#episode 815

[hauntingblue]

Pudding: sanji proposed to me

The two people of his polycule: HUH?!

[somehow-a-human]

Moonlight Serenade & Good Omens &... the TV show Lost...?

DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY.

The music of Good Omens is something I have been ACTIVELY avoiding turning my focus on. The risks of hyperfixating and spiraling into it are HIGH. There are so many elements to get lost in, repeating motifs like Dies Irae, tolling bells, character themes... but I digress.

Could I hold out forever? no. and something finally pushed me over the edge. Wait for it..... Lost. Yep. The TV show Lost. WAIT WAIT, don't leave! STAY WITH ME! I promise I don't *think* I'm crazy and I have a point here!

Why Lost? And what does it have to do with Moonlight Serenade and WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH GOOD OMENS?! Well my lovelies continue under the cut with me and keep an open mind...

Okay so... Lost. Yes, the insane 2004 mystery plane crash island adventure drama. It's a wild ride, and a masterpiece and a little bit crazy, but overall pretty damn good. I've been on a rewatch spree and wouldn't you know it... parallels between lost and Good Omens popped up in my brain! I mean they are both intricate mysteries so it makes a tad bit of sense but there was one little detail that *might* be a *clue*, or just an easter egg if anything. I promise you don't need to know anything about Lost to follow this :)

First off, what are some of the recurring themes that Lost the TV show and Good Omens have in common you might ask?

Life & Death

Alternate timelines & Time Travel

Literary Allusions (Catch-22, The Bible, A Tale of Two Cities)

Prophecies & Premonitions

Symbolism of Black & White/ Light & Dark

Yeah okay that tracks, but look there are 121 episodes of Lost and 12 episodes (so far) of Good Omens so there's bound to be some overlap for these two.

You'll be thinking about now, "BUT WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MOONLIGHT SERENADE?!" I'm getting there, shhh, lemme pet your hair gently and keep giving you background information to build it up shhhh...

If you've never seen Lost there is a very good chance you're mighty confused at this moment, so let me reassure you, you don't need to know anything about it to understand the connections I'm going to make. A brief synopsis is: Oceanic flight 815 crashes on an island. The plane crash survivors quickly discover the island is more than it seems to be and holds many secrets and mysteries. A lot of people die, most of them are murdered, it's giving Lord of the Flies if it was in the horror genre. That's honestly all you need to know.

Time Travel & Alternate Timelines

Time travel is cannon in Lost. It's super confusing and I'm not even going to try to explain any of it here. It's honestly just not worth it. If you'd like to try and read about it, the abridged version is here, but I don't think the details are important. Just know it's real and confirmed and exists.

Okay so, *SPOILERS FOR LOST WILL FOLLOW* In Lost season 2, episode 13 "The Long Con" two of the plane crash survivors are trying to find a signal on a radio they've found. While scrubbing they come across a signal playing Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller. One character mentions it must be from somewhere nearby, but the other counters that this type of radio can pick up signals from anywhere in the world. There is a beat and then another character jokingly adds "Or any time. Just kidding, dude."

It's later confirmed that the Lost characters in 2004 are indeed picking up a radio signal from 1940 that is playing Moonlight Serenade, a product of time travel.

Congratulations, you've made it to the point where I'm going to bring Good Omens into the mix. In season 2, episode 4 "The Hitchhiker" we open seeing Aziraphale driving back from Edinburgh late at night/early morning. Uncomfortable with the darkness and silence he asks the Bentley to "play something that's got a bit of swing? I'm in the mood for something modern."

The Bentley obliges the angel, as she always will, and we are shown a shot of the radio specifically lighting up, so we know she's tapped into the radio to play this for Azi, but there is no channel selected.

Compared to Season 2, Episode 3 "I Know Where I'm Going" when we see the radio is playing and does display the channel.

But hold on. Okay maybe it just isn't showing the channel, that's fine, but Aziraphale asked for "modern"? Moonlight Serenade is most certainly not modern. It was recorded in 1939! I'd say in 2023 it's anything but modern, maybe not in Aziraphale's long lived opinion, but certainly in the Bentley's opinion, given she's only a 97 year old car.

I think you can see now what I'm saying here. I think the Bentley picked up a radio signal from 1940, maybe 1941? Episode 4 is of course our 1941 blitz magic show bullet catch flashback extravaganza, so... it makes sense. I know we like to headcanon Crowley and Aziraphale listened to A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square in the bookshop in 1941 after the bullet catch, but what if they listened to Moonlight Serenade on the radio instead?

What does it mean?

A reference to this small moment from Lost could be a nod to the first hint of the canonization of time travel in that series. We know Crowley can control time to some extent and we can see some evidence of time discontinuities and possibly time weirdness in season 2 so is it a hint that timeline funkiness IS happening? Do I want to get into the fact that the main character in The Hitchhiker, the Twilight Zone episode this episode is named after, is actually dead? No I don't, not now anyway.

Or it's just an absolutely lovely little Lost easter egg.

SO! There it is... weird little connection that I couldn't get out of my brain. It just seemed a bit too... ineffable.

As always this is all for fun and all for fans! Don't ask Neil about these things, they're for us to have fun with. And something else that I don't think some people on here understand about meta-analysis; the goal of it is not necessarily to be correct. It can be, if that's your thing. Refuting peoples posts, theories, analysis, and headcanons because you personally don't agree with them and telling them they're wrong and stupid doesn't achieve anything. Meta-analysis is an exercise in critical thinking and creative writing. You could write meta about how Spongebob is a critique of the loss of christian values in modern society and you wouldn't be right or wrong, you'd just certainly be a person who wrote that for sure though. Just, be kind to each other, share ideas, you're allowed to disagree with someone's ideas or have different ones of your own but don't be cruel in saying so, don't call someone stupid, that's just silly.

Love you all, do something kind for yourself today <3

ps. The moment I see Michael Sheen with blonde hair come January I'm gonna bark like a dog, that's all. Thanks.

[jimintomystery]

MST3K's most wanted

I've been organizing my Mystery Science Theater 3000 collection, so I've become preoccupied with the handful of episodes that are not easily available, and the reasons why. In case in anyone else is interested, I thought I'd share what I've learned.

For our purposes we'll be focusing on the ten seasons that aired on cable, from 1989 to 1999. With the post-2017 episodes, it's trivial to purchase them on home video or streaming. And the pre-cable stuff, from KTMA, is widely available as bootleg footage, which is probably about as good as you're ever going to get. But the episodes from the cable era have been notoriously difficult to re-release, and require special attention.

Of the 176 MST3K episodes that aired on cable, 166 have been released on home video, and 145 are available for streaming/download on the Gizmoplex. As someone who's been trying to collect the whole series since the 1990s, I think that's pretty impressive. But there are 40 episodes that have been particularly tricky. Let's take a look, won't you?

Currently available on the Gizmoplex, but never on home video (1):

913 - Quest of the Delta Knights

As I understand it, nobody was sure who owned the rights to this movie, or how to contact them, for years. The situation has only recently been cleared up, perhaps too late for a DVD release.

