Tuesday, May 20, 2008

To hype or not to hype?

That is the question on many people's minds at the moment, and it would appear that one couple in particular is getting major hype coming up to the two hour finale of this season of Lost.

And no, I am not talking about Jack and Kate. Whose disastrous romantic foray was encapsulated within one episode recently. That came and went without any hype whatsoever. No fanfare. No heralding of any kind. Even stranger was the lack of comment afterwards. No podcast commentary.

Nada.

Hmmm, But surely the advent of Jate would have warranted some kind of signalling from on high? It's the OTP right?

Well, if you listen to the Bubbleheads and ignore basic story structure and dramatic conventions. And honestly dig that dom/sub dynamic they've got going there.


Where the woman gets treated like dogshit and keeps coming back for more.




For those of us currently not watching the Batshit Channel, though, Sawyer and Kate have basically hit all the traditional landmarks in TV romances. And are now about to get another kiss which will be, according to the showrunners of Lost, a SPECTACULAR one.

Whether or not the kiss turns out to be as spectacular as everyone anticipates is beside the point. The Island Gods have made a big fuss over this kiss.



Let's revisit:


Damon Lindelof from March issue of Lost Magazine:

“Romance is always blooming on and off the island. And just for you, I hereby promise you one of the most spectacular kisses you’ve ever seen on the show in this year’s finale.”


04/02 Carlton from Ausiello:

In the new issue of Lost magazine, DL teased, "Romance is always blooming on and off the island. And I hereby promise you one of the most spectacular kisses you've ever seen on the show in this year's finale." Naturally, I pressed DL's partner in crime, Carlton Cuse, for further details on the earth-shattering smooch, to which he replied, "I can disclose no more details other than to say it's one of my favorite moments of the whole series so far. And contrary to some speculation, it is a male/female kiss."


04/08 Damon Lindelof via Kristin:

It's still in the plan.
It's still spectacular.
It will happen between a boy and a girl.
But it doesn't happen on the island.
Your fan,
DL

04/28 Popular Mechanics (Updated thanks to Lyly!):

PM: Obviously this piece is about the science behind Lost, but I wouldn't be a good fan if I didn't ask you to give me some scoop on what's going to the rest of the season.

CC: It just seems really appropriate that we tell Popular Mechanics that there's going to be a really juicy kiss coming up in the finale and that there's going to be a lot more on the Sawyer-Kate-Jack romantic triangle. I mean, that's the scoop that should really be in Popular Mechanics.


05/03 Darlton on Jimmy Kimmel:

JK: So if you're not going to tell us anything about Lost, can you tell us about the Grey's Anatomy finale?
CC: We have a better kiss in our finale than Grey’s Anatomy.
DL: There are several kisses.


05/15: What sounds like Damon from Ausiello:

Not only is the kiss spectacular, but according to a very solid source, it's the kind of liplock that "stops f---ing time" and "makes the entire world vanish in the moment."

And TV Guide jumping on the hype-mobile:

"Finale scoop: "Kate's on the outs with Sawyer in a major way", Lindelof says about the on-again, off-again couple, who argued earlier in the season after Kate thought she was pregnant. Even so, don't expect that to keep the pair from sharing a spectacular goodbye kiss that just might make their first one pale in comparison."


So tell me again which couple is getting this much anticipated kiss, and supposed to be seen as the big romance on the show?

Is it the couple whose mercifully brief engagement was "doomed" (according to the TV Guide)?




Nah.


It's the couple that the showrunners trusted would be spectacular even before the finale was finalised and even fracking filmed.



Credit to Sawyer840

The couple that could be trusted to knock it out of the park as always.


Credit to Spunky


Sawyer and Kate. Who else?

12 comments:

Trish said...

I try to keep fairly spoiler-pure, but your entry does not build a no-flaw case for Sawyer and Kate.

Off island could be Hugo/Sun or Micheal/Sun-- although unlikely-- but I hold out hope for a last Jin/Sun moment before he lets her go.

Although... Jin better not be dead. He's too cool and, ironically, also too hot to die.

lyly ford said...

fish the cap it's not mine but from sawyer840 ;)i just found it :)

great review :)
you could add too if you want lol

Obviously this piece is about the science behind Lost, but I wouldn't be a good fan if I didn't ask you to give me some scoop on what's going to the rest of the season.
CC: It just seems really appropriate that we tell Popular Mechanics that there's going to be a really juicy kiss coming up in the finale and that there's going to be a lot more on the Sawyer-Kate-Jack romantic triangle. I mean, that's the scoop that should really be in Popular Mechanics.
yes this scoop should by in all place lol

kiss
lyly

LostTvFan said...

