Because You Left, The LieAt long last, "Lost" throws caution to the wind and embraces what we've all known since day one--it's a sci-fi show. A character-driven sci-fi show, but a sci-fi show.
The best thing to happen to "Lost" was for the producers to decide there needed to be a definite ending to the show. It gave the show a new spark of energy and helped it to begin building toward a definite end-point, a finish line where (hopefully) all of our questions will be answered. OK, so maybe it won't answer all of them, but it sure looks like they're working on providing the answers to a good majority of them.
We got a lot of answers here--especially in the first hour. I'm wondering if this may be a pattern to "Lost" this year. An hour full of answers and moments to push the series forward followed by an hour to show the impact of these developments on the characters. And I will give the show credit--while I enjoyed the flashbacks and flashforwards, it's nice to see the series realize this storytelling angle has been played out and begin to move forward with events unfolding in real time. I don't doubt there is some jumping back and forth between time zones, but now it's all being done in a way that drives the story forward. And after four years of flashing around in time, it's nice to see the characters get specific episodes that occur in the here and now.
So, the island is now skipping through time, somehow. How this is happening and how to stop it are all in the air for now. I did find it interesting that between the episodes Locke's leg had a chance to heal a bit. Or at least he didn't appear to be limping as much in the closing moments of "The Lie." It should be interesting to see if and how he embraces the fact that he has to sacrifice his life for the island, though this being "Lost" I wonder if he'll really stay dead. It brings up the question of how many people the show will kill off before the series ends. "Battlestar Galactica" is in a blood thirsty kind of move in its final episodes and it makes me wonder if "Lost" will follow suit. Would it have the guts to kill off and leave dead some of the more popular characters.
We also see that Ben's quest isn't going to be as easy as he'd hoped. He's been able to convince Jack to join him, but is that because Jack really has nothing left to lose by going back? From Jack's flashforwards, we can see he's pretty much tanked everything he came back for, so why not head back? Why not try to reconnect with Kate and regain the romance and love he lost? Why not go back where he's actually respected and seen as a leader? Why not go back where he doesn't have to live in the shadow of his father? For Jack, it's a pretty easy sell to head back to the island. For the others of the Oceanic Six, it may be a harder sell.
At some point, something led to a falling out between Ben and Sayid...something that won't be easily fixed. And Kate has a lot to lose going back. Interesting that Kate's first instinct when faced with questions is to up and run. It appears not a lot has changed since we first met her as Fugitive Kate all those years ago. And does she pine for Sawyer as much as he does for her? Would this make her go back? Or would some kind of sense of responsbility that Aaron get to be reunited with his actual mother and not his adopted one? And how much would that secret getting out put that kid into therapy? I'm thinking that's one heck of a bill there...but at least the kid will have mommy issues, unlike everyone else on this show with daddy issues.
And that doesn't count Hurley, who is in jail now. I expect they'll come up with some way to pull some strings and get him released. Not sure what those will be, but I wonder if Penny will use some connections. Or Sun.
At the center of all this is Desmond, who seems to have become the focal point of the time and space wackiness of the show. I find myself wondering if Desmond may have to sacrfice himself to restore the island and save the world. And would he want to make such a choice, seeing as he's given up a lot of his life and himself to and for the island. I think the scene where he had the dream and woke up with Penny may be one of the few times we see him happy this year or for a while to come.
And that doesn't even cover Daniel Farraday, who knows something he's not telling. What that is and all the other questions I have will hopefully be answered soon. Because when "Lost" is giving us answers and bringing up new questions, that's when it's at it's best....
And these two episodes were examples of why this show is so good....
Labels: Lost
posted by Michael Hickerson at 1/28/2009 01:00:00 PM |
|
