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| After the mercenary team from the freighter attack the Barracks, Miles leaves with ] (]), ] (]), and her baby ] for the beach. While returning to the beach, Miles is able to communicate with the recently deceased ] (]) and ] (]), confirming they were killed by ] (]) and his mercenaries. Miles claims this was not what he signed up for. Later, Miles is able to see the late ] (]) when he appears to Claire and she leaves with him.<ref>] (writer) & ] (writer) & ] (director), "]". '']'', ]. ], ]. Aired on April 24, 2008.</ref> | After the mercenary team from the freighter attack the Barracks, Miles leaves with ] (]), ] (]), and her baby ] for the beach. While returning to the beach, Miles is able to communicate with the recently deceased ] (]) and ] (]), confirming they were killed by ] (]) and his mercenaries. Miles claims this was not what he signed up for. Later, Miles is able to see the late ] (]) when he appears to Claire and she leaves with him.<ref>] (writer) & ] (writer) & ] (director), "]". '']'', ]. ], ]. Aired on April 24, 2008.</ref> | ||
| Miles is still on the beach when the freighter explodes and the island is "moved" on December 31, 2004.<ref>] (writer) & ] (writer) & ] (director), "]". '']'', ]. ], ]. Aired on May 29, 2008.</ref> Miles remains with the other crewmembers from the freighter, as well as Sawyer, ] (]), and ] (]). After one of the time skips lands them in 1954, they come under attack by the Others of that time and are separated from the rest of the survivors. Miles, Faraday, and Charlotte escape to a stream Sawyer had directed them to, which the Others have already reached. Two unnamed Flight 815 survivors are killed and the rest are captured by a group of Others led by Ellie (]). While being taken back to the Others' camp, they pass over the graves of four US Army soldiers, from which Miles learns that one died of radiation poisoning. After the time shifts caused by moving the island are stopped by Locke, their group ends up in 1974. Miles, Sawyer, Faraday, Juliet, and Jin, the only five left, end up joining the ] |
Miles is still on the beach when the freighter explodes and the island is "moved" on December 31, 2004.<ref>] (writer) & ] (writer) & ] (director), "]". '']'', ]. ], ]. Aired on May 29, 2008.</ref> Miles remains with the other crewmembers from the freighter, as well as Sawyer, ] (]), and ] (]). After one of the time skips lands them in 1954, they come under attack by the Others of that time and are separated from the rest of the survivors. Miles, Faraday, and Charlotte escape to a stream Sawyer had directed them to, which the Others have already reached. Two unnamed Flight 815 survivors are killed and the rest are captured by a group of Others led by Ellie (]). While being taken back to the Others' camp, they pass over the graves of four US Army soldiers, from which Miles learns that one died of radiation poisoning. After the time shifts caused by moving the island are stopped by Locke, their group ends up in 1974. Miles, Sawyer, Faraday, Juliet, and Jin, the only five left, end up joining the ]. Miles is placed in the security detail. | ||
| In the episode "]", Miles is approached by Horace Goodspeed to perform a secret mission for him. Sawyer, the man it would normally go to, is indisposed trying to help the young Ben Linus. Miles is sent to retrieve the body of a man killed by the electromagnetic forces near the future Swan station and transport him back to Goodspeed at the Barracks. Goodspeed directs Miles to deliver the body to Dr Pierre Chang at the Orchid station. He brings Hurley along, unable to convince him to wait for the next car. Dr Chang takes possession of the body and then asks to be delivered to the area where the Swan Station is being built. Hurley tries to get the two to talk during the drive. Later that night, Miles observes his father and his young self through a window. Dr Chang suddenly leaves his home and asks to be taken to the dock, where the submarine is bringing in a new group of workers, including ]. | |||
| == Characteristics == | == Characteristics == | ||
Revision as of 00:51, 18 April 2009
Template:Infobox Lost character Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium aboard the freighter 80 miles offshore of the island. Miles arrives on the island and is taken captive by John Locke (played by Terry O'Quinn), who suspects that those on the freighter are there to harm his fellow crash survivors of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 and expose the island to the general public. Miles is on a mission to obtain Ben Linus (Michael Emerson); instead, he cuts a deal with Ben to lie to Miles's employer Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) that Ben is dead.
The writers created the role of Miles specifically for Leung after seeing him guest star on The Sopranos. Leung was the only actor to read for the part. They chose his name because it resembles "maelstrom", another word for a powerful whirlpool. Reaction to the character has been positive.
