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
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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 Summary: In flashforwards, Desmond furiously leaves once he realizes everyone is trying to get back to the island. Eloise explains that they have to replicate the circumstances of Flight 815 to get back to the island and Jack needs to give Locke something of his father's. Jack goes to see his granddad Ray and gets a pair of his father's boots from him to give to Locke. Kate comes to Jack's place at night, having decided to go back to the island but refuses to say what happened to Aaron. At the airport, Sayid is brought in in handcuffs and Hurley has also managed to find his way there. Ben shows up at the last minute with injuries. The plane takes off and Frank is revealed to be the pilot. The plane crashes, but Jack, Kate and Hurley suddenly find themselves on the island after a flash. They are discovered by Jin wearing a Dharma Initiative uniform.
The Good: Jack's story here was really good. We've gotten used to seeing Jack be the stubborn and logical guy who needs hard proof for everything that he does. Yet "316" pushes him in a way that forces him to grow out of this, accepting faith in the way that Locke always wanted him to. We see Jack's change in a number of great scenes in this episode. For one, we see him accept the ridiculousness of what he has to do to get back to the island. We know that Locke would go along with it without a second thought, but naturally Jack angrily declares how absurd it all is. But he's going through a change, and for the first time we actually see Jack calm himself down and accept something that makes no logical sense. He finally takes that leap of faith and it feels like a huge character moment for him. Additionally, we can see the effect that this change has on Jack for the rest of the episode. When Kate asks Jack to never ask about Aaron, Jack actually agrees and doesn't ever ask her what happened to him. When Hurley and Sayid show up at the airport, Jack is the one who points out how insane it is that they both managed to get to the same flight as if it was destiny. And Jack is the one who almost always asks questions about everything that's going on. For once, we see him remain quiet and not question every little detail. He finally seems to have discovered what destiny means, and is transitioning to being a fervent believer like Locke was. This story is told very well throughout the episode and gives it an emotional core, something that the other episodes in season 5 have been lacking so far. A key aspect that helps Jack go over the edge and start believing is Locke's death. It's great to see Locke's death weigh on Jack even after Jack is off the pills and is actively on his way back to the island. It also gives Matthew Fox a good chance to show off his talent as he portrays Jack's pain and guilt in a very subtle way, as Jack tries to accept what happened to Locke and move on. But of course, Jack can't evade Locke's suicide letter, and the emotional highlight of the episode comes when he finally reads it. The simple message of "I wish you had believed me" is incredibly powerful and perfectly frames the regret and deep sorrow that Jack feels after his stubborn refusal to believe anything that Locke said caused so many bad things to happen (Locke's death, the freighter finding the island, leaving everyone else behind). The episode does a lot of other little things that work really well. The opening sequence is terrific, and watching Jack's return parallel "Pilot Part 1" was a delight. The ending scene is also excellent, and a Dharma Initiative Jin finding his old friends is a perfect cliffhanger that leaves me really excited to see what comes next. As ever, Ben has a lot of nice moments in this episode. His stone-cold "who cares" when Jack questions what will happen to the other passengers was terrific. I also got a good laugh out of Ben saying "my mother taught me" after Jack asks how he can read. It's a good line made funnier when you remember that Ben's mother died in childbirth. Even in innocuous interactions like this, Ben still goes out of his way to lie. Lastly, I really liked Hurley buying out the remaining 78 seats to save lives. It's in-character for Hurley to do something like this and is a good reminder of how good-hearted he is. The Bad: The one huge problem with Jack learning not to ask questions is that we don't get answers for questions that we, the audience, are asking. While Jack not asking questions is good for him, it's horrible for all of us watching because we desperately want to know what is going on. It ends up being incredibly frustrating how important questions go unanswered throughout the episode, and it makes this episode feel incredibly unsatisfactory from a plot perspective. For example, the episode starts with Desmond telling everyone that Eloise is crazy and that she ruined his life and nobody should listen to her. Nobody asks a single question after this to get more clarity. Nothing. It's ridiculous that Jack and Sun don't care to learn more about Eloise, and it's frustrating to get no answers about Eloise after waiting so long to see her reappear in the show. And now with the story shifting back to the island, will we ever get more answers about Eloise? Seeing the Lamp Post was good and answered one question, but we really needed more. Furthermore, Eloise's vague statements got frustrating really quickly. Any time that a character asked her a question or there was a chance for her to explain the importance of what is happening, she deflects the question and dances around a satisfying answer. It gets unbelievably frustrating and it becomes apparent that the writers had no clue how to answer these questions anyways, which is a huge disappointment. We never understand why it's important that everyone has to return and we also don't understand why they have to recreate the circumstances of the first flight. Having some stakes here would have done wonders to get me invested but we get nothing from Eloise. And to cap off the frustration, there's a moment when Jack asks Ben for more clarification, but instead Ben ignores the question and launches into a monologue about Thomas the Apostle. I'm sure that it's thematically significant, but it's ultimately an incredible frustrating moment because of how the writers went out of their way to not answer our questions. While I really liked the opening scene, it hurt the drama of the episode to know that they will return to the island by the end. Instead of being excited when the plane took off, I was readying up for the inevitable. It would have enriched the drama if we didn't already know that everyone will get to the island by the end of the episode. Frank's appearance is a lot of fun, but it's absurd that he wouldn't panic when he realizes that the plane is going back to the island. Surely he would at least try something to prevent going back to the island. The Unknown: Who built the Lamp Post? Why doesn't the Dharma Initiative still use it? When did Eloise take control of it? Why do they have to recreate the circumstances of the first flight? Why not just enter the established window that they can get to the island? If you need specific circumstances to find the island, how do the others travel to the island? What does Eloise mean by saying the effects will be unpredictable if not everybody returns? Why would it be unpredictable? Did Ben kill Desmond or Penny? I'm very concerned after seeing what happened to him. What happened to Kate that made her choose to come back to the island? Where is Aaron? How did Sayid get arrested? Why? Why was he being taken to Guam? How did Hurley find out about the flight? How did he get out of jail? Did he run into Eloise somehow? What is Hurley hiding from Jack? Why did Jack, Kate and Hurley go back in time? Wasn't their return supposed to stop the time travel from happening? Instead they further contributed to it. Was this one of the unpredictable effects Eloise was talking about? What happened to Sun, Sayid and Ben? Did they go back in time too? If not, what happened to them on the plane? Did the plane crash? What happened to Sawyer's group? Are they all members of the Dharma Initiative now? How long have they been there? What time period did Jack, Kate and Hurley show up in? Best Moment: Jack reading Locke's letter. Character of the Episode: Jack. Conclusion: This was a truly mixed episode. I really loved some aspects of it but was disappointed and frustrated by other aspects. In the end it's a solid episode, but one that should have been much better than it was. Score: 64 Summary: In flashforwards, Sun threatens Ben at gunpoint but Ben claims that Jin is still alive and offers Sun proof. Kate realizes Jack still wants to go back to the island and angrily leaves. Ben takes Jack and Sun to meet Eloise and they run into Desmond. On the island, Jin experiences Rousseau's group being attacked by the smoke monster. The group walks into the temple after it and they come back changed. Later, Jin sees Rousseau kill Robert. After another flash, Jin finds Sawyer's group. They continue towards The Orchid, but after a few flashes, Charlotte collapses. Daniel stays behind with her and she dies. Meanwhile, the group finds The Orchid but a flash makes it vanish. They find a well and Locke goes inside of it. Another flash occurs and the well is gone, Locke falls into a cavern. Locke is met by Christian who gives him more instructions. Locke accepts his destiny and corrects the frozen donkey wheel.
The Good: One of the biggest disappointments of season 4 was the anticlimactic death of Rousseau. I was really hoping that one day we would get a centric episode for her. Luckily, that partially materialized in the first half of this episode. Watching Jin experience what happened to Rousseau's crew was tremendous and some of the most entertaining and engaging storytelling that we've gotten out of the time travel aspect of the show so far. The show does a fantastic job of making us understand why Rousseau was so crazy; wouldn't you be after witnessing the insanity that we see in this episode? The scenes with the smoke monster were horrifying and felt like they were straight out of a horror movie. There was so much more mystery introduced in this episode regarding the smoke monster and I'm really excited to learn more about it and the mysterious temple. I'm really glad that we were also shown the moment of Rousseau killing Robert. We've heard her describe the moment before and it was harrowing and brutal. But experiencing it ended up being surprisingly impactful and I really enjoyed that scene. The rest of the island story continued the suspenseful fast pacing of the season. Charlotte's death was an effective dramatic moment and seeing her almost childlike state of ignorance as her brain gets scrambled was horrifying. Daniel's grief after she dies was excellent and gave some power to the moment. The final scenes with Locke were superb. They were mysterious and game-changing in a way that would fit right in with a season finale. It was really powerful to see Locke come to terms with the fact that he's going to have to die. The flashforward story had some excellent scenes too. The drama at the marina lived up to the exciting cliffhanger of the last episode with Kate's anger towards Jack and Sun's anger towards Ben being really well executed. Also, Ben being frustrated after being threatened with death by both Sun and Jack was terrific. It makes me really wonder about Ben's intentions, and there's a nice sense of irony with how Ben is finally trying to do something helpful and is being threatened by the very people he's trying to help. Lastly, I really like how Ben used the wedding ring as proof that Jin is still alive. Locke intended to use it to keep Sun away, but naturally Ben turns it around and uses it to bring Sun back. The Bad: Charlotte never became a fully fleshed out character. As a result, her death was lacking in emotional impact, and I only felt something because of Jeremy Davies' acting. Charlotte deserved to have more screen-time to stand out more as a character. She has to be one of the dullest main cast members in the entire series. This episode doesn't quite work as well as some of the other great episodes of the series. I think part of that is because of how vague the story has been so far. For example, we know that this time travel issue happened "because they left", but why? Why did it happen? And how will bringing them back stop it? I get that this is part of the mystery, but it's difficult to fully engage in the urgency of the story if I don't understand what is at stake. It's also difficult to see how bringing the Oceanic Six back will help everyone else, especially if they are travelling through time. Trying to actually think about the story really ends up hurting your brain and things don't make sense like they should. Another frustrating moment is with Eloise at the end of the episode. In "The Lie" she says that everyone needs to be brought together or "god help us all", yet now she can apparently make do with just Jack and Sun. What????? That makes no sense and it completely destroys the sense of urgency that this storyline had been building. And we never got a concrete answer as to why Ben went after Kate or what his goals were. It would be nice to shed more light on these things instead of leaving us to connect the dots ourselves. This episode does a lot of things right, but unnecessarily leaving things unclear is definitely hurting the show. This was technically a Jin/Sun episode. Unfortunately, the episode was so packed with other events that their story got lost in the shuffle. I thought that the stories of Jin deciding not to bring Sun back, and Sun learning that Jin was still alive were solid, but they was hugely overshadowed by everything else that was happening. The Unknown: I have a seemingly endless list of questions after this one.\\ Why did the smoke monster attack Rousseau's group? What was the goal? Why did it take Montand into the temple? What did it do to him? What did it do to the others? It seems that the monster is what caused the sickness that Rousseau described back in "Solitary". What exactly did it do? We also here Robert say the "security system" line from "Solitary". How does he know it is a security system? Why is it protecting the temple? What is in there? Is this temple the same one that the others use? Does the smoke monster protect them? Is this why Ben was able to summon it back in "The Shape of Things to Come"? I have a ton of questions about this temple, the smoke monster, and its connection to the others. How was Ben keeping everyone safe? Is he referring to murdering Widmore's men? Was Widmore after the Oceanic Six? Why? We know that he likely was responsible for Nadia's death. But why? What is his goal? He's allied with Sun too. How does that tie in to everything? How did Charlotte know about the well? Was she on the island before The Orchid was built? What is the significance of the memory she has of Daniel? Why does he tell her not to come back to the island? Was Daniel grief-stricken and determined to keep her safe? Was he attempting to change time somehow? We know that Daniel will end up with the Dharma Initiative eventually. How does that tie into things? Is Christian aware of all the time travel that's happening? Or was he only able to speak with Locke because he chronologically appeared at The Orchid after his talk with Christian in "Cabin Fever"? How does Christian know about Eloise? How is Eloise connected to this story? Is she Daniel's mother? How does she connect with everything that's going on? What is she going to do with everyone that showed up at the end of the episode? What will happen to Sawyer's group now that Locke has fixed the wheel? Will they be sent back to their time? Or do they have to wait for the Oceanic Six to return for that to happen? Will they get stuck in the past? Perhaps during the Dharma Initiative days? That could explain why Daniel was with them in the opening scene of "Because You Left", Best Moment: Rousseau shooting Robert. It's so tragic to see Robert talk down Rousseau only to try to shoot her anyways. The scene is executed terrifically. Character of the Episode: Rousseau. Conclusion: This episode was really fast-paced and jam-packed with exciting moments and big developments. However, I think there was a bit too much here and a lot of the story didn't get the clarity that it needed. This is still a very good episode, but one that could have used some slowing down. Score: 68 Summary: In flashforwards, Sayid is attacked by somebody with Kate's address. Jack goes to Kate, who is following the lawyer who confronted her. Kate lets Jack get in and they go together. They get nowhere and Jack convinces Kate to meet with him and Sayid at the marina. Sun comes along with Aaron. Kate is angry upon seeing Ben and figures out that the lawyer works for him. On the island, Charlotte wakes up and is okay. The group decides to head back to the beach, and on the way Sawyer witnesses Kate helping Claire give birth. Another flash happens and the beach camp is back. The group finds an outrigger on the beach, likely from another plane crash. They take the outrigger to go around the island, but are attacked on the way. Another flash happens and they get to land. Elsewhere, Rousseau's camp crashes on the island and they find Jin in the water, dehydrated but alive.
The Good: This season has had a sense of urgency in both storylines. The flashforwards have a time limit to get everyone together so the episode has a rush to ensure that everyone is together. On the island, the nosebleeds are becoming a bigger problem, and this provides the urgency in that storyline. Daniel, Locke and the others need to find a way to stop these flashes from happening, and due to the imminent threat, this story is also exciting to watch. "Lost" is using fast pace and urgency really well to make the drama more engaging. The developments in this episode were solid. The island story has some great moments involving the time travel. Sawyer seeing Kate was a surprisingly emotional moment, and I really appreciate how this moment was executed. Sawyer losing Kate has been emphasized really well in this season, and it's sad to see Sawyer try to maintain his tough exterior while going through this pain. It was nice to see how this moment affected Sawyer for the rest of the episode. The time travel also introduced another mystery involving the outriggers, which I'm interested in. I also really laughed at Sawyer's "thank you lord... I take that back!" The flashforward story also had some nice developments. Kate's investigation of Norton was interesting to watch and there was a nice red herring with Claire's mother talking to him. Naturally, the one after Kate was Ben (whenever something happens it's ALWAYS Ben), and it seems like he's been orchestrating something involving the Oceanic Six. Perhaps he's been the one terrorizing them in an attempt to bring them together. This is a really interesting twist and I'm invested in finding out what his plan is. I was glad to see Jack and Kate together again. It's evident that while Kate is upset at him, she does still love him and was happy to see him back in good health (no beard!) and caring for her again. That made the ending scene of the episode more impactful as Kate realizes that Jack may not be reaching out to her to return to her life and that he still wants to go back. This marina scene provides a really exciting set-up for the next episode with Sun seeing Ben and Kate readying to blow up at Jack. The Bad: The one development I don't like is Jin's survival. It's just absurdly unbelievable that Jin would somehow have survived this long in the water. Furthermore, he was right in the middle of the explosion that sunk the freighter. How can you propose that he survived that? Also, it must be incredibly lucky for Jin to be travelling through time along with everyone else, especially seeing how far away he was from the island. There are a few too many contrivances here for Jin's survival to be a good reveal. This episode doesn't feel coherent in a way that all of the great "Lost" episodes are. Season 5 seems to have done away with having character-centric episodes to the same degree as the last 4 seasons, and that hurts an episode like this one. While the story progression is good, this episode is not a memorable standalone experience. While that definitely doesn't make this episode bad, it holds it back from being better. The Unknown: Who was the man in the hospital working for? Was he also sent by Ben? I don't see how anybody else would know where Sayid was except for Ben. I think it's likely that all the attacks were orchestrated by Ben. It doesn't make sense for others to be after the Oceanic Six. It seems that both Miles and Charlotte have been on the island before. Could this be why both of them were chosen by Widmore to be part of the science team on the freighter? Who left the outriggers? And who started shooting from the other outrigger? Apparently this was from the airline Ajira. Will we see another plane crash before the series ends? Could this be the airline that brings the Oceanic Six back to the island? Jin interacting with Rousseau was a huge surprise and a delight. But how is it that Rousseau doesn't remember him? Of course I can't blame her for forgetting Jin's face after 16 years. But I wonder if there's another reason. Will we see what happened to Rousseau's team after they landed on the island? Is Sun going to try to kill Ben? What will happen next? Best Moment: Sawyer seeing Kate again was a really powerful scene and I love the impact that it had on him for the rest of the episode. Character of the Episode: Sawyer. Conclusion: This episode had more strong story progression, but it doesn't do a whole lot to stand out. In the end, it's a solid but unspectacular episode. Score: 65 Summary: In flashforwards, Desmond goes to Oxford to find Daniel's mother but finds that all records of Daniel have been wiped from the institute. Desmond is directed to visit Theresa, a girl who Daniel left in a catatonic state. Desmond learns that Widmore funded Daniel's research and learns from him that Daniel's mother is in LA. He and Penny decide to go there. On the island, Juliet determines that the people who attacked them are the others. Daniel, Miles and Charlotte are captured by one of them, Ellie. The others think that they are US soldiers and Daniel goes along with it. He discovers that the soldiers left a hydrogen bomb on the island and that they were killed after refusing to leave. Daniel is taken to the bomb by Ellie since he claims he can disable it. Daniel tells Ellie to bury the bomb. Sawyer and Juliet arrive to save Daniel. Locke enters the camp and speaks with Richard but doesn't get anything useful out of him. The time jumps again and the others' camp is gone. Charlotte has a deadly nosebleed and falls unconscious, possibly dying.
