Jacks

XXXIX = 39

Eagles v. Patriots, less than a week away.

Yep. Doomed.

A while back, everyone on LiveJournal was taking the Dante's Inferno Test. This was, oh, early-mid 2003. I was looking at some old lj entries of mine, and for fun I decided to take the test again, see if my answers had changed at all. But no, I'm still in the same spot, just as sinful as ever, apparently. More so, perhaps, but not enough to change my fate.

I should really read the book. Cause, y'know, if Dante was right, I should probably be prepared.

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Eigth Level of Hell - the Malebolge!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Moderate
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Very High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	High

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

"Hearts and Minds"

Yeah, yeah, its over 24 hours late. But I had other stuff going on. So here it is, this week's LOST Thoughts: "Hearts and Minds".

Damn. That's my essential reaction to this episode. I was watching with the youngest brother, and every time a flashback was coming I announced it, for his benefit, of course. And I only screamed, like, once. Okay, maybe twice.

* So Boone has paid guys off? So does that make him a good brother or a bad brother? Of course, they put a whole different spin on it a little later...The cop had it pegged from the start- "So you're step-siblings. No blood relation." And I'm thinking, well, you're a jerk, aren't you, insinuating something like that. Except he was right.

Basically, Shannon is fucked up. As is Boone, really, but in a different way. They both look younger than I think their characters are supposed to be. She's already been married and divorced, and has repeatedly conned her step-brother out of money by playing on his feelings for her. She's bitter about any number of things, and copes by indulging in a certain amount of self-destructive behavior. They say that one's emotional development stops when a trauma takes place. In her case perhaps this happened when her father died, and during the ensuing events.

But Shannon's Aussie lover screws her over by taking the money, so she goes to Boone. And he lets her in, because she's right- he is in love with her. Or thinks he is. He's blind to her faults and machinations, to an extent. And then she seduces him, not that he resists too hard. And I'm thinking, 'Nope, not shocked. This is kinda expected, actually.' But now I'm reassessing everything we have seen about the "sibs". It really puts an interesting twist on things. Emphasis on the twist, as in Twisted.

* What's up with Jack and Kate? Last week the tension was intense, this week that like being around each other, are comfortable with each other. The rapport is rebuilding itself, even though she still hasn't really told him anything. But I like it better when there aren't lotsa bad vibes, so I guess I'm okay with the inconsistency.

* I love Hurley. It was great. Are he and Jin becoming friends of a sort? "Pee on it!" Gods, the brother and I were screaming with laughter. But the best part was - "Your wife's hot." Hee!

* Speaking of Jin's wife...she is The Goddess Sun, mistress of all plants. She is so cool. And Kate has figured out that Sun can speak English, so maybe a bit of a friendship will develop there. They have an understanding, at least. "Have you never lied to a man you've loved?"

* Now we come to the really weird part. Locke. He's become One with the island, or something. I mean, he can walk, he helped Charlie, he can predict the weather...

Locke had already mixed up that hallucinogenic stuff, before Boone even tried to broach the idea of telling Shannon what they were up to. So did Locke just use that as an excuse to knock Boone unconscious? When Boone came to and began hearing Shannon's screams, I guessed that maybe it was all in his head. But then it just continued on, and I thought it seemed a little too involved to not be real.

Even when Shannon "died", I'm thinking, 'well, I guess she's a "red shirt".' Youngest Brother and I figured Boone would then go blame Locke, which he did. But it turned out that it hadn't actually happened. "How did you feel when she died?" "Relieved. I felt relieved." He says it as if the words were torn from him. "It's time to let go." Thank you for the interpretation, oh Island Guru.

* The opinions of Locke are interesting.

Kate hypothesizes that he's just looking out for himself, and that's why he hasn't brought them any boar. But she doesn't put it quite that way.

Charlie has great faith in him, despite Locke's being a "freak of nature". "He saved my life," says Charlie. Plus, he's a Driveshaft fan. But when Charlie was professing his confidence that Locke could save them all, I was thinking about what Kate had said. I agree that Locke is very capable, but the question is, how much does he really want to help the others?

Jack seems to be withholding judgment, to an extent. Did you notice that Jack calls him 'John', rather than 'Locke', the way everyone else seems to? Maybe it comes from Jack not marveling at him so much, seeing him more as an equal, for Jack is sure of his own worth. The others are a bit more awed, perhaps. I don't know.

My opinion? Locke really is the Island Guru. As Boone says to Hallucination!Shannon, Locke is the only one who actually knows what's going on. He has things figured out, to a certain extent. We don't fully know or understand his motivations, but I don't think he intends to betray the other castaways.

**Next Week: The polar bear is back, and Sawyer is an Asshole. Usually Sawyer's just an annoying prick, but I suspect that next week I'm really going to want to scalp him.**

countdown...

Less than an hour 'til LOST. Tonight we get Shannon and Boone flashbacks. The official synopsis says "the shocking truth about her past with Boone is revealed." Ooooh. Sounds sufficiently ominous.

I doubt I'll be shocked, but it would be really cool if I was. Do you know how many people have written incestuous fics about the slightly-less-annoying-than-they-used-to-be siblings? Not than I've actually read them. I swear. (Except that one drabble.) I wonder what kind of fodder this ep will provide for them.