Post by Kermit The Hulk on Jan 29, 2010 13:58:54 GMT -5
I have some good news. I think I’m gonna be able to get this done before the final season begins. Hopefully, I’ll be free from work on Saturday. If not, I’ll do it Sunday. Then, I’ll definitely finish the review on Monday; I’ll just skip RAW or record it. So, keep your fingers crossed. Anyway, let’s get to the review. But first, SPOILER ALERT:
![](http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m85/hulk6785/Banners/Spoilers.gif)
Season 5-Disc 2
4. The Little Prince
![](http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m85/hulk6785/Lost/Kaaron.jpg)
Director(s): Stephen Williams
Writer(s): Brian K. Vaughan & Melinda Hsu Taylor
Off The Island: Kate leaves Aaron with Sun so that she can go learn more about the custody case against her. After meeting with Norton, the attorney, she learns that he’s going to meet with his client. She follows. Meanwhile, Ben goes to meet up with Jack and Sayid when suddenly Sayid is attacked by an orderly. They find info of Kate on his person, and Jack decides to go find her while Sayid and Ben go to the prison where Hurley is being held. He does and joins Kate on her quest to learn who Norton’s client is. They follow him to the hotel where Carole Littleton, whom they deduced has figured out Aaron is her grandson. Jack confronts Carole but discovers that she knows nothing about the custody trial. It turns out Norton’s client is Ben.
On The Island: After the last time jump, Charlotte has fallen ill. Daniel then reveals that the time jumps will kill them eventually. Locke then deduces that they should go to the Orchid, since that is where Ben moved the Island. As they do, the time jumps take them to the day Aaron was born, sometime in the future where they find a canoe and are chased by unknown assailants, and end up in 1988, when Danielle Rousseau’s team came to the Island. And, the episode ends with Rousseau’s team finding Jin.
Thoughts: *sigh* A Kate episode. We got a Kate episode. Her episodes haven’t been all that good since “What Kate Did.” But, this one is pretty damn good. However, all that goodness isn’t because of Kate. Here, we got Lilly not playing to her strengths: playfulness, tenderness, action sequences. Instead we have here doing straight up romance melodrama, which we’ve learned from “I Do” is her acting kryptonite. No, the goodness from “The Little Prince” is mainly situated not around Kate but on the Island. On the Island, the people left behind are dying because of the time jumps, getting shot at in canoes, and trying to get to the Orchid. In Los Angeles, Kate’s trying to find out who’s suing her for custody of Aaron. To reiterate: Island—romping action flick L.A.—boring legal custody hearing. Half of this episode is “Predator,” and the other half is “Kramer VS Kramer.” And, I ain’t got time for boring legal dramas.
Though, to be fair, not all the stuff going down in L.A. is Kate’s legal woes. Sun has received a care package from Widmore that has photos of Ben and Jack together and a gun. Damn! Sun’s about to get badass. Also, Sayid’s awake and kicking ass. This is all more exciting than Kate’s legal problems. But, they do have a mystery to them: the person who is suing Kate for custody. The obvious answer is Carole Littleton, Aaron’s grandmother. But, luckily the writers, here Vaughan and Taylor, reveal quickly that it ain’t Carole (in a bad scene made bad by Jack). Another possibility is Sun because of her passive aggressiveness toward Kate in the last episode. Then, there’s Ben, because he’s actually the one who is suing Kate. Amazing! Lost introduced a mystery and answered it quickly! The show has been moving at a breakneck pace since “There’s No Place Like Home,” and it’s great to see the writers keeping it going. Another great thing about the Ben reveal is that Kate figures it out herself very quickly and that he doesn’t even try to hide it. Ben playing mind games is so awesome. And, to be honest, there are some good moments with Kate here: Lilly has a great frustrated look when Jack calls her and a nice sweetness when Kate compliments Jack on shaving the beard. Plus, we see Kate at three different stages of her life on the show: helping Claire give birth to Aaron, telling Jack that she’ll take care of Aaron on Penny’s boat, and anxiously trying to keep Aaron in her custody. This was a great way to show how much Aaron means to Kate; props to Vaughan and Taylor for that.
Props to them again for making the Island action so damn good. I really like how they went back to “Do No Harm” and showed how that affects Sawyer and Locke. Sawyer is a little heartbroken having seen Kate again, helping Claire give birth, and losing her because of the time jump. And, Locke sees the beam of light from the Swan, looking at the lowest moment on the Island and feeling ashamed about how he acted on that night. But, he tells Sawyer that he’s grateful for that moment because he needed the pain from it to get to where he is again. Like I said before, Locke had to be broken in order to be fixed by the Island and be it’s savior. Both of these moments are great as they add some thematic depth to the cool action and mysteries that are also happening. For one, the side effects of the time jumps are starting to become more obvious as Juliet and Miles’s noses are bleeding as well. I noticed that some people speculated that Locke and Sawyer seemed fine because they had been on the Island longer than Miles and Charlotte. But, Juliet’s nose was bleeding as well. I think having been on the Island for a long while actually makes it worse. Juliet has been there for three years. And, we do learn that Charlotte and Miles were born on the Island. Then, there’s the canoes from the future. Who put them there? And, who the hell was shooting at our heroes in the other canoe? Well, those are some more unanswered questions. And, I don’t think it was the people who will come to the Island on Ajira 316.
So, all in all, we have a very exciting episode. The Kate stuff brings it down but not much. And, the Island action is…well…action packed. Plus, Sawyer got out some great lines:
• “Who came in these? Other Others?”
• “Time travel’s a bitch.”
• “Thank you Lord!… [time jump into a rainstorm.]… I take that back!”
Oh! And, there was the big twist at the end: Rousseau’s science team coming to the Island and finding Jin out in the Ocean! HOLY s***! Talk about a mind blower! So, Jin is alive! How great is that!? Boy will that reunion be one for the ages. 8/10.
5. This Place Is Death
![](http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m85/hulk6785/Lost/OffAxis.jpg)
Director(s): Paul Edwards
Writer(s): Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Off The Island: Ben and Sayid have met up with Jack and Kate, where it’s revealed that Ben was Norton’s client. To make an already tense situation tense, Sun shows up with Aaron and a gun planning to kill Ben. Then, Ben reveals that Jin is alive and that he can reunite the two, but they all have to go back to the Island. Sayid and Kate, with Aaron, leave; but Jack and Sun go with Ben to a church, where they run into Desmond, looking for Daniel’s mother, who does turn out to be Eloise.