Perfect! There never should have been any doubt. Speed Jating with no promo, no fanfare, no podcast, nada. Two months of hyping this kiss that we now know is between Kate and Sawyer. Only the guys in the tinfoil hats haven't figured out that Skate is OTP. And Jate? Screwed in any time frame! Now the only question will be CM kiss or SK? Skate's very first kiss or the farewell one before they were separated by time and space?

Anonymous said...

LMFAOOOO, how amazing is it?
Honestly, f'ing SPECTACULAR, I tell you.

Who's Jate again? ;)

Anonymous said...

Good thing I really don't frelling care who kisses whom on LOST. I really think the writers phone in the relationship stuff because it's just so..off. Even Lily's got to be sick of it by now.
Also, I believe that it's not the kiss that's spectacular, but the events around it. Because really, has any kiss on LOST been more than merely adequate?

nanigualano said...

Can I just say something?
Your comments are the BEST!
You're the master! Keep them coming!

Cheers from Brazil!

Mariana

Anonymous said...

Obviously I'm just playing devil's advocate here, because you make great points.

I remember hearing (and take that what you will) that at the end of s1, the producers were afraid because they thought that it was "too obvious" who Kate preferred (i.e. Leaving with Jack, not sticking around to say good bye to Sawyer).

SNBH obviously ended like it did, but you also have to ask - why include it at all? TPTB had to cut stuff out of their plan (i.e more back-story on the freightees, for one) but why bother to show Jack and Kate, happy in the future even for a little while? Goodness - and why bother engaging them? Even to me that seemed like overkill.

The spoilers allude to the idea that that moment of the spec. kiss could be spectacular for more than just the libido factor, but couldn't it be argued that Darlton hyped it because Skate won't be getting anything next season (presumably)? We know how they like to play the politics of Skate vs. Jate (that whole damn 'choice' debacle) but maybe they're just trying to keep both sides happy? Especially if they already knew that SNBH was going to happen...and you have their engagement and orange-panties sex and such... If all Skate's getting is one more kiss before s6, maybe they want to hype that for all it's worth?

If anything, it seems like EVERYONE is completely over the triangle by now. Even Evie, who is usually so interested in not disappointing either side, seems to be trying to convince everyone that SNBH was genuine.

Also interesting is how they're treating Jate like Desmond/Penny, Sun/Jin and Rose/Bernard (maybe even Sayid/Nadia) in that they show their meeting, their engagement (or c. that moment for Dope - with the exception of Sayid/Nadia) then happy times until the not-so-happy times. No first sex, not even necessarily first kiss... Bah, anyway. Something I noticed.

Anyway. I'm sure there's no way I'm appreciated here. Stop the war, ship in peace...and all that...?

Unknown said...

I feel you Alilamba i believe in the end the writers will go the cliche road of the (so-called) hero and the girl who meet first lol I just hoped deep down that they are gonna be more courageous

Anonymous said...

Just to correct you on something AliLamaba. When you mentioned the producers were worried in the first season finale about Kate being too obvious about who she prefers. Yeah well, you couldn't be more transparent. You and your Jaters buddy's need to stop passing the Oracle quotes off as producers quote, cause bogus Oracle is the one who came on abc and were praising Jaters for that observation. Producers never said anything of the sort. Re:SNBH, yes it was genuine. They genuinely love each other, and genuinely tried to be together, but when its all based on lies and guilty, what kind of chance do you think they had. None. Jate was set up to fail from the opening scenes.

Brown Public Library Book Store said...

Alibama,

There's a very big difference in the couples you compared to Jack/Kate, and that difference as they're all written in a romantic way so their firsts weren't needed. Jack/Kate aren't written in such a manner:

Penny/Desmond: His one goal in life is to get off the island to find Penny, and even though he's been missing for years she hasn't given up looking for him.

Jin/Sun: Love at first sight. There's has always been the most romantically written couple on the show. They've always been written like a fairytale romance.

Rose/Benard: She never believed he was dead despite all evidence he had died in the plane crash and he's so devoted to her that if she wanted to stay on the island for fear her cancer would return if she left, he'd stay and Rose would leave and risk her cancer returning for Benard.

Sayid/Nadia: he fell in love with her and save her life, at the risk of his own, and when he was finally free he went in search of her. Another romantically written couple.

Jack/Kate are not written as such. They are also not one of the lower tier couples you compared them to. ABC/Darlton started shoving them down our throats from day one. And when they finally get these two together, it's not written romantically in the least. That scene where Jack vowed to face any danger to be with Juliet and kissed her was written far more romantically than any Jack/Kate scene ever has been.