Currently available on the Gizmoplex, but out of print on home video (8):

203 - Jungle Goddess

317 - Viking Women and the Sea Serpent

319 - War of the Colossal Beast

510 - The Painted Hills

619 - Red Zone Cuba

806 - The Undead

808 - The She-Creature

912 - The Screaming Skull

It looks like all of these went out of print due to being on a set where a different episode's rights expired. Theoretically Shout Factory could re-release any of them in a "Lost and Found" set, but that may not be cost-effective as people move away from collecting physical media.

Currently available on home video and MST3K's official YouTube, but not on the Gizmoplex (1):

615 - Kitten with a Whip (Vol. 25 DVD, 2012)

Kitten is one of the Universal movies that could only be licensed for physical media. And yet, it's the only one I can find on the official YouTube channel. Beats me why that is.

Currently available on home video, but not on the Gizmoplex (16):

401 - Space Travelers (Vol. 32 DVD, 2015)

522 - Teen-Age Crime Wave (Vol. 33 DVD, 2015)

524 - 12 to the Moon (Vol. 35 DVD, 2016)

601 - Girls Town (Vol. 39 DVD, 2017)

605 - Colossus and the Headhunters (Vol. 38 DVD, 2017)

614 - San Francisco International (Vol. 32 DVD, 2015)

704 - The Incredible Melting Man (Vol. 36 DVD, 2016)

801 - Revenge of the Creature (Vol. 25 DVD, 2012)

802 - The Leech Woman (25th Anniversary Edition DVD, 2013)

803 - The Mole People (Vol. 26 DVD, 2013)

804 - The Deadly Mantis (Vol. 27 DVD, 2013)

805 - The Thing That Couldn't Die (Vol. 29 DVD, 2013)

814 - Riding With Death (Vol. 36 DVD, 2016)

815 - Agent for H.A.R.M (Vol. 33 DVD, 2015)

901 - The Projected Man (Vol. 30 DVD, 2014)

1013 - Diabolik (Vol. 39 DVD, 2017)

I was able to find the DVD sets listed above on Shout Factory's website. As far as I know, they'll remain in print for the foreseeable future, but there's no way to know how long that will last.

The general pattern with these episodes is that the movies are owned by major studios that would only license them for physical media. Columbia owns Teen-Age Crime Wave and 12 to the Moon. MGM owns Girls Town and The Incredible Melting Man. Paramount owns Diabolik. But the big player here is Universal, which controls the rights to Space Travelers, San Francisco International, Revenge of the Creature, Leech Woman, Mole People, Deadly Mantis, Thing That Couldn't Die, Riding With Death, Agent for H.A.R.M., and Projected Man.

The odd man out here is Colossus and the Headhunters; I can't find any info on who owns the rights to this film, which may be part of the problem.

The real hard cases, the stickiest of wickets, are below...

Released on home video, but now out of print (5):

212 - Godzilla vs. Megalon (Vol. 10 DVD, 2006)

309 - The Amazing Colossal Man (VHS, 1996)

910 - The Final Sacrifice (Vol. 17 DVD, 2010)

1001 - Soultaker (Vol. 14 DVD, 2009)

1012 - Squirm (Turkey Day Collection DVD, 2014)

Megalon and Colossal Man were both recalled when rights issues came up after they were released. Oops. These were produced by Rhino, back before Shout Factory took over.

The Final Sacrifice is particularly tough to find, even unofficially, because director Tjardus Greidanus is very aggressive about tracking down download links. I always figured someone was similarly possessive of Soultaker, since it's clearly a passion project, but that's purely my speculation.

The Turkey Day DVD set is still available on Amazon at a reasonable price, so Squirm is still relatively accessible for now.

Never released on home video or streaming (9):

201 - Rocketship X-M

213 - Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster

311 - It Conquered the World

416 - Fire Maidens of Outer Space

418 - Attack of the the Eye Creatures

807 - Terror from the Year 5000

809 - I was a Teenage Werewolf

905 - The Deadly Bees

906 - The Space Children

In 2017, Shout released its final (?) MST3K DVD collection, which included Satellite Dishes, a compilation of host segments from episodes that "may never get a legitimate release." This included the nine listed above, as well as The Amazing Colossal Man and Quest for the Delta Knights. Of course, Delta Knights eventually got a digital-only release, which is cause for a glimmer of hope. But the others are probably tougher nuts to crack.

Wade Williams owned the rights to Rocketship X-M and had a particular sentimental attachment to the film. His death in 2023 may make it easier to negotiate with his estate, but I wouldn't count on that being a swift process.

Godzilla vs. Megalon and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster are part of a prestigious franchise, and it's remarkable MST3K got away with riffing on Godzilla movies in the first place. I get the impression that Japanese culture doesn't particularly appreciate the sort of mockery MST3K is known for, so the rights to these two movies may be a long, long shot. Then again I used to think there was no hope of for the Gamera episodes too.

Fire Maidens, Deadly Bees, and Space Children are owned by Olive Films, and currently licensed to Paramount. It's possible a deal can be made later on, but not until the current arrangement expires.

The major bugbear for MST3K fandom is Susan Hart, the widow of American International Pictures co-founder James Nicholson. One way or another the AIP catalog was split up and Hart laid claim to several of their films, including Amazing Colossal Man, It Conquered the World, Eye Creatures, Terror from the Year 5000, and Teenage Werewolf. Hart's price for licensing her movies is very high, and it seems Shout has given up negotiating with her. I suppose the situation could change when she passes away, but I'd feel rather silly hoping for an old woman to die just so I can pay 8 bucks to watch robots laugh at a werewolf movie.

In conclusion, I've already purchased all the movies available on the Gizmoplex (I got most of them in a Kickstarter reward package), and the 31 that aren't available there can be obtained by, ahem, other means. So it's a great time to be an MST3K fan, and I'm still amazed how easy it is to watch the show nowadays.

[ljones41]

"LOST" Retrospect: "Who Ordered the Dharma Initiative Purge?"

Years ago, I had a written an article that speculated on which character from the ABC series, "LOST", was responsible for an incident called "the Dharma Purge". After a few re-watches of the series, I wrote this revision of the ARTICLE.

"LOST" RETROSPECTIVE: "WHO ORDERED THE DHARMA INITIATIVE PURGE?"

Seven years ago, I had written this article about a major incident on the ABC television series, "LOST". This incident happened to focus on the murders or "Purge" of the scientific research organization known as the Dharma Initiative. It happened on December 19, 1992; nearly twelve years before the series began and before the crash of Oceanic Airlines 815 flight.

In the Season Five episode, (5.10) "He's Our You", Oceanic Flight 815 survivor and later, time traveler Sayid Jarrah tried to murder young Ben Linus in 1977. In the following episode, another Oceanic time traveler, Dr. Jack Shephard, refused to treat the badly wounded Ben, who was near death. Eventually, two other time traveling castaways, James "Sawyer" Ford and Kate Austen, had taken Ben to the Others aka the Hostiles aka the Natives, a group of island inhabitants who served as its protectors on the behalf of the main protector Jacob, for treatment via Dr. Juliet Burke's instructions. Within a decade-and-a-half, Ben ended up ousting future billionaire Charles Widmore as leader of the Others.

