Hello, Lost fans! This season being really short, I have decided to cover the whole season in one (slightly long) post each. It was crazy how quickly this season flew by for me, and there are A LOT of major changes that have been made to the show since last season. I’m going to talk about these changes, and also a little about the new characters. And, of course, what “Lost for Beginners” review post would be complete without a trip on the Sawyer-Coaster (maybe the last one EVER!!!!) Let’s get started.
So, first I’d like to talk a little bit about the four new characters that have been integrated (albeit begrudgingly) into the group. Since the manner in which they were introduced reminds me of the “Tailies,” and since they come from the freighter, they will hence be known as the “Freighteries.” Not the kindest name, I know, but neither is “Oceanic Six,” so we’re even. First, we have Daniel, a physicist who seems to be a generally good guy. Even though he lies to the castaways more often than not, he does help save Desmond’s life in episode 5, “The Constant” (more on that episode and its significance later). Then there’s Miles, a cynical ghost whisperer who ends up trying to bribe Ben. I really like the addition of his character to the show, because he is a large part of what helps move the show all the way into the sci-fi/fantasy genre. Before Miles was introduced, we’d seen a few characters with supernatural powers: we’ve got Walt’s bird-killing, Desmond’s flashes, Richard’s apparent immortality, and Jacob’s invisibility and telepathy. However, none of these have been as concrete and explicit as Miles’ ability to commune with the dead. Walt’s powers are merely hinted at, Desmond’s flashes are the result of a freak accident and can’t be controlled, Richard as a character hasn’t really been explored at all yet, and we’ve only seen Jacob once. Now, however, we have a series regular who has this supernatural ability; no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Furthermore, he uses his ability to helpful ends in a few episodes. A character who has control over and isn’t afraid to use his superhuman power is a definite mark of a sci-fi/fantasy show. However, something about Miles just doesn’t sit well with me, which I’ll talk about later on. Next, we’ve got Charlotte, a British anthropologist. As of right now, I really don’t like her. She comes to the Island with no intention of rescuing the castaways and no intention of revealing information about why she’s there and who she works for, and then she constantly gets unreasonably angry when the castaways are distrusting of her. At least Daniel knows full well that he’s deceiving everybody, and understands when the castaways rightfully shut him out. We can’t say that for Charlotte. And she doesn’t do anything to try and get the castaways to like her, either. Everything she says to them is some sort of criticism or snarky remark. In addition to that, she so far hasn’t added anything significant to the show, aside from being a possible love interest for Daniel. Finally, there’s Frank, definitely my favorite of the bunch! He’s just a laid-back, down-to-earth pilot who figured out on his own that the Flight 815 wreckage was faked, and did something about it (albeit not knowing what was ultimately going to happen). He’s nice to everyone he meets on the Island, and by the end of the season, he’s even risking his own life to help the castaways out, which is much more than we can say for Daniel, Miles, or Charlotte. Here’s a guy who’s not afraid to do what’s right, no matter what the cost, and I really hope we get to see more of him in the seasons to come.
The introduction of new characters isn’t the only way in which the show has changed. Starting with the season 3 finale, the show has gotten downright TRIPPY! One main reason for this is the harsh contrast between the scenes taking place on the Island and the flash-forwards in which six of the characters (the “Oceanic Six”) have been rescued. In the flashbacks from previous seasons, we saw the characters behaving in similar ways on-Island and off-Island. Any changes in their behavior came gradually and were aspects of character development on the Island. Now, some of the characters we see in the flash-forwards are radically different from the characters we have known and loved for 3 seasons. For example, Jack, leader of the castaways who always does what’s best for the group, has become a pill-popping alcoholic whose life has spiraled out of control. Sayid, who loathes Ben probably more than anyone else on the Island, has become an assassin working for Ben! These drastic about-faces played back to back provide the viewer with a feeling of disorientation unlike anything the show has thrown at us so far. Also, the nonlinear aspect of the storytelling is much more pronounced now; I mean, we’ve always had the flashbacks, but in many cases, these flashbacks merely set up the circumstances for the main dramatic action that was taking place on the Island. Now, the flash-forwards ARE the main dramatic action! Equal importance is placed on the goings-on of the Island, and the Oceanic Six’s post-rescue lives. The scenes taking place in both the present and the future are integral to where the storyline is going (wherever the hell that may be!), and all of the characters are (or will be) affected by every event that’s shown taking place, which is more than can be said for the good ol’ flashbacks. So while this change demands a lot more from the viewer, at least we can rest assured that we’ll no longer be subjected to inconsequential flashback stories showing us things like how Jack got his tattoo.
