Summary: In the flashsideways, Jack offers to fix Locke's back with a surgery but Locke refuses. Jack is unable to let it go and pursues Locke's history to his father, who was in the same accident as him. Jack talks to Locke about it and tries to get him to let go but Locke refuses. On the island, MIB arrives at Hydra Island and breaks the candidates out of Widmore's captivity. MIB finds C4 on the plane and decides they have to leave on the sub. Sawyer plans with Jack that Jack will push MIB in the water while the others escape in the sub. Widmore's men arrive and a shootout starts. Kate gets shot and Jack takes her into the sub. MIB and Claire fight back, but Sawyer leaves them out and gets the sub to leave. Jack finds a timed explosive in his bag and realizes MIB planned it out. He determines that MIB can't kill them and tells everyone to let the timer run down - they won't die. Sawyer doesn't listen and tries to defuse it, but it ticks down faster. Sayid takes the bomb and runs, the explosion kills him. The sub starts to sink and everyone tries to get out. Frank is knocked out by a door and is left in the sub. Sun is trapped by a heavy object and Jin stays behind with her. They both die. Jack, Hurley, Kate, and Sawyer are the only survivors. MIB realizes they survived and goes to finish the job.
The Good: This worked far better than most episodes this season. The island story moved at a rapid pace and was packed with excitement and drama at every turn, building up to a tremendous climax. I thoroughly enjoyed the build-up, as it set up a lot of the conflict for later in the episode. MIB makes a key point on why he should be trusted, Sawyer also has an excellent moment where he pretends to trust MIB before forming another plan to betray him. And we get some good scenes with Jack who remains loyal to his friends while maintaining that he will stay on the island to find his true purpose. Then the episode hits with its magnificent twist. The reveal of the bomb on the submarine is a real heart-stopping moment, set up beautifully by MIB's ominous statement that the "sub is the last place you want to be". The impact of the moment is fantastic and it makes MIB's plan crystal clear in just a few quick moments. He wasn't able to kill any of the candidates, so he only pretended to be their friends enough to be suspicious so that they would betray him and ultimately kill each other. It's a fantastic reveal that finally gives us an answer on MIB's motives, which are superbly well written. You get the sense that MIB has been turning candidates against each other for years on end and rubbing it in Jacob's face. On a more immediate note, the bomb reveal is massive because it comes off as an immediate death sentence. "Lost" has always been so good at these high stakes scenes where multiple characters have to come together and solve a problem under time pressure ("Pilot Part 2", "Orientation"), and this may very well be the best of them. The urgency is there as everyone argues, and all of the logical solutions are brought up and ruled out. Then we get into the fantastic heart of the scene as Jack gets a chance to show us how he has changed. The man of science has become the man of faith as he pieces together MIB's plan and tells everyone that nothing is going to happen. This is a monumental moment for Jack, one that directly calls back to his experience with Richard and the dynamite in "Dr. Linus". But in a tragic twist, Sawyer doesn't have any faith in Jack and refuses to listen. And why shouldn't he? The last time he listened to Jack, Juliet got killed. It fits that Sawyer doesn't listen, and it leads into the spectacular moment as the timer ticks even faster, with death becoming an inevitability. Such a fantastic scene with fantastic writing, one that had me at the edge of my seat the entire time. Everything that comes afterward doesn't quite live up to the high quality, but it is still excellent television. Being trapped on a sinking sub is a terrifying idea, and the horror of that idea brings a high level of suspense. The escape is filled with great moments like Hurley, in denial, going to get Sayid, and Jack being unwilling to leave Jin behind. And tragically, we lose some of the main characters in excellent scenes. I have my issues with all of the deaths (see: The Bad), but I still found most of them to be effective. Sayid's death is a good way to redeem the character, and having him give his life to save the others is in-line with what he would do. I just wish that Sayid had been given a stronger story that built up to this moment. Jin and Sun's death is brutally emotional, and carries most of the emotional weight of the episode. Their last words are well done, and having Jin go back to Korean was a beautiful little touch. The flashsideways story is also quite strong. It doesn't progress the plot forward, but thankfully the story is powerful and told so well that it overcomes that issue. The episode cut to the heart of both Jack and Locke and it built beautifully to their final scene at the end of the episode. It was wonderful to see Jack express how Locke helped him process his father's death, and Jack returning the favour to Locke was an outstanding moment. We also get to hear Locke's story of his own guilt, which was terrifically portrayed by Terry O'Quinn as always. Then of course we get a tremendous juxtaposition as this time it is Jack asking Locke to let go and take a leap of faith, and when Locke ultimately refuses, it is Jack who gets to say the memorable "I wish you had believed me". The whole scene was written extremely well. The flashsideways had some other strong moments. It was great seeing Anthony Cooper again, even if he was only there for a short scene. I also loved that Jack obsessed over Locke and went as far as to hunt down his father to get the truth. That's such a pure Jack move, and it contrasts nicely with how Jack has changed for the better on the island. I also loved Jack's scenes with Claire and him acknowledging her as family was touching. We were robbed of these scenes in the main storyline because of Claire's craziness and being left behind, so it was nice to get them in the flashsideways instead. The Bad: The deaths didn't quite deliver. One big reason is because the characters who died are still alive in the flashsideways, so the impacts of their deaths are lessened. Hell, we literally see Jin roaming the hospital hallway mere seconds after he dies! The specific deaths have individual reasons for not being as powerful as they should have been. Frank's death was as memorable and impactful as a wet fart. The character stuck around and did absolutely nothing for a season before dying an unceremonious death. Whatever. As I've been saying for the last while, Jin and Sun's death was lessened by how much the characters had been shoved to the side the past two seasons. And of course, I was waiting the entire time for Sun to tell Jin that he had a daughter and should have saved