Summary: A flashback shows Jacob living in the statue, talking to a man in a black shirt who is looking for a loophole to kill him. We are also shown Jacob interacting with Kate, Sawyer, Jin, Sun, Sayid, Jack, Hurley and Locke in key moments of their lives. In the present, Locke tells Ben that he wants him to kill Jacob, particularly because of how Ben has been ignored for his many sacrifices. The group eventually gets to the statue and Richard shows Locke and Ben the way in. Ilana's group goes to the cabin and determines that Jacob isn't there; someone else had been using it. They make their way to the statue and show what's in the box: Locke's dead body, found in the plane. Inside the statue, Locke is revealed to be the man in the black shirt from the flashbacks. Ben kills Jacob. In 1977, Sayid follows Daniel's instructions to isolate the bomb's core. Richard knocks out Eloise and takes her back. Sayid and Jack sneak through the barracks with the bomb but Sayid is spotted and shot by Roger. Hurley, Miles and Jin arrive in a Dharma van to save them and take them to The Swan. Juliet decides to go back to the island and she helps Kate escape. Sawyer comes too. They encounter Rose and Bernard back on the island. The trio stop Jack's van and Sawyer talks with Jack to convince him to stop. When it doesn't work, they fight until Juliet breaks it up. Juliet decides to let Jack go. Jack arrives at The Swan and after a gunfight, he throws the bomb down the drilling hole. It doesn't work and the incident happens. Phil is killed, Dr. Chang's arm is crushed, and Juliet gets dragged into the drilling hole. Juliet miraculously survives and she sees the bomb. She smashes it with a rock until it explodes.
The Good: This felt like a finale. The pacing was excellent and there was a constant sense of suspense and mystery throughout the episode. This felt like a big climax, and I really enjoyed myself for the entire runtime of the episode. I really loved the introduction to Jacob (see: Best Moment). This character is the closest thing we have seen to a god, and "Lost" introduced him in perfect fashion. It takes a lot of guts to finally show us this quintessential character and have him be murdered in the same episode. The highlight with Jacob is definitely in the flashbacks. It was really interesting to see Jacob interact with the main characters, and we also got a good reason to see some of the key moments in their lives. Under the guise of Jacob's visits, we got to see some terrific moments like Nadia's death, Jin and Sun's wedding, Sawyer writing his letter, what happened to Hurley to get him on Flight 316, and Jack's first surgery which he described back in "Pilot Part 1". These scenes were excellent and acted very well. Plus there was a lot of intrigue as Jacob noticeably made physical contact with all of the characters and interfered in their lives in meaningful ways (possibly reviving Locke, getting Hurley on the plane, saving Sayid's life, reminding Jin and Sun of their love). I thoroughly enjoyed these scenes, and I'm excited to see what it's all building up to. The present-day storyline of going to Jacob was handled really well. It built up suspense really well and concluded with a spectacular twist that caught me off guard and completely changed everything. There was a lot of excitement built throughout the episode for this meeting with Jacob, built up by numerous things: Locke and Ben's conversations, Ilana's trip to the cabin, and of course, the excellent Jacob flashbacks throughout the episode. And at the end of the journey we are hit with a real shock, and it's one that makes perfect sense. Locke was still in the coffin. The person we have seen on the island this entire time is not Locke! This twist caught me completely off-guard and it completely changes everything, while also simultaneously answering a lot of the questions I had about Locke in the last few episodes. The twist is brilliantly executed, and its timing is perfect. Immediately the stakes get raised for the confrontation between Ben, Locke and Jacob, now that we know that this impostor is not somebody who we can trust. The episode ties back to its opening scene beautifully, revealing that the man in the black shirt is who we are seeing right now in Locke's body. The twist works on every level and it gives us a really memorable reveal in this episode. But also, the reveal has an undertone of real sadness to it. This means that Locke really is dead, and that being strangled by Ben after almost killing himself after losing his confidence really is how his story ends. It's horribly sad and tragic, and the realization that Locke's story has ended like this is a gutpunch. It also retroactively makes "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" an even better episode on rewatch because now it can be watched with the added context that this really is the end of Locke. Ben killing Jacob was set up through the entire episode and it ended up being one of the most satisfying and emotional moments of the episode. Once again, "Lost" has proven that Ben is one of the deepest and best characters on the show with what he was put through in this episode. Throughout the episode, "Locke" slowly convinces Ben that he needs to be the one to kill Jacob. Looking back, it's easy to see that "Locke" has been manipulating Ben this entire time, a wonderful bit of irony. He plays on Ben's emotions towards Jacob, and turns Ben's own jealousy and sense of inferiority in the face of the enlightened Locke against him. Ben ends up falling for the trap entirely, and when he comes face to face with Jacob, all he can think about is the resentment that had been building inside his head. Ben lets out an impassioned speech, possibly the most vulnerable we have ever seen the character. Ben's anger and sadness at being overlooked materializes wonderfully in this scene, and his anguished cry of "what about me" is tremendous. Even better is Jacob's response. We know from the opening scene that what is really happening here is another manifestation of the philosophical debate about humanity that these two beings were having with each other. Ben's choice here is a life-or-death situation for Jacob to prove to "Locke" that humanity does have good in them. Jacob reminds Ben that he has a choice, but Ben isn't hearing what Jacob is saying. Ben is too angry and filled with resentment. And so when Jacob replies "what about you?" to Ben, Ben snaps. It's likely that Jacob would have been hoping that Ben would prove his worth by not killing Jacob, but Ben is too angry and hearing Jacob question his worth is too much to take. So Ben kills him, and a choice that I can only imagine will have huge ramifications down the road (see: The Unknown). It's such a brilliant move to have Ben be the one to kill Jacob. Throughout this season we have been reminded over and over how despicable and manipulative Ben is. Even though we can sympathize with him, he is definitely not a good person. So naturally, he's the perfect person for the man in black to bring in front of Jacob, the perfect example of the weakness in humanity. Ben has seemingly messed everything up for all of our other characters specifically because of how awful he has been. This sets up a pretty good story for everyone else to try to prove that the man in black is wrong about humanity. I'm really excited to see where the philosophical aspects of this story will go in season 6. The 1977 storyline was really strong. It started as a story of two halves with the characters split across two locations, and each storyline has some really nice character moments. First there is Jack and Sayid, who are working towards getting the bomb over to The Swan. This story develops patiently but once everyone is ready to move out, things get more exciting. Richard has a good moment as he steps in to protect Eloise, refusing to go along with what seems like a suicide mission. There was a great pay-off for the Roger storyline, as Roger recognizes Sayid, and in a shocking moment, fatally shoots him in the abdomen. This was a really big moment early in the episode, and I do wonder if Sayid's story may be ending soon. He got some nice moments after getting shot as he resigns himself to death and accepts that he likely deserves his fate. On the other hand, Jack once again shows how he as changed as he not only endangers Sayid, but also doesn't do everything possible to save him, focusing on his own destiny with the bomb instead of getting Sayid the medical help that he needs. Meanwhile on the sub, we have Kate, Sawyer and Juliet. This story unfolds really nicely as it starts with Sawyer standing his ground and refusing to get involved with the craziness Jack is bringing down onto everyone. But then Juliet decides that they have to go back, and so they get off the sub. This decision works pretty well, even if some of Juliet's other decisions do not (see: The Bad). There is a terrific moment as Juliet looks back at the sub, accepting that she may have just lost her only chance of escape from this island that has held her prisoner for over 6 years by now. Following this, we get a real delight as Rose and Bernard return! They have been missing since "The Lie" and it's great to see them set up together living in a cabin in the jungle, happy and relaxed. Bernard's speech about being with the person you love is a beautiful moment that nicely establishes the theme of love that would permeate much of the second half of this episode. The developments in the first half of this episode lead up to a tremendous moment as both storylines collide with an excellent shot of Sawyer, Kate, and Juliet standing in the road to block the van. The episode then moves into a conflict between Jack and Sawyer. This conflict works brilliantly because these two have been opposed for much of the second half of the season. Jack's unhappiness leads him to hunt for a greater purpose, in stark contrast to Sawyer who already found his purpose and happiness in the time that Jack was gone. Jack finding his way has come at the expense of Sawyer, so it's great to see Sawyer get a chance to let out his frustrations. Some of the moments in this conflict were melodramatic (see: The Bad), but it did well to set up the climax of the episode as everyone arrives at The Swan to ensure that this bomb goes off. The last gunfight is good, if not great, but what really makes this sequence is the build up to Jack dropping the bomb. The scene feels monumental, and as usual, "Lost" does a terrific job of focusing on the emotion of this story rather than the plot. The brief sequence of everyone taking their final looks at each other while waiting to pop out of existence was remarkably powerful, and it was an emotional high point of this finale. Then, naturally, everything goes wrong and that builds up to the other big emotional high point of this finale: Juliet's fall. I thought that the chaos during the incident was really well shot, and Juliet being dragged down into the shaft was a horrifying and sad image. Josh Holloway did a tremendous job a he tries to save Juliet, and it was heartbreaking to watch Sawyer witness her fall, while Juliet simultaneously comes to understand that Sawyer truly does love her like he said he does. But the episode isn't done there. Somehow Juliet manages to survive, and in an excellent scene (minus one moment where Juliet's blood disappears), she smashes the bomb until it detonates, leaving us on a massive cliffhanger comparable to the fantastic ending to "Exodus" back in season 1. As you can see by the size of this paragraph, the second half of the 1977 storyline was packed with drama and exciting moments, to the point where even if it wasn't all perfectly executed, it was so thrilling to watch that it doesn't matter much if there were flaws. The story as a whole works really well and it's an excellent conclusion to what was a really well written Dharma Initiative storyline. Plus there were also some nice moments for the side characters in the Dharma Initiative. The episode neatly used dramatic irony with Radzinsky, as we know that his actions that caused the incident will lead to him being punished by staying in The Swan and pushing the button until the end of his days. I was also pleased to see Miles tell Dr. Chang to get as far away as possible, paralleling how Dr. Chang sent his family as far away as possible. And we even get to see the injury that likely caused Dr. Chang to amputate his arm and replace it with a fake as we see in The Swan orientation video. And of course we get a pretty satisfying death scene for Phil. The Bad: I've praised recent episodes for really nailing down character motivations to make it easy to understand their actions in these insane and intense circumstances. By introducing a bunch of love-triangle ridiculousness into this episode, a good portion of that hard work was unfortunately undone. This episode nailed a lot of things, but its biggest problem was the implication of some really stupid melodramatic love-based motivations in the 1977 storyline. I've praised Jack's arc in this season as him searching to find purpose in the wake of the terrible things that happened with him after he left the island. But this episode throws away that depth to suggest that he's only doing this because he screwed up with Kate. That's a real slap in the face to simplify Jack to this extent after how well he has been written lately. Juliet is the other character who was badly hurt in this episode. It was ridiculous how she kept flip-flopping on her motivations on the basis of a few looks Sawyer made towards Kate. I understand the emotional value of Juliet's story, and it does pay off nicely at the end of the episode with Sawyer doing everything and more to save Juliet. But in execution, the story comes off as melodramatic and frustrating. Juliet should have had more consistent motivations throughout this episode, and changing her mind so much just because she is insecure about Sawyer is a flimsy motivation at best. Also, Juliet's one flashback scene is really out of place in the episode (the only flashback without