I do believe Sawyer was always supposed to be just a spoiler between the great Jack/Kate romance. Only problem is Sawyer/Kate have the IT factor chemistry and the big couple don't. Sawyer/Kate look good together, Jack/Kate don't.

Not only have Sawyer/Kate gotten all the firsts, they've also gotten the life-and-death romantic moments. Kate going to Jack to beg him to do what Ben wanted to save Sawyer's life. The whole execution scene. And the spectacular kiss may be in the same vein.

I think Darlon gave up the Jack/Kate ship [no pun intended] after trying to throw things in Jack's favor by having Sawyer boink Ana-Lucia, which never really made much sense, since he couldn't stand the woman, pulling the con on Sun that the Others attacked her, and taking over control of the guns. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and they finally faced facts and gave it up. Jack/Kate fans, however, still refuse to give it up, so they threw them a rather dry and tasteless bone to satisify them.

Do I think Sawyer/Kate will wind up together in the end? I really can't picture it because of the way she's treated him. Also, I think Sawyer is going to go through a lot of changes and growing and be a very different person when or if she returns to the island. It may come down to if Kate had stayed with him like he wanted, they could have ended up together, but because she chose to leave it's too late for them. Sometimes you can't go back.

Anonymous said...

Oh, no way! I wasn't expecting to be responded to. Sorry I didn't get back sooner - the boyfriend had his whole 'graduation' deal, so there was necessary ridiculous pictures with ridiculous poses trying to make an 0 and an 8 with ones hands. Anyway.

Jessica: Thanks, first, for getting my "name" right. I think everyone else was somehow trying to mock it...but I hope that I'm just conspiracy theorizing or something. But yes. Actually, I find Jate pretty darn interesting. They're only hero and heroine on the Island. "Irl" she's a convict and he's a surgeon - probably the last two people who would meet and get together, as it were. Well, after Shayid. That is nuts. But anyway. Yes. Personally, I think Jacket (doctor-doctor) is the most predictable. And I hate talking about the archetypes of Skate mostly because I've seen the movie Bonnie and Clyde, and uh...yeah. Erectile disfunction isn't what I like associating with my ship (neither is supersperm...bah). Plus aren't Skaters really into the big hero-transformation of Sawyer? That just sets up the hero-heroine thing with Skate right there.

Anonymous: Ah ha! Yes, Oracle. That's good of you to remember. I wasn't around them, so I only have little quote things. Whoever she was was well-written though, have to give her that. Mmk, so strike that point. But that's interesting, the secrets/lies thing...yeah, I think it's true, otherwise they'd have no more growing that needs to be done on the Island. But they have come a long way from Sarah and Kevin. I do firmly believe that, and can provide some paragraphs if anyone actually needs me to back it up.

sockerock: Oh-ho! I didn't know you were a Skater. Or from here. Interesting...

I guess that becomes a matter of opinion, to be honest. Actually, you sort of really have to accept that you're not being very unbiased in that opinion. Mostly because the general viewer (well, show me one to prove me wrong, I guess) really appreciated SNBH and felt the payoff. And I think you were supposed to infer some lackluster..ism...(crap it's late) into both/either of the Jacket smooches, mostly because of what Juliet says in SNBH.

Jack has displayed a lot of the same impulses of protection with Kate. If I was any less tired I would find the exact quote, but just recently in the LA Times Damon was quoted as saying that Jack would've considered the rescue a failure if Kate wasn't with him. He's been almost disgustingly protective of Kate since the Pilot, and sometimes, Kate alone (in ATBCHDI he was mostly so upset because he wasn't as protective of Claire).

Anyway, that's all I got right now. Sorry...it's late, and I ate waaay too much, and I'm a lightweight, so two glasses of wine and we had to take a cab up the hill. Er. Anyway. Don't judge me.

...yeah i suk. anyway :p

Anonymous said...

sockerock: Dangit, sorry, I forgot after my stupid tangent.

But you used "tried to shove down our throats" and then 'not written romantically', which leads me to believe that even you think that you're wrong. Heh! But anyway. Yeah, according to the JJ 'standard' of "OTP" (whether or not Lost even has one is debatable), Jate's the one. I can see Kate not choosing either man, or I can see Jate in the end. Skate is a little more awkward, but it would be a lie to say that I couldn't see that either.

Your 'Sawyer boinking Ana' paragraph confuses me, but I think I'm just tired. Throw what in Jack's favor? Jate? Having Jate more 'available' if Sana had one romp in the jungle and Sawyer became sort of ass-hole-ish? I dunno about that. I'll rally an argument tomorrow because I'm going to be sick and that's gross, but uh...yes. Just trying to be sure.