No big answers, no real mysteries, and more clever lines and chuckles than you can shake a skeletal arm at. It was just a fun episode… and that’s probably exactly what we needed. You know that brief moment in “Flashes Before Your Eyes,” when your heart soared just seeing Sayid and Locke and Sun? Well, “Tricia Tanaka Is Dead” was all about that feeling. Sawyer cracking wise while sabotaging his own happiness, Hurley on a mission with Charlie riding shotgun. And just enough exposition to prove that these people sometimes talk to each other, and ask reasonable questions. It was nice to be back with our old friends (Danielle included), and for this week at least, the answers and mysteries can wait. (more…)

It would’ve been hard to top last week’s episode… and it almost feels as if “LOST” didn’t really try tonight. “Stranger in a Strange Land” had its moments — Jack and Juliet’s love connection, Sawyer’s manly moment with Karl, even our newest Other, Isabel the Sheriff (played by Diana Scarwid, not Fionnula Flanagan, thank you) was interesting enough. But even Jen, who liked tonight’s episode better than I did, conceded that Jack’s flashback was flat, and that Bai Ling isn’t much of an actress. (more…)

Many moments in this episode made me sit back, gasp, smile in wonder. But for all the mythology revealed to us in “Flashes Before Your Eyes,” I most savored the sight of our old friends. Charlie, Hurley, Locke, Sayid, Sun… I didn’t even know how much I missed them until I saw them on screen again. And when Charlie asks, “What happened?” I actually needed Locke’s cryptic response to catch me up on the main island storyline. Alas, we only see the gang briefly before diving into Desmond’s flashback (if that’s what it was)… but there was more than enough story and clues and easter eggs to fill the hour.

Even though I count myself more a fan of the characters than the “mystery” of the show, “Flashes Before Your Eyes” gave one of the most satisfying, mystifying servings of mythology in seemingly ages. The questions this episode raise go much deeper than who the Others are, and get straight to the fundamentals: choice or destiny, coincidence or fate, free will or futility. Does what Desmond experience prove that the ultimate outcome is predetermined? Or is it actually our first glimpse of the courage needed to change things? (more…)

It’s hard to separate the euphoria over the return of “LOST” from the gleeful appreciation of a good individual episode. “Not In Portland” didn’t even give us a glimpse of the other three quarters of the cast, but nonetheless was a strong kickoff to what will be the longest stretch of consecutive new episodes ever. We got our first Other flashback, further cementing Juliet as a complex, tough yet sharp female character and Elizabeth Mitchell as a supremely talented actor. Considering how little we know about Juliet, I was surprisingly taken in by her scenes with her sister.

Oh yes, the story. A lot of meat to chew on for those who hunger to know what’s happening on the island. We get a taste of the recruiting methods of the DHARMA Initiative (or whatever its current incarnation), and the unique talents they wanted from Juliet. We learn that things definitely changed when “the sky turned purple,” and that the Others may now be in no better shape than our survivors. Karl’s punishment, or programming, via the “Clockwork Orange” style sensory overload will provide weeks of frame-by-frame analysis. Ben’s paternal relationship with Alex (a.k.a. Sheena) is confirmed, as well as some “history” between Juliet and Ben. And we get a sense of the next mini-arc… which somewhat resembles most of the previous mini-arcs of separation and rescue. There were a lot of things to like about “Not In Portland,” but again, the fact that it means “LOST” is back is the best part of all. (more…)