Lost 6.12. Everybody Loves Hugo

[selenak]

Aka the episode with the evidently true title. Because if you don't love Hurley, Lost viewer, you have no soul.



Okay, so it probably says a lot about my feelings about the characters that Smokey pushing Desmond into a well got a shrug, but Desmond hitting Alt!Locke with a car got a scream. Seriously, though. Des is cute, but I don't love him, and also, he has a pretty good life in both timelines, years of button pushing notwithstanding. Whereas my beloved John Locke had a horrible life and a horrible death in one timeline, and I'm sort of invested in him being a happy high school teacher at peace with himself and becoming BFF with Dr. Benjamin Linus in the other. Baaaaad Desmond. I'm not feeling bad about your stint in a well at all, especially since the show just went to great trouble to demonstrate you're indestructible.

Seriously, though. What's going on, Alt!Desmond? Who is not Alt but the one and only Desmond, given that the Hurley and Libby main plot went further in demonstrating these people are the same ones we've been watching all along, just with different memories. (Which of course begs the question as to how come the people who died, like Libby, Charlotte or Locke himself, are alive again.) Clearly, Happily Ever After left him with extra knowledge, but what will killing John Locke accomplish? This Locke is not the Smoke Monster. If we're dealing with a time travelling thing, i.e. Desmond thinks that if he kills Locke in the Rebootverse timeline before Stuff Happens, then Smokey is out of a body to inhabit in the Primeverse, well, I think Sayid shooting young Ben should have proven this line of thinking has no good results for anyone involved.

Otoh, I suppose it's possible Desmond didn't want to kill Locke but provide him with a near-death experience. Considering Alt!Locke already/still is with the woman and the man he loves, and doesn't need to be persuaded to find anyone, the other thing to jolt his memories would be a near death experience. Still, why can't Locke and I enjoy our happy canon High School AUs a while longer, Desmond? WHY? I do hope the water in that well is very cold, brother.

Incidentally, I hope Smokey pushing Desmond in the well has a story purpose other than re-establishing Smokey's supervillain credentials; presumably there is a connection between Desmond's immunity to radiation and Smokey's remark about the well as a focal point of crazy electric magnetism.

Young boy - whom Desmond could also see, as opposed to Richard: previously I thought Future!Aaron or Past!Jacob but now I had a moment of wondering whether he isn't Past!Man in Black, i.e. Smokey before he became the Smoke Monster OR Titus Welliver.

In other news: I do love Hurley, which is no news, and his story with Libby in the Rebootverse was very touching. So in this reality, Hurley has no mental problems (and no curse) to deal with, but his basic kindness stays the same, and the way his roles and Libby's from Dave were reversed really worked for me. (Also, speaking of Dave the episode, note they brought up in addition to the island memories Libby's presence in the hospital IN THE PRIMEVERSE, which was the biggest mindgame Lost pulled in s2 because it could be interpreted as everything taking place in Hurley's head.) The finally achieved date made me go awwww in just the right way.

Ghost!Michael: this brings up the interesting possibility that not all the dead people we've seen in previous seasons were Smokey in disguise. Who was and who wasn't, I wonder? Anyway, the Michael-Hurley scenes were immensely touching as well, and good for Michael that we get this farewell for the character. (I doubt they'll bring him back again.)

Blown up Ilana: not cool, Lost, killing a female character again; however, otoh I am for demonstrations that Blind Trust In Jacob is NOT the way to go. Also this week I'm back to my periodic "huh, now I'm liking Jack again" moments (undoubtedly, he'll find a way to annoy me in the next episodes, but hey), for his support of Hurley (NOT Jacob; go, Jack, for having figured out Hurley was fibbing but trusting Hurley's instincts anyway) and for exercising the art of restraint and following instead of faily leadership. And of course Hurley wanting to talk to Smokey instead of supporting Team Blow Up The Plane intrigues me. Not that I assume it'll lead to kumbayaha, because the show did went to the well-pushing effort to demonstrate Smokey's Capacity For Badness again just previous to Our Heroes' arrival, but Hurley is usually right about his suggestions, so talking to Smokey instead of all out warfare might lead to something more constructive than Blowing Up The Plane. (And/or trying to kill Smokey, which as he shares the indestructible factor with Desmond is sort of pointless.) I just have no idea what that something could be. Except that I'm still rooting for the the Vorlon/Shadow solution, i.e. get rid of Smokey and Jacob BOTH to save the world.