himself for her sake. But instead that fact was completely ignored, which was very sloppy writing. And again, I was really frustrated by the fact that they were speaking English rather than Korean. The scene of them talking in the cages felt awkward because it was in English instead of Korean. Lastly, we get to Sayid. Sayid's death was massively disappointing because of the amount of questions that died with him. I guess we never will learn more about the "infection", which makes me question why so much of season 6 was spent building up mystery around what happened to Sayid and Claire if we were never going to get answers. That's very sloppy. One big nitpick I have with the sinking sequence is that "Lost" has severely underestimated how difficult it is to swim while carrying somebody else. The submarine is sinking and far away from both the surface and the island (note that Frank never got instructions to get the submarine to go back towards the island!), so the distance to swim to get to land will be gigantic. Unfortunately, there is no way I can buy that anyone would have survived the sinking submarine because of this. The Unknown: Why were Widmore's fences offline at the start of the episode? Just how incompetent are his men? Also, we still don't know anything about why Widmore is here and what his motives are. With just 3 episodes left, I really hope we get more on him. Why isn't Locke able to kill the candidates? Is Jacob somehow protecting them? Is Frank actually dead? We didn't really see him die. I can't see nay way he would have survived though. Best Moment: The argument between Jack and Sawyer leading up to the explosion of the bomb, but you could choose many other scenes too. Fantastic stuff. Character of the Episode: Jack. Conclusion: This episode was a terrific example of how to do tension-based television, and it worked as a dramatic and climactic piece of television, while also having a strong emotional core. Sure there were some problems regarding the character deaths, but overall this is still superb stuff, and I hope that it's a sign of great things to come for the rest of the season. The best episode of the season so far. Score: 77
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Summary: In the flashsideways, Locke is rushed to the hospital alongside Sun. Sawyer interrogates Kate, and gets a lead on a suspect for a shooting: Sayid. Sawyer and Miles go to his house and arrest him. Desmond runs into Claire and gets her to meet a lawyer, Ilana. Ilana recognizes Claire as the mysterious person on Christian's will and introduces her to Jack. Jack suddenly gets a call from the hospital and goes in to operate on a patient: Locke. On the island, Jack finally meets MIB and confirms that the vision of his father was in fact MIB. Jakc agrees to work with MIB for the moment. Zoe arrives and demands MIB return Desmond. She has the camp fire off a mortar strike as a threat. MIB plans to storm Hydra Island and tells Sawyer to get the boat. Sawyer takes Kate and leaves instructions for all of the others to separate from MIB and meet up at a dock so they can escape on the boat. Jack gets everyone to sneak away, but leaves Claire and Sayid behind as they can't be trusted. Claire follows them and is upset, but Kate convinces her to go with them. MIB sends Sayid to kill Desmond, and it is unclear if he goes through with it. The boat goes to Hydra Island, but Jack changes his mind and decides to go back, unwilling to leave the island. Upon reaching Hydra Island, Jin and Sun reunite. Widmore decides to capture everyone instead of letting them go. Widmore fires mortar strikes at MIB's camp. MIB sneaks into the jungle with Jack.
The Good: This was an in-between episode that seems to connect the slow-paced middle of the season with the final stretch of the season. It did its job effectively and there were plenty of developments and great moments in this episode that I enjoyed. Just about every character received some good scenes. I thought Desmond's argument to convince Sayid not to shoot him was superbly written and it fits with Sayid's story. I do wish that Sayid had been handled better in recent episodes to make this moment even more meaningful (see: The Bad), but on its own it is a terrific scene. I also really liked Jack's conversation with MIB, and it felt like Jack was sizing up what his purpose is on the island. I was glad to see Jack asking if MIB was Christian, and it is sensible that Jack would connect that MIB would take the appearance of other dead people as well as Locke. Jack's decision later in the episode to jump off the boat is another brilliant moment that was executed really well (see: Best Moment). It was good drama watching Sawyer enact his plan to get everyone off the island, and Jack choosing to stay behind is the perfect climax for this story. Lastly, I was pleased to see Jin and Sun finally reunite, even if the scene wasn't as good as I was hoping (see: The Bad). The flashsideways story is finally picking up some momentum now. Not having a centric character helped the flashsideways finally pick up some momentum. Recent episodes (barring "Happily Ever After") have had a strong feeling of filler in the flashsideways, and it has felt like the story isn't heading anywhere worthwhile. But that changed in this episode. The characters have intersected in a number of really interesting ways, and it's fun to watch these many encounters. From Jack operating on Locke to Sawyer arresting Sayid, there were plenty of joyful ways that characters intersected with each other. Plus, we got some really delightful moments. Sawyer talking up Kate was a delight and a throwback to their interactions in the earlier seasons. I also really liked seeing Desmond following Claire, trying to lead her to meet Ilana. He was so unintentionally creepy, and Claire's increasing awkwardness and fear was genuinely funny to watch. The Bad: A lot of the characters' journeys to get to this point in the season have been botched, and that took away a lot from this episode. I think the biggest example is Sayid, who has hardly done anything since his turn to the dark side in "Sundown". It's remarkable that 7 episodes after his turn, we still have no context on what this means for him. Is he actually infected? Can he be saved from this? Is he even capable of being human anymore? Is he the same Sayid as before? And of course, how did he come back to life? None of these questions have been answered, and that has caused me to disconnect with Sayid as a character. We need to see what has happened to him, we can't just be told vaguely that he's evil now. I'm not sure of what to make of Desmond persuading Sayid because I'm so disconnected from Sayid. I don't have any idea if Sayid is capable of being redeemed, and that prevents me from buying into the idea of Sayid sparing Desmond's life. As a result, the moment completely lacks emotional impact, and the excellent writing of the scene is wasted. We need more clarity on the