Lost: Season 3, Episode 22
A tv post by matt, posted on May 23, 2007 at 11:08 pm
A special bonus review! Spoilers for “Through the Looking Glass” below.
This isn’t going to be one of our normal format recaps. Mostly because trying to summarize all two hours of plot would be more than a little ridiculous, especially considering how dense this two-hour episode was. But I wanted to post and say this:
After tonight’s episode, Lost is back.
This was, from beginning to end, the kind of episode they’ve needed to be doing all season. Everything, from the early explosion-based action sequence to the act break fake-outs to the tragic sequences to that absolutely phenomenal ending conversation was done exceptionally well. Even Matthew Fox, who has become such a grating actor this year, did a fantastic job with his character. I guess Jack just works better when he’s supposed to be whiny.
But it was that ending that really sold it for me. It was one of those situations where I started thinking, about mid-way through the second hour, how cool it would be if it turned out to be a flashback from the future, with Jack living a shitty life after being rescued from the island. And they kept building and building toward something, but I was skeptical that they’d do something as neat and far-reaching and twisty as that, especially given their tendency to end seasons with shots of ladders.
But they did it. They did it exactly like they should have.
It’s against my better judgement, but I am now absolutely looking forward to this show’s return. This was, as two hours of television, up there as some of the best of the year. It was far better than the Heroes finale and it stands alone, I think — barring some annoying tics, like that stupid eyepatch wearing guy who will not die –, as a creative, exciting and satisfying piece of sci fi writing.
And you know what it was, mostly? What made this interesting while most other episodes this season have just been bland? It was the sense of urgency — the desire these characters had to escape this damn island. It’s something we haven’t actually felt from them for a long time, and it seems like such a small thing, but without it we’re just left with a bunch of characters living on some fucked up island we can’t really relate to.
But everyone can relate to wanting to go home.
Welcome back, Lost. Now just don’t fuck it up next season.
jun wrote:
This was one of the most thrilling episodes! Yes, LOST IS BACK! Lets sit and wait till next season! LOST IS AWESOME
Posted on 24-May-07 at 1:08 am | Permalink
adam wrote:
yea. lost is back. cant believe we have to wait until next season to get more
Posted on 24-May-07 at 1:35 am | Permalink
nate wrote:
“It was one of those situations where I started thinking, about mid-way through the second hour, how cool it would be if it turned out to be a flashback from the future, with Jack living a shitty life after being rescued from the island.”
your full of shit if you say you had ANY idea that they were doing a future flashback…
bullshit
Posted on 24-May-07 at 1:42 am | Permalink
Weston Campbell wrote:
The ending was the best ever! I was just wishing that there was someone else watching it with me to discuss it with. The ending does seem like they’re in the future, after being rescued, but after reading someone’s comment on Digg saying something similar to “If Jack’s dad died before the crash, why did he tell the black doctor from the flashback thing to fire him if his dad up stairs isn’t as drunk” made me think that I’ll never figure it out. I can’t wait for the next season… I just wish it were possible to make every episode 2 hours long.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 1:45 am | Permalink
Blake wrote:
nate - not really, I had been expecting a future flashback ever since I saw the interview on the 45 minute “The Answers” show which aired last week. The producers commented that we’ll be learning more about the characters in the past, present and future.
So, I had a feeling it was coming, but it was definitely executed perfectly by the writers. It kept me guessing until the very end, bravo.
I’m a writer, though - I love thinking ahead as I watch TV.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 1:55 am | Permalink
Dannnn wrote:
Great episode. I’ve never seen a show make a turn around from the abyss like this before. All it took was killing 1/2 the others and regular cast member or two.
The biggest thing to differentiate this episode from what we saw all year… “something”. As in, something finally happened on this damn show this year. The only thing better would have been if Ben or Locke would have said WHY they had to protect the island.
I was very happy to see Sawyer putting the punctuation mark on never having to worry about the same assholes coming back to screw with him. Right Tom?