On The Island: Jin spends some time with Rousseau and her team, but they are attacked by the Smoke Monster. Another time jump occurs, taking Jin to when Rousseau killed her people. Rousseau chases after him, but a time jump reunites Jin with Locke, Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, Miles, and Charlotte. He then goes with them to the Orchid, but the time jumps become frequent and take their toll out on everyone, especially Charlotte, who’s dying. Daniel stays with Charlotte as the others go to the Orchid, which Charlotte reveals might be a well if the station isn’t there. Charlotte then reveals to Daniel that she grew up on the Island and was warned by a man to leave, whom she believes was Daniel. Then, she dies. Meanwhile, Locke’s group makes it to the Orchid. Just before leaving, Jin gives Locke his wedding ring and tells him to tell Sun that he’s dead, as he doesn’t want her to come back to this place. Then, Locke goes down the well, runs into Christian again (who tells him to say hello to his son Jack), turns the wheel, and stops the time jumps.
Thoughts: I’ve gone on record for saying that I like Jin and Sun episodes. However, I didn’t really like this one. The reason: the past Jin and Sun episodes had flashbacks and one flashforward. Sure the stories in those were clichéd soap opera-type stuff, but Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae-Kim are such great actors that they were able to elevate the stories through the power of their performances and putting everything they had into them. Here, they still give good performances, but there are no flashbacks. Instead we got a bunch of on Island stuff that is just frustrating as hell. For one, we do see what happened with Rousseau and her team. However, it’s stuff we’ve already known, like how they arrived and Rousseau killing them all. While I did appreciate them showing us Montand getting his arm taken off by the Smoke Monster (a very tense and scary scene), I would have liked to seen something about the sickness or the Others coming to take Alex. Not only that but just two lousy scenes with them! Dammit! Why abandoned a storyline that fans have been wondering about since the first season so quickly!?
Then, there’s Charlotte. Despite her being the cause of some frustration here, it has nothing to do with the character or the actor. In fact, I really liked Rebecca Mader’s performance her. When I said that I wasn’t initially impressed by her but was later won over, this is what I was talking about. She handled the time jump illness very well, switching from child-like wonder to teenage angst amazingly well. What sucks is that just when she won me over, the character was killed off. You see, the character was only suppose to be around for 6 episodes; but because the Writers’ Strike shortened Season 4, they had to keep Charlotte around to Season 5. I understand that, but if you’re gonna keep her around, why not keep her around long enough to give her a full centric episode. At least Libby ain’t alone in being the only character to not get a full centric episode. At least she got one flashback scene in “Confirmed Dead.” Still, I would have loved to seen one full episode that explains her backstory. It would have been a lot better than her just saying that she was born on the Island and that Daniel warned her to get off the Island when she was a kid. Plus, we still don’t know who she knew about the well. Show! Don’t tell!
A few other maddening parts was the frequent time jumps, which only got frequent conveniently around the time Locke decided to go to the Orchid, and Sawyer’s nose bleeding, shooting my “the longer you’re on the Island, the worse the time jumps will affect you” theory. And finally, there was the end, with Eloise being annoyed that Ben couldn’t get all the Oceanic 6 to come to the church but saying that just Jack, Sun, and Desmond will have to do. Jesus Christ! Quit changing the rules! Either it’s they all have to go to prevent a disaster, or the Island will just have to make do! And, this is really frustrating since we know that all the Oceanic 6 are going to go back. So, why even bring this element up if it doesn’t even matter? Dammit! I thought we were done with Lost f***ing with us. But, I should have known better. (By the way, we do learn that Eloise is Daniel’s mother, but that was pretty easy to figure out.)
Despite all this, there are a lot of good parts. Like Mader, Davies gives a good performance. His sadness over Charlotte’s death. And, of course, Kim and Dae Kim give their all in this episode. Also, I liked how Jin gave Locke his wedding ring to prove to her that he’s dead because he doesn’t want Sun to come back; but Ben uses the wedding ring to prove to Sun that Jin’s alive. It’s a great manipulation from Ben. Another great Ben moment: him getting frustrated at Jack. It was like he was speaking for the audience. Plus, Locke turning the wheel was okay, and it got Christian on the show again (John Terry turning in another nice performance)! However, I have to say that I like smart ass alcoholic Christian better than wise ghost Christian. And, there were some great lines, like Montand’s “First a boat, then a helicopter. Next thing you know he'll be talking about a submarine.”; Miles’s “He’s Korean; I’m from Encino.”; and Charlotte’s “Turn it up! I love Geronimo Jackson!” And, finally, I noticed something on the second viewing that makes the Rousseau scene a little easier to swallow: all of Rousseau’s team went into the Temple except for Rousseau, who was stopped by Jin. Then, they ended up turning on Rousseau and tried to kill her. I think going into the Temple is what caused their “sickness.” It makes the scenes a little better, but I was still frustrated with this episode as I was when I first saw it. Still, not a bad episode. 7/10.
6. 316
![](http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m85/hulk6785/Lost/Jackwake506.png)
Director(s): Stephen Williams
Writer(s): Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof
Off the Island: Jack, Ben, Sun, and Desmond learn from Eloise how to get back to the Island: they have 36 hours to take a plane, Ajira 316, to Guam. During the trip, it will fly over the Island and crash. Desmond refuses to join them and leaves. Eloise talks to Jack in private, tells him that he must take an item of Christian’s, and gives him Locke’s suicide note. Afterwards, Jack visits his grandpa and runs into Kate, sans Aaron, who agrees to go back to the Island. They spend the night together and then go to the airport. Jack runs into Sun and sees Sayid, being held prisoner by some woman, and Hurley, who got released thanks to Ben’s lawyer. Ben shows up at the last minute. And Jack meets with the pilot before they take off: Frank Lapidus. Then, the plane crashes.
On the Island: Jack wakes up and finds Hurley and Kate. They are then discovered by Jin in a DHARMA van, wearing a DHARMA jumpsuit.
