"Stop calling me names, Red... neck... Man..."
Now, the thing with the flashbacks on the island is that each characters' flashbacks have their own feeling, their own mood, and Hurley's flashbacks are usually pretty humorous, yet intrinsically connected to the island's goings-on, and there is a musical montage ending. I usually love Hurley's episodes - in fact, the major tear-jerking moment for me of this show's history was in Hurley's second flashback "Everybody Hates Hugo." This one, however, I must say is probably my least favorite of the Hurley episodes because... I don't know. Let's talk it out.
It starts off totally promising - Hurley is at Libby's grave (awwww!) and giving this heartbreaking speech to her when Vincent (!) returns and leads Hurley to an abandoned VW bus, complete with a decomposing Dharma dude inside. Hurley and Charlie make it their mission to get the bus up and running, for purely symbolic reasons: both want to outrun their fate - Hurley's curse with the numbers and Charlie's gonna die fate. They enlist Sawyer (who has just returned with Kate to the camp) and Jin to help them, also with a twelve-pack of Dharma Initiative Light Beer. Nice product placement, ABC. Anyway, Hurley and Charlie get the bus working, then decide to drive it down a hill into a patch of rocks to tempt fate with... and they survive! Cue the musical montage.
In flashback, Hurley's dad returns (played by the awesome Cheech Marin) after he wins the lotto money, all sleazy-like. Hurley is rightfully suspicious, but Cheech says that he's returned also to do Hurley's mom (which... wow. And also, here's a nitpick of mine: in the first few flashbacks of Hurley's, Carmen, played by Lillian Hurst, was Hurley's grandmother, but now she's his mother. Which is very strange.). Cheech says he's gonna cure Hurley of his cure, which is a very Spic-ish thing to say (believe me, I am one), and takes him to a fortune teller, in a hilarious scene that makes it obvious that Cheech paid her to "cure" Hurley of the curse. I must say, I am always impressed by how this show uses fortune tellers and psychics in the flashbacks, but this is the first time that it was for comic relief. And it was... it was something. Cheech then admits that he did come back for the money, but is going to leave him with honor. Or something.
Oh! And the episode title? Hurley has bought the Chicken Shack, and reporter Tricia Tanaka (and who else wasn't thinking "Asian Reporter Tricia Takanawa?" Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?) is doing a story on it. When she dies. When the Chicken Shack is hit. By a FRICKIN' METEORITE!
I don't know. This episode was very good, and solid, but... sadly, it seems forgettable to me. It's not a bad episode like, say, the past three Sun-and-Jin episodes, but... I feel like it'll fall into the shuffle, which is kinda sad since thusfar all of Hurley's episodes have been ridiculously memorable. But, we all can't win all the time.
All in all: B
Until next time, same bat time, same bat channel.
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