Now I’ve heard that at around this point, many viewers stopped watching the show because it got too sci-fi for their taste. While it’s quite true that the show has gotten distinctively more sci-fi oriented this season, I’m not entirely sure why this change alienated viewers. I mean, it’s not as if the show had been totally realistic before now and the writers just decided to abruptly take it into sci-fi territory. Right from the beginning, there have been supernatural elements sprinkled throughout the show, and they’re simply coming to fruition now. Let’s take a look back; in the first few episodes of the first season, we’ve seen an invisible monster that can destroy everything in its path, polar bears, miraculous healing, and hallucinations of dead characters. Clearly, there was already something weird going on here on this Island right from the start. True, the writers have chosen lately to further develop the sci-fi aspects of the show, but even the most bizarre paranormal twists are not outside the scope of believability on this show, because we’ve known from the beginning that this Island was special, and that anything could happen here.
So let’s take a brief look at the factors that have eased along the show’s transition into full-blown sci-fi/fantasy territory. First is the introduction of Miles, as explained previously. Also a large factor is the prevalence of time travel. Now, the first glimpse of time travel we got was in the season 3 episode “Flashes Before Your Eyes,” when Desmond’s consciousness was being projected back, forcing him to re-live some painful events of his life. Since then, we hadn’t seen any more of it. That is, until episode 5 of this season, “The Constant.” In this episode, we get a more extensive look into time travel, and we get the sense that it’s going to be a recurring thing on the show, which it is proven to be, a few episodes later. And, last but not least, in the season finale, “There’s No Place Like Home,” Ben makes the Island…well, I don’t want to spoil it for you. Suffice to say it’s CRAZY!
There’s also been a new development with characterization this season, or at least I never noticed it before. A few of the new characters we’ve been introduced to serve as “shadows” of some of the main castaways. In other words, some new characters seem to represent the negative aspects the main characters, aspects the main characters have sort of “outgrown” since coming to the Island. The Island really has brought out the best in many characters, and I didn’t realize how far many of them have evolved as human beings until being reminded of their former negative qualities by way of the new characters. Let me give an example of what I’m talking about. The one I noticed first was Miles as Sawyer’s “shadow.” All along, Miles has been sarcastic and kind of a jerk at times, but the similarities between him and the Sawyer of season 1 didn’t fully strike me until episode 10, “Something Nice Back Home.” Miles, Sawyer, Claire, and Aaron are on a long journey back to camp, and Miles starts hitting on Claire, in a very crude manner, might I add. Sawyer, taking on the role of protective leader, puts an ad hoc restraining order on Miles, essentially forbidding him from coming within 20 feet of Claire. They make camp and say good night, and the next morning Claire is gone. Sawyer starts freaking out, asking if Miles saw anything. Miles admits that he was woken up by Claire leaving in the middle of the night, calling for her father. Sawyer asks him why the hell he didn’t do anything to stop her, and Miles smugly replies, with that devilish smile on his face, “You gave me a restraining order.” Now let’s look at what has just happened. Miles is acting completely irresponsible, apathetic, and irreverent. Sound familiar? Haven’t we seen this character somewhere before? Yes, we have. It’s exactly how Sawyer used to act in season 1. Remember, back when he used to make demeaning sexual remarks to Kate and not give a crap about anyone but himself? What Miles has just said and done is like a page right out of Sawyer’s season 1 script. As viewers, this event gets us to recall what Sawyer used to be like in case we had forgotten, and also to see how much he’s grown as a person, going from being an obnoxious little bastard to a genuinely noble guy who puts obnoxious little bastards (like Miles) in their place.