Thoughts: Damn! I knew they’d get back to the Island, but I didn’t think it would be this soon. Six episodes in to Season 5, and we’re already back on the Island. Though, we still have to fill in some blanks, like: how did everyone end up on the plane? How did Hurley know about the flight as he wasn’t with anyone who would have known about it? Why is Ben so beat up? Why isn’t Desmond with them? Was there a confrontation between the two, since Ben did say he was gonna kill Penny (he did tell Jack that he was going to fulfill an old promise he made to a friend of his)? And, where’s Aaron? What did Kate do with him? And, why can’t Jack ever ask her about him? How did Frank end up as Ajira 316’s pilot? Who was that woman that brought Sayid on the plane? And, who was that other guy in first class? Will these two play a part into the Island’s action? And, why were Jack, Kate, and Hurley the only ones we saw on the Island? What happened to Sayid, Sun, Ben, Frank, and the other Ajira passengers? Are they in different times? And, did the plane even crash? Were the ones who were suppose to go back to the Island just pulled onto the Island? And, what the hell happened to the people left behind? What did they do after Locke turned the wheel? So many great questions set up by this episode that the rest of the season and Season 6 has to answer. Also, it’s amazing how I’ve gone from hating questions to welcoming them. Lost has really pulled a 180 since Season 2 and 3, when they constantly threw out questions with little answers and frustrated me to know end.
However, the questions raised by this episode aren’t the only thing that make it a good one. There were a lot of little touches that worked well: Jack waking up on the Island just like in the pilot. Sayid being held prisoner, like Kate was back in 2004. Hurley buying up most of the first class tickets to keep any more people from getting hurt (and reading Y: The Last Man, the great comic series by Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan). The Lamp-Post, the DHARMA Initiative’s L.A. station (yes, those damn hippie scientists had so many stations on that Island they not only had to put one on another island, they had to put on in L.A.) and Eloise explaining a lot about the Island (apparently it’s always moving). Ben being Ben (lying about knowing about the Lamp-Post, not caring about the other people on the plane, and this nice exchange with Jack: Jack: How can you be reading? Ben: My mother taught me.). Jack and Kate getting back together (Dammit! I now care about those crazy kids!). Ray, Jack’s grandfather (Raymond J. Berry does a good job with this role, showing us how Ray acts and why Christian became the man he did). Jack having problems with transporting dead bodies again. Desmond telling Jack and Sun that they can’t trust anything Eloise says, like Sayid told Hurley about Ben. Frank seeing Jack, Sayid, Kate, Hurley, and Sun and realizing that they aren’t going to Guam. And, the end, with Jin finding Jack, Kate, and Hurley and wearing a DHARMA jumpsuit (I guess that answers what happened with the people Locke left behind).
But, what really makes this a damn good episode is, amazingly (I can’t believe I’m about to write this), Jack. Cuse and Lindelof not only throw in a lot of nice callbacks, references, and just plain awesome characters-being-their characters moments, but they also tell a nice conversion story. This whole episode is about getting Jack from the passive sourpuss we’ve seen in his flashforwards and in the previous Season 5 episodes back to the hero he was on the Island. First, his visit with his grandfather helps him to drop all those daddy issues he has because he can be angry with Christian all he wants; but it ain’t gonna change a thing about what happened between them because he’s dead and what happened, happened. Then, getting back together with Kate clarifies why he’s doing what he’s doing: he’s trying to protect the people he loves, and number 1 on that list is Kate. (Plus, I liked when Kate asked him why held onto his dad’s shoes if they made him sad; I’m guessing because he’d rather feel sad about his father than angry). Then, Ben tells him the story of Thomas the apostle and how he’s always remembered for doubting Jesus’s resurrection instead of bravely leading him to his crucifixion. Jack’s sick of lying, being angry, and doubting everything he sees. And finally, he reads Locke’s suicide note, which just says “I wish…you had believe.” At that moment, he wishes he had believed Locke as well. He wants to be a hero again. And, that’s just what he does when he hears Hurley calling for help. 9/10.
7. The Life And Death Of Jeremy Bentham
![](http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m85/hulk6785/Lost/5x07_Deja_vu.png)
Director(s): Jack Bender
Writer(s): Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof
Plot: The survivors of Ajira 316 are trying to figure out what is going on after the crash. One of the survivors, Caesar, is going through Ben’s desk at the Hydra station, meaning they landed on the runway on the Hydra island. Illana, the woman who took Sayid onto the plane, informs Caesar that a strange man has shown up, Locke. They ask him who he is and how he got there.
Flashbacks: Then, we go through what happened to Locke after he got off the Island. He ended up in Tunisia, like Ben did. However, as he made his way to the wheel, Locke broke his leg; so he’s unable to move. Luckily, a camera is watching him; and some men come to get him. They set his leg, and then Locke is visited by Widmore. He tells Locke about the Oceanic 6 and convinces Locke that he has to go find them and get them back to the Island. Locke gets a fake ID, Jeremy Bentham, and an assistant, Abaddon. Locke visits Sayid, Hurley, Kate, and Jack; but they all refuse to go back. He also learns that Helen has died and is shot at by mysterious assailants, who kill Abaddon. Having failed, Locke plans to kill himself. But, Ben shows up and stops. Then, Ben kills Locke himself and makes it look like a suicide.
Thoughts: Have you noticed how Locke and Jack episodes usually follow one another? In Season 1, Locke’s first episode, “Walkabout,” (which showed that Locke was paralyzed) was followed by Jack’s first one “White Rabbit” (which showed that Jack went to Australia to get his dead dad’s body). Later in that season, “Deus Ex Machina” (Locke meeting his father, which ruined his life) was followed by “Do No Harm” (Jack marrying Sarah, whose life Jack made annoying). In Season 2, “Orientation” (which had Locke meeting Helen and not being able to get over Cooper’s con) came one episode after “Man Of Science, Man Of Faith” (where Jack met Sarah). In Season 4, “Something Nice Back Home” (where Jack began his boozing and pill popping because he started seeing his dead father) was followed by “Cabin Fever” (where Locke repeatedly ignored his destiny). Just look at those episodes: Locke experiences a miracle, Jack loses his father. Locke loses his miracle, Jack desperately searches for one. Both started relationships that ended badly. Both were ignoring the signs in front of them. It’s amazing how these two men are so different yet go through similar experiences. Yet, in Season 5, we go from Jack becoming a believer to Locke having his faith destroyed. One of the big themes of Locke’s arc is how different he is on and off the Island. On the Island, Locke has the confidence of a powerful religious leader. Off the Island, he’s just a pathetic old man who has no one in his life. Sure enough, this is what happens to Locke after he gets off the Island.
