Lost - Sundown

It seems like the internet was a buzz even more so than usual over last week’s episode of Lost. Personally, The Blot loved “Sundown,” but many fans out there seem to be unfulfilled by an episode if it doesn’t hit you over the head with “answers.” While “Sundown” didn’t answer some long standing questions, it did something much more…it gave us what I thought was an awesome episode with a storyline that had actual meat to it.


Sayid-centric episodes are often multi-layered in a way other Lost episodes aren’t, and “Sundown” was no exception. Its gotten to the point now where I can’t decide which storyline I like better, the Flash Sideways or the Island. This week’s Flash Sideways was awesome, and while I had lots of guesses as to who the mob boss might be, Martin Keamy was not one of them. The writers of Lost did an excellent job throwing me off with that guest appearance!


I loved the scene between Keamy and Sayid, and thought it was a perfect example of Sayid’s deadliness. The man truly is a living weapon. Plus, the Flash Sideways finally gave us a cliffhanger when Sayid found Jin locked up in the freezer. My theory is that the watch (along with the money Jin was trying to smuggle into the country) was for Keamy. Since airport security probably confiscated the money, Jin ended up going to Keamy empty handed which resulted in his trip to the freezer. Sayid’s murder spree is probably the only thing that kept Jin alive in the Flash Sideways.


While Sayid’s fight scene in the Flash Sideways was awesome, his fight on the Island was a little too Matrix-y for me. What was with all of Sayid and Dogen’s flips, jumps and kicks!?! That’s not Sayid’s style at all, and I would have expected a much different fighting style from Dogen as well (especially considering how "mystical" he is). That one fight scene was probably the low point of the episode for me, but other than that I really enjoyed what was probably our final episode focused on the temple.


I liked “Sundown” for a number of reasons, one of which was it was the first time in weeks that we got to see almost all of the show’s cast in a single episode. All “Sundown” was missing Jack, Hurley and Richard, and all 500 cast members would have been accounted for. I thought Dogen’s backstory was interesting, and we did learn more about Sayid’s infection. We also got to see Claire at her creepiest!!! I don’t know what was scarier, her look at Kate when Kate told Claire she took Aaron or Sayid’s look at Ben when he told Ben his time had run out.


So many storylines were fleshed out last week and I can’t wait to see where this story is going. I know many are worried the Island’s civil war is going to take over the show, but I have faith in the show’s exec-producers and writers. Besides, aren’t you dying to see what takes place at FLocke’s new camp? As @kahunablair puts it, with FLocke, Crazy Claire and Infected Sayid having joined forces, Lost now has its very own “anti-A-Team.” (link) Those three alone could cause some serious trouble for our Losties, but add in some of the most dangerous Others and Jack, Hurley, Ilana, Frank, Sun and Miles better watch out! I’m also really interested to see how Kate, Sawyer and Jin handle themselves as members of Team FLocke. Something tells me all three of them will be ready to jump camp relatively soon.


Part of me is a little sad to see Sayid give in to the dark side, but I’ve got a feeling our favorite Iraqi interrogator will be redeemed in the end. Besides, I couldn’t have been the only person who cheered when Sayid slit the throat of the most annoying Other ever, Lennon? I thought that scene in the temple was awesome, from Dogen and Sayid’s heart to heart, to Sayid paying Dogen back for the drowning he suffered earlier in the season, to Sayid’s murder of Lennon and the brief interaction between Ben and Sayid.


I’m pretty sure Ben knew something was up the moment he saw Sayid, but it was interesting to see Ben care enough to go after Sayid himself. Ben’s never been one to put himself in the line of danger, so I think his actions show that not only does Ben feel a connection to Sayid over their time spent together off island, but after the death of Jacob might Ben now feel a need to repent? There are a million parallels between Ben and Sayid (Sayid shot a young Ben, Sayid was shot by Ben’s father, and both were resurrected by the temple’s waters), and I think this week we might finally find out what effect Ben’s resurrection had on his life and the Island.

This tomorrow night’s episode “Dr. Linus” should be a good one (and a Ben-centric episode to boot), but what’s really crazy about "Dr. Linus" is that according to Wikipedia it was directed by Mario Van Peebles! How random is that!?!

Lost airs Tuesday nights at 9/8c on ABC.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations - Obsessed Special

This week on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Tony explores the nature of obsession. And what better way to do this than by sending Tony to meet with and eat with some of the world’s most food-obsessed individuals, who truly encapsulate the beautiful and often eccentric results devotion has on one’s life. Tonight, Tony speaks with a number of food-obsessed people about their passion for food. Check out this video sneak peek to whet your appetite for tonight’s episode:



Every city has its own specialty and local food obsession, and after tonight’s new episode of No Reservations we’re going to be learning all about them. For instance, Tony heads with Josh Ozersky to the Minetta Tavern in New York City to talk about Josh's obsession with meat and La Frieda's Black Label Burger. This ground beef burger is so good "it floods your head with meaty goodness,” and all this meaty goodness can be yours for $26! Tony then visits with David Blackmore, who shares his knowledge of Wagyu beef and takes Tony on a tour of his farm located in the Yarra Valley, 2 hours north of Melbourne. Wagyu beef, sometimes improperly referred to as Kobe beef (Kobe is a place, not a type of cow), is a fatty, marbled meat that sells for well over $1,000 per sirloin strip in New York. That's $1,000 whole sale!


The next food obsession we learn about is bread, which takes Tony to the Sullivan Street Bakery. Founder Jim Lahey is THE “bread guy” and is himself obsessed with yeast and fungus. Instead of kneading his dough, he allows it to sit for 24 hours to rise. This obsession of his also happens to translate well into pizzas. And an episode of No Reservations is not complete without a segment on alcohol! Tonight we’ll learn about artist Ron Cooper’s obsession with Mescal. Cooper is an artist who turns to Mexico for inspiration for his art project that involved creating 50 blue bottles and filling them with prime mescal - the Ur-tequila. Del Maguey's mescals are produced slowly, naturally and in small quantities.

And last but not least, Tony explores the internet’s obsession with food by exploring food blogging. First Tony meets with Jason Perlow (of OffTheBroiler.com) to check out White Manna burgers and talk about blogger arguments over culinary minutia. Next, Tony takes a trip to Txikito with Steve Plotnicki, founder of the food blog Opinionated About Dining. Then Steven Shaw, publisher of Fat-Guy.com and co-founder of eGullet, takes Tony to the Cambodian restaurant, Kampuchea. It’s about time bloggers finally got their due!

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations airs Monday nights at 10/9c on Travel Channel.