Review catch-up: Lost

508: 'LeFleur'

Wr: Elizabeth Sarnoff & Kyle Pennington
Dr: Mark Goldman

Synopsis: Sawyer perpetrates a lie to protect the remaining survivors from the mistakes of the past.

Review: The first Sawyer-centric episode since the early hours of season three and it's an absolute beaut. While 'LeFleur' is hardly revelation or action heavy, it still manages to hold its head up with the big boys thanks to Josh Holloway's tour de force in the lead role. He's fantastic here, expertly demonstrating James' transformation from wandering miscreant to cool-headed hub of the DHARMA community and making it all seem entirely logical. The dual 1974-1977 time structure could easily have produced some hamfisted developments in the hands of a lesser crew, but here the viewer buys every change, not the least of which is Sawyer and Juliet's budding romance which seems so obvious now that we begin to question why we never thought about it before. While the ending is hardly a shocker, 'LeFleur' is less about dramatic upturns and more about repositioning, laying the groundwork for Lost's trajectory in the remainder of season five and at that, it succeeds admirably. Oh, and did you all spot the back of the four-toed statue? Looks rather Egyptian to me... 9.4

509: 'Namaste'

Wr: Brian K. Vaughan & Paul Zbyszewski
Dr: Jack Bender

Synopsis: After meeting old acquaintances Sawyer is forced to continue lying to protect them.

Review: Unusually for Lost, 'Namaste' is a centric-less episode. While there have been a smattering in the show's history, it comes as something of a surprise at this stage, given that 'LeFleur' effectively set the show back on its more traditional course in terms of episodic structure. Still, no matter... his is a fun hour, no two ways about it. The integration of Jack, Kate and Hurley into the DHARMA Initiative is marvellously tongue-in-cheek: Sawyer assigning Jack to 'workman' duties certainly gave this reviewer something to smile about for a good week or so. Comeuppance, much? There are some interesting developments to ponder here too: we meet the fabled Radzinsky for the first time, the man who blew his brains out in The Swan when it all got too much and Desmond ended up having to replace him. He's making plans for something... hmm, wonder what it could be?! *nudge, wink* Sawyer and Jin's efforts to contain the situation with poor wandering Sayid are suitably entertaining, and it's obviously a joy to see young Ben from 'The Man Behind The Curtain' again, in what is a role reversal loaded with meaning (it's not so long ago that Sayid was on the other side of a set of metaphorical bars, talking to our favourite Other). Perhaps the most intriguing plot progression, however, occurs in the 'contemporary' storyline: why, exactly, is Sun in 2007 and not with the rest of the Oceanic Six? What is 'Christian Sheppard' (Jacob?) doing wandering around the Smokie-d Barracks? And just how is the thirty year time disparity going to be resolved? Maddening, isn't it? 9.1

510: 'He's Our You'

Wr: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Dr: Greg Yaitanes

Synopsis: Everyone on the island is at risk when one of the survivors decides to go against them and take matters into their own hands.

Review: There's something slightly lacking in 'He's Our You'; it seems that its substance isn't sufficient to maintain a high level of interest for its duration. During a few of Sayid's fairly contemporary 'flashbacks' with Ilyana, the plot smacks too greatly of events in the guy's last centric episode, season four's superior 'The Economist'. While deja vu may have been what the writers were going for in order to create some cyclical artistic symbolism, it falls a little flat. And it's regrettably predictable, given that we know the man was handcuffed to her from the events of '316'. The better material is to be found in 1977 as Naveen Andrews does a stellar job of representing Sayid's emotional journey and dilemma vis a vis Ben, with the minimum of dialogue. His 'torture' scene is immense fun, his encounters with young Ben drip with ambiguity and that final scene... well, that's an almighty shocker, even if it is glaringly obvious that what we think has happened, hasn't. In essence, Andrews makes this one and elevates it above satisfactory. 8.3

511: 'Whatever Happened, Happened'

Wr: Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof
Dr: Bobby Roth

Synopsis: Kate,Sawyer and Juliet try to save Ben. Kate starts to tell the truth about the lie in order to keep Aaron from harm.

