A Few Thoughts on Lost
I’m going to start by saying that I think that Season 5 of Lost could end up being the best season of the series.
Season 5 has been better episode-to-episode than any of the previous seasons and there has been very little wasted time.
Season 4 had a unique format, which was that the audience knew all season long that by the end of the season we would know both who had left the island and how, and also who had stayed behind and why. I enjoyed that format, because it was still able to surprise even though the audience already had a basic framework for the season.
Season 5, however, had told all of the stories it was required to tell (How the Oceanic 6 got back to the island, How John Locke died, what happened when Ben moved the island) by the seventh episode, which makes everything that has happened since then a unique surprise, especially the most recent episode “Dead is Dead”.
This is how I would rank the episodes of the season so far, with “Jughead” being my favorite and “The Little Prince” being my least favorite:
1. Jughead- Do I really have to explain why this is the best episode of the season so far and one of the best of the series?
2. Dead is Dead- The two previous Ben-centric episodes were “The Man Behind the Curtain” and “The Shape of Things to Come.” All three episodes are strong contenders for the top 10 best Lost episodes ever.
3. The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham- What is Locke doing off the island and what did he say when he went to see everyone? How did Locke die? Why is he calling himself Jeremy Bentham? What happens once he gets back to the island? All answered here.
4. Lefleur- What has everyone else been up to the past three years? This is the first Sawyer-centric episode since Season 3 and Sawyer really delivered.
5. This Place is Death- Most of us thought we’d never get to see Danielle’s backstory, and I don’t think any of us thought that we would finally get to see it from Jin’s perspective. A LOT of other stuff happened too.
6. 316- Set the stage for the rest of the season by showing most of the Oceanic 6 get back to the island, but not telling us exactly how they all ended up on the plane.
7. Whatever Happened, Happened- I generally dislike Kate-centric episodes but this one was alright. Mostly felt like setup for something bigger (The next episode, Dead is Dead, was, in fact, something bigger).
8. Because You Left- Introduced time travel to the show. Love it for that reason.
9. Namaste- Again, felt mostly like set up for something bigger. The best part was Sun and Frank talking to Christian in the present.
10. The Lie- The off-island was stuff was lame and there was too much of it. The island was JUMPING THROUGH TIME. How can Hurley (played by Jorge Garcia, the weakest actor of the nearly immaculate ensemble) and his issues be more important than that?
11. He’s Our You- Didn’t move us forward much until the very end.
12. The Little Prince- Blah blah blah
Now, with that out of the way, please allow me to tell you five things I want (NEED) to see before the end of the season.
1. We’ve heard that the island isn’t yet done with Desmond, so this season must show us Desmond’s return. We have only seen Desmond a few brief times this entire season, so I take it that there will be a huge Desmond presence in the finale (Desmond has played a pivotal role in the last three season finales) to make up for it.
2. We haven’t seen Daniel Faraday in several episodes and we heard Sawyer say that he is “gone.” I trust that his story will be told in full by season’s end, and we will also revisit the first scene of the season where we saw Daniel meddling around at the Orchid Station construction. Perhaps his meddling will eventually lead to “the incident?” We’ll see.
3. The survivors of Ajira 316, especially Illana with her “what lies in the shadow of the statue” babble, are alive and on the island for a reason, otherwise the island would have let them die in the crash. I think that by the end of the season the island will have revealed that purpose, hopefully killing most of them in the process and leading us to a “back-to-basics” Season 6.
4. The main characters haven’t been together in one place since the first episode of Season 4, and that must change in the season finale. I need everyone back together in one time period which will hopefully allow for Season 6 to take place entirely on the island, including flashbacks. I mean, I can only think of a few off-island stories which still remain to be told (namely how/why Hurley got on the plane, how Desmond gets back to the island, etc.).
5. My #5 can only happen if my #4 happens, and I’m pretty sure that it will. Jack and Locke have always been at odds, and their man of science/man of faith relationship and the resulting conversations have always been interesting and integral to the show. But one of the key character developments through this season has been Jack’s change into a man of faith. I can’t wait for Jack and Locke to be re-united so that they can lead the group together, both as men of faith.
