Review: Lost 4.12: There's No Place Like Home (Part One)

Welcome back to LOST reviews I tend not to review American shows on this blog for two particular reasons. The first is simply lack of exposure; I live in the UK and don't watch many US shows. The second is a little more my choice, because of US series' length. This series of Lost is the exception, but the majority of US shows are either episodic with really, really long series or one story stretched out over 13 or so episodes. Lost is the latter type, and my problem here is that unlike, say, Doctor Who, each episode isn't easily defined on its own. For us here in the UK, continuity is lauded; in the US it's a given.
     My problem, then, with reviewing the finale of Season Four of Lost is that so much of it stems from what came before, and because of the serialised nature of the series the finale is a comparatively long 2 hours and 15 minutes. I've decided that I'm not going to review the finale as one entity, but instead cover it episode by episode over the next three weeks. That intro over, I'll get onto the review.

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Funnily enough, I'm writing this after having reviewed the latest episode of Merlin. It's a fun counterpoint to that series in a few interesting ways, mainly because both rely on the audience knowing what's going to happen - Merlin because of the nature of mythos and Lost because of the flashforward technique. The difference is that while Merlin spends its time fucking with the audience, Lost actually provides tension and buildup to backup it's explanations. How will the Oceanic Six escape? How will Jin die? How will I finish this paragraph?

Can you remember what happened in the last episode?

     With three episodes to play around with, the writers used the first of the trio to ramp up the pace without bringing out the big guns. This meant, in Lost terms, allowing us to glimse some precious backstory that was being withheld throughout the season and having our characters on the island move tantalisingly close to that promised catastrophe. While it didn't feel like anything other than a progression from our previous episodes, the pace did start to increase and the cliffhanger was perfect for this sort of finale.
     An important part of the episode were the flashforwards, which covered the Oceanic Six's return to the mainland. They all meet their families and the scene is perfectly scored by Giacchino, as usual. The next flashforward is to the ensuing press conference, where the group tentatively explain their deliberately ridiculous (on the part of the writers, that is. Something to do with... tone or.... something) survival story. The survivors begin to readapt to life outside the island: Jack honours his father, finding out that Claire is his half-sister; Sayid reunites with his lost love Nadia; Sun buys out her father's business and Hurley is freaked out when the car that his dad gives him as a present has a reading of 481516,2342 (the mythical Numbers throughout the island). This is actually quite interesting, as this is the first time we see the Oceanic Six having to get used to their new surroundings, and it prepares us for the end of this season, when the two timelines meet and the Oceanic Six return to the mainland.
      In the present, things were a little more action packed. As the survivors on the beach finally realise that the Freighter mercenaries are there to kill them, Jack goes after the Chopter as his only escape route. The mercenaries have made their way to the Orchid, and wait there for Ben Linus, who with Hurley and Locke ventures there in order to move the Island. Sayid, aware of Keamy's intention to kill everyone, brings the Zodiac raft to begin to send survivors to the Freighter. Sun and Jin go there, but find that the engine room is filled with tons of explosives. Meanwhile, Jack meets up with Sawyer, who gives Aaron to Kate and then speeds off into the jungle with Jack and finds Lapidus at the Helicopter, who tells them that Hurley and Locke are still at the Orchid with Ben. Also, The Others are back. For whatever reason.

Technically already dead.

      Really that last paragraph highlights why I struggle with reviewing things like American finales. There's a hell of a lot going on from all sides of the story, and it won't all make perfect sense or comparison until a fortnight's time. So far in my finale review, the story is brilliant, and the cinematography, music and everything else is as good as I've come to expect from Lost. One down, two to go.

Thanks.

NEXT WEEK: Stakes get higher, challenges get tougher and quality gets painfully good.