Just the Shows

[gateslacker]

I feel that I have consumed a great deal of TV show fiction over the past week but, when I set pen to paper (figuratively) it doesn't seem that I have really watched as much as it feels I have. Perhaps it is because a large part of it is due to the Finales. Still, here are a few thoughts about it all

Lost: Though my interest in this show has waxed and waned, I continued to watch. Sometimes, the show would be on my DVR for ages and ages. I even waited almost a year before watching last year's finale...just before it was time for the new season to start. As far as series finales goes, I found the Lost finale satisfying in that it was a bit of closure (even though I hate that word). For once, it was a real ending for characters I have watched for many years. I always felt that it would be Jack or Hurley who would become the island's protector. I didn't really anticipate both. I thought the very ending, with Jack closing his eyes in death was a perfect reminder of where this all started, with Jack opening his eyes after the crash. Of course, I was confused about a few things. Desmond's conversation with Eloise about Faraday. When I got to the end with them all in the church, I was even more confused. I forget who said it, but was it Desmond who said they all created the sideways reality because the years they spent with one another was the best and most important time in their lives? If so, why did it require Desmond's interference for them to remember the time they spent on the island? Was the sideways reality even real? I would also have liked to know more about the island. Why did it need a protector and what was that light, really? No real answers were given. I suppose this was the best choice from a writer/show's perspective because then the island can mean whatever the viewer wants it to mean. Or, maybe they didn't even have a solid idea of what the island was or maybe they felt that any sort of explanation would never live up to the hype. Who knows.
 
I read a complaint about the ending being "too happy". Well, I wouldn't exactly call the ending happy, really. More bittersweet. But what is the deal with people and happy endings? Is there some post modern rule about endings stating that no story worth one's while would deign to ever have a happy resolution? Perhaps people are more opposed to sap although I detected no sap in this one. Even as we were being shown the reunion and the departure, I was still crying over Jack's fate and his impending death.

SGU: Okay, I was in Young's camp over this one. Perhaps it is because Young has grown on me the most, despite his ambiguous actions. I tend to see where he is coming from even when he is doing questionable things. Although many on Destiny feel he is using his past emotions regarding both Telford and Rush in making his "torture" decisions, for some reason, I don't feel he is. Sure, he baited Telford into lashing out resulting in the fight which I do feel he actually wanted. But the decision to vent the atmosphere does not feel like a decision made on emotion. Maybe I feel that he would stop short of actually killing him.

And I loved Jack, up till the point he boarded Destiny. What a wasted opportunity that scene was! I felt his joking was too jarring given the circumstance, though I did enjoy the look on Telford's face. I have mixed feelings about Daniel's role in all this as well. I suppose one could say that he has been on enough missions aboard enough Goa'uld and Ori vessels to have picked up a few spy skills but I guess I like seeing Daniel doing Daniel-like things. (Even though I would never miss an opportunity to view The Hotness). Someone on the spoilergate list raised a valid point about this mission in that it was an under the radar sort of thing where the military and General O' Neill is concerned and that Jack would want someone on point that he could trust. So, I can buy it even if I prefer seeing Daniel being Daniel. Of course, it can be clearly seen that RDA and MS will never lose those rhythms that have always highlighted their scenes together.

Chuck: What a great finale!!! It ranks right up there with Fringe, methinks. I knew Papa Bartowski was going to bite it the minute he told Ellie that "this would be the last time he walked away from her" though I cannot deny a small bit of worry about Ellie, herself. So, now everyone knows. I felt Ellie making Chuck promise to quit was a bit unfair even if I understood her reasoning. I thought the flashbacks worked well with the episode and found it interesting that Chuck had already uploaded a pre intersect during his childhood. I wonder if this had anything to do with Mama Bartowski's disappearance and, subsequently, Papa Bartowski. I find the history with Chuck's parents very intriguing and suspect some of that will play out over the next season. I love how this show has been able to shake up the dynamic every season in a suspenseful and believable way without completely altering the show itself. So far, they seem to know how to shake things up without "jumping the shark".