character of Sayid for his story to be impactful. Claire is another character whose story is suffering badly. I'm stunned that we haven't been given a centric episode for her yet, especially since we still haven't found out what happened to her after she was taken by Christian in season 4. Just like Sayid, the character of Claire is so painfully unclear, and that is preventing me from emotionally engaging with her. One key moment is Claire's acknowledgement that she knows MIB is also Christian. This feels so strange because in "Lighthouse" she had implied that she thought that MIB (she calls him "my friend") was different from her father. But now she suddenly seems to understand that they are the same? This doesn't make any sense and I'm not sure what to feel. Furthermore, Claire says that she completely trusts MIB, and yet she leaves alongside Kate and the others immediately after. That's horrible character writing, and I've been thoroughly unsatisfied with how Claire has been handled this season. And as the cherry on top for the poor handling of Sayid and Claire, everybody else is willing to leave them on the island with MIB without a second thought. Claire is a bit more excusable since she has gone crazy, but abandoning Sayid so suddenly after all that they have been through together is tough to buy into. You would think that Hurley at the very least would make a case for saving Sayid. Instead they just claim that "he's changed", and use that as grounds to abandon him. That is awful, and it perfectly highlights how poorly the writers have handled both Sayid and Claire. I was disappointed by Jin and Sun's reunion. They have been apart for 2 seasons now, and both character's development has been stunted because of their separation. So the moment they reunited needed to be a seminal moment to justify the last two seasons. And it really wasn't. In what world do they reunite as a throwaway scene at the end of a set-up episode? This should absolutely have happened at the end of a Jin/Sun episode so that we could really feel the emotion as they reunite. This reunion would have been far better off if it had happened in "The Package" instead. Furthermore, Sun suddenly remembering English made me roll my eyes. What a stupid moment. Who thought it was a good idea to have Sun lose the ability to speak for this pathetic pay-off moment? Their reunion is emotional enough, we don't need any other nonsensical tropes in this moment. Lastly, I was bothered by the fact that they were both speaking English. Sun has no reason to believe that Jin speaks fluent English. They should absolutely have been speaking Korean with each other. There were some other little things that bothered me. In the flashsideways, Desmond is still way too mysterious for me to connect with his story. There's no way that he knew that attempting to murder Locke would put him in Jack's care, yet that's the implication that the story gives. Furthermore, there's no way that he would be lucky enough that Claire would go to the exact building where Ilana just happens to be working. Also, Ilana's cameo has to be one of the show's weakest. She hardly even feels like herself and that perfectly encapsulates how weak of a character she was. Lastly, Jack learning that Claire is his half-sister did not work at all. The issue is that we have already seen this exact same scene happen before in the other timeline. Seeing it again in a different scenario went into some uncanny valley territory, and it made me feel really weird and uncomfortable. The Unknown: Did Sayid kill Desmond? I highly doubt it. MIB tells Jack that for his plan to work the way he intended, he needed Locke to be brought back to the island. Eloise was the one that told Jack that Locke had to be brought back. Does this mean that Eloise is working with MIB? Or is it just a coincidence? Why was Sun screaming "it's him" about Locke? Is she remembering him as MIB? Claire tells Jack that "you decided the moment you let [MIB] talk to you". This is in-line with Dogen telling Sayid that he has to kill MIB before he talks. Is this just a neat parallel, or is it suggesting that MIB does have some magical powers of persuasion? We still aren't entirely sure what he is capable of. Was MIB actually the one that brought Sayid back to life? How did he do this? Does MIB actually want the candidates to leave? Why is it so important for him? I suspect that he is manipulating them somehow. Best Moment: Jack's conversation with Sawyer on the boat. His apology for getting Juliet killed is a heartfelt moment, and his decision to stay behind makes perfect sense. Likewise, Sawyer is completely understandable in his treatment of Jack, having had enough of the island and destiny after all that he has lost. Their conflict works really well, and Jack ultimately jumping off the boat is a really strong character moment. Character of the Episode: Jack. Conclusion: This should have been an excellent set-up episode with a lot of powerful moments and big developments. But the poor storytelling in the middle section of the season has impacted this episode and a lot of the key moments didn't quite deliver. This is still solid television, but it is disappointing to see "Lost" making significant missteps that damage the story in its final run. Score: 60 Summary: Holt and Kevin have a vow renewal ceremony, but it's undercut when Holt decides to work a case with Jake; his final case before he retires. Terry and Amy help with the case and Terry helps Amy process Holt's retirement.
The Good: The concept of this episode is great and it allows the episode to have some genuine character development, especially for Holt and Amy. We learn more about them and they have some really nice moments. Holt enjoying his final case too much was a blast to watch, and Amy's petrified state while trying to work with Terry is very funny. I enjoyed both the Jake/Holt and Terry/Amy dynamic in this episode, and the jokes were well written and clever. Terry screwing up by leaking Holt's retirement to Amy is in-character for him and was a really strong laugh. I also really liked the cold open as Holt ever-so-casually drops the detail that he will be retiring. The Bad: This season has relied too much on bleeping out swear words for its jokes. This was used sparingly in previous seasons for some good jokes, and it worked. But now it has run its course with almost every episode having a "bleep" joke. Best Moment: Holt's hilarious porn cover story, followed by the reveal that Holt doesn't even know the name of Jake's son. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: Here's a much better episode. Unlike the previous unfunny instalment, this episode utilized its characters well, had a clever premise, and had several good laughs. A strong episode of comedy. Score: 66 Summary: Charles takes Jake and Terry to visit the Boyle farm and they stumble onto a murder mystery. Amy and Rosa set Holt up on a date to try to get him to realize how good Kevin is.
