Ricardo!

Wow, what an episode! I need more time to digest, and to let the internet digest. But this episode reminded me of one of my favorite dramatic techniques: To build a world of storytelling in which you give yourself the space to tell all kinds of different stories. Lost is a great example of this, in that their uses of flashbacks/forwards/sideways allows them to set their stories in all sorts of different environments. Again, for example, a few episodes ago we got an episode of Lost which heavily featured high school teacher politics; last night's episode, on the other hand, played out like a romance novel or set period peace. Except for all the freaky "Hell - Smoke Monster - Uncaring God" angle, it was a pretty straightfoward romantic fantasy, featuring traditional tropes like horses, bodices, and jaunty sailing ships.

More later!