So who/what is Jacob? Who’s on the boat? What’s Penny going to do for Des?
Posted on 24-May-07 at 1:56 am | Permalink
fir3ball wrote:
if you didn’t suspect or even have the thought that it could have been from the future with Jack’s beard and just the feeling of the scenes you have no sense of what is going on.
i quit lost and watched bits of the finale, it was pretty captivating, but i’ve learned never to go back to an ex.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 2:00 am | Permalink
Lost Finale Review -- If you stopped watching, come back « My Workouts wrote:
[...] read more | digg story [...]
Posted on 24-May-07 at 2:03 am | Permalink
john wrote:
Hi Nate,
This is Maturity calling. You know, the older brother of Prepubescence? Look, I hate to bother you. I know my kid brother has been working you out quite a bit. The funny hair growing in strange places, the pitch-changing voice, pimples, the insatiable urge to masturbate to Mom’s lingerie catalog into a sock and hide it under your bed. I know times can get tough. But don’t worry, you will grow out of it and we will meet in the near future! It will be such a glorious day too!
Here is what you can look forward to when it finally happens…
1: Me slapping the ever loving fuck out of you, open handed across the mouth, so as to wake you up from the sheer ignorance my brother instilled in you.
2: Realizing: A. You do not “know it all”. B. You can not read minds. C. You were naive and should apologize for your idiotic behavior on the Internets and elsewhere. D. A fuckton of other things you are too goddamn stupid to realize right now.
3. You mother is a whore, and that is why you exist.
4. Santa Claus indeed, does not exist.
5. Neither does the Easter Bunny.
You get the point…
These things, plus so much more, will finally be in the realm of reality for you because they are truths and not your mind’s result of a my brother’s misguided influence (or anyone else’s for that manner, such as Mary Janeijuana, who also happens to be a whore)
In the meanwhile, enjoy your comic books, video games, and lingerie catalogs. With any luck we will be seeing each other very soon!
Cheers!
Maturity
Posted on 24-May-07 at 2:03 am | Permalink
ThirstyEar2 wrote:
I still don’t think it was that great. The episode was very predictable. The episode leading to the finale was better.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 2:28 am | Permalink
make money fast wrote:
yehey. lost is back. im not liking the last few episodes compared to the first season but this episode totally rocks. This is better!
Posted on 24-May-07 at 2:35 am | Permalink
Paul Levinson wrote:
Good review - I figured they would switch to flashforwards last week … and they did it beautifully tonight - http://paullevinson.blogspot.com/2007/05/lost-season-3-finale-flashforwards.html
Posted on 24-May-07 at 2:42 am | Permalink
lasrprnt wrote:
It was good episode. One thing though, Charlie could escape from that water if he let the door open.. the water is not gonna fill up the hatch that fast. ahh I hope desmond can open it with a grenade somewhere there (if there is).
Posted on 24-May-07 at 3:23 am | Permalink
Drew wrote:
yeah charlie is definatly dead even though it was very sad to see him go. But it was the only way for him to have claire and aaron rescued. This show is going crazy by the way and i love every minute of it. i feel really bad for jack though
Posted on 24-May-07 at 3:32 am | Permalink
longman wrote:
X-files too was great every last and first episode of the season… and look what happened to that…
Last season in 2010 wtf =/
Posted on 24-May-07 at 3:33 am | Permalink
MG Siegler wrote:
I agree that Lost is back, though I would argue that it’s been back since the ‘buried alive’ episode.
http://www.parislemon.com/2007/05/lost-gets-found-24-still-drifting.html
Posted on 24-May-07 at 3:42 am | Permalink
nagual wrote:
you idiot, you just spoiled the fact this was a future flashback
Posted on 24-May-07 at 4:13 am | Permalink
Lost Finale Review -- If you stopped watching, come back « News Coctail wrote:
[...] If you stopped watching, come back Filed under: Uncategorized — recar @ 8:13 am Lost Finale Review — If you stopped watching, come back After a wildly uneven season, the writers of Lost delivered on their promises and delivered one of [...]