Arc
Miles was born to Dharma Initiative scientist Dr. Pierre Chang (François Chau) and his wife Lara (Leslie Ishii) in 1977. When Miles was still a child, his mother left the island and Dr. Chang. When Miles was a little boy, his first learned of his ability to hear the voices of the deceased while his mother was in the process of renting an apartment in Los Angeles. In his early 20s, Miles asked his mother, now dying of cancer, about his father. She told him he died when he was a baby and that he never cared for either of them.
Miles eventually turns to using his gift for profit, acting as a medium and exorcist. In 2004, Miles goes to the house of a grieving woman named Mrs. Gardner (Azure McCall) to communicate with her dead grandson. He charges her double since her son was murdered. Simply by sitting in the man's room, he is apparently able to speak to the grandson's spirit and locate a cache with a large amount of drugs and money. Miles keeps the money, but gives Gardner a refund for half what she paid him. Later, Miles is doing a similar job for a grieving father whom has lost his son. As the body was cremated, he simply tells the father what he wants to hear. However, he changes his mind later on, returning the man's money and flatly telling him that he should have spoken to his son before his death.
Miles is approached by Naomi Dorritt (Marsha Thomason) on behalf of Matthew Abaddon (Lance Reddick). She takes Miles to a recently killed man, and asks him to test his powers on him. Miles is able to convey what this man knew to Naomi, whom offers Miles $1.6 million to be part of the freighter team that is being assembled. Just days before he is to leave to join the freighter, Miles is abducted by a mysterious group of people, led by a man named Bram (Brad William Henke). Bram claims to know the source of Miles' gift, and warns him not to go on this freighter mission. He asserts that his employer, Charles Widmore (Alan Dale), is on the "wrong team". Miles offers not to go for $3.2 million and Bram responds by asking Miles, "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" He takes Miles' inability to answer as proof that he is not ready to go, but releases him anyway.
Miles is placed on a team with Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies), Charlotte Lewis (Rebecca Mader), and Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey) under the command of Naomi to retrieve Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson) from the island. Miles and the others journey on the freighter called the Kahana. During their mission prep, Miles remarks to Michael Dawson (Harold Perrineau Jr.), who is posing as a crewman named Kevin Johnson, that he suspects he is not whom he says he is. His team is part of the first helicopter crew sent from the freighter to the island on December 21, 2004.
Miles is initially very distrustful of the Oceanic Flight 815 survivors, as Naomi's last words were code that indicated she was talking under duress. Miles pulls a gun on Jack (Matthew Fox) and Kate (Evangeline Lily), then forces them to take him to Naomi's body, allowing him to discern that Locke was the one that murdered her.
Sayid (Naveen Andrews) would later take Miles to Locke as a prisoner exchange, swapping him for Charlotte, which is what Miles wanted. Miles is kept in a boathouse near the Barracks. The next day, Kate breaks him out so that he can speak to fellow prisoner Ben. Miles tells Ben that he will lie to his employer Charles Widmore that Ben is dead in exchange for $3.2 million in the next week. When Ben tries to imply that he may not have access to that kind of money, Miles gets visibly upset, demanding that Ben not treat him "like one of them" (directed at Kate), since he knows who Ben really is. Miles is caught by Locke and taken back to boathouse, where an armed grenade is temporarily placed into his mouth.
After the mercenary team from the freighter attack the Barracks, Miles leaves with James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway), Claire Littleton (Emilie de Ravin), and her baby Aaron for the beach. While returning to the beach, Miles is able to communicate with the recently deceased Danielle Rousseau (Mira Furlan) and Karl (Blake Bashoff), confirming they were killed by Martin Keamy (Kevin Durand) and his mercenaries. Miles claims this was not what he signed up for. Later, Miles is able to see the late Christian Shephard (John Terry) when he appears to Claire and she leaves with him.
Miles is still on the beach when the freighter explodes and the island is "moved" on December 31, 2004. Miles remains with the other crewmembers from the freighter, as well as Sawyer, Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell), and Locke (Terry O'Quinn). After one of the time skips lands them in 1954, they come under attack by the Others of that time and are separated from the rest of the survivors. Miles, Faraday, and Charlotte escape to a stream Sawyer had directed them to, which the Others have already reached. Two unnamed Flight 815 survivors are killed and the rest are captured by a group of Others led by Ellie (Alexandra Krosney). While being taken back to the Others' camp, they pass over the graves of four US Army soldiers, from which Miles learns that one died of radiation poisoning. After the time shifts caused by moving the island are stopped by Locke, their group ends up in 1974. Miles, Sawyer, Faraday, Juliet, and Jin, the only five left, end up joining the Dharma Initiative. Miles is placed in the security detail.