The Good: Desmond's story is disconnected from the rest of the episode but it's still really engaging. For the most part, it starts as a mysterious exploration of Daniel's past, with Desmond learning more and more shady details about Daniel's time in Oxford. The mystery is developed really well, and the scenes with Desmond are good. What was missing was the emotional aspect, and I was worried that Desmond would be a simple bystander in his own episode. But the mention of Widmore completely turned that on its head, and it eventually became clear that this episode was about Desmond overcoming his own cowardice to confront Widmore to save the people on the island. The confrontation with Widmore is a terrific scene with Desmond taking control of the conversation to get what he needs. Widmore's response suggests that he does respect this response, and I was surprised to see genuine concern from him regarding Penny. Clearly Widmore is scared of the threat that Ben poses to her. That confrontation was a really suspenseful and well-written scene that served as a strong climax for Desmond's story. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The island story is superb, and it's dripping with tension and mystery. What impressed me the most is the pacing, which has been outstanding since season 4 started. This was particularly exceptional though. The slow reveal of the story with the others fighting against US soldiers who left a bomb on the island was perfectly paced to make every small reveal have an impact on us. Moments like Daniel bringing up the hydrogen bomb, Juliet determining the two men are others, and Locke learning that the man he's been hunting is Widmore were a delight to watch. I'm also very pleased to see the time travel being used to resolve some loose threads remaining in the series. We know that the US army is involved with the others because of the army knofe from "The Other 48 Days", and it was so satisfying to see that built into a complete storyline that also gives us some fascinating insight into the history of the others, something that I hope we will learn much more about in these final two seasons. It was also nice to get confirmation that there is a process in choosing the next leader of the others, and even though all the little details likely don't line up with previous seasons, it's good to get some idea of how the others function, especially with how badly season 3 failed at giving us concrete answers about the others. Surprisingly, this episode doesn't have much emotional resonance, which is rare for "Lost". But even without that, this still managed to be terrific because of how satisfying it was to watch. We know and love all the characters in this episode, and they have been written very well since the start of the series. Because of that, "Lost" is able to do a fast-paced plot-heavy episode with tremendous success because if you are still watching at this point, you are already invested in everything that is happening. Without actively having a reason to emotionally engage, we are somehow able to be invested in what's happening anyways. It's a testament to the success of this show that an episode like this is so engaging and so much fun to watch without having a particularly compelling emotional core. I was still utterly fascinated by Locke's conversation with Richard, Daniel's investigation of the bomb and the ending moments of the episode as Charlotte potentially seems to have died. These dramatic moments were elevated to a higher level because "Lost" has been so consistently surprising and interesting for four seasons straight now. Having a consistent high quality always pays dividends when you get to the later episodes of a TV show and this is a prime example of that. The Bad: The one weak aspect of this story is Daniel's romance with Charlotte. Charlotte still hasn't been properly fleshed out as a character (likely an unfortunate consequence of the shortened season 4) so it's difficult to understand her or what her relationship with Daniel is. As a result, I can't properly buy into Daniel's love for her as an emotional beat in the story. It makes moments like Daniel's confession of love and the horrifying final scene less powerful than they could have been. I wish that Charlotte had been given more time to develop as a character in the last season. The Unknown: What happens to the bomb? Do the others bury it like Daniel said they should? What did Daniel do to Theresa? Why did he immediately leave afterwards? Does this have something to do wiith why he was a "head case"? Why was Widmore invovled with funding his research? Did Widmore put him up to the task? Is this why Daniel was on the boat? He's Widmore's scientist? Why does Ellie remind Daniel of somebody? Does he know who she is? Will Penny's choice to go with Desmond be a terrible idea? We know Ben wants to kill her and he is in LA. Is Charlotte dead? Best Moment: Desmond's scene with Widmore. Character of the Episode: Daniel. Even though this was a Desmond episode, Daniel was at the center of everything. Conclusion: This was a superbly paced episode, and one that delivers hugely because of how good "Lost" has been up until this point. This was really gripping to watch and I enjoyed every second of it. Score: 73 Summary: In the flashforwards, Hurley takes Sayid to his house to protect him and explains things to his parents who half understand. Sayid is taken to Jack who helps him recover. Jack sends Ben to pick up Hurley, but Hurley is terrified and turns himself into the cops. Ben visits the lady from "Flashes Before Your Eyes" and is given 70 hours to gather everyone to go back to the island. Kate speaks with Sun who has returned to LA. On the island, the survivors try to start a fire to have food but struggle. Suddenly, they are attacked by flaming arrows and scatter into the jungle. Juliet and Sawyer stay together but are accosted by two men in US army uniforms. Juliet's hand is almost chopped off but Locke arrives and saves them.
The Good: Hurley is of course the stand-out of the episode and a lot of the content surrounding him is quite good. The scenes of him on the run are wacky fun in true Hurley style, and I especially enjoyed the silly yet suspenseful scene in the convenience store. We also get a nice cameo from Ana Lucia as Hurley's visions manifest to get him to find a way to save Sayid. Naturally it all goes back to his relationship with his parents, who have been key figures in Hurley's previous episodes. The stories that Hurley tells sound so obviously insane (see: Best Moment), and there is likely no reason at all for his parents to believe him or help him. But it's telling that they do try to help him out, and it says a lot about their relationship with Hurley. It feels refreshing to see good, caring parents for once in "Lost". The end of the episode leads up to a terrific moment as Hurley is confronted by Ben (and comically throws a hot pocket at him). Ben, as ever, puts on a compelling argument and for once we're actually siding with him because Ben will genuinely help Hurley here. But Hurley heeds Sayid's warning, and in a brilliant moment, he refuses to listen to a word that Ben says and lets himself get arrested, grinning giddily at Ben as he's taken away. It's an excellent moment, and a surprising twist in the story. I also really liked Kate and Sun's meeting. Sun has changed into a more hardened character and she's become really fascinating to watch. I like the detail that she remembered how Kate was supposed to go get Jin but she never did. That was something I completely forgot about, but it makes perfect sense that Sun would remember this and feel bitter about it. I think that Sun absolving Kate of this and forgiving her was a beautiful moment. I also really like how Sun commanded their conversation the entire time. She has changed significantly and I'm excited to see how big of a role she will have in the story going forwards. The Bad: The stuff on the island in this episode didn't quite do it for me. Neil came right out of nowhere to suddenly exist, all to have a comically terrible death scene mere minutes after his introduction. I understand that he was in the "Lost" webisodes, but to shoehorn him into the show so sloppily and kill him off cheaply is really bad. I also wasn't a huge fan of the flaming arrow attack since it seemed unfeasibly well coordinated, and also incredibly dangerous seeing that these arrows were being fired into the jungle. The issue with the flashforward storyline is that not much actually happened in this episode. It was very much an in-between episode to set up future events. The writers tried to give it some added stakes with the focus on Hurley's regret about lying, but a problem emerges because we don't know why Hurley regrets lying so much. It's treated like a huge deal, but I just don't buy that Hurley is so torn up about lying and why it was so difficult for him. The story feels remarkably shallow and it isn't enough to center a character-centric episode on. The final scene was unfortunately quite frustrating. It's a big reveal to see the lady from "Flashes Before Your Eyes" again, but the scene is ruined by a lot of unnecessary vagueness. Ben asks what will happen if he doesn't get the Oceanic Six together in 70 hours and the only answer we get is "god help us all". But... why???? The show isn't telling us any stakes and is instead replacing stakes with unnecessary mystery, and that badly damages my emotional investment in this storyline. This episode had a lot of unnecessarily vague dialogue when we should have been getting answers, and I found that to be very frustrating. The Unknown: Was the Ana Lucia vision just another manifestation of Hurley's craziness, or was it something else? Who is the person going after Kate? Who would only want to take Aaron from her without it going public? How is Ben going to get Hurley out of prison? Also, who is Jill? Is she one of the others? Ben alludes to other people checking in, so it's clear that he's planning something. What is he up to? Who is the mysterious lady from "Flashes Before Your Eyes"? Where is she? What is the facility that she is in? I noticed a Dharma Initiative logo in there. Does she work for Dharma? Also, what is the huge pendulum thing? It seems to be marking a location. Is she locating the island? Who fired the flaming arrows? Was it these mysterious army men that captured Sawyer and Juliet? Are they US military? Why did they claim that the island was theirs? Was this before the others arrived? Or did the others originate as US military soldiers? Best Moment: Hurley telling his story about what happened on the island. It's all true, but "Lost" does a terrific job of showcasing how insane Hurley sounds as he tells this story. It's a sweet moment when his mother chooses to believe him rather than betray him to the police. Character of the Episode: Hurley. Conclusion: This episode had some good aspects but it's bogged down by some silly writing and the sense that this is all just set-up with a rather flat character-centric story for Hurley slapped on top. It's entertaining to watch, but well below the standards for "Lost". Score: 60 Summary: The opening scene shows Dr. Marvin Candle responding to an incident in The Orchid concerning time travel. Daniel is there. In flashforwards, Jack and Ben arrange to contact everyone. Sun meets with Widmore. Kate is contacted by a lawyer who wants a blood sample of her and Aaron so she runs away. Hurley and Sayid are on the run and they are attacked at their safehouse. Sayid is shot by a dart and goes unconscious. On the island, the beach camp has vanished. Daniel explains to everyone that they are all likely skipping through time randomly. A flash of light occurs every time they are whisked to a new time period. The group goes to the hatch and Sawyer tries to contact Desmond but it doesn't work. The group decides to head back to the beach. Daniel has an idea and manages to contact Desmond, telling him he's special. Daniel tasks Desmond with going to find his mother in Oxford. In the present, Desmond wakes up and remembers this, choosing to go to Oxford. Locke is also skipping through time, but Richard and the others are not. He sees the Beechcraft crash and is shot in the leg by Ethan before time jumping again. He is met by Richard who tells him that he needs to bring back everyone who left and that he needs to die to accomplish this.
The Good: The pacing of this episode reminds me of the excellent "Confirmed Dead" from last season. There's a lot going on in this episode, and the pacing is superb, making this feel like a pure thrill ride and the plot for season 5 gets kicked into motion. The island story is excellent. Implementing time travel is always a big risk, but "Lost" is so far doing it really well by establishing set rules and following them. Daniel is used perfectly here to give out explanations and simplify time travel for anybody that gets confused, and Jeremy Davies' eccentric performance adds a lot to these expository scenes. I'm really excited by the implementation of time travel since I do enjoy sci-fi, and this is an excellent way for the show to adapt and give us some answers about the history of the island and its inhabitants. I hope that the potential of time travel is utilized properly. The writers do well to not allow the time travel to completely take over the episode. Even though much of this episode works as exposition, there is still a very dramatic story being told here. Sawyer's presence adds some much needed emotion as he's forced to come to terms with everyone on the helicopter likely being dead after going to the freighter. As ever, Sawyer is really compelling here, and his anger throughout the episode feels justified. There is also a level of tension that comes up towards the end of the episode as Charlotte experiences a nose-bleed. Nobody seems to panic (except Daniel), but of course we know how serious this is after watching "The Constant", and it seems like the time skipping needs to be stopped soon or there will be deaths. This is an excellent source of constant tension that will likely elevate the suspense of the island scenes in coming episodes. I also really appreciated the subversion away from the rules of time travel at the end of the episode. It's always difficult to find a way to make time travel dramatic, but "Lost" accomplishes this through the use of Desmond who is considered to be special (likely because of his experiences in "Flashes Before Your Eyes" and "The Constant"). Sure, not everything makes perfect sense with Daniel talking to Desmond, but there always has to be a certain level of suspension of disbelief in time travel stories, so I don't think that it is an issue. Locke's scenes are really well done. We can already see the potential of time travel in action here as we get to actually see the Beechcraft crash onto the island, and there's also a fantastic cameo from Ethan, who is the latest to be responsible for another leg injury for Locke. These scenes don't add a whole lot to the story, but they are essential for easing us in to the idea of time travel and the kind of situations that could potentially pop up in this season. Another excellent scene is the meeting with Richard, which raises plenty of questions (see: The Unknown). There is so much mystery here and their conversation is written in a way that really fascinates us into asking questions to find out where the story is going without giving too much away. The scenes in the flashforwards are pretty solid too. It's mostly just set-up for the rest of the season, but the content here is enjoyable to watch. Jack and Ben are just setting out to contact everyone, yet the hilarious irony is that everyone else is making it perfectly clear that they want nothing to do with Ben. It was awesome seeing another nicely choreographed Sayid fight. The opening scene of the episode was superb. While its become customary for "Lost" to surprise us in its season premiers, I was still thrilled by the reveals that we got in this scene. I was overjoyed to finally get a glimpse into the Dharma Initiative for the first time since "The Man Behind the Curtain", and the reveal that time travel would be a significant plot point of the season had me grinning from ear to ear. Daniel's presence raises tons of questions, and it doesn't give too much away. It's a perfect reveal to kick off the season, and I'm really excited to find out how and why he ends up working at the Dharma Initiative. The Bad: This episode is hurt by the fact that it has no centric characters, so the emotional core isn't there. The craziness of the plot makes up for much of this, but that level of emotional engagement is noticeably missing and it prevents this episode from being better. If Ethan met Locke before he crashed on the island, why didn't he remember him? Are we really supposed to believe that he just forgot? Or that he didn't mention this experience to anybody else? This seems inconsistent. The Unknown: Why is Daniel working at Dharma? What is his goal? Did the Dharma Initiative succeed at manipulating time? It seems that the frozen donkey wheel was there before the Dharma Initiative got to the island. Who put it there? What other time periods will we explore while the island is skipping through time? What will be revealed to us from these time periods? Why does Sun want to kill Ben? Is he the second person she blames for Jin's death? Why? She shouldn't know about how Ben killed Keamy to detonate the bomb. Did Locke tell her this? Who are the men that are trying to kill Sayid and Hurley? Who do they work for? Widmore? Ben? Somebody else? Is Desmond special because of his exposure to electromagnetism or is it something else? To what extent can he break the rules of time travel? How did Richard know all of these things to tell Locke? Like the bullet, and Locke needing to die to brign everyone back to the island. Does Richard have time-travelling powers that make him aware to it, similar to the mysterious lady from "Flashes Before Your Eyes"? Or is something else going on. Could this have happened because it's Richard from the future telling this to Locke? What is the significance of that compass? Best Moment: The opening scene gave me chills and it sets up the season perfectly. Character of the Episode: Daniel. Conclusion: This was a plot-driven sci-fi episode that had a lot of surprising and exciting developments that set the stage for the rest of the season. The emotional edge was missing, but I can't ask for a more exciting platform for season 5. Score: 70 Summary: Flashforwards take place after the events of Through the Looking Glass. The death of Jeremy Bentham has shaken Jack and it's why he tells Kate to go back. Kate goes home and has a dream about Claire. Sayid breaks Hurley out of his institution and kills somebody who was watching him. Sun connects with Widmore. Jack goes to see Jeremy Bentham and finds Ben who tells him that everyone has to go back. Bentham is revealed to be Locke. On the island, Keamy takes Ben back to the helicopter but he and his men are attacked by the others. Sayid fights Keamy, who is shot in the back by Richard. Ben is freed and returns to the orchid. Locke and Jack meet again and talk. Locke tells Jack to lie about his experiences on the island when he leaves. Locke and Ben descend into The Orchid, Sawyer, Hurley and Jack go back to the helicopter. The helicopter takes off and goes to the freighter. However, there is a fuel leak and Sawyer jumps off to reduce weight. He returns to the island. At the freighter, Michael, Jin and Desmond used liquid nitrogen to freeze the bomb. At The Orchid, Ben prepares to move the island but is interrupted when Keamy comes down the elevator, revealing that if he dies, the bomb on the freighter blows up. Ben kills him in a rage, activating the bomb on the freighter. The helicopter is forced to land on the freighter for fuel and everyone hurriedly fills it and they leave the freighter. Jin and Michael are left behind and die in the explosion. Ben causes an explosion and descends into a frozen chamber to move the island. Locke is given the role to lead the others. Ben turns a frozen donkey wheel, which takes him off the island, and the island moves. With nowhere to land, the helicopter crashes in the water. The people aboard are rescued by Penny and Jack tells everyone that they have to lie.
