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
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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