[D-Roc]

Episode Review for Exposé (3x14)

So finally we came to understand the relevance of P*ulo and Nikki. We had waited long enough, endured P*ulos toilet humour, tolerated Nikki's sweet yet pointless smiles..heck I had even got to thinking that they were a low budget Shannon and Boone..call it the Z-Team

Lets just say the producers had alot to answer for.

Thoughts of Nikki & P*ulo being secret agents of Dharma or the Others gave me hope that there would be light at the end of a dim and dismal tunnel. Heck, I had even begun to yearn for the crazy idea that they were brought to the island due to Desmonds hot-skipping through time causing a tear in the time and space continuim and replacing our ever dear Rosie and whatshisface with two new fellows

I needed something..anything to restore my faith in the redshirt..

and then there was 'Expose'..

The episode i like to refer to as the Curveball episode..the silver lining to an awful cloud..the reason why Lost is quite frankly brilliant.

I did not know where I was for much of this episode, i was immediately befuddled with the first couple of minutes..actually, the first 10 minutes (though i did guess that the opening flashback was that of a tv show Nikki was starring in)..in a word i was utterly LOST..and it was fricken great!! The idea that P*ulo and Nikki are master criminals, well..who would've guessed - i certianly didnt hear that theory!

The episode was supreme..it was like a good old murder mystery..it took LOST to places where the show has not been before and made it, well, fresh again. Oh how i smiled when i saw old buddies Arzt, Boone, Shannon and Ethan..oh how i was open mouthed when i realised that P*ulo..yes..P*ulo had known about Ben and Jules and the Others and the Pearl before any of the other beach goons

Wait..did someone say they wanted a pen..or were the writers watching mine and Abbotts old Boone/Pen comedy stories back in the day on C4 - I want my cut mr Lindeloff!

anyhoo..

I didnt think they could do it..i really had my doubts, but y'know i have to give the writers their dues..they made me believe..no, they made me 'want' to believe in the P*ulo and Nikki story..heck by the end of 'Expose' i was invested..and let me tell ya, i dont have alot of investment to go around right now what with Ben and Locke tearing me in either direction But in the crazy-surreal-adventure that played out before me, i discovered something in those two former goons which i really found quite endearing..the idea that a person can become lost and found all at the same time..that they are so scared of losing the one thing that they love most, that they would do anything to protect what they have gained. People arent perfect, but what i saw in P*ulo was the reason for his clingyness, the reason for his insecurity..yes, none of this is 'good'..but at least now we can see why he was the way he was..he loved Nikki (i believe)..and he had begun to believe that she loved him back - perhaps for the first time? In essence, they had to become Lost before they could be found..that, i think, is slightly beautiful. Just a pity that diamonds are forever, huh

This was a clever episode..an extremly clever episode..how they managed to keep it all together and contain it with such precision is beyond me..did they recreate all those S1 scenes?!? It was an amazing 42 minutes of my life - I gotta tell ya, i dont think i will forget the look on P*ulos face when Nikki found him after the 'crash'..fantastic acting by Mr Santoro..and i do not say that often..not in LOST at least.

This was a rare episode where the flashbacks were almost as interesting as the island events..i mean, how good was it to see Leslie (Arzt) again..the way they reminded us that the redshirts had a whole other community existence going on whislt John and Jack where fighting Polar Bears and and tears - i suppose Nikki and P*ulo were supposed to be representative of this other existence..thats all really..no big conspiracy afterall. Ahhhh..

I know that the nay-sayers wont be happy..but i for one enjoyed this episode 10 times more than i did the vastly overated Trisha Tanaka is Dead - both odd episodes, but this..this was high order..this was writing/acting/directing of a high order.

Dont get me wrong, i havent forgiven P*ulo for all of the toilet roll he used..i also havent forgiven Nikki for being so beautiful yet so inate..or for making John look like a dipstick back in 3x05..but this episode has gone a long way to helping me to make peace with these two set-pieces.

And so as the truth behind P*ulo and Nikki is exposed..i would define this as an episode which gave P*ulo & Nikki context, but which left their presence with merely subtext in the grand scheme of things. Yes, still pretty and pointless..nothing as important as a Dharma conspiracy or a rip in time and space..but simply a story and hey, everyones got a story..even P*ulo and Nikki, it would seem

Ive agonised over what rating this episode deserves..i mean, it's totally isolated from the bigger picture..but at the same time it was clever and beautiful and fun and sad and shocking and satisfying..this was the creators reaching into their bag of tricks and pulling out a white rabbit..and you know what....im still chasing it

9/10

..and out of respect..and new found appreciation, i will actually call him by his actual name without the asterix replacing the 'a'.

Goodbye Paulo..goodbye lovely Nikki. Godspeed..