The Good: True to the style of all previous season finales, this was an action-packed, thrilling episode with several twists and turns that provided an incredibly satisfying conclusion to season 4. There were engaging storylines going on everywhere, and there were dramatic moments around every corner. I really love the action-packed style that "Lost" adapts for its season finales as it always creates a riveting sense that what you are watching is important, and it always provides an immensely satisfying climax for each season. The storyline on the island and the freighter was a blast to watch and was filled with thrills. The resolution with the mercenaries was really satisfying. It was a blast to see the others return to their ruthlessly stealthy and efficient style of fighting in the jungle, which we haven't truly seen since season 2. The action was top-notch and I loved the fight between Sayid and Keamy, which was shot really well to maximize the suspense. Keamy was a really fun character even though he was a fairly two-dimensional villain. Kevin Durand's performance added a lot to the character and made him a brilliant mix of charismatic and intimidating. His scenes in this finale were excellent. I thought that Keamy's arrival in The Orchid later in the episode escalated the tension spectacularly, and seeing Ben violently murder him was incredibly cathartic and was made all the more horrifying with Ben's creepily detached reaction when he realizes that he killed everyone on the boat. This scene was one of the best of the entire finale. The other scenes at The Orchid were also a lot of fun. I'm always happy to see Jack and Locke together on-screen, and their talk in this episode was as excellent as ever. Their argument didn't simply feel like a rehash of their previous arguments, but it instead had a feeling of tiredness to it with both Locke and Jack understanding that they can do nothing to make the other change how they believe. The most substantial part to this conversation was certainly Locke asking Jack to lie once he gets off the island. This pays off brilliantly towards the end of the finale, but I will discuss that later. The other highlight of the scenes at The Orchid has to be the interactions between Locke and Ben, which are as captivating as ever. From the banter about Locke not knowing what anthuriums look like to Ben comically doing everything that the orientation videeo tells him not to do, I was having a blast watching these two on screen together. It all leads up to a beautiful final scene as Ben accepts that Locke would be a better leader than him and admits that he has been too emotional in his decision-making. Ben deciding to face the consequences himself and to step aside to make way for Locke is surprisingly noble, and the show does a fantastic job of making this mean something. Then during the frozen donkey wheel scene (a masterclass of mystery that I will discuss in a second), "Lost" once again shows that it understands how important emotion is in storytelling by focusing the scene squarely on Ben instead of playing up the mystery aspects of the show. When Ben turns the wheel, it's a powerful moment because we can understand what Ben is sacrificing, and seeing him in tears is shockingly moving. It is brilliant how the scenes in The Orchid from the start to the finish of the episode were grounded in reality by focusing on the relationship between Locke and Ben, and then on the weight of the sacrifice that Ben had to make. It is masterful how "Lost" manages to weave emotion into significant plot moments that have no right being as powerful as they are. I have plenty more to say about the frozen donkey wheel scene. Outside of the excellent emotional pay-off with Ben, this scene was an outstanding piece of mystery building. For one, it actually answers several questions. We now know that turning the wheel is what somehow sent Ben to Tunisia back in "The Shape of Things to Come", nicely tying up his storyline for season 4. Furthermore, this could also explain the Dharma polar bear from Charlotte's flashback in Tunisia. It seems like the polar bear may have turned the donkey wheel and been teleported to a desert. I have plenty more questions about this (see: The Unknown), but it is a pretty big reveal. The frozen donkey wheel scene also does really well to build mystery. The cold temperature, the mysterious hieroglyphics, the obvious age of the structure, and its supernatural properties raise so many interesting questions with exciting possibilities regarding where the show can go from here. Furthermore, the very existence of an ancient donkey wheel capable of teleporting islands is such an absurdly hilarious concept that it becomes a brilliant bit of mystery. The other scenes at the beach camp and the freighter are also pretty good, even if they don't have the same level of excitement. The bomb provides a good bit of drama, and it serves as a strong way for Michael to earn some redemption before he dies. I really liked the final scene between Jin and Michael since it neatly pays off of both characters and their friendship. Lastly, I thought that the scenes with Daniel, Miles and Charlotte were also quite good. It was nice to see Daniel earn Juliet's trust as well. Sawyer's decision to jump off of the chopper was another big moment that I really liked. I thought that Sawyer's decision was explored well, and it leads to a harsh realization when Sawyer learns that his heroic act may have resulted in him being the only survivor since the boat exploded. Obviously the big scene is Jin's death, and while I think the moment was hurt by the flashforwards (see: The Bad), it was still pretty gutwrenching, mostly due to Sun's reaction. Yunjin Kim did a tremendous job of portraying Sun's grief, and her reaction was every bit as heartbreakingly brutal as it should have been. Then we get to the ending stretch of the episode, which I thought was really effective. I was concerned that knowing who makes it off the island would remove any interest I would have in actually seeing the Oceanic Six get rescued. However, my concerns were mostly unfounded. I was surprised by how emotional it was to see the survivors finally be rescued, even when I knew exactly what was going to happen. There was a lot of weight to seeing Jack, Kate, Sun, Hurley and Sayid finally reach civilization, having decided that they're going to lie about everything. I'm impressed that "Lost" still got so much emotion out of this scene. Then of course there's Desmond and Penny's reunion, a scene two seasons in the making. I've been very invested in this relationship, so seeing them finally reunite was one of the episode's best and most cathartic moments. It's a moment that was well worth the wait and it fits the season finale. I'm very glad that flashforwards didn't spoil this scene. I really enjoyed the flashforwards in this episode. They were mostly setting up season 5, but the scenes were really well done and covered a lot of ground for a lot of characters. As expected, the season finale finally picks up on the aftermath of "Through the Looking Glass" and it sets up each character's storylines going into season 5. These scenes were very well done, and there were several really compelling moments. Kate's dream was an excellent piece of suspense-horror that plants the idea in her brain that she needs to go back to the island. Sayid breaking Hurley out is an engaging storyline, and it raises some really interesting questions about both characters (see: The Unknown). Sun's offer to ally with Widmore is fascinating and sets up what could potentially be a really exciting storyline for her next season. And of course, Jack has an excellent final scene as he meets with Ben and comes to terms with the fact that he's going to have to convince everybody to come back to the island. The set-up for season 5 was done tremendously well, and it felt really exciting to finally progress forwards in the timeline for the first time since season 3. And of course since it's "Lost", they had to throw in a wonderful twist at the end of the episode with Locke being revealed in the coffin. I could see most people figuring it out before the reveal, but the pan over is still an excellent moment that raises several big questions. The Bad: The biggest problem with this episode is how the flashforwards from previous episodes spoiled what would happen here. A lot of the drama was lessened because we already know the fates of many of the characters. Jin's death was the biggest hit since it became clear that he would die, and thus it didn't feel like the tragedy that it was meant to be. We had made peace with Jin's death six episodes ago, so watchign him die here wasn't as evocative as it could have been. Other things were affected too. While I did praise the emotion that I felt watching the Oceanic Six be rescued, I can't deny that the moment would have been even better if I didn't already know that they would be rescued. Sawyer's choice to jump was also hurt by the fact that I figured out it would happen well in advance because we know that Sawyer doesn't make it off the island. There were several other smaller moments that were also hurt by this, but I won't list them all out here. As a whole, I thought that the flashforward structure of this season did have the unfortunate effect of reducing the impact of several scenes in this finale. I had some issues with the plot too. It felt weird to have Desmond explain so much about the bomb out of nowhere. Then even worse was when Michael suddenly started explaining a lot instead of Desmond. The dialogue here was pretty weak. I also didn't like the idea of Jin staying behind with Michael inexplicably. There's no reason that Jin wouldn't immediately leave to ensure his own safety and he looks like an idiot for staying behind with Michael. Michael's death also feels somewhat anticlimactic since he didn't do much to grow as a character. He only froze the bomb in this one scene and didn't even end up saving Jin. It's disappointing that his return didn't amount to more. Lastly, the fuel leak was a typical TV show plot contrivance, and it was strange that Frank flew for so long without noticing it. The Unknown: How did Locke leave the island? Why? What were the terrible things that happened when the Oceanic Six left? How did Locke die? Was it actually suicide? Sayid seemed to think that something else was going on. Who was the man watching Hurley? Was it one of Ben's men? Widmore's? Somebody else? Why is Sun helping Widmore? What are her goals? Was Kate's dream sent by the island somehow? Or was it her own guilty conscience? Will it help convince her to go back to the island to find Claire? Was Charlotte born on the island? Who were her parents? How did she get off the island? Why and how did Christian appear with Michael? He said that Michael could go. Does that mean that he was the one preventing Michael from dying? Is he responsible for a lot of the island's magical properties? Who is he exactly? Is he Jacob? Who created the frozen donkey wheel? Why did they make it? How did they know that it would make the island move? Did they know it would make the island move? Why is it so cold in the room? Who made the hieroglyphs? Was it the same people who made the donkey wheel? How much did Dharma know about the donkey wheel? Did they use it? Did they test it on the polar bears? Why was it blocked away underneath The Orchid? Was The Orchid successful with its time travel experiments? Did the time travel only work because of the location right next to the frozen donkey wheel? How does Ben know about the frozen donkey wheel? Who told him about it? Widmore knew too. Does the donkey wheel have something to do with Jacob? Best Moment: Ben turning the donkey wheel. Character of the Episode: Ben. Conclusion: "Lost" really knows how to do season finales. True to the previous three season finales, this was another action-packed and thrilling episode, but one that didn't forget to include many powerful character moments and emotional scenes. This was a terrific way to end a terrific season. Season 4 was terrific. I'm incredibly impressed with how "Lost" reinvented itself in this season, bringing in flashforwards, telling stories at a quicker pace, and focusing more on mystery and plot. It's incredibly rare to find a show that returns to a high standard of quality by morphing into something different. Season 4 deserves credit for pulling off this feat. The season did have its flaws to be sure, but as a whole it was easily the most consistent season in the show and it had several stand-out episodes, including the all-time great "The Constant". I think that this was the best season of "Lost" since season 1 and it deserves tons of credit for streamlining the plot while also maintaining the emotional power of the first three seasons. I do think that all of the seasons we have seen so far have been great (I was harsh on my reviews of seasons 2 and 3, a bit unjustifiably. I think that these seasons only disappoint in comparison to season 1, they are still great seasons of television on their own), but season 4 did something truly special by changing the formula so significantly, and having such compelling character stories and mysteries. I really loved this season. Score: 80 Summary: Flashforwards show the Oceanic Six returning from the island and reuniting with their families. Sayid reunites with Nadia. Together, they all lie to the press. Sun buys a controlling interest in her father's company as vengeance. Hurley has a surprise party but is haunted by the numbers. Jack learns Claire is his half-sister. On the island, Locke, Hurley and Ben head to the Orchid but find that Keamy is already there. Ben gives himself up and gives Locke instructions. Jack finds Sawyer's group in the woods and the two of them find Frank and the helicopter. They decide to go save Hurley at the Orchid. Kate and Sayid go after Jack and Sawyer but are captured by Richard. Sun and Jin arrive on the freighter and reunite with Michael. Desmond finds a bomb on the freighter.
The Good: This episode was mostly set-up, but at least the set-up was very entertaining. The island stories didn't have much of an emotional core to them, but there were a lot of significant plot developments that set the stage for what should be an action-packed two-part season finale. The drama was consistently strong throughout the episode with plenty of twists and turns that keeps us on our feet. Twists like the bomb on the freighter, Richard capturing Kate and Sayid, and Jack and Ben turning himself in are brilliant moments that maintain my interest in the story. The one biggest issue with this finale is that the results are pre-determined (see: The Bad), but the episode does well to keep me engaged and in suspense in spite of this by making the path to the Oceanic Six getting off the island and wildly unpredictable as possible. Even though I know what is going to happen, this episode positions all of the characters far apart, making me wonder how exactly these characters will link up and leave and what will become of everyone else. It takes some very impressive writing to make me feel so much suspense. There are two specific moments on-island that I really want to highlight. The first is the reveal of the bomb on the freighter. This moment works so well and has a huge impact because the entire episode establishes over and over that the freighter is the safest place to be and that everyone needs to get off the island as soon as possible. This all builds to the end of the episode where the bomb reveal throws that notion out the window. Suddenly nowhere is safe. The reveal lands brilliantly and is a perfect execution of a plot twist that exists solely to increase drama and stakes. The second moment I want to highlight is the ending montage that catches us up with every character's location going into the next episode. This montage is superbly executed and gives me legitimate chills to watch it. I can't think of a better final scene to build excitement going into the last episode of the season. The flashforwards were excellent too. It's with these scenes that the episode manages to be more than just set-up. Every scene set in the future is excellent, and I like that this episode tackled what will likely end up being the first scenes that take place chronologically after the season finale. It gives a nice sense of beginning and end to this finale. Anyways, just about every scene that takes place off the island is great. Sayid's reunion with Nadia is a great moment that's coloured in tragedy because we know of Nadia's eventual fate. Sun buying out Mr. Paik's company was an extremely satisfying moment of revenge and it pushes Sun in an exciting new direction (see: The Unknown). Hurley, as usual, provides the comic relief and his surprise party is a lot of fun. It also neatly plays off of Hurley's trauma following his experiences with the numbers and on the island. I also found it hilarious that the party was island themed because Hurley's mom "just doesn't get it". The best of the flashforward scenes was absolutely Jack's. Seeing him say some words for his father was really powerful and it pays off of one of the show's longest-running personal storylines. The reveal that Claire was Jack's half-sister was really well done and Matthew Fox plays off of the scene personally. The scene is powerful, and Jack's guilt for leaving behind Claire and lying about it gives an additional reason for why he falls off the deep end in "Through the Looking Glass". The Bad: This season finale is hurt by the fact that we know the fates of many of the characters. Ben giving himself up doesn't entirely work because we know he will be fine and will eventually end up off the island in Tunisia. We also know that the Oceanic Six will leave the island but everyone else will stay behind, and the drama is lessened because we know this information. Obviously there is still plenty of drama, but there is less drama than there could have been if we didn't know the fates of so many of the characters. It's an inherent flaw of the flashforward structure, and an issue that was always going to crop up once the island story started to catch up to the flashforward timeline. The Unknown: What is at The Orchid? How is the island going to be moved here? How does Widmore know about The Orchid? Why doesn't Juliet know about it? Was it kept secret? What was the message that Ben communicated with the mirrors? I'm guessing that it was to Richard. What did he say? If Gault didn't know about the secondary protocol then why does Daniel know about it? Charlotte doesn't seem to know about it either. Could Daniel be more loyal to Widmore than he lets on? He seems to be more informed than everyone else. Who is the second person that Sun blames for Jin's death? I suspect we may find out in the next episode. Why did the numbers appear in the car? Is Hurley's curse back? Is it the island sending a message? Or is it just a coincidence? What does Richard plan to do with Sayid and Kate? What is Ben's plan? What does he hope to accomplish by turning himself in? Will the bomb be defused? Will it go off? How will people react to the freighter having a bomb on it? Will they return to the island? Who put the bomb on the freighter? Was it Keamy? Does it have something to do with the device he had on his arm? Best Moment: Jack learning about Claire. Character of the Episode: Jack. Conclusion: This was all set-up, but the episode was really exciting and it flew by while I was watching. This definitely did its job and I'm really looking forward to watching the two-part final episode of the season. Score: 69 Summary: Flashbacks show Locke being contacted by Richard at various moments in his life, from birth to his teenage years. On the island, Locke continues to search for Jacob's cabin with Hurley and Ben. He eventually finds it after some dreams and finds Christian and Claire in the cabin. He's told that he has to move the island. Keamy returns to the freighter in a rage and gets the secondary protocol against Captain Gault's orders. Keamy makes plans to return to the island to kill everyone. Gault helps Sayid escape on the freighter's zodiac raft so he can ferry people from the beach back to the freighter. Keamy orders Franks to take him back and when Frank refuses he murders the doctor and Gault. Frank takes Keamy back to the island but drops a sat phone to the beach camp while he flies over it.
The Good: This episode is all about destiny, and Locke accepting it. The flashbacks do a terrific job of showing us how the island has been calling for Locke since the very moment he was born. His birth was a miracle itself, and then in one of the episode's most chilling moments we see Richard watching Locke's birth from outside the hospital room (see: The Unknown). The flashbacks continue to show fantastic moments like these as destiny seems to call Locke, but Locke's desire to be somebody else (don't tell me what I can't do) impedes his progress in fascinating ways. His rejection of science camp because he wants to be "cool" is a good example and literally features his "don't tell me what I can't do", but it was Richard's childhood visit that I thought was the most well executed example. Richard lays out a very curious test for Locke (again, see: The Unknown) and Locke has to pick something that already belongs to him. While I'm not sure what the correct option was, it's telling that Locke picks up the knife, not something that already belongs to him, but something he wants to belong to him. Locke has been running away from destiny his entire life, but now on the island, he has finally embraced it. The island storyline with Locke is really compelling. Locke is his usual eccentric self on the journey to Jacob's cabin, taking orders from the island through his dreams, similarly to back in "Deus Ex Machina". He's a man on a mission, ready to accept his destiny. But right next to him is somebody who exists as a chilling warning to Locke that destiny may not be as glorious as it may seem. For the entire episode Ben seems much more subdued than usual, only making smug comments here and there. It's clear that Alex's death has shaken him to his core and he feels betrayed by what he thought was his own destiny. Now here Ben is looking at Locke as he takes orders from dreams, manipulates others, and follows what he believes is his destiny, and Ben can't help but see himself in Locke. Hence Ben delivers his warning that destiny "is a fickle bitch". It's an ominous warning to us that Locke may not find what he wants in his mission to save the island. The episode builds nicely to its ending moments as Locke finally enters the cabin and prepares to meet with Jacob. Instead we get a very unexpected reveal as Christian is the one waiting in the cabin for Locke and it's Christian who gives the orders (once again, see: The Unknown). The scene is brilliantly shot, and just like in "The Man Behind the Curtain", it is a spooky and intense experience. Plus we also get a lovely little scene as Hurley and Ben share a chocolate bar while waiting. The freighter storyline is also really effective and has a number of really strong developments and conflicts. Keamy seems to be taking the mantle as this season's main villain, and he's really entertaining to watch. Watching the power dynamic shift on the freighter is intense, and it culminates in a great final scene as Keamy murders both the doctor and Gault to get back to the island. Additionally, It's evident that it's Keamy, not Gault, who is Widmore's main man, and Keamy's desire to "torch the island" offers us some more insight on Widmore's motives (again, see: The Unknown). The scenes on the freighter were really strong and served as a perfect B-story that furthered the plot in an interesting way. The Bad: Nothing I'd call bad. This was a consistent episode with no major flaws. The Unknown: There are so many fascinating questions raised by this episode. This was easily one of the best mystery-building episodes of the whole series. In "The Man Behind the Curtain", you could chalk up Richard's same appearance in the past as poor make-up. But here Richard appears at Locke's birth looking exactly the same as he is now. Does he not age? How is this possible? Why is Richard scouting Locke anyways? What is it about Locke that makes him so special? Was Locke having visions about the smoke monster as a child? Why? What was Richard's test about? Which item was the correct answer? Why was it important for Locke to answer correctly? We learn that Horace is the one who built the cabin, so it is not that old. Why is this significant? If it's a normal cabin, how is it capable of moving? Is that Jacob's doing? How old is Jacob? He must have only been living on the island for a short time if he lives in a cabin that was built during the Dharma Initiative days. Why is he treated like a deity? Who is Christian? He says he can speak for Jacob. Is he one of Jacob's people? How does that work? Does Jacob resurrect dead people? Have all the visions of dead people in previous episodes been Jacob's doing? Why is Claire in the cabin too? Is she dead as well? Why is she happy to be there with Christian? If Jacob isn't in the cabin right now, then where has he gone? Does Jacob go to other places too? Could Jacob possibly be the smoke monster? It would explain how Ben was able to summon it if it was Jacob. I don't want to go too far into theorizing, but there are so many fascinating possibilities about Jacob after this episode. Ben confirms that wiping out the Dharma Initiative wasn't his decision. Does this mean it was Widmore's decision? Could this be why Ben has a major conflict with him? Because he's a ruthless mass murderer? What exactly is the secondary protocol? Why does Widmore want to murder everyone on the island? Keamy says that Widmore knows where Ben will be going. How does he know this? Where is Ben going? Is it the cabin? What is the device that Keamy has attached to his arm? Abbadon's appearance was one of the episode's most fascinating moments. Who is this man? Who is he working for? Ben? Widmore? Or somebody else? Did he somehow know about Flight 815? Did he send Locke to a walkabout knowing that it would take him to the island? Does he know that he will meet Locke again? Abaddon mentions that he had a miracle too. What was it? Best Moment: The cabin sequence. A dramatic and intense scene as Locke finally confronts his destiny. Character of the Episode: Locke Conclusion: This was a hugely effective episode that accomplished everything that it set out to do. There was a lot of set-up here, and many of the biggest mysteries were deepened by this episode. Add on a terrific central story surrounding Locke finally realizing his destiny and we have a terrific episode, one of the season's best. Score: 80 Summary: In flashforwards, Jack and Kate have moved in together and are happy. However, Jack meets with a guilty Hurley and has a vision of his father that prompts him to leave her instead of marrying her like he had planned. On the island, Jack gets appendicitis and Juliet operates on him to save him. Juliet is clear to Kate that Jack loves her. Jin and Sun go with Charlotte and Daniel to The Staff for medical supplies. Jin ensures with Charlotte that Sun will be taken off the island. Sawyer, Claire and Miles head back to the beach, but Claire walks off with Christian along the way, leaving Aaron behind.
