Lost Marathon: Season 5, Episode 4 Review: The Little Prince

The Little Prince
Original Airdate: February 4, 2009
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan and Melinda Hsu Taylor
Director: Stephen Williams

Certainly Kate’s been criticized a lot, as her character has been used more as a piece in the love triangle than as one that could function outside of that dynamic. This is mainly fault of the writers, but an effort has been made to give her something more substantial to do as Aaron’s guardian/mother off island. As the lie was meant to protect those left behind from Widmore’s clutches, it made that purpose all the more strong. Unfortunately not much is done with the “raised by another” prophesy or Aaron’s importance in the story here and that leaves something to be desired.

Of the Oceanic Six adults, Kate has had the best outcome coming back. Aside from the occasional “you’re not his real mother”, she got off a rap that would’ve assured her life in prison and is wealthy thanks to the Oceanic settlement. Why would she want to head back to the island, especially as one of the terms of her verdict is staying put? The answer of course ties to Aaron, making it no surprise that Ben is the one trying to take him away.

The primary issue of Kate raising Aaron is that it defies the warning the psychic gave Claire before she boarded 815, which happened to drop her off in the one place where she couldn’t give him up (at least not for a while). According to him, Aaron can’t be happy without Claire as his mother, and she’s MIA. Sadly, nothing is followed up upon with the results of another raising Aaron, which may be something they’re holding onto for the final season.

On top of the DNA drama, Ben is also likely behind the man in Sayid’s hospital room. Sometime between the flash forwards of “The Economist” and last season’s finale, Sayid turned on Ben and now Ben has to use something else to get him to go along, in this case the constant threat of violence and abduction to show he’ll never be safe off island. The note in the man’s pocket containing Kate’s address is another ploy, as part of Sayid’s mission killing people for Ben was to keep the Oceanic Six safe.

Back on the island the big problem is that the threat of displacement is growing. Charlotte survived her breakdown last episode, but was unconscious for a while. Although it’s wrong, Locke’s assumption about getting the Oceanic Six back makes sense: the jumps started right after they left, so from his perspective they would stop after they returned. He doesn’t even think it has anything to do with Ben turning the wheel, but his limited knowledge brings him to The Orchid because it is the only thing they have that can get someone off the island.

The jump from the last episode takes them to November 1 according to Lostpedia, the first time any of them have been in proximity to their past selves. In this case it is Locke avoiding himself pounding on the hatch door the night Desmond almost killed himself. While he claims he appreciates the pain he felt that night as what got him to that point, the writers returning to this moment reminds us that despite his journey, Locke still has a lot of insecurity.

Through the time jumps, the love triangle is still a major piece of the episode. Besides Jack and Kate on the mission to find out who is out to take Aaron, there is the moment where Sawyer witnesses Kate deliver Aaron. Using Aaron to tie them together is pretty clever. I’m not as interested in the Jater/Skater stuff as Desmond & Penny or Sun & Jin, but Josh Holloway really sold it here: Sawyer is in love with Kate, and that is motivating him to go with Locke’s plan to return those who left to the island.

Then the Island Six are transported somewhere in the future, as indicated by the deserted camp. The only clues are two outriggers and a water jug with a logo for Ajira Airlines, a product seen in an alternate reality game, stuck on. As the castaways use one of the outriggers to paddle to the Orchid, they suddenly find themselves under fire by an unknown group using the other outrigger. Juliet, in a shot that professional marksmen probably couldn’t make, hits one of them, but they can only knock a few holes in Sawyer’s paddle before being flashed away. Who they are is up for a lot of debate. It could be anyone, including some of them from the future.

The importance of The Orchid station grows as Miles and Juliet begin to show symptoms of displacement. Daniel theorizes that the duration of your “exposure” ie, time on the island determines when you’ll begin to be symptomatic of whatever Charlotte’s been suffering from. With Miles and Juliet now showing symptoms, it can be assumed that both Miles and Charlotte have been on the island for more than three years.

