Lost is a United States serial drama television series that follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a passenger jet flying between Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, United States crashes somewhere in the South Pacific. Each episode typically features a primary storyline on the island as well as a secondary storyline from another point in a character’s life. The show was created by Damon Lindelof, J. J. Abrams and Jeffrey Lieber, and is filmed primarily on location in Oahu, Hawaii. The pilot episode was first broadcast on September 22, 2004. Since then, three seasons have aired. The show is produced by ABC Studios, Bad Robot Productions and Grass Skirt Productions and airs on the ABC Network in the United States. Its incidental music is composed by Michael Giacchino. The current executive producers are Abrams, Lindelof, Bryan Burk, Jack Bender and Carlton Cuse. Because of its large ensemble cast and the cost of filming in Hawaii, the series is one of the most expensive on television.
From the Lost Wikipedia entry.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
This episode is Michael story. The story is told with an almost continuous flashback after Michael left the island in the season finale of season 2, They Live Together They Die Together.
One storyline takes place on the boat and in the present. Sayid and Desmond want answers from Michael. The other one tells Michael’s story after he left the island. The third storyline takes place at the Barracks.
So Michael is back. He killed Ana and Libby in order to get his son back. However, things didn’t work out for him in NYC. Walt is with his mother and Michael has a deathwish. He meets Tom as he is about to commit suicide again. Tom tells him that the island won’t let him die yet. This is proven at least five times during this episode. Michael is on the boat to save everyone on the island, at least that is what Tom and Ben tell him. Initially, he was supposed to detonate a bomb. However Ben had other plans for him. He tasks Michael as being their spy on board. Michael is the saboteur. After the recital of his tale, Sayid turns Michael in to Captain Gault.
In the Barracks, Ben tells Alex to leave for the Temple, the only safe location on the island. He warns them that if he is caught, the people on the freighter will kill everyone on the island. Rousseau, Karl and Alex make for the Temple but are ambushed on the way. Karl is shot multiple times. Rousseau is shot once in the chest. Alex surrenders by screaming that she is Ben’s daughter. It’s not apparent if it was the Others or the Widmore’s mercenaries who ambushed them.
If it was the Others, I found their disposal of Karl and Rousseau very cold. It’s probably the mercenaries. Efforts have been made to humanize the Others. They are not ruthless killers. Naomi must have landed with the soldiers and they have been hiding on the island.
I’m not sure that Rousseau is dead. She only got shot once, even though that would be enough to die, I would be surprised that she is dead. Rousseau has spent decades on the island. It’s understood that she has a deep connection with it. If the island won’t let Michael die, it won’t let Rousseau die either. This remains to be proven in later episodes.
This episode was the last scheduled episode of the abbreviated fourth season of Lost. However, since the WGA strike is over, five more episodes are currently being filmed. That’s good, because this episode would have made a bad season finale. Not enough questions have been answered.
I like how the Others get to wander off the island and do their business in the world. It’s now apparent that the Others are trying to be in communion with the island, whereas Widmore is just trying to exploit it in some fashion. I was surprised mostly by the apparition of Harper in Episode 6: The Other Woman. It was otherworldy, the way she appeared out of nowhere and disappeared once she had given her message to Juliet. Something must have happened in the years that they have stayed on the island, because in the flashbacks Harper seemed somewhat normal, albeit slightly deranged for a psychotherapist.
Then again, the Others have always been mysterious. Even though the Losties were their captives in Season 3, their mystery is far from being elucidated. I still feel that this season is moving at a snail’s pace. It’s annoying that not a lot seems to be happening. There were some incredible revelations about Desmond’s teletemportation in Episode 5 The Constant, which was the best episode of Lost this season by far, however too many questions are still unanswered. I just hope that by the end of this season, we get some more.
This is what makes Lost a great show.
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Kevin Johnson is Michael’s new name among the losties. The last time we saw Michael, he had killed Ana Lucia and Libby. Ben let Michael and Walt leave the island on a boat. He looked upon Jack, Kate and Sawyer as they were imprisoned by the Others. This episode is Michael centric.
Locke’s band is uncomfortable with Ben’s presence. Locke brings in Miles. Locks tells them about Miles’ plans for Ben. Ben informs them that once they have him, they will kill everyone on the island. Ben says that his spy on the boat is Michael.