The Good: The flashforwards told an excellent story. The Kate and Jack love story has been developing since the very first episode, and here we finally see it at its peak in the flashforwards with the two of them living together. It's a nice moment that pays off of seasons worth of interactions, and I did feel something seeing them together, even if their chemistry has been a weaker aspect of the show. Because of the longevity of the storyline, I bought into them living together happily. But of course it doesn't last, and we know beforehand that it doesn't last because of what we saw back in "Through the Looking Glass". The story is packed with a tragic sense of foreboding because we know that Jack will eventually leave her and fall victim to his regret of not staying on the island. The question that intrigues us throughout this episode is what happens to Jack that makes him give up his happy life with Kate? The answer is quite grim. After a visit with an insane Hurley (see: The Unknown), you can evidently see that Jack is shaken up by what he said and we see some hints of Jack's guilt popping up. But Jack being Jack, is stubborn and ignores his emotions, opting to push ahead with Kate by proposing to her. The episode does really well to connect us with Jack in this sequence. We understand his guilt, but we can also admire his courage as he does his absolute best to keep things moving with Kate. It's not until Jack gets visited by a literal ghost of the past (see: Best Moment) that he finally realizes that he can't go through with his dream life with Kate. It's a sad realization, and the fight between Jack and Kate is heartbreaking to watch. A lovely detail is how Jack is unable to let go of the idea of Kate doing a favour for Sawyer and latches onto it aggressively to kick off the fight with Kate to lead to their break-up. It's so in-character for Jack to become obsessive like this when he's aggravated, and a lack of trust has been something that we've seen from him in his relationship with Sarah. The writers have grasped the essence of Jack's character tremendously well. The island story has some smaller things that I liked a lot. Rose being confused about Jack's sickness is a logical development, and I like seeing the minor characters speculating about the powers of the island for once. The tense sequence with Keamy almost finding Sawyer, Claire and Miles was pretty good and establishes that he's still a big threat and that the smoke monster did not wipe them all out. The Jin and Sun subplot was pretty good as well, and I can't help but wonder if Jin choosing to save Sun over himself is why Jin ultimately ends up dying. The Bad: The island story is pretty weak. Obviously Jack is not going to be killed by appendicitis so there is no suspense at all. The main purpose of this episode is to resolve the love triangle with Jack, Kate and Juliet, a storyline which ended up being woefully unnecessary. The island plot of this episode highlights how the writers have failed to come up with a compelling storyline for Jack's camp this season. There hasn't been any plot progression at all and all of the interesting things have happened at Locke's camp, on the freighter, or in flashforwards. The Unknown: Is Hurley crazy in the mental institution? It's very possible that the island is somehow sending him these visions. Or, more interestingly, are they just a manifestation of his guilt? If that's the case, then how did Hurley know that Jack would be getting a visitor too? Or was the vision of Christian another manifestation of guilt rather than a legitimate vision? What was the favour that Kate did for Sawyer? Why did Sawyer choose to stay on the island? How did Jack save Kate? Why did Christian take Claire with him? What is he going to do with her? Why is he on the island anyways? What are his goals? Is Claire walking off with Christian the reason why she didn't get saved? Best Moment: Christian appearing to Jack in the flashforwards was a fantastic moment. The atmosphere of the scene was isolating and frightening, and that made Christian's sudden appearance feel every bit like a horrifying reminder to us as it would to Jack. The best part of the scene is how it's shot in a way that makes it unclear if this is all in Jack's head or not. The other doctor was calling his name, so maybe it was never Christian that called for Jack, but his coworker. Regardless, the entire ordeal leaves Jack incredibly shaken, and Matthew Fox does a fantastic job of portraying how big of an effect this moment had on Jack. Character of the Episode: Jack. Conclusion: Jack's camp has been the least compelling location to focus on this season, and that trend continues with this episode. Luckily, the character story is excellent and the character writing makes every scene enjoyable, so the episode is still really good. But the lack of momentum in the island story prevents this from being as good as it could have been. Score: 68 Summary: In flashforwards, Ben wakes up in the Sahara Desert. He tracks down Sayid who has buried Nadia who was killed in an accident. Ben gives Sayid a chance to avenge Nadia's death, claiming Widmore's men murdered her. Sayid joins up with Ben. Ben visits Widmore and tells him he will kill Penny. On the island, the doctor from the freighter washes up dead. Jack learns from Daniel that they have no plans to rescue them. Keamy's men attack the barracks and destroy several buildings, killing most of Locke's camp. Alex is brought as a hostage, and while negotiating, Ben lets her die. Ben summons the smoke monster and it attacks Keamy's men while everyone escapes. Sawyer, Claire and Miles decide to return to Jack's camp. Locke and Ben take Hurley with them to find the cabin.
The Good: The attack on the barracks provided excellent drama and gave this episode a surge of momentum. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire 45 minutes while this confrontation happened and I was very compelled by it. "Lost" typically doesn't do large scale shoot-outs or action sequences so this felt like a huge deal when it happened. I was really impressed with a lot of the details. The characters all felt like themselves in how they handled this situation. Locke felt like a confused leader struggling to figure out what to do, Hurley was simply caught in this storm, Sawyer got to be the most heroic one but was also determined to give up Ben, while Ben was his usual manipulative self. The character dynamics elevated this far higher than it would have been otherwise. A lot of scenes were done superbly well in this episode. I got a good laugh when Ben immediately produced a shotgun from his piano seat after hearing about code 14J (he always is in control!), and I thought that the scene did a great job of rapidly raising the suspense. Ben's negotiation with Keamy was terrific and had some excellent dialogue. Seeing Ben gamble with Alex's life only to ultimately get her killed was tragic and shocking. It's a genuine surprise and it does a brilliant job of establishing Keamy's ruthlessness and how unforgivable Ben's obsession with being in control is, despite how entertaining it is to watch him. Ben chose to risk the life of his daughter for the sake of keeping his own agency in his war against Widmore, and now he faces the consequences. Having Ben take a moment to mourn for Alex while the smoke monster murders Keamy's men was brutally affecting and was a highlight of the episode. The smoke monster's attack itself was a thrilling surprise that raised the stakes hugely while also bringing up some more huge questions about Ben (see: The Unknown) The flashforwards were really excellent. So many fascinating questions are raised by this story (see: The Unknown), which makes it really compelling to watch. Plus, we get a lot of answers as we get to see what happened to Sayid that made him work for Ben. While this story is a bit absent emotionally (see: The Bad), it's still very good television and I was thoroughly entertained in every scene. The best part of these flashforwards is certainly that final moment between Ben and Widmore. This rivalry has been built up patiently for the entire season so it felt huge to finally see these two talking to each other. Their dynamic is fascinating, the scene is well written and acted, and I'm left with so many questions that I'm really excited to explore for the rest of the series. The episode has a few other nice moments. The misdirection with Locke, Sawyer and Hurley playing Risk was pretty funny and cleverly done. I liked how Jack outsmarted Daniel by recruiting Bernard to translate the morse code, and the confirmation that Widmore's men were never going to rescue anyone is a big moment for Jack's storyline. The Bad: This episode has a number of flaws. The biggest issue for me is how packed with content this is. Season 4 was shortened by the writer's strike, and I think that this episode was possibly hurt the most. There's so much going on in this episode that it's difficult to really get swept up in the drama in the way that "Lost" does in its best episodes. This episode is doing way too many things. We have the climactic action sequence at the barracks, Ben's character story that highlights his relationship with Widmore and the death of Alex, Sayid's reasoning for joining up with Ben in the flashforward story, and whatever is happening at Jack's camp. It's too much to cram into one episode and some of the storylines feel flat as a result. The biggest casualties are Jack and Sayid's storyline. Jack's camp has felt like an afterthought the entire season as nothing important has happened there since Sayid and Desmond left. Sayid's flashforward story has some very real emotion to it because we learn here that Nadia's dead. But the episode is unable to connect us enough with Sayid because it's trying too hard to tell Ben's story, so the effect that Nadia's death has on Sayid is lost in the shuffle. As exciting as the barracks action sequence is, there are some moments that made me roll my eyes. Sawyer should never have made it to Claire's house while under all that fire, especially considering how quickly and efficiently the mercenaries murdered the other people near Sawyer. The rocket launcher used on Claire's house was also ridiculous since Ben could easily have been in there. Furthermore, Claire's survival feels awfully convenient. I also find it impossible to believe that Sawyer made it back while carrying Claire without being shot. Also, I'm annoyed that Locke and Ben refuse to open the door to let Sawyer in, but are willing to open the door for Miles. How did that inconsistency ever make it past the writers? Couldn't they just tell Miles to come in through the window Hurley just broke anyways?! These details took away from the experience. A final weak moment of writing is when Ben and Locke demand that they need Hurley to find the cabin. Yet when it's time for them to go, they follow Ben's direction instead of Hurley's. Moments like these are so out of character for "Lost" which is usually so good at avoiding clumsy dialogue and writing like this. The Unknown: So many fascinating questions. How did the doctor die? Why? And when? Will we see this happening in a later episode? What is Ben doing in the Sahara desert? How did he get there? It seems like he just woke up there and didn't actually go there. He was wearing a Dharma coat and had a cut on his arm. Where did that come from? Ben explains to Sayid that he took Desmond's boat to get off the island. That sounds like an obvious lie to me. Did his escape from the island send him to the desert? Furthermore, Ben asks for the year when he gets to a hotel. Did he time travel? The show seems to be going in a pretty crazy direction. Why did Widmore kill Nadia? Is this even true? Who knows if Ben is lying about this? Although the evidence does point to him being honest about this. Does Widmore have an agenda against the Oceanic Six? Why? What does he hope to accomplish? I presume that Widmore was the economist mentioned in "The Economist". Why is Ben killing his men? What does he hope to accomplish by doing this? What rules is Ben talking about when he says "he changed the rules"? Was there some sort of agreement between Ben and Widmore before they engaged in this rivalry? Why can't Ben kill Widmore? Is that another rule? Why is Widmore getting nightmares? Widmore mentions that everything Ben has, he took from him. Was Widmore the former leader of the others? What is his history with the island? I'm excited to learn more about this relationship. How did Ben summon the monster? How is he connected to it? Why did Ben have all that soot on him when he emerged from the secret room? Is Jack getting sick? Is there a reason for this? Could the island be punishing him for trying to leave? Best Moment: Ben and Widmore's conversation at the end of the episode was packed with fascinating details. Every line was engaging to watch, and we're given plenty to think upon after this interaction. A brilliantly executed scene. Character of the Episode: Ben. Conclusion: This was a really strange episode. On one hand, this was some of the best stuff of the entire season, but on the other hand, there were several things that could have been done much better. In the end, this is great but not quite amazing like it has the potential to be. Score: 70 Summary: In flashbacks, Michael tries to kill himself after Walt hates him for what he did. Michael can't seem to kill himself and encounters Tom. Tom recruits him to go on Widmore's freighter as a spy to kill everyone on board. Michael eventually tries to blow up a bomb he was given but it's a dud. Ben calls, disguising himself as Walt and tells Michael he won't kill innocents. He tells Michael to give him information on the people on the boat. On the island, Sayid confronts Michael for more information. Once he learns Michael works for Ben, he turns him in to Captain Gault. Rousseau, Karl and Alex are sent to the temple but they are ambushed on the way and Karl and Rousseau are killed.
The Good: Michael's flashbacks are excellent, and example of "Lost" at its best. Seeing his suicidal state early in the episode is pretty sad, and it's rough to see how his guilt is still consuming him (visions of Libby) and how his relationship with Walt has entirely deteriorated. Michael sacrificed everything for Walt and it was all for nothing. I don't think anyone can defend what Michael did, but the show still makes it very easy to sympathize with him and relate to him. His personal story throughout the episode is superb watch and it does well to highlight the intricacies within Michael. Michael is a man looking to die, but he still cares for the wellbeing who were left on the island. Not because he's a good and caring person, but because he doesn't want more deaths on his already guilty conscience. This is proof that Michael is by no means a good person, and not shying away from this makes this episode a much richer experience. Everything he does is for selfish motives, and it leads up to an outstanding moment as Michael decides to blow up the freighter in spite of the innocent lives on it, proving that he has not changed. The bombing sequence is spectacular. Michael's guilt manifests through another vision of Libby, but he decides to go through with it anyways. Michael has learned nothing from murdering Ana Lucia and Libby, and even now he is willing to sacrifice lives to get what he wants, regardless of how bad he feels. And once the bomb doesn't go off, Michael is once again left with the weight of his actions on his shoulders and he has to live with it. I have to applaud "Lost" for portraying Michael in such a negative way to explore morality in a way that the show hasn't attempted with any other character. Then following this, Michael received a call from Ben who naturally was playing mind games with Michael all along and had no intent of blowing up the freighter. Ben says that he didn't expect Michael to actually try to blow up the freighter, but knowing him that's probably another lie. This whole thing was likely orchestrated by Ben to manipulate Michael into being a loyal spy for him. And Michael's never-ending guilt makes him extremely susceptible to Ben. Ben plays on Michael's weaknesses throughout this conversation, through ways like tricking him into thinking he's Walt and forcing Michael to own up to what he did to Ana Lucia and Libby. Ben even goes as far as to suggest that he never sacrifices innocents (a stone-cold lie) just to make Michael feel worse about himself, and then follows it up by claiming that Michael is now one of the good guys. It's Michael's inherent selfishness that makes Ben's claim feel really hollow. After all he has done and what he was about to do to the freighter, how can Michael ever be one of the good guys? It's fitting that he breaks down right after because deep down he knows that no matter what he does, he will not be one of the good guys. It's why he doesn't object to Sayid's claims to Captain Gault and it's why he went on this suicide mission on the freighter to begin with. Michael's story allows for a lot of fun cameos. Seeing Tom again is wonderful, and it's a lot of fun to watch Michael interact with him. It makes perfect sense for Michael to try to kill him without hesitation at first. I really like that Tom gives us a contrasting explanation for the Flight 815 wreckage. Who actually put that wreckage in the trench? (see: The Unknown) Michael's time on the freighter had some good scenes too. It's nice to see Naomi and Minkowski again, and we got an ominous moment as Keamy and his mercenaries practiced shooting while on the boat. I really liked Sayid's decision to turn Michael in. We know that he wants nothing to do with Ben, so the moment he hears that Michael is working for Ben, he turns him in without hesitation. Sayid, the man of action, is always so compelling to watch. The Bad: Unfortunately this episode loses a lot of points for that awful final scene. Rousseau and Alex reunited last season and since then they have done absolutely nothing. There's been no character work done here, and we don't even get to understand the relationship they have with each other. These characters got lost in the shuffle. And now Rousseau and Karl die in the most unsatisfying ways possible. It happens so suddenly and feels incredibly anticlimactic. Rousseau dying is especially criminal since she's been a key character for so long. I can't believe that she was given such a sloppy death. Furthermore, the scene was poorly directed, making me feel confused by what I was watching the entire time. The Alex/Rousseau/Karl storyline ended up being a spectacular failure. As much as I loved Tom's role in this episode, his presence makes no sense. After Michael left, we know that the others had communications disruptions and were unable to contact the mainland. Furthermore, they were also unable to return to the island if they left. And yet, Tom was somehow able to go off island and return in this time period at some point. This is a definite plot hole. The Unknown: Was Michael's vision of Libby just a manifestation of his guilt, or is there magical island stuff involved here? Furthermore, why isn't the island letting him die? How does this even happen? Why? What role is Michael supposed to play that the island needs him to live? What is this temple that Ben speaks of? I believe it was mentioned once before. What is over there? Was Widmore the one who actually planted the fake Flight 815 plane? Ben produced more evidence than Widmore did, but I wouldn't put it past Ben to fake this. Who is the real villain here? Knowing how "Lost" operates, I wouldn't be surprised if it was both of them. How did Widmore suddenly find the coordinates of the island? Could this have something to do with Penny locating the high levels of electromagnetism at the end of season 2? Who killed Karl and Rousseau? Was this a trap set up by Ben? Or was it something else? Could it be Keamy and his men? Best Moment: Ben's phone call to Michael. Harold Perrineau does a tremendous job of showing Michael's inner turmoil in response to everything that Ben says. Character of the Episode: Michael. Conclusion: Michael has to be one of the most unique characters on the show right now, so it isn't any surprise that an episode centered on him will be excellent. There are flaws here, but for the most part this is another classic "Lost" episode. Score: 78 Summary: Flashbacks show Jin getting a panda for one of Mr. Paik's business associates who recently became a father. Flashforwards show Sun give birth to Ji Yeon off the island. She visits Jin's grave. On the island, Sun learns from Kate that Daniel and Charlotte aren't trustworthy and decides to go to Locke's camp. Juliet tries to stop her and tells Jin about her affair. Jin forgives her, Sun forgives Juliet and she decides to stay at Jack's camp. On the freighter, Sayid and Desmond meet the captain who tells them the freighter belongs to Widmore and that Ben is responsible for the fake flight 815 wreckage. Sayid and Desmond discover that Michael is Ben's spy.
