Summary: Flashbacks show the various survivors preparing for flight 815. Hurley barely makes the plane after a string of bad luck. Charlie has to fight to keep enough heroin to take with him. Jin is told by Mr. Paik's man that he isn't free. Everybody boards the plane. On the island, Rousseau kidnaps Claire's baby, now named Aaron. Rousseau wants to trade him to the others for Alex. Charlie and Sayid hunt down Rousseau and get Aaron back. Charlie finds the plane full of heroin and takes some. On the raft, Michael, Walt, Sawyer and Jin bond more with each other. Eventually they see a blip on the radar at night. Sawyer gets Michael to shoot the flare and they are discovered by a boat. The people on the boat appear to be the other people living on the island and they kidnap Walt and shoot Sawyer before blowing up the raft. Meanwhile, Arzt tries to teach the others how to handle the dynamite but he blows up. Jack, Kate, Locke and Hurley divvy up the dynamite between themselves and head back. They are attacked by the monster which is revealed to be a column of smoke. It tries to take Locke into a hole but Kate throws dynamite at it so it leaves. Locke and Jack debate between science and faith as they walk back. They use the dynamite to blow open the hatch right as Hurley notices the numbers inscribed on the side.
The Good: This was a fantastic finale that ended the season with a bang. This episode was fast-paced and exciting with numerous big moments and dramatic reveals. Everything made this episode feel important and it served as a memorable climax to what has been an exceptionally strong first season. There were four main stories throughout this episode that gave majority of the cast important things to do while also leading up to three main climactic moments. The story that had the most going on was probably the Black Rock mission. It started off shockingly enough with Arzt's unexpected demise. Even thought the moment was genuinely shocking and Hurley got some good jokes, the early parts of this storyline had some big problems (see: The Bad). Everything that came afterwards was pretty awesome though. Locke and Jack's relationship developed spectacularly well in a few outstanding scenes. I really enjoyed the scene of Locke removing the dynamite. His talk of board games was consistent with Locke's hobbies in "Walkabout" and "Deus Ex Machina", plus it led into a lovely moment as Locke jokingly frightens both Jack and the viewers with a "bzzzt". While Locke had fun in the moment, it's evident that Jack didn't appreciate the joke. The tensions between them are high and Jack looks at Locke like he is insane for joking around with dynamite. Then things get to a new level with the reveal of the monster. First and foremost, I can't think of a more unexpected thing for the monster to be and I really applaud the creativity of the showrunners to come up with the idea of the monster just being a column of smoke. I have plenty of questions to ask about that (see: The Unknown). But the monster also added a lot to the Jack/Locke conflict as Locke inexplicably requested that Jack leave him because he will be okay. Of course we know what motivates Locke, but Jack has no idea and is confused by Locke's belief that he has some greater purpose on the island. Their ensuing man of science vs man of faith conversation is as fascinating as it gets, and the scene ended up being the best of the episode (see: Best Moment) which is saying a lot when you consider the number of amazing scenes in this episode. This storyline ended with the climactic moment that closed out the episode, and it's a pretty big moment. This entire season was oriented around this mysterious hatch and the end of this episode finally sees it opened, and in dramatic fashion. In typical "Lost" fashion, the opening of the hatch went the extra mile to get more drama as Hurley sees the numbers on the side and goes into a complete moment. Not only was it exciting, but it also suggests that Hurley may have to reveal his curse to everybody since he was shouting "the numbers are bad" very loudly. I'm excited to see the fallout of this. Furthermore, I'm very happy with the season's cliffhanger. Some people will be very mad that the contents of the hatch weren't shown in the episode, but I think leaving it for next season was a great decision, and it ends season 1 with a memorable visual. The second storyline was of Michael, Walt, Sawyer and Jin on the raft. The scenes between these four were wonderfully well done and the isolation of the four characters allowed them all to develop nicely in interesting ways. A number of the scenes here were well written and elicited a reaction from me. I really liked Sawyer showing that he has softened up a little bit despite still being an asshole overall. I especially liked when he vehemently denied that he was singing Bob Marley, and then later when he smugly read everybody's letters despite Walt telling him not to. I was also really happy with the development of Jin and Michael's relationship. Seeing that they were at each other's throats earlier in the season, it's impressive that the show has allowed them to become friends in a natural way. The scene of Jin entrusting his watch to Michael was a lovely little moment that resolved the conflict between them in a beautiful way. Then much like the first storyline, this had a huge climactic scene that ended things off in dramatic fashion. This story had a hugely important ending as it confirmed that there is actually a group of people living on this island. The build-up to this reveal was simply spectacular. The tension built up brilliantly as the characters argued whether or not it is worth to fire off a flare. Then once the boat appeared, it seemed like we were watching a rare moment of sheer joy. But something didn't feel quite right. Surely they wouldn't be rescued at the end of the first season. Then the act is dropped and the man on the boat chillingly says "the thing is, we're gonna have to take the boy". The change in tone is downright frightening and the scene goes from relief to horror as Walt is kidnapped, Sawyer is shot and the raft is blown up. The characters are left in a downright terrible position and I can't wait to see what they are going to do to get out of being abandoned in the middle of the ocean. The third storyline of the episode is one that neatly sets up the reveal of the others at the end of the episode. Rousseau's motivation to kidnap Aaron is to trade to the others because they want the boy. But of course it turns out that Aaron isn't the boy they want. It's a lovely little line of dialogue that brilliantly sets up the conclusion of the raft story. But to backpedal a little bit, I really enjoyed the Rousseau story overall. Her stealing Aaron is a surprising twist, and it's evident that there is more to this idea than what is given to us in this episode due to Claire's sudden memory of her (see: The Unknown). Anyways, this storyline sees Charlie and Sayid forming an unlikely team to bring Aaron back. Both of them are really good here. Charlie is passionate and heroic while Sayid is intelligent and composed. This gives us an unexpectedly great team to follow this storyline with, and a lot of their interactions are brilliant. The fourth and final storyline is the flashback story, which is just as fun in this episode as it is in part 1. There were good moments that allowed us to reflect on the story as a whole. Charlie pathetically fighting a fellow junkie over the last of the heroin and Jin being told he isn't free by Mr. Paik's agent were standout moments that showed us how far these two characters have come. In the past, they were both controlled by something, but on the island they have freed themselves from their prison. Hurley's comedy sequence is the other memorable flashback we get and it is fantastic. This scene was the funniest "Lost" has ever been, and there is so much to enjoy as we see Hurley scrambling desperately to get on the plane that took him to the island. These flashbacks were fine on their own, but they were lacking something special to make me believe that it was worth seeing these characters at the airport. Thankfully, the episode found exactly what it needed at the end. The boarding of flight 815 was an unexpectedly emotional moment, and it was genuinely sad seeing these characters getting on the plane that would change their lives forever. The episode lingered on the boarding scene to draw out as much emotion as possible, and it really worked. Scenes like this prove that "Lost" is a show that understands the importance of emotion in television, and that goes a long way towards making a TV show that will be remembered for a long time. Some other scenes in the episode deserve praise. Shannon and Sayid's relationship hasn't been particularly good, but I enjoyed the scenes of them getting over their problems in this episode. Lastly, I really liked Sun contemplating the idea of the characters being punished by being stranded on the island. Jin mentioned this same thing to her in the previous episode, and it makes perfect sense for her to dwell on his words. The Bad: The death of Arzt was another shocking moment in an episode that was full of them, but the moment didn't work at all. The main issue I have with his death is that it was mostly played for laughs. It seems like a tone-deaf way to illustrate the horrifying concept of death, a concept that should not be treated so lightly. It's pretty frustrating to see death portrayed like this especially considering how well done Boone's death was. Furthermore, I get the sense that "Lost" created this annoying, unlikeable character for the sole purpose of killing him off. It's not good writing to introduce a character that accomplishes absolutely nothing, only to kill them off for no reason. The haphazard treatment of Arzt left me disappointed and it made me look like a fool for being interested in learning more about him. Why wasn't anybody talking about the smoke monster? Hurley, Kate and Jack have just witnessed some supernatural stuff on the island for the first time yet nobody is talking about it. You would think Hurley would not be shutting up about this horrific smoke monster, but he is quiet and everyone inexplicably ignores what they have seen. It isn't realistic that they would say nothing about the monster, and it comes off like the writers wanted to show us the true form of the monster without it impacting the story at all. That make me question the decision to put this reveal here in the first place. The Unknown: The Black Rock is apparently a slave ship. That means it must be several centuries old at least. How old is it exactly and how did it end up on the island? Why did Claire scratch Rousseau? When did this happen? Was Rousseau somehow involved in her kidnapping? Will Charlie start using again now that he has found a consistent supply of heroin? It's one thing to kick drugs when you have no access to them, but it's another thing when the temptation is there. What the hell is the smoke monster? How does something like that even exist? Where was it taking Locke? What was inside of that hole? Does it live there? Why did it take Locke? In the previous review, I suggested that the monster lives in the dark territory. The fact that the group encountered it again seems to suggest that it does live there, as does this mysterious hole. Kate mentions that the number 23 does have some meaning to her. Have these numbers somehow managed to impact everyone's lives? What is the significance of this? Who are these others? How did they get a boat? Where do they live? How did they know about the raft? Why did they take Walt? Is it because he's special? How did Rousseau hear them saying they were coming for the boy? Was it the whispers? How are the others connected to the whispers? They seemed pretty normal to me. How are Michael, Jin and Sawyer going to survive? How bad is Sawyer's bullet wound? What is inside of the hatch? I noticed a broken ladder inside of it. How are they going to get down? Best Moment: The Jack and Locke conversation was a truly special moment. We have waited a full season to see somebody talk about the supernatural aspects of the island, and we finally get to see it happen here. Locke talks to Jack about the strange existence of the island and he speaks about his thoughts of destiny. Jack, thinking Locke is crazy, doesn't want to hear it and we end up getting some compelling verbal sparring between the two. I was particularly fascinated by Locke's claim that Boone was a sacrifice. It's an extraordinary line to show Locke's devotion to the island, but the line simultaneously tells Jack that Locke is even more delusional than he had imagined. It's great that the writers are able to make us understand the views of both characters, and I really want to see more from these two in the second season. Character of the Episode: Locke. Conclusion: What a splendid finale. There were emotional moments, stunning twists, chilling conversations and dramatic sequences. This had everything you could want from a supersized episode that culminated a phenomenal first season. This episode delivered in every way. This season was incredible. It's amazing that this show has created so many engrossing characters in just 25 episodes while simultaneously giving us an intriguing plot that has me desperately wanting to start the next episode. This season was a near-perfect beginning for a TV show and it delivered in nearly every episode. There was a rough patch in the middle of the season, but the beginning and ending ruled and there were several episodes that will go down as all-time classics. I couldn't ask for a better first season of a TV show. Score: 85
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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