OK, I have finally seen my first episode of LOST ever. After the first 20 seconds I think we can safely conclude that it is a dream sequence. What gives it away?. Close up on Jack’s closed eye. It’s the oldest visual story telling device around. The simple, black, title card also makes me think that this is a story about the interior world rather than the exterior “real” one.
Things that stuck out for me and will probably be factors in the narrative later on:
1. The single white shoe stuck in a tree that Jack passes as he looks for the plane wreck. Yes, and why is he all by himself in the forest???
2. The cute dog lurking about. Dog is God spelled backwards… once again, interior world.
3. The man with the orange peel smile. We saw too many shots of him. He has a sort of “Twin Peaks” weirdness about him, but trust me, he is important.
4. People with 4 letter names.
Here are my first impressions of characters that I can identify so far:
So far Jack appears to be the lead character here. Conveniently he is a doctor, or at least that is his story. We can guess by the “flashback” airplane scene that he is troubled, but maybe he just enjoys pounding airplane vodka. Maybe in the final episode he wakes up hungover in his airplane seat just having dreamt of 5 blockbuster TV seasons.
Kate, the back seamstress/shoe thief will probably become an item with Jack at some point during the season. The pretty people always get together on TV shows. Not sure what her backstory is yet.
The fat guy doesn’t have a name yet as far as I can tell. His look is so distinctive that he will become a breakout character. He can’t spell, so I guess he will be the dumb, fat guy with a heart of gold. C’mon Hollywood, you can do better than that.
OK more cultural stereotypes coming at you… An Asian couple who is isolating themselves from the rest of the group. I am hoping that since LOST appears to be a dream sequence then we are really just observing Jack’s point of view including cultural biases.
Charlie should not be trusted under any circumstances… Just a hunch, but I don’t believe he is actually in a band either. If this isn’t a dream, then I am convinced he caused the plane wreck.
Jenna hates chocolate. Proving that this is a dream once again, she is mean to her cute lifeguard boy-toy who offers her some. Once she realizes that they won’t be rescued, I predict she and Charlie will get together and become a living hell for everyone.
Cute, dumbish, door mat boy-toy of Jenna’s and who tries to save the black woman’s life by finding pens for Jack. Once again a stereotypical portrayal of young, cute guys as naive bumpkins.
Black man and his son. I am guessing son, but not sure yet. The kid keeps looking for “Vincent” and knows how to spell. “Vincent” will probably be a key point later on.
The “orange peel smile man” is gonna cause trouble. Mark my words on this one. Creepy, mystical dream-like character. Very “Twin peaks.”
Pregnant chick who’s name I didn’t catch. While LOST looks like a big budget production, they seemed to have cut some corners with this baby bump. Did they get that balloon from craft services?
I think that this person’s name is “Said.” (Another 4 letter name) He looks the most “foreign” so that’s probably why he is the fire builder. The white folks might not trust him at some point but later will learn that he is one of the “good guys.”
OK, I will add more as I remember them for each episode. All in all it is a well crafted story, very watchable. I also appreciate the use of sound as a character. Great sound design!!! Visual storytellers often think of sound as an afterthought or window dressing. LOST brings it to the foreground nicely.
On to episode 2…..
good morning, nice post.