Toss Up: Lost vs Veronica Mars: Finale Edition

Usually when I write, I do a draft during down time at work, but when I pulled out some paper to jot down some thoughts I just sat there for a couple minutes and stared at the paper before I gave up and pulled out the Newsweek to read. Then when I got home, I fired up the computer, opened up Word and stared at the screen for a while. My writer’s block comes down to my inability to wrap my head around last night’s finale of Lost (click to download Live Together, Die Alone, I know I need to see again). And it’s not that it dragged on like last year’s last episode and it wasn’t as sad as having some old dude being crowned karaoke king (for those keeping track at home, if you are older than me, you, by definition, cannot be an idol).

The show instead had the rare ability to be thoroughly entertaining, suck massively, and be mediocre all at the same time. The good involved what was the lone bright spot of the season, Not-Henry Gale. It all started last week when Michael was given the list of people to bring back to The Others. Yet for some reason only Sayid was the only one to realize this was a trap so he devised a plan to turn the tables on Zeke and the boys. Even though they planned ahead, they forgot that The Others are always two steps ahead and ambushed Jack and the crew before they made it to Not-The Other’s Village.

This lead to the best part of the finale as Zeke, Miss Cleo, and Not-Henry bickered because Miss Cleo and Zeke revealed each others name and Not-Henry yelling at Zeke for not having his beard. Although it’s odd with all their thinking ahead, they would carelessly leave the fake beard and theater glue where it could be found. I wonder if that was left there to be found. The list made a little more sense once Hurley was let go as the remaining people were all there the night when the group went after Michael except that Locke was also part of the search party. Maybe since he wanted to go back was why Locke didn’t make the list. So we are left with Jack, Sawyer, and Kate being led back to wherever The Others’ camp in while Hurley has to find his way back to camp even though he was brought there with a sack over his head and Michael got Walt back and a boat to take himself back to civilization. But considering where Desmond ended up, I have a feeling Michael won’t be making it Fiji or Honolulu.

Then there was the mediocre where the show answered two questioned I stopped caring about a while ago and the both ended up being connected. First we learned what happened when the button isn’t pushed, but when since we already saw the counter hit zero once already this season, it ruined the final payoff. And on that note, Desmond let the numbers hit zero and beyond when he confronted his partner and the magnetic charge that followed turned out to be the thing that brought down the plan. What a letdown. In a show where characters coincidentally intertwine without them knowing, the plane turned out to be an accident. It wasn’t Jack’s not so dead dad. It wasn’t Zeke and his band of merry men. It wasn’t part of the Dharma Initiative. It was simply an accident. Yawn. Then there was the bright light and piercing sound, that for some reason didn’t rattle The Others as they were back to business as usual afterwards and don’t even acknowledge it. And for some reason, the hatch door was launched into the air only to almost land on Claire.

As for the bad, that had to do with devoting two hours to a character we have only met once in the season premiere, granted we saw the one meeting in about four episodes, then promptly disappeared. I fully expected to see Desmond to pop up in other people’s flashbacks throughout this season, but we didn’t see or hear from him until last night. The only problem with Desmond is that I stopped caring about him around Christmastime. How do you make someone we don’t really know the focal point of the season finale? Then after investing two hours on the character, he dies, or at least he thought what ever he did was going to kill him and the worst part is after building up that stupid book all night, he didn’t get to read it. Although I have a feeling he will make it out of there because if he dies, that means that Eko and Locke bit the dust too, and I don’t think they would kill off all three. Plus with the last scene, it would be stupid to kill Desmond off now. But then again I thought it was stupid to kill Libby and the token hot chick when they did too. Did anyone else notice that Shannon’s death was conspicuously absent from the recap show before the finale?

We didn’t, as I hoped would happen, find out the identity of “Him” (See Oddsmakers: Lost: Who Is Him?). Even though Not-Henry was clearly higher in the ranks the Miss Cleo and Zeke, since Zeke pretty much blew off Not-Henry when he asked him why he wasn’t wearing the beard, I still think there is someone bigger out there. We even saw someone in the episode that could be added to the list in Penny’s father. He clearly has the resources and the motivation to keep Desmond on a deserted island.

Other people seen in Desmond’s flash back include Libby who gave Desmond a boat to compete in some competition that led him to be on the island. Libby was also wearing an obviously hideous wig that made me wonder if it was significant. Could losing her husband be not the only bad thing to happen to her, could se had also had cancer? All that bad new could have led her to a nut house. Or did she also pick up the numbers from Leonard and had a string of bad luck after getting out? Of course she’s dead now so I really don’t care anymore. Apparently she wasn’t the only person we have seen before in Desmond’s flashback as the guy who recruited Sayid during Desert Storm turned out to be Desmond’s hatch mate. I only know this because it’s in every review I’ve read. Seriously am I only person that didn’t catch that.

My major problem with Desmond’s flashbacks was the scene with Locke. It was show that Desmond was suicidal and his faith was renewed with Locke’s banging on the hatch. Why, when knowing there was a person out there, go out of the hatch and recruit the guy to help him? He knew it was safe to go outside. But instead he stays put and then seems surprised when people come down the hatch. There was some poor planning with that storyline.

In the end, the finale was much like the second season itself, there were some great parts, some bad ones and some filler. Oh, and did you notice Matthew Fox was one of the Brazilian dudes in the artic station? Yeah, neither did I, in fact I thought they were French. Oh well.

As for Veronica Mars, this week’s episode gave us a chance to see Jackie’s first appearance again. Now with most of the finales have come and gone, I highly recommend that you rent season one if you have yet to jump on the Veronica Mars bandwagon.