The Oceanic Six story may shed light on the Freighties’ purpose on the island. Miles, Daniel and Charlotte may be unaware participants of an Oceanic Six type return mission. These first episodes this season and last season’s finale have dropped plenty of hints that the Freighties’ are connected to the island. Maybe Widmore is returning these people in his attempt to return to the island and claim it as his.

At last, this episode confirms that Jin survived the freighter explosion and was within “the radius” during each jump so far. With all the spoilers around, it’s a wonder they were able to keep that under wraps. Sure we knew he’d be back, but there was no telling in what capacity, with dead people popping up in visions and as the smoke monster.

As mentioned in an earlier review, Jin needed to be alive. The route Sun is heading, prepared to murder out of revenge, can only be corrected by having Jin back in her life. It really only mattered that she thought he was dead to motivate this change of character. Also him being alive is the only thing that’ll make her want to go back to the island.

The cliffhanger is a non-surprise. Who else would this crew be with everyone speaking French, a young pregnant woman and crewmen named Robert and Montand? That said, this is a good use of the island jumps to fill in blanks of the island’s story. Although most of the broad strokes of Rousseau’s story are known, the key mystery with the sickness her crew succumbed to is up for exploration.

It was rumored that Rousseau was killed off because Mira Furlan didn’t want to live in Hawaii, but they can use another actress because of the 16 year gap and overcome that obstacle in telling her story. Aside from being much younger, her face is much fuller than Furlan’s. This is an obvious choice, as Rousseau from the first four seasons was worn from 16 years of solitude, and here she’s young and kind, clueless to the horror she’s about to experience.

This episode was an average piece of transition, getting the characters to where they need to be for the next phase of the story. It’s not terrible, but a lot more could’ve been done with the mystery of Aaron’s purpose than just that Kate’s under pressure to protect him (and did we even need that opening flashback?)

Overall Score: 7/10

Lost Marathon: Season 5, Episode 5 Review: This Place is Death

This Place Is Death
Original Airdate: February 11, 2009
Writer: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Director: Paul Edwards

Many fans (including myself) speculated that season five was going to be a season long quest to return to the island. However, that no longer is the case. The season’s plot has been moving faster than any to date and there is no way to draw that out for a full season. In fact, this is the first turning point in what is basically a four act season.

This episode continues the trend of having the centric character not have a traditional flashback/forward subplot, and even cuts out the establishing flashback the others have gotten, making it a unique episode. However, there are solid character moments, and a big reveal regarding a piece of the mythology.

One of the most important character pieces of the Oceanic Six saga has been Sun & Jin’s separation. Sun believed Jin was killed in the freighter explosion and devoted the following three years to exacting revenge on those she deemed responsible. Of course, learning of his survival changes her attitude to wanting to find him. While Jin wants to find her as well, Jin’s experiences with Rousseau and the flashes convince him that she shouldn’t return.

The first two acts are largely devoted to Rousseau’s back story. While it’s unfortunate that a Rousseau flashback can’t happen, the time travel device is the next best way to tell it and they probably won’t have a better time to do it. Also, it’s the key motivator behind Jin’s decisions as Locke’s plans to retrieve the Six come to be.

Here we meet the crew, who are largely nondescript aside from Rousseau, Robert and Montand. Montand is a bit arrogant and sexist, making him unsympathetic monster fodder. Rousseau and Robert come off as a couple deep in love, which if it had more development or a full episode’s progression would’ve made his betrayal and her subsequent killing him a more substantial moment despite us knowing the outcome.

Soon after they head out to find the radio tower they encounter The Monster, who kills Nadine and drags Montand, sans one arm, to what is likely The Temple. Since Ben called The Temple the one secure place on the island and The Monster has been described as a security system, it makes sense that this is what it protects. This appearance is huge in terms of The Monster’s story as well as Rousseau’s.

Considering the Monster can imitate the dead, it’s likely that it was the one calling for help in Montand’s voice as Montand’s tone felt flat. While he may be in such shock that he doesn’t acknowledge the pain, he still had his arm violently torn from his body. Anything other than screaming profanities and “My arm!” should be viewed skeptically. However, they don’t know that nor would have any way of knowing, so they buy it.