Jacob), and it feels like a last-minute attempt to explain why Juliet is behaving so irrationally. It does not work. Some small things bothered me as well. In the last episode Richard claimed that he watched everyone die. And yet he wasn't even there at the incident? That moment from last episode has become a notable plot hole. Sayid felt like a plot device for much of this episode. Somehow he knows about Daniel being explicit with his timetable, even though Daniel was dead before Sayid returned. And somehow Sayid is able to work with a NUCLEAR BOMB because of his army experience. That is too much to believe. I was also upset at how the Dharma Initiative members all stopped fighting and talking once they lost the gunfight. They should have done everything in their power to stop Jack from detonating the bomb, since that would likely mean the death of everybody. The Unknown: I have tons and tons of questions. Who is the man in the black shirt? Why does he want to kill Jacob? Why does he need a loophole? Jacob is apparently able to bring people to the island. Was the ship he brought in the opening scene the black rock? Is this how everyone else has gotten to the island? Jacob brought them in? Is this why Flight 316 needed to mimic Flight 815? So Jacob would recognize everyone and bring them back? Why does Jacob bring people to the island? We also learn that Jacob is responsible for Richard's immortalized state. How does he do this? What other powers does he have? How many other things has he been responsible for? Why is Jacob interacting with so many of the characters who ended up on Flight 815? I noticed that he made physical contact with all of them. Did he give them some sort of power? How? Why? What are his plans for these people? Was Jacob responsible for Locke's survival after he was shoved out of the window by his father? Also, I noticed that Jacob specifically wore gloves when talking to Ilana, likely to ensure he wouldn't touch her by mistake. What is so special about everyone else? What is Jacob's relationship with Ilana anyways? Why did he help her? Why did he need her help? What happened to Ilana that caused her to be so injured? Bram claims that Frank is not a candidate? What does it mean to be a candidate? A candidate for what? Who are the candidates? The burning of the cabin is an interesting scene. Why didn't it start a forest fire? Is the cabin in a sort of different dimension from everything? Is that how it is capable of moving? Did Jacob make it capable of doing this? Ilana mentions that Jacob hasn't used it in a long time and that someone else has been using it. Is this someone else Christian? Does this mean that Christian may not have been working for Jacob? Could he be working for the man in black instead? Why was there ash around the cabin? I remember seeing it before in "The Man Behind the Curtain". Why is it important that the circle of ash was disrupted? It seems that the guitar case Hurley's been carrying is of significance. What is in there? Why did Jacob give it to Hurley? Is Locke really dead then? That's very sad. How was the man in black able to impersonate him? What will happen now that Jacob is dead? I'm sure that killing someone who is practically a deity will have some major consequences. I can't imagine that the man in the black shirt being in control will be a good thing. Also, as Jacob dies, he says "they're coming". Who? Will Juliet and Sayid survive? I presume if the past actually is changed, then it won't matter that they have fatal injuries. But will the bomb exploding actually work? Or is Miles right and the bomb will actually cause the incident instead? Best Moment: The opening scene was perfect in every way. It's become a signature move for "Lost" to start episodes in a completely random scene that has seemingly no relevance to anything we are watching. And yet it's so gripping to watch. We know it's important, so trying to figure out why is thrilling. As the clues come together (we see the island, the ship, the line that Jacob brought them here), we begin to realize that what we're watching is essentially two gods arguing with each other, a story that not only parallels the Ben/Widmore dynamic (with the existence of rules stopping them from killing each other), but one that suggests that everything we have seen in this show has in fact been happening for a reason. And in watching Jacob and this mysterious other man talk, we are getting the closest glimpse at the truth we have ever gotten. The scene is written magnificently to engage you in the possibilities of what is really happening, and every second of this scene is a delightful thrill-ride. A fantastic way to start the episode. Character of the Episode: It's tough to choose with so many characters getting time to shine. I think I'll go with Ben. Conclusion: Once again "Lost" ends a season with a thrilling, game-changing episode packed with suspense, epic moments, emotion, and shocking reveals. Season 5 has been a consistent season but it didn't hit the highs of previous seasons. That is, until now. This lived up to its role as a season finale of "Lost" and it delivered in almost every way. Overall, I enjoyed season 5 a lot. It had ups and downs, but I think it was the most consistently enjoyable season in terms of quality. There wasn't a single bad episode in its entire run. Season 5's biggest problem was definitely how complicated the story got, and at times the complexity would overshadow the emotional story being told. But for the most part, "Lost" maintained its strong emotional core by focusing on characters and how they feel even as the story got more complex. I think this season changed and adapted to the developments in the story really well, and its been thrilling to watch where the show goes. I really enjoyed the Dharma Initiative storyline, as well as the time travel storyline. The Oceanic Six storyline is probably the low point of the season since it ended as such a convoluted mess with an unsatisfying conclusion. But as the show revealed more details, it did retroactively improve that storyline a little bit. As a whole, this was one of the better seasons of "Lost" so far, filled with excitement and drama as the show prepares for its conclusion. Score: 85
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Summary: In 1977, Sawyer negotiates a place on the sub for him and Juliet after Radzinsky takes over the Dharma Initiative. Jack convinces Eloise to take him and Kate to the bomb that was buried. Along the way they run into Sayid. Kate chooses to go back to the Dharma Initiative and is put on the sub with Sawyer and Juliet. Dr. Chang discovers that Hurley, Miles and Jin are actually from the future and works to prevent the incident. Jack, Sayid, Eloise and Richard go to the bomb, which is in underground tunnels underneath the barracks. In the present, Locke meets with Richard again. The island guides Locke and allows him to guide Richard to giving the compass to Locke's past self as seen in "Because You Left". Locke orders Richard to take him, and everyone else, to Jacob. Locke admits to Ben that he plans to kill Jacob.
The Good: The part of this episode that I enjoyed the most was how it handled the character motivations in 1977. There were several really nice character moments throughout the episode. I was really pleased with Jack and Kate's conflict. This season has forced Kate to really see how Jack has changed after Locke's death, and she is very upset with how crazy he sounds. And he does sound crazy. Jack is trying to detonate a bomb to change the future, and he has much less evidence of this working than Locke did with anything he ever believed in. Jack is desperate to find his purpose, and it's pushing him towards doing something completely absurd. Kate, fittingly, does not buy into it. She does need to go back to the present day to find Claire, but her horror at how Jack has become just like Locke prevents her from being okay with going along with him. The characters have been outlined incredibly well, and this allows their conflict to work perfectly. Sayid's return is also really well done. Sayid is in a similar place to Jack. He is looking for a purpose because he's still on the island and he has no idea what to do. So he latches onto the one possibility he has of getting things back to normal. It makes sense for Sayid, and I'm once more impressed with how well the characters' motivations have been laid out in this storyline. Sawyer and Juliet are similarly effective. They just want to keep living their lives together because the last 3 years in the Dharma Initiative were far better than any of their other days on the island. So it makes total sense that Sawyer's solution is to get on the sub with Juliet so that they can get away from all of the craziness. Meanwhile, Locke's mission in the present remains really engaging, primarily because of Terry O'Quinn's continually terrific performance this season. Locke is so charismatic and almost intimidating in a lot of these scenes, and it really feels like the power dynamic has shifted. Both Richard and Ben are continually flabbergasted by Locke's newfound confidence, and for once it feels like these key knowledgeable characters are playing catch-up with Locke. The dynamic has changed in a really exciting way, and it sets up for a series of really interesting twists and reveals with Locke, like the curious resolution of the compass story (see: The Unknown) and Locke's decision to go see Jacob, ultimately planning to kill him. These moments are handled extremely well and they make me very excited to see the season finale. There were some really nice small moments in this episode. Hurley being unable to pretend like he isn't from the future was a hilarious moment, particularly his assumption that the Korean War didn't even exist. I also love that the question that brought him down was "who is the president of the United States", which is the exact question that Hurley was concerned somebody would ask him a few episodes back. The moment is executed brilliantly. I also really liked Miles realizing that his father only did what he had to in order to get his mother to leave the island. It's a strong character moment to continue Miles' story this season. Sawyer's "good riddance" to the island as he boarded the sub was a nice line, reminiscent of who Sawyer was before he became LaFleur. The Bad: I have a couple of minor problems. Locke getting Richard to hand the compass to himself creates a paradox where the compass was somehow never actually created so it can't possibly exist. "Lost" has had paradoxes before, so it seems like this is something we just need to accept in this universe. But it still feels awkward. It's clear that Richard getting to meet all of these characters back in 1977 was a retcon. If he had met everyone before and remembered them, then why didn't he say anything about them to Ben in season 3? Surely Richard would have wanted to meet with these people again if he knew they were going to inevitably time travel back to 1977. Lastly, the submarine CGI looks absolutely terrible. That was an unnecessary shot and it did not look good at all. The Unknown: How is Richard an advisor? Why doesn't he lead himself? Who assigned Richard to be an advisor? Apparently everyone dies in 1977 and Richard witnesses it. I presume this would happen during the incident. How does this happen? Does everyone actually die? What's the significance of Locke creating a paradox by getting Richard to give the compass to his past self? Why did the island need it to happen in this way? How is Locke getting information from the island? We've known that the island has some sort of sentience for a while now due to the dreams and visions. But how is it directly communicating with Locke? And why? Did the island tell Locke to kill Jacob? Are the island and Jacob not working together? Is Jacob an enemy to the island? It seems that Ben has never actually seen Jacob. Does that mean that the scene at the cabin with Ben, Locke and Jacob was fake? Why did so much stuff get thrown around then? And who is it in the cabin? Is it just Christian? How does Christian fit into all of this? How is he alive anyways? How does this work? How does Ben know about the cabin but not Jacob? I have endless questions about this. How are Sawyer, Kate and Juliet going to get back to the island? I'm sure that they won't just leave. Will Jack's crazy plan actually work? How will they get the bomb to The Swan? Best Moment: I'm tempted to go with the shock ending reveal that Locke plans to kill Jacob, but Dr. Chang outsmarting Hurley in a matter of seconds is too funny to pass up. Character of the Episode: Hurley. Conclusion: This episode was purely set up. There's nothing particularly memorable here and the pieces are being moved into place for the finale. Does that make this a bad episode? Not at all. It just doesn't put in the effort to be something more than a transitional set-up episode. This is simply a solid hour of "Lost". Score: 62 Summary: Flashbacks show Daniel's past. Eloise raised him from childhood to always be focused on his work. After the incident with Theresa, Daniel gets a memory condition and is approached by Widmore who offers him to go to the island. Eloise encourages Daniel to accept the offer. In the present, Desmond recovers from his gunshot wound. Eloise meets with Widmore who reveals he is Daniel's father. On the island, Daniel goes to Dr. Chang to ensure he gets people to evacuate the island. The incident will be happening later in the afternoon. Daniel has a plan to get everyone where they need to be and Jack and Kate choose to help him. They go to the hostiles after a gunfight with Radzinsky and other Dharma people. Sawyer refuses to help Daniel and he organizes a plan for everyone else to live in the jungle. Radzinsky goes to Sawyer's house and finds out what happened to Phil. He captures Sawyer and Juliet. Daniel reveals that he plans to detonate a hydrogen bomb to prevent the incident and change the future. Daniel goes into the hostiles' camp with a gun to speak with Eloise, but he is shot and killed by her.