The Good: Charles not being a Boyle is a fun twist and there are some decent jokes regarding that. Holt has a really good episode, and it's a blast to hear the never-ending list of intricate details that Holt despises. The episode is very cheesy, and that works to its full effect with the Holt/Kevin kiss scene, a scene that earns its cheesy parody of "The Notebook" considering the themes of the storyline. The Bad: Much of this episode was really bad. The cheesiness worked in only that one scene and everywhere else it was sloppy. The entire murder mystery plot is just awful. It's quite literally "Knives Out" if it was a garbage movie. The story is rushed, has no good laughs, and is too busy trying to imitate "Knives Out" to have any real intrigue, comedy, or character development. The episode is sloppily written in a number of areas (I thought Gina was given the only remaining sourdough starter, how is there more?) with dumb twists that are neither dramatic nor funny. Furthermore, the pacing of the murder mystery plot is too quick, ensuring that none of the plot moments land at all. Charles not being a Boyle is an interesting twist but it isn't explored properly. Jake and Terry come off as bad friends for most of the episode, and Charles doesn't really learn anything from the experience. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" no longer seems interesting in exploring its characters or letting them grow. I can't think of a single good character moment in this season. The side story with Holt also falls flat for the most part. The characters don't do anything new and the story is extremely dull. Best Moment: Holt and Kevin's gloriously cheesy kiss. Character of the Episode: Holt. Conclusion: This is easily one of the show's worst episodes. Unlike last season's "Dillman", the parody here falls entirely flat, and the charm of the characters is nowhere near enough to cover up the sloppy writing and lack of laughs. Score: 39 Summary: In the flashsideways, a successful Hurley is forced into a date by his mom. He encounters Libby, who is in a mental health institute but claims that she knows him. Hurley has an encounter with Desmond who encourages him to follow through with Libby. Hurley talks more with Libby and they end up kissing, causing Hurley to remember. Desmond finds Locke and runs him over with his car. On the island, Ilana gets dynamite to help Richard blow up the plane but she blows herself up. With Michael's instructions, Hurley gets everyone to go to the Black Rock to get more dynamite, but it's a trick and Hurley runs ahead to blow up all the dynamite. Richard goes with Ben and Miles to stay away from MIB while Hurley gets Jack and Sun to go with him to talk with MIB. Hurley sees Michael again and discovers that the whispers are the dead souls trapped on the island. Hurley makes it to MIB's camp. Meanwhile, Sayid shows Desmond to MIB who takes him to a well and throws him in it.
The Good: There is a lot going on in this episode, and it pushes the plot forward significantly. There are big developments here like the destruction of the Black Rock, Ilana's death, Richard's group splitting away, and Hurley, Sun, and Jack joining up with MIB's camp. We also surprisingly get a straightforward answer for once as we learn about the nature of the whispers (though that reveal wasn't entirely satisfying, see: The Bad). All of this is good to see considering how recent episodes in this season have been mostly uneventful and have lacked urgency. There were some nice character moments throughout the episode. Jack's arc this season has been a highlight. It's so great to see him finally letting go and letting others take the lead. His complete trust in Hurley and his admission of guilt for getting Juliet killed were impactful moments that reveal to us exactly how and why Jack has changed this season. Hurley has a pretty good episode too as we get to see the show's themes of leadership extend to him for once. Usually the leader role would be limited to Jack, Locke, Ben, or Sawyer, so it's nice to see the show toy with the idea of Hurley stepping up and being in charge. The flashsideways story is pretty good. Hurley's as relatable as ever even with his good luck. Despite being the man of the year, he's still lonely and unable to find a girl for himself, which sets up a beautiful romance between Hurley and Libby, leading up to a surprising climax as Hurley remembers the island. It should be interesting to see the impact this has on the story (see: The Unknown), but more importantly, the moment stands out emotionally because it is a nice bit of bonding for Hurley and Libby. It was great to see Libby again, and even get some possible answers about why she was in the mental institute in the real world (issues with reality). There were some other small things I enjoyed. This episode was light on callbacks but we had some delightful moments like Dr. Chang being the spokesperson for Hurley and Hurley's mother being exactly the same as ever, even with Hurley being one of the world's most loved individuals. MIB's story with Desmond was solid and enjoyable. Terry O'Quinn is as great as ever, and there was a genuine surprise when MIB seemingly left Desmond in the well for dead. The Bad: Many of the developments here did not work for me, and I think that is because this episode did not make these moments resonate emotionally. Let's take the splitting of the main group into two smaller groups. This is something we have seen several times before in "Lost" (think "House of the Rising Sun" and "The Beginning of the End"), but it felt so empty and unengaging this time around. I think that's because the characters aren't making any interesting choices or developing interesting conflicts with this split. The conflict between the groups is practically nonexistent and it only comes to the forefront because of Hurley's choice to blow up the Black Rock, a decision that was played for shock value rather than any actual emotional value. As such, the conflict between Hurley and Richard has very little heart to it, and seeing the groups split up feels like the show going through the motions instead of making me care about what is happening. Ilana's death was awful. What a horrible resolution for a character who ended up being completely pointless. She didn't add much to the show, she was a forgettable character, her plot function could