Just after Jin keeps Rousseau from entering the hole under The Temple, he jumps ahead two months in the middle of Rousseau’s purging of her crew. As she confronts Robert, she says that going down the hole changed them, suggesting The Monster is directly tied to the sickness, although none of the Losties that encountered it have experienced much that could be construed as sickness. The sickness isn’t shown explicitly on the show, which is obviously the bridge between the two flashes. Rousseau thought Jin may be sick and a “carrier” (ie Other), but that doesn’t explain why she wouldn’t have been infected in his proximity. However, she was already paranoid and probably insane. While there aren’t many answers here, the beginning of follow through is welcome for this long dormant element of the mythology.

There’s been a lot of debate over whether Rousseau recognized Jin in 2004. Those who are skeptical believe the conditions would make it near impossible for her to forget Jin. However, it was 16 years earlier and in between meetings her mental state deteriorated, not to mention the person she saw was the same age and as a part of a larger group. Also, they never had much screen time together. The big piece for critics is that at no point in Rousseau’s account did she mention finding a stranger who guided her crew through. Between those who believe she was traumatized enough to forget to those who believe it was too much to forget, this topic will be going for some time.

Jin doesn’t meet the other survivors until a new flash takes him away from Rousseau’s rifle. Some have theorized that Jin was flashing to a different time than the Island Six (briefly Seven, then Five in this episode). While that adds an interesting layer, it may be too much for a show that’s already asking a lot of its viewers. Another thing surprisingly not brought up is why Sawyer didn’t ask if this was “present” Jin or Jin from some other point on his timeline. Regardless, it was nice to see Sawyer and Jin reunited. Sawyer and Jin have a lot of history going back to the raft and with their people dead or off the island and unobtainable, any friendly face would be welcome.

The need to get to The Orchid grows as the flashes come faster to where there’s only seconds between some of them. Some have theorized this is also because they are getting closer to the wheel, which appears to be the source of the white light as it rushed up the well shaft when Locke came down. This is also a narrative device showing the island story reaching a climax. While it would’ve been nice to see more of the island’s “greatest hits”, they clearly didn’t want to spend a whole season on it.

Charlotte then becomes the latest casualty as her body has had enough time jumps. It’s a bit disappointing to see her go before she got a centric episode (still waiting for an answer to anything related to Libby). Thankfully, Charlotte offers some hints to her story before passing. She was a Dharma child as suspected and pursued anthropology to find them again (hence her smile when she found the Dharma polar bear in her only flashback). Someone had to go to elevate the threat of the time jumps, and she was the most expendable.

Before dying, Charlotte jumps throughout her life almost like Desmond did. While much of Charlotte’s disjointed sayings seem to be from various points in her life, at others she comes off as possessed, singling out Jin with the warning that he shouldn’t bring her back because of the eponymous declaration. Why just her and not demand that Locke not bring any of them back? Yes Locke would’ve done it regardless and Charlotte couldn’t physically stop him, but it’s odd.

They make Locke’s trip to the wheel as difficult as possible shifting to increasingly difficult routes to the wheel. During the last flash Locke breaks his legs, symbolizing his paralysis, and having to push the wheel forces him to leave the one place he’s felt he belonged to. This journey to set things right may be, if Christian is any indicator, a way of punishing Locke for not pushing the wheel first (besides everyone jumping all through time, most of them getting killed, and receiving excruciating headaches).

Between Charlotte’s demise and the memory of Rousseau killing Robert fresh in his mind, it makes sense that Jin would make Locke promise not to bring back Sun even if that meant not seeing her again. Of course the irony there is that the ring Jin wanted to use as proof of death was appropriated by Ben as proof of life to convince Sun to return. This comes right after Ben and Jack’s attempt to get everybody to go back fails miserably, leaving Sayid and Kate with Aaron heading out intending never to speak to them again. Despite the failure, getting Sun to come along based on a promise (from Ben no less) is a huge victory.