Posted on 24-May-07 at 4:13 am | Permalink
Pat wrote:
Yea…nate…I’ve heard all this destiny whooha about the island. And then right before the finale there was an Answers thing I guess, where the head honchos of Lost said we’re going to show you how the past affects the present and the people that our characters are going to be. So once I saw his wife full blown pregnant and thought how much time has gone by since last time…maybe…
I’m sorry that after being thrown back and forth by one of the most intellectual stimulating shows in history for about 3 years now, that some people have wised up, gotten sharper and learned how to expect the unexpected.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 4:58 am | Permalink
Pat wrote:
After getting that out.
I think this season dragged so much, because unlike Season 1 where they had large cast and an island to introduce to us and lay the framework or Season 2 which dragged a little with the hatch, but powered on with the introduction of the Others and the other side of the plane, this season stalled when they started picking at the bones of characters when they weren’t ready to give us enough answers to merit it. I think they stretched some episodes’ concepts and had some watered down and low impact episodes that made the audience feel like they were being taken for a ride. The new format with 16 episodes instead of 24 is so refreshing. I think this next season is gonna be a return to form that is much needed. I think they’re finally gonna start answering questions they’ve been asking since day one, because if this story is as philosophical and destiny oriented as many believe it is, then they’re slowly going to have to inch their audience towards it, without sounding like the whole show has been a waste of time. I just hope they’ve got enough left to go 3 more seasons and that they don’t bullshit their main concept a la Prison Break.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 5:11 am | Permalink
Myles wrote:
Oh how the tide has turned, Matt good sir. Oh how the tide has turned. So you’ve turned from Man of Science to Man of Faith Re: Lost, now? I like it, I like it.
I agree on the sense of urgency, and I think a lot of it has to do with the awesome music. Michael Giacchino better win another Emmy for this.
And congrats on the Digg-related success, good sir. I, unlike you, actually tried to summarize everything. The result was a 2200 word tome with literary passages. I need to simplify things occasionally.
Here’s the link for your and others’ perusal, in case people want some Lewis Carroll to start their day:
http://memles.wordpress.com/2007/05/23/reviewing-the-finales-lost-through-the-looking-glass-2/
Posted on 24-May-07 at 5:19 am | Permalink
Lost Finale Review -- If you stopped watching, come back « Technology Spot wrote:
[...] read more | digg story [...]
Posted on 24-May-07 at 7:02 am | Permalink
Where Does 'Lost' Go From Here: Debating the Structure of Season Four « Cultural Learnings wrote:
[...] much buzz since the first season, and the contrary voices are suddenly few and far between (Even Matt over at Be Something has seen the light again). One of the things that Lost has always thrived on is questions: [...]
Posted on 24-May-07 at 7:34 am | Permalink
Brian wrote:
This episode was amazing, as everyone above has stated. But, I do predicted the flash-forward early on in the episode. It was Jack using the Motorola KRZR that gave it away. The phone just came out last year. And as detailed as this show is, I don’t think they’d let something like that slip through just because they would get some advertising money. Bravo to Damon and Carlton for making a brilliant episode. Bravo.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 7:35 am | Permalink
Myles wrote:
I just posted something about it [See the Trackback two posts above me], but I figure more people will get to it here: how should the show structure itself from here? Will it switch its core narrative to the mainland, and then flash back to the island? Or switch to flash forwards?