In the episode "Some Like It Hoth", Miles is approached by Horace Goodspeed to perform a secret mission for him. Sawyer, the man it would normally go to, is indisposed trying to help the young Ben Linus. Miles is sent to retrieve the body of a man killed by the electromagnetic forces near the future Swan station and transport him back to Goodspeed at the Barracks. Goodspeed directs Miles to deliver the body to Dr Pierre Chang at the Orchid station. He brings Hurley along, unable to convince him to wait for the next car. Dr Chang takes possession of the body and then asks to be delivered to the area where the Swan Station is being built. Hurley tries to get the two to talk during the drive. Later that night, Miles observes his father and his young self through a window. Dr Chang suddenly leaves his home and asks to be taken to the dock, where the submarine is bringing in a new group of workers, including Daniel Faraday.
Characteristics
Miles is hotheaded and initially hostile toward the survivors, after one of them kills his colleague Naomi Dorrit (Marsha Thomason). But he, too, is disrespectful of Naomi after she dies, referring to her dead body as "just meat" and telling Kate "sure I'm affected . She was hot and I dug her accent." Upon learning that Miles has been captured by Locke, Frank informs Sayid that "that guy's nothing but a pain in my ass."
Miles sarcastically nicknames his acquaintances, prompting critics, fans and characters to compare him to the character Sawyer and give him a nickname of his own: "mini-Sawyer". Actor Leung has said that "Miles doesn't know how to be social, which is great, because I don't know how to be social." He has also stated that Miles "trust the dead more than the living" and is intrigued as to whom Miles grieves for.
Development
The day after the April 22, 2007 episode of The Sopranos titled "Remember When" aired, Lost's co-creator Damon Lindelof met with fellow executive producer/writer/show runner Carlton Cuse and said that "there's an actor on th show —I'm not going to tell you who he is—and I wonder if he has the same impression on you that he had on me". Cuse correctly guessed Ken Leung, who had guest starred as one-time character Carter Chong. In mid-May, they contacted Leung's agent and were informed in July that he was available and interested in working on Lost. To limit the leak of spoilers, Lindelof and Cuse auditioned Leung with a character and scene created specifically for the audition that would not be used in the show but was "analogous to the role really want." Leung believed that he was auditioning for the role of Russell, a brilliant mathematician in his late thirties with immense knowledge across various scientific fields, limited social skills and broken personal relationships. Leung was the only actor who tried out for this part, as writers had written the (originally recurring guest) role of Miles for him and had he not accepted the job, the character would have been completely rewritten. The name Miles Straume was simply chosen because the writer-producers thought that "it would be cool if his name sounded like 'maelstrom'". Costume designer Roland Sanchez based Miles's wardrobe choice after that of The Rolling Stones member Keith Richards; specifically a picture in which he wore a sleeveless vest. Sanchez believed that Miles fit the haggard look and bought an Armani Exchange jacket, cropped the sleeves and added a hood and this outfit assisted Leung's understanding of Miles. The writers planned for an episode in the late fourth season to focus on Miles's backstory; however, this will be moved to the fifth season as a result of the Writers Guild of America strike.
Reception
After four appearances, Leung was nominated for the J. C. Penney Asian Excellence Award in the Supporting Television Actor category, but he lost to Rex Lee, who plays Lloyd on HBO's Entourage. According to Jon Lachonis of UGO, Miles and the other new characters have been well received by fans. Maureen Ryan of The Chicago Tribune said that Leung is "terrifically intense" in his portrayal. Paige Albiniak of the New York Post praised the cast addition. Diane Werts of Newsday thought that "Ken Leung and Michael Emerson may be the two current most interesting actors in this mix". Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger commented that "Miles the dustbusting ghostbuster is easily my favorite … why not throw in a medium … I love the sarcastic energy he brings. Sawyer and Ben can't be the only ones getting the good one-liners". After Miles' introduction in the second episode of the fourth season, Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Leung made "a strong impression" and was well cast. Chris Carabott of IGN stated that "Leung does an adequate job of getting Miles' arrogant brand of confidence across."