Like Jin, Sun is motivated by her lost love. Throughout her flash forwards and this season, Sun’s main drive has been revenge. It even seemed like she was putting Ji Yeon on the back burner. Learning he was alive shifted that attitude. However, I doubt Sun would be won over by Ben’s word alone. He had the ring, but why wouldn’t he just give it to her there since he had it on him? It seems more like the story needed them to be this way rather than a natural progression.

Again, Ben’s naivette that his actions couldn’t be construed as bad comes through again with the awkward conversation between Sun and Jack en route to Eloise. They speak as if Ben isn’t there and confronts them in the way a dad would short of saying “so help me I will turn this car around”. While it may be a little silly, it adds the question of what did Ben do to keep them safe. He claimed the people Sayid killed were a threat, but his offense implies that he took some direct action rather than using a conduit.

Then Desmond, on his mission, collides with Jack, Ben & Sun outside of Eloise’s church. Of course, no one is surprised that Eloise is Daniel’s mother. It is this season’s “Michael’s Ben’s inside man”. However, Desmond showing up at the same time is another piece of destiny, or at least Desmond proving to be an x-factor in the plans of Ben and Eloise. Ben apparently didn’t know this connection. Of course it’s more complicated when Desmond finds the woman he is supposed to consult is the same one who ruined 8 years of his life.

It’s confusing that Eloise would allow them to go forward with the return mission without everyone who left. They have emphasized that all needed to return within this tight deadline, but here she acts like a teacher cutting a kid a break on late homework. This may be because Eloise knows a thing or two about course correction, but it doesn’t work with the stakes established so far.

One final piece worth mentioning is that this episode had more graphic violence than usual. Between Charlotte’s bloody nose, Montand’s ripped off arm, Robert with the bullet hole in his head and Locke’s fracture breaking the skin, it was shocking for a network TV show. This seemed to happen more when they were at the 10 PM slot, but the increased gore is a likely product of the raised stakes as the show’s ending comes.

This episode is essentially the end of the introduction phase of the season. Locke’s left the island on the journey that’ll lead him to the coffin, the Island 5 are waiting for further instructions and the return to the island has begun. Now what was presumed would be a season long pursuit is to be wrapped up by half way through the season, which is symptomatic of the show moving more towards plot as this, the 91st of 120 episodes, is the beginning of the final quarter of the series.

Overall Score: 8/10

Lost Marathon: Season 5, Episode 3 Review: Jughead

Jughead
Original Airdate: January 28, 2009
Writer: Elizabeth Sarnoff and Paul Zbyszewski
Director: Rod Holcomb

While the Oceanic Six preparing to return to the island is the biggest piece of the “Three Years Later” subplot, they weren’t the only ones to get off the island. Several characters are off who presumably still have something important to add to the story (Walt). So they bench the Oceanic Six in favor of the story of Desmond’s quest to locate Daniel’s mother while Daniel tries to help The Others with their bomb situation on the island 53 years previous.

Since he was never seen in flash forwards, Desmond’s post rescue life was unknown, here it’s shown that Desmond and Penny got married and had a child, named Charlie after the Lostie who made their reunion possible. Of course the other Charlie is Penny’s father, the reason why they are in hiding on the house boat. With the time jumps, some are guessing that Charlie is a young Charles Widmore. While it’s great that Lost has people theorizing about what’s going on, this theory is too much. Penny would be her own granddaughter (not to mention the continually degrading DNA with the circular nature of this time travel)! Even if they softened it by having her be adopted, it’s still a bit creepy.

With Desmond and Penny together and two more seasons on the clock, many viewers are rightfully worried that this relationship is going to end in tragedy like almost every other coupling on this show. Some are waiting for the “trouble in paradise” that comes whenever a couple gets together mid series and they need something to replace the tension. There were hints of that when Penny chimed in that Scotland was also where Desmond broke her heart, but it’s not much further than that.

Also, there could have been tension with Desmond’s mission, but Penny was easily sold on the idea of doing something Desmond was told several years earlier that he just happened to remember after waking up. There was the possibility of her thinking it was a dream or questioning it’s legitimacy, but since we know it happened, that wasn’t explored.

