Monday, April 13, 2009

Home Sweet Home - 5.12"

This week on "Legend Of The Seeker", Charles Widmore rides into camp on horseback looking very medieval. I like that look for Charles, it looks as good on him as it did once on Richard, but I wonder where Richard's medieval shirt and long hair went, he seems to have remained in his modern purple shirt and short hair for some time now, even though when we first saw him with Bennie he was sporting the long hair and embroidered shirt. Does it mean anything?

Charles' lesson to Ben about insider anarchy was actually a huge part of the hippie "revolution" back in the 60s-70s. Overthrowing from within was the message of the "New Left", as illustrated in Abby Hoffman's S.D.S. propaganda publication "Steal This Book". It's also woven into the "V For Vendetta" story. As Koreambear mentioned on EyeMSick, I also wonder if Amy was one of these double-agent plants in DI-ville, which could be how Ethan became an Other so young. Or was it just a case of an angry young man growing into an angry older man?

It's annoying when Locke gets so smug when things are going easy for him. His hubris might be for a different reason this time around, since he's Zombie John now after all, but we'll see if he turns into a puddle again when the going gets tough. I'm getting very confused about how Ben says that he does and doesn't know what was going to happen with Locke coming alive. But I'm beginning to wonder if he uses the ploy of innocence that the Emperor Claudius used in ancient Rome ("I, Claudius" by Robert Graves) i.e., playing up your disabilities on the dumb side to make people think that you're less of a threat than you really are. Otherwise I don't see the gain in letting Sun think that he had no idea that John would come back to life. The way that Ben turns people against each other is also a form of insider anarchy. But to me the best line of the night was Ben saying, "Well, I just didn't have time to talk you back into hanging yourself!" P.S....is that a stuffed Hurleybird in Ben's office? :-D

All the temple scenes in this episode were very satisfying to me, I've been looking forward to it for a long time. And our intrepid Bendiana Jones dives into scouting out the lower chambers looking for his judgement. The psychological implications of Ben needing to come back to be judged for letting Alex die was reflected in the look on his face the moment she was killed. The encounter between Ben and Smokey-Alex was incredible TV viewing. ::coughEMMY!cough:: I'm guessing that Alex wasn't supposed to die, hence, why Ben was judged for it. Luckily, he truly was sorry for his mistake, unlike Eko, and Smokey grants reprieve. BTW, look closely at the temple pics above and below...both show Smokey coming from the stepped grate. Let's study the rest of the hieroglyphics to see what else can be interpreted literally!

One question about Smokey though: why can he slither through the grate holes, but not through the trunks and roots of the banyan trees to get at people? Okay, two questions: what does draining a sinkhole have to do with summoning Smokey? Please explain soon, Damelton!

I also found the judgement scene to be extremely satisfying as well. Up to now we've only seen this happening from the outside as onlookers, squinting at the images flashing around the judged person in the jungle. Now we get to see it from the inside, as the defendant being judged, and that was a very dramatic effect.

It was interesting how Widmore predicted Ben's eventual banishment. It could have been just a macho version of a parting shot, but Wid seemed to have a bead on Ben's personality from the beginning, illustrated in their continual clashes over protocol, etc.

I was very happy that Ben didn't shoot any members of Our Mutual Family! Let's hear it for bulletproof groceries, and the power of mothers and children on Ben's psyche. Then, Daddy to the rescue!

I really don't like Ilana (as a person, not a character), and I can't say that I'm sorry that we probably won't be seeing Caesar anymore. Because, dead is dead, right? Hmph, who put them in charge?! But for now I'm guessing that Ilana is most likely a part of Widmore's second-wave assault and that mega-trunk is filled with their artillery. But would the Others and the DI both have used riddles? Or had Radzinsky gone over to the Dark Side by the time he was stuck with Kelvin in his beloved Swan? That would be the kind of twist that TPTB would throw at us, but we'll have to wait and see as usual. And by the way, was that Ben's desk that Caesar pulled the hidden sawed-off shotgun out from under?! Not so corporate John, and you're still not seeing more than what's only before yours eyes.

9 comments:

lost2010 said...

So, you don't think Widmore sent Dharma?

Capcom said...

What do you mean, that Widmore hired Kelvin? Or that he sent the "reconstituted" Dharma?

Greg Tramel said...

i think we have never seen amy in a DI jumpsuit,correct me if i'm wrong, i was thinking she like an Others liason or something and the Others have a DI liason in their midts, maybe Old Ham

anyway, i'm ready for Jack and Kate to be kicked out of the DI and sent to live with the Others, i'd like to see an Others story with flashbacks/forwards on how long they have been on the island and why

Capcom said...

Oh yes, that would be great, especially a Richard flashback that wasn't just someone else's FB that he happens to be in. Likewise with Wid and Ellie, aka Mrs.H.

It would be weird if Amy setup the picnic as a way for the Others to "get" Paul for recruit as an Other. Her resistance seems flaky in the scene. And she could have just taken his necklace for sentimental reasons of course, but then it seems as if TPTB made it an ankh for a reason. Something's not quite right with her, red-herring or otherwise. :-o

lost2010 said...

I guess I thought that maybe that's how Widmore broke the rules. . .he went off-island and helped this group come to the island to exploit it. . .then he established this truce with them to hide it from his own people that he's working with them.

I think Widmore is worse than Ben ever thought about being somehow. . .but I'm probably wrong.

Capcom said...

Hmm, I like that idea. :-D

With Widmore being such a natural born hothead, it's conceivable that he might also be a maverick with goals of his own, who could do such a thing.

Greg Tramel said...

i think ben was underneath the temple instead of in the actual temple (which sounds like it is above ground or at least part of it) that he told the Others to flee to, i got the vibe he had never been in the room underneath before

but are the Others still in the temple? i know it is suppoed to be 3 years later after the keamy incident but is it 3 years "real world" or 3 years "island time"

Greg Tramel said...

yes, i think caesar got the shotgun from ben's corporate desk

Capcom said...

I think so too, about Ben being under the real temple, since he fell thru the floor. For some reason it reminded me of the basement of the Alamo where PeeWee's bike was supposed to be. :-B

Tx. I didn't pay enough attention to the office that Caesar was in first time around, to know if it matched Ben's office. Heheh, I bet Ben was PO'd that he took his hidden emergency blaster.