Ever since the series had first aired, many fans had been uncertain of when Ben's tenure as the Others' leader had began - before or after the Purge. As I had stated earlier, the Purge occurred in December 1992, on the same day as Ben's birthday and during the same month as the Others' rejection of Widmore as their leader. Many fans and television critics had automatically assumed Ben had ordered the Purge. I have heard comments that compared Ben to Adolf Hitler. I have also heard comments that compared Ben’s younger self to a "young Hitler". Many people have claimed that it was Ben who had ordered the deaths of the Dharma Initiative members. However, I have my doubts.

During Seasons Three and Four, Ben had offered contradicting comments on whether or not he had ordered the Dharma Initiative Purge. In (3.23) "Through the Looking Glass", he had claimed responsibility of the Purge to Jack:

"Not so long ago, Jack. I made a decision that took the lives of over forty people in a single day"

Unfortunately, Ben had contradicted this claim in two other episodes. In the Season Three episode, (3.20) "The Man Behind the Curtain", he had said this to Oceanic survivor John Locke, while he displayed the remains of Dharma members at a mass grave:

"This is where I came from, John. These are my people. The Dharma Initiative. They came here seeking harmony, but they couldn't even co-exist with the Island's original inhabitants. And when it became clear that one side had to go, one side had to be purged, I did what I had to do. I was one of the people that was smart enough to make sure that I didn't end up in that ditch. Which makes me considerably smarter than you, John."

Ben never claimed responsibility for ordering the Purge to Locke. He had confessed to participating in the Purge. That same episode made it clear that his participation involved killing his abusive father, Dharma Initiative worker, Roger Linus. In fact, Ben also made the same thing clear in the Season Four episode, (4.11) "Cabin Fever", when he had the following conversation with another Oceanic castaway, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes:

HURLEY: So... This is where you shot Locke and left him for dead, huh? BEN: Yes, Hugo, I was standing right where you are now when I pulled the trigger. Should have realized at the time that it was pointless, but... I really wasn't thinking clearly. [Hurley steps back a little] HURLEY: Is that why you killed all these people, too? BEN: I didn't kill them. HURLEY: Well, if the Others didn't wipe out the Dharma Initiative -- BEN: They did wipe them out, Hugo, but it wasn't my decision. HURLEY: Then whose was it? BEN: Their leader's. HURLEY: But I thought you were their leader. BEN: Not always.

Interesting. He had admitted to trying to kill Locke in "The Man Behind the Curtain". But he denied being the one who had ordered the Purge. Also, Ben had been truthful when he told Hurley that he had not always been the Others' leader. The series had featured three other leaders - the ageless Richard Alpert (who eventually became the future leaders' advisor), Eloise Hawking and Widmore. Although some fans remain convinced that Ben had ordered the Purge, there are a good number of fans who hold Widmore responsible.

Thanks to a flashback in the Season Five episode called (5.12) "Dead Is Dead" - viewers learned that Widmore had definitely been the leader of the Others back in 1988. And in another Season Four episode called (4.09) "The Shape of Things to Come", viewers learned in a flash forward scene set in London that Ben had taken the leadership of the Others away from Widmore:

WIDMORE: I know who you are, boy. What you are. I know that everything you have you took from me. So... Once again I ask you: Why are you here? BEN: I'm here, Charles, to tell you that I'm going to kill your daughter. Penelope, is it? And once she's gone... once she's dead... then you'll understand how I feel. And you'll wish you hadn't changed the rules. [Widmore shifts in his bed.] WIDMORE: You'll never find her. [Ben turns to leave.] WIDMORE: That island's mine, Benjamin. It always was. It will be again.

I found it interesting that Widmore had regarded the island as "his". And there were other aspects of Widmore that I found interesting. The Season Five episode, (5.03) "Jughead", had revealed Widmore as a member of the Others, as far back as 1954 (when he was seventeen years-old). As one of the Others, Widmore (along with Richard and Hawking) had participated in a previous purge - that of U.S. Army personnel, who had brought a hydrogen bomb nicknamed "Jughead" with them to the island. On other occasions, Widmore had this inclination to kill anyone he deemed a threat to the island's secrecy. He killed a fellow Other to prevent the latter from leading Locke, Sawyer and Juliet to Richard's location in 1954. The 1988 flashback from "Dead Is Dead" revealed Ben's refusal to kill Danielle Rousseau and her baby, Alex. Instead, he claimed Alex as his child and threatened Danielle to stay away. This decision had angered Widmore, who had expected Ben to kill both. Why were Danielle and Alex's deaths that important to Widmore? Ironically, Widmore finally got his way regarding Danielle and Alex, thanks to Martin Keamy, the mercenary he had sent to the island to snatch Ben in Season Four.

So, when did Ben Linus replace Charles Widmore as leader of the Others? Before December 19, 1992? Or after? The photograph below from "The Man Behind the Curtain" hints that Ben had remained a worker for the DHARMA Initiative during that period, despite joining the Others sometime in the 1980s:

But had Ben assumed leadership of the Others by then? If not, does that mean Charles Widmore was still leading the Others in December 1992? Both the LOSTPEDIA and the WIKIPEDIA sites claimed that Richard Alpert had led the Others' purge against the Dharma Initiative in 1992. But neither site made it clear who had ordered the Purge. And "Dead Is Dead" never gave a clear date on Widmore's exile.

One would assume my choice for the man responsible for ordering the Purge would be Widmore. And you would be right. There seemed a good deal of evidence making him responsible. He had already participated in an earlier purge back in 1954. Ben had revealed time and again his willingness to use violence - even kill those he deemed a threat to himself or for emotional reasons. But the series had also revealed Widmore's willingness to do the same and especially kill in the name of protecting the island. And that included ordering Ben to kill an emotionally unstable Danielle Rousseau and her infant child. Widmore had also sent the murderous Martin Keamy to the island in late Season Three-Season Four to snatch Ben. He had claimed to Locke in (5.07) "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" that he had done so to give Locke the opportunity to become the Others' new leader. Yet, his words to Locke contradicted his words to Ben in London, when he had claimed the island as "his". This scene had occurred nearly a year or more after the events of Season Four.

There is also the matter of whether Keamy had another agenda - namely to kill any of the Oceanic survivors that remained. In "Cabin Fever" he had demanded Sayid reveal the number of other Oceanic survivors and their location. Fortunately, the latter had refused. In a confrontation with the freighter's Captain Gault, Keamy revealed his intentions to "torch" the island. Some claimed that this had been Keamy's angry reaction to his men being attacked by the Smoke Monster. Yet, in (4.08) "Meet Kevin Johnson", Ben had accused the freighter crew of plans to snatch him and kill the island's inhabitants. The only freighter personnel in the room - spiritualist Miles Straume - had remained unusually silent. In the following episode, (4.09) "The Shape of Things to Come", Miles claimed that Keamy and his men were around to serve as security guards for a captured Ben. But there was the revelation that Widmore had set up a false location for the missing Oceanic 815 plane - with a plane wreck and dead bodies included. This is merely an assumption of mine, but I believe Widmore had sent Keamy to not only snatch Ben, but kill the remaining Oceanic survivors as well to maintain the narrative. I found a good deal of clues that led me to suspect Widmore had ordered the Dharma Purge.

