Lost from the beginning (NO SPOILERS)

[Orac Zen]

"The Constant" didn't blow me away to the extent it did some others but that's neither here nor there; it's still one of the greater episodes in the series, IMO. As I mentioned earlier I generally don't much care about TV romances but I didn't find the Desmond / Penny relationship even remotely "forced" or "in-your-face"; quite the contrary, in fact. But as in all TV things, to each their own.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Meet Kevin Johnson:

Nice to meet you, Kevin. I think we're already acquainted, though.

This episode is mostly Michael's flashback about how he got on that boat. He clearly didn't have a happy time after getting off the island. Walt wants nothing to do with him, and he's really depressed about it. Michael is also racked with guilt over that pretty serious thing that he did. He's tried to kill himself multiple times, but the island won't let him. This must be the same force that is compelling Jack to go back to the island, and that caused the accident to stop him from jumping. Tom shows up and gives Michael a job to do. So, he's goes to be Ben's spy on the boat. They send him a bomb, but it's a fake.

There's very little that happens on the island in this episode. Ben sends Alex, Rousseau, and Karl away to a safe place. They're ambushed on the way, though, and Karl and Rousseau are killed. Seriously? That's how they kill off two of the biggest recurring characters on the show? What a pathetic, sloppy way to do so. Really, it's disappointing. They both deserved a lot better than that.

 

[Aragorn]

^ The actress who plays Rousseau quit, so that's how they wrote her off.

 

[DonIago]

I was a bit surprised/disappointed with the whole Karl and Rousseau shooting despite knowing the writers had been backed into a corner.

 

[startrekwatcher]

I enjoyed Meet Kevin Johnson. Sure it is all flashbacks but I like seeing how events unfolded and filled in onscreen and how everything comes together. Plus it addresses some questions for Walt & Mike that had been dangling since S2.

I didn't mind the way they wrote off Rousseau and Karl. I know many loved Rousseau but she always felt like a plot device to me--we saw so very little of her and when we did it was to provide exposition so I saw her death as a means to an end to--much like the island brought people there for a purpose--this was to simply advance the plot and let Mira exit the show.

In fact, shows these days do proudly boast that they aren't afraid of killing off characters and they do so frequently but they aren't quite the thoughtful spectacles they once were.

Character deaths used to be Major Events that had major build-up, a foreboding set-up, and took the center stage in an episode. But these days they are treated just as another plot point in an episode full of dozens of plot points that just are matter-of-factly abruptly dropped in the viewer's laps before quickly jumping to the next plot point with no fanfare. There isn't much in the way of aftermath or character reaction except brief lipservice. So yeah they are willing to kill characters more these days but it feels like they do it to do it than making them special and memorable. This was what this was just like Heroes' Eden or Linderman for instance.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

The Shape of Things to Come:

There's a word for episodes like this: AWESOME!

So, we start out on the island with the body of the doctor from the freighter washing up ashore. They rig the phone to be able to send a morse code message, but Daniel lies about what it says. Bernard translates: The Doctor is fine. What does that mean? Does this have something to do with the time displacement? I'm pretty much lost on this one. Daniel also finally admits that they never had any intention of rescuing the survivors.

Elsewhere, a captured Alex is forced to shut down the security fence. She does however, enter a different code that triggers an alert on the phone in Ben's house. Ben leaps in to action, and everyone fortifies themselves in the house. Sawyer rushes out for Claire. All of the redshirts in Locke's camp meet their true calling and get killed one by one. What part of "stay inside" did they not understand? Claire's house gets hit with a rocket, yet she somehow survives, and Sawyer hauls her back to Ben's house. The mercs then bring out their ace in the hole: Alex. Ben acts like he doesn't care about her, but Keamy calls his bluff and executes her in an unbelievable shocking scene. They're really thinning out the recurring cast lately, huh? Watch your backs Rose and Bernard.

Alex's death makes Ben go completely catatonic. This is a man whose entire world has pretty much just collapsed around him. He seemed like the guy with all the answers, who was in control of everything. This time his game backfired on him, and he lost one of the most precious things to him. Emerson really plays this well. He deserved an Emmy or something. Oh wait, he got one. Good.