And leave Real John Locke his well-earned happy high school existence. Baaaad Desmond!

Comments

[lakrids404]

It probably makes me a bad bad person, but I laughed when Desmond run over Locke

[selenak]

I shrugged when Smokey pushed Desmond into a well and thought "Timmy!", so there's that.:)

[amatara]

So while I'm saving any in-depth remarks until after I've seen the finale, at least I can pitch in with some more... *ahem*, shallow thoughts. Like:

Smokey pushing Desmond into a well got a shrug, but Desmond hitting Alt!Locke with a car got a scream.

Yep, same here. *g* Well, not quite a scream, but the twist of Desmond running Locke over I totally hadn't seen coming, whereas by the time he got thrown into the well in the Primeverse I was more like "oh, really, Des, you didn't see that coming, huh?"

Blown up Ilana: not cool, Lost, killing a female character again.

Like you, I'm very peeved they offed Ilana, but apart from that I did love that moment in an OMG-WRITERS-AAARGH-WHAT-YOU-DO-TO-ME kind of way. In fact, Ben voiced it perfectly later on: the "I trained my whole life for this" followed by KABOOM was exactly the kind of pitch-black irony I've always loved about the show, gut-punching as it can be.

Still, why can't Locke and I enjoy our happy canon High School AUs a while longer, Desmond? WHY? I do hope the water in that well is very cold, brother.

*grin* And I with you.
Also, for the record I'd like to state that I totally blame you for my sudden and inexplicable need for Primeverse Locke'n'Ben h/c or something similarly nonexistant (or is it? I haven't quite dared to go looking yet). Totally. Blame. You.
Just so you know.

[selenak]

Well, not quite a scream, but the twist of Desmond running Locke over I totally hadn't seen coming, whereas by the time he got thrown into the well in the Primeverse I was more like "oh, really, Des, you didn't see that coming, huh?"

Glad to see we're in agreement.:)

Also, for the record I'd like to state that I totally blame you for my sudden and inexplicable need for Primeverse Locke'n'Ben h/c or something similarly nonexistant (or is it? I haven't quite dared to go looking yet). Totally. Blame. You.
Just so you know.

There isn't much (age discrimination strikes again!), but some exists. (Some: two are three stories, last time I looked.) And hey, blame away, as long as you get inspired to help with the lack of decent fanfic about these two. *g* Also, have you heard Abrams is writing a show for Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson? (Best chemistry of the cast, she grumbles, glad someone noticed.)

[amatara]

Also, have you heard Abrams is writing a show for Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson? (Best chemistry of the cast, she grumbles, glad someone noticed.)

I did hear that on the grapevine somewhere, but not the details. Whatever it is, I'm all for it, though! *nod nod* At this point, I'd probably pay to hear them read the phonebook to each other, so... *g*

As long as you get inspired to help with the lack of decent fanfic about these two.

You know, I actually am... strangely inspired. *ponders* Apart from the fact that the epic re-watch I'd need to feel comfortable enough with canon to actually write about it, isn't within the possibilities at the moment, alas. But seeing the meagre amount of Ben or Locke fic (I'm not even keeping up hopes for the combination) at AO3, I'm seriously starting to think these two need an Appreciation Society. *waves banner*

As for the age factor - I'm probably being naive again, but I still can't understand why age would matter so much for fans of the series. Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson are both older than my dad, but see if I care. *g* And it doesn't quite strike me as the show where the majority of viewers tune in weekly just to stare at Sawyer's or Kate's or Jack's lean bodies, less-stereotypically-handsome characters be damned - I'd say it's a show that requires some intellectual investment as well - but I'm starting to wonder. (Anyway, the rush of love I feel whenever I see Michael Emerson on screen these days even though he's still playing the part of a control freak with psychopathic tendencies for two-thirds of the time, doesn't make me weird, now does it? *whistles innocently*) So yes, it seems that once again I'm joining you in the ranks of fen rooting for the underdogs!

Hmm. I think I need a Lost icon.

[selenak]

There is an lj community for them called he_came_back, but don't go there yet - spoilers. Also, not much posting, but hey, it does exist.