Posted on 24-May-07 at 7:41 am | Permalink
Brian wrote:
My thoughts on Myles’s post/ question:
I don’t know where they’re going to be going with this, but a discussion I had with a friend last night was how cool would it be if they do get rescued next season?, so the show is no longer about them being “lost” physically and personally, but soley personally? The island stories were just a set up for the rest of it. But then I believe only a few of the survivors were rescued (Jack and Kate and least), and because Jack always promised to get EVERYONE off the island, and when Ben was going to let him go, he was going to come back for the others, he is now trying to find the island again. Afterall, Jack was seen on the floor with maps scattered everywhere, and an Oceanic brochure. But as Ben told us before, no one can find the island. Just a few of my many thoughts.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 7:47 am | Permalink
Myles wrote:
Brian:
I think the issue is that while that story is interesting, it isn’t Lost. Much like how I could never imagine an entire episode of back story, I can’t imagine an entire episode of Lost being all about people off the island. The show needs to remained centered on the narrative we’ve seen for weeks: it if doesn’t, I think it’s gone off the rails and risks losing the same people who might be brought back in through the Christmas-release of Lost: Season Three. Now, if all of the flashforwards deal with Jack’s search and slowly reveals what went wrong with him, perhaps we’ll get the best of both worlds?
Posted on 24-May-07 at 7:51 am | Permalink
Brian wrote:
Myles:
I like our compromise. Could make for some very interesting stories.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 7:54 am | Permalink
Buster wrote:
@9 (John)
You suck, your reaction is no less prepubescent than nate’s.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 7:58 am | Permalink
jamEs wrote:
I don’t get why you felt this episode was so much better then the rest of the season. Since LOST came back in February the show has definitely been on a roll. The last 8-10 episodes have definitely been must see for the most part.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 8:03 am | Permalink
matt wrote:
Oh man, a flamewar! On my site! This is so great but I am not at all prepared for this. Let me try to participate: you jerks! Was that good?
Thanks for all the comments, flames or otherwise. Like someone said in the digg thread, the reveal at the end with Jack was not completely out of the blue; they had been leading us there throughout the episode. There was just nowhere for it to ‘fit’ given all the other flashback episodes we’ve had about Jack’s life.
Myles: Your review was absolutely more in-depth and literary than mine. (And, yeah, I’m kind of eating crow on this one.) I don’t fully understand how the digg audience works: I think they like punchy headlines.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 8:07 am | Permalink
Myles wrote:
Aren’t flamewars fun? Man, Digg rules in all its special ways. You need to work on your technique thought: it’s “YOU JERKS”.
And yeah, I personally had the flash forward thing lingering at the funeral, and then more specifically when Jack had such a visceral reaction to the idea of the pharmacist calling his father’s office. That’s where I was like “Hmmm…” And then, as the final flashback began, I wrote in my notes: “This is not a flash back at all”.
And I’ve got some good crow recipes on file, if you’re interested.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 8:16 am | Permalink
RJ wrote:
I enjoyed the episode, but it was typical Lost - nothing was answered besides the fact that they eventually got off the island.
Who is Ben and the others and what are they doing there?
What is so special about the island?
If the people on the freighter aren’t who we think they are, then who are they?
Where is Walt and what was the purpose of that scene?
Who/what is Jacob?
What was the 4-toed statue?
What is the moke monster?
Where is penny?
Who’s funeral was it?
the most annoying oart is all Jack had to do was akd Ben - Then who are the pople on the feigher?!!”
The bottom line is the show pulls you in but all it continues to do is open more and more doors without ever closing any of the previous ones that have been opened.
Plus, doesn’t it bother people a bit that Jack’s life is a wreck once getting off the island, assuming that the future was actually real and not just a dream, which who would really be shocked to find out at one point next season.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 8:25 am | Permalink
Myles wrote:
This episode wasn’t capable of answering any of those questions, RJ. The narrative of the preceding episodes was such that this finale could only offer small insight into these actions, because these characters are in a place where they don’t trust one another. Jack didn’t bother asking Ben who the people on the boat were because he thought he would just lie: and, with Ben, that’s usually not a bad assumption.
We know who Ben is (We did get his entire back story, pretty much), but The Others remain mysterious…but we can’t answer all of that in an episode. The island’s past is a huge mystery, intertwined and the like. Next season is supposed to deal with Jacob, which really deals with the island as a whole. That will provide us with our glimpse, I believe, into these questions and more.