With his daughter dead, Ben decides it's time to take some drastic measures. Turns out Ben's secret room has a secret room. While we don't see what happens in there, we get some sense of it's purpose: summoning the smoke monster. Smokey makes pretty short work of all the mercs, and our anti-heroes escape into the jungle. Locke's camp splits here, with Sawyer, Claire, and Miles leaving for the beach. Hurley is forced at gunpoint to stay behind, so that he can lead Locke and Ben to Jacob's cabin.

Oh, I haven't even gotten to the flash forward yet. It features even more Ben, which is always a good thing. He wakes up in the Sahara. How Ben got there is not explained. He makes pretty short work of a couple of men that find him there. How is it that this guy is always getting his ass kicked by other people when he's capable of taking these two guys down without a second thought? He eventually finds Sayid, who is mourning the death of his wife. Well, that just sucks. He finally finds Nadia only for her to be killed soon after? You bastards. Ben tracks his suspect for the murder: Captain Robau. He's caught by Sayid who mistakes him for a paparazzi. Though, Sayid probably wishes Ben was one after he sees who he is. Ben turns Sayid on to Robau, and when Ben is caught, Sayid pulls the trigger. Then that manipulative bastard uses some reverse psychology to turn Sayid to his cause. We see Ben grin a little grin as Sayid agrees to join with him. I'm betting that Robau had nothing to do with Nadia's death, and it was Ben doing it to recruit Sayid.

Lastly, we see Ben break into Charles Widmore's penthouse. Now this is an interesting scene. They clearly know each other, and pretty well at that. The way it's played, the come off as long time rivals. Has Widmore been to the island before, or was their meeting on the mainland? If Widmore has been to the island, why can't he find it, now? Ben is holding quite the grudge against Widmore for the death of Alex. Widmore says that Ben can't kill him. Hmmm? Something to do with how the survivors that got off the island can't kill themselves? Some kind of mystical protection? Ben does say, however, that he's going to kill Widmore's daughter. Penny. Oh shit.

Man, that was a long write-up, there. There was so much going on in this episode though. It's an absolutely riveting hour of tv, and one of the best of the series so far.

 

[McCoy]

How is it that this guy is always getting his ass kicked by other people when he's capable of taking these two guys down without a second thought?

He allows it. Strategy.

 

[startrekwatcher]

"The Shape of Things to Come" was an excellent 4 star episode.

I loved how you expect the big showdown between the mercenaries and the island folks to come during the season finale but instead it shockingly occurs here which further underscores how LOST especially in S4 made almost every episode an Event worthy of what most other tv shows up until now had saved that for sweeps episodes and season finales. Here big shit happens in episode 9.

This episode also did what LOST did best--reshuffle characters into new still interesting pairings, organically plausibly move characters back to places they need to be and add intriguing plot developments. I was definitely intrigued by the Hurley, Ben and John pairing and what they would find at the cabin. I loved how Sawyer was so protective of Claire--I always found myself liking Sawyer the most when he let his guard down and dropped his gruff exterior like he did here. What a great exciting "stand-and-up cheer" moment when Ben calmly warns everyone and then all hell breaks loose with the smoke monster as it goes after the mercenaries in such a swift vicious attack--then the following moments after a calm has been restored to the village and we get that welcomed moment as we get to be treated to the different reactions from Claire, Sawyer, Miles, Locke, Hurley and Ben to what they just witnessed.

The big revelation at the end with Ben's Penny Vendetta[TM] was a perfect note to end the episode on and opened up many possibilities at the time--one of which for me was the possibility how if Future Sayid was doing Future Ben's dirty deeds in eliminating people that he might unknowingly be sent to take care of Penny which could interestingly lead Sayid and Desmond to be at odds after all this season they had been partners in confronting the Freighter Folks. Afterall, it was interesting in the last episode how Sayid turned Michael over to the Captain because he was working for Ben and we know in the future Sayid works for Ben.

I thought Alex's death served the story well even though she felt like a plot device since we never really got to see and know enough of her.

I'm not sure if you realized it but the place Ben ends up in the arctic Dharma jacket is Tunisia--the same place Charlotte found the polar bear in "Confirmed Dead".

 

[Hober Mallow]

^How could anyone be confused about that? Jin says he has only been married for two months.

Not only that, but wasn't Jin talking on an old-ass flip phone in his scenes? That should have tipped a few people off.

 

[propita]

Does Ben enjoy getting the crap beat out of him? That's what he had to know would happen. Though I like the character, I have to admit he's totally deserved it every time

I don't think ANY charactger on ANY show has ever gotten the crap beat out of him as much as Ben already has.

