Lost: Beginning of the End

If you know me, then you now my love for Lost is borderline obsessive. So it's safe to say that I was absolutely geeking out about the return of my beloved show. The Season 3 finale was one of the greatest television finales of all time, and I was very worried that the premiere wouldn't live up to the hype. Thankfully, it accomplished that and maybe a bit more.

Normally Lost premieres start off by completely changing the way you look at the show within the first few minutes. This wasn't the case this time around, as this premiere picked up right where Season 3 left off, only this time with a Hurley flash-forward, and the introduction of the "Oceanic 6". Future Hurley signals a very different direction for his character that I'm glad to see. For three seasons, Hurley was mainly comic relief, and now he's in a much darker place due to the circumstances that Hurley, Kate, Jack and three others were able to get off of the island under. Just like Jack's flash-forward proved, escaping the island has done nothing less than ruin the lives of those who have escaped. Hurley's visions of Charlie, along with the visit from Matthew Abbaddon, are the beginnings of a much deeper storyline that will explain why only 6 people made it off of the island, and why they are keeping certain facts secret.

The on-island arc during this episode was a good stage-setter for the rest of the season, with the survivors splitting between Camp Locke and Camp Jack. Jack's side trusts that the people on the freighter are there to rescue them, and Locke's side is following the warnings of Charlie and Ben, who say the people on the freighter aren't who they say they are. These scenes were very well done, and were high on the nostalgia scale, as the back drop was the front of Oceanic 815. Watching everyone react to Charlie's death, and at the same time the semi-fall of Jack as the central leader of the group were pivotal scenes. I'm also very intruiged by Hurley's statement to Jack that he wishes that he had followed him to begin with. Makes you wonder. Then there is the sequence involving Hurley and Jacob's cabin. Hurley gets lost and stumbles upon Jacob's crib. When he looks inside he sees a shadowy figure that is none other than Jack's Dad, Christian. Whether or not that is really Christian Shepard or not is yet to be seen, as the island has been know to play mind games with people in the past.

I do have some small complaints about this episode. There were a couple of scenes that were very high in the corn department. The biggest perpetrator being the small little exchange between Rose, Sun, and Claire. I will forever fast forward through that scene as it was some of the worst acting this show has ever witnessed. The other was the character cross between Ana-Lucia's old partner and Hurley. It was out of place and unnecessary. Not so much the fact that he was the detective, but more so that he thought Ana-Lucia was beautiful. It made me think he never had watched the show.

In the end, this was a very solid way to start what could be a very short Season 4. Hurley has been established as a much more diverse character with a bigger role to play, and the split between Jack and Locke should provide some good television. Then there is the "Jacob" element, and who knows what road that might take us down.

This weeks episode is called "Confirmed Dead" and should shine some light on who the freighter folk really are. There is also a rumor that Lost has resumed filming despite the writer's strike not being resolved. If that's the case, then we might get semi-closure to Season 4. Here's hoping.

9/10