But I’d much rather the show take the time to get there naturally and dramatically than to rush answers where none were necessary. It’s better television that way.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 8:32 am | Permalink
joshua wrote:
yes i also knew it was a flash-foward..
Posted on 24-May-07 at 8:45 am | Permalink
Martin wrote:
For those stating that they thought about future flashbacks, I am here to say, as soon as I saw Jack with that cellphone, I knew that it was not a flashback to the past.
They have been on the island for 3 years. This show pays very close attention to details, so shoving that cellphone in your face was on purpose. I can’t remember the name of that phone, but I believe it came out at the beginning of this year, if not late last year.
Jack has always been clean cut and determined. He was acting opposite of his normal self. And with the finale gearing up to getting off the island, even my wife figured out that they were future flashbacks. Heck, we all know about the unresolved issues where Jack never found his father because the coffin was empty, and in the scenes last night he states, “if my father is drunker than me”, and Jack never drank in the past, so… it could have only been the future. Most people here at work read the signs, but didn’t try to piece the puzzle together.
And to boot… a few weeks back, we found out that they were not going to be doing anymore flashbacks to the past. Why else would you so blatently say that? Because you’re doing cuts to the future.
Great show last night!
Posted on 24-May-07 at 8:45 am | Permalink
Myles wrote:
Yeah: let’s recognize that the flashforward was very well put together with just the right amount of small hints you’d find when watching (And realize in hindsight), while also providing some things we would see as flashback (Sarah, Jack’s father perhaps being alive (All red herrings, all of ‘em)).
And then there’s the name of the funeral parlour: Hoffs-Drawlor. Or: Flash Forward, anagrammed. Oh how I heart thee, Cuse/Lindelof.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 8:54 am | Permalink
Christopher wrote:
I kept watching this season to see where things went. Although, the episode was fantastic, i’m done with the show. call me a sucker for happy endings; i don’t see one happening.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 9:14 am | Permalink
Gerald wrote:
Someone said “you’re full of shit if you had ANY idea if it was a future flashback” ?
Dude. You’re blind. I saw the phone Jack was using the first time he pulled it out- before the funeral. It was a Motorola KRZR. I called a continuity error, but when they showed it again, I figured it out. The producers wouldn’t let something that obvious slip through. That phone only came out earlier this year, and certainly not pre-2004. That’s when cells were just become NOT the size of bricks.
Moral of the story? Don’t cry bullshit when it’s only because YOU didn’t catch it.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 9:30 am | Permalink
The Rock wrote:
“I’ll tell you what, you do this. You get my father down here. Get him down here right now, and if I’m drunker than he is, you can fire me.”
At first I thought this was Jack rambling about his father still being in the hospital working which threw me as to whether this was a future flashback. After hearing the words a second time, it made sense. His father isn’t alive, he was simply referring to upstairs being the afterlife. A mocking threat which screams “You guys let my father work drunk for years and you want to question me?”
I might be totally wrong, and we may find Dr Sheperd alive when these guys finally get off the island, but for the time being, this makes sense.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 9:34 am | Permalink
Doug wrote:
I have a question about Jack’s father. During the flashforward, Jack mentions that if he is a drunk as his father then he should be fired. Isn’t Jack’s father dead? Same with the pharmacy, she threatens to call Jack’s father. I know we still don’t have a body on the island, so I guess he could still be alive?
Posted on 24-May-07 at 9:42 am | Permalink
Myles wrote:
No, Doug, I think that the show was just throwing red herrings at us to make us doubt it might be a flash forward. Jack’s reaction at the pharmacy to the idea of his father being called was very visceral, and he seemed to be far too drunk/high to be telling the truth about his father upstairs (And the other doctor would have known Jack’s father, and thus Jack, if that was the case).
He’s dead.
Posted on 24-May-07 at 9:48 am | Permalink
Jason F wrote:
Nate Wrote: “your full of shit if you say you had ANY idea that they were doing a future flashback…”
A