Getting Lost: “Because You Left”/”The Lie” Review

Posted by Mike and johnnysweeptheleg

It’s hard to determine what we liked best about the return of Lost last night. Was it the return, albeit a brief one, of Neil “Frogurt”? Hurley buying an I Heart My Shih Tzu shirt off the rack at a gas station? Having to scramble though our brains to remember what we know about Ms. Hawking from her previous interactions with Desmond? Those were all great, but mostly we were just excited to have our weekly ritual back where we anticipate, watch and analyze a new episode, then repeat. The one thing we didn’t like was DirecTV causing us to miss the first seven minutes of the episode because of technical difficulties. Difficulties that only affected the ABC feed. Seriously, of all the channels at all the times on all the nights, it had to be ABC on during the Lost season premiere?!. But we digress …

johnnysweeptheleg’s “Lost” In A Moment:

Charlotte wasn’t the only one who started getting a headache from all of the time travel on Lost last night. I’m surprised my nose didn’t begin bleeding before it was over.

Team Sawyer and the rest of the Islanders (not to be confused with the WWF duo from the ’80s, Haku and Tama), spent the season premiere doing the time warp over and over, again. You see, the area under the Orchid is home to an energy that allows you to harness and manipulate time. This is how Ben moved the island. However, there are rules, as we later learn from Faraday. You may move forward or backward in time. But you can’t change anything. You can’t pass Go. And you cannot collect $200. Oh, and if you attempt to change anything, you will fail.

Just ask Locke, who time warps back to Yemi’s plane crash, and gets gunned down by the island for trying to perform a rescue that never originally happened. This comes in the form of some Ethan Rom damage (not to be confused with Ethan Frome damage). But before Ethan can finish the job, the island catapults Locke forward in time. With a bullet lodged in his leg, Locke is happy to rekindle his bromance with Richard Alpert and his fierce amounts of guyliner. Alpert brings Locke up to speed on the time warp situation, and tells him he’ll be jumping again, soon, but the next time they meet, Alpert won’t recognize him. So he gives Locke a compass (the compass) and tells him to present it to Past Alpert. And suddenly, it’s like I’m reading The Time Traveler’s Wife again. Before disappearing, Alpert tells John the only way to get the Oceanic 6 back, is to die. What a buzzkill, this guy.

Meanwhile, the rest of The Islanders aren’t fairing much better. Charlotte’s beginning to get nosebleeds and a case of the forgetsies. And nobody can seem to create any fire back on the beach. Well, that is until hundreds of flaming arrows cruise in from the jungle and begin piercing the scurrying castaways. Man, that Cupid has a wicked sense of humor.

Sawyer and Juliet hurry off into the jungle, only to land in the hands of some military guys with accents, providing the 73rd “wuh?” moment of the evening. Just as the men are about to cut off Juliet’s hand and gun down Sawyer, Locke appears and saves the day. Who says you can’t bring a knife to a gun fight? If there are three things that John Locke knows, it’s knives, blowing things up, and that he is a sucker for men who wear guyliner.

So, what about the people who escaped Montalban’s island? The O6 don’t have it much better. Jack is forced to de-beard and work with Ben to get the rest of the Oceanic 6 together for a reunion tour back to the island. This is easier said than done, though. Kate has her own baby mama drama, and does what any good NBA player does when child custody questions arise. She leaves town, where she gets a call from Sun to meet up in Los Angeles. But Sun has been in contact with Widmore, where we learn both share a common goal: to kill Ben Linus. Does this make Sun good or bad? Speaking of killing, Sayid has gunned down some men outside Hurley’s padded quarters, which has, in turn, made Hurley a wanted man. Sayid and Hurley make like REO and take it on the run, about to shack up at a safehouse when they realize someone’s waiting for them. Sayid does what only Sayid can do, which means a baddie meets his death by dishwasher. But not before Sayid has taken a nearly lethal poison dart to the body, and Hurley has once again been camera phoned at a bloody crime scene. Ana Lucia’s ghost advises Hurley on what to do next. But only because Patrick Swayze wasn’t available. So Hurley enlists the help of his dad, to transport Sayid to Jack as soon as possible. With yet another of the O6 in their midst, Ben decides to pay Hurley a visit to convince him to come with the others, back to the island. Everything seems to be coming together, with each of the O6 having a reason not to stay on the mainland any longer. But Hurley still doesn’t trust Ben, and instead of joining him, stomps off into the hands of the LAPD, choosing incarceration over a one-way ticket back to the island.

According to Ms. Hawking — wait, what?! — Ben only has a 70-hour window to compile the rest of a dream team that consists of a man detained by the police, a woman (and her faux-child) who has made a living on the lam, another woman who is seemingly working with his arch enemy, and the corpse of the man who took over his old job as island leader.

Should be a piece of cake.

Questions Answered:

What happened to Sawyer, Juliet and the rest of the people still on the island? They’re still on the island — they just don’t know when. Plus, they’re being attacked by some rather unfriendly soldiers. (Rest in peace, Neil “Frogurt.”)

What happened to Faraday and the others on the raft? They were “within the radius,” so they’re in the same boat, metaphorically, as the folks on the island.

Where — or when — is the island now? Good question. Only Ms. Hawking and Richard Alpert seem to know for sure. Then again, the answer seems to be changing constantly — unless, as Faraday suggested, it’s the people on the island moving through time, and not the island itself. So … yeah.

How does Faraday know about the Orchid station? It seems that Daniel has been on the island before.

Why will Faraday need Desmond to be his “constant”? That’s not entirely clear, but Charlotte could certainly use a constant, and Faraday has recruited “Hatch” Desmond to track down Mama Faraday.

What is the significance of the objects that Richard Alpert showed young John Locke? Well, that compass sure might come in handy the next time Locke meets up with Richard.

Is Sun really working with Widmore, and why? They appear to have a common interest in killing Benjamin Linus, though after watching Sun coldly manipulate Kate in this episode, it’s hard to figure out what Sun’s intentions really are.

When and how did the island belong to Widmore, and how did Ben take it from him? Perhaps it was during the time when the soldiers who confronted Sawyer and Juliet referred to the island as “our island.”

New Questions To Be Asked:

What happens in 70 hours?

What is Ms. Hawking’s relationship to the island?

Why does Richard tell Locke he has to die to get the Oceanic 6 back to the island?

Why didn’t Richard and the other Others move through time when Locke did?

How is Desmond “uniquely and miraculously special,” according to Faraday?

Who hired the lawyers to determine Kate’s relationship to Aaron?

Who employs the soldiers who attacked Sawyer and Juliet?

Who is the woman in the butcher shop?

Photo credit: American Broadcasting Companies, Inc./Mario Perez

1 Comment

  1. I was excited to see the return of more Willie Nelson music. If you recall, the first time we heard some was back in season one, when they used “Are You Sure?” from the Demo Sessions.

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