Although Desmond insists that he will never return to the island, his path to Daniel’s mother, in LA with the Oceanic Six, will lead him there eventually. Now what does that mean for this relationship? A lot of people assume that Penny will have to die for him to come back, but how would they deal with that besides have him grieve and pursue revenge like Sayid? Or would they go with his original predicament being trapped on the island away from the woman he loves? She and Charlie can always come with him, but what implications would that have (besides the incest that was mentioned earlier)?

Desmond is also in an interesting place as he has overcome his major flaw, his cowardice. The best example is storming into Widmore’s office unannounced, demanding information about Daniel’s mother and not even speaking of Penny’s condition. He couldn’t do such a thing before. Desmond’s life, hiding aside, isn’t so bad. He gets to spend his time with the love of his life and their child, and Penny has more than enough funds to keep things stable. However, considering Desmond is a central character in the story, all these right steps may be sacrificed for him when he returns to finish his business with the island.

In the big confrontation at Widmore’s office, Widmore shows a brief moment of fear and concern over his daughter. Ben put her in his cross hairs as retribution for what happened to Alex, and Widmore knows that Ben has the resources to fulfill his promise. Widmore may be aware that Ben is in LA, and having Desmond go there would put Penny at risk. For a man who seems to be in control like Widmore is, expressing any fear is worth noting.

Despite being officially a Desmond episode, we learn much more about Daniel via Desmond’s search. Perhaps encouraged by what he saw in Desmond in 1996, Daniel took his research to an extreme, leaving Theresa in a catatonic state. He splits for America and Oxford pretends he never existed despite not throwing away his things. The big reveal was that Widmore was funding Daniel’s research and took care of Theresa, showing temporal displacement can be relieved medically, after Daniel left. It’s another interesting link tying these two characters together.

53 years earlier, the castaways are trimmed down to six following the attack from the people revealed to be the 1954 Others. Of course the ageless Richard is there, and it’s common knowledge among his people that he is “old”. Unlike prior times, he comes off as the leader with Ellie and a 17-year-old Charles Widmore as lieutenants. Alpert said leaders were trained young, but it’s inferable from Ben’s flashbacks that he really became the leader in his 30s. So at this point they were still some time from being fully anointed forces.

Widmore being one of The Others 50 years before the crash isn’t surprising, but a good development. He had to have a back story with the island between his obsession finding the island and his rivalry with Ben. Obviously Ben’s not around in 1954, but here we see that he was cocky underestimating Locke and such an attitude would breed a sense of entitlement when told he couldn’t have something he wanted.

The Others mistake the Island Six (as they’ll be known) as US soldiers. They’d been combating those intending to detonate the eponymous bomb on the island, and they believe that they are a part of this, even with Miles and Charlotte on the team. The bomb, besides being a classic device, also ties into one of Lost’s major influences, The Stand, where a bomb plays a key role in the climax.

To convince The Others that he’s intent on helping them with the bomb, Daniel tells Richard he’s in love with Charlotte, which is more affecting than most of the shipper stuff. Although it can be hard to sympathize with Charlotte most of the time, Daniel’s puppy love is definitely relatable.

Sawyer’s scolding Daniel for telling Ellie they were from the future could mark a major sea change for the Losties. In the beginning they were the outsiders and The Others were the ones withholding the secrets of the island. With three plus months (give or take with time jumps) on the island, they’ve learned a lot about what’s happening. Some have theorized the Losties will wind up the series as the new Others, so a moment like this can reinforce that claim.

It’s interesting that Richard’s attempts to reach Locke before the crash were because Locke told him to when he was in 1954. There are a lot of questions that come out of that, but considering the no paradox rule the producers, Richard was going to be there when he was a newborn and kid somehow. It may explain the test Richard gave Locke as a boy; instead of it connecting to the idea of reincarnation since the Dalai Lama takes a similar test when being chosen, the item literally belonged (or will belong) to the tested.

Like a lot of Lost, this introduces a lot of elements that will likely be big in the future, specifically the bomb, so it helps to rewatch after seeing the whole season. With the narrative all over the place, the writers are doing a good job keeping it together. It’s no where near Desmond’s best episode, but it has some points that may be important in the end.