And Michael Emerson is such a wonderful actor! Seeing him on talk shows is amazingly entertaining. Odo, you might not want to watch him on talk shows--he's stated that he's let things slip more than most of the others.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Something Nice Back Home:

Jack has appendicitis, but he gets better. That's biggest part of the episode. Sigh.

Ok, to be fair there are a few things of note here. Charlotte speaks Korean. We get confirmation of death of Karl and Rousseau. Claire sees Christian in the middle of the night and follows him, leaving Aaron. Ok, so is it the smoke monster behind all these dead people appearing on the island? That's what seemed to be the implication with Eko's brother.

The flashforward is another Jack one, this time from before his beard and boozing days. We see the start of that, though. He proposes to Kate, and she accepts. We know from earlier though, that this won't last. Please please please tell me this Jack/Kate/Sawyer crap comes to an absolute definitive end very soon. I've been sick of it since the beginning of the show. That it is still going on four seasons later is just unacceptable.

This one was kind of a break in the action, but the finale isn't far off, so the action will pick up soon. Which brings us to:

Cabin Fever:

Now that's more like it.

Keamy has gone batshit insane (or possibly was from the start) and is taking matter in to his own hands. He kills the doctor and the captain, and forces Frank to fly him back to the island. Frank isn't taking it lying down, though. He tosses a phone is his pack and throws it out of the helicopter as they cross the beach, so that the survivors can follow them and do something about this nut. Before the captain dies, Sayid manages to convince him to hand over the zodiac craft so that he can ferry people to the boat. Something tells me that isn't going to work.

Locke's crew is looking for Jacob, and Locke gets a vision of Horace cutting down trees. Horace tells Locke to find him, and he'll find the cabin. So, off they go to the mass Dharma grave, where Locke does a little looting and finds a map to the cabin. Once at the cabin, Ben and Hurley elect not to go inside. Locke goes by himself and finds not Jacob, but Christian inside. Claire is also there, having followed Christian to the cabin. Now what on earth is going on? I guess that's the eternal question of Lost. Locke comes back with news: They have to move the island. Now that's a tall order. How can they accomplish that one?

The flashback is Locke centric this time. We see his premature birth, and his raising by foster parents. When he's a small boy, Professor Xavier comes to recruit him to his school for gifted youngsters. Oh wait, that's Richard. He still looks the same age he did in the present, as well. What's up with this guy? He gives Locke a test to choose which of a set of items belongs to him. Locke chooses a knife, and Richard seems disappointed. The purpose of this test isn't quite made clear. What object was the one that was supposed to belong to Locke?

We move forward a bit to Locke's teen years, where he's told what he can't do. Locke doesn't like that one bit and turns down Richard's second attempt to recruit him. Another jump, and we see Locke in physical therapy after his injury. His orderly looks rather familiar. Hey, it's that one guy that visited Hurley. He sets Locke on the path toward Walkabout, and mentions that they will meet again. I'm going to go out on a limb here: Is this guy Jacob?

What I really take away from this is that Locke has had a connection to the island from the start. However, he's sabotaged every attempt to get him there. He's finally brought there by the crash, which he really can't avoid. Was the crash solely to bring Locke there? What about Desmond causing it by not pushing the button? What kind of force is working here to bring everyone together here, or to make Desmond decide to sneak out of the Swan on the very day that 815 was flying overhead with these particular people that are all far too connected to each other to be there by coincidence? I think I'm asking too many questions, here. I should sit back and enjoy the ride for now.

 

[DonIago]

Glad you're having a good time!

I never quite got the animosity towards Kate beyond her propensity for bad decision-making, but then again, I never got the impression we were ever supposed to particularly like her either. She does start out as a prisoner after all.

 

[startrekwatcher]

I know many don't think too highly of "Something Nice Back Home" but I enjoyed it and thought it was solid despite ranking in the bottom 3 of episodes in S4--and that says a lot about how really good the season is and how it was firing on all cylinders when a Jack, Kate and Jack/Kate episode actually is decent.

I loved the cliffhanger with Christian appearing to Claire and Sawyer waking up the next morning to find Aaron but no Claire. It really had me curious about what he wanted with her and what was going on. I think another reason I liked the episode were the character moments--Juliet taking charge and barking orders at everyone, Jin calling Charlotte out about speaking Korean. It also seeded some stuff like why did Sawyer stay behind. And on a purely superficial note I loved seeing Jack with a shaved chest. When that first happened I didn't understand why but then when you see Juliet operating on him then you understand why he had to go all the way.