The Good: Finally we get an episode about Daniel, and this one really delivered. Daniel's story ended up being one of the saddest and most tragic in the entire show. Through the flashbacks we get to see a story of what could have been. Daniel seemed happy playing the piano, and he seemed happy with Theresa. But Eloise remained cold and distant, knowing that none of these things would be in Daniel's future. She knew that his fate was death at her hands, but she pushed him towards it anyways. It's an inherently sad story, and the way that the episode tells it is masterful. We don't realize the emotional weight of Eloise's decision to push Daniel to keep working until the very end of the episode. Seeing Eloise shoot and kill him is a stunning moment, and it completely changes how we view the episode and the characters involved. The emotional impact is similar to in season 1 with episodes like "Walkabout" and "Confidence Man" that totally subverted our understanding of the central characters we had been following. It's a tremendous piece of storytelling, and it gives this episode the emotional punch that it was looking for. Meanwhile on the island, we see Daniel objecting to Eloise's beliefs about fate. The episode is very fast-paced and it focuses on Daniel doing everything possible to change the future. There is a constant edge-of-your-seat tension throughout the episode, created by the rapid pace and the episode's sense of importance. Daniel returns and instantly starts working on his new theory about the variables, one that we learn more and more about as the episode goes on. The information is doled out to us at a really good pace, and we get a lot of excellent, dramatic scenes throughout the episode. The scenes with Dr. Chang were great, and it was a real shock to see Daniel admit he's from the future. There was also a lovely bit of suspense as Daniel also reveals that Miles is Dr. Chang's son. Following that, the episode gets into an excellent group conflict (discussed more below), a stunning scene between Daniel and Charlotte (see: Best Moment), and then an excellent, well-written shoot-out as Radzinsky catches Daniel, Jack and Kate at the motor pool. Then following that we get an outstanding reveal as Daniel unveils his plan to detonate a hydrogen bomb, which is such an insane and dramatic idea, but it works unbelievably well as a dramatic reveal that increases the stakes. The episode has so many terrific moments throughout and it is a joy to watch them all. But the glue holding it all together is Jeremy Davies' performance as Daniel. He gives such a convincing and charismatic performance, and it elevates all of these moments. For example, Daniel has never used a gun, so Jeremy Davies holds the gun with a sense of real awkwardness throughout the episode. Daniel's mistake of showing the gun to Radzinsky is perfectly sensible, since I could completely buy that Daniel may have entirely forgotten that he was even holding a gun. It's a subtle detail, but it works really well. The group conflict in this episode was handled really well. The rift in beliefs between Jack and Sawyer are what make this so compelling. Where Jack is looking for a purpose now that he's on the island, Sawyer has already found one in his life in the Dharma Initiative. These characters' motivations are easy to understand and they are laid bare for us to see, and that makes it very easy to understand the conflict that occurs once Daniel returns with plans to change the future. I enjoyed the debate scene, and I thought that every character made decisions that fit with what we understood about them. The Bad: Part of the tragedy of this episode depends on us feeling for and understanding Eloise as a character. Unfortunately, I think the episode falls short in this regard, and it diminishes the impact of this episode. The problem with Eloise is that we never understand why she is so devoted to ensuring that what's supposed to happen happens. We aren't given a convincing reason for her to sacrifice her relationship with Daniel to send him to his death. And because of that, her actions feel emotionally disconnected from us. I still think that it's powerful to rewatch the episode, seeing how everything Eloise does is to send Daniel to his fate, but it's missing that personal connection that "Lost" is usually so good at establishing. Eloise could have been written better to give this story an even greater impact. The scenes involving Desmond are fine, but like in "Dead is Dead", they feel tacked on to the episode. Obviously Desmond isn't going to die here. The Widmore reveal is pretty good, but I can't help but think that the reveal could have been integrated into the story in a more compelling way. The Unknown: How does Eloise know so much? What did she mean that for the first time in a long time she doesn't know what would happen next? What changed that made this happen? How did she know what was going to happen to begin with? Does it have something to do with Daniel? Or is it something else entirely? What's going to happen to Sawyer and Juliet? What will Radzinsky do with them? Is there any chance that Daniel's free will theory is still right? The end of the episode seems to prove him wrong in a dark and depressing way, but is there still a chance that he could be right? Could the past be changed by preventing the incident? Best Moment: Daniel's moment with Charlotte hit the hardest for me. Jeremy Davies is so good in this scene and you feel his pain when he says that he wanted to avoid talking to her but he realized that he has no choice if he wants to go through with his plan. It's absolutely tragic. Character of the Episode: Daniel. Conclusion: This was a terrific, heartbreaking episode of "Lost". Daniel's story is excellent, and the drama on the island is incredibly intense and suspenseful. As has been the case with much of season 5, there are flaws here that prevent this from being a top-quality episode. But as a whole, this is an excellent, game-changing episode that sets up the season's climax. Score: 75 Summary: Flashbacks show a younger Miles discover his abilities. When his mom dies, he goes to her and learns about his father, who is dead. Later, Miles is recruited by Naomi to work for Widmore. Miles is picked up by Bram who warns him not to go on the freighter but he doesn't listen. On the island, Miles is recruited by Horace to work for the inner circle, and is unable to delete footage of Sawyer on the security cameras. Miles drives a dead body down to Dr. Chang at The Orchid alongside Hurley. Miles reveals that Dr. Chang is his dad. Hurley tries to get them to reconnect and he encourages Miles to give his dad a second chance. Miles sees his father playing with his past self. Scientists from Ann Arbor arrive, including Daniel. Phil sees the security footage and confronts Sawyer but Sawyer knocks him out and ties him up.
The Good: It was nice to finally get some backstory on Miles who has been around for a while without contributing a whole lot. Getting to know his full story for the first time makes this episode feel similar to one you would see back in season 1. This feel is also established by the slower pace of this episode. There isn't as much plot movement in this episode compared to the last few, and that helps this episode keep its focus squarely on Miles and his storyline. It's a welcome change, especially after "Dead is Dead" was the complete opposite and got overwhelmed by its focus on the convoluted plot rather than character. It was good to learn more about Miles' personal life and struggles, particularly involving his father. He goes through a good arc here as he learns to give his father a second chance, while having a nice storyline in the flashbacks involving Mr. Gray. Miles claims that he's all about money, but returning his money to Mr. Gray for the sole purpose of proving a point about being a good father highlights that Miles does need that father figure in his life more than he needs the money. The island story explores Miles' daddy issues in a pretty fun way. Hurley is an excellent foil for Miles in this episode, and the opposite way that he handled his relationship with his father provides a direct lesson for Miles. To this episode's benefit, it isn't heavy-handed at all with this storytelling. Hurley and Miles start the episode as a really funny character pairing, with Hurley providing plenty of laugh-out-loud moments that made me really enjoy his presence. But when the story hit its more serious beats, it felt organic. We knew Hurley was trying to help, evidenced by his hilarious attempt to bring Dr. Chang and Miles together, so it makes sense when Hurley gives Miles some personal advice to help him resolve his issues. The story is written tremendously well. Plus we also get some really fun conversation about talking with dead people, contrasting both Miles' and Hurley's experiences. I also got a big laugh out of Hurley trying to write the script for The Empire Strikes Back. The flashbacks had some really interesting moments. It was good to see Naomi again, and her deal to Miles explains why he asked Ben for 3.2 million dollars. The sudden kidnapping by Bram is a big scene that seems to function to set up the storyline going on with Ilana on the island. I'm interested to learn more about this new mysterious group that "Lost" chose to introduce to us so late in the season. The Bad: Nothing I'd call bad. This isn't as important or revelatory of an episode as the last few episodes, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The Unknown: Who was Bram? Who is he working for? Why haven't we seen him before? He asks the question about the shadow of the statue that Ilana asked in the last episode. Are they connected? How? What are their goals? Why did they warn Miles to not go on the freighter? Who else have they contacted? What's going to happen with Phil and Roger? Will Sawyer be able to keep Phil hidden? Will Roger complain to Horace and put some heat onto Kate? What happened to the person who died? Did electromagnetism cause his fillings to kill him? We see The Swan is being built now. Will we get to see what the incident was? What has Daniel been doing at Ann Arbor? How will his return impact the story? Why did Dr. Chang abandon his wife and Miles? He seems to be a caring father in the past. What changed? Best Moment: Miles seeing his father playing with baby Miles was a beautiful moment to cap off the episode. The episode does a fantastic job of building up to this emotional conclusion as Miles finally gives his dad a chance and sees that maybe he wasn't such a bad person after all. Character of the Episode: I want to give it to Hurley, but this was all about Miles and he deserves it. Conclusion: Some people may call this filler, but that would greatly undersell this episode. There was less plot progression here than in previous episodes, but the writing was excellent and we got a wonderful story for Miles, giving us an episode that felt similar to season 1 "Lost". This certainly isn't one of the show's best episodes, but it's still really good. Score: 69 Summary: Flashbacks show Ben take Alex from Rousseau and object to Widmore's demands to kill her. Eventually Ben grows up and gets Widmore banished for breaking the rules and making a family off the island. Ben takes over as leader. After Ben leaves Eloise, he finds Penny and Desmond and tries to kill Penny but isn't able to bring himself to do it. Desmond beats up Ben and throws him in the water. In the present, Locke decides to go with Ben, who plans to be judged by the smoke monster for getting Alex killed. Caesar tries to stop them but Ben kills him. Ben and Locke go to the barracks where they find Sun and Lapidus. Lapidus goes back to the other island, but he's knocked out by Ilana who has taken control. Locke starts having sudden realizations of knowledge and he takes Ben to the temple to be judged. Ben goes under the temple and is judged by the smoke monster. His life is spared, but he's told to obey Locke and never betray him again.