After watching the series more than once, I find it increasingly difficult to hold Ben responsible for the Purge. His actions against the Oceanic castaways had featured spying, kidnapping, harassment, threats and manipulation. He rarely resorted to murder - aside from his attempt to kill Locke and his order to kill Sayid, Jin Kwon and Bernard Nader during the events in the Season Three finale, (3.23) "Through the Looking Glass, Part 2". If Ben was truly capable of ordering the Purge, he would have wiped out (or tried) the Oceanic survivors after getting Jack to remove the tumor from his spine. The man had proved incapable of following Widmore's orders to kill Danielle and Alex.

In the end, viewers know that Charles Widmore had been the leader of the Others in 1988-89, when he had ordered Ben Linus to kill Danielle Rosseau and her infant daughter. Viewers know that Ben had refused. Viewers also know that Richard Alpert had led a group of Others in the Purge against the U.S. Army in 1954. He also led the Others' purge against the Dharma Initiative on December 19, 1992. On that same date, Ben killed his father, Roger Linus, in a similar manner – by toxic gas. And viewers know that Ben had eventually replaced Widmore and exiled the latter off the island. Personally, I suspect Widmore had ordered the Purge against Dharma. But I suspect it was an order he had not issued lightly, given the number of years the Others had been in conflict with the Dharma Initiative.

But I cannot say with any authority that Widmore had ordered the Dharma Initiative Purge. If we only knew exactly when Widmore had been exiled, perhaps this mystery of the Purge will finally be cleared.

[all-blue-recipes]

// Episode 815 //

My handsome man ~ 💖💐

[tenthousandyearsx]

– A depressing story. "It wasn't a depressing story." – A story about looking for me.

– ORV Side Story – Chapter 815: Episode 40 - Terror order (7)

[prapaiwife]

2023 Tumblr Top 10

1. 2,475 notes - Apr 23 2023

The uncut cut scene from episode 4 I can't believe they cut the rest of the leg part off, that's my favorite part lol

2. 2,083 notes - Apr 23 2023

This is the better quality uncut cut scene from episode six, lol

3. 1,882 notes - Apr 23 2023

OK, SO THIS IS THE BETTER QUAILTY OF EPISODE 12 BATHROOM SCENE!!!!!

4. 1,343 notes - Apr 22 2023

All of this in episode 4 the boxset really be holding all THAT😳

5. 1,257 notes - Nov 17 2023

6. 936 notes - Apr 21 2023

They are really something else 😗

7. 815 notes - Jan 20 2023

NAH CAUSE THIS WAS THE MOST STINKIN CUTE ALMOST FIRST TIME EXPERIENCE EVER I CAN'T 🥹😭

8. 810 notes - Mar 4 2023

The perfect lighting...the rain...the skin on skin contact...the sweaty hair...their VOICES😫👌🏽

9. 787 notes - Apr 21 2023

WAITSISIXJWJJXJWJ1!1!#(1919

10. 739 notes - Apr 21 2023

U mean to tell me this was a continuation of episode 6!????! This is why boxsets be just 😙

Created by TumblrTop10

[amphibia-a-day]

Day 815 of Amphibia Screenshots

Episode: Marcy at the Gates

[fellow-travelers-fic-recs]

Fics with winter and holiday themes as the main theme and/or setting.

Be sure to show the authors plenty of love with your comments, kudos and reblogs!

❄️ More fic recs can be found at the fic register, here. Not quite what you're looking for? Tell us what you had in mind, here! -> 💌

Snowed In, Cold Weather & Winter Blues Baby, it's cold outside! Grab yourself a cuppa, curl up by the fire and dive into these cozy winter reads.

❄️ Hot Water Bottle by@carrotcakecrumble | LuxLox [T, 1K] “Hawk?” He calls, the sound rubbery and weak, like a first step into fresh snow.

The latch answers, knocking back on the wood solidly, scraping and hissing. The door yawns half-open, Hawk standing in the hollow of its lamp-lit throat. He doesn’t say anything, he looks wet, almost dripping. A lock of hair collapses into his eye. He doesn’t blink.

Or, Tim goes to Hawk’s apartment in the middle of winter.

❄️ When You Know, You Know by sockka19* [G, 2K] “For me?” He looks at Hawk with the biggest doe brown eyes. He chuckles as Tim begins to plant small kisses all across Hawk’s face. Who would Hawk be to ever deny those beautiful eyes? “Okay fine, tonight.”

And there Hawk stood, staring at the ice skating rink, wondering what the hell he got himself into.

Or, Tim and Hawk go ice skating.

❄️ In Sickness and Health by Kimora_V* [G, 1K] Sets in modern times, Tim gets ill just before Christmas, and Hawk is there to take care of him. As his boyfriend.

❄️ A Joy, Hard Learned by @partialresonance | partialresonance [E, 12K, WIP 4/6] Tim and Hawk get snowed in together.

Later, Tim comes back from the war a changed man.

☃️ Christmas Fluff If you're still in the holiday spirit or just missed them the first time around, here are a few fics to make you wish you were under the mistletoe.

❄️ This Year's For Me and You by @bluebellsinburbank | ConsumingLove (Bluebellstar) [G, 1K, WIP 1/2] It's Christmas 2023, and Hawk has a surprise for Tim.

❄️ It's That Time Of Year (When The World Falls In Love) by @bluebellsinburbank | ConsumingLove (Bluebellstar) [G, 3K] Tim had to admit that he loved this time just as much as he did the sleepy yet energetic celebration of Christmas Day. This brief snippet of time between walking through the door Christmas Eve and curling himself around his slumbering partner, snug and warm, upstairs in their bed.

Or, A Christmas Eve in the Laughlin-Fuller household.

❄️ Cheek to Cheek by Iviviendo* [NR, 1K] A special guest arrives unannounced at the Laughlin house on Christmas Day in 1953. ❄️ Christmas Dreams by @palfriendpatine66 | palfriendpatine66 [E, 3K] Tim dreams of a Christmas spent together with Hawk in New York after their Christmas gift exchange shown in Season 1, Episode 4 "Your Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire"

❄️ The Fairy Tale Of New York by Cozy_coffee* [G, 815] A fill for the comment_fic prompt: any, any, you will get a pleasant surprise.

❄️ 'tis the damn season by @satelarry | satelarry [M, 16K] This year's Christmas celebration isn't like the others because Tim invites his closest friends to celebrate it with him and Hawk.

A lot of unexpected things can happen before that. ❄️ Sure As The Stars Shine Above by @bluebellsinburbank | ConsumingLove (Bluebellstar) [G, 1K] Modern AU. Hawk misses his Skippy.

❄️ I Guess I've Got The Christmas Blues by @jesterlesbian | captainquint [E, 5K] Tim Laughlin stood in front of Hawk, one hand still raised as if to continue banging on the door, his tweed jacked dotted with snowflakes. Water droplets were trapped on his glasses, maybe from melted snow. But with how red-rimmed his eyes were, there might have been teardrops on his glasses as well.

Hawk’s slightly intoxicated reflexes took a moment to spring into action upon seeing Tim. “Skippy,” he grinned, “what, did you miss me that much? I’ll still be here after New Year’s.”

Tim’s face screwed up in a look of righteous fury that Hawk knew meant an argument was coming. And before he could react, Tim was shoving Hawk backwards and into the apartment, slamming the door behind them. “You absolute ass!”

Or, Tim confronts Hawk about his being investigated by the M Unit.

🥂 New Year’s Eve

Crack open the bubbly, find someone to kiss at midnight, or better yet, stay home and catch up on these New Year's Eve fics.