easily have been fulfilled by somebody else, and her death wasn't even any good. We already saw Arzt die the same way, seeing it happen again adds nothing whatsoever. It's a horrible way to end this character's story, and I can't help but be disappointed by how Ilana and her group amounted to absolutely nothing. Furthermore, I was frustrated with the lack of reaction to her death outside of one line by Ben. And even that line didn't land well with me. His claim of "the island was done with her" just reeks of the real meaning being "the writers were done with her". I also wasn't happy with the answer for the whispers. Having them just be dead spirits is really unsatisfying, and it isn't even a complete answer! We know that the whispers are connected to the others somehow, but the show doesn't tell us why this is the case, so it is an incomplete answer anyways. Furthermore, the reveal of this answer isn't a big dramatic moment, and it's not part of a character moment either. The episode comes to a halt specifically to give us this lame, half-assed answer, and that is just not worth it. I've always respected "Lost" for never sacrificing its drama for the sake of giving out answers. I'm alright with there being some minor mysteries left unresolved - obviously the show won't be able to tackle every tiny detail. But if we are getting answers, they need to be more thought out than this. The flashsideways story has its problems to. For one, it's really tough to buy into the idea that world-famous Hurley is struggling to even get a date. Furthermore, Hurley should not be surprised that Libby knows his name. He's famous! There are more significant issues with this story though, and they primarily involve Desmond. It's hard to connect with Desmond's journey when he is going around like a magical messiah to all of the Oceanic 815 passengers. His words to Hurley only seemed to work through blind luck. There were surely plenty of variables that could have prevented Hurley from remembering his past with Libby. Additionally, how does Desmond know about Hurley and Libby being together? I'm still unclear with how much Desmond actually knows. The ending scene of the episode is a big surprise, but I'm left scratching my head at how Desmond thinks that attempting to kill Locke will help him remember. I wish that we had more context on what is going on inside Desmond's head as he goes on his journey. The Unknown: How does Desmond know how to help Hurley? Why did he run over Locke at the end of the episode? How is that going to help Locke remember? MIB sees a young kid again when he takes Desmond away to presumably kill him. Who is this boy? Is it Jacob? MIB's younger self? Why is he appearing? Is he a manifestation of MIB's conscience telling him not to kill someone? What does MIB plan to do with Desmond? I assume that he survived being thrown in the well. Is someone else going to find him? Best Moment: It's tough to find a moment that really resonated. I'll go with MIB questioning Desmond and throwing him into the well. Character of the Episode: MIB. Conclusion: This was a weak episode, the worst of the season so far. There were plenty of developments but I felt indifferent to most and disliked a few. There was plenty of plot momentum this time, but that doesn't offer much when many of the developments fell flat. This middle section of season 6 has been disappointing so far. Score: 52 Summary: On the island, Widmore sets up an electromagnetism test to see if Desmond can survive it. Desmond is locked in a room and exposed to electromagnetism, and his consciousness is thrown into the flashsideways world. In the flashsideways world, Desmond is single and works for Widmore, who deeply respects him. Desmond is tasked with bringing Charlie to perform at a concert for Widmore's wife Eloise. Charlie tells Desmond that he experienced something on the plane, flashes of memories he doesn't have. Charlie drives Desmond's car into the water and Desmond has these flashes to, drawing him towards someone he loves named Penny. Charlie doesn't come to the concert so Desmond apologizes to Eloise. He keeps looking for Penny and Eloise tells him that he needs to stop. Desmond prepares to leave but he is met by Daniel who explains he has been having flashes too and suspects they are in an alternative universe. Daniel tells Desmond that Penny is his half-sister and Desmond meets her. Upon contacting her, he wakes up in the present and has changed completely. Zoe escorts Desmond, but Sayid takes control and takes Desmond away. Back in the flashsideways, Desmond sets up a date with Penny and decides that he is going to show what he experienced to the other Oceanic 815 passengers.
The Good: Once again a Desmond episode provides us with an excellent formula break experience that is nothing like anything else in the season. The utilization of the formula break was tremendous in this episode because it finally connects the flashsideways universe with the main universe, finally creating some stakes for the flashsideways to make it more interesting to me. I've been criticizing the flashsideways a lot in recent episodes, and I think that it was really important to give them a greater sense of importance. This episode did that, and while I still have plenty of questions (see: The Unknown), I am more interested to see where this is all going. This was a very important episode for the show and I think that we will look back at this episode as a major turning point for the story of season 6. Desmond's story has its flaws (see: The Bad), but I can't deny that it is superbly written and the mystery is captivating to watch. The episode progresses at a good pace, and there are big, important scenes given to us at regular intervals to ensure that spending a whole episode in the flashsideways doesn't become a dull experience. There are so many well-written moments throughout this episode. Desmond and Charlie's dynamic is a lot of fun, and the episode does a tremendous job of showing us these "flashes" that Charlie talks about, giving Desmond hints of the love that he had in the other universe. These scenes are edited well and they build up suspense and mystery for the rest of the episode. The climax of the episode is built around conversations, which I always enjoy. The episode builds up to Desmond meeting Eloise, Daniel, and ultimately Penny, through several terrific