The Good: This episode was huge and it did a lot of things really well. Ben's story in this episode is excellent. The death of Alex last season was a massive moment for the character, and is one of season 4's most memorable moments in my opinion. It's so great to see "Lost" explore the impact that Alex's death had on Ben outside of the simple Hollywood approach of grief and revenge. So many TV shows and movies simplify dealing with a loved one's death in this way. Ben's guilt is shown to us really well throughout the episode. The flashbacks center around Ben's relationship with Alex, and he frequently thinks back to her in the present. The episode builds and builds to that tremendous climax when Ben finally sees Alex again and the scene delivers hugely (see: Best Moment). We can tell based off of Ben's face that his guilt over letting Alex die will ensure that he keeps his promise to obey every word Locke says. Having Ben feel such intense guilt for what he did humanizes him really well, and it reminds me that even though this man is a ruthless and manipulative murderer, he is still a human being with struggles and fears and conflicts. Ben has to be one of the best villains ever conceived in television because we are still somehow able to understand him and everything he does and even sympathize with him. What's so satisfying about this episode is how it forces Ben into the back seat. In every one of Ben and Locke's conversations before, Ben always looked to be in control. But that's changed now. I have no idea what death has done to Locke (see: The Unknown), but he's changed and become far more confident now. Seeing this new version of Locke is incredible, and he almost feels like an entirely new character. He's so mysterious and enigmatic, and I can't wait to get the next Locke-centric episode to really find out what's going on with him. It's fascinating to watch how the Ben/Locke dynamic has changed. Suddenly Locke seems to be almost entirely in control of their conversations and he knows everything whereas Ben knows nothing. The juxtaposition between the past and present in this relationship is excellent, and I loved how the episode drew attention to it ("that's what it felt like to be me"). The dialogue between Ben and Locke is top-notch as always, and the superb writing and acting in this episode hits the same highs as "The Man From Tallahassee". There are so many delightful lines, and many moments where I laughed out loud. But there were also some genuinely terrifying moments, my favourite being when Ben admits to Sun that he didn't expect Locke to revive and that he's terrified by the fact that Locke is walking around normally again. Seeing Ben so shaken throughout the episode makes Locke's resurrection feel like a monumental moment, and it excites me for more scenes between the two of them. Caesar's death early in the episode surprised me because I was sure that he would be a more important character. I'm completely fine with it though. Watching Ben manipulate and kill this poor guy for the sake of getting back in Locke's good book was a really nicely executed story. It's Ben doing what he does best in an attempt to regain control, and yet it doesn't work and Locke still plows forward, filled with confidence. Plus watching Ben play the oblivious bystander is absolutely hilarious. One particular moment in this episode that I loved was when Ben declared to Sun that "something is going to come out of that jungle. Something I can't control" while anticipating the smoke monster's appearance. And then Locke walks out. It's a delightful moment that highlights the change in the Locke/Ben dynamic, and is one of my favourite parts of the episode. Again, the dialogue and writing in this episode was excellent, and easily its strongest aspect. The Bad: This season has been missing something in its episodes to prevent them from hitting the highs of previous seasons. There has been too much emphasis on plot and mystery and that makes it pretty difficult to follow along and understand the stakes sometimes. This episode was hurt the most by this problem. Ben being "judged" by the smoke monster left me with far too many questions, and I think that diminished the emotional impact of the episode. Instead of focusing on the heart of the episode with Ben's guilt over what happened with Alex, or with the Ben/Locke dynamic, I spent far too much time contemplating the convoluted details that made up this plot (see: The Unknown). I assume most of this stuff will be answered, but even if it is, it doesn't fix how much of this episode I spent confused and frustrated by how little I understood of the main plot. I can't help but be disappointed with how the vagueness of the story took away from this episode, and others in this season. I was also let down by the flashbacks. Don't get me wrong, it was great to finally get background on Ben and Widmore as leaders of the others. But the story felt rushed. The flashbacks here had to tackle the Ben/Widmore stuff while also touching in on Ben's attempt to kill Penny. That's too much to tackle, and both storylines suffered as a result. The Ben/Widmore story felt particularly underwhelming. It was well-written and well-acted, but there was no heart to the story. Watching those scenes just felt like watching the writers check off a list of reveals to ensure that they get through everything that they need to. The emotional core to the story was missing, and things progressed so quickly that we were often being told details instead of being shown them. That's weak writing, and I think that it was a waste to cram the Ben/Widmore stuff into an already packed episode instead of giving it its own episode. I'm not a fan of how "Lost" handled Ben's attempt to kill Penny. The show tried too hard to make us think that Ben killed Penny to the point where it felt manipulative. Things like Ben telling Sun to apologize to Desmond feel so unnecessary, and they only exist to cheaply make us think that Ben killed Penny before the episode reveals that he actually didn't. It's a simple and flat story centered only around thrills, and this type of storytelling is well below what "Lost" is capable of. And to think that this weak story is the reason that the Widmore/Ben flashbacks were rushed. What a disappointment. I expected more from both flashback storylines and I was ultimately let down by what we were given. The Unknown: Richard says that Jacob wants him to save Ben. Is this true? Why? Does Jacob choose the next leader of the others? Is this why Richard stepped down? Because Jacob told him to? Why does Ben have to be judged? We've never seen anyone be judged before. Is this something the others regularly do? Why? Why does the smoke monster judge people? What is the purpose of it? Does the smoke monster reflect the will of the island or something like that? Or is it tied to Jacob somehow? How does this all add up? Why is there a system to summon the smoke monster in the barracks? Is this connected to the areas under the temple? I presume that the smoke monster lives down there. Why does it obey the others and help them? Was this area built by the others? Or the Dharma Initiative? Or was it built before then? Did the smoke monster cause Ben to have a vision of Alex? How did it do that? I recall in season 3 that the smoke monster was also potentially causing Eko to have visions of Yemi before it killed him. How and why does the smoke monster create these visions? If Alex is a manifestation of the smoke monster, then why does the smoke monster want Ben to obey Locke? How did Locke come back to life? Ben suggests that this is completely abnormal. So why is Locke back? How? And how does he know so many more things than before? How did he gain so much confidence suddenly? Was there really something hugely special about him all along? What is it? We also get confirmation from Ben that the whispers are linked to the others. How? What are the whispers? How do the others control them? What are the rules that Ben and Widmore keep talking about? I assumed they were an agreement between the two of them, as in they won't kill each other or each other's family. But now we're being told that the rules are obeyed by the others because it's against the rules for Ben to return to the island, just like it's against the rules for Widmore to have a family off the island. What are these rules? What's in the big box that Ilana and her men were carrying? Who are these people? Why did they ask Frank about the shadow of the statue? What does it mean? What's the answer? Is Desmond okay? He seemed to be fine, but he did just get shot by Ben. Maybe that's what Ben was apologizing for? Best Moment: Ben confronting the smoke monster. The sequence building up to this scene is mysterious and suspenseful, and seeing the smoke monster literally envelop Ben and haunt him with his past was frightening. The scene was dripping with mythology, and yet it also had a strong emotional core as Ben was forced to relive his daughter's death and feel that guilt once again. The ensuing confrontation with Alex was horrifying with how Ben was being threatened by his own dead daughter. Ben is shaken and changed by this moment, and I found that to be very compelling, and realistic. The whole sequence was a masterful mixture of suspense and emotion. Character of the Episode: Ben. Conclusion: This episode did a lot of things, and most of it I enjoyed greatly. The dialogue and writing was excellent, and I'm as invested in the characters, mystery and plot of the show as ever. But the disappointing flashbacks and the convoluted plot hurts this episode a lot, bringing down what could have been another outstanding episode of "Lost". Score: 69 Summary: Flashbacks show Kate meeting Cassidy and giving her support on Sawyer's behalf. Later, after almost losing Aaron in a grocery store, Kate decides to leave Aaron in the care of Claire's mother while she returns to the island to bring Claire back. On the island, Jin brings Ben back to Juliet who can't save him. She asks Jack to save Ben but Jack refuses to do it. Kate decides to take Ben to the others and Juliet helps her sneak out. Sawyer catches up[ with Kate and helps her the rest of the way. Richard takes Ben and takes him to the temple. Juliet confronts Jack about his decision and Jack explains that he is waiting to find his purpose. In the present, Ben wakes up and finds Locke staring down at him.
The Good: Kate's flashback story in this episode is excellent. Much like Sayid's last episode, this episode fills in some gaps and tells us what resulted in Kate choosing to return to the island. The story here is really well told. Kate as a mother works surprisingly well, and Evangeline Lily thrives in the role. Her performance in this episode is outstanding and makes me buy into the idea of Kate settling down and finding inner peace in parenting Aaron. But the peace is only temporary. The guilt of leaving Claire behind and taking her baby is haunting Kate and it manifests in a brilliant scene at the grocery store (see: Best Moment). As a result, Kate decides she has to go back, and we get the climax of this story: Kate finds Claire's mother and leaves Aaron in her care, vowing to bring Claire back. Impressively, the episode has set up this scene so that it has a significant emotional resonance, and Kate's motives to do this make perfect sense. The show also goes a step further by giving us a terrific farewell scene between Kate and Aaron, one that has quite a bit of impact. You get the sense that Kate is sacrificing something to do what she believes is right, and that does more to make me like and relate to this character than anything else the series has done with Kate. It's a well-written story arc with some great emotional weight. The story with Cassidy was pretty well done too. It was nice to see "Lost" continue the relationship that these two built back in "Left Behind", and I thought that their scenes together were well done. Cassidy helped illuminate Kate's inner struggle in an organic way, helping Kate come to terms with why Aaron is so important to her and why Sawyer leaving her behind hurt her so much. It's a really smart way to examine Kate, and adds some extra depth to what was already a pretty compelling flashback story. The island story had a lot of good moments, and there was tension throughout with Ben's life in the balance. I was pleased to see Kate play a central role in saving him, and the episode did a good job of setting up this decision by having Kate form a small connection with Roger. Roger is surprisingly sympathetic in this episode and I really liked that. "Lost" always does tremendously well with making its characters a mix of good and bad, instead of focusing too far on good or bad. Jack's role in this episode was terrific. His choice to not save Ben was fantastic and helped shed light on Jack's motives and the inner change he experienced before returning to the island. Hearing him say that he doesn't yet know why he's come back to the island was a fantastic moment, especially with how it echoes Locke. Lastly, I reallyu laughed at Miles trying to explain time travel to Hurley. There were some really funny jokes in there and Hurley also asked some really good, important questions. The Bad: Though Kate and Sawyer did have an excellent scene towards the end of the episode, I found it difficult to buy into the storyline of Kate being screwed over by Sawyer and having to get over him. Especially since she quickly ended up getting with Jack afterwards, and since we have never seen her feel conflicted about Sawyer at any point after she left the island. It feels like a forced storyline, and it's much weaker than the storyline with Aaron. I have some nitpicks too. Richard saying that Ben's "innocence will be gone" is one of those frustratingly vague lines that is needlessly mysterious. I can't tell if the writers are using this to raise even more questions, or if they were too lazy to come up with an actual effect that this healing process would have on Ben. I would have liked to have something more specific to explain why this healing that Richard did would have been bad for Ben in the long run. I never liked the idea of Juliet calling her people "the others". Juliet lived with them for 3 years, it makes no sense that she would call them "others" instead of "my people" or something else like that. The Unknown: What will happen to Ben now? What did Richard mean when he said that Ben's innocence would be gone? Where did he take Ben? To the smoke monster? We know the monster guards the temple. Richard mentions Charles and Ellie, and I can only presume that they are Widmore and Eloise. We know Richard was leader before, so why did he step down for these two? I'm curious to learn more about how the leadership of the other changed, and also why it had to change from Richard. Was it Jacob's decision? How will Kate, Sawyer and Juliet explain Ben's disappearance? Will they be discovered? What is Locke going to do with Ben? Best Moment: Kate losing Aaron in the grocery store was an excellent scene. The way the episode staged a perfectly normal occurrence as a mysterious and scary event was perfect, and it brilliantly brought up Kate's inner conflict to set up her decision to go back to the island to find Claire. Character of the Episode: Kate. Conclusion: Kate's always been a weak spot for "Lost" and her episodes typically haven't been the best. But this was probably the best we have seen from the character yet, as we got a really compelling flashback story that added more weight to an exciting and dramatic island story. This is the best Kate-centric episode so far, and a great episode overall. Score: 70 Summary: Loki and Sylvie meet Kang who won the multiverse war that was waged between different variants of himself. He reveals that he made the TVA in an attempt to prevent more Kangs from rising up. Kang gives Loki and Sylvie the choice to kill him or rule in his place. Sylvie wants to kill him, Loki doesn’t. They fight, they kiss, and Sylvie teleports Loki away before killing Kang.