❄️ Now I Know What A Fool I've Been by sockka19* [G, 3K] “One.” They both say at the same time before Tim pulls him in for a death defying kiss. Tim wraps his arm around Hawk's neck to deepen it, while Hawk gladly obliges. They stay in the kiss, neither one wanting the moment to end. Hawk reluctantly broke the kiss apart to say something, but not before he placed another kiss on Tim’s nose. “Happy new year, Skippy.” “Happy new year, Hawk.” Tim couldn’t wait to see what the new year brought him. Or, the New Year's fic I needed because they didn't spend Christmas together. ❄️ Love Light and Tenderness by @bluebellsinburbank | ConsumingLove (Bluebellstar) [G, 1K] Before they can run away together, Hawk has a little surprise for Tim. Part 2 of Bravery

❄️ I Will Not Ask You (Neither Should You) by procr_stination* [G, 2K] "I could have made that my New Year's resolution," Tim told Frankie a few days ago in an apologetic tone. "To meet more people?"

"I'd tell you what your resolution should be, but you'd get defensive," he responded, not even looking in his direction. Yet, Tim knew he wasn't getting out of this conversation before Frankie spoke his mind. "It starts with 'Stay away' and ends with 'from Hawkins Fuller."

"I am not—"

"See? Defensive already."

*Authors: If your tumblr (or other socials) isn’t linked, and you'd like it to be, let me know and I'll be happy to add it. Or, if you are linked, and you'd rather not be, please contact me and I will remove it.

[otogariado]

i think one of my fav things about lost is the reveal that the oceanic 815 wreckage was faked and that apparently it had been staged by a really wealthy man. i thought there was gonna be some supernatural explanation for it, because there was a heavy tense air of "people think we're dead! how could that happen..." but no, a few episodes later they explicitly provide evidence to suggest that it was staged by A Guy. a very powerful guy, but a guy nonetheless.

[aaronsrpgs]

On Finishing Lost in 2023, In an Alternate USA From the One Oceanic Flight 815 Was Headed Toward

I started watching Lost with a very treasured friend on August 6, 2022. She'd seen it multiple times before, including when it was first airing; she'd even gone to Hawaii and experienced a "Lost tour" where she got to see the sets.

I'd seen half an episode while drunk circa 2008 and knew there was a smoke monster, time travel, and a despised final season.

Watching the show with my friend was a great social experience, and the social experience seems like it'll continue as I encounter other people who have seen it. And I liked the show okay! Like, a solid B. I give the same grade to the final season and the final episode. Which brings some angry responses from some people I've talked to.

Spoilers for Lost below.

FLASHBACK People who watched the show as it aired often went to message boards to discuss theories and to conventions to ask questions of the writers and producers of the show. There is a feeling (from people I've talked to who were there) that promises were made: everything will be explained in the end.

And the show's many mysteries, catalogued on forums and fan sites, were NOT explained (the story goes). And so the show was ruined. END FLASHBACK

Before going any further, it might help to watch this video essay, "Annihilation and Decoding Metaphor" by Folding Ideas. Basically, he explains that some stories are metaphorical, and as such, they don't always make literal sense. (I'm doing the essay a disservice explaining it that way; go watch it if you have time.)

Lost works best when viewed this way, as a metaphor, and I was lucky to experience without the paratext of message boards, creator commentaries, and an enforced weekly timeslot across six years.

So what are the themes of Lost, and how does it use its components to explore those themes?

First, Lost is a Robinsonade. Like Robinson Crusoe, it puts a bunch of people on a (seemingly) deserted island to see what they do. Key to most Robinsonades are:

What do we bring with us (personal, material, and cultural)?

What do we leave behind (personal, material, and cultural)?

And from those questions, how do the enforced scarcities (lack of food, water, infrastructure, human company and social structures) keep us from building our idealized form of society away from the world? And how do our internalized notions of what society should be keep from enjoying a potential Eden?

Before it gets tied in to any metaplot about the history of the island and the other people on it, Lost is a cast of people who are deeply traumatized, usually by fathers, wealth, and a mix of the two.

John Locke is directly traumatized by his father, who is responsible for him being in a wheelchair. Jack is trying to please his hyper-competent, also-alcoholic father who is now dead, making him impossible to please. Kate's stepfather is abusive, and her real father is gone. Sun's father is a wealthy businessman/gangster who also holds sway over Jin (who has the only nice dad). Hugo's dad disappeared and only comes back when Hugo wins the lottery decades later. Desmond is in love with a woman whose dad thinks he isn't good enough. Charlie and his brother get too famous too fast in a band inspired by their patriarchal heritage. Michael is himself a dad, and often a bad one (an example of the show's ongoing bad portrayal of people of color). Boone and Shannon are part of a fucked up family. Claire's dad is missing, as is the father of the baby she carries. Woof!

(Sayid is the only one seemingly free of hangups about wealth and dads. This often frees him from the rest of the group's hangups, letting him solve problems that no one else could. He is instead traumatized by war and his role as a torturer; no one gets off scot free in a soap opera.)

And while the show initially seems interested in some of the material scarcities of living on an island (food, medicine, water), all of this is ameliorated by the start of season two, with mysterious shipments of food and a hatch full of living supplies. Lost is clearly more interested in the personal and cultural hangups of a Robinsinade, only occasionally using material scarcity to heighten those personal issues. This isn't a show about creating new foodways for a post-capitalist world. It's about fucked up people who may or may not want to become less fucked up.

So let's talk about that! Lost's island is magic. It heals the sick (John Locke and Rose prime among them), giving them another chance at life. It's also unstuck in space and time, and there are forces at work that keep people from leaving. So even if you don't want another chance at life, you're FORCED to try. You can't get home, back to the systems you're used to, so you either have to try something new or constantly work against the people who are building something on the island.

The people who have the hardest time with this are Sawyer and Jack. Sawyer, despite seeming like a rebel, is entrenched in his life as a con man, a life he initially pursued for personal vengeance. But now he's done it so long, he doesn't know how to do anything else. And Jack has spent so long trying to please his doctor father by becoming a perfect doctor himself, through constant discipline and eschewing personal relations, that he can't do anything else on the island; he seizes control and tries to be perfect at everything.

But the island is unrelenting at its insistence that you try again to become a better person. There is something at its core ("negatively charged exotic matter") that produces all these strange effects. A group of people, the Others, have been on the island guarding for thousands of years at the instruction of Jacob, who inherited guardianship from a strange and violent woman. He follows the tradition she sat down without question. She's kind of a dad in that way.

So here are a bunch of people fucked up by capitalism and the patriarchy. John Locke had offered his trust over and over back in the old world, and he always came out worse for wear (betrayed, eviscerated, paralyzed), but he is resilient enough to keep trusting. He wants everyone to live a beautiful life on the island. (He gets betrayed and killed for his efforts. More on that later.)

People being people, though, they continue to fuck up their new chances at life. They steal, murder, and betray. They break promises. That's one constant in Lost: whenever anyone takes a moral stand, they inevitably change their mind. When two sides are formed in opposition, the boundaries are always permeable, and people go back and forth. The characters are weirdly realistic that way, and they resist becoming metaphors; they're slippery.