First, he has to go back to that wheelchair because he broke his leg trying to move the Island. Then, he meets Widmore, who tells him that he’s gonna help Locke get the Oceanic 6 back to the Island, but it feels a lot like he’s ordering Locke around. Hell, he even had Abaddon take Locke to where needs to be. Remember, Abaddon is the man who put the walkabout idea in his head. Maybe, he’s putting other ideas in his head. Then, Locke goes about getting the people who left to go back, but he fails. His meeting with Sayid goes nowhere (though we do learn that after he stopped working for Ben Sayid went to Santo Domingo to build houses for the poor). His meeting with Walt just amounted to “Hey! What’s up!?” Hurley refused to believe he was even alive at first and then freaked out when he saw Abaddon. Kate flat out said no. All these scene were quite dull, to be honest. Though, I think that was done on purpose to show us Locke’s spirit being broken. Things did pick up when Locke was inspired by Kate to go find Helen, who turned out to be dead (though, knowing Widmore and Abaddon, it was probably faked). After that someone shot and killed Abaddon (which sucks), and Locke was in a car crash and coincidentally taken to Jack’s hospital. Of course that meeting was a dead end, too, despite Locke telling Jack that he saw Christian. So, it all ended with Locke a pathetic old man with nothing to live for. But, just as he’s about to kill himself, Ben comes in and convinces Locke that he got Jack to go flying around the South Pacific hoping to go back to the Island. Just when it seems Locke has his faith back, Ben kills him, using his death as a means to get everyone back, fulfilling Locke’s destiny but for his own purposes. Though, he gets in Locke’s way, just like he took over Locke moving the Island in “There’s No Place Like Home” even though Locke was suppose to do it.
So, what we have is an episode that starts out slow but picks up speed as it goes along. Plus, there were a lot of nice moments along the way: Widmore acting more like a good guy than we’ve seen before and acknowledging that he med Locke when he was 17, Illana and Caesar acting like they purposely got on Ajira 316 to get on the Island, the questions about who killed Abaddon (Ben said he did, but he says a lot of things, not all of them true) and whether Helen is really dead, the answers to the canoes (they ended up there for the people left behind to find because Frank and some woman (Sun) took one to the main Island and the Ajira people taking another one later) and what happened to Ben (he’s on the Hydra island with Locke the Ajira people), the return of the Hydra station and island, and a nice performance from Lance Reddick (that guy is so damn smooth). Though, the best part of this episode is Terry O’Quinn. He delivers a stellar performance, which is a good thing because it is his character’s episode. He beautifully plays the breaking of Locke’s spirit well, from his subtle nuances of uncertainty at the beginning to the obvious depression at the end. It’s real easy to feel sorry for this man and even get teary eyed when he dies, even though he does come back to life, and it’s because O’Quinn wins your sympathy. There is a reason why Locke’s episodes are so good, and it’s not just because they’re usually well written. It’s because O’Quinn has nailed this character since Day 1. And, he once again hits the nail head on. 10/10.
Disc 5—Bonus Features:
Today, we have “Building 23 And Beyond,” deleted scenes, and bloopers.
First, “Building 23 And Beyond,” which has Michael Emerson taking us through tour of the Lost writers’ offices in L.A. You see, the show is made in Hawaii, but all the writing and post-production takes place in an office in Burbank, CA. Show this little featurette was made to show us all the writers, editors, producers, and post-production people, like the “Crew Tribute With Evangeline Lilly” featurette on the Season 3 DVD set had Lilly going around showing us all the crew people on the Hawaii set. By the way, I’m amazed how well this show has been made despite the writers and directors and crew people being separated by an ocean. Sure, it hasn’t always come up roses (“Fire + Water,” “I Do,” “Stranger In A Strange Land,” etc.), but looking at all the great episodes they’ve (“Walkabout,” “Live Together, Die Alone,” “Through The Looking Glass,” “The Constant,” etc.), it’s amazing how they were able to pull off so many wonderful moments despite the vast geographical separation. The featurette itself has some funny moments, like the graphics underneath Cuse and Lindelof says “Killing Ben his idea” under Cuse with an arrow point to Lindelof and under Lindelof it says “His idea” with an arrow point back to Cuse. It’s also a little informative, showing us the writing and editing processes. Not much else to say about other than it’s just a nice way of showing the people who put together episodes we see each week.
Next, we got the deleted scenes for Season 5, which include: Hurley driving Sayid after he’s been hit the tranquilizer darts and wondering what to do after Sayid falls unconscious; Ben talking to Jill the butcher about where Desmond and Penny are located; Juliet looking for Sawyer, who has gone to get Jack, Kate, and Hurley into the DHARMA Initiative; Sun and Frank meeting Christian and thinking he’s one of the Others; Jack inviting Kate to breakfast, despite the fact they’re in 1977 and Sayid has been taken prisoner by the DHARMA Initiative under suspicion that he’s a Hostile (they’re word for the Others); Sun asking Locke why he didn’t come to see her; Horace and Phil asking LaFleur (Sawyer) where he’s been, telling him that Ben has been taken, and coming to the conclusion that it was an inside job; and Daniel explaining to Kate and Jack about how he’s gonna stop the last 30 years of Island history from happening (this was in the episode “The Variable,” but it’s expanded here). Some of these are good. That breakfast scene with Jack and Kate was funny, mainly for how non-chalant Jack acted despite the dire circumstance I described. And, I did like the expanded scene with Daniel explaining his plan. I assume it was trimmed down just for time. The others, however, are good but don’t seem necessary to the episodes they were cut from. So, they were deleted for a reason.
