Lost is one of the few shows I watch anymore that is still on the air. That being said, I've never watched an episode 'on the air' as it is being broadcast. I can't stand the way commercial breaks are used in the series, sure it heightens the dramatic feel but I don't want to sit through a string of pharmaceutical commercials before I can find out what happens next. I think Lost is best viewed all at once, whether it be from start to finish or one season at a time. Watching single episodes each week was pretty frustrating in previous seasons but now that the series has crossed the halfway mark there are a lot more answers being given and the cliffhangers (while still great) won't cause an aneurysm. Speaking of breaks, currently Lost is on a five week break so production can catch up to the season schedule after the delays caused by the writers strike. I thought this would be a good time to give my synopsis of the fourth season, so here it goes:
Previously on Lost
I won't recap the whole series or anything but you can't really appreciate the current season of Lost without knowing the core mechanic of the show. Which is, each week's episode is a character specific centric story told through a flashback which ties into the current events taking place on the island. At the end of the third season the mechanic changed. It was announced that Lost would end after the sixth season, which puts the third season's finale at the midpoint. This finale, appropriate titled "Through the Looking Glass," was a window (read: mirror) through which we got a glimpse of the final three seasons. The flashback mechanic changed to a flash forward and suddenly everything happening in the main story, was taking place in the past. In an instant black was white, up was down, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! The reveal of the flash forward mechanic was one of the best written and most mind blowing experiences I can remember watching on TV. All of the sudden a million new questions came up, not the least of which was, "so who else gets off of the island?" I accepted the fact that this would be the great story driving question of the rest of the series and was certain that it wouldn't be revealed until the end of the final season. Which bring us to...
The Beginning of the End
The first episode of the fourth season starts with a car chase on television. We see a clean-shaven Jack (which we naturally associate with flashbacks) pouring himself a drink. When the voice on the newscast identifies the car as a Camaro, Jack realizes who it is in the car. Hurley is driving the Camaro, the car from a previous flashback costarring Cheech, which means that his is another flash forward. Hurley is distraught, if not crazy, and identifies himself as one of the 'Oceanic Six.' So there you have it, not five minutes into the fourth season we are told that Hurley gets off of the island with five other losties. We know Jack and Kate are already off of the island because of the events in the last episode, so that leaves three unknown people who will leave the island during the course of the show.
The rest of this episode has fewer answers and serves to tie up some loose ends from the end of the last season. We see Desmond return from the Looking Glass hatch and explain what happened to Charlie. The warning Charlie gave at the end of season three creates a rift between the survivors and by the end of the episode they are split into two camps; Camp Jack - which returns to the beach to await rescue, and Camp Locke - which heads from the Barracks to prepare from the arrival of more hostiles from the freighter.
In the flash forward we get a little info about the Oceanic Six by way of Hurley's interaction with the police, Matthew Abbadon and Jack. It seems that Hurley (and possibly the rest of the Oceanic Six) can't acknowledge knowing or interacting with any of the other survivors from Flight 815. We see Hurley become irritated when Abbadon confronts him, asking Hurley, "...are they still alive?" At the end of the flash we see Jack come to visit Hurley, we get the sense that they aren't on great terms. It turns out that Jack has come to check up on Hurley, to make sure that he hasn't flipped out and that he'll keep whatever secret they all agreed on.
While I liked the episode, it wasn't my favorite season opener. I enjoy the mythology heavy episodes that hint at stuff like the Three-toed statue and the Dharma Initiative. This episode was more emotional and about the schism between the two groups of losties. This episode covered a lot of subjects that needed to be addressed and it was a great way to start the fourth season.
Confirmed Dead
The first episode ended with the long awaited arrival of people from the freighter. The second episode was devoted to introducing the four new characters that arrive on the island. The four new character are described as: a ghostbuster (Miles), an anthropologist (Charlotte), a head case (Daniel) and a drunk (Frank). The most intriguing character of these, to me, is Charlotte. Charlotte's flashback put her in Tunisia where she find a polar bear with a Dharma Hydra Station collar. Each of the characters' stories take place around the time when the wreckage of Flight 815 is found at the bottom of the ocean. Frank and Charlotte are obvious skeptics as to the authenticity of the find - whereas Miles seems indifferent and Daniel just seems crazy.
My one gripe with this episode is the linear nature in which they are found and introduced. I realize this is a necessary evil, but surely the writers could have come up with something better than, "omg my buddy is over here lets go find him!" (insert flashback here) "LOL ther U R! WTF now WE can find teh next persun!" (insert flashback). Ultimately Miles, Dan and Frank are found by Jack's group. Charlotte is captured by Locke and we learn that the freighter's crew's intentions are not to rescue the survivors but to capture Ben Linus. Ben of course is more than a few steps ahead of everyone, not only is he aware of this but he reveals that he has a man on the boat.
The Economist
Episode three opens with Sayid identifying himself as one of the Oceanic Six then killing a man on a golf course in the Seychelles. So much for piecemeal revelations, now we know definitively who four of the six Oceanic Six members are. The on-island events during this episode revolve around Sayid exchanging Miles for Charlotte at Locke's camp in order to get Frank to fly Desmond and Sayid back to the freighter. Off-island Sayid is an international man of mystery in Berlin. He hooks up with a woman who works for an 'Economist,' presumably Sayid's target. The only interesting note about the flash forward is the reveal at the end, when we see Ben has made it off of the island and Sayid is doing his bidding. It is eluded to that Sayid was convinced to work for Ben because of the wrongs committed by the people(s) associated with the Economist. I enjoyed The Economist quite a bit, we were shown that Ben makes it off of the island in the end... which is insane. He has been so protective of the people on the island (the Others) and the island itself that there must be a complete game-changer coming in order for him to leave.