The Good: This episode was defined by its two big twists. The first, and most meaningful, was the reveal that Jin is likely dead. The entire episode is structured around this twist reveal and it works pretty well even if it does feel a bit cheap (see: The Bad). Learning that Jin has died was a heartbreaking moment, especially coming right after a sweet moment of reconciliation between Jin and Sun on the island. Yunjin Kim does a magnificent job in this scene, and it is a suitably depressing moment. I also think that this reveal was a smart decision for the show. Because we know Jin is possibly going to die, all of his actions on the island will now become far more interesting to follow. This is a necessary move for characters like Sun and Jin who don't seem to have much direction at the moment, and if done well, this storyline could have impact similar to Charlie's story in season 3. Sun and Jin's island story was pretty good too. Sun's infidelity was a bombshell waiting to drop and I'm pleased to see that it came up here. More impressively, I was happy with how logically it was resolved. Jin has grown a lot as a person, so seeing him forgive Sun so quickly was both a pleasant surprise and a logical decision. While a bit cheesy, I did like the scene with Jin and Bernard as it nicely framed Jin's decision to stay with Sun and love her despite what she did. Jin's forgiveness also makes the aforementioned twist all the more heartbreaking. The second big twist came from the freighter storyline. The scenes on the freighter were the highlight of the episode for me as they were packed full of intrigue and mystery. Almost every scene had something strange going on and it was really engaging to watch and try to puzzle out what's really going on. I enjoyed the introduction to the captain, and it was so refreshing to see somebody say things as they are instead of needlessly lying or keeping secrets. The scenes on the freighter not only raised questions, but they also gave us some good answers, slowly tying together what's going on. Now all we need is to check in with Widmore and learn his motives and I think that we will have a pretty good picture of why this freighter is here and what the intentions of the crew are. The reveal that Ben was responsible for faking the flight 815 crash was a great dramatic moment, and it raises plenty of questions (see: The Unknown). But of course the defining moment was the reveal that Michael was the spy on board the freighter. The moment was executed superbly well and is a very exciting twist. The Bad: This episode had one major flaw and several smaller flaws. The biggest issue came with Jin's flashbacks. I understand why these are in the episode: they mislead us so that the twist at the end can be a real surprise. But, the way they are implemented makes them feel incredibly cheap and deceptive. The flashbacks serve no purpose from a character perspective and exist exclusively to deceive us. Is it really worth filming over 5 minutes of television for the sole reason of deception? It feels like wasted time and is unnecessarily manipulative. I don't hate this as much as most people, but it is annoying that the episode went out of its way to deceive us in a way that doesn't provide any natural storytelling. A lot of small things in this episode bothered me. I've grown weary of the constant questioning of if Daniel and Charlotte are here to save everyone. We already know that their primary goal is to find Ben and we know Widmore owns the boat and he's looking for the island. Since we already have the answers, it's frustrating to watch the other characters play catch up and continually ask these questions we already have answers to. It gets dull. Sun's decision to go with Locke makes no sense. Surely she wouldn't want to go away from the only two doctors on the island? Furthermore, the only basis for this decision is because Juliet keeps lying, something that only bothers Sun when she hears about Juliet's inexplicable lie about The Tempest from the previous episode. Don't get me wrong, I love it when a show has continuity and when previous actions influence future events. But the issue here is that the events to lead Sun to her choice are nonsensical, so it feels like the show went out of its way to write bad stories to try to justify Sun's decision here. Juliet has literally no reason to lie anymore, so for the show to keep having her lie as a plot device is frustrating. Another decision that is explained poorly is Rose's choice to go with Jack despite wanting to stay on the island. I'm sorry but the reason being Locke is a murderer is laughable, especially since everyone was killing the others last season. Hell, Jack literally tried to kill Locke in the season premiere! I appreciate that the writers are at least explaining Rose's decision, but they can do much better than this. Now I have a few very minor nitpicks. Sun's birth story is pretty dull because we've seen so many births and it's obvious that she isn't going to die. Michael's return has potential to be spoiled because Harold Perrineau's name has been in the credits since the first episode of this season. Surely he should have been omitted from the credits to preserve the surprise. Lastly, my immersion gets broken with how empty the freighter is. Was the budget low or something? There should be more extras on the freighter playing crewmen. The Unknown: Was Sun able to give birth safely because she left the island? Did the others never test taking their pregnant women off island to give birth? Why has the freighter been sabotaged? Is this Michael's doing? Is there any significance to the lima beans? Why does Michael warn Sayid and Desmond to not trust the captain? Is the captain essentially just Widmore's puppet? Was Ben actually responsible for the flight 815 wreckage or is this a lie? Why did he fake the crash? How did he pull this off? Where did he get the bodies? How does Ben communicate with Michael? With comms down it must be hard for Michael to be given orders. Did they work out what to do beforehand? How did Ben recruit Michael anyways? What is he doing going back to the island? What happened to Walt? Why did Regina kill herself? Is it really this strange cabin fever or is it something else? Where did Frank go with the helicopter? Who went with him? We don't see Keamy after Frank leaves, did he go to the island? Is Jin actually dead? Or was he just left behind on the island with everyone else? Hurley seems to suggest that Jin is dead, but maybe they are faking that he died when the plane crashed. If Jin does die, how does it happen? Best Moment: Sun crying at Jin's grave was really sad. Character of the Episode: Sun. Conclusion: This was a flawed episode, but there's a lot to love about it. The two twists are very impactful, and the continued mystery of the freighter remains a really compelling storyline. I'm excited to see what's to come in the second half of this season. Score: 66 Summary: In flashbacks, Juliet grows close to Goodwin and starts an affair with him. Ben isn't pleased and indirectly gets Goodwin killed by sending him to the tailies. On the island, Daniel and Charlotte disappear into the jungle. Jack and Juliet chase them down and Juliet is ordered to kill them by Harper at Ben's command. Juliet finds them at The Tempest but learns that they are trying to render a dangerous gas inert and doesn't kill them. Locke makes a deal with Ben and learns that Widmore is the owner of the freighter and is looking for the island. Ben is freed from his imprisonment.
The Good: The scenes between Locke and Ben are as good as ever. It's always a delight to see these two match up with each other, and it looks like Locke got the batter of this exchange (unless that's just what Ben wants him to think). It's so fascinating to watch Ben because it's clear that he has a lot more power than he lets on, and is likely already planning to escape. It will be interesting to see what his plan is. The Widmore reveal is exciting and was foreshadowed really nicely in the previous episode. I have a lot of questions about what role he has to play in the story (see: The Unknown). In the flashbacks, Ben was genuinely creepy. I completely understand why somebody with Ben's history would have such a disfigured perception of romance, and his attempts to please Juliet are unsettling. The story builds to an excellent moment where Ben declares "you're mine" to Juliet, illuminating some of his sociopathic tendencies. The Bad: The overarching story being told here about Juliet is really poor and doesn't work at all. The first issue is my own expectations. Juliet was one of the others so she should be a gateway to learning some really interesting things about them. And yet we have learned absolutely nothing from her about the others since she joined the flight 815 survivors. Nobody has even asked her any questions! When you consider that, it is a critical disappointment that this episode only explores her relationship with Ben and retcons a shallow relationship with Goodwin, and that's it. There is nothing else here to learn from her past and that's very disappointing. The retcon stands out sorely because Goodwin's body is found by Jin and Mr. Eko. So Ben learned that he died, and instead of having a funeral service for him like the others did for Colleen, they just left him there? That makes no sense at all! I'm sure Harper would have been pleased with her husband's body being left in the jungle. This plot hole accentuates that this entire story was retconned in. Furthermore, I'm annoyed that the writers decided to revisit Goodwin, a character and story that did not have much left to it, instead of examining the others through Juliet's perspective. It's a very disappointing choice, and it resulted in a storyline that was very sloppily executed. The island story is no better. Daniel and Charlotte take off with murky intentions, but I never lost my trust in them. It was a poor decision to have an episode questioning Charlotte and Daniel's morality immediately after we saw Daniel go out of his way to save Desmond's life. Obviously he has good intentions, so I was never worried about what he was going to do. Additionally, this entire story is filler. It is never set up before that Daniel and Charlotte would want to render the gas at The Tempest inert, so this storyline comes right out of nowhere. The only thing this accomplishes is that it answers the question of where the gas that the others used to kill the Dharma Initiative came from. Creating an entire storyline about that is frustrating. This episode also gives into Lost's worst habit of characters withholding information for no reasons. There's no reason that Daniel and Charlotte couldn't have simply told Jack that they had to go to The Tempest to stop Ben from getting to the gas. They leave in secret purely for the sake of drama. There's also no reason for Juliet to not share with Jack that she was ordered to kill Daniel and Charlotte. Just tell him Juliet! There's absolutely no reason that she keeps it a secret, and it frustrates me to no end. I hate it when TV show's build their storylines off of simple miscommunication. Why on Earth does Juliet blindly accept Ben's orders? She has no reason to trust him! It's done in an effort to parallel Juliet's struggles in the past to her present, but since we have no reason for her to trust Ben in the present, it's hard to believe that she would make the same mistake and trust him again. Furthermore, Ben's plan is truly perplexing. Why would he order Juliet to kill Daniel and Charlotte if he could have any of the others do it instead? Plus, how did Harper manage to find Juliet in the middle of the woods? That's an extraordinary amount of luck. Kate's involvement in this episode is useless. She adds nothing to the story and her scenes are only used to fill time and create fake drama. Speaking of drama, the climax of the episode does a woeful job of it. The conflicts in this episode are really stupid, so to make up for it, the show attempted to put in some action and a countdown timer to make some tension. It did not work. And the timer was the dumbest thing I've ever seen. In what world would you have to risk death to everyone on the island to render the gas inert? That was only there to cheaply create some fake suspense. The Unknown: What are Widmore's goals? Ben says he doesn't know why Widmore is trying to come to the island but I do not believe him. Widmore has a target on Ben, so they definitely know each other. What is Widmore's history with Ben? How does he know about the island? Could he have somehow been connected to the Dharma Initiative? What are his intentions? Best Moment: The Widmore reveal was great for the plot and was a really engaging scene. Character of the Episode: Ben. Conclusion: After an extraordinary episode, "Lost' follows it up with a stinker. This was a really poor episode that failed to tell a compelling story. There were some good parts to it, but the overall episode fell into the worst trappings of "Lost" in an attempt to manufacture drama for a storyline that never should have made it through the writer's room. Score: 47 Summary: Frank, Desmond and Sayid leave the island but Desmond gets confused as his consciousness starts jumping from his past to the present. Desmond thinks he's in 1996 and is problematic when Frank lands on the boat. Desmond is taken to the doctor and finds Minkowski, who is in the same predicament. Sayid calls the island and talks to Daniel who helps Desmond by telling him to meet his past self in 1996. Desmond goes to Oxford and meets Daniel who tells him that he needs to connect with a constant in both timelines, who Desmond decides is Penny. In the past Desmond tries to find Penny so that he can get her number to call her. Sayid fixes the sabotaged comms on the boat and gets Desmond a call. Minkowski dies due to the difficulty of his consciousness jumps. Desmond calls Penny and corrects his consciousness. Desmond and Penny promise to find each other.
The Good: Formula break episodes are where "Lost" really gets to shine. This is another example of that. The idea for this episode is incredibly creative, and the show goes all-out when putting this to the screen. Following Desmond's consciousness as it goes back and forth from past to present makes for a surreal experience like no other on television. There is hardly any moment in this episode that shifts the focus away from Desmond, immersing us with his plight perfectly. The editing is really clever, and the transitions between past and present perfectly encapsulate the jarring disorientation that Desmond feels when his brain snaps between time periods. The episode also does a brilliant job of showing us little things to highlight Desmond's confusion when this happens, such as his reaction to clean up his nosebleed or his reaction to look for the numbers he had just written down on his hand. The writing is really strong, and the writers impressively manage to present this complex, confusing narrative in a way that makes sense for the viewers. This episode once again tackles the narrative cesspool that is time travel, and it does so in such a unique way. The episode slowly dishes out information about what is happening to Desmond, allowing us to easily follow along with what's going on, giving us information as Desmond finds out more information. Daniel in particular is used wonderfully here. Jeremy Davies' performance as twitchy, awkward Daniel Faraday is gripping to watch and adds extra depth and intrigue to the scenes with Daniel, furthering the mysteries of what happened to this physicist that resulted in the mentally impaired state he is in on the island (see: The Unknown). Developing this mystery alongside giving us information about what's happening to Desmond elevates these scenes from being simple exposition. Furthermore, the episode has really big stakes when we learn that Desmond's life is on the line, and Henry Ian Cusick portrays Desmond's desperation beautifully. Despite the confusing nature of time travel, the episode succeeds by giving us simplified explanations and keeping the drama rooted in its characters. The time-travel drama of this episode is certainly engaging, but what makes it special is how the emotional heart of Desmond's story is never lost. By the end of the episode it's clear that this episode was all about the relationship between Desmond and Penny, and the two of them share their best moment together on that phone call at the end of the episode (see: Best Moment). The episode wonderfully builds up to this moment, and once it happens, it is perfect. The editing of this scene is utterly spectacular and the show gets everything picture-perfect to make this one of the most emotional and beautiful scenes of the show so far. This moment works as a perfect climax for the episode, both emotionally and as a conclusion to the time travel story. This episode also serves as our introduction to the freighter. We finally get to meet the rest of the crew, and there are some curious new characters that we meet here, like Keamy and the doctor. Plus it seems like there's more going on here than what meets the eye with the sabotaged communications, and the mysterious captain who we have not met yet. These are all the reasons from a storytelling perspective that this episode is excellent. But to relegate this episode to just that would be a disservice to how incredible of an experience this was. Saying what's good about this episode is difficult because no words are able to capture how beautifully every aspect of this episode comes together as a television experience. It's a unique and amazingly engrossing experience unlike anything else you will find on television. This episode also introduced the idea of television episodes deviating from a linear story and becoming more bold and experimental in style. I firmly believe that the success of this episode gave the green light for many more incredible experimental episodes of television like "International Assassin" from "The Leftovers", "If-Then-Else" from "Person of Interest" and "The View From Halfway Down" from "BoJack Horseman". The impact that this episode had on television was huge, and even now after I've watched this episode countless times over the years, it still holds up as one of the all-time best. The Bad: I have a few nitpicks. It's hard to believe that Desmond made it all the way to Oxford without jumping back a single time. Additionally, the power source running out so quickly for Desmond has been a trope for this show. Batteries seem to have a ridiculously low life span in the world of "Lost". The Unknown: This episode raises so many fascinating questions that are huge for the show as a whole. Is the island located in a sort of different time vortex from the rest of the world? Surely there's some reason for the time discrepancy that happened with Frank's arrival on the boat happening far later than it should have. The show has done well building up this mystery this season. Did Desmond experience these side effects because of his exposure to electromagnetism when the hatch imploded? What other effects will the exposure to electromagnetism have on Desmond? We already know that he had the time travel experience back in "Flashes Before Your Eyes" and he also had the visions of Charlie's death. Speaking of which, is Desmond still getting these visions? He hasn't had any this season. Was it prolonged exposure to radiation that caused Dan's current mental state? We see him taking improper precautions in the flashback, perhaps this is why his brain is fried in the present day. Also, is the island healing Daniel's brain? Who left the door open for Sayid and Desmond to escape? Was it Frank? Or perhaps somebody else? We know that Ben has a man on the freighter. Who is it? Could it be the captain? The scene with Widmore is really interesting. We see him bidding on a journal from the Black Rock. Does he know about the Black Rock and the island? Why does he want this journal? I also noticed that the journal was property of Tovard Hanso, likely an ancestor of Alvar Hanso of the Hanso Foundation we hear mentioned by the Dharma Initiative. Was the Black Rock how the Hanso Foundation learned about the island? How did this happen? These details are really fascinating to learn about and they suggest that the writers do have a good idea of how all of the mysteries connect together. Apparently Daniel has written that Desmond is now his constant. What is the significance of this? Is this something that Daniel actually forgot about? We know it's possible because of his frayed mental state. Or more interestingly, is this a case where Desmond's experience actually rewrote time? I wonder if this will prove to be significant. Best Moment: Desmond and Penny's phone call. We're so invested in this relationship by now that seeing them finally contact each other in the present day is amazingly cathartic. The performances are brilliant, and it's clear that these two are just so happy to be in each other's presence. Add on some terrific filming choices, the editing between past and present Desmond, and the beautiful music, and this sequence is genuinely moving. The promises they make to each other are heartbreaking to watch, and Desmond's resolved thank you to Sayid afterwards is a great human moment. This show always goes the extra mile to make these characters feel more real and understandable. Character of the Episode: Desmond of course. Conclusion: This was a masterful episode. Not only was it a perfect execution of a creative concept, but it also had the emotional heart of the best episodes of "Lost". And on top of that, the episode came together perfectly to create one of the greatest viewing experiences you can get from a TV show, paving the way for many more outstanding experimental TV episodes in the future. This is the best episode of "Lost" and one of the greatest episodes of television ever made. Score: 92 Summary: In flashforwards, Kate is on trial for her crimes and things aren't going in her favour. In a desperate attempt to help her, Kate's lawyer brings Jack to the witness stand where he attests for Kate's character to make her appear more likeable. Kate speaks with her mom, the main witness and gets her to decide not to testify. Kate is given a deal, 10 years probation and no leaving the state which she takes. Jack and Kate meet outside and discuss their future. It's revealed that Kate has a child, and it's Aaron. On the island, Kate sneakily talks to Miles when Locke doesn't let her see him. Kate wants to know if they know who she is. Miles agrees to tell her if Kate can get him with Ben for 1 minute. With Sawyer's help, Kate sneaks Miles into Locke's house where Ben is. Miles offers to tell the freighter that Ben is dead for 3.2 million dollars. Locke realizes what Kate has done and sends her home. He learns what Miles said to Ben and then banishes Kate from the barracks. Sawyer tries to get Kate to stay but when it's clear that Kate is planning to leave anyways, a resigned and annoyed Sawyer lets her go back to Jack's camp. Meanwhile, Jack gets upset when Desmond and Sayid haven't called in from the freighter and that nobody knows where they have gone.
