Review: Lost (Season 4, Episode 1)

If you haven't seen the new episode of Lost, I'd advise you not to read this. I think you'd get more enjoyment out of watching it then you would reading about it. Because Lost is awesome.

Eight months ago, Lost pulled off one of the biggest "game-changers" in TV history. You'd be lying if you didn't expect rescue off the island to be the final scene of Lost. But then 48 episodes before the series was scheduled to end, we found out they got off the island. Second that. We found out that at least Kate and Jack got off the island, but who else? And why does Jack so desperately want to go back?

We start season four were season three left off, with a flash forward. Of course, we're all expecting, and hoping, to see Jack. That's where the story left off, that's where it should continue, right? Well we see Jack, albeit briefly, as he's watching a high speed chase on TV featuring none other than Hurley. The soon to be infamous, "I'm one of the Oceanic Six!" line is shouted by him as he is taken into custody.

Hurley ends up in an interrogation room, and it becomes clear he is having "visions" about the island. He jumps quickly at a cops offer (who coincedentally, even though nothing is coincedental about this show, was the former partner of Ana-Lucia) and is taken to a mental institution.

He has a visitor who claims he's a lawyer with Oceanic Airlines, but, and someone will need to help me on this one, he looks very familiar. It turns out he may not be who he says he is, and goes as far as to ask Hurley "Are they still alive?" Things don't get much easier for Hugo, when our presumed to be dead friend Charlie appears. Charlie explains, "I'm not dead, I'm here." It appears though that Charlie is just a part of Hurley's wicked imagination, all though he does tell Hurley "you know they need you."

So who's still on the island? And how did the Oceanic Six find rescue? We start to find out that getting rescued isn't going to be as easy as the Losties initially thought. In the Hurley camp, he finds out, along with Sawyer, Sayid, Bernard, and Juliet that Charlie has died. They listen to Desmond's concerns that there is something suspicious about the boat that has come to get them. They're off to find Jack's camp, but Hurley gets separated.

While he is lost in the jungle, he runs into a familiar scene for Lost fans, Jacob's house. The house plays tricks on him, appearing and re-appearing, and then he's greated by the first John Locke appearance of the episode, who at this point is either the most crazy person on the island, or we may find out he's the most sane.

Meanwhile, Jack follows a trail of blood with Danielle and Ben, while Kate follows a different trail and finds Naomi, the girl that parachuted in towards the end of season three. She had ran off, but dies shortly after Kate finds her.

The groups reconnect, and tension are high for a couple reasons. First, Hurley informs Claire that Charlie has indeed died. Second, Jack is out for revenge and even goes far enough to shoot Locke in the forehead. However, the gun is not loaded, but it's a good indication of just how far Jack is willing to go to get off this island.

That sets up one of the themes we've been hearing about in previews of the new season; Jack vs. Locke. Jack thinks they need to stay close for a possible rescue. Locke thinks the only way they'll stay alive is if they get as far away from the shore as possible, all the way back to the Others' vacated barracks.

Back to the flashforward, we find Hurley still in the mental institution, with another visit. Only this time it's someone we trust, that being Jack. He asks Hurley if he is going to "tell", Hurley says he hasn't yet. He also tells Jack they need to go back to the Island, although Jack says there is no way they are going back. "Never say never, dude," Hurley replies. And of course, the fact that Hurley mentioned he should have gone with Jack instead of Locke signifies just how important that moment was on the Island.

So that's what happened. But you knew that. So what have we learned? We're definitely in a new era of Lost, that's for sure. Every new episode is still going to pose more questions than answers, but that's what we've come to expect. I imagine the Jack vs. Locke theme, and the two groups being separated, will continue on through these eight episodes that were written before the writers strike. And there's still a whole new group of characters we're going to meet from the crew that is supposedly there for rescue.

Also, we were given the hint that this episode's flashforward, featuring Hurley, happened before the one featuring Jack that we saw in the third season finale, mainly because Jack tells him "I think I'm going to grow a beard". I am loving this new style of story-telling, with these flashforwards. There wasn't much that they could do with the flashbacks, most everyone's story has been told. I've read there will still be flashbacks this season, and I'm interested to see how that will work. Each episode will be a constant guessing of whether we're watching a flashback or flashward. When we do get a flashforward, we'll still be guessing where it fits in the timeline. And I'm assuming they'll eventually make it back to the Island, although probably not in this season.

So there are now 47 episodes left of Lost, and we have a long way to go. These next seven that we'll get are sure to be very exciting, as it seems "Lost" has gotten a second wind of sorts, from the creators, the fans, and the public. I'm sure there will be much debate as to who the "Oceanic Six" are. We know Kate, Jack, and Hurley. I'm not even sure who I'd guess. Sawyer? I can see him dying before they get off the Island, maybe sacrificing himself. Claire and/or her baby? Rose or Bernard? Sun, Jin, Sayid? That will be a fun one to talk about.

You gotta admit though, it's good to have Lost back, even if it is just for a short eight weeks. I can honestly say that tonight was the first time I truly was angered over the writers strike. This show was intended for 3 more seasons of 16 episodes each, and I'm not sure how the strike will affect that. All I know is, these eight weeks of Lost are going to go by quickly. I'm just glad we can once again all find ourselves "Lost".