The Good: This was really strong stuff. Jonathan Majors stole the show in this episode, and his performance as He Who Remains/Kang was terrific. He was threatening, charismatic, and engaging in a way that made it impossible to take your eyes off of him. Introducing Kang in such a passive way before we presumably see much more ruthless variants in future MCU projects was a brilliant idea, and it does an excellent job of building up this character as a major villain. I thought this episode tackled a lot of really excellent themes regarding free will and destiny. This show has explored these questions many times before, but this episode took it to a new level, with Kang openly revealing that free will ends in death and tragedy every time. The only way to have peace is to take away free will. Loki and Sylvie are left to grapple with this idea, and their opposition is intense to watch. The episode ramps up the tension towards the end when they pass the threshold, and it feels like anything can happen. The fight between Loki and Sylvie, resulting in Sylvie killing Kang was terrific television that had me at the edge of my seat. The end of the episode promises that Sylvie’s decision will have dire consequences, further elevating the moment. The Bad: Loki and Sylvie’s relationship doesn’t quite work. The kiss is hard to get into, and I still find it tough to care about the relationship between these two characters. The scenes in the TVA felt out of place in this episode. Mobius and Ravonna’s conversation wasn’t very interesting, and it was ridiculous how easily Mobius was outclassed by her. It made him needlessly look pathetic. The Unknown: Where did Ravonna go? Will she meet a variant of Kang? What timeline was Loki teleported to? How is he going to get back to the TVA he is familiar with? What about Sylvie? What’s next for her? It looks like Kang has already risen to power. How long will it be until he attacks the universe that we’ve been watching the MCU in? Best Moment: Sylvie killing Kang. Character of the Episode: Kang. Conclusion: Having the finale essentially be an expositional dump was a bold move, but it was one that really worked, and led to an excellent climax. It wasn’t perfect, but it tackled interesting themes, had some powerful moments, and gave us a memorable conclusion. Score: 70 Summary: Loki wakes up in The Void and sticks with another group of Lokis to survive being killed by Alioth. Sylvie tries to get information from Ravonna but Ravonna is able to call for help. Sylvie realizes the person in control must be at the end of the timeline, after The Void, so she prunes herself to get there. After a fight involving several Lokis, Loki escapes and finds Sylvie who was saved by Mobius. Together they decide to enchant Alioth to get to the end of the timeline. Mobius returns to the TVA. With some help from Classic Loki, they are successful.
The Good: This episode is based on a very interesting concept, with Loki trying to escape The Void by taking on the mythical beast Alioth. It’s a totally insane idea, and yet the wackiness somehow works and turns this into a more engaging experience, akin to the mesmerizing unpredictability of “International Assassin” in “The Leftovers”. While this one isn’t as good (see: The Bad), it still does excellently in numerous ways. The zany concept is just one success of the episode. The dialogue is terrific here and I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between all of the Lokis. It’s impressive how well the writers understand this character. To successfully create so many varied versions of a single character and still have it feel like the same person requires a thorough understanding of Loki and his story; and this episode nails it. The story told here about Loki overcoming his personal weaknesses is superb. It’s sad to think that any time Loki becomes better, he is whisked away to The Void to be killed off. Having Loki and Sylvie fighting against this idea in their effort to escape creates a really strong emotional core to the story and keeps us engaged on a more personal level. We want to see Loki change and overcome his weaknesses to become a better person. It’s what Mobius wanted and it’s what we want. Along the way we get some lovely moments like Loki and Mobius’ hug and the lovely conversation between Loki and Sylvie, which established their relationship far more effectively than “Lamentis”. The Bad: The story of the other Lokis helping the main Loki didn’t entirely work. It felt too rushed, and it’s hard to believe that a single Loki battle royale would cause such a sudden change in heart within Young Loki and Classic Loki. These Lokis have lived for centuries, they can’t change that easily. This episode was missing the emotional heart that it needed to be a next-level episode. It felt too plot-heavy, without the complex character work needed to make this work as the amazing character-piece it could have been. The Unknown: What was the one good memory that Sylvie mentioned? Who is in control of everything that’s going on? What will Mobius do now that he’s back in the TVA? What’s Ravonna’s plan? Best Moment: The climactic confrontation between Loki/Sylvie and Alioth. The music was outstanding, the effects even better, and it felt like a cathartic climax of the episode. It’s like a successful version of the action scene at the end of “Lamentis”. Character of the Episode: Every Loki. It’s so much fun seeing so many different versions of the same character. Conclusion: Where “Lamentis” failed to create a compelling experience, “Journey Into Mystery” succeeded. This was a wacky, creative, and tense episode that accomplished a lot for the story. While it does have flaws, the episode was written well with solid dramatic beats to make you enjoy the spectacle. Score: 69 Summary: Loki and Sylvie fall for each other and cause a nexus event. The TVA finds them and imprisons them. Loki suggests to Mobius that he’s being lied to, and after some investigation Mobius realizes it’s true. He breaks Loki out but is caught and pruned by Ravonna. Sylvie gets through to B-15 as well. Ravonna takes Loki and Sylvie to the timekeepers but B-15 helps free them and they fight everyone. Sylvie kills the timekeepers but realizes they aren’t real. Loki gets pruned by Ravonna and Sylvie tells her to explain everything. Elsewhere, Loki wakes up surrounded by other Lokis.
The Good: I really enjoyed this episode’s dim view of the TVA. After the first two episodes positioned the TVA as the good guys, that gets completely turned on its head here as the show tackles the idea of how the TVA steals people’s lives away and how unjustified it is. And all for a cause that may very well be entirely false since the timekeepers aren’t even real. These ideas are explored well and they enrich the show. I really liked Mobius’ story in this episode. The character confronts the idea of his reality being a lie, and it is gripping to see him finally realize the truth only to tragically be pruned once he decides to fight the system. Mobius’ death is a huge shock and it massively raises the stakes for the rest of the episode. The climactic confrontation with the timekeepers was well done and it had a lot of dramatic twists with B-15’s arrival, Loki benign pruned and the timekeepers being exposed as fakes. This episode also does well to explore Loki’s inherent struggles with loneliness through his imprisonment with Sif. It’s a good bit of character growth for him and gives us more clarity as to why he would have fallen in love with Sylvie. The Bad: I’m not completely on board with the Loki/Sylvie relationship. It feels very icky since they are essentially the same person. While that’s certainly the point, it makes it difficult to buy into this relationship actually happening. And since “Lamentis” did a poor job of constructing a real connection between these two, their relationship feels underdeveloped. I was disappointed in B-15’s arc in this episode. Unlike Mobius, her story happened offscreen so it had very little impact on me when she joined forces with Sylvie. Lastly, I thought it was really poor to have no follow-up to the large amount of branches that popped up at the end of “The Variant”. It seemed like a massive moment back then, but the TVA apparently handled it easily off-screen. It’s not even mentioned in this episode. The Unknown: What did Sylvie do that got her noticed by the TVA? Who created the TVA and the timekeepers? What does Ravonna know about it? What happened to Loki after he was pruned? How will he come back? If Loki can come back, can Mobius come back too? Best Moment: Ravonna not even remembering what Sylvie did that made the TVA notice her. It’s a terrific moment that hammers in how horrible the idea of the TVA really is. Character of the Episode: Loki. Conclusion: This was a packed episode that moved the series along in a big way. Though it’s still flawed, I enjoyed this a lot. Score: 66 Summary: Loki and Sylvie teleport to Lamentis, the worst apocalypse, and the tempad runs out of power. They fight and argue but eventually decide to work together to survive, and they bond. They go to escape on the ark but are unsuccessful and the tempad is destroyed.
The Good: Visually, this was very impressive. The purple colour grading of the episode was gorgeous and the visual effects were movie quality. I was impressed by the ending sequence, which was a stylish long take filled with effects. The Bad: Unfortunately this was all style and no substance. The pacing of this episode was really slow and there was no tension. It’s obvious that Loki and Sylvie aren’t going to die here, so the episode feels like it’s killing time until they escape. We get some scenes for them to bond but unfortunately the dialogue doesn’t feel natural and I never got a good sense of their relationship to each other. We get some contrast between both characters, but for a 40 minute episode with not much else going on, it’s not enough. Part of the issue comes from how we don’t learn much about Sylvie, and the need to keep her mysterious destroys any chance of emotionally investing in her story in this episode. I thought that the lengthy conversation about love was awkward. It didn’t feel organic and I don’t think that the dialogue was strong enough to really make this work. The action was really poor overall. The choreography was fine, but there wasn’t a single drop of suspense or drama and I never got into what was happening on screen. That impressive long take at the end of the episode feels wasted because I didn’t get invested. It’s just an impressive piece of visual effects, it had no emotional impact on me at all. The ending is disappointing. The episode feels incomplete since we are still on Lamentis by the episode’s end. The Unknown: What is Sylvie’s past? How different is her life from Loki’s? How has she been able to stay away from the TVA this whole time? We learn that the TVA soldiers are all variants. How is this important? Will Loki reveal this to the TVA soldiers? How will they take this reveal? What does this mean about the existence of the timekeepers? Best Moment: The opening scene was the highlight of the episode. It was great to see Sylvie’s enchanting ability in action, and the scene cleverly sets up the reveal of the TVA soldiers being variants. Character of the Episode: Loki. It’s probably going to be him every episode. Conclusion: You can’t ground an episode of television in visuals alone. There needs to be a good story underneath for it to mean something. In the end, this episode was well produced and stylistic, but severely lacking in substance and suspense. For that reason, it was a flat and uninspired watch. Score: 48 Summary: After another group of Minutemen are killed by The Variant, Mobius brings Loki into the field with no real success. Afterwards, Mobius and Loki work together and develop a theory that The Variant is hiding in apocalyptic events. The TVA pinpoints the apocalypse to be in Alabama and they head there. Loki and B-15 partner up and find The Variant. B-15 is knocked out and Loki tries to strike a deal with The Variant unsuccessfully. The Variant uses reset charges to make multiple branches to the sacred timeline and then leaves with Loki giving chase.
