Lost Season Four: More of the Same
Review by Mike HeronimeWhen the last season of Lost ended, we couldn't figure out what we would do with our Wednesday nights so we decided to re-watch the last three seasons of Lost before tonight's premier of Season Four. We watched a couple of episodes each Wednesday until we got to January and then mapped out how many episodes we had left before January 31st. In January, we watched about 4 to 5 episodes each week. Last night we watched the last two episodes of Season Three in our final preparation for Season Four's commencement (God, we sound like such dorks).
Like so many others, we have been captivated by the mystery of Lost. With every new story thread it's easy to doubt that the creators of the show are following a central plot. Or that they even know themselves what the answers are to their web of questions and puzzles. It's not hard to believe that Lost's creators aren't even sure how this whole crazy thing is going to end yet. And then, when you pour over the episodes again, you see how all these things are connected, even if you still don't know what they mean.
Near the end of Season Three, you start to imagine that you're so very close to learning the answers to the secrets of Lost. Hanging out with the Others revealed so much, but in typical Lost fashion, raised so many more questions. And with a stroke of genius, they feed us a flash-forward which totally turns everything upside down again. Then comes the promotions for Season Four. "Lost is now Found," they say. "All your questions will be answered," they promise.
Tonight's episode does what Abrams and Lindeloff and company have done so well for the last three seasons. It convinces you that you know what everything means, and then Jack walks in on Hugo and Hugo apologizes, "I shoulda gone with you instead of Lock." Whoosh! What happened? How did Hugo end up off the island if he went with Jack? What's Charlie talking about? Is Hugo crazy? And if Jack's not crazy, what's Kate's problem? The flash forwards are amazingly effective as story telling devices. Maybe even more so then the flash backs. That might be the biggest surprise yet. Every season, nearly every episode, these guys rewrite the rule book, spin their story in a new direction, introduce new characters and new story threads, create new devices, and of course, new mysteries.
Tonight's season premier of Lost is just like all of the other episodes. It's unexpected. Exciting. Perplexing. Mesmerizing. And satisfying in it's ability to leave you wanting moe. So much more. Here's to a new season of Lost.