scenes. It's as unnerving as ever to see Eloise be so mysteriously omniscient and I enjoyed her presence in this episode. Daniel was as wonderful to watch as ever, and he offered a ton of great mysterious lines while Jeremy Davies gave us another great performance. And of course, Desmond and Penny together are always a delight, and their last scene was very sweet. This is probably the most callback-heavy episode of the season so far, and there were so many little delights to enjoy. The episode is very similar in structure to "Flashes Before Your Eyes", and as such it feels like a direct reference to that episode. There are lots of little moments in Desmond's story that call back to characters and moments in previous seasons. It's weird in a beautiful way to see Widmore so impressed by Desmond, and I love the touch of him sharing the MacCutcheon with him in this universe. George Minkowski being Desmond's driver is another nice touch. There's also mention of a button again, teasing the button from season 2. Eloise appears again, and of course she is somehow omniscient once again. She gets in a really good line as she tells Desmond "it's about time", which is very clearly a tongue-in-cheek moment created by the writers. Daniel's presence as a musician in this world is a lovely moment for him, suggesting that in this universe Daniel was allowed to make his own destiny instead of adhering to the one Eloise pushed him towards. There's another nice reference as Daniel mentions that Charlotte was eating chocolate when he saw her in the museum. Lastly, it's fitting that Desmond's first meeting with Penny in this world took place at the stadium where we saw him for the first time in the show. The Bad: I'm sure that it shows in my summary that this episode is extremely convoluted and confusing, and this takes away from the story being told. I'm aware that these complaints may sound a bit hypocritical as "Lost" has often had convoluted mysteries like this. But the difference between this episode and a better one like "Flashes Before Your Eyes" is that the withheld information actively prevented me from emotionally investing in the story. "Flashes Before Your Eyes" gave me a good idea of what was happening, and by the end of the episode I knew that Desmond was reliving his past and was hopeful of changing things. So I had enough context to invest in Desmond's personal arc. But "Happily Ever After" doesn't give me that same context. I finished the episode with more questions than I started it with, and while I'm sure they will be answered eventually, it makes for a lesser emotional experience when I don't understand what is at stake during a character's journey. I wasn't able to invest with Desmond in this episode in the way that I did in his previous episodes. Several moments in this episode didn't hit me the way that they should have because of the confusing nature of the episode. Desmond experiencing these "flashes" would be more powerful if I had a better idea of what they are. Eloise telling Desmond to stop looking for Penny could have been a huge moment if we knew what the significance of everything was, and if we knew why Eloise was saying this to him. I also feel cold on the ending of the episode. I'm not sure what to feel about Desmond's new mission. I'm too confused to know if I'm rooting for him to succeed or not. All of these moments could have landed better if I had a bit more context on Desmond and what he has discovered. I imagine this episode will be much better on rewatch when I have a better idea of the bigger picture, but on first watch this is too confusing to be the amazing episode it is trying to be. The Unknown: Why does Widmore need Desmond? Why does he need to expose him to electromagnetism again? What is the purpose of this? How did Desmond's experience in the flashsideways change him so suddenly? Did his brain actually get fried? Or has he learned something that we aren't aware of yet? What does Sayid plan on doing with Desmond? What were those flashes that Desmond experienced? What is the significance of this? Why is he going to show this to the others? What does he hope to gain? What are his motives in the flahssideways? What does he think is happening in this world? How is Eloise self-aware in this other world? She seems to know that the other timeline exists. How? We better get more than her explanation of "because I just do". Why does she want Desmond to stop searching for Penny? Daniel talking about detonating a nuclear bomb was interesting. Is this confirmation that we are in an alternate timeline? Is this timeline technically fake, and are these flashes an attempt to revert back to the "real" timeline? I'm very confused by all of this. Best Moment: Desmond and Penny setting up a date. They are just wonderful together. Character of the Episode: Desmond. Conclusion: "Lost" has always been really good at making formula break episodes, and this is no exception. It's a well executed and memorable experience that changes everything in preparation for the final stretch of the season. However, I think that too much information was withheld from us and that hurt my emotional investment in the events of this episode. This is still a great experience, but it's certainly a far cry from some of the best formula break episodes of "Lost". Score: 69 Summary: Flashsideways show that Jin and Sun aren't married but are still secretly together. Afte rhaving sex at night, Keamy arrives at Sun's hotel room and discovers her with Jin. He reveals that he was hired by Mr. Paik to kill Jin. Jin is taken to the restaurant and tied up, but he's freed after Sayid kills everyone else. Sun arrives with Mikhail later and Jin kills Mikhail, but Sun is shot in the process, and she reveals she is pregnant. On the island, MIB goes to visit Sun and Widmore attacks the camp, taking Jin back to Hydra Island. MIB talks to Sun who runs away from him, but she hits her head and loses the ability to speak English. Richard reveals that he plans to blow up the plane MIB plans to use to escape and Sun is upset and lashes out at him and Jack. Jack later apologizes and promises to get her and Jin off the island. Meanwhile, Widmore meets with Jin and shows him pictures of Ji Yeon. MIB comes to Hydra Island and has a stand off with Widmore. He leaves Sayid there and Sayid discovers that Widmore has brought Desmond back to the island.