The Good: This is a funny show and most of the jokes are great. Unlike “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”, this show nails the dynamic between Loki and Mobius and every scene with them is a blast with some excellent comedy. Watching their detective work was a lot of fun and it does well to make us care about the relationship that they are forming. The climax of the episode was really intense, and the meeting between the two Lokis was a ton of fun. Loki continues to be used superbly in this show. He’s not a good person and he’s motivated by selfish goals. I love that he has decided to try to overthrow the timekeepers. It’s also fascinating to watch such an unpredictable character that you can never trust. Loki’s attempted con in the tent was almost enough to fool me, and it was executed tremendously well. The Bad: Not every joke lands. Some of the humour felt very forced. This episode had a bit too much heavy-handed exposition for my liking. It was handled much better in “Glorious Purpose”. The Unknown: Even Mobius hasn’t seen the timekeepers. Who are they? Do they even exist? Who is The Variant? Is she really a female version of Loki? What is her motivation? How is she aware of the TVA? What’s her plan? Best Moment: Loki and Mobius in Pompeii. Their dynamic is really funny, and it was coupled with an important plot reveal. Character of the Episode: Loki. Conclusion: This was a step back from the pilot, and it was always going to be. Still, this was another fun episode with several good twists and turns. Score: 65 Summary: Loki is teleported to Mongolia but is picked up by the TVA that hunts down variants from the set timeline established by the timekeepers. Loki is amused at first but is subdued and is sent to die. However he is saved by Mobius who intercepts him to question him. Mobius is interrupted with a problem and Loki manages to escape. He learns of his fate and is horrified by how irrelevant he will be. He accepts who he is and complies with Mobius. Mobius reveals he needs Loki’s help to take care of another rogue variant: a different Loki.
The Good: This episode was an in-depth character study of Loki and I loved it for that. In a TV pilot it is essential to make the audience care about what is happening and the best way to do that is by making us care about the characters. So many TV shows fail to do this in the first episode, but “Loki” totally nails it. We learn so much about Loki as a person in this episode, and we get a thorough introspection of who he is, what motivates him, and what he thinks of himself and the things that he has done. It’s a fantastic journey of introspection for Loki, and by forcing him to confront himself, the show expertly takes a villainous character and makes us understand him and sympathize with him so that he can function as a protagonist. It is brilliant. The writers also show that they have a perfect grasp on the character, evidenced in the opening minutes when we see Loki instinctively look for an elevated rock to speak to the TVA members, attempting to establish some form of dominance to make up for his inner weakness. The clear understanding of who Loki is allows the writers to tell this story with all of the perfect dramatic beats. Mobius’ conversations with Loki are superbly written and reveal a lot about both characters while also being packed full of suspense and mystery. The episode does brilliantly to tell this character story while also engagingly introducing us to a dystopian reality with the TVA. This world is beautifully explored in the first half of the episode, giving us exposition in really creative ways at a pace that never feels overwhelming. The comedy in this episode is very well done. Loki is an inherently funny character and watching him in this unfamiliar environment provides some good laughs. I loved the brief story of Loki being DB Cooper all along. The Bad: Nothing big. It’s convenient that Loki only sees the most important parts of his future and nothing else. The Unknown: What was the multiverse war? Who started it? What was the result? Who are the timekeepers? Who is the rogue Loki? What time period is he from? What is he hoping to accomplish? Why is he attacking the TVA? Best Moment: Loki seeing his fate was impressively moving. Loki’s journey in this episode was written so well that the episode earned this final moment, and it was powerful. Character of the Episode: Loki of course. Conclusion: I’m disappointed that I’m not doing full-length reviews because this is one of those episodes that I could easily talk about for ages. Everything here was executed tremendously well and it made for a compelling pilot episode that immediately got me invested into the show and the characters. This is going to be difficult to top. Score: 74 Summary: After escaping with the tesseract, Loki is immediately apprehended by the TVA for breaking the sacred timeline devised by the timekeepers. After learning about his eventual fate, Loki helps Mobius, a TVA agent, track down another variant: Sylvie, a female Loki. Loki tracks down Sylvie and they end up escaping together to Lamentis where they get trapped but form a bond. Their relationship attracts the TVA who bring them back and arrest them. They are taken to the timekeepers, but they break free and Sylvie kills the timekeepers, discovering they are fake. Ravonna, Mobius' boss, attacks them and eventually Mobius, Loki, and Sylvie are "pruned". This teleports them to a distant location where they have to survive being consumed by Alioth, a being that eats matter. To survive, Sylvie enchants Alioth and discovers that the person in charge is living on the other end, at the end of time. Loki and Sylvie go forwards and discover Kang, who controls everything. Kang explains that he made the sacred timeline to prevent variants of himself from existing, causing a multiverse war. He gives the Lokis a choice: take over the TVA for themselves or kill him. Sylvie chooses to kill him and teleports Loki away after he disagrees. Sylvie kills Kang, and multiple branches form on the timeline.
The Good: "Loki" ended up being a perfect title for this show because this was all about him. Whether it's Tom Hiddleston's Loki, Sylvie, or some other variant, the show does a fantastic job of thoroughly dissecting and exploring this character across its six episodes. From the first moments, it's clear that the writers understand this character deeply, and Loki is given a unique personal conflict in every single episode, forcing him to face his own personal shortcomings and weaknesses. The excellent character writing elevates this show so much, and it ensures that Loki always feels like a proper protagonist instead of a villain. It's so much easier to relate to a character with flaws and shortcomings instead of a supervillain bent on ruling the world. Fleshing Loki out to this degree was a masterful decision, and it gave this show a lot of its emotional weight. Mobius is an excellent addition to the MCU. Usually the side characters in MCU films are my least favourite parts. The characters are often one-dimensional, or annoying, or poorly acted, or all of the above. However, Mobius is a surprisingly well-rounded character and I came to love his relationship with Loki. Owen Wilson puts in a good performance, and it's nice to see how complex Mobius' feelings for Loki are. It allows them to create a really strong bond. Mobius isn't defined solely by his relationship to Loki either. He's a fully fleshed out character with ideals, goals, motives, and personality. There are many things that make him who he is, and that's part of the reason that it's so much fun to watch this character on-screen. The TVA was an integral part of the show, and also a big reason for its success. Early in the show's run, the TVA was so mysterious, and it was fascinating to learn more about how it all worked and what its purpose was. The setting made this show feel almost dystopian, which was a really refreshing take on the MCU. Setting the show in such a unique setting with such an empty atmosphere was a stroke of genius, and it gave "Loki" something to stand out from other shows. The TVA story brings us to the introduction of Kang, who was such a brilliant element of the final episode that he deserves an entire section of this review. The slow build of the TVA mystery leads us to the big reveal of who is running the whole thing. And this character, played terrifically by Jonathan Majors, lives up to the hype. Kang is not at all what we would expect. He seems almost jovial, in a very sociopathic way, but is also surprisingly normal. It's a great set-up for later when we inevitably encounter a much more ruthless and villainous version of the same character. Kang has all of the charisma, motivation, and threat that you want to see from a villain, and I think he has potential to be even more effective than Thanos. I love that all six episodes of this show feel wildly different and function as their own standalone stories within the greater plot. This led to some fantastic experiences throughout the seasons, the best of which being the outstanding pilot "Glorious Purpose". I'll have more details in my review of that episode of course, but it was a really terrific piece of television. As mentioned above, this episode single-handedly made Loki a suitable protagonist for the show by putting him through an intense emotional experience that fundamentally changed who he was. And on top of doing that, it had some masterful mystery storytelling with the introduction of the TVA, including some terrific exposition that was given to us at a perfect pacing so it was never overwhelming, and we were never left feeling confused. No other episode felt similar to this, but that is a good thing. The show didn't get hung up on elements of the story and constantly tried new things, which made for a fresher overall experience. One thing that complimented every aspect of the show was its presentation. This looks even better than most movies because everything here is high budget with tremendous execution. The soundtrack was incredible, and it elevated every single scene when it played. The show wasn't just a bunch of high quality visuals either, the direction, editing and cinematography was superb and it made the most out of the heightened budget. I think this is the best looking TV show I've ever seen, and that does give it some bonus points. Lastly, I will say that this show knows how to use surprises and twists to its advantage. There were plenty of twists and turns throughout the season, and they elevated the story quite a bit. After each episode I never knew what to expect in the next episode, and the very premise of the episodes were surprising to me. I didn't know what was going to happen, and I didn't know what direction the story was going. The unpredictability coupled with the creativity of the episode premises made for a thrilling and surprising story that you don't often see on television. This entire show felt like a rollercoaster ride with how creative and unpredictable it was. Every twist landed, and every turn changed the direction of the show in an important way. The Bad: "Lamentis" was a weak episode with a lot of flaws. I'll be going more in-depth in my review of the episode, but it was the one weak episode of this show. I was underwhelmed by the character work in this episode and I thought that the dialogue and writing was quite clunky. I typically enjoy character-centric episodes like this, but there wasn't enough substance to make this episode work. In the end it just feels like a waste of time, and it's an episode I'd almost be comfortable with skipping. One of the core problems of "Lamentis" spread to the rest of the show. That was the romance between Loki and Sylvie, a relationship that felt rushed, clunky and unsatisfying for almost the entire run of the series. It was difficult to invest in this relationship because we didn't get a good sense of why they were into each other and what it was that got them to form a strong bond to begin with. This is where "Lamentis" comes in, because that episode failed to build a proper foundation for their relationship. They simply started talking about love and personal things because the story demanded it, and it never felt natural. This unnatural feeling persisted for the rest of the show, and it became especially tedious when just about every side character started to talk about their relationship in an effort to make us buy into it. It didn't work and ended up being pretty annoying. They started to work a little bit better towards the end of the series, but I still didn't quite buy into the idea of them getting together, and that made it difficult for me to emotionally engage in this aspect of the show. It was also especially difficult to get past the icky feeling of Loki falling in love with himself since I didn't buy into Loki and Sylvie's relationship. Outside of Mobius and Kang, the side characters were disappointing. Ravonna and B-15 are really weak characters and nothing they did interested me throughout the series. The lack of resolution for these characters by the end of the season only makes me question their existence even more. While watching the final two episodes, I found myself waiting for the story to get back to the more interesting stuff whenever it cut to what was going on in the TVA. Best Episodes: E01 Glorious Purpose: This was an excellent character study for Loki to transform him from the despicable villain in The Avengers to the morally grey protagonist that this show needs him to be. Add in the mystery elements as we are introduced to the TVA and the tremendous writing, and this was a superb pilot. E06 For All Time. Always.: The finale of this season delivered, which is even more impressive when you consider how poorly "WandaVision" and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" ended. Kang was portrayed tremendously, and the climax of the episode with this massive decision for Loki and Sylvie felt like a monumental moment that was perfect to end the season on. Worst Episodes: E03 Lamentis: The only disappointment of the show was "Lamentis". This episode felt like filler and it didn't do enough to explore the characters of Loki or Sylvie or their relationship to justify its existence. I feel like this episode should have been far more impactful than it was. Character of the Season: Loki. Conclusion: The MCU TV shows have been either decent or weak so far, so I didn't expect much from this show. But this was actually a really good show. It was well-produced, well-written, well-acted, and emotionally engaging. Plus every episode told its own unique story while also fitting together to tell one cohesive story. This didn't feel like a stretched out movie, and it avoided all of the trappings that MCU content typically falls into. There certainly were flaws and problems with the storytelling, but overall it was a blast to watch these six episodes, even if it wasn't top-quality television. This exceeded my expectations for an MCU TV show and I can't wait to see what happens in the second season. Summary: Flashbacks show Sayid has always been ruthless since his childhood. Ben tells Sayid his work is done after another assassination. Later, Ben contacts Sayid to tell him that Hurley is beign watched. After leaving the marina, Ilana pretends to be interested in Sayid to lower his guard and capture him. She is taking him to Guam as a bounty hunter. In 1977, Sawyer tries to get Sayid out of captivity but Sayid doesn't cooperate. Horace takes Sayiod to Oldham who gives him a truth serum. They think Sayid is crazy when he says who he is, but Radzinski is convinced he's a spy when Sayid mentions The Swan. After a conference, it is agreed that they will kill Sayid. However, Ben breaks Sayid out and tries to go with him. Sayid is discovered by Jin and Sayid knocks him out. Sayid shoots Ben with Jin's gun.
