WRITERS: Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse DIRECTOR: Stephen Williams
CAST: Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Terry O'Quinn (Locke), Mira Furlan (Rousseau), Andrew Divoff (Mikhail Bakunin),Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Dominic Monaghan (Charlie), Rodrigo Santoro (Paulo), Kiele Sanchez (Nikki), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Anne Bedian (Amira), Taiarii Marshall (Waiter), Eyad Elbitar (Arabic Man), April Grace (Ms. Klugh), Shaun Toub (Sami) & Francois Chau (Dr Marvin Candle)
Sayid, Locke, Kate and Rousseau find a farmhouse with a satellite dish on the roof, Sawyer is challenged to a game of ping-pong and a Sayid flashback has the Iraqi's past coming back to haunt him in Paris...Mythology episodes involving the Hydra Station proved to be disappointing and frustrating (so why were Sawyer and Kate selected for kidnapping, anyway?), while the recent Desmond flashbacks muddied the water in an intriguing but confusing manner.
Therefore, it's nice to have a slice of mythology that plays into season 2's mentality. In fact, Enter 77 is very much a throwback to yesteryear: there's a mysterious building (farmhouse not a hatch), a strange new character (Mikhail not Desmond), a weird computer (chess game not number-cruncher) and even a new DHARMA video!
While the episode may be riffing on past glories, it does so in that joyously exciting way Lost excels at. As usual, your eyes will soak up all the new "clues"; from Mikhail's story to the farmhouse's equipment. Lost is beyond reproach when it comes to creating convincing environments for its storytelling and fans are given plenty to investigate here.
Enter 77 involves a Sayid flashback, showing the Iraqi ex-interrogator working as a chef in Paris before being approached by a fellow countryman. This being a Sayid story, it takes a sinister twist, offering us another look into the poor man's dark past. While the flashback is entertaining, it's not particularly relevant to present events and quite a simplistic story.
Thankfully the flashback is used sparingly and contains a brilliant final scene between Naveen Andrews and Anne Bedian as Amira. But Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuses's script is more interested in the island adventure and take great delight in presenting pieces of the show's puzzle. For example, we finally have an explanation for the cable that led into the sea, discovered by Sayid way back in season 1! The nature of the farmhouse "Flame Station" is also revealed and gels with previous information revealed last year.
Andrew Divoff guest stars as Mikhail Bakunin, the eye-patch wearing occupant of the farmhouse, who claims to be the last surviving member of the DHARMA Initiative. Divoff is excellent, clearly enjoying the larger-than-life nature of the character with his one eye and broad accent. Clearly intended as a cross between Desmond and Henry, he should be a very interesting addition to the show's expanding cast.
A small subplot involving a ping-pong tournament between Sawyer and Hurley is a nice idea, similar to last year's Jack/Sawyer poker game, but it fights a losing battle for screen time and ultimately fades away into insignifance.
Overall, Enter 77 contains enough intrigue and revelations to make it worthwhile. It's certainly guilty of recycling concepts from last year, which doesn't bode well for the show's sustained future, but the writing is as punchy and enjoyable as usual. Naveen Andrews is always great to watch as Sayid, despite being dealt an inconsequential flashback, while Divoff makes for a great new villain.
Highly recommended if you're hankering for a season 2-style fix and worth watching if only for Sawyer's "who the hell are you?" line to Nikki!
