This Week In Lost - 1/21/09

Welcome readers, to the first installment of This Week In Lost! I think Jack said it best; "We have to go back," and that we did, by watching ABC's three hour event for the premiere of Lost's 5th season. First off was an hour long clip show, with series' writers/directors about events of the series that should be noted for this season. Nothing great, but it's helpful for those that haven't had a fix of Lost since season 4 ended last year. As usual with season premieres, there were two episodes to bring us into the new season. Let's get to it!

Episode 1: "Because You Left"
Zach says: The season starts out with a whole mess of things going on with almost all, if not all of the characters. The episode opens with the Dr. of the Dharma Initiative readying himself to record an orientation video for the Arrow station, which is planned to collect info on the "hostiles." However, after starting the video, he is alerted to an issue with the building of the Orchid station, where some crazy stuff is about to go down. The main thing that you are made aware of is that the doctor knows about the special characteristics of the Orchid and knows that behind a thick slab of concrete, a huge energy source awaits, which has the ability to manipulate time, which happens to be the premise of perhaps the entire season.

Even though we see Locke dead after the fourth season, he is still very much so alive in season five. From various sources, we know that the Oceanic 6 have been on the mainland for 3 years now, so the story moves back and forth within a three-year window, from the ones left on the island to those not. However, it is quickly noted that the island didn’t simply disappear, but is instead traversing not space, but time. Another unfortunate effect, which will be prevalent throughout the season, is the fact that the island doesn’t stay in one time, but moves back and forth through time, so you’ll see familiar characters appear in places where maybe they shouldn’t, which can make for some interesting scenarios. While many of the characters are very confused by what is going on, Richard, the "leader" of the others, is very aware of the situation and perhaps how to remedy it, when he helps John with a situation or two.

There are some other major plot points to account for, but yeah, that’s why you watch the episode for yourself. So basically, a lot of stuff happened in this opener, and I’m pretty excited for the rest of the season and to see what happens and how it all comes together. Most of your favorite characters are accounted for and all the intrigue is still there, with a strong focus on plot.
Zach's score: 9/10

JDW says: Here it is, the season 5 premiere. After getting an hour long refresher from the clip show I was ready to get back in the Lost mood. The episode opens up with an interesting scene with the Dharma Initiative and Daniel Faraday, that reveals that all is not as we thought it was. We soon return to Jack and Ben, getting ready to get everyone back to the island. And then we see what happened when the island disappeared, and well... then it just gets wacky. Like, time travel wacky. And well that pretty much is the key to the entire episode, so I won't spoil it just yet.

All in all, this was a good episode. The aspect of time travel has certainly made the show even more interesting, and yet more convoluted than it already was. None the less, it's a great way to get people re-interested in the show since season 4 ended last year. I especially enjoyed getting a further look into the mind of Daniel Faraday, as he's got a close relation to my favorite character, Desmond Hume. Onto the second episode of the season premiere!
JDW's score: 9.2/10

Episode 1 Overall Score: 9.1/10

Episode 2: "The Lie"
Zach says: This episode starts off on Ms. Widmore’s boat where the Oceanic 6 are rescued and decide that they have to lie, although, Hurley, as the cuddly teddy bear that he is, strongly opposes this decision and hates that he has to lie. However, Hurley must go along with it, and in the present time, gets freed from his mental ward by Sayid, who kills a few more people while trying to escape. Through their adventure, they run into Jack, but Hurley doesn’t trust that wily Ben, so instead ops to, let’s say, run away. An interesting thing through this segment of the show though, is that Hurley meets up with some other dead characters through visions, so it could be inferred that perhaps Hurley can see ghosts, like that one guy from Widmore’s tanker.

The rest of the episode has Kate on the run from some lawyers who want DNA to prove that she is not the mother of Claire’s baby, and she ends up meeting with Sun, who has some underlying business with Mr. Widmore. Ben is seen talking to a variety of people, one of which alerts him to the fact that he only has 70 hours to get the Oceanic 6 back to the island, which could be very difficult seeing as how some members are quite unwilling. There is also quite a disturbance on the island, as the time traveling is causing certain effects on some people, and puts others in interesting situations as they try to interact with interesting and unknown figures on the island that will undoubtedly have outcomes and trimmers running throughout the season.
Zach's score: 9/10

JDW says: Back in the past, this part opens with the "Oceanic 6" discussing their future on Penny Widmore's boat. Soon after, flash forward, to Hurley fleeing from the cops, only to find out his mind is up to its old tricks. On the parallel, Sun, Jack, Kate, and Ben each have their own plans of where to go next, though chances are their paths will once again cross. But back on the island is another story, where the threat of time travel isn't the only thing they have to worry about.

Well, after the first episode had me interested, surely one would hope the next one would top that ... right? Not the case. My biggest issue with this episode is that it loses its focus way too much. There's a lot of jumping between Ben, Jack, Kate, and Hurley, and not enough focus on why we're watching: the island. All I can hope is that next week's episode give us more of what we want.
JDW's score: 7.5/10

Episode 2 Overall Score: 8.3/10

And there you have it, season five has started, and so has this new feature. Come by next Thursday when we'll have our reviews for the third episode of the season. Sorry, you can't get three hour events every week.

Missed the episodes on TV? Watch them at ABC.com