I’m so glad LOST is back. For the first time in months I was riveted to the TV for two hours last night enjoying every minute of both episodes. (The second episode will be reviewed in my next post.)
*** WARNING: Spoilers Abound ***
For the people on the mainland, we see that fate slowly bringing the survivors back together. I guess no matter how much of a fuss they put up, they’re destined to return to that island no matter what. The storyline of Syiad and Hurley was interesting but really was serving as a setup to the next episode.
The truly interesting part of the season premier was seeing what happened to those who were left on the island. Juliet and Sawyer have become the de facto leaders of the group trying to navigate them through the time shifting they’re experiencing. And I’m glad they’ve set Daniel Faraday up as more than just a science geek. Apparently he’s going to be the key to getting them out of their time shifting mess.
The writers are walking a tightrope with the time shifting/time travel part of the island. As a storytelling device, sending the survivors back in time on the island it’s a great way for the audience to learn more about the island, its history, and the Dharma Initiative. On the flip side, time travel has become such a cliché in book, movies, and television, the writers run the risk of making LOST lose its ability to be a fresh and entertaining show. So far they’ve handled the time shifting aspect of the show very well. I like the fact that Faraday tells them they can’t change anything. That constrains the writers from screwing around with the established storyline. (Phew!) I just hope they keep walking that tightrope.
There is one aspect of the show that is starting to grate on me a little, however. Why do they have to keep hiding the faces of characters to build up suspense? In the opening scene, why not show that it’s Pierre Chang who gets out of bed to get the kid instead of waiting until he sits down to shoot the instructional tape that we realize who it is? Why not show Faraday’s face as soon as Chang bumps into him on the way out. There are certain rules and reasons when you hide the faces of characters. However, hiding the faces of Chang and Faraday served no purpose that to confuse the audience. They could have had the same amount of suspense if the first thing we saw was Chang’s face and were trying to figure out why they were showing him.
But hiding the faces is a minor complaint. Overall, it was a great episode. I’m glad there’s finally something good to watch on TV again.