The Others
"Life Is For The Living"

"Life Is For the Living"
Airdate: May 13, 2000

Warren visits Elmer in the hospital.

When I reviewed The Others episode, "The Ones That Lie In Wait" three weeks ago, my first sentence was, "If I were to say that what I wanted most was for NBC to stop pre-empting, re-ordering and re-timeslotting episodes of The Others, do you think I'd be sent to Hell?" What a fool I am. I should have known better than to voice my desires out loud! It comes as no surprise then, that the devil would prey on my weakness -- a day before the season finale was to air, it was announced that The Others would not be returning in NBC's television line-up, thus making "Life Is For the Living" the final episode of the series. They have taken away my Wong TV! The producers however, anticipated cancellation and sought to create an episode which would have enough closure to signify The End, but leave enough of an opening in case the show might return. The result is very much a mixed bag, some parts working better than others.

In truth, after viewing "Life Is For the Living", I was initially reminded of how I feel when I see a fireworks show. First you start off with immense bright lights, full of promise. Somewhere in the middle though, every one starts to look the same. Bang! Repeat. Boom! Repeat. There's nothing very subtle about it. What's the big deal about these things anyway? Just as you think about heading back early to your car, the finale has arrived. At this point, they always shoot out the loudest, the brightest, the biggest, and as many as they can at once. Amazing, wonderful, applause! Then, as the smoke begins to clear from the sky, you struggle your way through the crowd, bitching about the traffic you're going to have to endure to get home -- which you could have avoided had you left early - but damn! How about that ending!

Kristen Cloke as a Rabisu demon.

"The Ones That Lie In Wait" left off with The Evil Something, a Rabisu (Kristen Cloke), deviously trying to find out what each of The Others wants most in life. "Life Is For the Living" continues this tale, but starts off in the middle. We first see the Others scrambling madly in a state of slow-motion. Their wise leader, Elmer is passed out on the floor having suffered a heart attack. He mysteriously recovers (thanks to the powers of Cloke), but is stuck in a hospital bed through the rest of the episode. While Elmer is bed-ridden, every other member of the group is pre-occupied with their own lives. All of them have recently gained something highly desirable -- something they've always wanted. Elmer knows and fears that their good fortune is a false reality.

Destroy the enemy by presenting illusions of something that the victim is desperate to believe in. What a great premise! That this is carried through, to a sick and violent end, is even more daring and forceful. The intent is there. It's the method that I'm not entirely sold on. The episode tries to pile too many separate and meaningful events onto a foundation that is just not solid enough to support it. Take for example, the Yale professorship for Miles, the relationship for Albert, and the screenplay(!) for Warren. It's not that these aren’t believable things for these men to 'want', it is just that these desires pop up so abruptly! Then, they are quickly established into the script's first act without a blink of an eye. How are we supposed to care about Albert and this woman he's suddenly in love with, when we've only met her five minutes ago? I never thought I'd say this, but the most consistent and believable storyline is between Mark and Satori, because the relationship has been there from episode one.

Perhaps there was nothing that could be done about this. It is a shame that there weren't say, four episodes in between this finale and "The Ones That Lie In Wait" instead of two, so that a more natural or gradual arc could have been developed. It would have been nice to have seen the odd reminder of what each character 'wanted' in the episodes leading up to this one. What difference would fine details like this have made to the casual viewer? None whatsoever. But those people would be screwed either way, because "Life Is For the Living" cannot stand on its own without "The Ones That Lie In Wait".

Another thing that I appreciate are stories that leave you with enough mystery to think about after its over (not to be mistaken with just being vague). "The Ones That Lie In Wait" did this with flying colours. Curiousity was piqued on all ends. The questions that come out of "Life Is For the Living" however, are more out of confusion than intrigue. What is this evil force exactly? It is out to get the Others because they are special? It got an Others member named Allison (Cloke) in the '70's, but what else did we learn? On the other hand, we are whacked over the head with other things that are supposed to be significant -- how many times does Elmer tell his friends, "It's an ILLUSION!"? He's been right so many times in the past, it seems inconsistent that they would all brush him off (again, more time to develop 'what they want' might have helped this). How many times is "Life is for the living" actually spoken by someone? Too many! Basically, how much more obvious must it be made that Elmer's nurse, Warren's producer friend, Marian's roommate, and Albert's girlfriend are not real?

Instead of focusing on our main characters, which I think the story really does try to do, the emphasis ends up more on how the characters are getting duped. So, no matter how many shocks, or kicks in the teeth arrive in the final five minutes, though a wickedly built climax it is -- it is hard to produce any emotions, much less grief for them -- they had their chances, they didn't listen!

What would have happened in a second season? Answers about the evil that lurks on the other side? Maybe. More Kristen Cloke as the scary devil? Likely. A wholly original way to get the Others out of the mess they're in now? That's the one I'd really like to see! Alas, we'll never get the chance to know.

-- Julie Ng

Thanks to NBC, The Others is dead. R.I.P.

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