This, by far, is my favorite episode of the year.
The majority of this season there has been a lack of that "Lost" feeling. The feeling that I got in so many episodes that were thrilling, dramatic, and all around entertaining. But for much of this season, watching it was like putting together a puzzle when you couldn't see what the pieces were making. There were elements of entertainment, sure. Yet much of it was not all that thrilling. Fortunately, starting last week, that changed.
What changed is that the characters who we have been rooting for over these last six seasons finally started taking control instead of aimlessly wandering around. They were no longer waiting for things to happen but instead made the decision to formulate plans. Plans to get off the island. Plans to stop Locke from leaving. Not quite the same as hoping that someone tells them what to do and far more dramatic for that matter. And in that drama, the long Lost feeling returned.
First, the island story. Locke's plan to eliminate all of the Candidates made total sense but was absolutely a surprise. His long con firmly cemented his place as completely evil. The entire season, where he has been convincing the candidates they had to leave together, was a sham from the start. As Jack said, he couldn't kill them, so it would be up to them to kill each other. Placing the bomb in the backpack would have done nothing, but allowing them to detonate the bomb themselves is a different situation altogether. And unfortunately, Sawyer didn't trust Jack on this point.
Despite the fact that I knew a bomb wasn't going to take out the majority of the season regulars four episodes before the finale, there was a very palpable sense of tension throughout the entire scene and the entire episode for that matter. I knew they were going somewhere but I didn't know where it would be. And there was no way of knowing what sort of danger was lurking around the corner. Was Widmore planning on killing them all or did Locke have something up his sleeve? The answer seems to be both, but Widmore's motivations still aren't totally clear.
What it did do though was allow for Sayid to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Granted, if he wouldn't have taken the bomb and ran, he would have died anyway but still. The point was made that at this juncture he wanted his friends to live. He didn't kill Desmond last week and clearly was recognizing that he didn't have to be evil. Of course, after he was "claimed" what "unclaimed" him? I'm not really clear as to what "claiming" means, but I find it possible that it had something to do with his chat with Desmond unlocking the goodness within him. To see this redemption from Sayid was both emotional and exciting.
Yet, the true emotion was shared in a Titanic-like moment between Jin and Sun. These two characters who have been through so much and separated for so long become eternally entwined in this incredible moment of unity. There was no way Jin was going to give up and when Giacchino's awesome "Life and Death" theme kicked in, I knew they weren't bound to survive. Although I do feel like Sun should have said something like, "Maybe you should try and go home to take care of our daughter so she's not an orphan", the moment was real and extremely touching.
Ultimately this leads to the moment on the beach where Jack, Hurley, Kate, and unconscious Sawyer are dealing with the ramifications of what just happened and they all just lose it. The crippling loss and destruction of this most recent experience coupled with everything else they have been gone through over the years puts a poignant cap on an already stellar episode. Hopefully this sets that team into a more proactive mode because nothing is more thrilling than seeing characters at their lowest point rise up and confront that which put them there. That anger, hurt, and betrayal will all be funneled into an attitude of "We end this now." And that is something that I cannot wait to see. The look on Locke's face when he realized that they weren't all dead, that he could just feel the fact that he was still trapped, was a tiny victory that the characters have yet to understand or even know of.
The sideways world on the other hand was one that mirrored the island story rather nicely. Jack is finally understanding that there is something going on here that isn't normal. His connection to all these people from the same flight means something, although he doesn't quite know what it is yet. But he's starting to put the pieces together. His leadership role in both worlds is something that continues to grow as we move toward the finale. And his motivation to help Locke is the result of something, but again, it's something he doesn't quite understand. Locke's mind seems to be opening up as well, with his mentions of the button and how he wished people believed him while sleeping. In addition to Jack saying that similar line about being believed and Locke paused for a moment of recognition.
Here's my biggest gripe. I feel like the sideways world is the endgame. That the character's lives in the sideways world all happen after the island, which follows because characters from the sideways world are remembering their island lives. If this is in fact the case, having this knowledge almost lessens the sacrifices of characters in these remaining episodes. Granted this is all pure speculation, but based on what I have seen thus far, when Sayid, Sun, and Jin died, in the back of my mind I was telling myself "It's no big deal, they're going to end up alive in the sideways world anyway." This lessened the dramatic tension a bit, but not completely. There is still much to be revealed about the way these two timelines connect. I just wish that I didn't have this gut reaction to it because then I would have treated it the same way I treated Charlie's death. Or Juliet's for that matter when there were fewer clues as to how these worlds connected.
Also, some of the submarine stuff seems slightly convoluted. I feel like the C4 would have done more damage or the submarine would have had more emergency safeguards in the event that the sub needed to reach the surface quickly. Especially it seemed that they hadn't been submerging for that long. Of course, these are just minor nitpicks that were probably dramatic license to provide more compelling drama.
Overall, this episode didn't provide us with many answers. But I'm realizing more and more that answers aren't necessarily what I'm looking for first and foremost. I want to be entertained. I want to care about what happens to these people. And I want it to make thematic and dramatic sense. I am incredibly excited to see where this goes next, and I certainly feel as if next week's episode in which apparently no series regulars appear, will not only entertain but provide a history of the island along with many of the answers about what exactly this island is.
And the fact that they just extended the finale from two to two and a half hours on Sunday, May 23 at 9:00-11:30 makes me even more excited than ever. I can't wait.
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