And, finally, we have the bloopers. If you don’t know what these are by now, then leave! Anyway, it was pretty funny. In fact, I think it was the funniest blooper reel yet.
So, that’s it for today. I’ll try to have next episodes up over the weekend and hopefully finish this thing up on Monday. Just keep fingers crossed.
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Season 5-Disc 2
4. The Little Prince
![](http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m85/hulk6785/Lost/Kaaron.jpg)
Director(s): Stephen Williams
Writer(s): Brian K. Vaughan & Melinda Hsu Taylor
Off The Island: Kate leaves Aaron with Sun so that she can go learn more about the custody case against her. After meeting with Norton, the attorney, she learns that he’s going to meet with his client. She follows. Meanwhile, Ben goes to meet up with Jack and Sayid when suddenly Sayid is attacked by an orderly. They find info of Kate on his person, and Jack decides to go find her while Sayid and Ben go to the prison where Hurley is being held. He does and joins Kate on her quest to learn who Norton’s client is. They follow him to the hotel where Carole Littleton, whom they deduced has figured out Aaron is her grandson. Jack confronts Carole but discovers that she knows nothing about the custody trial. It turns out Norton’s client is Ben.
On The Island: After the last time jump, Charlotte has fallen ill. Daniel then reveals that the time jumps will kill them eventually. Locke then deduces that they should go to the Orchid, since that is where Ben moved the Island. As they do, the time jumps take them to the day Aaron was born, sometime in the future where they find a canoe and are chased by unknown assailants, and end up in 1988, when Danielle Rousseau’s team came to the Island. And, the episode ends with Rousseau’s team finding Jin.
Thoughts: *sigh* A Kate episode. We got a Kate episode. Her episodes haven’t been all that good since “What Kate Did.” But, this one is pretty damn good. However, all that goodness isn’t because of Kate. Here, we got Lilly not playing to her strengths: playfulness, tenderness, action sequences. Instead we have here doing straight up romance melodrama, which we’ve learned from “I Do” is her acting kryptonite. No, the goodness from “The Little Prince” is mainly situated not around Kate but on the Island. On the Island, the people left behind are dying because of the time jumps, getting shot at in canoes, and trying to get to the Orchid. In Los Angeles, Kate’s trying to find out who’s suing her for custody of Aaron. To reiterate: Island—romping action flick L.A.—boring legal custody hearing. Half of this episode is “Predator,” and the other half is “Kramer VS Kramer.” And, I ain’t got time for boring legal dramas.
Though, to be fair, not all the stuff going down in L.A. is Kate’s legal woes. Sun has received a care package from Widmore that has photos of Ben and Jack together and a gun. Damn! Sun’s about to get badass. Also, Sayid’s awake and kicking ass. This is all more exciting than Kate’s legal problems. But, they do have a mystery to them: the person who is suing Kate for custody. The obvious answer is Carole Littleton, Aaron’s grandmother. But, luckily the writers, here Vaughan and Taylor, reveal quickly that it ain’t Carole (in a bad scene made bad by Jack). Another possibility is Sun because of her passive aggressiveness toward Kate in the last episode. Then, there’s Ben, because he’s actually the one who is suing Kate. Amazing! Lost introduced a mystery and answered it quickly! The show has been moving at a breakneck pace since “There’s No Place Like Home,” and it’s great to see the writers keeping it going. Another great thing about the Ben reveal is that Kate figures it out herself very quickly and that he doesn’t even try to hide it. Ben playing mind games is so awesome. And, to be honest, there are some good moments with Kate here: Lilly has a great frustrated look when Jack calls her and a nice sweetness when Kate compliments Jack on shaving the beard. Plus, we see Kate at three different stages of her life on the show: helping Claire give birth to Aaron, telling Jack that she’ll take care of Aaron on Penny’s boat, and anxiously trying to keep Aaron in her custody. This was a great way to show how much Aaron means to Kate; props to Vaughan and Taylor for that.
Props to them again for making the Island action so damn good. I really like how they went back to “Do No Harm” and showed how that affects Sawyer and Locke. Sawyer is a little heartbroken having seen Kate again, helping Claire give birth, and losing her because of the time jump. And, Locke sees the beam of light from the Swan, looking at the lowest moment on the Island and feeling ashamed about how he acted on that night. But, he tells Sawyer that he’s grateful for that moment because he needed the pain from it to get to where he is again. Like I said before, Locke had to be broken in order to be fixed by the Island and be it’s savior. Both of these moments are great as they add some thematic depth to the cool action and mysteries that are also happening. For one, the side effects of the time jumps are starting to become more obvious as Juliet and Miles’s noses are bleeding as well. I noticed that some people speculated that Locke and Sawyer seemed fine because they had been on the Island longer than Miles and Charlotte. But, Juliet’s nose was bleeding as well. I think having been on the Island for a long while actually makes it worse. Juliet has been there for three years. And, we do learn that Charlotte and Miles were born on the Island. Then, there’s the canoes from the future. Who put them there? And, who the hell was shooting at our heroes in the other canoe? Well, those are some more unanswered questions. And, I don’t think it was the people who will come to the Island on Ajira 316.
So, all in all, we have a very exciting episode. The Kate stuff brings it down but not much. And, the Island action is…well…action packed. Plus, Sawyer got out some great lines:
• “Who came in these? Other Others?”
• “Time travel’s a bitch.”
• “Thank you Lord!… [time jump into a rainstorm.]… I take that back!”
Oh! And, there was the big twist at the end: Rousseau’s science team coming to the Island and finding Jin out in the Ocean! HOLY s***! Talk about a mind blower! So, Jin is alive! How great is that!? Boy will that reunion be one for the ages. 8/10.
5. This Place Is Death
![](http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m85/hulk6785/Lost/OffAxis.jpg)
Director(s): Paul Edwards
Writer(s): Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Off The Island: Ben and Sayid have met up with Jack and Kate, where it’s revealed that Ben was Norton’s client. To make an already tense situation tense, Sun shows up with Aaron and a gun planning to kill Ben. Then, Ben reveals that Jin is alive and that he can reunite the two, but they all have to go back to the Island. Sayid and Kate, with Aaron, leave; but Jack and Sun go with Ben to a church, where they run into Desmond, looking for Daniel’s mother, who does turn out to be Eloise.