The Good: The island story was tense and exciting, and it felt important. Sayid's imprisonment is a big problem, and seeing Sawyer attempt to resolve it as the situation gets worse and worse is really intense television. Sayid is difficult to work with here, but it makes sense as Sayid had no desire to be back on the island, and he wasn't afforded the same luxury as Kate, Hurley and Jack of slowly coming to accept that he's in 1977. Sayid is very much confused and alone in his journey, and that makes him feel isolated from his friends. I thought that all of Sayid's choices in this episode were very engrossing. There was very strong drama with every decision Sayid made. From choosing not to work with Sawyer, to deciding to murder Ben, the episode did a fantastic job of connecting us to Sayid's emotional state to make these choices have an emotional impact. Surprisingly, the episode really shined when Sayid's agency was stripped away and he was taken to Oldham. Once again we get the lovely irony of the torturer being tortured for information, and the set-up for the scene is intense. I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen when Oldham went to work with Sayid. Hearing Sayid speak the truth was excellent drama because you were never sure how much he would reveal. Luckily he was cut off when he started to reveal really bad stuff (like who Sawyer was), but the scene still maintained that intensity. It all built to a lovely climax as Sayid laughed at how he was talking with a bunch of people who are destined to die. Naveen Andrews did a terrific job here, and the scene was really well done. The flashbacks in this episode are quite good. I was surprised to get a deeper look at Sayid's childhood, especially since his childhood hasn't been mentioned at all for the entire series. It was interesting to see his upbringing, and it neatly tied into the idea of Sayid always being a natural killer. It was good to finally see how Sayid and Ben's professional relationship ended, and to also see what happened to Sayid after he left the marina. These flashbacks did well to fill in gaps in the story. But more than that, they also nicely set up Sayid's emotional story in this episode. We get to see Sayid grappling with himself about who he is and what his purpose is. He's good at killing, and torturing, and being ruthless, but we can see that he doesn't want any of that. He's very conflicted. And surprisingly, by the end of the episode, Sayid actually doubles down on being a killer. He doesn't better himself, he actually does worse than that. The episode seemed to be building towards Sayid sparing Ben, especially after Sayid witnessed how Roger abused Ben. But Sayid doesn't make that decision. Instead he finds purpose in his return to the island by killing Ben, and because of that he is able to pull the trigger. It's a stunning twist that leaves me really excited for what's to come in the next episode, and it raises lots of questions about how this will impact the world (see: The Unknown). I also really appreciate that Sayid is shown crying after killing Ben. One thing "Lost" always does well is that it roots its big moments in the emotional state of its characters, making it emotionally powerful on top of being significant to the plot. The Bad: I feel like Sayid needed a better motive to not work with Sawyer. It feels like Sawyer should have either tried harder to get Sayid to listen to him, or Sayid should have had a more convincing and personal argument as to why he isn't cooperating. It very much feels like he didn't listen to Sawyer because the plot demanded it, which is very poor writing. The story of the Oceanic Six remains a mess, even with this episode clarifying a lot of things. Even with the answers we received, I have way too many questions (see: The Unknown). I still don't understand who the people were that attacked the Oceanic Six. Did they work for Widmore or Ben? I have no idea. It was an interesting mystery at first, but now that the story is entirely complete and we still don't have answers, I can comfortably say that making this so mysterious was a mistake and weakened the story. I'm also not a fan of the idea of having key questions answered in flashbacks in the way that they were in this episode. The storytelling is non-linear in a way that disrupts the emotional experience that these characters are going through. It would have been much better for the story had we seen these moments between Sayid and Ben before Sayid went to get Hurley from the mental hospital. The Unknown: Sayid has a brother apparently. Where has he been the entire show? What's happened to him? So was the man outside Hurley's mental institution Widmore's man or Ben's man? I still have no idea, and we get conflicting information about this. On one hand, Ben tells us it's Widmore's man, but it's Ben so can we really trust him? Sayid certainly did not. Was Ilana taking Sayid on Ajira 316 really just a coincidence? Or is there something else at play with her? She didn't seem to know who Ben was, but maybe she was lying. Did Sayid just kill Ben? Does this mean that Daniel was wrong about the rules of time travel? How will this effect the world and the story? Is Ben actually dead? Or can he survive somehow? Best Moment: Sayid's interrogation by Oldham. Character of the Episode: Sayid. Conclusion: This was an excellent episode that had a wonderful central story for Sayid, and wove that into a suspenseful plot with a phenomenal cliffhanger that leaves you desperate for more. There were some problems, and they prevent this episode from scoring higher, but I still loved this episode. Score: 74 Summary: In 1977, Sawyer organizes it so Jack, Kate and Hurley join the Dharma Initiative as new recruits. Jin goes to The Flame to find the plane but doesn't find anything. He instead finds Sayid and is forced to apprehend him as a hostile. Sawyer takes over and gets Sayid in a cell at The Barracks. Sayid meets young Ben. Jack speaks with Sawyer who is still planning their next move. In the present, Sun follows Ben who wants to return to the main island. He takes her to an outrigger but Sun knocks him out and leaves with Frank instead. They go to The Barracks where they meet Christian. Christian shows them that Jack, Kate and Hurley joined the Dharma Initiative in 1977.
The Good: This episode had a lot of really fun plot developments across three different storylines. Watching Sawyer try to find a way to assimilate Kate, Jack and Hurley was really engaging. The story was packed with lovely moments of character reuniting after years apart, showcasing the bonds between these characters. But on top of that, it was tense and exciting to see if this plan would actually work. There are some really nice moments throughout, and I thought that the characters were handled nicely. Jack in particular had a great episode, and I got a laugh out of seeing his reaction when he realizes he's just a janitor. The final scene between Jack and Sawyer (spearheaded by an excellent reunion between Jack and Juliet) was really well written and had a lot of lovely moments (see: Best Moment). The Sayid storyline was more unpredictable and it's the first big problem that we're going to have to see sorted out. Sayid is unlucky enough to be apprehended by Radzinski, and he's found himself in a difficult situation, split up from everyone else, with nobody around to explain anything to him. I love how this wa emphasized throughout the episode with Sayid's shocked look once Jin points a gun at him, and with the glances shared between Sawyer and Sayid as the episode goes on. This storyline has been set up tremendously. Sun had a really good episode too. It was great to see her manipulate Ben for her own needs, showing us a new bit of ruthlessness within her that the season had been hinting at for a while now. Her determination to find Jin gives her story some more emotional weight as well. One of the episode's highlights has to be the spooky sequence in the barracks which felt similar to the amazing cabin scene in "The Man Behind the Curtain". While this wasn't quite on the same level, it was a tense moment and it gave us another encounter with Christian, furthering the mystery of who he is and what his goals are. The Bad: This was pretty much just a transitional episode. Don't get me wrong, it was fun and had a lot of good scenes, but it didn't come together as a complete experience like most other episodes of "Lost" do. The Unknown: We got to meet Radzinski surprisingly. Apparently he is building The Swan. What else will we learn about this? Why didn't Sun go back in time with the rest of the Oceanic Six? What happened to Daniel? Did he die? Why isn't he with Dharma anymore? Is Horace and Amy's baby the Ethan from season 1? That's a surprising reveal. Was he recruited by the others similarly to Ben? The monster was lurking around where Sun and Frank were. Will they encounter it? Why did Christian choose to help them? Who is he exactly? What are his goals? Is Phil suspicious of Sawyer? He gave a strange look towards Jack when he went to meet with Sawyer? What will become of Sayid meeting Ben? Best Moment: The Jack/Sawyer scene at the end had the most emotional weight to it. It's nice to see how both characters have grown. Sawyer has become a real leader while Jack has finally started to value letting things go. It's great to see Sawyer criticize Jack's ineffective leadership style, and to see Jack actually bask in not being in charge anymore. Of course Jack still bickers with Sawyer and gets defensive, because even with his development, he's still the same person. The episode does a nice job of showing change in these characters while still having them feel like the same people. Character of the Episode: Sawyer. Conclusion: This was a really solid episode that moved the story forward. It didn't have the emotional focus of the last three episodes, but there were plenty of great moments here, and I'm even more excited now for what's to come in the rest of the season. Score: 67 Summary: In 1974, Sawyer's group comes across Amy who is about to be murdered y others. Her husband, Paul, has already been killed. They save her and murder the two others. Amy is part of the Dharma Initiative and she takes the group back to the barracks. Sawyer meets Horace and lies about who they are. Horace wants them to leave the island on the sub, but after Sawyer talks to Richard and protects the truce that was almost broken when they murdered the two others, Horace lets them stay. In 1977, Sawyer, going by LaFleur, brings back a drunken Horace, who started tossing dynamite at trees after fighting with Amy, now his wife, about Paul. Amy is pregnant and goes into labour. Sawyer goes to Juliet who delivers the baby successfully. Sawyer gives Horace advice, suggesting that 3 years were enough for Amy to get over Paul. Sawyer returns home and he is now romantically involved with Juliet. Sawyer gets a call from Jin and goes to meet him. He sees that Jack, Kate and Hurley have returned.