I always have found this stretch of S4 to be really strong especially with "The Shape of Things to Come" and "Cabin Fever". I'd give it 3.5 out of 4 stars. It really kicked things into high gear and got the balls rolling with some very exciting moments like Sayid heading back to the island, Martin returning to the island with the mercenaries while the beach goers think rescue is imminent.

The episode just clicked from start to finish and had loads of interesting stuff that kept our minds occupied until we got to one of the series' most WTF cliffhangers--not only did we get the big cliffhanger that John, Ben and Hurley's next objective is to Move the Island which immediately had everyone wondering how do you move an island(it also makes one start considering the possibility of "What if the island moves just as the first group leaves the island and that first group being what would become the Oceanix Six?" especially after Sayid takes one of the boats back to the island and it fits 6 people)
--but the scenes preceding it were loaded with all kinds of multiple shockers--Were we finally going to see and meet the enigmatic Jacob? What do we see but the ubiquitous Christian in the rocking chair? Is he suppose to be Jacob? Nope he claims to be Jacob's emissary. Then our next little shock--they aren't alone and it is none other than Claire who was acting "off"--with everything that had been going on I totally forgot about her until that moment.

I initially thought based on the title it would be a Jacob's Cabin Origin Story and thought the teaser had something to do with that--alas it didn't--but we did learn Horace--the guy who recruited Roger Linus to the island built it for his wife.

I also liked the eerie/creepy stuff like Richard staring in at baby John Locke. Like the best LOST episodes it had a ton of interesting and surprising revelations that left you dumbfounded--Richard visited Locke again as a small boy and asked him about those weird objects--I had no clue what that was about and didn't even try to speculate. We see Abaddon as a nurse at the rehabilitation facility Locke was a patient at following his paralysis and Abaddon plants the idea for John to go on a walkabout.

This episode after a year finally supplied us with the year the Purge occured-1992--which was another event we could pencil in to the LOST timeline.

I was disappointed though how 2 episodes earlier it was stated that Hurley would be the one to help find the cabin but it ended up being he played no role--John had a dream from the island that told him to go to the mass grave and find a mapn but at least now a survivor other than John knows of Ben's role in the Purge of Dharma although Ben claims "their leader" ordered it.

The episode also did a good job with teasing stuff like what was the device hooked up to Martin that Omar was placing on him before closing the door?

It was also interesting to now realize Young John met Richard before young Ben did in the 70s.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

There's No Place Like Home Part 1:

The stuff on the island is mostly people moving from place to place. It seems most of them are going to end up at the same place, though: another Dharma station called the Orchid. Ben claims it holds the secret to moving the island. Keamy is headed there for reasons unknown. Jack is headed there to stop Keamy. Sayid shows up with his raft and ferries Jin, Sun, Aaron and some redshirts to the freighter. After they arrive, they discover that there's enough C4 to blow them all up real nice on that boat, and it's set to blow. Kate and Sayid get caught by the Others, who probably want their help rescuing Ben. Ben tells Locke how to get into the station and the surrenders himself to Keamy.

The flash forward show the Oceanic 6 as they first arrive back in civilization. They all have to lie about what has happened to them, and all are uneasy about it. Those that sill have families have reunions with them, and they try to settle back in to normal life. Life is anything but normal, though. At Hurley's birthday, his father gives him the Camaro they were working on. Hurley freaks out when he sees the numbers on the odometer, though. He's not free of them yet. Jack finally buries his father, but receives a surprise at the funeral. Claire's mother is there, and tells Jack of their relations. Sun takes a level in badass, and uses her settlement money to buy her father's company. I pumped my fist in the air when I saw that one.

Mostly setup for part two, of course. I can't really hold that against this episode though, as it is an arc based show, and part two was epic. Speaking of which:

There's No Place Like Home Part 2:

We starts at the end of the flashback the ended the third season. Jack is yelling that they have to go back, and Kate is furious at him for suggesting it. We learn the name of the person in the casket: Jeremy Bentham. Who the hell is that?