On The Island: Jin spends some time with Rousseau and her team, but they are attacked by the Smoke Monster. Another time jump occurs, taking Jin to when Rousseau killed her people. Rousseau chases after him, but a time jump reunites Jin with Locke, Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, Miles, and Charlotte. He then goes with them to the Orchid, but the time jumps become frequent and take their toll out on everyone, especially Charlotte, who’s dying. Daniel stays with Charlotte as the others go to the Orchid, which Charlotte reveals might be a well if the station isn’t there. Charlotte then reveals to Daniel that she grew up on the Island and was warned by a man to leave, whom she believes was Daniel. Then, she dies. Meanwhile, Locke’s group makes it to the Orchid. Just before leaving, Jin gives Locke his wedding ring and tells him to tell Sun that he’s dead, as he doesn’t want her to come back to this place. Then, Locke goes down the well, runs into Christian again (who tells him to say hello to his son Jack), turns the wheel, and stops the time jumps.
Thoughts: I’ve gone on record for saying that I like Jin and Sun episodes. However, I didn’t really like this one. The reason: the past Jin and Sun episodes had flashbacks and one flashforward. Sure the stories in those were clichéd soap opera-type stuff, but Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae-Kim are such great actors that they were able to elevate the stories through the power of their performances and putting everything they had into them. Here, they still give good performances, but there are no flashbacks. Instead we got a bunch of on Island stuff that is just frustrating as hell. For one, we do see what happened with Rousseau and her team. However, it’s stuff we’ve already known, like how they arrived and Rousseau killing them all. While I did appreciate them showing us Montand getting his arm taken off by the Smoke Monster (a very tense and scary scene), I would have liked to seen something about the sickness or the Others coming to take Alex. Not only that but just two lousy scenes with them! Dammit! Why abandoned a storyline that fans have been wondering about since the first season so quickly!?
Then, there’s Charlotte. Despite her being the cause of some frustration here, it has nothing to do with the character or the actor. In fact, I really liked Rebecca Mader’s performance her. When I said that I wasn’t initially impressed by her but was later won over, this is what I was talking about. She handled the time jump illness very well, switching from child-like wonder to teenage angst amazingly well. What sucks is that just when she won me over, the character was killed off. You see, the character was only suppose to be around for 6 episodes; but because the Writers’ Strike shortened Season 4, they had to keep Charlotte around to Season 5. I understand that, but if you’re gonna keep her around, why not keep her around long enough to give her a full centric episode. At least Libby ain’t alone in being the only character to not get a full centric episode. At least she got one flashback scene in “Confirmed Dead.” Still, I would have loved to seen one full episode that explains her backstory. It would have been a lot better than her just saying that she was born on the Island and that Daniel warned her to get off the Island when she was a kid. Plus, we still don’t know who she knew about the well. Show! Don’t tell!
A few other maddening parts was the frequent time jumps, which only got frequent conveniently around the time Locke decided to go to the Orchid, and Sawyer’s nose bleeding, shooting my “the longer you’re on the Island, the worse the time jumps will affect you” theory. And finally, there was the end, with Eloise being annoyed that Ben couldn’t get all the Oceanic 6 to come to the church but saying that just Jack, Sun, and Desmond will have to do. Jesus Christ! Quit changing the rules! Either it’s they all have to go to prevent a disaster, or the Island will just have to make do! And, this is really frustrating since we know that all the Oceanic 6 are going to go back. So, why even bring this element up if it doesn’t even matter? Dammit! I thought we were done with Lost f***ing with us. But, I should have known better. (By the way, we do learn that Eloise is Daniel’s mother, but that was pretty easy to figure out.)
Despite all this, there are a lot of good parts. Like Mader, Davies gives a good performance. His sadness over Charlotte’s death. And, of course, Kim and Dae Kim give their all in this episode. Also, I liked how Jin gave Locke his wedding ring to prove to her that he’s dead because he doesn’t want Sun to come back; but Ben uses the wedding ring to prove to Sun that Jin’s alive. It’s a great manipulation from Ben. Another great Ben moment: him getting frustrated at Jack. It was like he was speaking for the audience. Plus, Locke turning the wheel was okay, and it got Christian on the show again (John Terry turning in another nice performance)! However, I have to say that I like smart ass alcoholic Christian better than wise ghost Christian. And, there were some great lines, like Montand’s “First a boat, then a helicopter. Next thing you know he'll be talking about a submarine.”; Miles’s “He’s Korean; I’m from Encino.”; and Charlotte’s “Turn it up! I love Geronimo Jackson!” And, finally, I noticed something on the second viewing that makes the Rousseau scene a little easier to swallow: all of Rousseau’s team went into the Temple except for Rousseau, who was stopped by Jin. Then, they ended up turning on Rousseau and tried to kill her. I think going into the Temple is what caused their “sickness.” It makes the scenes a little better, but I was still frustrated with this episode as I was when I first saw it. Still, not a bad episode. 7/10.
6. 316
![](http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m85/hulk6785/Lost/Jackwake506.png)
Director(s): Stephen Williams
Writer(s): Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof
Off the Island: Jack, Ben, Sun, and Desmond learn from Eloise how to get back to the Island: they have 36 hours to take a plane, Ajira 316, to Guam. During the trip, it will fly over the Island and crash. Desmond refuses to join them and leaves. Eloise talks to Jack in private, tells him that he must take an item of Christian’s, and gives him Locke’s suicide note. Afterwards, Jack visits his grandpa and runs into Kate, sans Aaron, who agrees to go back to the Island. They spend the night together and then go to the airport. Jack runs into Sun and sees Sayid, being held prisoner by some woman, and Hurley, who got released thanks to Ben’s lawyer. Ben shows up at the last minute. And Jack meets with the pilot before they take off: Frank Lapidus. Then, the plane crashes.
On the Island: Jack wakes up and finds Hurley and Kate. They are then discovered by Jin in a DHARMA van, wearing a DHARMA jumpsuit.