The Good: Once more, this episode was really compact and had a great pace to it. The drama on the island was really engaging and there was a sense of importance in the main plot. Kate's goal to get Miles to speak with Ben was an engaging story, and it set up some fun setpieces as Kate and Sawyer schemed their way past Locke to make this meet-up happen. It's enjoyable television that leads to a tense climax as Miles gives Ben a very intriguing offer that continues to amp up the mystery surrounding the freighter (see: The Unknown). Outside of the plot, this episode spends a lot of time teasing the idea of Kate as a mother. It's mentioned frequently on the island and it's contrasted by the reveal of Kate having a son in the flashforwards. The episode heavily teases that the baby is Sawyer's, and there's a lot of time spent setting this up as a possibility. It seemed so heavy-handed to me and initially I wasn't a fan of how the show was so heavily building to this obvious reveal. But of course no show can surprise like "Lost" can, and we get the surprise ending reveal that Kate's "son" is actually Aaron. It's an excellent twist that's not only really surprising, but is also quite ominous when you remember Claire's flashbacks with Richard Malkin and how Claire is supposed to raise Aaron. This extra information turns a pleasant surprise into something that could be a major twist that completely changes the show. I'm very excited to see what comes next. I thought that this episode did a superb job depicting the characters. Kate is of course as selfish as ever as she refuses to settle in with Sawyer on the island, and outright rejects her mother in the flashforwards. Ben is fittingly quite manipulative as he preys on Locke's insecurity as effectively as ever. Locke on the other hand is completely lost despite having his faith renewed and is totally unsure of what to do. Terry O'Quinn is excellent as always and it's great to see Locke's frustrations coming out again. Sawyer comes off superbly well. He genuinely looks to be in love with Kate and wants nothing more than to spend more time with her. However, he isn't a fool and we get to see him very openly chastise Kate over her poor treatment of him. It's a lovely bit of character growth as Sawyer adjusts to the flaws in the woman he loves. Hurley is as loveable as ever in the episode as he cluelessly falls for Kate's trap. Finally there's Jack who is suitably angry about the lack of news from the freighter and quickly turns on Charlotte and Daniel to get what he needs for his people. As a final point, I thought that the flashforwards had some really strong scenes. Jack on the witness stand (see: Best Moment), Kate reuniting with her mother, Kate and Jack's conversation near the end of the episode, and of course the Aaron reveal were all very good scenes. The Bad: Some of the writing here was extremely sloppy and it prevents this episode from scoring higher. What particularly irked me was the lack of attention to detail during the trial scenes. The trial itself is practically nonsensical and all logic was thrown out the window for the sake of drama. It was clear that the show did not care at all about authenticity when setting up these courtroom scenes. Hell, the courtroom didn't even look like a courtroom! It's very easy to poke holes in the drama we are presented. The witnesses are called up in the incorrect order. Furthermore, it's amazing how there was only one witness against Kate (her mother). Were there really not any other people who would attest to what she has done. How able the guy from the bank in "Whatever the Case May Be" or the thugs that Kate worked with? How about her ex-husband? Any other strangers who witnessed any of the multiple crimes she committed? It's absurd that Diane was the only witness to build the case upon. I'm sure if you have a greater knowledge of legal proceedings than I do, there are even more holes that can be poked into this story. Kate's arc on the island is pretty difficult to buy into. Is she really willing to go to such an extreme only to figure out if the freighter people know who she is? Of course they know who she is! She was preparing for this exact situation back in "Born to Run" in season 1! Did Kate expect people to just forget about her? It's ridiculous. Furthermore, why does she have to ask Miles, who seems like the least likely person to answer her question. All she has to do is go back to Jack's camp and ask Daniel or Charlotte instead, which is much less risky. I get that the writers wanted Locke to do somethign dramatic in response to Miles orchestrating something behind his back. But sticking a grenade in his mouth and pulling out the pin is the height of stupidity. It takes one tiny mistake from Miles and he's blowing up. One jaw cramp, or one sneeze will kill Miles. What use is it to keep a hostage like that if you're going to take such a huge risk with his life? The Unknown: What is the exact story that the Oceanic Six told the press? Why did they lie about what happened? Is somebody forcing them to stay quiet? Why does Miles want 3.2 million dollars specifically? It's a very odd number. Is this the whole reason he signed up for this mission? To make more money from Ben? There's still a lot to be uncovered about his motives. Why has it taken so long for Desmond, Sayid and Frank to arrive at the freighter? Did something happen to the helicopter? Does this have something to do with Daniel's experiment from the previous episode with the time discrepancy? What was with Daniel's memory test? Has he been having memory problems? How did that happen? He seems to be quite bright. What went wrong with Jack and Kate? They were on much better terms here than in "Through the Looking Glass". Is Sawyer not one of the Oceanic Six? It seems odd to have a Kate-centric episode and not have him appear if he is actually off the island. Why is Kate the one raising Aaron? What happened to Claire? Did she die? How did Kate end up with Aaron in this situation? What are the consequences of Aaron not being raised by Claire? How is this going to effect the future of the show? Best Moment: The most powerful moment to me was Jack effortlessly throwing out lies on the stand as he sticks to the false story that the Oceanic Six have apparently been telling everyone. Kate's evident discomfort as Jack says things about her that are inherently false is terrific and it was the part of the episode that hooked me the most. Character of the Episode: Kate. Conclusion: Kate episodes have always been a weakness of "Lost" and that remains true here. However, a strong plot twist, engaging drama and some really good scenes ensured that this wasn't a bad episode and was actually quite fun in spite of some writing issues. Season 4 is running at a much better pace than the first 3 seasons and I'm intrigued to see if this pacing can be maintained throughout the season. Score: 65 Summary: Flashforwards show that Sayid has become a hired assassin. He meets a woman named Elsa, who he uses to get to her boss, an economist who is Sayid's next target. However, he grows to care for Elsa and gives her a chance to leave. Elsa shoots him, she is aware of who Sayid is and has been ordered to kill him. Sayid manages to get away and kills Elsa. He returns to his boss: Ben. On the island, Sayid decides to go bring Charlotte back from Locke's camp in exchange for Frank taking him to the freighter on the chopper. Sayid, Kate and Miles head towards the barracks but they find it deserted. Hurley has been tied up and left behind by Locke. However, it's a trap and Locke's group make themselves known and capture Sayid, Kate and Miles. Kate decides to stay after hearing how Sawyer doesn't care to leave the island. Sayid makes a deal with Locke to take Charlotte back in exchange for Miles. Sayid returns with Miles and Frank takes him back on the helicopter. Desmond and Juliet also return, and Desmond joins Sayid on the chopper.
The Good: The flashforward storyline is terrific entertainment. It's a perfect blend, of mystery, drama and character and it's a joy to figure out what exactly we are watching. Sayid is really engaging as a hired assassin and it's enjoyable to see him at work. The opening scene at the golf course was very well done, and a welcome surprise. The Elsa story is also really well done. We get to see a combination of the ruthless Sayid and the romantic Sayid which makes for a very interesting dynamic. The story remains interesting all the way through due to the fact that we never fully understand what Sayid is doing and why. By the end of the episode we still don't entirely have our answers (see: The Unknown), but we do get an outstanding twist that raises the stakes of Sayid's story immensely (see: Best Moment). On the island, I thought the drama was just as compelling. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Sayid's logical approach to solving problems is tremendously fun, especially in a show where characters have become increasingly questionable with their decision-making and secrets. Sayid is a breath of fresh air as he simply does his best to solve the problem that's in front of him, and works hard to get everyone off the island. The island drama here is established wonderfully as Sayid pressures Frank to take him off the island, and immediately goes to work to bring Charlotte back in a reasonable and bloodless manner. Sayid's plan is very good and it's great to watch him come to a peaceful agreement with Locke, leaving Miles behind as a hostage since he isn't willing to put all of his faith in the freighter people yet. There are some nice moments in this story. I was genuinely surprise by Hurley's betrayal since he's the last person anyone would have expected to lead Sayid, Kate and Miles into a trap. Ben continues to be given a lot of good lines and is tremendous fun to watch in captivity. I thought that the brief Sawyer/Kate story was wonderfully executed. I was incredibly pleased to see the change in Sawyer following his killing of Anthony Cooper. Now that he's taken care of his baggage, he seems more at peace than ever before, and he, like Locke, seems to have accepted his new life on the island as an improvement over what he had before. Sawyer's given a great scene to express this change in his character and I thought that Josh Holloway played the character superbly well, as always. I also really enjoyed Miles, who is still quite funny and manages to be wonderfully sarcastic with everyone he speaks with. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of dynamic he forms with Locke and everyone else in that camp. Finally, I enjoyed the little bits of mystery developing surrounding the freighter, like with Minkowski's condition and Daniel's strange experiment (see: The Unknown). As a final point, I've been really impressed with the pacing of this season so far. The past 2 seasons were woefully inconsistent, but this season hasn't had very much that I didn't like so far. Furthermore, there haven't been any slow episodes, and every scene feels like it's vital for the story. This change in pacing and structure has been wonderful for the series, and I'll have to wait and see if the show can keep it up. The Bad: Just a few nitpicks. Surely Jack would be much more upset with Kate choosing to stay with Locke, who he views as a lunatic. Surely Sayid and Elsa's gunfight would have been heard by other people. They weren't using silencers and they were inside of what looked like a pretty public hotel. The Unknown: Why isn't Sayid with Nadia off the island? Did something happen to her? Who is the economist? Why does Ben need Sayid to kill all these people? How is Ben off the island anyways? Why is Sayid working for him? Is he one of the others now? What does he have to gain from this work? How did Ben recruit Sayid? Ben vaguely refers to a major event that happened before involving Sayid. What was it? What happened? How did the cabin move? Is Jacob somehow doing this? How can you find the cabin if it moves at will? Why was the payload delayed so much? Does the island exist in some kind of separate dimension? Does time function differently on the island? Or can this time anomaly be explained by some kind of dimensional rift? What's going on with Minkowski? Why was Daniel ordered not to speak with him? Where did he go anyways? Best Moment: The Ben twist at the end of the episode was superb. I didn't predict it, so I was quite shocked to discover that Sayid has become one of his men. This raises a truckload of questions, but also raises the stakes for whatever happens to Sayid before these flashforwards. On the island, Sayid says that the day he trusts Ben is the day he would have sold his soul. This ominously suggests that something bad is coming to Sayid in the near future. The twist is so wonderful not only because of the surprise, but because of the significance that working for Ben has on Sayid's character. Character of the Episode: Sayid. Conclusion: Another superb episode, and one that I think is even better than the last. The drama remains extremely joyful to watch and the character dynamics are as fun as ever. Add on a shocking twist, and we have another great episode. Season 4 is off to an excellent start. Score: 75 Summary: Flashbacks show Dan crying as he sees news about Flight 815 being found. Miles is revealed to be somebody who can communicate with ghosts, which he has adopted for his own business. Charlotte is an anthropologist and she finds a Dharma Initiative polar bear in the Tunisian desert. Frank watches the news of the Flight 815 wreckage being found and realizes that it is fake. Naomi is assigned her mission by the mysterious man from "The Beginning of the End". On the island, Jack and Kate quiz Dan about his intentions. Dan leads them to Miles who threatens Jack and Kate at gunpoint, demanding to be taken to Naomi. After talking with Naomi's spirit, Miles deduces that Jack and Kate are telling the truth about Locke. Juliet and Sayid arrive and turn the tables on Miles and Dan. The group keep walking and they find Frank, who landed the helicopter safely. Upon learning that Juliet is an other, Miles questions her on the location of Ben, who is the group's primary target. Meanwhile, Charlotte is picked up by Locke's group. Locke doesn't want to send her away and starts quizzing her, but Ben steals Karl's gun and shoots her. Charlotte is wearing a vest and is fine. Locke prepares to kill Ben, but Ben reveals that he knows everything about the 4 people who came in because he has a spy on their boat.
The Good: This episode's format is stellar. After the formula break established two episodes earlier, "Lost" grows bold once again and has another sharp change. This time we return to flashbacks, but we divide them between the 5 characters who came from the freighter, giving us an episode that introduces a truckload of characters in an organic and unique way. Right before we get introduced to each new character on the island, we see a brief flashback of their lives before which gives us a rough idea of what to expect while leaving out just enough information to ensure that our interests are piqued. Going around at such a fast pace learning about new characters is a tremendous amount of fun, and the episode adds on to this exciting thrill ride of an episode by throwing in tons of plot developments, dramatic twists, funny moments and even some pieces of mystery that will be essential for figuring out what's really going on with these freighter people. The characters that are introduced are quite fun to watch. This episode's pacing makes it feel like it flies by which is impressive for an episode that does so much exposition and introduction. This is helped by the personalities that these characters possess. Dan's awkwardness is contrasted nicely by Miles' hotheadedness, and they have a really fun dramatic throughout the episode as they interact with Jack and Kate in completely different ways, revealing interesting little tidbits of information as the episode goes on. The characters are also quite fun to watch and the actors do a good job of bringing them to life. While Charlotte and Frank are introduced later in the episode, they still manage to get several scenes to stand out and show us who they are and what to expect from them, while still being shrouded in mystery. That's just the island stories though. Each character gets a gripping flashback scene which introduces some key mysteries that I'm very excited to uncover (see: The Unknown). The Locke half of the episode covers the brunt of the survivors' storyline and it is a joy to watch. Locke's leadership style has always been a joy to watch, and it remains that way here as he communicates openly with everyone and brings up very fair points when discussing plans and making crucial decisions. The writing of his character is superb and it adds a lot more realism to the episode. Ben also has a very entertaining role as the prisoner as he remains unpredictable and extremely effective at manipulation. He has a number of well-written funny lines that allow him to get under the skin of those around him. It makes for an interesting dynamic and it ensures that Ben still remains threatening as a villain, even in captivity. The Bad: I do question why Juliet still hasn't been asked more information about the others. In this episode, Sayid talks to her as if she were one of them and doesn't even so much as hint at how she still has secrets to tell them. Hopefully this can be corrected in future episodes, because the survivors should be much more curious about the others than they currently are. The Unknown: Why was Dan crying when he saw the plane wreckage? Naomi referred to him as a head case. Why? What was wrong with him? He seems to be fine in the present storyline. A little awkward and nervous sure, but he seems normal. What changed? What is Miles' ability? Has the show confirmed the existence of ghosts or spirits? Could this have something to do with the whispers? Is Miles' power even real? He seems to contact Naomi effectively so I'm willing to bet that it is. How did a Dharma Initiative polar bear appear in the Tunisian desert? Where did it come from? How did it get there? Charlotte seemed excited to discover that it tied to the Dharma Initiative. How is she connected to them? Was she looking for this bear specifically? Why? The mysterious man who visited Hurley in the last episode appears again. It seems that he is the one in charge of everything on the boat. Who is he? Why did he hire this specific crew? What's so special about everyone he selected? What are his goals? He also seemed to be fully aware that the Flight 815 wreckage isn't real. How does he know that? Does he have something to do with why this fake wreckage exists to begin with? Why are the freighter people looking for Ben? Who are they? What has he done to them to make them target him? Why did these people bring gas masks? Best Moment: The end of the episode is a wonderful piece of drama. After Ben proves to be more dangerous than expected, Locke gives in to logic and the demand of his people and chooses to kill Ben. But when Ben offers to give him knowledge, he asks him "what is the monster". It's a brilliant moment that shows a character asking a very sensible question (something this show doesn't always do) while also providing us some interesting information as even Ben doesn't seem to know what it is. And to cap things off, the episode ends with a tremendous twist as Ben reveals that he knows everything about the people from the freighter because he has planted a man on their boat somehow. It's a terrific reveal that provides a perfect dramatic climax to the episode that leaves you eagerly awaiting to watch more. Brilliant television. Character of the Episode: It's tough to choose since so many characters are excellent here. I'll go with Ben for that final moment. Conclusion: This is excellent stuff. While there isn't much of an emotional edge to this episode, it does do a remarkably good job of setting the stage for season 4, working at a brisk pace and giving us several memorable moments to leave us desperate for more. This is a near perfect way to get the story moving for the much shorter season 4, and the episode certainly did its job of getting me excited for what's to come. Score: 73 Summary: In flashforwards, Hurley is arrested after taking off in a high speed car chase. He gets placed in a mental institution where he is confronted by a mysterious man asking if "they" are still alive. He is also visited by the dead Charlie who demands that he do things for those that were left behind. Lastly, Jack checks in with Hurley who tells him that they have to go back. On the island, Hurley is devastated when Desmond returns with news of Charlie. The group sets off to the radio tower to warn Jack that the people on the boat aren't who they say they are. Meanwhile, Naomi runs into the jungle and Kate tracks her down. Naomi covers for them and tells the people on the boat that there was an accident when she parachuted in. Naomi dies. Hurley gets separated from the group and encounters Jacob's cabin. He runs away and finds Locke who helps him rejoin the group. The groups meet up and Jack attempts to kill Locke but Sayid pulls him away. The group splits into two camps. Locke's camp, including Claire, Hurley and Sawyer head to the barracks to hide while the others go to the beach with Jack to await rescue. Jack and Kate go off into the jungle and find a man who has arrived from the boat.
