Summary: In flashsideways, Desmond returns to run Locke over again. Ben stops him but is beaten up by Desmond and remembers him. He tells Locke about it, and Locke goes to Jack, convinced that he is supposed to be fixed. Desmond turns himself in to Sawyer, and while being transferred to prison, he breaks out with Kate and Sayid, with the help of Hurley and Ana Lucia. On the island, Jack and the other survivors decide that they will go after MIB to kill him. They head to find Desmond and the well. On the way, they are intercepted by Jacob who throws his own ashes in the fire, allowing himself to be seen by everyone until it burns out. He explains why he brought them there and that one of them needs to replace him. Jack chooses to do it and becomes the next protector. Ben, Richard, and Miles get C4 from the barracks and run into Widmore and Zoe, who fled there. Zoe tells them that MIB is coming, Widmore hides and Miles runs away. Richard goes to talk to MIB who possibly kills him. MIB approaches Ben who tells him where Widmore is hiding. After MIB threatens Penny, Widmore tells MIB that he brought Desmond as a last resort, but Ben shoots him, saying he doesn't get to save his daughter. MIB goes to the well and finds that Desmond had been taken out. He reveals to Ben that he plans to destroy the island.
The Good: There were some sound developments in this episode to set up the finale. Jacob's speech to the remaining candidates was well done and it entirely outlined the stakes of this final conflict. We have it explicitly stated why everyone was brought to the island, what they need to do, and what they are fighting against. This was a scene that we needed, and it nicely brought everything together and closed out Jacob's role in the story. Some nice touches in Jacob's answers include him saying that he specifically picked flawed individuals like himself, and that he gave the candidates a choice, not forcing the role of protector onto them like his mother did to him. I really appreciate how Jacob has been humanized, and that added a lot more weight to his words. Jack's decision to take on the role of protector was a great moment, one that the show has been building up to for a while. I enjoyed Ben's scenes in this episode. He hasn't been given a whole lot to do this season, so it was nice to see this episode devote a lot of time to him. Seeing his actions in this episode, it would be easy to assume that Ben is back to being the same horrible and evil person he was in previous seasons. But that wouldn't take into account how his character grew in the episode "Dr. Linus", an episode that highlighted the good side of Ben. Because we have seen Ben change, I think it is fair to assume that what we see in this episode is Ben doing everything he can to survive. He sells out Widmore, he kills him, and he allies with MIB to ensure his own survival. And it's important to remember that he still has a walkie-talkie to contact Miles with. It's likely that Ben will try to turn on MIB when he gets a chance. I enjoyed the way this story was told and it gives some fascinating depth to some of Ben's scenes. It's chilling to see Ben sit down outside of the barracks, awaiting his own death as MIB casually walks over to him, knife in hand. The fear is portrayed superbly by Michael Emerson, and when MIB gives Ben a chance to live, you can see him take the opportunity with both hands and give up Widmore. You can portray Ben's betrayal of Widmore as petty revenge for Widmore killing Alex but it is more than that. It is Ben trying to save himself and come up with a plan, and I believe that Ben's decision to kill Widmore was to stop him from giving MIB valuable information. This depth adds more substance to Ben's storyline in this episode. I was pleased to see Sawyer feeling fittingly guilty after what happened on the sub, and it was nice to see Jack absolve him of any blame. I also enjoyed the cameos from Danielle and Ana Lucia in the flashsideways. The Bad: Something about this episode felt flat. The storylines on the island were fine enough, but they were missing that extra bit of emotion that we usually get from "Lost". The resolution of the Widmore storyline should have been a huge moment, but it was executed in a way that made it feel like an afterthought - just another loose end to tie up. There should have been a more important feel to those scenes. Similarly, the scenes with Jacob weren't as good as I had hoped. I like the scenes but I can't help but feel that they should have been better. It would have been nice to see more of a reaction from the candidates to what Jacob was saying, and I especially would have liked to see a greater emphasis on what Jack was sacrificing to become protector of the island. The moment that Jack says he will do the job is good, but it's not great because that extra emotional element that "Lost" usually nails is missing from the scene. Widmore's return was executed poorly and had a disappointing conclusion. After how central to the plot the Ben/Widmore rivalry was, you would expect their reunion to be a huge moment. But it's happening far too late in the game to feel important, and there is no emotion to any of their scenes together. I was disappointed that such a compelling relationship was shoved to the side and given a flat conclusion. Furthermore, I was unsatisfied with Widmore telling Ben and Richard that Jacob came to him. If that's true, it's hard for it to have any meaning because it is hard to see why Jacob would come to him. Apparently Jacob showed him the error of his ways, which is far too vague and lifeless of a line to have any impact. How has Widmore changed after this meeting? What did Jacob tell him to get him to change? I have no idea. This reveal means nothing if I haven't even seen how it affected the characters and the story. Widmore's return to the island deserved much more screentime and I can't help but be disappointed with how he was handled. I'm still not entirely sure what to make of the flashsideways world. The scenes in this episode were good and enjoyable, and there was a sense of momentum heading into the finale. But I'm still so confused about what Desmond's goal is and how he is able to know and do the things that he is doing (see: The Unknown). That makes it tough for me to emotionally invest in seeing Desmond reunite everyone, even though I feel like I am supposed to be rooting for him to do so. Hopefully the finale can provide us with an emotional edge to bring together this strange flash-sideways story. There were some small things I also did not like. If Richard was killed by MIB, that's got to be one of the worst deaths on the show. He deserved much better. Danielle telling Ben he was like a father to Alex was a well-acted scene, but it was too heavy-handed to have much impact. MIB telling Ben that he plans to destroy the island seems stupid. MIB just promised Ben that he would be in charge once he was gone! The Unknown: What is that cut that Jack has on his neck? I remember seeing it back in "LA X Part 1". Why is Desmond calling Jack claiming that he found his father's body? How does he know that Jack lost his father's body in the first place? How is he able to go after Locke knowing that he won't accidentally kill him? How was he able to organize the escape with Kate and Sayid? Did Jacob actually visit Widmore? Why? Couldn't he have just gone straight to Desmond instead? Or even Ilana, somebody we know that Jacob trusts? Talking with Widmore seems like a waste. How does MIB plan to use Desmond to destroy the island? Who took Desmond out of the well? Did the candidates get to him first? Was it Sayid who let him out? Miles? Or someone else? Is Richard really dead? Best Moment: Jack becoming protector of the island. It's the culmination of his arc and the moment felt significant. I appreciated the little touch of Jacob saying "now you're like me", the same way his mother did to him. Character of the Episode: Ben. Conclusion: This episode set up the finale decently, but a lot of the moments didn't land as well as they should have. This was an alright episode, but there is a lot of pressure on this finale to give us an emotional and suspenseful climax that is worth the many tedious episodes we have gotten this season. The pieces are in place, and I hope that "Lost" can deliver a fitting and memorable conclusion. Score: 57
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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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