Just Like Hurley: Amusing, Enjoyable and Harmless‏

So, I enjoyed last night's episode. If nothing else, it was a lighter change
of pace from the rest of the season, which is why I fell that Hurley
flashbacks are necessary. I like Hurley enough and while he is certainly not
one of my favorites, I do enjoy his flashbacks.

That said, I thought his flashback last night in and of itself was a bit
pointless because all we learned was that his Dad (Cheech in a Bad Wig,
making Hurley I think the 100th cast member of Lost to have Daddy issues)
made him fat and taught him to say "Dude." Oh, we also learned that if Jorge
Garcia scrunches his chin in during his flashbacks, it makes his double chin
look a little bigger; presumably to make us viewers think "Hey, he has lost
weight since the plane crashed!"

The episode had some really good "present day" moments though:
- I nearly stood up and cheered when Hurley slapped Charlie. If only he
could take out his aggression on Kate too, who is quickly becoming my least
favorite character
- All of Sawyer's pop culture references, my favorites being Snuffy and
Skeletor.
- All of Sawyer and Hurley's interaction with Jin.
- That, despite my distaste for her, Kate actually told people (basically)
what happened to them on the other island. There actually seemed to be a lot
of conversation about stuff that has happened on the island between the
castaways tonight. Maybe that means they will actually keep it up.
- I think I missed Vincent more than I missed Hurley, so I was quite happy
to see him again.
- The opening scene with Hurley at Libby's grave was nicely done, though I
wish they could have gotten Cynthia Watros to come back and do some flashing
back to the mental institution.

So, stuff I did not like:
- The implication that Cheech is to blame for Hurley's weight problems.
Look, obviously he's not even close to being a good dad, but seeing him give
the candy bar to young skinny Hurley (who I actually thought looked like a
young, Hispanic Sawyer), then drive away and then flash to "present day"
Hurley with his overabundance of chins kinda irked me. And I have no doubt
that his dad leaving was a big factor in his overcompensating with food, but
the implication of an almost blameless Hugo was ridiculous.
- The episode's climax. I thought it was pretty obvious that Kate was going
to see Rousseau (even if Mira Furlan's name wasn't in the credits, where
else would she be going?) and the rest of the audience had come to the
conclusion that Alex was her daughter last season, so why did they reveal it
like it was some huge shock?

So, I didn't really dislike that much, I guess.

What was the deal with Paulo grabbing Nikki's pants and stopping her from
going with Hurley? Apparently, since being introduced this season, these two
characters have become the most hated Losties ever. (But the producers have
a PLAN, of course.) Now, I don't really hate them (because I really have no
reason to), but why would they make such a point of him grabbing her and
pulling her back, especially when we know nothing about either one of them?

I've decided I am no longer watching the promos for next week's episode
because they just irritate me and contribute to my distaste for some
episodes (like last week's appearance of Cindy the stewardess). So, if you
don't mind, if you respond to this or talk to me about Lost, don't discuss
the promos because I don't want to know. I also don't know whose flashback
it is next week, nor do I care to know until I am watching the episode.

Do you think that this episode was focused on "hope" as a not so subtle
attempt to assure loyal viewers that their reliance in the show will be
rewarded eventually, if they have hope?