Thoughts: Damn! I knew they’d get back to the Island, but I didn’t think it would be this soon. Six episodes in to Season 5, and we’re already back on the Island. Though, we still have to fill in some blanks, like: how did everyone end up on the plane? How did Hurley know about the flight as he wasn’t with anyone who would have known about it? Why is Ben so beat up? Why isn’t Desmond with them? Was there a confrontation between the two, since Ben did say he was gonna kill Penny (he did tell Jack that he was going to fulfill an old promise he made to a friend of his)? And, where’s Aaron? What did Kate do with him? And, why can’t Jack ever ask her about him? How did Frank end up as Ajira 316’s pilot? Who was that woman that brought Sayid on the plane? And, who was that other guy in first class? Will these two play a part into the Island’s action? And, why were Jack, Kate, and Hurley the only ones we saw on the Island? What happened to Sayid, Sun, Ben, Frank, and the other Ajira passengers? Are they in different times? And, did the plane even crash? Were the ones who were suppose to go back to the Island just pulled onto the Island? And, what the hell happened to the people left behind? What did they do after Locke turned the wheel? So many great questions set up by this episode that the rest of the season and Season 6 has to answer. Also, it’s amazing how I’ve gone from hating questions to welcoming them. Lost has really pulled a 180 since Season 2 and 3, when they constantly threw out questions with little answers and frustrated me to know end.
However, the questions raised by this episode aren’t the only thing that make it a good one. There were a lot of little touches that worked well: Jack waking up on the Island just like in the pilot. Sayid being held prisoner, like Kate was back in 2004. Hurley buying up most of the first class tickets to keep any more people from getting hurt (and reading Y: The Last Man, the great comic series by Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan). The Lamp-Post, the DHARMA Initiative’s L.A. station (yes, those damn hippie scientists had so many stations on that Island they not only had to put one on another island, they had to put on in L.A.) and Eloise explaining a lot about the Island (apparently it’s always moving). Ben being Ben (lying about knowing about the Lamp-Post, not caring about the other people on the plane, and this nice exchange with Jack: Jack: How can you be reading? Ben: My mother taught me.). Jack and Kate getting back together (Dammit! I now care about those crazy kids!). Ray, Jack’s grandfather (Raymond J. Berry does a good job with this role, showing us how Ray acts and why Christian became the man he did). Jack having problems with transporting dead bodies again. Desmond telling Jack and Sun that they can’t trust anything Eloise says, like Sayid told Hurley about Ben. Frank seeing Jack, Sayid, Kate, Hurley, and Sun and realizing that they aren’t going to Guam. And, the end, with Jin finding Jack, Kate, and Hurley and wearing a DHARMA jumpsuit (I guess that answers what happened with the people Locke left behind).
But, what really makes this a damn good episode is, amazingly (I can’t believe I’m about to write this), Jack. Cuse and Lindelof not only throw in a lot of nice callbacks, references, and just plain awesome characters-being-their characters moments, but they also tell a nice conversion story. This whole episode is about getting Jack from the passive sourpuss we’ve seen in his flashforwards and in the previous Season 5 episodes back to the hero he was on the Island. First, his visit with his grandfather helps him to drop all those daddy issues he has because he can be angry with Christian all he wants; but it ain’t gonna change a thing about what happened between them because he’s dead and what happened, happened. Then, getting back together with Kate clarifies why he’s doing what he’s doing: he’s trying to protect the people he loves, and number 1 on that list is Kate. (Plus, I liked when Kate asked him why held onto his dad’s shoes if they made him sad; I’m guessing because he’d rather feel sad about his father than angry). Then, Ben tells him the story of Thomas the apostle and how he’s always remembered for doubting Jesus’s resurrection instead of bravely leading him to his crucifixion. Jack’s sick of lying, being angry, and doubting everything he sees. And finally, he reads Locke’s suicide note, which just says “I wish…you had believe.” At that moment, he wishes he had believed Locke as well. He wants to be a hero again. And, that’s just what he does when he hears Hurley calling for help. 9/10.
7. The Life And Death Of Jeremy Bentham
![](http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m85/hulk6785/Lost/5x07_Deja_vu.png)
Director(s): Jack Bender
Writer(s): Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof
Plot: The survivors of Ajira 316 are trying to figure out what is going on after the crash. One of the survivors, Caesar, is going through Ben’s desk at the Hydra station, meaning they landed on the runway on the Hydra island. Illana, the woman who took Sayid onto the plane, informs Caesar that a strange man has shown up, Locke. They ask him who he is and how he got there.
Flashbacks: Then, we go through what happened to Locke after he got off the Island. He ended up in Tunisia, like Ben did. However, as he made his way to the wheel, Locke broke his leg; so he’s unable to move. Luckily, a camera is watching him; and some men come to get him. They set his leg, and then Locke is visited by Widmore. He tells Locke about the Oceanic 6 and convinces Locke that he has to go find them and get them back to the Island. Locke gets a fake ID, Jeremy Bentham, and an assistant, Abaddon. Locke visits Sayid, Hurley, Kate, and Jack; but they all refuse to go back. He also learns that Helen has died and is shot at by mysterious assailants, who kill Abaddon. Having failed, Locke plans to kill himself. But, Ben shows up and stops. Then, Ben kills Locke himself and makes it look like a suicide.
Thoughts: Have you noticed how Locke and Jack episodes usually follow one another? In Season 1, Locke’s first episode, “Walkabout,” (which showed that Locke was paralyzed) was followed by Jack’s first one “White Rabbit” (which showed that Jack went to Australia to get his dead dad’s body). Later in that season, “Deus Ex Machina” (Locke meeting his father, which ruined his life) was followed by “Do No Harm” (Jack marrying Sarah, whose life Jack made annoying). In Season 2, “Orientation” (which had Locke meeting Helen and not being able to get over Cooper’s con) came one episode after “Man Of Science, Man Of Faith” (where Jack met Sarah). In Season 4, “Something Nice Back Home” (where Jack began his boozing and pill popping because he started seeing his dead father) was followed by “Cabin Fever” (where Locke repeatedly ignored his destiny). Just look at those episodes: Locke experiences a miracle, Jack loses his father. Locke loses his miracle, Jack desperately searches for one. Both started relationships that ended badly. Both were ignoring the signs in front of them. It’s amazing how these two men are so different yet go through similar experiences. Yet, in Season 5, we go from Jack becoming a believer to Locke having his faith destroyed. One of the big themes of Locke’s arc is how different he is on and off the Island. On the Island, Locke has the confidence of a powerful religious leader. Off the Island, he’s just a pathetic old man who has no one in his life. Sure enough, this is what happens to Locke after he gets off the Island.