Overall Score: 8/10

Lost Marathon: Season 5, Episode 2 Review: The Lie

The Lie
Original Airdate: January 21, 2009
Writer: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Director: Jack Bender

The first episode this season was unusual in that it didn’t have a central character focus. Clearly at this point of the game plot has caught up to character in importance. However, one of Lost’s strengths is the diverse characters, and a formula is helpful when making a weekly TV show. Here they tweak the formula to accommodate the difference in time. Unlike previous seasons’ centric episodes, the focal character doesn’t have a flashback or forward storyline to establish their motivation, with the exception of an establishing one in the prologue. This angle works both for the character focus that makes up many episodes as well as the plot.

The Oceanic Six’s lie has been a growing burden for them, but it has affected no one greater than Hurley. Hurley always had a problem with lying about where they were, especially after the island disappeared. Of the castaways, Hurley’s moral compass is the most stable. He’ll do something bad only to help those he cares about, and lying about the island and going on without those he left behind was too much for him. That guilt reached a critical mass when he got in the high speed chase last season, and here it turns again as he tries to avoid capture by the police.

In his panicked pursuit, he either hallucinates or envisions Ana-Lucia. It was cool to see Ana-Lucia again; I didn’t hate her as a lot of people did. It was also appropriate that she pop up in the vision of Hurley being pulled over since she was a cop (not because of the legal trouble that some still insist was why she was killed off). We’re going to see a lot of old faces this season with the time jumps, and returning to things and people from the past works well as a narrative closes.

So the only place he can think of to lay low at is at his parents’ place. For all the parental issues of most of the cast, it’s nice to see one of them have loving and supportive parents. While his dad was absent for more than half of his life and returned largely motivated by Hurley’s lotto winnings, he still cares about Hurley a lot and is willing to lie to the cops for him. Mr. Reyes’ behavior again brings up the question of why he was such a bad dad in the first place.

Then Hurley's mother arrives and discovers that Sayid, who neither of Hurley’s parents recognize despite being a major celebrity connected to their son, is barely breathing and needs medical attention. The Reyes certainly deserved an explanation before they got to this point, and Hurley's mom got one as he recapped the previous four seasons in 30 seconds. Of course condensing all the bizarre occurrences of almost 90 episodes is going to sound unbelievable. It’s a wink to fans, who Hurley has always been the voice of. Despite her confusion, Hurley's mom believes him and it’s sweet on top of being funny.

With all the dark material off island, Hurley has moments of comic relief that don’t distract from the story. From his remark in the first hour that Sayid should eat more comfort food to calm his life down to his choice of T-shirt at the gas station and propping up Sayid Weekend at Bernie’s style to the laugh out loud moment of him throwing the snack at Ben, they haven't forgotten that Hurley is the heart and soul of the show and he can’t be perpetually suffering.

As expected, Ben's plan to convince Hurley to join them fails. Ben is likely right, but his history will always bring his side into question, something he seems uncharacteristically naïve about, although that may point to him being so convinced that he’s right that any skepticism is unfathomable for him. The big contradiction here is that Jack, who crossed into cynicism with his belief that faith was a waste of time, is now Ben’s best friend.

On the note of getting the rest of the Six to return, why Ben doesn’t just shoot each of them in the neck with a tranquilizer and take them? OK, that’s a little tough for someone like Sayid as we’ve seen, but Ben doesn’t have the resources with the Others extended off island network. Is returning to the island the way Ben plans something that they need to be conscious during? This is probably just a plot hole, as taking away their choice takes away from the drama.

As Ben maneuvers some, Sun makes a power play of her own towards Kate. The obvious reason is because Kate’s raising Aaron, who is very important. Of course Sun is manipulating Kate by guilt tripping her over not getting Jin as she promised, and then asking about Jack. She talks to Kate in the tone people use when they say the disclaimer “I’m not bitter”, but they clearly are.