On the island, Jack, Locke, and Hurley converge at the Orchid. Locke can't figure out how to open it, though, despite Ben's directions.At the the helicopter, Kate, Sayid, and the Others ambush Keamy and his men. Richard shoots Keamy several times, and it looks like that's it for him. Ben honors the agreement that was made, and Kate and Sayid will be allowed to leave the island. After this, Ben heads back to the Orchid. Locke and Jack are having the usual faith vs. science debate. Locke tells Jack that he will have to lie in order to protect the island, since it is a place where miracle occur. Jack doesn't believe him. Locke and Ben descend down into the Orchid, while Jack and Hurley head back to the helicopter.

Down in the Orchid, Locke watches an orientation video explaining that this station is for conducting experiments in space time. Huh. The doctor also warns to never load the chamber with metallic objects, which is exactly what Ben is doing. They are delayed by Keamy doing his Mikhail impression. Locke distracts him long enough for Ben to stab him several times. Too bad that the box on his arm is the trigger for the C4 on the boat. Ben doesn't seem to care too much that he's just doomed a whole lot of innocent people to death, though.

The people that were out in the jungle load up on the helicopter, and set out for the freighter. It looks like they took a bullet in the fight and are losing fuel quickly. They try to lighten the load a bit, but it's not enough to make it to the freighter. Sawyer has to go and be a heroic bastard, and throws himself out of the copter. Not before he makes Kate promise to do something for him, though. With the lighter load, the copter is able to make it to the freighter, which unbeknown to them is really the last place they want to be right now.

Well, the bomb is about to go off, so Desmond tries to warn them away. It doesn't matter, though. They have no fuel. They have to fuel up quickly and get off. Sun and Desmond climb aboard the copter, but Jin doesn't make it. Michael is also left behind, and sees Christian. Christian tells him that he can go now. The boat explodes taking everyone with it. Well crap. I'm still going to guess that Jin made it somehow. We didn't actually see him die. Michael is most certainly toast, though. Um....literally. Hey, here are our Oceanic 6. Looks like the copter crew will be the only ones to make it for some reason.

Down in the Orchid, Ben blows the back wall out of the chamber, and tells Locke that this is where they part ways. Locke is to become the new leader of the Others, while Ben will be exiled from the island for moving it. Locke and Ben each go off to meet their destinies. Ben climbs down deeper into the hole, and reaches a crank on the wall. After breaking through the ice, he turns it, and blinding white light fills the island, before the island isn't there at all anymore. Wow. Who knew moving an island was that easy?

This is bad news for the copter crew, though. They crash into the water, but survive miraculously. They're floating around in the emergency raft with no land in sight, and things look grim. Wouldn't you know it, though, they're saved by Penny's boat. Desmond and Penny finally have their heartfelt reunion. Jack realizes that they have to do as Locke said and lie about the island, though. Is he finally becoming a man of faith? The six have to part ways with everyone else, and create their cover story, leading them to rescue.

Oh, I didn't even really mention the flash forwards, either. Sayid gives Hurley a late night visit, and the two depart together. Hurley really seems to have gone off the deep end, playing chess with "Mr. Eko." Kate also gets a late night visitor in the form of Claire, warning her not to bring Aaron back to the island. Finally, Jack breaks in to funeral home where he is visited by Ben, who claims to have a few ideas how to get them all back to the island. He says, though, that all of them have to come back together including the man in the coffin who is Locke. WHAT??!?!?! Why would Locke have left the island? How did Locke leave the island? How did he he die? If the Oceanic 6 have spent three years away, what are they going to find there when they return? Certainly three years will have changed the rest of the survivors in a big way. Or will it have been three years at all? There have been some weird time shifts going on there. Man, these Lost writers really know how to make a finale. Every single one so far has been just magnificent. Well, bring on Season 5, then.

 

[Aragorn]

^ If you're interested, they shot fake endings with Desmond and Sawyer in the coffin in case it got out before airing.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWWMYFAycmQ[/yt]

 

[DonIago]

^Any idea whether anyone's done (good) fan-fiction involving those endings?

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

What on earth would Desmond be doing in a funeral home in LA?

 

[Aragorn]

^ Fake endings, just in case it got out early.

^Any idea whether anyone's done (good) fan-fiction involving those endings?

I don't read fan fiction. Sorry.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Yeah, I got that. I'm just saying they would be totally ridiculous. Also, Sawyer would have made no sense, since Kate absolutely would have gone to his funeral.

Ok, ok I know I'm putting way too much thought into fake endings.

 

[RoJoHen]

What on earth would Desmond be doing in a funeral home in LA?

What the hell is Locke doing in a funeral home in LA?