The Good: This was an entertaining episode, similar to "Recon". The flashsideways story is a bit inconsequential (see: The Bad), but it is a fun watch and it's interesting to see an alternate world where Jin and Sun aren't married and Mr. Paik attempts to kill Jin. Plus it's always fun to see more of Keamy and Mikhail. Meanwhile, the island storyline has some decent plot development. We get to learn Richard's plan to stop MIB and we also get to see Widmore make some moves against MIB, finally getting their conflict going with their stand-off against each other. It should be interesting to see both of these storylines develop in later episodes. There were some nice character moments throughout the episode. Jack and Sun's relationship is handled really well. It's nice to see that Sun has absolutely no interest in any of the destiny stuff that Jack spews at her, and their conflict feels natural, stemmed by Jack's obsession with finding purpose. It leads to a nice moment towards the episode's end as Sun apologizes for shouting at Jack, and Jack looks past his own personal goals to promise Sun that he will help her return home with Jin. MIB also has a really good episode. This season has done an excellent job of making MIB surprisingly sympathetic in spite of being a villain. He has been caring in a number of ways, and that happens again in this episode with his scene with Claire. He comes off as genuine in stating that he wants the best for Claire even though he evidently doesn't need her (she isn't a candidate). Furthermore he keeps his word to Sun by not taking her with him by force when she gets knocked out. MIB remains really compelling and one of the most interesting aspects of this season. There were several small moments that I enjoyed. Sun resolutely running away from MIB fit very well. Jin seeing pictures of Ji Yeon was the emotional highlight of the episode (see: Best Moment). Ilana suspecting Ben when he conveniently finds Sun knocked out is really funny. Widmore and MIB's confrontation is well written and excited. And of course, the cliffhanger ending with Desmond's return is a very good reveal. And of course, season 6 continues to be loaded with Easter Eggs. There were many callbacks to moments from the past: Sun unbuttoning her shirt, Jack and Locke talking to Sun in her garden, Widmore saying "war is coming" to the island, and Mikhail being shot in the eyes. Furthermore, it was of course a blast to see Keamy, Omar, and Mikhail again. Another surprise was the return of room 23, and getting confirmation that it was made by the Dharma Initiative to experiment on the others. I wish that we had more small moments like this to confirm some answers. The last two seasons could really use more stuff like this to help resolve more mysteries. The Bad: This episode feels flat and I think that it is largely because this is a Jin/Sun episode. Jin and Sun have never been main characters in terms of plot, and their episodes are often more contained character stories. However, I still enjoy most Jin/Sun episodes. But this episode doesn't manage to have that same personal feel of Jin/Sun episodes of the past, and I think that it is because Jin and Sun have faded so far into the background since the end of season 4. Both characters have hardly done anything since the season 4 finale, and the only interesting part of their story right now is wondering if they will find each other. That's not enough to tell a compelling story, and I'm really disappointed that both Jin and Sun failed to have compelling character arcs on their own. Sun's story especially hurts since there was a lot of set-up for her becoming a vengeful independent woman set on bringing hell down on Ben and Widmore. But that storyline never developed and Sun just faded into a background role. With Sun and Jin being glorified background characters now, centering an episode around them does not work. They never feel important and I'm not as invested in their storyline as I should be. I wish that these two characters had been handled better in the last two seasons. The flashsideways story also feels a little flat. Similar to Sawyer's episode, the flashsideways doesn't feel like it is telling a proper story. It feels like a lame fanfiction since there aren't any underlying themes, ideas, or character resolution as we saw in episodes like "Dr. Linus", "Sundown", "Lighthouse", and "The Substitute". This episode has nothing like that, and it only serves to be a fun alternative where Jin and Sun have to fight Mr. Paik's attempts to kill Jin. There is no underlying emotional story arc, and I felt empty by the end of the story. Plus, Jin and Sun have a similar problem to Sawyer: they don't have any closure to close out their character arcs. All Jin and Sun need to do on the island to get closure is to find each other again. And since they start out together in the flashsideways, there is no emotional moment of closure that the episode builds up to. It's another flat flashsideways experience that makes me feel like the flashsideways is more of a dumb gimmick than a necessary storytelling device. Some small things bothered me. Sun getting aphasia is a dumb storyline. With "Lost" coming closer to its conclusion, we do not need a silly storyline of Sun becoming unable to speak English. It feels like such a cliche. Furthermore, the moment of Sun running into the tree is laughably stupid and implausible. Another stupid moment is Zoe acknowledging that she is a geophysicist. She questions why Widmore put her in charge, and it makes me question it too. Keamy was pretty successful, so why would Widmore hire a group of scientists and incompetents to fight a war? Surely he would want somebody like Keamy again! The Unknown: Why doesn't Sayid feel anything? What exactly is happening to him? Is Desmond the package? Why has Widmore brought him back? How will he be important? Will Desmond somehow prevent MIB from leaving? Flashsideways Sun is apparently pregnant? Will she survive getting shot? What is the significance of her being injured? It's difficult to see a purpose for the flashsideways right now. Best Moment: Jin seeing Ji Yeon was a fantastic moment, and Daniel Dae Kim does a magnificent job of being both happy to see her and being sad at how much he has missed over the past three years. This one moment makes you desperate to see Sun and Jin reunited and back with their daughter. Character of the Episode: Jin. Conclusion: This episode was easy entertainment, but it feels even more flat and uninspired than "Recon". This season needs to pick up soon because it has lost a lot of momentum, and I'm really concerned about the significance of the flashsideways now. Score: 56 Summary: Flashbacks show that Richard accidentally killed a doctor in an attempt to save his sick wife Isabella, but she died anyways. Richard is going to be executed, but is saved when he is bought as a slave on the Black Rock. The ship crashes on the island, destroying the statue in the process. The officers start killing all the slaves, but then MIB arrives and kills all of them, except Richard. He later appears to Richard as Isabella, faking her getting captured by what Richard believes is "the devil". MIB appears to Richard in person, breaking him free and telling him he's in hell and the only way to escape is to kill the devil, Jacob. Richard is sent to kill Jacob but Jacob stops him. Jacob convinces Richard that he is mistaken and offers him a job: to step in and advise the people he brings to the island on his behalf. Richard accepts and is also given the gift of eternal life. On the island, Ilana reveals that Richard should know what to do next. Richard doesn't and he storms off into the jungle, attempting to join MIB. However, he's stopped by Hurley who has spoken with Isabella and she shares a moment with Richard. Richard understands his next task: to stop MIB.