There’s been a lot of discussion over Sun’s photo of Ji Yeon. Ji Yeon is around two years old, yet the only picture her mother has is of her as a newborn? If this was her niece she only sees on Christmas I could buy that. Anyone who knows anything about new parents knows they’re going to take more pictures than what could fit on the largest SD card. Is Sun that consumed with revenge that she’s not a presence in her daughter’s life?

Back on the island, there aren’t as many recognizable faces left on the beach from the crash. So what better time to bring Neil “Frogurt”, who has only been seen in a mobisode, onto the show? He was obnoxious in that, threatening to steal Libby from Hurley, and continues to be here. Of course, that doesn’t last long as he is struck by flaming arrows and engulfed in flames. Someone had to die for the threat to be considered real, and so the red shirts finally live up to their role.

The time jumps are being used, among other things, to “course correct” the background survivor cast. Unlike Battlestar Galactica’s minor pilots, the writers never developed the background cast beyond Rose & Bernard. They tried with Nikki & Paolo, but it was too late. Since then they haven’t done much besides take hits from the mercenaries and the flaming arrow squad, so the death count, while high, isn’t as brutal as if major characters were killed.

The survivors scatter, but before they can go too far from the massacre, three men accost Sawyer and Juliet. One of whom prepares to cut off Juliet’s hand before Locke intervenes. Of course, “Jones” calling it “their island” is a clear hint that these are Others, who are the only people who claim possession of the island. Without going into future episodes, seeing them initially reminded me of stories about World War II soldiers found in the South Pacific who thought the war was still going on long after 1945, albeit the people here are in better shape.

On top of their dilemmas, Charlotte is showing averse affects from the time travel and Daniel seems to know what it is, namely temporal displacement as her symptoms mirror Desmond’s and Minkowski's, except she only has some memory loss. While the result is the same, her time travel is different since she’s physically jumping back as opposed to only her consciousness.

The final scene sets the stakes high for the upcoming episodes. Confirming that she is a real person, Ms. Hawking intensely scrawls calculations about the island, determining that there is only a 70 hour window to return the six to the island. While I originally assumed that the whole season would revolve around getting the Six back, the tight deadline implies that it won’t be that long. Perhaps this was in anticipation of fans who didn’t want to wait a whole season to bring them back.

There was a good amount of criticism about the off island events. With the inevitability that they would return to the Island, it takes something out of the stakes, whereas the on island stuff was deliberately not explored since the flash forwards first came out. I didn’t mind it, as the shifting Oceanic Six interested me.

Another complaint about the premiere was its over reliance on not showing certain characters faces at first. Sometimes it works like with Chang or Hawking, but it’s unnecessary for Frank. Putting the two episodes together made this more evident. Lost is a show with a lot of mystery, so surprises and teases can be great, but devices like this are best in moderation.

This episode, coupled with “Because You Left”, does a good job of setting up the stakes for the season. As the gap between answers and questions closes, the formula had to be altered, but luckily they did so in a way that doesn’t totally throw out what we knew and loved about the show in the first place.

Overall Score: 8/10

Dispatch #20: I'm Back! and Introducing the Lost Marathon

Hey guys,

I’m sorry to those who were expecting weekly reviews of Lost this season, but things have just been busy (I can blame this on the recession, right?) So to make up for it I’ll be doing a four part Lost marathon. Rather than post all 16 reviews I missed in one hunk, I’m going to split it up in four with the various arcs I recognized. That way you get a lot, but not too much. It’ll be broken up like this:

Part 1: “Let’s Get Started” – Covering “The Lie” to “This Place is Death”
Part 2: “We’re Back” – Covering “316” to “LeFleur”
Part 3: “Fun Times With Dharma” – Covering “Namaste” to “Some Like It Hoth”
Part 4: “We Are the Variables” – Covering “The Variable” to “The Incident”

“The Incident” may be part 5. My finale reviews tend to be huge, so if it takes a long time I’ll put up the other two episode reviews first. Maybe if things work out I can finish up my season one reviews before season six starts in January. Well it’s best to do it one review at a time. Sorry for not putting up anything, even a notice that these would still be done. Hope this makes up for it.

Until Next Time, The Remote Is Yours,
Matt