anyone else feel the plot was very similar to film noir movies? including the use of non linear storytelling, a Lost staple, in a way that's useful to the plot. with a little dark humor thrown in at the end.

Good catch. It even had the classic "spider woman" typical of film noir. ;)

The only thing that was off was the look of the episode, as noir is typically very dark.

I feel that the show has alot of Hitchcockian influence in general.

This episode in particular was incredibly Hitchcock-like. Starting off from the beginning moments where the main character (who starts out as a 'moral good guy/girl' character) races thru the forest, burying a mysterious item that becomes the driving force of the antagonist & protagonist, yet is really not all that important (aka a McGuffin), and then stumbles to her apparent death, but not before whispering a barely intelligible clue that sets off an 'investigation' of sorts that leads to the discovery of another death. We retrace steps, following the characters following the McGuffin, all while the usual suspects are rounded up. Pieces start to come together; who we think is the 'morally bad guy' is really the 'morally good guy', and vice versa... and the end was just classic Hitchcock suspense and horror - as the two 'dead' bodies are being buried, the audience (but not the characters) are let in on a secret - that the dead bodies are not actually dead - but temporarily paralyzed - with a parallelization that should be ending any minute... and so we watch them being buried alive...along with the McGuffin, and they end up not as they 1st were, but as we first were led to beleive they were - dead... ...maybe.

Yes, it did have that vibe.. I also thought it was a nod at Edgar Allen Poe as well as a "Tales from the Crypt" episode where someone is fully paralyzed yet has an autopsy performed on them..

I was reminded of Double Indemnity myself. Two lovers who are both scumbags. :smile:

When Nikki opened her eyes immediately before being completely buried, my first thought was "Hitchcock!" Even though it was obviously set in the present day (well, you know, this decade) this episode had a very mid-century/classic film feel to it. (Although please note, I am NOT labeling this a classic!!!) I think Hitchcock would be proud of that final twist.

The diamonds were a MacGuffin, for sure.

But the nesting dolls in which they were smuggled are probably more important than those diamonds. At least to the viewer.

A definite nod, in my opinion, to 70's suspense crime dramas like Magnum P.I., Charlie's Angels, Hart to Hart, or The A-Team. (Sawyer even mentions the A-Team - totally awesome!)

My hubby thought it had a real "Scooby Doo" flair and half expected Ben to pull off a mask and exclaim, "...and I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those meddling kids!"

As a child of the seventies, I grew up watching all this stuff and thought the homage was brilliant! They gave us all the clues from the start of the episode and everything followed through and had a payoff in the end. I firmly believe they have been giving us tons of clues from the start of the series that will pay off in the end - just at a much slower rate than in this episode, eh?

Interesting that Nikki and Paulo are trapped in the "Expose" kind of reality even after 80 days on the island. Does this give us any clues about what the island can provide wish wise? (i.e. the magic box?) Is this what Nikki wanted - to live a real life of espionage instead of just acting in one?

Have to toss in a touch of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead . They are two minor characters in the play Hamlet only in this play they are the main characters and the rest of Hamlet goes on around them.

Sound familiar? ;)

Have to toss in a touch of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead . They are two minor characters in the play Hamlet only in this play they are the main characters and the rest of Hamlet goes on around them.

Sound familiar? ;)

I thought that was obvious after the Romeo and Juliet ending.

Don

Have to toss in a touch of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead . They are two minor characters in the play Hamlet only in this play they are the main characters and the rest of Hamlet goes on around them.

Sound familiar? ;)


yeah great reference! and the ending reminded me of "The Vanishing", the dutch version, not the version with jack bauer.

I felt it was a combination of Hitchcock and Edgar Allen Poe. The eyes opening at the end just as the dirt is thrown on them reminded me of a E.A.P. tale, but I can't place the title in my head.

haha!the writers admitted that if Lost has to jump the shark someplace,then that epi d be it!i totally agree!reminiscent of bloody cult late 70s early 80s horror flicks!and im not talking bout Goonies!:cool: