‘Lost’ premieres tonight: ‘Beginning of the End’ review!
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- January
- 31
Below is a review of tonight’s premiere, but be sure to check back here tomorrow morning when we can analyze every moment of the episode!
At the start of last season, the powerful engine that drove “Lost” seemed to be idling, as the show lingered a bit too long with the Others.
But once the series returned from a mini-hiatus, “Lost” hit the accelerator, gaining power and speed that peaked with May’s mind-blowing, flash-forward finale: That’s when we discovered that Jack and Kate make it back to the mainland, and that rescue isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Now, the highly anticipated fourth season launches tonight (9 p.m., ABC), and fear not, Lost-philes! The island mystery has kicked into serious overdrive.
So appropriately, tonight’s premiere, “The Beginning of the End,” opens with a screeching, high-speed police chase through Los Angeles.
The driver is one of the castaways: Sorry, I won’t tell you who. But as many “Lost” fan sites have already deduced—and ABC itself has promoted—let’s just say Jack and Kate aren’t the only ones who make it off the island.
But back on the island—in what we now know as the “Lost” version of the present—the group of Jack-led Oceanic 815 survivors are still at the radio tower, having just called Naomi’s cohorts on an offshore freighter for help.
Ben insists that the supposed rescuers are there to kill them all, but Jack doesn’t believe him. (That Ben is a notorious liar.) Jack, however, doesn’t know Charlie’s final words before he drowned: A warning that the freighter folks aren’t who they say they are.
Still, once Jack finds out, it’s hard to convince him that the freighter people are up to no good. Locke thinks they’re bad news, though, and before the hour is up, there’s a rumble in the jungle.
Everyone takes sides, splitting between Team Locke and Team Jack.
“If you want to live, you need to come with me,” says Locke.
Not much more can be revealed without serious spoilers, but trust me: The return of “Lost” was worth a nine-month wait.
The first two episodes embody all that is genius about the show: gripping plots, fascinating character studies, brilliantly shifting timelines. It’s also renewed its talent for answering just enough questions to tantalize fans, without giving away all of the island’s secrets (something that critics said was a bit lacking in Seasons 2 and 3).
Best of all, “Lost” continues its tradition of stunning “what the *?!@&” moments: Look for appearances by a nearly-forgotten animal friend and at least one dead castaway. Oh, and did I mention that Jacob’s back?
I’ve read interviews with several cast members (including Jorge “Hurley” Garcia) who’ve said that they’re as excited about these upcoming episodes as they were about Season 1.
Normally, I’d say don’t believe the hype. But this time, I do.
Because based on what I’ve seen, it looks like “Lost” has its island mojo back.
Unfortunately, with the writers’ strike, that mojo may be restricted to just eight episodes, instead of the planned 16. There’s a slim possibility that more could be added if the strike ends soon, but if not, we’ll just have to relish whatever adventures “Lost” serves us.
And for me, getting “Lost” for eight weeks is better than not getting “Lost” at all.
(Photos courtesy of ABC)
This entry was posted
on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 8:00 am by Heather Salerno.
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we have to go back Kate….
WE HAVE TO GO BACK