Even the Others, promised to protect the magic and sanctity of the island, fuck up. Benjamin Linus, the man in charge (and son of a bad dad, and bad dad in his own right) is a weird hybrid of islander (believer in the power of the island) and outsider (wanting to harness the island). Even with everyone changing their minds constantly, he manages to switch sides the most. And the victim of this is John Locke, who decided to trust Ben just like he tried to trust everyone else.

John Locke was the person who most embodied the possibilities of Robinsonade, who had a new chance at life and wanted to give that gift to everyone else. But Benjamin Linus was too tainted by scarcity: if someone else got what the island promised, that meant he couldn't have it. He split the force that was so huge as to be unsplittable.

So when everyone's ruining the possibilities of a Robinsinade, insisting on returning to their own lives or bringing the worst parts of the world to the island, the island gives them another chance. It sends people back in time. It gives them more understanding of its possible powers. It shows them life back home so that they'll be ready to try the island again.

And then Lost shows us its foundation. It shows us Jacob and his unnamed brother, indoctrinated by a murdering woman who is as unwilling to share the island's power as Ben is. The unnamed brother seems clever, and he seems ready to learn how to share the island's power to free people from scarcity and tradition. And the murdering mother seems to see him as an end to her own trauma. But Jacob, who lacks creativity, gets jealous and throws the nameless brother into the negatively charged exotic matter (which we never see; we only see light).

Lostopedia says the brother becomes the smoke monster, an evil force that longs to escape the island, which Jacob insists will bring evil to the world. But it seems more like Jacob released the smoke monster or created it by committing an evil act, insisting that the island's power can't be shared, and using it to limit life instead of freeing it. The nameless brother dies. The smoke monster persists. This smoke monster goes on to influence Ben, who feels the same way about the island's power.

People are so fucked up, right?

And eventually, aggressively confident Jack becomes the new Jacob. He inherits the traditions that Jacob hands down and tries to do the same things Jacob does. But in the end, perhaps influenced by all the chances he's had at remaking his life alongside influences from John Locke and his other fellow castaways, he sacrifices himself to save the island, and he names Hurley as his successor.

At this point, Hurley is the only non-white member of the main cast who hasn't died. He's similar to John Locke in that he's trusting of people and sees the good in them, but he also had his life literally destroyed by wealth and fame. And now he's in charge of the island's power.

(Jack had to sacrifice himself because the island's power/light was uncorked by Desmond, who thought he would be "sent somewhere else" by doing so. Desmond, you shouldn't be somewhere else! You should be on the island building a new life! You abused the island's power. But like everyone else, you get another chance.)

The final season, instead of flashing back like most of the show, flashed "sideways." At first, it seemed like a parallel universe where everyone's life was different, less traumatic, from the start. In the finale, this is revealed to be a kind of purgatory where everyone went after they died. Another chance to get it right. Things are better than the main plot of the show, but things are still bad! But they get to find each other here without the trauma of crashing on an island, without going to war with the Others, and in doing so, they gain the benefit of those situations without causing those problems. And when they find each other, they get to move on into more yellow light. Maybe to a more permanent resting place, but probably to another iteration, where they try again with a bit more experience, a bit more help, and a lot less taint of capitalism and bad dads.

Some other random thoughts: we get to see Hurley in charge of the island in the epilogue, and he's not following the same rules. He isn't out preaching the power of the island, but people are a bit more free to come and go. Folks can get acclimated to the possibility of freedom, little vaccine boosters of freedom and magic against the ongoing diseases of society.

And what about the unsolved mysteries? The numbers?! I don't know. If we believe a series of numbers is important, we make note of them everywhere. We assign meaning to their repetition. But there are only ten numbers. Of course we see them everywhere. And each time we see them, we bring new meaning to them. Another chance to see ourselves. Another chance to get it right.

Or at least that's the meaning I brought to the show in 2023, when freedom from capitalism and bad dads feels both impossible and closer than it ever was.

[calisources]

PEYTON LIST AS TORY NICHOLS IN NETFLIX'S COBRA KAI SEASON FOUR.

base icons are 230x130 in order to be use for any type of icon template.

the icons are already sharpened, no other psd or action has been taken.

base icons of peyton in all of her appearances in season FOUR of cobra kai.

remember to reblog if you save/use. these base icons are free. consider donating through paypal or buy me a coffee through ko-fi. it truly helps me a lot.

Peyton List (b. 1998) is of German, English, Scottish, 1/32 Danish, distant Welsh, remote French ancestry.

EPISODE 1 - 102 ICONS EPISODE 2 - 114 ICONS EPISODE 3 - 28 ICONS EPISODE 4 - 120 ICONS EPISODE 5 - 32 ICONS EPISODE 6 - 90 ICONS EPISODE 7 - 36 ICONS EPISODE 8 - 129 ICONS EPISODE 9 - 52 ICONS EPISODE 10 - 112 ICONS

TOTAL ICON COUNT: 815 ICONS OTHER BASE ICONS : S5.

[claudia1829things]

"LOST" Retrospect: Issues with (6.12) "Everybody Loves Hugo"

"LOST" RETROSPECT: ISSUES WITH (6.12) "EVERYBODY LOVES HUGO" I just finished a re-watch of the "LOST" Season Six episode, (6.12) "Everybody Loves Hugh". Needless to say . . . I found myself feeling pissed.