This “shadow” thing also happens to an extent with Sayid and the kill-happy ex-marine from the freighter, Martin Keamy. Through flashbacks, we’ve seen that back in the Gulf War, Sayid’s job had been to torture people. The job forced him to push away all emotion and just carry out the brutal deeds that he was asked to carry out. Similarly, Keamy doesn’t question the orders he’s been given by Widmore to kill every living thing on the Island, and actually seems to relish the task. Since coming to the Island, Sayid has moved away from the person he used to be and has become caring, and a very noble leader. Seeing Keamy’s eagerness to kill innocent people is like seeing an even worse version of the Sayid we’ve seen in the flashbacks, and again, it reminds us of Sayid’s personal growth since coming to the Island.
The final example of this, although not entirely the same, is between Locke and Ben. Toward the end of the season, Ben prepares to leave the Island and appoints Locke as his replacement once he’s gone. Ben is essentially trying to train Locke to become a better version of himself which, in many ways, he already is. They’re both “special,” in terms of knowledge of the Island and ability to communicate with the still-mysterious Jacob, but Locke’s actions are usually selfless and in the best interests of his people, while Ben has done some horrendous things for purely selfish reasons. The two of them exchange some meaningful dialogue, during which Ben advises Locke on how to be a better leader than he ever was, giving him advice like “Don’t let your emotions have control over your leadership decisions; I’m sure you’ll do a better job with that than I ever did.” This rings very true at the moment, considering that very recently, Ben has been guilty of this (blinded by grief over his daughter, he essentially kills everyone on the freighter).
This scene had far-ranging implications for me, and for my opinion of Ben as a character. Through this scene, we see a side of Ben that we’ve never seen before; a regretful, sorrowful, even guilt-ridden Ben. Upon seeing him like this, I couldn’t help but feel bad for him! Just like it’s impossible to hate a guy being carried around on a stretcher, it’s equally impossible to hate a guy who’s just watched his daughter die, and knows that his time on the Island is up. Now granted, if he had just surrendered to Keamy, Alex would still be alive, but judging by the look on Ben’s face when Keamy shot her, Ben really hadn’t been expecting Keamy to actually do it. I really think Ben genuinely loved Alex as his own, and that saying “I stole her from a crazy woman, I don’t care what happens to her” was a ploy to try and get Keamy to release her. So, at this point, all the terrible things Ben has done seemed only a memory, and all I saw in front of me was a heartbroken father grieving over his daughter. Yes, folks; I never thought this day would come, but I feel sorry for Benjamin Linus. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!?!
So what does this mean for my future viewing? Well, my sympathy for Ben dropped considerably when he let everyone on the freighter die, similar to the way my sympathies for Sawyer used to rise and fall with each new action he took. So, ladies and gentlemen, it looks as if I’m going to be getting on a new ride. It seems that my opinion of Sawyer is permanently high; this was cemented by how protective he was of Hurley and Claire in “Something Nice Back Home”, and even more so by the sacrifice he makes at the end of “There’s No Place like Home.” So I think my trip on the Sawyer-coaster is over; I’ve made up my mind that he’s a really good, even lovable guy (or at least, he’s BECOME a really good, even lovable guy). I’m sure I’ll still be talking a lot about Sawyer, because he still is a very interesting character, but I don’t think he’ll be taking any more dips when it comes to my opinion of him. So, I’m shifting my coaster attention to Ben, who I bet will be going up and down in my esteem quite a lot in seasons to come. In future posts, I’ll be riding the “Ben-coaster,” and following his moral development (or lack thereof) as a character, the way I did with Sawyer. So join me next time for the first half of season 5 as we take our first trip on the Ben-coaster, discover DHARMA, and see Tabula Rasa happen all over again. Until later, see you in another life!
