Director: Jack Bender
Cast: Yunjin Kim (Sun), Jeremy Davies (Daniel Faraday), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Emilie de Ravin (Claire), Matthew Fox (Jack), Dominic Monaghan (Charlie), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond), Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Michael Emerson (Ben), Terry O'Quinn (Locke), Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), Scott Caldwell (Rose Henderson Nadler), Mira Furlan (Rousseau), Tania Raymonde (Alex), Blake Bashoff (Karl), Sam Anderson (Bernard), Lance Reddick (Matthew Abbadon), John Terry (Dr. Christian Shephard), Marsha Thomason (Naomi Dorrit), Fisher Stevens (George Minkowski), Michael Cudlitz (Mike Walton), Steven Neumeier (Lewis), Billy Ray Gallion (Randy) & Grisel Toledo (Orderly)
Jack awaits rescue from the offshore ship -- much to the alarm of Ben and Locke -- while flash-forwards reveal Hurley's experiences after leaving the island...and when I open them you'll be gone..."
We left season 3 on a head-spinning note, as Jack (Matthew Fox) made contact with a freighter ship offshore, despite warnings of consequent danger from Others leader Ben (Michael Emerson) and rogue Locke (Terry O'Quinn). The enabler of the communication, Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), also managed to warn cohort Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) about the danger lurking out to sea, desperately scribbling "NOT PENNY'S BOAT" on his palm... before drowning in the comms-jamming station underwater.
And, of course, the finale's flash-backs of a bearded Jack were revealed to actually be flash-forwards to a future time where Jack and Kate (Evangeline Lilley) have escaped the island… but Jack has become convinced they "have to go back!"
The Beginning Of The End immediately continues the finale's storyline, despite sitting in a holding pattern for much of its duration – as the castaways make a decision: to stay with Jack and await rescue, or side with Locke and hide from a suspected massacre. Some credibility is later thrown Locke's way via Hurley (Jorge Garcia), who decides to heed the warning of his deceased friend Charlie, after hearing about his heroic sacrifice.
The on-island storyline is effectively tense decision-making, now that Jack has set in motion their fate – one way or the other. Ben seems particularly adamant that annihilation awaits once "rescue" arrives, and does his best to ensure daughter Alex (Tania Raymonde) stays safe – by trying to persuade her biological mother Rousseau (Mira Furlan) that he isn’t playing mind-games. Michael Emerson always does a wonderful job of making Ben difficult to get a handle on, as he can't help looking shifty even when telling the truth!
Writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse also decide to start season 4 with another flash-forward. This time we focus on Hurley, who is evidently another castaway that survived the island and made it home -- becoming a celebrity as part of the "Oceanic Six" (who are the other 3?) Hurley's flash-forward also crosses paths with Jack, clearly taking place in a time before he grew his beard and became obsessed about returning to the island.
Poor Hurley is having a difficult time adjusting to normality, opening the episode in the middle of a car chase with police, spooked by seeing dead Charlie in a convenience store, and consequently welcomes his commital back to a mental institution. It's there that we meet one of season 4's new faces: Matthew Abbadon (Lance Reddick), a chilling black man who claims to be an attorney for Oceanic Airlines. He offers Hurley an upgrade to a better facility out of company guilt, but Hurley becomes suspicious of Abbadon's intentions when he asks "are they still alive?", provoking him into shouting for a nurse, and scaring Abbadon away...
The episode is sparse when it comes to helpful information and an involving story, playing more like a moment of adjustment: with characters picking sides and a few unpredicted returns for "dead" characters (Naomi, who escapes into the jungle with a knife wound, hotly pursued by Kate; and Charlie, who appears to Hurley as a ghost/hallucination.)
By now, the writers know how to push our buttons. The storyline may be comparatively thin, but the brainwave of imbuing the show with flash-forwards nullifies boredom when we leave the primary story. But I hope they'll be cautious with this new narrative trick – as the flashbacks were intended to reveal motivations and character, whereas these flash-forwards just add another layer of mystery to everything. I'm hoping the flashbacks/forwards will slowly form a pincer movement on the present-day story.
The premiere also contains a handful of fan-pleasing moments: such as a nail-biting moments when Hurley wanders alone through the jungle and is suddenly confronted by Jacob's Cabin! A light turns on in the window, beckoning him closer, and he peeks through a window to see the shadowy figure of Jacob in his rocking chair, a blink-and-miss visage of Christian Shepherd (John Terry) close by, and a stranger's eye staring right back at him!
After the chills have subsided, questions bubble up through your mind: is it important that Hurley can actually see Jacob, whereas Locke could only hear him? How relevant is it that Hurley now joins Ben and Locke as a character able to sense Jacob, anyway? And did he really stumble upon the actual cabin, or was it all a hallucination – seeing as the cabin moved locations and vanished at one point?
Yes, more questions. Lost is often criticized for the sheer amount of questions it raises, and the comparative lack of answers, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I think Lost gets the question/answer balance just right, as answers are nicely drip-fed throughout seasons -- and do you really expect any of the core questions to be answered before the last episode?
While not the best premiere episode (obviously the Pilot was totally fresh, and season 2's premiere expanded the scope), it was more entertaining than season 3's opener – despite not really shaking any foundations. The on-island events panned out as you expected them to, although the flash-forwards were compelling, and a few present-day moments struck a chord – particularly when poor Claire (Emilie de Ravin) is told about Charlie's passing.
Overall, The Beginning Of The End was a solid start to season 4 and demonstrated there's still mileage left in the show. As a huge fan, I can't imagine me ever ditching Lost until its conclusion in season 6. Even when it wobbles (as it did for the first third of season 3), it just came back stronger than ever.
After three gripping seasons, I'm just too invested in the mysteries and the characters to ever jump ship. This rock solid, intriguing, often gripping season premiere only reaffirmed my belief. This is the television equivalent of a rollicking good book, and I'm a fervent page-turner...
Now let's see what these rescuers are all about...
3 February 2008
Sky One, 9.00 pm
