Very brief thought on Lost 6.09: Ab Aeterno

[weewarrior]

Ernsthaft, wenn ich mit einem scheinheiligen Arschloch, das gerne Moralstücke mit unglückseligen Fremden inszeniert, auf ewig auf einer Insel festsitzen würde, dann wäre ich auch mordlustig.

( Seriously, if I were trapped on an island for all eternity with a sanctimonious prick who likes to stage morality plays with hapless strangers, I'd be kind of homicidal, too.)

Comments

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my first thought at that little revelation was, OK, at this point I do think we are, and we'd damned well better be heading toward what you so aptly called the Vorlons & Shadows scenario, because I now officially disapprove of both of them. My second, and intimately related thought was that Jacob -- clearly representing the god to Smokey's devil -- reminds me why I'm glad I'm an atheist. :)

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

By now I absolutely believe that sinking the island plus Smokey and whatever is left of Jacob is certainly the best idea.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

By the way, my other sudden thought during this episode was, "Hey, it's like that barrier around the center of the galaxy in Star Trek V!" I have been amusing myself ever since imagining lines like, "What does God want with a slave ship?" :)

[ETA: And thought #4 was "Smokey is Sealed Evil in a Can!", thus proving that I've been spending way too much time on TV Tropes.]

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

"What does God want with a slave ship?" :)

Both the history and the Lost geek in me winced at that point - British Slave trade had been abolished in 1833 and this was set in 1867! Nevermind that the Spanish government presumably didn't sell off their prisoners, either...

And as for an in-story nitpick, if the first mate of the Black Rock was killed presumably a few hours after landing on the island, how did he manage to write about the shipwreck in his ledger, and how did that end up with pirates on the coast of Madagascar? And who did bury Magnus Hanso, Smokey? Clearly all of these questions are much more important than who is good and who is evil here. :P

[ETA: And thought #4 was "Smokey is Sealed Evil in a Can!", thus proving that I've been spending way too much time on TV Tropes.]

*g* I thought the same...

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

British Slave trade had been abolished in 1833 and this was set in 1867! Nevermind that the Spanish government presumably didn't sell off their prisoners, either...

I was wondering about that, but was historically ignorant enough to be able shrug it off with a "Well, maybe it's OK." Thanks for disillusioning me. ;)

And I'd forgotten most of the details we already knew about the Black Rock, too, apparently. Hmm. possibly most of those nitpicks could be handwaved away with a sufficient investment of mental energy, but I don't think I have that much available. :)

*g* I thought the same...

Well, it is nice to know it's not just me. :)

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

Hmm. possibly most of those nitpicks could be handwaved away with a sufficient investment of mental energy, but I don't think I have that much available. :)


What cracks me up about these is actually that the episode was written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Greg Nations - and he is officially Lost's continuity guy. ;)

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear. When even the official continuity guy can't keep track... LOL!

[paratti.livejournal.com]

Actually the slave trade was abolished in 1807. Slavery in the Empire was 1833.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

You're right. I think I used the later date because the whole situation seemed a little muddled to me (a British ship in a Spanish port buying a Spanish citizen from what should be the Spanish government - who were trading African slaves until the 1870s in Puerto Rico and the 1880s in Cuba, but not Spanish ones - and bringing him to the United States (?), which at that time had also abolished slavery. It makes no sense at all!). It made sense when I first wrote it, pardon the confusion.