Sayid and Desmond are sleeping in their bunk. The alarm sounds. They come to the deck. Captain Gault is beating up part one of his crewmember who was trying to leave the Kahana with some of his companions.
Gault tells Michael to clean up the mess. Sayid asks him why he is on the boat. Michael answers that he is here to die.
Sawyer intercepts Locke and Miles. Sawyer found it convenient that Locke didn’t mention the 3 million dollars that Miles asks for. Miles laughs and tells them that Ben will find a way to get him the money. He’s a resourceful man. Only last week Sawyer had a gun to his head. Now he’s eating pound cake.
Ben gives Alex a map to the Temple, the last safe place on the island in his opinion. He wants her to go there. Rousseau is none too happy about him speaking with her daughter. Ben says that the Others are already there. The Temple isn’t for the rest of them. He wants them to go. Rousseau agrees. They need to go. Ben calls the people who are after him more dangerous than himself. Ben tells his foster daughter that her mother will take care of them.
Sayid and Desmond meet with Michael. Michael doesn’t want to talk, but Sayid makes sure he understands that he doesn’t have the option of not talking.
The story shifts to Michael’s life after leaving the island. He made it out. This happened during season 3. Michael was about to commit suicide. He used his car, but survived. He woke up in a hospital. He hallucinates Libby in the ICU. The nurse asks him if he wants her to call Walt. It was the name on his suicide note. Later, Michael pays a visit to his mother. Walt doesn’t want to see Michael. They are living under assumed names. She won’t let him see Walt. They have been absent for two months. As Michael leaves, he sees Walt in the window.
Immediately afterwards, Michael exchanges Jin’s Rolex for a gun and some bullets. He was about to shoot himself when Tom walks by. Michael tries to shoot Tom, he’s not successful. Tom decks him. They continue to scuffle. Tom says that they want his help.
Michael told Walt that he killed Ana and Libby. Since then, Walt won’t see his father. Tom tells him that the Island won’t let him die. Later, Michael tries to shoot himself, but the gun won’t fire. He tries twice without any success. He stops when he sees a report on Oceanic Flight 815. He goes to see Tom at the penthouse of Hotel Earl.
Tom is with his gay friend Arturo, which implies that Tom is gay. Tom tells Michael that Widmore staged the whole thing about the plane. Widmore wants no one to know where the Island is. Michael asks for proof.
Widmore dug up 300 graves in Thailand. He bought an old plane through shell companies. Then he shows Michael the orders for the shipping operation to dump the plane into the trench. Tom tells him that he is going onto Widmore’s boat, the Kahana. Tom knows that Widmore has finally found the coordinates of the Island. He is going to kill everyone on board the boat. He will join the crew in Fiji as a deckhand.
Michael meets Minkowski. Michael checks in with Naomi. Naomi tells him that a crate was delivered for him. Miles sees him. He says that his name isn’t Kevin. Miles tells him not to worry, 80% of the people on the boat are lying about something. Tom phones him to wait a day or two until they are off shore and then he should do the deed. Michael throws his phone away.
In transit, Michael overhears an argument between Frank Lapidus and Naomi. Frank tells him about the mission of the Kahana. To find the real location of Oceanic Flight 815.
He sees some of the mercenaries doing some target practice. He opens his box. He finds a metallic suitcase. He goes to the engine room. It contains a bomb. He is about to arm it when he sees Libby again, warning him not to do it. He still arms it. It’s set to explode fifteen seconds later. It doesn’t explode. Michael gets a message from the Others. They tell him “Not yet”.
Minkowski tells him that he’s got a phone call from Walt. It’s not Walt, it’s Ben. Ben was surprised that Michael actually activated the bomb. Ben tells him that there are innocent people on his boat. Ben wants a list of everyone on the boat. He will give him the list. He will then disable the radio room and the engine room. Then the people on the boat will never be able to come to the Island. Michael welcomes him into the fold. He’s part of the Others now.
The scene shifts back to the engine room. Sayid doesn’t believe him. He takes him to see Gault. He exposes Michael to Gault.
On the Island, Rousseau, Alex and Carl take a break on their way to the Temple. Carl tells Alex that he has a bad feeling about this. Seconds afterwards, they are under fire. Carl is killed. Rousseau tries to get away with Alex and she is shot once in the chest. Alex gets up and screams that she is Ben’s daughter.
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