First, he has to go back to that wheelchair because he broke his leg trying to move the Island. Then, he meets Widmore, who tells him that he’s gonna help Locke get the Oceanic 6 back to the Island, but it feels a lot like he’s ordering Locke around. Hell, he even had Abaddon take Locke to where needs to be. Remember, Abaddon is the man who put the walkabout idea in his head. Maybe, he’s putting other ideas in his head. Then, Locke goes about getting the people who left to go back, but he fails. His meeting with Sayid goes nowhere (though we do learn that after he stopped working for Ben Sayid went to Santo Domingo to build houses for the poor). His meeting with Walt just amounted to “Hey! What’s up!?” Hurley refused to believe he was even alive at first and then freaked out when he saw Abaddon. Kate flat out said no. All these scene were quite dull, to be honest. Though, I think that was done on purpose to show us Locke’s spirit being broken. Things did pick up when Locke was inspired by Kate to go find Helen, who turned out to be dead (though, knowing Widmore and Abaddon, it was probably faked). After that someone shot and killed Abaddon (which sucks), and Locke was in a car crash and coincidentally taken to Jack’s hospital. Of course that meeting was a dead end, too, despite Locke telling Jack that he saw Christian. So, it all ended with Locke a pathetic old man with nothing to live for. But, just as he’s about to kill himself, Ben comes in and convinces Locke that he got Jack to go flying around the South Pacific hoping to go back to the Island. Just when it seems Locke has his faith back, Ben kills him, using his death as a means to get everyone back, fulfilling Locke’s destiny but for his own purposes. Though, he gets in Locke’s way, just like he took over Locke moving the Island in “There’s No Place Like Home” even though Locke was suppose to do it.
So, what we have is an episode that starts out slow but picks up speed as it goes along. Plus, there were a lot of nice moments along the way: Widmore acting more like a good guy than we’ve seen before and acknowledging that he med Locke when he was 17, Illana and Caesar acting like they purposely got on Ajira 316 to get on the Island, the questions about who killed Abaddon (Ben said he did, but he says a lot of things, not all of them true) and whether Helen is really dead, the answers to the canoes (they ended up there for the people left behind to find because Frank and some woman (Sun) took one to the main Island and the Ajira people taking another one later) and what happened to Ben (he’s on the Hydra island with Locke the Ajira people), the return of the Hydra station and island, and a nice performance from Lance Reddick (that guy is so damn smooth). Though, the best part of this episode is Terry O’Quinn. He delivers a stellar performance, which is a good thing because it is his character’s episode. He beautifully plays the breaking of Locke’s spirit well, from his subtle nuances of uncertainty at the beginning to the obvious depression at the end. It’s real easy to feel sorry for this man and even get teary eyed when he dies, even though he does come back to life, and it’s because O’Quinn wins your sympathy. There is a reason why Locke’s episodes are so good, and it’s not just because they’re usually well written. It’s because O’Quinn has nailed this character since Day 1. And, he once again hits the nail head on. 10/10.
Disc 5—Bonus Features:
Today, we have “Building 23 And Beyond,” deleted scenes, and bloopers.
First, “Building 23 And Beyond,” which has Michael Emerson taking us through tour of the Lost writers’ offices in L.A. You see, the show is made in Hawaii, but all the writing and post-production takes place in an office in Burbank, CA. Show this little featurette was made to show us all the writers, editors, producers, and post-production people, like the “Crew Tribute With Evangeline Lilly” featurette on the Season 3 DVD set had Lilly going around showing us all the crew people on the Hawaii set. By the way, I’m amazed how well this show has been made despite the writers and directors and crew people being separated by an ocean. Sure, it hasn’t always come up roses (“Fire + Water,” “I Do,” “Stranger In A Strange Land,” etc.), but looking at all the great episodes they’ve (“Walkabout,” “Live Together, Die Alone,” “Through The Looking Glass,” “The Constant,” etc.), it’s amazing how they were able to pull off so many wonderful moments despite the vast geographical separation. The featurette itself has some funny moments, like the graphics underneath Cuse and Lindelof says “Killing Ben his idea” under Cuse with an arrow point to Lindelof and under Lindelof it says “His idea” with an arrow point back to Cuse. It’s also a little informative, showing us the writing and editing processes. Not much else to say about other than it’s just a nice way of showing the people who put together episodes we see each week.
Next, we got the deleted scenes for Season 5, which include: Hurley driving Sayid after he’s been hit the tranquilizer darts and wondering what to do after Sayid falls unconscious; Ben talking to Jill the butcher about where Desmond and Penny are located; Juliet looking for Sawyer, who has gone to get Jack, Kate, and Hurley into the DHARMA Initiative; Sun and Frank meeting Christian and thinking he’s one of the Others; Jack inviting Kate to breakfast, despite the fact they’re in 1977 and Sayid has been taken prisoner by the DHARMA Initiative under suspicion that he’s a Hostile (they’re word for the Others); Sun asking Locke why he didn’t come to see her; Horace and Phil asking LaFleur (Sawyer) where he’s been, telling him that Ben has been taken, and coming to the conclusion that it was an inside job; and Daniel explaining to Kate and Jack about how he’s gonna stop the last 30 years of Island history from happening (this was in the episode “The Variable,” but it’s expanded here). Some of these are good. That breakfast scene with Jack and Kate was funny, mainly for how non-chalant Jack acted despite the dire circumstance I described. And, I did like the expanded scene with Daniel explaining his plan. I assume it was trimmed down just for time. The others, however, are good but don’t seem necessary to the episodes they were cut from. So, they were deleted for a reason.
And, finally, we have the bloopers. If you don’t know what these are by now, then leave! Anyway, it was pretty funny. In fact, I think it was the funniest blooper reel yet.
So, that’s it for today. I’ll try to have next episodes up over the weekend and hopefully finish this thing up on Monday. Just keep fingers crossed.