PopSyndicate.com

Evageline Lilly, Matthew Fox and Josh Holloway heat up the small screen with stellar performances on this week’s LOST.

In a thrilling jaunt through Flash Bam Land, the islanders dash toward the Orchid. Kudos to the set and costume designers for keeping up with the time travel and to Stephen Semel, A.C.E. for blending footage from other seasons so seamlessly.

Locke, Sawyer, Juliet, Dan, Charlotte, and Miles make their way through the jungle back to the beach to find their Zodiac raft, but the raft is gone. I thought at first this was a major hole in the plot. Why would the raft be there if the camp disappeared? But the characters are still finding out the rules to Flash Bam Land, so we forgive the producers. The time travelers quickly learn: don’t lay down your gun to tie your shoe.

I’m also spinning about what Dan, Dan, the physicist man really knows about the rules to this game. He knows the brain can’t handle time transitions. He knows Charlotte and Miles have been on the island for an extended stay—Charlotte knows but not Miles. I think Dan remembers his early years on the Island, which resulted in his dramatic reaction to the plane crash news episode (Season 4, Episode 2).  He knew what was happening and had compassion though it terrified him.

Dan also told his fellow five they couldn’t change time; it was a constant. Locke seems to think they can, but shouldn’t. Not knowing whether they will or not, builds tension in the story.  What would happen if they interfered? And what happened to the other islanders?  Rose and her husband are not accounted for.  I count at least fifteen Oceanics out there somewhere on the island, flashing with our six.  I want to know how they are surviving.

Also, the Others at the time of the flash went somewhere.  Were they immune to Flash Bam Land?  We’ve no idea.

And Claire?  She didn’t die. She just walked off into the jungle with her dead father.  They weren’t part of the Others, but are somehow working for Jakob.  She appeared to Kate in a dream in distress.  Can she even be saved?

Writers Brian K. Vaughan and Melinda Hsu Taylor did a masterful job reuniting the six survivors in L.A. under the master manipulator, Ben Linus.  We have no idea if he is an evil man doing evil things or an evil man forced to do something good, but we want him to succeed: we want to save our islanders.  The nosebleeds mark time on the 70 hour countdown. The forward motion of this episode feels like full circle; we are about to get answers.  We are reunited with Jin and Russo.  Charlie may come back.  They may even pull Boone back from his Sketcher’s commercials.  You never know.

Finally, I loved seeing the Sawyer/Kate/Jack love triangle play out.  We are beginning to see a whole new layer to their relationships.  Actor Josh Holloway’s reaction to Kate delivering Aaron and Actor Matthew Fox’s reaction to Kate’s statement, “I have always been with you,” proves the devil is in the details.  Evangeline Lilly deviled the whole way through so that LOST shines with these details.  For the first time, I really want Kate to end up with Sawyer.  Hmm.  Never thought I’d say that.

5