The Good: As always, "Lost" subverts expectations with the opening scene of a new season and it does it again this time. While it's probably the weakest season opening scene so far, it's still quite good stuff as we see Hurley in a very unexpected situation and learn a very important piece of information about the future with the introduction of the "Oceanic Six" (see: The Unknown). It's a very interesting way to start the season, and I'm excited to see more from it. The rest of the flashforward storyline was extremely well done. The flashforwards feel very different from the flashbacks and they make this episode feel different from the staler flashback episodes last season, giving the story a lot more momentum than it had in season 3. I really like the new formula that's being developed here. Judging from this episode and "Through the Looking Glass", it seems like the flashforwards will use a new style of storytelling where we see a character make a key decision on the island, and we will see the consequences of that decision in the future. In the season 3 finale, it was Jack's choice to call the boat, and here it's Hurley's choice to go with Locke. The other flashforward scenes were quite good at building mystery. We see a mysterious new character confronting Hurley, hints of the island's powers extending to the real world, and a surprising arc for Hurley who seems to be haunted by his past in a very literal way. I'm really enjoying these flashforwards so far and it seems like they might be just the thing to make the series feel new and exciting again. The island storyline in this episode is also quite good. Early on we get to see Desmond return and set up the story beats that carry this episode. He reveals that the people on the boat cannot be trusted, and also drops the bombshell that Charlie died. The group's grief for Charlie is pretty sad and I really like how the episode furthered its stories with Charlie's death. Hurley's decision to join Locke makes sense because of what happened to Charlie, so establishing the importance of Charlie's death was essential for this episode. Thankfully, the writers nailed it. The other thing the writers did really well was making it clear that the group is too disorganized to actually do something about the people on the boat. With hanging threads like not knowing who the people are, and also Naomi's impending demise, the episode created a surprising amount of suspense as everyone prepares for the arrival of these people. The island story all builds up to a really strong climax where the group separates into two opposing camps. This split is illustrated as quite a big deal and it does feel like a major event that will have consequences (as Hurley's flashforward also establishes). What I enjoyed most about this was how every character had logical reasons for choosing the side that they did. It makes sense that Hurley and Claire would listen to what Charlie said. It makes sense that Rose wouldn't want to side with the murderous Locke. It makes sense that Sawyer would join Locke after what he learned about him in "The Brig". There are lots of nice character details here, and that added a lot to this scene. It was nice to see Ana Lucia's partner return for a brief cameo. It's a fun return and it also serves to further cement how Hurley can't seem to escape the past in his flashforward storyline. The Bad: The writing is quite sloppy at times though. The Naomi plot in particular is really poorly thought out. Why didn't anybody even check to see if Naomi was still alive? They all just assumed she was dead which is absolutely ridiculous, especially considering that Jack was there and we know that Jack would always do everything he possibly can to save lives. Furthermore, why would Naomi just sneak away into the jungle when she's half dead, and how did she do it so quietly? It makes absolutely no sense. What's even stupider is that she would still somehow have the physical ability and thought process to make a dummy trail in case anyone was following her. It seems to pointless to do all of this, especially since Naomi just dies anyways. Furthermore, it's ridiculous that Jack wouldn't send a second party down the trail Kate found just in case Naomi did go down that way. This entire storyline is pretty contrived and doesn't make any logical sense. I wasn't very happy with the lack of reaction to Jack attempting to kill Locke. We saw that Locke wasn't willing to kill Jack, so surely seeing Jack pull the trigger expecting to kill him would be pretty shocking for everyone. Furthermore, this scene wasn't a private occurrence. Everyone saw what happened, and they should be legitimately horrified by it. One particularly sloppy piece of dialogue is Rose not wanting to go with Locke because he's a murderer, yet she completely ignores how Jack was about to kill Locke right then and there. There are unfortunately several pieces of lazy writing like this scattered throughout the episode which brings down its quality. As a final note, I was confused to see that Alex and Rousseau aren't spending any time together. Surely they would want to know more about each other. It's strange to have Rousseau standing quietly with Ben while Alex chats with Karl like nothing has changed. The Unknown: Plenty of questions. To start, who are the Oceanic Six? Which six survivors made it off the island? We know of Jack, Hurley and Kate. Which other 3 left the island? Who is the mysterious man that visited Hurley? Was he another vision or did he actually exist? Who is he? What does he want? How does he know that the others are still alive? Hurley's encounter with the cabin was a frightening scene (see: Best Moment). How did the cabin seemingly teleport like that? Hurley seemed to almost enter another dimension when he found it. How does that work? Who was in there? There were at least 2 people. One would be Jacob. Who was the other? How can Charlie appear off the island? I thought this kind of stuff is restricted to the island. Or is Charlie just part of Hurley's imagination, similar to Dave? Why does Hurley regret siding with Locke? What happens to Locke's camp? Who is the man at the end of the episode? It's an exciting cliffhanger to end the episode one. Best Moment: Hurley's encounter with the cabin is chilling drama. It's haunting, mysterious and surprising all at once and it left me in high suspense. It's tense to see Hurley looking inside, and every moment following this can be analyzed closely because I'm very interested to learn more about Jacob and this cabin. Character of the Episode: Hurley. Conclusion: This was a really strong season premier. While there was unfortunately a lot of silly writing choices, the overall episode is quite good and starts off season 4 in a good way. I'm excited for this season because it already feels far different from seasons 1-3 due to the new formula. However, the writers need to be much more cautious because more thoughtless writing in important episodes can easily ruin this season. Score: 67 Summary: Flashforwards show that Jack is a mess after leaving the island. He is about to kill himself after reading about the death of somebody but he stops himself to save a family from a fatal car crash. Jack is still in really bad shape and has numerous outbursts. He calls Kate and they meet up. He tells her that they weren't supposed to leave and that they have to go back to the island. On the island, Jack leads his people to the radio tower. Ben gets radioed from the Looking Glass about Charlie and learns of Juliet's betrayal but it's too late to stop the attack. Mikhail is sent to the Looking Glass. The others attack and 2 of the 3 dynamite stacks are set off, killing several of them. Sayid, Jin and Bernard get captured. Jack continues on to the radio tower despite seeing only 2 blasts. Sawyer and Juliet go back to the beach. Ben and Alex go to confront Jack's group and Ben plans to talk Jack out of contacting Naomi's boat. Desmond is shot at by Mikhail and goes to the Looking Glass where Charlie is captured. Mikhail follows suit and receives orders from Ben to kill Bonnie and Greta, the two women in the Looking Glass. He does so but Desmond kills Mikhail with a harpoon. Charlie is freed and stops the jamming and detects a signal from Penny. He learns the boat isn't hers but before he can talk to Desmond, Mikhail, having survived, blows up a grenade and the room floods. Charlie dies but he writes on his hand, telling Desmond "not Penny's boat". Ben confronts Jack and tries to talk him out of calling the boat, threatening Bernard, Jin and Sayid. Ben has them killed and Jack, fixated on getting rescue lets it happen. In anger, Jack beats Ben bloody. The group continues to the radio tower. Sawyer and Juliet arrive at camp and Hurley follows them. The others are all killed, including Tom. Bernard, Jin and Sayid are found alive. At the radio tower, Naomi calls her boat but Locke kills her with a knife, telling Jack not to make the call. Jack makes the call anyways, and Locke, unwilling to kill Jack, lets it happen.
The Good: The flashforwards twist will go down as one of the best TV twists ever made, and I certainly think it's the most shocking moment of "Lost" so far. The execution of this twist is perfect. From the beginning I thought for sure that we were watching flashbacks and I didn't entertain even for a second that the show may have changed formats so suddenly. It was fairly confusing to try to place when in Jack's life he was such a mess, and I was continuously intrigued by what could have made him like this. But then the ending scene rolled around and suddenly everything became clear and I was left speechless. The show genuinely surprised me by flipping the script and completely breaking its own rules to remain fresh. How many other shows can boast doing something as daring as this? The best part is that on rewatch it seems completely obvious that we are touching in with Jack in the future as there are tons and tons of clues. But there are just enough deceptions (the show's previously established format, Jack constantly mentioning his father) to fool you into not figuring it out. The scenes are so well written and it builds up to a perfect final reveal. The flashforwards told a damn good story too, so it isn't all about the twist at the end. Matthew Fox's acting is great and his scenes paint a convincing picture of Jack's horrible life after leaving the island. Seeing Jack in such a bad way brings new context to the events we see in this episode. Bringing about rescue seems like a good thing worth cheering for on the island. But knowing where Jack ends up in the future allows you to look at his decisions in this episode in a completely different context. How does it all go so wrong for Jack? What happens to get him to where he is in the flashforwards? I'm very excited to get these answers. Every story on the island is equally excellent. The others' raid is a dramatic and exciting moment early in the episode. There is some great action here and it leads to a pivotal moment that raises the stakes higher as the plan fails and Sayid, Jin and Bernard are held hostage. The escalating sense of danger ensures that we are left in suspense throughout the episode, and there is always drama to enjoy as the episode goes on. The ensuing fight at the beach was an excellent piece of action, but better yet was Jack's confrontation with Ben on the way to the radio tower. Jack is put in a really uncomfortable place here as he has to choose between saving everyone and giving up rescue or ensuring rescue and letting his friends die. The scene is a brilliant way to put Jack and Ben at odds and it leads to a fantastic release for Jack as he beats Ben to a pulp in his rage and expresses desire for vengeance to Kate afterwards. The climax that follows this scene is superbly done. With the phone call connecting, the suspense is ratcheted up to the maximum. Ben is all but begging Jack not to place the call, and there is a real sense of dread now with Ben's insistence that there are bad people that are going to kill everyone. Charlie's final message also adds to this dread and it ends up creating a genuinely tense moment. And then with perfect timing, Locke shows up and kills Naomi, adding yet another surprising development to the episode. And after spending almost the entire season apart, Jack and Locke are once more at odds and it boils down to science vs faith once more. And Jack, still as resilient as ever, chooses science, a decision which we now know that he will likely come to regret. The Charlie storyline was another fantastic addition to the episode. To start, Charlie is so likable the entire time. He feels really heroic the whole time as he taunts Bonnie and Greta, fully expecting to die and understanding that no matter what he does, he's going to end up flipping that switch because it's destined to happen. The character of Charlie has come off really well this season, and it has been wonderful to see him redeem himself after such a poorly written arc in season 2. In the end, Charlie was a character I was quite invested in, and his death gives this episode the weight it needed, leaving us with the feeling that there was a major loss in this mission to get off the island. Charlie's death is perfectly executed and is quite devastating despite the fact that we knew it was coming. What makes it even more painful is how heroic Charlie is in his death. He spends his final moments writing a message to Desmond, refusing to waste what little time he has left. I also really appreciated the nod to Charlie's past as a religious man as he symbolizes the cross before he dies. A final detail that I thought really made this death more meaningful is that Charlie didn't have to die. He could have left the room and told Desmond everything. But to secure Claire's rescue and to save Desmond's life, he locks himself in the jamming room and accepts his death like a real hero. The scenes leading up to Charlie's death have some very strong drama. The suspense with Mikhail's arrival, Charlie's capture and Desmond hiding in the supply closet add a lot of drama and make it difficult to predict what happens next. The resolution is built up to perfectly as ironically it's Ben's order to kill Bonnie and Greta as a precaution that costs him as they betray him by giving Charlie the code to disable the jammers. Everything that happens in this storyline makes perfect sense, and it's a pleasure to watch the entire time. There are a few other little things this episode also does very well. I really enjoyed the exploration of Ben's poor leadership in this episode. His people seem like they are on the verge of turning against him and I have to wonder what's going to happen at the temple if Richard decides that enough is enough. This story has been set up pretty well and I'm interested to see what happens next. I was also really happy with Alex and Rousseau's reunion. It was a moment that had been built up for a while and it was fittingly emotional, but also a little awkward which is a realistic touch as Rousseau is more than likely not a capable mother after 16 years alone. Lastly, I enjoyed Sawyer' arc in this episode. Evidently, killing Anthony has had a profound effect on him and has left him questioning his purpose. I really appreciate that this show isn't afraid to change how its characters behave in response to their experiences. Sawyer's confusion here was pretty good to watch, and we even get a final touch of vengeance for him as he even gets to kill Tom after he took Walt off the raft. We'll have to wait until next season to see how Sawyer will move on after killing pretty much everybody he ever wanted to kill. The Bad: There are a few small things, but nothing too major. I don't buy into the idea of Bernard and Jin being selected as gunners. It seems clear that they were only chosen because they had wives who could be concerned for them when they were inevitably captured. The writers left their fingerprints all over this. It's inexplicable to me that somebody like Bernard would stay behind while Sawyer (who has nothing at this point) goes with everyone else. Hurley's brief arc felt a little too much like fanservice. People called him fat and useless so he shows everyone how it's done by saving Sawyer and Juliet. It's a pretty generic story and it seems like it was only included to give the viewers something to cheer. Mikhail got to Desmond's location extraordinarily fast. It took the others several days to reach the survivors' camp, so how did Mikhail get to Desmond before he even woke up after Charlie knocked him out? The Unknown: Who was in the coffin? Why did their death cause Jack to almost kill himself? Is this a character we know? How many others got off the island? We see Jack and Kate off the island, but who else is there? Also, who is the "he" that is waiting for Kate? Is it Sawyer? Did Kate and Jack not end up together after all? What is the temple that the others are going to? Where is it? What were the others building a runway for? Were they preparing for some sort of plane transport to and from the island? Who is the person trying to find the island that Ben describes? Do they even exist? Why are they searching for the island? How do they know its existence? Is this person on Naomi's boat? Who is Naomi anyways? Apparently she wasn't sent by Penny. So who did send her? Why did she lie? How does she know Penny anyways? What's going to happen now that the survivors have contacted the boat? How did Locke have a vision of Walt? What did Walt tell him to do? Best Moment: There are so many fantastic moments to choose from, but the iconic airport scene at the end of the episode takes it for me. A tremendous twist for sure. Character of the Episode: Charlie. Conclusion: What a fantastic season finale. This was the perfect blend of climactic, shocking, intense and emotional and it provided an absolutely thrilling end to season 3, giving me full confidence that despite a slightly weaker season, this show can still pack one hell of a punch. This season was a little rocky, especially at the beginning where the story progressed slowly and there were several filler episodes that disappointed me heavily. But I can definitely say that the end of the season was some of the best content the show has ever given us. It was dramatic, exciting and powerful which is all I can ask for from a TV show. If there was one major flaw with the show, it's that the flashbacks were quite dull this season outside of a couple of exceptions. The format seemed to be faltering and it was no longer interesting. But with this season finale, it seems like the show is correcting this with the addition of flashforwards, which I'm very glad to see. The recovery of this season has been a pleasant surprise. Earlier this season, I was thinking that the show had lost what made it special and that it may be starting to sharply decline in quality. But these past few episodes have restored my faith, and it feels like the show is once more heading somewhere that has me extremely excited. Sure this season wasn't the most consistent, but I finished it feeling more excited for the future than when I started the season. Because of that, I can say that this was great television overall despite some pretty big flaws. Is it perfect? Definitely not. But I'm left feeling satisfied overall. Score: 91 Summary: Flashbacks show Charlie's 5 best moments of his life: hearing his band on the radio, learning to swim with his dad, getting his family's ring from Liam, being called a hero by Nadia and meeting Claire on the island. In the present, Ben returns to the others camp and declares that they are immediately going to attack the survivors. Alex tells Karl who then goes to warn the survivors. Meanwhile, Jack tells everyone his plan: the others will come to kidnap the women but when they go into the marked tents, the survivors will detonate dynamite to kill them. The camp prepares for this, but when Karl tells them that the others are coming sooner than expected, plans change. Jack decides that 3 people (Sayid, Jin and Bernard) will shoot the dynamite to trigger it while everyone else will go to the radio tower where Sayid hopes to stop Rousseau's signal so that they can use Naomi's phone. Juliet reveals that the others have been jamming signals and that a flooded underwater station called the Looking Glass must be accessed to turn off the jamming. Desmond sees a vision of Claire getting into a helicopter but Charlie dies in the Looking Glass for this to come true. Accepting his fate, Charlie decides to go to the Looking Glass and stop the jammer. However, when he swims there he finds that the station isn't flooded and he is held at gunpoint by 2 people.
