"Dead is Dead" was not a very emotionally stimulating episode for me, I think because Ben is ultimately a relatively thin character. Michael Emerson is unbelievably brilliant, but the character's motivations and ideals are relatively thin in comparison to the extraordinarily vivid and wonderful characterization of most of the characters on "Lost". I could watch Ben talk to Widmore or get beat up by Desmond on repeat for days on end, but I find nothing emotionally compelling about his struggle with guilt over his actions, especially when it's come to the point that I don't trust Ben on anything he says to anyone, considering he's lying 99.99% of the time. Maybe it's just me.
This kept "Dead is Dead" from being a real favorite but overall I found the episode to be a massive improvement over the last two and quite rewarding for the fannish side of me. Getting to see how Ben took Alex, getting to see what went down with Penny, just lots payoff for stuff going way back and payoff for recent 'mysteries'. I'm waiting for those who are savvier about mythology to dissect the fantastic temple basement hieroglyphics, it seems Smokey is related to Anubis somehow. Interesting stuff anyhow.
The script by Brian K. Vaughan and Elizabeth Sarnoff is tight and well-paced with everything gelling quite nicely overall, the only scene which felt off is the actual judgment scene. Don't mind it in concept, the visual aspect of it kind of let it down, and I thought Alex showing up as a manifestation just to tell Ben 'yo, you better not kill Locke or I'll pop a cap in yo ass' was kind of cheap, and ruined what could have been a really fantastic emotional moment. Also, what is in the shadow of the statue? Lapidus was great in this episode, but he's great in everything.
Most of the episode is two masterful actors- Emerson and O'Quinn- riffing off each other. They're absolutely phenomenal in this episode both of them, but especially O'Quinn. Locke in season 5 is just as cool and intriguing as he was in season 1 and you can tell O'Quinn is having a hell of a lot of fun with this material. Two great performances make the episode excellent, but it still has enough good stuff in it that it would've been good otherwise, and it certainly does have a bunch of fun mythology stuff for fans to chew on for a week. Also, I think we can put to rest the notion that "Lost" was going to have a scientific explanation.
This kept "Dead is Dead" from being a real favorite but overall I found the episode to be a massive improvement over the last two and quite rewarding for the fannish side of me. Getting to see how Ben took Alex, getting to see what went down with Penny, just lots payoff for stuff going way back and payoff for recent 'mysteries'. I'm waiting for those who are savvier about mythology to dissect the fantastic temple basement hieroglyphics, it seems Smokey is related to Anubis somehow. Interesting stuff anyhow.
The script by Brian K. Vaughan and Elizabeth Sarnoff is tight and well-paced with everything gelling quite nicely overall, the only scene which felt off is the actual judgment scene. Don't mind it in concept, the visual aspect of it kind of let it down, and I thought Alex showing up as a manifestation just to tell Ben 'yo, you better not kill Locke or I'll pop a cap in yo ass' was kind of cheap, and ruined what could have been a really fantastic emotional moment. Also, what is in the shadow of the statue? Lapidus was great in this episode, but he's great in everything.
Most of the episode is two masterful actors- Emerson and O'Quinn- riffing off each other. They're absolutely phenomenal in this episode both of them, but especially O'Quinn. Locke in season 5 is just as cool and intriguing as he was in season 1 and you can tell O'Quinn is having a hell of a lot of fun with this material. Two great performances make the episode excellent, but it still has enough good stuff in it that it would've been good otherwise, and it certainly does have a bunch of fun mythology stuff for fans to chew on for a week. Also, I think we can put to rest the notion that "Lost" was going to have a scientific explanation.