The Good: "Lost" is a show that understands that story is far more important that plot. Plot on its own can be interesting to watch, but it is almost never memorable and it doesn't engage you in the way that a good story does. And its with this logic, that "Lost" decided to focus Richard's backstory on the character himself instead of the potential answers that his backstory could give. For the most part, this works really well, and "Ab Aeterno" ends up being an intense and enthralling character journey in a unique time period. The tone of these flashbacks is so different from any other episode. Going back to 1867 is a huge change, and it is fascinating to see the deeply religious themes that permeate the episode, as well as Richard himself. Richard believes he is in hell, and the character is driven by his limited knowledge of the world, especially when compared to modern standards. This change in time period gives this episode an almost epic feeling as we dive farther into the past than we ever had before, and every second we spend in Richard's past is a thrill. Emotionally, the episode remains grounded in Richard's relationship to Isabella and his fear of going to hell, which are emotions that are very easy for anyone to relate to. This emotional aspect of the episode added a lot, and Nestor Carbonell's terrific performance (more on him later) got the most out of the emotions. Richard's desperation to save his wife early in the episode resonated with me, as did the horror of his realization that he will have to go to hell after accidentally killing the doctor. The story is pretty simple, but the performance elevates it to another level. Then once we get to the island, we are thrust back into the Jacob/MIB rivalry, but we see it from the perspective of Richard, convinced he is in hell and that he has to save his dead wife from the devil. The scenes in the black rock are a highlight of the episode as we see Richard struggling to survive in his chains while having to suffer through losing Isabella again. The scenes are brutal, engaging, and acted to perfection. It's impressive how this episode does a significant formula break to show some key history of the island, but it maintains emotional resonance through Richard's story. The biggest mythological aspect of this episode comes from MIB and Jacob. It's fascinating to see a sequel to the opening scene in "The Incident" as both of them try to fight their own philosophies, using Richard as a pawn. MIB immediately manipulates him and his beliefs in an attempt to get him to kill Jacob, meanwhile Jacob appeals to his compassion and humanity, seeing and understanding that Richard has the morality to understand that killing is wrong. I like seeing the parallels between these two characters and I hope that we learn more about them. Their final scene together was really well done and had some exciting symbolism as MIB destroys Jacob's wine bottle present, highlighting that his motives are likely more sinister than what we have been told in the present. Additionally, I really liked MIB telling Richard to kill Jacob with a stab before he has a chance to speak, paralleling Dogen's orders for Sayid back in "Sundown". MIB and Jacob are like two sides of the same coin. Jacob's big explanation about the island is one of the episode's most important scenes and I really enjoyed it and the implications it has (see: The Unknown). I don't often talk about presentation in an episode, but I can't deny that this episode's presentation added a lot. The costume for 1867 Richard was tremendous and he looked like a completely different person. Furthermore, Nestor Carbonell's performance in this episode was legitimately one of the very best in the series. To go from calm and composed Richard Alpert to playing this terrified, religious criminal is remarkable, and I was blown away by his range in this episode. 1867 Richard feels like an entirely different person. Additionally, this episode introduced a new character theme for Richard and it was beautiful. "Lost" has always had a stellar soundtrack, but this track was especially moving, and it fit this unique episode very well. The Bad: I'm sure that there are people out there that won't like this episode because of some of the choices that were made. This had the potential to be a huge revelatory episode that revealed a ton of answers about the island, the others and Jacob, but we didn't really get that episode. Much of what we saw here was stuff we could have easily pieced together, and outside of Jacob's speech about the nature of the island, I felt like we didn't get any major answers. It was wonderful seeing Jacob's origin story, but I can't help but be disappointed that we didn't get to see what happened after Richard starting working for Jacob. We could have seen him form the others, go through several leaders, grow the organization, send messages from Jacob, all the while dealing with the fact that he is living forever. But that story wasn't told, and even though I liked what we got, I am sad that we didn't get this other story. It looks like "Lost" has entirely abandoned explaining more about the others, which I think is a poor decision considering how crucial the others have been to the show. In "The Good" I explained that I'm glad that the show prioritized story over plot. However, I can't deny that merging story with plot would have hit the best of both worlds, and it's what I wish this episode had done instead of prioritizing story. Ilana's flashback at the beginning of the episode is random and out of place. I can't help but question its inclusion, especially since Ilana could have easily given us the information revealed in this scene without even bothering with the flashback. The Unknown: Did Jacob send Isabella to meet with Hurley somehow? That's the best possible explanation I have for how she knew about MIB and Richard's purpose. Was she even real, or was she just a vision made by Jacob to get Richard to believe? Does this confirm that Jacob is responsible for visions on the island? This could be an explanation for things like Eko's dreams and visions in "The Cost of Living" and Ben's vision of his mother in "The Man Behind the Curtain". I hope we get a more concrete answer on what causes these visions to happen. Is MIB able to take the form of dead people who didn't die on the island? It appears that he took on the form of Isabella in this episode. Was he able to do that because he "scanned" Richard earlier? Once again MIB has offered to reunite someone with a dead loved one. Is he really capable of doing this? Is the flashsideways world created by MIB to fulfill this promise? It should be interesting to see if Richard turns up with Isabella in this world. Jacob's speech about the island raises some big questions. Why is MIB so connected to the "evil" that the island is apparently protecting the world from? What exactly is this evil? Is it purely metaphorical or is there a more literal manifestation of the evil on the island? What is Richard going to do to stop MIB? Best Moment: There are lots of choices, but I'll go with my gut and pick the smaller moment for its emotional value. My pick is Richard's time in the Black Rock, chained to the wall. So well acted, so brutally emotional, and so engaging to watch. Character of the Episode: Richard. Conclusion: Richard's episode finally arrived, and it told an incredible historical story, centered around a superb performance by Nestor Carbonell. But it wasn't a perfect episode, as some of the choices here left me underwhelmed and wanting for more that I know we will never get. There's a lot of great stuff here and I loved most the episode, but I don't feel that it lived up to the unrealistically high expectations I had going into it. This still gets an excellent score, but I was hoping that this would have been one of the best episodes of the series. It's an excellent episode, but nowhere near one of the best. Score: 74 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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