Eggtown
I didn't care for this episode at all. The only thing that interested me about Kate's story was that she somehow stole/pilfered/adopted Aaron, and two survivors died before being rescued according to Jack. Kate's story arch is finally over with as far as I'm concerned. We now know who the 'he' is from the end of season three and how Kate is not in prison. The reasoning behind the plea bargain was acceptable and I'm glad it was wrapped up in a single episode. Now we just need to see Claire killed and then we can get back into the meat and potatoes of Lost (read: Monster, Jacob, the Temple, Time Travel, etc)
The Constant
This was definitely the best episode thus far in the fourth season. Desmond's crazy flashes return from season three but with a twist. This time Desmond's conscience jumps from 1996 to 2004 (previously it had been 2004 to 1996 or earlier), so he has no knowledge of anyone on the island - let alone the island. This was the first episode in which we see the freighter. We finally see Minkowski (Fisher Stevens), and it turns out that he is also having crazy flashes. Daniel eludes to the fact that these flashes are caused or exacerbated by exposure to radiation. The last time Desmond's conscience flashed was after he imploded the hatch and the sky turned the same shade of purple as Dan's future ray he shot Eloise with in 1996. Desmond is told by Dan in 2004 to go to Oxford in 1996 and track down the Daniel Faraday of 1996 for help. The Dan of 1996 explains how the time travel of Lost works and why Desmond must make contact with someone from his 1996 life back in 2004 (ie his constant). Desmond tracks down Penny, who he has previously broke up with in favor or pushing a button for three years, and convinces her to give him her phone number so he can call her in eight years. Back in 2004 Desmond calls Penny and she discloses that she knows all about the island and spoke with Charlie. The fact that Penny knows about the island is a big revelation and lends credence to the bad-guy-ness of Charles Widmore, who we see buying the ledger of the Black Rock in 1996. The entire episode was beautifully done. This was one of the best Lost episodes,,,EVER!!!
The Other Woman
Continuing with the theme of; good episode, bad episode, good episode, we have another lame episode in this Juliet flashback. I've enjoyed the previous on-island centric episodes and this one had it's moments but I took issue with the introduction of the Tempest, a power station fueled by poison gas. This episode focuses on Juliet's relationship with Goodwin and his wife Harper. We learn what Ben and Juliet's 'history' was as Tom called it. The climax of the episode was Juliet's confronting of Dan and Charlotte at the Tempest. In the end Juliet didn't do Ben's bidding by killing Dan and Charlotte because, hey maybe they aren't so bad after all... Pretty predictable and boring compared to the rest of the season, but it was nice to see some more on-island history nonetheless.
Ji Yeon
I've had my fill of the Sun and Jin story so it was nice to see it finally wrapped up. No more twenty minute long quarrels where the couple makes up at the end episodes after this one. At least not from these two. The main part of this episode is about Sun giving birth off-island in a flash forward and Jin trying to reach the hospital in time. The twist here is that Jin's scenes are taking place in a flashback which isn't revealed until the end. Hurley comes to visit Sun and the baby in South Korea and they visit Jin's tombstone which says he died on September 24, 2004, the day of the crash of Flight 815. The big reveal of Jin's story was well done because it was hinted at throughout the episode and finally on his way out of the hospital he says he has only been married two months. There were a few interesting scenes on the freighter, we meet the captain of the ship and he gives us his explanation of the events surrounding Flight 815/Ben Linus and confirms that Widmore is behind the freighter. The other scene worth noting the reveal of Michael as Ben's man on the boat.. which could not have been a surprise to anyone, but still a great scene.
Meet Kevin Johnson
The final episode of the pre-strike season. This was a great episode about Michael's time off-island. We see Michael try to kill himself a few times in New York around December 2004. Tom pays Michael a visit and lets him know that the island won't let him kill himself until he completes his mission. Tom explains that Widmore was responsible for the staged wreck of Flight 815 and is sending the freighter to the island to kill everyone there. Michael reluctantly works for Tom and is enlisted on the freighter under the guise of Kevin Johnson. Ben lays out his plan to Michael, telling him that he must sabotage the ship's engines and disable their communications and eventually kill everyone on board (although not at first as there are some innocents). I had honestly hoped to see a more revealing Michael centric story dealing with their rescue but I can't say I'm disappointed in the final episode. One last thing worth noting, at the end of this episode Karl and Danielle are shot, in the chest, hardcore - like so much Tom in 'Through the Looking Glass' only backwards... and Alex gets captured (presumably).
Next time on Lost
So Lost won't air again until April 24th, until then I'll have to content myself to reading spoilers and rewatching these first eight episodes. I'm really looking forward to the final five episodes of season four. I'm hoping for a Ben flashback and a reveal of who was in the coffin at the end of the third season.
I'm planning on making a predictions post closer to the return of lost where I'll lay out my thoughts in detail.