Yesterday morning I awoke and upon checking my e-mail, received the news that Eddie Guerrero had passed away. I was shocked to say the least. All I could think about was the fact that, since last Friday when it would be announced that Batista would defend his championship against Eddie and Randy Orton, that there was a very likely chance that Eddie was going to begin his second reign as a World Champion. Now, out of nowhere, he was dead.
It doesn’t quite seem fair, does it? I mean, here you have guys like Scott Hall and Jake the Snake who are constantly falling off the wagon, and don’t seem to care less about getting cleaned up, and yet they dodge bullet after bullet, while Eddie (who’s been clean for four years) dies. Don’t get me wrong, I would never wish for something bad to happen to anybody, no matter how irresponsible they may act, but it just seems so unfair that somebody who legitimately cleaned himself up and managed to overcome his demons (a term that has been entirely cliché) to be taken from us.
In light of this tragic news, I’ve decided that I’d only discuss Lost and Survivor (since I feel like they had some big episodes this week), and I thought I’d talk a bit about Eddie Guerrero, from a fan’s point of view. No continuity police, no riddles, and no fun facts. This week, it’s just about remembering an incredibly talented and entertaining wrestler. Also, for those of you who have waited patiently, I will be doing a recap/review of last week’s Smallville episode later today, so look for it to be posted sometime today or tomorrow. Sorry for the (significant) delay.
EDDIE GUERRERO, 1967 – 2005:
I’ve never met Eddie Guerrero. I’ve heard very kind things about him from other fans, but unfortunately I never had the opportunity to meet him. That said, my perspective of him is purely as a fan.
I never really watched much of Eddie in WCW, but once he came into the (then) WWF, I became a big fan. Sure, he severely injured himself in his very first match (using his finishing move, no less), but he still managed to become (arguably) the breakout star of the Radicalz. Sure, Benoit was the one who was pushed as the leader and top rung guy, but once the foursome became known as individuals instead of Benoit and his three friends, Eddie really broke out. His entire run with Chyna was a great highlight, and really gave birth to his later “lie, cheat, and steal” persona. I still remember when he “accidentally” won the Intercontinental Title when he was hugging an unconscious Chyna, and then backstage and was apologizing, and as they embraced, they zoomed in on his devious smile.
I’ll always remember Eddie’s street fight with Edge on an edition of Smackdown. Aside from being an unbelievable match, I’ll never forget how Eddie, who was the heel and hadn’t played a face in years, got a standing ovation from the audience, even though he lost. It was the ultimate sign of respect, and it showed how much the audience truly appreciates Eddie Guerrero.
As a fan, you know what sucks the most? That, with Batista’s unfortunate injury, there was a very likely chance that he was going to be awarded the World Heavyweight Championship. After he lost the WWE Title last year, it took seemingly forever for him to peak his head back into the main event title picture. Now he was, and he was providing the fans with the most entertaining and intriguing Batista feud ever. And that says something, considering the enjoyable Triple H angle. Along with that, and this really disappoints me, but at Survivor Series, we were finally going to see Eddie Guerrero and Shawn Michaels competing against each other in the same ring. Aside from the Royal Rumble, I don’t think we’ve ever seen this before. It was going to be the first time I would have the pleasure of watching two of the most talented wrestlers and two of the most entertaining performers squaring off against each other. Now, sadly, we’ll never get that chance. Finally, he was also somebody you really identified with Smackdown, and really gave the RAW vs. Smackdown feud legitimacy.
While I have no doubts whatsoever that Eddie’s recent face run was going to be revealed as a giant ruse, it makes me happy that he could end his career (and, tragically, his life) with the fans going absolutely crazy for him, showing him how much they loved and respected him. He was unbelievably talented, immensely entertaining, and highly respected. I never met the man, but I am saddened by his death. God bless him, and his family.
LOST:
All of last week I was planning on talking about how upsetting Shannon’s death was, but man….does that seem unimportant now. That said, it was still a really big episode, and a lot needs to be said about it. Sure, it wasn’t real, but it was still wonderfully scripted, and very emotional. But geez, that whole Boone/Shannon family has been annihilated, huh?
Well first and foremost, we did get confirmation that the person in the car wreck with Jack’s future wife was, in fact, Shannon’s father. For the observant ones, Jack was seen rushing through the hospital in one of Shannon’s flashbacks.
Man oh man, what a damn bitch Shannon’s step-mother was. This flashback certainly added some justification for why Shannon was scamming her (through Boone) out of money later on (which we learned last season).
Whether this was intentional of not, we now have a major time frame for much of the series. I read in an article not too long ago that the writers are deliberately not filling us in on what time period the show takes place, and how long ago each flashback is. However, in this episode Shannon reveals in her flashback that she’s 18 years old. In the pilot, I believe she says that she’s 22. That means that Shannon’s flashback is four years ago. Incidentally, Shannon’s flashback coincides (time line wise) with Jack’s story. Jack met his future wife when Shannon’s father died (four years ago), and I believe that in the episode that we find out Jack’s married, his wife remarks that two years ago Jack saved her. That means that Jack got married two years before the plane crash.