The Good: Sawyer's story in this episode is really incredible. What's most impressive is how the emotional core of his story sneaks into the episode in the final 10 minutes, and yet it integrates everything we have seen up until that point in a meaningful way. Sawyer's story in this episode is about moving on and finding a new happy life in the 3 years that the Oceanic Six have been gone. He gets over Kate, falls in love with Juliet in what is a shockingly organic relationship, and cements a new lifestyle that he is content with. The end of the episode is when this story is driven in because we get to see how happy Sawyer is with his new life. His chemistry with Juliet is excellent, and the scene where he essentially asks her to stay for two weeks just for him is really sweet, and it expertly sets up the reveal of their relationship. But the highlight scene is definitely Sawyer's speech to Horace, convincing him that three years is enough to get over somebody. It's a brilliant moment for numerous reasons. For one, it expertly ties together the extended amount of time that this episode spends on Paul, Amy, and Horace, justifying their presence as a situation for Sawyer to personally relate with. But most importantly, this scene shows us how Sawyer has moved on from Kate after she left the island, and that he found real happiness in his life with the Dharma Initiative. Sawyer saying that he hardly remembers what Kate looks like is both really sad and really beautiful. It's a lovely way to encapsulate the very real emotion of moving on. This idea builds until the final moments of the episode as Kate re-enters Sawyer's world and puts his new life with Juliet in serious jeopardy. We're going to see who Sawyer really is with how he handles Kate's return, and that lingering shot of his face at the end of the episode terrifically captures the inner conflict that has just erupted inside of Sawyer. The rest of the episode is quite good outside of Sawyer. I really enjoyed how the episode was structured, and how it slowly revealed information. The story of Amy, Paul and Horace is expertly told across two different time periods, allowing us to understand these characters and their relationships with each other. It's also very entertaining to follow Sawyer's group in 1974 to find out what happens that gets them to join the Dharma Initiative. I really enjoyed seeing Sawyer use his experience in lying and conning to make peace with both Horace and Richard, and the excellent dialogue is a big reason why. This story is enjoyable on its own as you first go through the episode, but the emotional heft of Sawyer's arc elevates it to something more. Some of the other characters get some nice moments. Jeremy Davies does a fantastic job here. His grief for Charlotte feels very real, and the performance is heartbreaking and memorable in every way. Jin being the one to keep searching for Locke makes perfect sense since he's got Sun to get back too. It's fitting that Jin is the only one who wasn't able to settle in with his new life. Juliet gets a lovely little story in this episode as she finally gets to successfully deliver a baby on the island. It's a big moment for her and you can't help but be happy for her. The Bad: One thing I've noticed is that "Lost" does too many birth scenes. Way too many. We've already seen multiple this season, and they are starting to become somewhat tedious and repetitive. The suspense of a birth scene can only be done so many times. The Unknown: How will Sawyer handle Kate's return? Will this cause trouble in his relationship with Juliet? What was the huge statue that Miles saw? Is it the four-toed statue before it was destroyed? Who built it? When? What happened on the island that made it lethal to give birth? Clearly whatever it was hasn't happened yet. How will Sawyer explain the sudden arrivals of Jack, Kate and Hurley? What happened to Daniel? Where is he in 1977? Best Moment: Sawyer's speech to Horace is beautiful and perfectly captures the emotions of moving on in life. Simply beautiful. Character of the Episode: Sawyer. Conclusion: This was a superb character piece and a really interesting and exciting episode of drama. I'm excited to see where the story goes from here. Score: 76 Summary: In flashbacks, Locke wakes up in Tunisia and is found by Widmore. Widmore tells Locke he will help him bring the others back and sends Abaddon to be his driver. Locke visits Sayid, Walt, Hurley and Kate but fails to convince anyone and has his confidence shaken. Locke asks to see Helen but discovers that she died. Abaddon is suddenly shot and killed and while escaping, Locke crashes and is taken to a hospital where he meets Jack, who he also fails to convince. Distraught, and believing he is a failure, Locke decides to commit suicide but is stopped by Ben, who reveals he killed Abaddon. Ben reinforces that Locke is special and talks him out of killing himself, but after Locke reveals that he needs to go see Eloise next, Ben kills him anyways. On the island, Caesar and Ilana investigate the island where they crashed. They discover Locke who has resurrected.
The Good: This episode is the Terry O'Quinn show and he is outstanding. It feels so good to get a successful "Lost" episode that's grounded emotionally in a single character's journey, something that season 5 hasn't done yet. This episode finally gives us that through a really powerful story about Locke, detailing what he went through when he left the island. There's some really brilliant character examination done here, made even better by Terry O'Quinn's performance, and it's combined with some tremendous plot development as we finally get more insight on Ben and Widmore and their motivations. Locke's journey in this episode is beautifully written to deconstruct the faith that he has relied so much on since season 1. The past few seasons have rarely toyed with the idea that Locke might be wrong. Everything seems pointed towards Locke being special and having a huge destiny that he has to live up to an accept. But this episode focuses in the opposite direction by asking us if Locke is even special at all. What if he really is just a lonely old man that crashed on an island? The episode not only asks us this question, but it forces Locke to ask himself this question. And throughout his experiences, Locke slowly starts to believe that maybe he isn't special, and this deconstruction of everything he believes in is so tragic and powerful to watch. It starts with Locke's conversation with Sayid. Locke seems like his usual energetic self when speaking with Sayid, but the conversation doesn't go as planned. Sayid empathizes with Locke and brings up the possibility of him being manipulated (more on this later), an idea that shakes Locke to the core and reminds him of past manipulations involving his father. It doesn't change his mindset yet, but it gets him thinking, something that Terry O'Quinn masterfully articulates to us. The ensuing conversations make it worse and worse for Locke. The talk with Hurley is horrifying as Hurley seems genuinely terrified of both Locke and Abaddon, forcing Locke to really believe that he might be being manipulated. Then his talk with Kate is painful because Kate evidently pities him and doesn't even try to hide that she does. Combined with Sayid's suggestion that Locke only wants to go back to the island to have purpose, Kate's words force Locke to contemplate if he really is just being manipulated into finding some worth in his life when there isn't one. He really starts to believe that he's just some nobody that is giving into his own delusions. You get the sense that Locke had hoped that the others wouldn't have found happiness off the island, and yet they have. So he's unsure of what to do next and he questions if maybe he'd be better off without the island. Which leads to the tragic realization that Helen died, and that Locke could very well have had a good life with her had he not thrown it away for his own obsessions. It's a really sorrowful moment when Locke learns her fate, and you get the sense that Locke believes less and less that he actually is important. This leads to the final conversation with Jack, riddled with the same fire that Jack and Locke have had since the start of the show. And though he tried his best, Locke failed again. And it's Jack that gets Locke to face the cold truth that the entire episode has been building up to: what if you were just a lonely old man that crashed on an island? This takes us to Locke finally attempting suicide. Rather than Locke simply doing what he had to to bring everyone back, this scene had a very unexpected emotion to it. Echoing Abaddon's words earlier in the episode, Locke killing himself felt more like a choice than destiny. He wasn't dying because it was his destiny; he was dying because he was a sad and lonely failure who had nothing in this world to live for. It's brutal, it's sad, and it perfectly encapsulates how depressingly pathetic Locke's life is if he never was anything special. Then, as another brilliant twist, Ben shows up. Ben manages to talk Locke out of suicide, and does something shocking: he gives Locke hope. He reinforces that Locke is special and important, and that he definitely can't die. He gives Locke that hope again and for a little bit it seems like things will be okay for Locke and that his faith is justified. Then Ben gets the little bit of information he needed and he murders Locke. It's a brutal, heartbreaking twist that paints Ben as the manipulative pile of garbage that he is, while capturing real tragedy with Locke's death, having him die so suddenly right after rediscovering his hopeful faith. Locke's death raises the important question of if he was being manipulated in the entire episode, and I think that he was. We know that Ben was manipulating Locke at the end of the episode, and every word of Locke being special was a filthy lie. Ben had no intention of letting Locke return to the island. So once Ben got the information he needed from Locke, he murdered him so that he could be the unquestionable leader of the others once he returned. And Widmore seemed to have been doing the same thing. I really like the idea that Ben and Widmore are two sides of the same coin. They are ruthless, selfish and manipulative and they would do anything to anyone to ensure that they get back to the island so they can lead. Poor Locke seems to have been caught up in this battle, and I think that he spent the entirety of the episode doing Ben and Widmore's bidding so that they could get back to the island instead. That's a really sad realization and one that makes Locke's story feel hopeless and miserable. But what's even more brilliant about this episode is its suggestion that there is still hope. Locke doesn't die here. He's somehow managed to come back to life on the island! And that's where "Lost" gives us hope that the manipulative and hateful nature of Ben and Widmore will not be the successful power in the show. Despite them manipulating Locke and ultimately killing him, Locke does have a destiny. He has been given important tasks by Jacob and it looks like he does have a bigger purpose than just being a lonely old man. The episode proves that by miraculously bringing Locke back to life. I'm very excited to see how death has changed Locke and how he will approach his destiny differently, and how he will handle the forces of Ben and Widmore who will definitely oppose him. On top of this brilliant story for Locke, the episode works really well at tying up a lot of loose ends. With Locke's flashbacks, I think that we have finally seen everything we need to see about characters and their motivations prior to season 5, with all of the gaps in character's individual arcs fulfilled. The only thing I can think of that is missing is the reason why Sayid stopped working for Ben, which I presume will be addressed in a future episode. The Bad: The opening scene takes away a lot of the impact from this episode. Locke's death is well-written, fitting, and horribly sad, but its impact is somewhat nullified by the reveal that Locke comes back to life at the start of the episode. This absolutely should have happened at the very end of the episode as a glimmer of hope. Its position at the start of the episode hurts the emotional journey of the episode by making it tougher to invest in Locke's flashback sequence since we know that he's going to be alright and that his death won't be permanent. Abaddon's death was a huge disappointment. He's been one of the show's most mysterious characters for a while now, and relegating him to just being one of Widmore's guys for a single episode before killing him off is extremely unsatisfying. It also doesn't explain how Abaddon knew about Locke needing to go on a walkabout. It was nice to get answers about who Abaddon is and why he's important, but the answers we got did not live up to the mystery that this character was built up with. Some of the conversations in this episode didn't entirely work. Locke's conversation with Kate felt incredibly awkward and rushed. These two didn't have much of a relationship in the show prior to this, but I did expect more from that scene. The discussion of love aided Locke's storyline, but it should have been told in a more organic fashion. The conversation that Locke and Kate had felt disjointed and should have been longer. I also wasn't pleased with how short Walt and Locke's conversation was. They had a good relationship on the island and it would have been nice to see more from them. I think that it also would have been smart to incorporate Walt in the story a little more, especially with how he's supposed to be special. I expect we'll see more from him later. The Unknown: Who are Caesar and Ilana? Are they just ordinary people caught up in this mess? How did Locke come back to life? Was it the island? He really is special. Did death change him in any way? He doesn't seem to be as bothered by his wavering faith as he was before dying. What does he plan to do with Ben? We learn a lot about Ben and Widmore in this episode but I still have questions. Widmore claims that Ben fooled him into leaving. Why was he exiled? Did Ben set him up? What is the war that Widmore is talking about? Is it the one between him and Ben? Why does Locke have to be back on the island for that? Is this Widmore just manipulating him like Ben claims? Or does he genuinely believe that there is something special about Locke? It would line up with Widmore's motives to use Locke so he can get back to the island. However, we don't know if Widmore operates in the same manipulative way as Ben. The island did bring Locke back to life so it seems that Locke being on the island is very important. But why? And how does this connect back to Jacob? What was Walt's dream about? Was it a vision of Locke being back on the island? Why did people want to hurt him? Who were they? Abaddon said that it's his job to get people where they need to go. What does this mean? How does he knows where people are supposed to go? Is he just working for Widmore? How did he know about the walkabout and Locke needing to go on one to get to the island? There's no way that Widmore knew about that. Best Moment: Ben killing Locke was a surprise, and a nasty culmination to their scene as Ben's actions make it perfectly clear that he and Widmore are just two disgusting people trying to use Locke for their own ends, and Locke dies as a consequence of getting caught in their rivalry. Ben's cold "I'm going to miss you John" after staging the scene to look like suicide is chilling and infuriating. Any time that Ben starts to seem like a better person, he goes and does something irredeemable like this. "Lost" has created a really special character with Ben. Character of the Episode: Locke. Conclusion: After having an inconsistent start to the season with little focus on character, it feels good to see "Lost" deliver two back-to-back episodes with a lot of character focus. While this one is also flawed in a few ways, I think it's a much better experience than "316" and tells a hugely compelling story for Locke while also tying up a lot of plot threads and setting the stage for the rest of season 5. This was a terrific episode, the best of the season so far. Score: 79 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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