with her) then all this makes sense....
What's your take on it Justin? Anyone else? ;-)
I remember that now. Yes, she did tease him about Locke, but no one ever paid any attention to that at the time.
As for the season 1 flashback, it's been a while, the last time I saw that episode was about a year ago, but if I recall correctly Boone had always been very protective of Shannon and he loved her very much (this was obvious in the season 2 flashback when he visited her after her father's death.)
Since they were not actually related (his mom and her dad were married) he may have wanted to experience what it's like being with a girl, and who better to do that with that the person he loved very much.
Although I'll have to see that flashback again, just to be sure if there had been any clues to his sexuality at that time or if this is a recent change in course.
hi first time commenting here...i think what shannon said was a joke. she said if you quit flirting with random guys, maybe we could get on the plane. so it was probably a joke...believe me i wish it was true, but...
Well, thank you for the comment. :) And feel free to comment any time.
I don't think anyone would pay any attention to what Shannon said if the producers hadn't announced a week earlier (in their podcast) that they would be introducing a gay character in this episode.
Of course, maybe they only used that line to trick people (that would hardly be a surprise), but if Boone isn't gay, than who is it?
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home