The Good: This whole episode felt like a fond farewell to Charlie, who has always been one of the more well-liked characters on the show. Centering the flashbacks around the best moments of his life was a fantastic choice, one that added a lot more emotion to the episode. Because of this, the episode had a fairly somber and bittersweet vibe as Charlie looks death in the face, accepts it, and decides to relive the best parts of his life before the end. It's very sad stuff, and the flashbacks translate Charlie's best memories wonderfully. On the island, Charlie really has his best episode as a character since "The Moth". We see him saying goodbye to everyone, with particularly touching scenes with Claire and Hurley. Then once he's on the boat with Desmond and ready to die, he finally lets out some emotion in a magnificent scene. Desmond comes off as wonderfully sympathetic when he offers to take Charlie's place, and Charlie feels truly heroic when he refuses that option, resolved to give his life for a greater cause. The storytelling here is superb and it's hard not to feel anything watching Charlie prepare to die. But then in a wonderful twist, Charlie makes it to the Looking Glass and finds it isn't flooded. His glee at realizing he is still alive is a fantastic moment of relief for the character, and is neatly interrupted by him being held at gunpoint, leaving him with a pretty big problem he'll have to deal with in the season finale. The moment is an excellent cliffhanger, and I can't wait to see what happens next. The rest of the episode is mostly solid stuff that lays the foundation for the season finale. We learn Jack's plan, and it's a very dramatic one. There's set-up for a major confrontation between the survivors and the others, and it should be very exciting to see what happens there. The plan seems safe and ingenious at first, but when Karl arrives to say that the others are coming earlier than expected, there's suddenly a sense of danger, one that will surely be explored well in the season finale. This episode does its set-up pretty well, and it's enjoyable to watch. Additionally, there's Sayid being wonderfully logical in this episode which I was a big fan of. First he ensures that something is being done to get off the island by discussing the satellite phone, which is a wonderful piece of writing. Then he later convinces Jack to be the leader by taking everyone to the radio tower. He has a really good episode, and it's nice to see the character being used to drive the story forwards by setting up the dramatic hook of a potential rescue being set up in the next episode. With every storyline picking up steam in a big way, the show seems set to deliver a huge climax to finish off this season. As a final detail, I liked the Easter Egg of Charlie meeting Nadia in the alleys. That was a nice little touch. The Bad: The dynamite demonstration at the beginning of the episode was absolutely stupid. I understand that it was done to provide a more dramatic moment for the audience. But when a show does something baffling for the sake of the audience, that completely destroys my immersion and takes away from the credibility of the show. There are so many flaws with this. For one, why does Jack need to do a demonstration anyways? He could just tell them that they will use dynamite! Going out of his way to do a demonstration has so many drawbacks. For one, that explosion was pretty big, so what if somebody nearby heard that and figured out the plan? That's an unnecessary risk to take. Furthermore, it's such a waste of time and resources (dynamite, wire) to do this random explosion in the jungle instead of working to set up the trap they are actually planning to use. Hell, had Jack not wasted time on this demonstration, they might have been able to set up the dynamite trap on time! I'm not happy with how this show treats murder. We have seen it treated seriously in a few specific cases (Michael, Charlie), but for the most part the concept of death and murder is treated so flippantly. Here Jack suggests that they are going to outright murder so many people, and nobody even brings up morality as an issue. It's so odd because surely somebody here would be against the idea of taking lives, even if it is in self defense. After all, as far as everyone knows, the others aren't even planning on killing anybody! It's inexplicable to me that people like Hurley, Claire and Juliet (she lived with these people for years!) see no problem with this. Charlie being a great swimmer is a very poor piece of continuity as he stated back in "White Rabbit" that he doesn't swim. It's a minor gripe, but I still do wish that they found a different story for Charlie that doesn't hurt the continuity of the show. The Unknown: Will the plan work? Or will it somehow go wrong? I imagine all of the others won't be killed in the explosions. Will they go after the 3 shooters? Will the survivors actually be able to get in contact with Naomi's boat? Who is in the Looking Glass? Why isn't the station flooded? What's going on down there? How is Charlie going to get away from these people? Is he still going to die or has he somehow escaped Desmond's vision? What would this mean for Claire and Aaron? Will they still escape on a helicopter? Best Moment: Charlie and Desmond on the boat. Certainly the most powerful moment of the episode. Character of the Episode: Charlie of course. Conclusion: This was a strong episode of set-up elevated by the emotion from Charlie's story. There were some small flaws in the storytelling, but as a whole this served its purpose and left me satisfied and excited for the season finale. Score: 71 Summary: Flashbacks show that Ben's mother died giving birth to him. When Ben is older, his father Roger joins the Dharma Initiative and they arrive on the island. Roger is a drunk and blames Ben for his mother's death. Ben is miserable in Dharma and leaves to try to join the others. He meets Richard who tells him to be patient to make it happen. Many years later, the others purge the Dharma Initiative, killing everyone. Ben kills his father and officially joins the others. On the island, Locke returns to the others' camp and demands to be taken to see Jacob, the mysterious man Ben answers to. Ben declines. Mikhail arrives and tells Ben about Naomi but Locke knocks him out and pressures Ben to take him to Jacob. Ben takes Locke to a cabin where he starts speaking with an empty chair. Assuming it's all a show, Locke tries to leave but suddenly things start flying everywhere and breaking apart. Locke still doesn't believe it though and thinks Jacob doesn't exist. Ben takes Locke to the pit where all the Dharma Initiative bodies were disposed. Ben shoots Locke and leaves him in the pit. Meanwhile, Sawyer and Sayid tell the camp about Naomi and about Juliet's nature as a spy. Jack and Juliet arrive and notify everyone that the others will be attacking in a few days time and that they have a plan.
The Good: This episode makes an attempt to humanize Ben and make us sympathize and relate to him. Not every show puts in the effort to fully humanize its villains, so this is a very respectable effort. And thankfully, it is done magnificently well. There's no denying that Ben is a bad person. His flashback arc concludes with him murdering his father in cold blood and standing by while the others wipe out the entire Dharma Initiative. He does so for his own personal gain. It's a villainous act through and through. And yet I was still able to sympathize with Ben and understand why he did it. He still feels human in spite of what he just did and that's brilliant. The episode does a great job of showcasing the misery Ben feels in the Dharma Initiative as he is trapped with his drunk, uncaring father with very little to actually look forward to. His life feels very sad and it's easy to understand why he would take control of his life and join up with the others. I'm very pleased by the decision to give Ben a centric episode. This show has always used the first flashback episode of a character to surprise us and completely subvert what we already know about the character. This episode does that incredibly well by showing us a surprisingly relatable backstory for the main villain of the series. It changes the way we look at Ben and even gives us reason to believe that his assertion that the others are the "good guys" is genuine. He believes that what he is doing is actually justified. It's wonderful to see the show creating such a deep character as the main villain and I can certainly say that Ben is one of the stronger characters on the show at the moment. The island story in this episode is very well done. The core of this episode focuses on the conflict between Ben and Locke which is as riveting as ever. Locke's return is a big shocker for Ben and immediately puts him in a place of discomfort as Locke has returned with a newfound confidence, demanding to be taken to Jacob and directly threatening Ben's credibility as a leader. Ben's discomfort is evident and so he agrees to take Locke to the cabin in a wonderful storyline. What makes this so good is that we can never be sure if we can actually trust Ben. Is Locke's interpretation of Ben accurate? Does he really not know anything? Is there even a Jacob? If there isn't a Jacob, then why is Ben taking out into the jungle? These questions drive the story forwards and ensure that there is always a hook during Locke and Ben's scenes together. The actual relationship between Locke and Ben is explored very nicely in this episode. We know going into this episode that Ben feels threatened by Locke. He's jealous that Locke has what he does not, and he has already gone out of his way to humiliate him by asking Locke to murder his own father, something we now understand is exactly what Ben did to join the others all those years ago. Ben feels threatened by Locke's presence and does his best to keep Locke beneath him, trying to convince Locke that he has power, when in reality it seems like he doesn't. When Locke asks him about the island, he stalls, and when he does talk, he never reveals much of anything. It's very likely that Ben doesn't even know much about the island himself and that his actions in this episode are simply to manipulate Locke. But Locke sees through this and is hesitant to trust Ben the entire episode. They have a lovely dynamic and every conversation between them is electric. Then it all culminates in the brilliant final scene when Ben disposes of Locke the moment he gets a good chance to. The episode also does a terrific job on the plot side of things. There are tons of great reveals here and a lot of questions are answered, and even more are brought up. We finally get to see the mysterious Jacob who has been mentioned many times in that cabin scene, and it was awesome, a brilliant blend of mystery, horror and suspense (see: Best Moment). There's also plenty revealed in Ben's flashbacks. We get to see the Dharma Initiative firsthand, and while we don't get to see much of their work, it's still fantastic to see them and get some background on their conflict with the others. We also finally learned what happened to the Dharma Initiative and how they were purged. This is all really significant plot development, and it's a joy to uncover this information. The B story in this episode covers all the happenings back at the camp. There is more solid stuff here as the survivors act reasonably and actually communicate with each other. There's also some strong development on the Juliet storyline as Sayid and Sawyer inform everyone that she's a mole. Thankfully, the show avoids all the melodrama that could accompany this and judging by Jack's reveal that he has a plan, there is a much more interesting story that is about to be told. The Bad: How did Roger's van move from where Ben left it? Hurley finds it in the middle of the jungle. Also, why didn't Roger simply get out of the car before Ben gassed him? He had plenty of time to save his own life. The Unknown: Why did Ben have visions of his mom? How did she appear on the island? What are these visions? Do they have something to do with the visions of Christian and Yemi? How did Ben become leader after he was taken in to the others? Also what's with Richard? He looks the same in the flashbacks. This could be chalked up to poor makeup, but Ben has an intriguing line about Richard not knowing birthdays which suggests that there may be more to this. What happened to Annie? Did she die in the purge? What's with the line of ash on the way to Jacob's cabin? What is this cabin anyways? Is Jacob actually real? Or was this all orchestrated by Ben somehow? Why couldn't Locke see Jacob? Why doesn't Jacob like technology? Why does he need Locke's help? How does Locke survive getting shot? It seems unlikely that he'll die here. What is Jack and Juliet's plan? What did they do while they were missing? Are the whispers separate from the others? We see them signalling Emily's arrival in this episode and she evidently isn't involved with the others judging by Richard's reaction to Ben claiming he saw her. What is causing these whispers? Best Moment: The scene in the cabin is outstanding drama. Once the cabin appears, we immediately begin to think that Ben may be telling the truth and that there is a Jacob. The scene is dramatic and suspenseful as we enter this creepy cabin. And then Ben starts talking to a chair, and it seems far more likely that he is manipulating Locke. And right when we doubt Jacob's existence, there's an immensely creepy "help me" line that completely shifts the tone of the scene. Then everything goes crazy for a moment in a wonderfully executed sequence, making for a surprisingly scary and dramatic scene. Character of the Episode: Ben. Conclusion: Another terrific episode. While it doesn't quite hit the highs of "The Brig", this one is arguably even more important because of its major reveals and the way it pulls back the curtain on Ben, making him one of the show's richer characters. This was an absolute blast and I'm very excited to see what's to come in the final 2 episodes of the season. I'm very impressed by the turnaround in quality after the season started so aimlessly. Score: 83 Summary: Flashbacks show Ben telling Locke that he must kill his father to join the others. Locke is unable to do it and so Ben decides to leave him behind. Richard goes to Locke and tells him that he could go to Sawyer to get him to kill his father. In the present, Locke finds Sawyer and takes him into the jungle, telling him that he kidnapped Ben and needs Sawyer to kill him. Sawyer reluctantly goes with Locke and finds himself in the Black Rock. Locke locks him in with Anthony and Sawyer realizes that Anthony is the Mr. Sawyer he has been hunting all along. After Anthony tears Sawyer's letter, Sawyer strangles him to death with a chain. Locke goes to return to the others but leaves Sawyer proof that Juliet is a mole. Meanwhile, Hurley, Charloe, Jin and Desmond decide to bring Sayid into the loop regarding Naomi but don't want to let Jack in. Sayid fixes the satellite phone but can't find any available channels. Kate sees Sayid at work and Sayid tells her the truth, asking her to keep it secret. Kate ends up telling Jack and Juliet anyways out of frustration.
The Good: Locke and Sawyer's storyline in this episode is fantastic. It's a perfect blend of mystery, drama and character work that builds up patiently and intriguingly before delivering one of the most memorable sequences of the show so far towards the end of the episode. The way the mystery is developed early in the episode is perfect. Locke's arrival raises plenty of questions, and his claim that he kidnapped Ben with plans to kill him immediately sounds suspicious. It's difficult to uncover what exactly is going on, but the intrigue makes it exciting to figure out. In the present, we're with Sawyer as he tries to figure out what is really going on, while in the past we get to see the timeline get closer to the present, making the mystery steadily grow clearer and clearer. It's a wonderfully slow paced delivery of information that is executed perfectly to get maximal drama. Now most astute viewers will figure out the Mr. Sawyer twist well before the climax of the episode. But somehow taking away the shock element actually benefits the episode hugely. With the amount of clues this episode subtly gives us towards figuring out why Locke is taking Sawyer out into the jungle, it's very easy to figure out the twist, which leads me to believe that the moment was not written to be a surprise. We are meant to discover the reality of the situation before Sawyer, and the drama from the episode comes from the anticipation of Sawyer confronting the man he's been hunting all this time rather than wondering what happens next. Removing the surprise from the moment of the Mr. Sawyer reveal actually benefits the scene as well. Instead of feeling meaningless shock, we are allowed to spend the entire scene in Sawyer's shoes, getting to appreciate the emotional reaction he has to finally meeting the man responsible for the deaths of his parents. And Josh Holloway does a superb job of making the most out of the moment. The entire sequence in the Black Rock is some of the best television that this show has produced. The focus is almost solely on the three characters of Sawyer, Locke and Anthony and they completely steal the show. Everything Anthony says in the scene is excellent, adding more and more intrigue to the scene. He reveals Locke's paralysis to Sawyer, confirms that Flight 815 crashed, fuels the possibility of the island being a sort of hell, and finally reveals to Sawyer who he really is. It's tremendously entertaining stuff that escalates in tension the further it goes on. Everything after Sawyer learns Anthony's identity is somehow even better, being a masterclass of tension and drama leading up to Sawyer murdering Anthony in cold blood (see: Best Moment). The fallout from this scene is also excellent. It's great to see Sawyer and Locke bond a little more with this experience and they share a brilliantly written scene following Sawyer murdering Anthony. I really appreciate the detail of Sawyer vomiting after his exhaustively emotional ordeal, and Locke thanking him was really good. I liked that they addressed Locke's paralysis and Juliet's status as a mole, ensuring that the entertainment did not come to a halt following Anthony's death. The episode went to its logical conclusion, and went the extra mile to make it more meaningful. The side story involving Naomi was also very well done. I really like the decision not to tell Jack about her due to his affiliation with Juliet, and the possibility of rescue is far too important to risk. The decision to rope Sayid in was pleasingly logical, and I love that he immediately interrogated Naomi with suspicion of her being an other. I thought the interrogation scenes were very good as they gave us the necessary exposition in an interesting way. I enjoyed getting a better look at the others through Locke's flashbacks. There are still plenty of details the show seems to be avoiding but it was nice to get some more hints at who they are and what they do. The Bad: The one big problem in this episode is Kate. Kate stumbles upon the fact that Sayid and co. have found a potential rescue and so she knows to keep it quiet from Juliet. But then she inexplicably marches straight to Jack and Juliet and openly tells them both about Naomi, a move that makes no sense whatsoever and seems so incredibly stupid. Surely rescue is more important to Kate than expressing frustration towards Jack. I wasn't happy about Ben telling Locke about how Juliet is his mole. Why would he divulge such important information to the man who was working against his interests mere days ago? The Unknown: Is Jack trustworthy? What did Juliet want him to tell Kate about? Does he have some kind of plan in place? How did Anthony end up on the island? Did the others somehow bring him? Is there any weight to Anthony's theory of everyone being in hell? Anthony confirms that Flight 815 was actually discovered, so Naomi isn't lying about that. How is that possible? How do you get initiated as an other? Did everyone else go through a similar process of proving themselves like Locke did? Also what is the purpose of the others? Richard seems discontent to be working on fertility. What other things do the others want to be working on instead? What was Rousseau doing at the Black Rock? What was the dynamite for? Best Moment: Upon learning who Anthony Cooper is, Sawyer carefully probes him to ensure that this is the same man who killed his parents. Anthony remains cocky and confident despite Sawyer's obvious change, creating a very unique and intense dynamic. Slowly, Sawyer gives Anthony the letter and gets him to read it. Anthony discredits everything and refuses to take responsibility, getting under Sawyer's skin more and more. The tension boils and boils throughout this scene until everything explodes when Anthony callously tears Sawyer's letter. The music halts, and we get an outstanding moment as Sawyer angrily and aggressively chokes out Anthony, unleashing all of those years of pent up rage. It's a thoroughly satisfying moment and one that hits all of the emotional beats it tries to. Near flawless television. Character of the Episode: Sawyer. Conclusion: This was a brilliant episode that gives us emotional closure to one of both Locke and Sawyer's defining storylines of the series. Not only does that make this episode significant and suspenseful, but it also makes it emotional and unforgettable. This is "Lost" doing what it does best. Despite the slow start, the back half of this season looks to be picking up a lot. I'm very excited for what comes next. Score: 83 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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