Further, in the flashback, Dave Matthew’s Band’s “Stay” is playing, which came out in 1998. In a past episode, Jack also makes a subtle remark about the Red Sox not winning the World Series. This means that the show takes place sometime between 2002 and 2004. Basically, this means that there won’t be any big twist which reveals that the show actually takes place in the past or future.
Also, the show did a pretty nice job of swerving us and keeping us guessing. I thought they did a good job of making us think that Claire could possibly die (with them emphasizing how a lot of other people on the island are fully capable of raising her son should anything happen to her). I also liked how they had the nothing female character (with the tailies) disappear with, like, ten minutes left in the episode, making us think they were going to go the cop-out route. However, when Shannon went running after Walt, you knew she was F’d.
Speaking of Walt, what is to become of him now that Shannon’s out of the picture? Will he now appear to Sayid? And, for those of you wondering, apparently Walt was saying (in his new backwards language) “The others are coming, and they’re close.” I also found it interesting that Walt was telling Sayid and Shannon to hush up when the tailies were coming, because it showed he was trying to protect them. Had Shannon and Sayid stayed quiet, it’s likely that Shannon would not have been shot. Walt is definitely a curious character right now.
I continue to absolutely, positively loathe Ana Lucia. I am SO hopeful that this tailies episode later this week will shed some light on her character, and perhaps make her a little more likable (once we understand her struggle). However, if that’s not the case, I don’t think I’d be able to handle much more of her. Oh, and I just noticed that Bernard is the principal from Growing Pains. Awesome.
It also looks like Sayid is going to go ape-shit on Ana Lucia, and he has every right to. However, I must say that I’ve always found the Shannon/Sayid relationship very thrown-together and random, so it seems really strange to me that they’re the first two to sleep together and say “I love you.” That seems like such a big moment that should be reserved for Charlie/Claire, Jack/Kate, or Kate/Sawyer. Speaking of Sawyer, that boy seriously needs a doctor.
Anyway, Murtz has an interview posted with Damon Lindelof, one of the co-creators of Lost. It’s a very interesting read, definitely give it a look:
http://tv.insidepulse.com/articles/44411
SURVIVOR:
While I’m really disappointed Bobby Jon got voted off, I gotta say that this was a great, highly dramatic episode. I still really hate Jamie, but man, that was a brilliant move offering to take last place in the reward challenge to make up for his past obnoxious behavior. Sure, he once again managed to dig himself into a hole with the whole ultra-paranoid thing, but then he managed to get immunity, so it ended up being a moot point anyway.
The stuff with Judd was interesting. First off, in the previews, they made the whole getting drunk and vomiting in the shelter thing seem like this huge deal. Then in the actual episode, they’re like “Judd you threw up in the shelter” and he says “Oh man, I don’t remember any of that” and that was that. Also, sharing the clue with Stef was a really strange decision, since he just decided to lie to everybody else anyway.
The stuff with Gary was incredible. Sure, it resulted in Bobby Jon getting voted off (I’ve been pulling for him), but it was a very fun moment. I loved the scene where Gary was searching through the jungle, and then he spies Judd looking up at the sky (after having told everybody that the hidden immunity idol was somewhere on the ground), and as such was able to find it. I also really enjoyed the fact that Jeff didn’t allow anybody to talk after Gary revealed the idol, since that meant that they couldn’t coerce a new plot.
I found the interaction between Gary and Jamie interesting, because I can’t decide if Jamie misunderstood what Gary was saying, or if Jamie was brewing up some sort of plot to get Gary voted off. Both seem like plausible possibilities, so I’m not sure. On one hand, Jamie was clearly paranoid all episode and Stef had noted that he sometimes misunderstands things. So when Gary said he was going to vote “with” Jamie, it’s possible that Jamie thought he meant that Gary was going to vote for Jamie. On the other hand, it’s possible that Jamie was threatened by the possibility of Gary (somebody more athletic and more likable than himself) joining his alliance, and wanted to get rid of him before that happened. It looks like the two butt heads next episode, so we may get some answers.
Random question, though. I was discussing the show with my friend Dave, and I was telling him how it always seems like the tribe I like more is the one that gets picked off one-by-one by the other tribe. Keep in mind, I only really watched the first two Survivors, and this one right now. So I was wondering, in the history of Survivor, has there ever been a case of somebody overcoming the numbers game, and surviving until the way end and winning it?
Also, last week I gave a riddle. Here’s the answer (in bold).
What comes next?
S30
O31
N30
D31
Interpretation:
S = September, 30 = number of days that month
O = October, 31 = number of days that month
N = November, 30 = number of days that month
D = December, 31 = number of days that month
For those of you feeling the loss of Eddie, give RAW and Smackdown a watch this week, as they’re both going to be a tribute to him. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