Merlin: Awwwwww. Poor Merlin. Just when Arthur is beginning to form his own views whether magic is inherently evil, Merlin has to lie to keep him from killing Uther, making all forms of magic suspect once more. Poor Arthur. Many of the people he cares about are lying to him. That scene with Arthur and Uther fighting was veddy intense. Well played. I am not altogether certain that Morgause was telling the entire truth which makes Igraine's spectre somewhat suspect. I believe that Uther bargained with Nimue for an heir, I'm just not sure he did it knowing or understanding the price that would ultimately be demanded. Even Merlin, when he bargained his own life, was not prepared for the life Nimue attempted to take. (Though I doubt Uther would have bargained his own life)  Igraine's comments give the impression that Uther knew the cost and did it anyway. I am having a bit of difficulty figuring out all the different family ties in this show. Morgana is revealed to be Morgause's half sister. Because of the bracelet she gave Morgana, I was thinking Gorlois is father to both of them but that would mean different mothers. However, Morgause seemed sincere in her fondness for Igraine. Of course, I may be going by the legends (for which liberties have been taken in this show) that saw Igraine as previously wed to Gorlois and either willingly or unwillingly betraying him for Uther and, as such, I would expect there to be no fondness there unless Igraine was Morgause's mother as well. But that doesn't explain Morgana. Argh. I may need a family tree diagram to figure all of this out.

Comments

[rosiewook.livejournal.com]

Hee. Okay, I watched Merlin and I still had trouble following you!

Re SGU, I also agree that Young isn't doing this particular act out of revenge. I know he has in the past, but not this time. But I do think he's "dancin' on the raggedy edge" with his methods. He could lose his whole crew trying to save them. (Dude really needs to share more with his management team. Perhaps he should stone into a management class?)

And I agree on Jack and Daniel. While Jack made me giggle, it didn't work in that scene. And I also went, "Since when did Daniel start doing black ops?" Still cute, though!

And Chuck! Oh, Papa Bartowski! I was sad to see him die. I was kinda hoping Ellie would be able to revive him by barging in, but they just kept on him until he died. ::woe::

I think it was their best shows of the season. Great use of everyone's character traits. Humor. Drama. Cute, yet evil, Brandon Routh. :)

A very fun week.

Hopefully I can watch the NCIS closer tomorrow. It's taunting me on my DVR, right now.

[dm-lunsford.livejournal.com]

Yes, you pegged what felt so awkward to me about Jack's appearance on Destiny. I mean, I loved the bit where he walked out the doorway and turned to go the wrong way down the hall - so very Jack - but his joking around while in the actual "cell" where they were keeping Telford felt so out of place. I mean, I get that his appearance was supposed to send Telford a message that this course of action was coming from way up the chain of command. But come on, we've seen Jack be serious plenty of times, and it felt like that would have been more appropriate here.

Although I did get a kick out of the fact that when it was time for Jack to leave, they just cut his connection with the stone. Yeah, we don't waste the general's time by making him walk all the way down the hall to the same room where we came in. ;)

I am intrigued that some folks were a little surprised by Daniel being the one on the mission because I wasn't at all. Maybe it's because I suspected his role was to follow and observe... then call in backup if needed. But even so, I think by this point in his SGC career he's learned enough that he could handle something like this. And I agree, Jack would want someone he trusted without reservation.

[gateslacker.livejournal.com]

Okay, I watched Merlin and I still had trouble following you!

LOL, well that's obsession and watching the show multiple times for you. Plus, thinking out loud.

Young is "dancin' on the raggedy edge" certainly and I agree that he should have kept a few other people in the loop. But, he has trust issues with Wray. (Heck, I don't trust Wray!) Maybe he believes by keeping them out of the loop, he is protecting them from the consequences.

I didn't want to see Papa Bartowski killed as I really like it when Bakula guest stars. In this show, if we never see the body again there is a chance they can come back.

[gateslacker.livejournal.com]

I mean, I loved the bit where he walked out the doorway and turned to go the wrong way down the hall.

Tee hee, that was pretty funny. That bit I could be on board with.