The new show: J.J. Abrams' new NBC drama Undercovers premieres in just an hour on the east coast, but the Peacock has already decided: It wants more J.J.! The network has landed the rights to the new Michael Emerson-Terry O'Quinn show from Abrams' Bad Robot that Vulture told you about Monday. NBC got the project despite strong interest from ABC and Fox, both of which were intrigued by the idea of Ben Linus and John Locke's alter-egos teaming up again. NBC has made a pilot commitment to the show, which had been known as Odd Jobs but is now technically untitled. The fine print: Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec (Alias) are writers/exec producers, while Abrams and Bryan Burk are also exec producers.

Ageism: well, here you have to differ between why people watch and what makes most fanfic writers write fanfic. I think both Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn and their awesome, awesome acting were major reasons for people to stay with the show, and the writers knew it (and gave them much to play accordingly). It translated into a couple of acting awards as well. However, when it comes to fanfiction, 90% as we know is not gen, it's shippy. Which for Lost translated it it being any combinations of Sawyer, Sayid and Jack, with the girls - or rather, Juliet and Kate, and very occasionally Sun - thrown into the mix on a rarer basis. There's some Ben/Juliet out there as well, which I have to say I avoided because it creeps me out on Juliet's side - she clearly did not return Ben's crush and couldn't wait to get away from him, and I hate it when fanfic thinks a woman should have to love the character the fan is interested in even if canon says she doesn't - and some Ben/Richard, as well as some first season Locke/Boone, but that's about it for both of them. Sigh.

...You know what's really popular, aside from the above named? Richard/Alex. Who hardly have a scene in the entire show. Why? Because Richard is pretty and Alex is pretty. My point is made.

[amatara]

There is an lj community for them called he_came_back, but don't go there yet - spoilers.

Must... not... follow... link. Ngh. *resists temptation* *resists* *resists* *resists*

Also, this is purely subjective, but focusing on the shippy and focusing on the pretty are two entirely different things to me. I mean, I like my ships as much as the next fangirl, but the main criterion for me to seek out or write fic are the characters, and if I don't enjoy reading gen about two people, there's no way the shippy stuff will appeal to me either. And for me to like the shippy stuff, I need there to be chemistry first and foremost - with prettiness a nice extra but hardly essential. So I'm way more picky about het and slash than I am about gen. Which apparently, judging by the pairings you mentioned being popular (Richard and Alex? Sheesh! *shares your exasperation*) isn't at all the way most other fic writers/readers function. Seeing as so many great characters get missed out on completely - I mean, I don't even see Hurley in that list! *is tempted to slap Lost fandom for their lack of Hurley love*. In summary: I continue to be stumped, and periodically disillusioned, by this aspect of fandom. *sighs*

Of that list of popular pairings, Juliet/Sawyer is one I think I could enjoy if it's written well, though I wouldn't actively look for it. The rest - not so much. Ben/Juliet is icky to me as well, for the same reasons you mention. Locke/Boone: um. No. In the department of mentor/pupil pairings, that would be far too much like Londo/Vir, which - No. *shudders*. And Ben/Richard does sound fascinating, now I think of it, in a very screwed-up power-dynamic kind of way, but I can't really see it.

Not even Desmond/Penny? But they're canon, and cute, so what does Jack/Kate/Juliet/Sawyer have that they don't? (except, well, flexibility in combinations, maybe? *ahem*)

Also, hypothetically speaking, say I would have the time and inspiration to write a Locke & Ben ficlet or so, one that doesn't require in-depth knowledge of canon... Is there something in particular you'd like to see written? Not daring to make any promises here, but chances of my actually writing something are better if I have something concrete to work with. So, please, be my guest.

[selenak]

Hurley might not be a star of fanfiction, but he got a beautiful vid on his own, which you can see if you haven't already since it's only up to s4: here.

Also, thank you for feedbacking my lone Lost story; I sort of fanficced Ben when replying to the last two rounds of "five..." memes, here and there. If you should feel inspired to enlarge on any of the ideas contained in these lists, it would be great. So would something entirely original be, like, say, a conversation between Ben and Locke after Alex has died and before they reach the cabin. That's when they're with Hurley which is the optimum combination of characters anyway.:)

[amatara]

I did watch the vid before, and it's as lovely upon rewatch as it was back then - thanks for reminding me of it. And I'll be reading your Ben stories tomorrow on the train, when I'll have a little more time than I do now.

As for the fanfic, I'm certainly tempted to try. :) Though chances are it'll be after Yuletide rather than before. (Signups will start pretty soon, no? *is burning with curiosity about the eligible fandoms*)