There were a few aspects of "Everybody Loves Hugo" that left me scratching my head or feeling slightly annoyed. One, the episode had Jack Shephard claiming responsibility for Juliet Burke’s death. As I had explained in another article, I do not accept this. I believe three people were mainly responsible - Juliet herself, Sayid Jarrah (because he had failed to ensure that the bomb would automatically go off) and especially DHARMA scientist Dr. Stuart Radzinsky. Mind you, I like Season Six. But one of my main frustrations was this narrative that Jack was responsible for Juliet’s death. James "Sawyer" Ford had initially accused Jack. Yet, fans had failed to pay attention to what really happened in the last few Season Five episodes. Come to think of it, so did the Season Six writers and showrunners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. No one one had seemed to realize that Sawyer had wrongly accused Jack, because he had needed a scapegoat for his pain. Another aspect of "Everybody Loves Hugo" was Hugo "Hurley" Reyes' decision to use the dynamite from the stranded Black Rock slave ship and destroy the Ajira 316 plane on Hydra Island. Why? To prevent the show's main antagonist, the Man in Black, from leaving the island and endangering the world. Fortunately, the ghost of the late Oceanic survivor Michael Dawson managed to convince Hurley to drop this plan, claiming this act would cause the deaths of many on the island. Unfortunately, former members of the Others - Richard Alpert and Ben Linus, along with Miles Straume and Ilana Verdansky had all insisted upon going ahead with Hurley's original plan. And in the process, Illana accidentally killed herself by mishandling the dynamite. However, instead of using dynamite to destroy the Ajira plane, Hurley decided to lead other Losties - including Jack Shephard and Sun Kwon - to the Man in Black or "fake Locke". Why? Thirteen years have passed since this episode first aired. And to this day, I have no idea why Hurley had made this decision. The episodes writers, along with Lindelof and Cuse have never explained this decision. Or have they? Another aspect of this episode that annoyed me was this second attempt to build up Hurley’s potential romance with the late Oceanic survivor, Libby Smith. How can I put this? I had failed to buy their Season Two romance before Michael had killed her and Ana-Lucia Cortez in (2.20) "Two for the Road". After watching their interactions in this episode's flash forwards, I still cannot see the magic between the pair. What can I say? Jorge Garcia and Cynthia Watros had lacked any screen chemistry whatsoever. Garcia had better chemistry with an actress Marguerite Moreau, who had portrayed Starla, a young woman Hurley had been interested in before leaving Los Angeles in 2004. Also, Hurley and Libby's "romance" barely had a chance to start before her death. I simply could never buy it. But the one incident that really pissed me off in "Everybody Loves Hugo". As I had pointed out earlier, Michael's ghost appeared before Hurley to prevent him from continuing with the plan to blow up the Ajira plan in order to prevent the Man in Black from escaping the island. Michael also informed Hurley that he was a Whisperer - one of the island's ghosts, incapable of moving on. In Michael's case, he was incapable of moving on, because of his killing of Libby and Ana-Lucia. What really annoyed me was Michael’s fate, thanks to the series' showrunners. Why did Michael turn out to be the only one of the Oceanic 815 passengers who became a ghost on that damn island? Why him? Because he had killed Ana-Lucia and Libby? Michael was not the only Oceanic castaway who had committed murder or attempted murder. Nor was he the only castaway who had wronged another castaway. For example: *John Locke had committed a series of acts to prevent his fellow castaways from leaving the island - knocking out Sayid in order to prevent the latter from using a transmitter to get help; blowing up the Others' submarine and most importantly, killing Naomi Dorrit by throwing a machete into her back in order to prevent her from contacting her fellow passengers aboard the Kahuna freighter. Locke had also lied about the circumstances around the doomed Boone Carlyle's injuries, leading Jack to utilize the wrong treatment. *Kate Austen had murdered her biological father, Wayne Jensen, in cold blood after discovering that he was her real father. Kate had claimed she killed him to protect her mother from his abusive behavior and many fans still believe her to this day. But Kate had admitted in the Season Two episode, (2.09) "What Kate Did" that she had murdered him because she could not stand the idea of being related to him. She was having an identity crisis. She had planned a bank robbery that endangered the lives of some people in order to obtain a toy that once belonged to her first love. Kate had BETRAYED Claire Littleon and the Littleton family by pretending to be Aaron Littleton’s mother for selfish reasons. She kept Aaron from his grandmother Carole Littleton for nearly three years. Kate was a child KIDNAPPER. Other castaways who had escaped from the island in the Season Four finale - Jack, Hurley, Sun, Sayid, Frank Lapidus and Desmond Hume had either supported her lies or kept silent. *Jack had tried to murder Locke in the Season Four premiere. He was pissed at the latter for killing Naomi and possibly sabotaging their chances of getting off the island. He had never apologized for the murder attempt. Jack had also supported Sayid's torture of Sawyer in the Season One episode, (1.08) "Confidence Man". Both had erroneously believed that Sawyer had stolen Shannon Rutherford's inhaler without any real evidence to back them. For me, Jack's worst act was supporting Kate's lie about being Aaron Littleton's mother. During the three years off island, he had flipped flopped between keeping his distance from her out of guilt and supporting her lie. But Jack never really made a strong stance on the issue. I take that back. He did. In the end, he tried to help Kate keep Aaron and ensure she would not pay any legal price for the lie. *Sayid Jarrah had murdered a fellow Iraqi soldier in order to help the woman he had recently fallen in love with, Nadia Jazeem, escape from prison and possible execution. He had tortured Sawyer for Shannon's inhalers. But his real reason for torturing Sawyer was that he believed the latter was responsible for knocking him out and destroying the plane's transmitter. He tried to kill Ana-Lucia, who had accidently killed Shannon, believing the latter was an Other. While questioning a captured Ben in (2.14) "One of Them", he nearly killed the latter. Following Nadia's death in Los Angeles, Sayid had agreed to help Ben kill of many of Charles Widmore's men, because he believed the latter was responsible for Nadia's death. Many claimed Ben had manipulated Sayid into becoming his hitman, but Sayid was eager to do so anyway. While in 1977, Sayid tried to murder the twelve-to-thirteen-year-old Ben in order to change history. *Shannon Rutherford tried to murder John Locke for his lies regarding her stepbrother Boone Carlyle’s injuries in late Season One. She had never apologized for her murder attempt. Locke had initially apologized for lying about Boone’s injuries. However, he changed his mind and claimed that the island had demanded Boone’s death as a sacrifice . . . as if that was an excuse. *James "Sawyer" Ford had murdered three people in the space of three months, due to his penchant for resorting to violence to satisfy his anger. He murdered Frank Duckett because he thought the latter was the con man who had cheated his parents out of their money. When he finally met the actual con man, Anthony Cooper (who was Locke’s dad) on the island, Sawyer strangled him to death. Cooper was never really responsible for his parents’ deaths. Sawyer’s father had murdered his mother for her adultery and committed suicide rather than deal with rebuilding his life. Sawyer had murdered one of the Others, Tom Friendly in the Season Three finale, (3.23) "Through the Looking Glass, Part II", claiming he did it in retaliation for Walt Lloyd's kidnapping. But Sawyer had stopped caring about Walt by early Season Two. His real reason for murdering Tom was in retaliation for getting shot on Michael's raft, when the Others took Walt. But Tom had never shot Saywer. One of the Others with Tom had beat Sawyer to the draw and shot the latter in the shoulder, when Sawyer reached for his gun. However, Sawyer solely blamed Tom for what happened on the raft . . . even after he had learned that Ben Linus was Tom’s leader and had ordered Walt Lloyd’s kidnapping. Other castaways and island occupants like Charlie Pace, Ben Linus, Juliet Burke and Ana-Lucia had committed crimes or attempted to commit crimes. Yet, Michael was the only one fated to become a Whisperer on the island because "he could not move on". He could not forgive himself for his actions. Many other major characters had no problems with forgiving themselves or avoiding any kind of remorse. Yet, Michael was the only major character to suffer, despite his remorse. What a fucking joke! I suspect that racism was the real reason why Michael became doomed to be a ghost on that island. I believe that racism had negatively affected the series fans' attitude toward Michael. After learning about Maureen Ryan's book, "Burn It Down: Power, Complicity and a Call For Change in Hollywood", I wonder if Lindelof and Cuse had planned this for Michael after Season Two. Even to this day, many fans - including a lot of YOU TUBE influencers - made excuse after excuse for the crimes of characters like Sawyer and Kate. None of them have ever even bothered to discuss the crimes of the show's other characters - including Jack, Locke and Sayid. But many fans were not only quick to condemn Michael for his crimes in late Season Two, but also condemn him for not being a "perfect father" to Walt. I found the latter condemnation ridiculous, considering that Michael had very little experience as a father around the time of Oceanic 815’s crash. Like many other characters on "LOST", Michael Dawson was very complicated. And I suspect that was a big problem for a lot of the show's fans. Michael was never comic relief like Hurley. Nor was he a bad ass like Mr. Eko or Sayid. He was a complex, ordinary man with his own set of problems. Nor did he automatically turn to Jack or Locke to lead him. He certainly did not turn to them to help him rescue Walt from the Others. Considering that the Oceanic survivors never made any real effort to help him find Walt, except for one irrelevant move by Jack in (2.19) "S.O.S.", I am not surprised. In the end, Michael’s real crime was that he had failed to live up the fans’ expectations on what a non-white male character (especially an African-American) should have been. This disappointment of Michael not adhering to the expected trope of a non-white male character may have led to many fans disliking him. Either Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse had dumped this shitty fate on Michael Dawson in "Everybody Loves Hugo" in attempt to kiss the fandom's collective asses. Or they had allowed their own feelings about the character, actor Harold Perrineau or any alleged racism on their parts to do so.