References
- Sarnoff, Elizabeth (writer) & Vaughan, Brian K. (writer) & Williams, Stephen (director), "Meet Kevin Johnson". Lost, ABC. Episode 8, season 4. Aired on March 20, 2008.
- Goddard, Drew (writer) & Vaughan, Brian K. (writer) & Williams, Stephen (director), "Confirmed Dead". Lost, ABC. Episode 2, season 4. Aired on February 7, 2008.
- ^ Kitsis, Edward (writer) & Horowitz, Adam (writer) & Bender, Jack (director), "The Economist". Lost, ABC. Episode 3, season 4. Aired on February 14, 2008.
- Sarnoff, Elizabeth (writer) & Nations, Greggory (writer) & Williams, Stephen (director), "Eggtown". Lost, ABC. Episode 4, season 4. Aired on February 21, 2008.
- Lindelof, Damon & Cuse, Carlton, (March 21, 2008) "The Official Lost Audio Podcast", ABC. Retrieved on March 31, 2008.
- Goddard, Drew (writer) & Vaughan, Brian K. (writer) & Williams, Stephen (director), "The Shape of Things to Come". Lost, ABC. Episode 9, season 4. Aired on April 24, 2008.
- Lindelof, Damon (writer) & Cuse, Carlton (writer) & Bender, Jack (director), "There's No Place Like Home". Lost, ABC. Episode 14, season 4. Aired on May 29, 2008.
- Jensen, Jeff, (February 22, 2008) "Not What We Eggspected", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on April 13, 2008.
- Godwin, Jennifer, (February 15, 2008) "Sayid in a Tux? Lordy Lord, Our Prayers Have Been Answered!", E!. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.
- Martell, Erin, (February 8, 2008) "Lost: 'Confirmed Dead'", TV Squad. Retrieved on March 10, 2008.
- Carabott, Chris, (February 22, 2008) "Kate Causes Trouble for Locke and His Group", IGN. Retrieved on February 23, 2008.
- Malcolm, Shawna, (February 7, 2008) "Lost Exclusive: Meet Four New Characters!", TV Guide. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.
- Keck, Will, (February 13, 2008) "Meet Three More of the 'Freighter People' from Lost", USA Today. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.
- ^ Jensen, Jeff, (August 29, 2007) "Lost: Five Fresh Faces", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on August 30, 2007.
- Ausiello, Michael, (August 19, 2007) "Sopranos Scene-Stealer Gets Lost!", TV Guide. Retrieved on April 3, 2008.
- Littleton, Cynthia, (October 12, 2007) "Lost: The Weight of the Wait", Variety. Retrieved on October 13, 2007.
- Ausiello, Michael, (August 1, 2007) "Lost Introduces the Other Others!?", TV Guide. Retrieved on January 19, 2008.
- Jensen, Jeff "Doc", (February 20, 2008) "Lost: Mind-Blowing Scoop From Its Producers", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
- Sanchez, Roland, (February 8, 2008) "The Official Lost Video Podcast", ABC. Retrieved on March 17, 2008.
- Jensen, Jeff "Doc", (April 10, 2008) "Secrets from the Set!", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.
- Lachonis, Jon "DocArzt", (March 13, 2008) "Darlton Lost Interview", UGO Networks. Retrieved on March 22, 2008.
- Niwa, Grace, (April 5, 2008) "And the Nominees Are…", Asians in America. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.
- Asian Excellence Awards, (May 1, 2008) "2008 Winners". Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
- Lachonis, Jon "DocArzt", (February 13, 2008) "Rebecca Mader Lost Interview", UGO Networks. Retrieved on March 16, 2008.
- Ryan, Maureen, (March 19, 2008) "Lost is Back to Being an Unmissable Addiction", The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on June 6, 2008.
- Albiniak, Paige, (February 24, 2008) "10 Reasons Why Lost is Found", New York Post. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.
- Werts, Diane, (February 22, 2008) "Lost Gets Lost in Kate-Dom", Newsday. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.
- Sepinwall, Alan, (February 7, 2008) "Who Ya Gonna Call? Miles!", The Star-Ledger. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.
- Jensen, Jeff "Doc", (February 7, 2008) "Chute First, Ask Questions Later", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on March 15, 2008.
- Carabott, Chris, (February 6, 2008) "Four New Characters Join the Cast", IGN. Retrieved on March 10, 2008.
