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
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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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