[ljones41]

Top Favorite Episodes of "LOST" (2004-2010)

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from the award-winning ABC hit science-fiction series, "LOST". The series created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams, and Damon Lindelof:

TOP FAVORITE EPISODES OF "LOST" (2004-2010)

1. (2.07) "The Other 48 Days" - This episode depicted the first 48 days on the island for the Oceanic 815 Tail Section survivors and their travails with the island's inhabitants, the Others.

2. (4.12-4.14) "There's No Place Like Home" - In the season finale, the Oceanic 815 castaways deal with deal with mercenaries who had been pretending to rescue them. Later, five of the survivors and a baby, dubbed the Oceanic Six, find themselves closer to rescue after leaving the island.

3a. (5.06) "316" - Flashbacks reveal how the Oceanic Six survivors and former Others leader Ben Linus ended up back on the island after nearly three years. (TIE)

3b. (5.08) "LaFleur" - Now led by James "Sawyer" Ford following John Locke's departure the island, the remaining time traveling survivors find themselves in the 1970s, where they become members of the Dharma Initiative. (TIE)

4. "Exposé" (3.14) - Oceanic castaway Hugo "Hurley" Reyes begins to suspect that Sawyer may be involved in an island mystery surrounding two fellow survivors, Nikki Fernandez and Paolo.

5. (6.14) "The Candidate" - With Dr. Jack Shephard and Sayid Jarrah's help, the fake Locke aka the Man in Black rescues his brother Jacob's candidates from Charles Widmore's compound on Hydra Island. But the plans for leaving the island are forced to change. In the Flash Sideways Los Angeles, Jack tries to convince Locke to try an experimental surgery for his paralysis.

6. (1.11) "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" - Jack leads an expedition to find two castaways that had been kidnapped in the previous episode. The episode's flashbacks reveal the events that led to Jack being responsible for his father's dismissal from the hospital they worked at.

7. (4.09) "The Shape of Things to Come" - A team of mercenaries from the recently arrived freighter, the S.S. Kahana, attacks the group at the abandoned Others camp looking for the Others' former leader, Ben Linus; with his adoptive daughter Alex as a hostage. Meanwhile, the doctor from the Kahana washes ashore at the Oceanic beach camp, and Kahana passenger Dr. Daniel Faraday provides some distressing news to Jack.

8. (1.17) ". . . In Translation" - This episode featured Jin Kwon's backstory in flashbacks and the further disintegration of his marriage, when he discovers that his wife Sun Kwon had learned English behind his back.

9. (2.11) "The Hunting Party" - Michael Dawson leaves the Oceanic camp to search for his kidnapped son, Walt Lloyd. Jack, Locke and Sawyer pursue him, in order to prevent him from being taken by the Others. Flashbacks reveal the last days of Jack's marriage.

10. (3.22-3.23) "Through the Looking Glass" - Jack and the Oceanic survivors wait for fellow castaway Charlie Pace to turn off The Others' signal-jamming device, so they can contact a mysterious ship near the island. Meanwhile, other Oceanic castaways end up captured by the Others when the latter invade their camp. Flash scenes reveal a despondent Jack in the U.S.

[sanjilover4815]

My Personal Thoughts About a Mostly Forgotten 13-Year-Old Show

Ok so LOST, right?

I've spent the past 3 or so months watching the entire series for the first time, and now, a week or so after I watched the finale, I'm here to give my comprehensive thoughts on the entire show. (Spoilers- It's one of my all-time favorite pieces of media).

Ultimately, I ask why I'm so passionate about LOST. In many respects, I don't particularly feel like it's a great piece of media. The story itself, while interesting, can be extremely sloppy, tons of stuff gets rushed explanations or no explanations at all, and there are roughly three episodes per season (usually more) that I just flat-out cannot stand. So why, you may ask, is it one of my favorite things to ever grace the earth? Why do I cherish it like it's a perfect work of art? What exactly makes me cry when I think about the ending for too long?

Well, ultimately, LOST's themes and characters resonated extremely strongly with me personally. The story itself is a complete trash-fire mess for the most part, but it's held together by its absolutely fantastic cast of characters and the overall core theme of the show. Ultimately, LOST is a show about life, death, and everything in between. It's a journey more than it is an outright destination. I love the ending of the show, it's my favorite episode, probably, but it isn't the point of LOST. It never was the point. The point was enjoying spending time with these characters, seeing them slowly grow as people and overcome their personal insecurities. The Island, in turn, was a vessel for this. Jack's journey from being a pessimistic man of science to an optimistic man of faith is satisfying to watch because I cared about his character and wanted to watch him overcome his flaws.

To this extent, each character in LOST learns to overcome their problems and live their lives as they see fit. That, right there, is the core theme of LOST that resonated so strongly with me. The idea that your past does not define you as a person, and that you can overcome your sins and rise to be a truly wonderful person in the present and in the future. Kate and Sawyer, two of my favorite characters, are both murderers, yet they are treated roughly the same as anyone else in terms of their past. Even when the other characters learn of their wrongdoings, they're still accepted as the people they are NOW, not the people they were when they boarded 815.

Every time I think about the central ideas of LOST, my mind always comes to Greatest Hits. Personally, I think it's one of the strongest episodes of the entire show and it's the only episode aside from the last one that made me sob like a baby. Watching Charlie finally accept his incoming death as he sails out towards the Looking Glass would've been powerful enough, but it's treated as a celebration of life, not a mourning of death. Charlie is sailing to the Looking Glass with the knowledge that he is going to die. Despite Charlie being a flawed person, someone who was struggling with drug addiction, withdrawal, and aggressive tendencies in Season 2, the episode never once talks about any of that. The audience is finally seeing a Charlie that is free of his past, able to spread his wings and fly. Aside from that, aspects of his addiction are only scarecly shown in the episode, instead choosing to focus on how he actually lived his life, and his life's "Greatest Hits", as it were.

Also the scene with the ring personally obliterates me every time I think about it. Along with that, the words "The Night I Met You" are seared into the depths of my brain forever.

So, this brings me to The End. To the general public who was primarily watching for the answers to the big mysteries, sure, it was underwhelming. To someone like me, who was intentionally examining the themes of this show, it was the single most satisfying conclusion the show could've pulled. The final scene in the Church is, in essence, what LOST was really about the entire time. Everybody dies sometime, but the most important thing in life is the time you spend with each other. That's really all there is to it. It's a simple message, sure, but an exceptionally powerful one.

This has been my thoughts on a 13 year old show that has quickly become one of my favorite pieces of media ever. I'm already looking forward to wrapping up in a blanket next winter and watching it all over again.

[tenthousandyearsx]

Still writing a story for just one reader.

– ORV Side Story – Chapter 815: Episode 40 - Terror order (8)