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
1 Comment
Joe Y
10/28/2021 02:53:58 pm
Here are my ratings for S3:
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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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