Review: I've never been much of a fan of Kate-centric episodes so it's refreshing to note that this one had me suitably engaged and even managed to offer some intriguing points to ponder to boot. As predicted, our favourite bespectacled anti-hero is alive and mildly kicking and his journey into the hands of Alpert and co. is decidedly interesting, particularly when the Others make their presence felt. This talk of Ben 'never being the same' and 'always being one of us' seems to suggest that, in attempting to stop the boy from becoming the monster he knows in the future, Sayid has actually sealed his fate and created the monster. How's that for cyclicality? Thankfully, the writing staff maintain the course they've hinted at since 'Because You Left' regarding the function of time travel on the show, emphasising the importance of the tone set by the episode's title. There's even a little amusingly self-referential dialogue between Hurley and Miles on the issue which, despite being written and shot months ago, perfectly captures the debate currently raging online. Hopefully, it'll iron out any kinks that the misunderstanding folk still have. And Kate's 2007 'flashback'? Entirely unoffensive and logical. Although I could've done without the 'Claire lookalike' that actually looked nothing like her. A solid instalment then, that positions our players for the inevitable unravelling that is to come. 8.6

512: 'Dead Is Dead'

Wr: Elizabeth Sarnoff & Brian K. Vaughan
Dr: Stephen Williams

Synopsis: To atone for sins of the past, Ben must attempt to summon the smoke monster in order to be judged.

Review: It's always the Ben episodes, isn't it? Season three's 'The Man Behind The Curtain' and year four's 'The Shape of Things to Come' are unquestionably series classics, ranking in the top ten episodes ever and now along comes 'Dead Is Dead' to repeat the trick. Hats off to Michael Emerson: he makes this hour what it is, effortlessly veering from conniving, untrustworthy menace to rabbit-in-the-headlights meanderer, from bumbling new Other to repentant, sorrowful 'father' in the blink of an eye, and he engages our sympathies every step of the way (well, except for when he's shooting Desmond and threatening Penelope, that is.) That's no small feat for a mass-murdering sociopath. Credit must also go to Liz Sarnoff and Brian Vaughan for a stellar script that oozes mystery, from its out and out creepy characterisation of Locke as all-knowing Jesus figure, to Widmore's descent from wise leader to banished traitor (how amazing is Alan Dale throughout this, by the way? From "kill it" to "I'll be seeing you, boy" he sends shivers down your spine with every word) to *that* sequence in the Temple with the apparently Egyptian smoke monster. And how about the new Losties, eh? 'What lies in the shadow of the statue'? Pardon me? Mind-boggling stuff and all the more excellent because of it. Oh and what, exactly, is with Smokie's plug? 9.5

513: 'Some Like It Hoth'

Wr: Melinda Hsu & Greggory Nations
Dr: Jack Bender

Synopsis: Suspicions about a possible breach intensify after Ben is taken from the infirmary, and a reluctant Miles is forced to work with Hurley when he's asked to deliver an important package to a top Dharma official.

Review: The weakest episode of the season, but a far cry from the kind of mediocre travesties that plague other contemporary American television serials (Sarah Connor Chronicles, hang your head in shame). No, 'Some Like It Hoth' is still the sort of well-written, engaging drama that Lost's peers have wet dreams about writing. It's taught, peppered with interesting revelations and contains a smattering of wonderfully executed scenes (Miles, Dr Chang and Hurley in the DHARMA Van/Jack confronting Roger etc.) There's also a refreshing bout of comedy to raise a few smirks: as usual, Jorge Garcia pitches the humour perfectly, particularly when he reveals he's writing The Empire Strikes Back. The main problem, however, is that after the intrigue-heavy 'Dead is Dead', Miles' back story and sojourn to The Orchid and The Swan feel rather lightweight. There's little meat to sink our teeth into, save for a very tantalising cliffhanger and, I suppose, the reveal that Miles is Chang's son which, to be fair, is done with little to nothing in the way of foreshadowing and so packs a decent punch. If only I hadn't called it several episodes ago... 8.0