Loooooost Premiere

So, American Idol was disappointing tonight. We had good singers and bad singers. Speaking of Idol though, you can download one of Sanjaya’s tracks for free on Amazon. I was expecting terrible lulz out of it, but it was actually very mediocre. That’s disappointing. Kind of like tonight’s episode (Idol, not Lost). On to Lost.

Apparently this episode is actually 2 episodes (Because You Left and The Lie) squished into one. Since the plan is 16 episodes a season, does this mean that we only get 15 nights of Lost this season or are we getting two make up episodes since last season was cut short due to the Writers’ Strike? I think I read that we got make up episodes, but I’m not sure if I dreamt that.

So I was squeeing about the new episode since they showed clips from last season. We start with an alarm going off at …wait for it… 8:15. Who’d have guessed? They show the face of some woman we’ve never seen before, but don’t show the face of the man. Turns out it’s a flashback that goes back to the guy in all of the Dharma initiative videos. What a surprise. That whole beginning scene is kind of confusing. They’re in the Orchid and some guy wants to open up the thing that Benry used to leave the island last season. Apparently if you unlock it, the island will start time traveling. To prove the point, we get to see our first glimpse of someone we actually recognize – Farraday – who, as usual, looks confused and awkward. Someone with a bloody nose is dying. I guess that whatever power the Orchid holds explains why people like Desmond have been time traveling. I wonder why it’s only affected certain people so far.

Has Michael Emerson won anything for the show yet? He’s seriously brilliant on this show. I was actually surprised by the episode tonight. There was an amazing lack of Jackface. Definitely no jears. Granted, this was not a Jack-centered episode (thank god!), so I guess there was not enough screen time for jears.

Actually, it’s been so long since I’ve seen the season 4 finale that I don’t remember how they filmed it. I don't remember it focusing on one character. These episodes did not either. Therefore, we had two hours of the writers finding every possible way to mess with our minds. Speaking of which, are they ever going to tell us what the deal was with that giant four-toed statue? I. Really. Would. Like. To. Know. Anyway, I hope we return to our 1-2 character flash back/flash forwards after this.

Apparently whatever Benry did during the season finale has caused everyone on the island to start time traveling. I felt like I was watching a trippy episode of Quantum Leap (much like the Lee Harvey Oswald episode).

Sawyer spent most of the episode shirtless. He kept on bugging people for a shirt, but to satiate the crazy Sawyer fans, the writers did not give him one until the episode was almost over. I guess Lost can’t get enough of the gratuitous shirtless Sawyer moments.Are Sawyer and Juliette going to happen this season? I know Sawyer is ohsoinlove with Kate, but Juliette and Sawyer are significantly cooler than Jack and Kate. Plus, pairing the doctor/doctor and the con/con is so much more boring than two pairs of doctor/cons. Anyone agree?

Speaking of which, I have two questions. Since I got the 4^th season on DVD for a Christmas gift from Crasher, I actually meant to rewatch the season. I watched The Constant since that’s probably one of the best episodes of Lost. I’ve also seen Ji Yeon twice since the season finished (once in French, actually). That’s it. Point being, I don't remember all of the details of the last season. First question, is this really the first time that Farraday and Sawyer are meeting? Was it because he was in the suburbs of the island for most of the season or something? Oh, right. He had JUST met Miles for the first time towards the end of the season. It all makes sense now kind of. I thought it was hilarious when Sawyer slapped Farraday. I’m glad that he’s going back to his old crabby and grouchy self. Second question, since when were Charlotte and Farraday an item? Was I just clueless about this whole thing?

I get the impression that this next episode (which I think is going to be Desmond-centric) is where we’re going to see Desmond return the favor and act as a constant. I’m not sure if he’s JUST going to be Farraday’s constant or if he’s going to be everyone’s constant. I was happy to see Penny and Desmond together this episode. I’m enjoying every moment of Desmond’s happiness right now. It certainly cannot last long, especially since Penny’s father is in the middle of some epic battle with Ben Linus.

Also, I love when they introduce random and obnoxious 815 survivors because you know it means they’re about to die. Today’s random and obnoxious 815 survivor went by the name of Neil. He whined about how Bernard the dentist could not start a fire. I guess they were so spoiled that everyone forgot this important skill. I think he complained about the boar that Miles just kind of brought back no questions asked. And then he got hit by a flaming arrow. Amazing. Seriously. Who shot these flaming arrows anyway? That’s what I want to know.

A lot of this episode seemed to be a trip down memory lane for Lost fans. We see the drug plane crash land. You’d think that after the Boone experience, Locke wouldn’t be so keen on climbing up to the plane, but he does. He ends up running into Ethan, who actually almost kills him. Ethan’s kind of shown up here and there since he died in Season One.

We also see that Richard guy again. I guess he never really died, but he still disappears for long periods of time. This guy confuses the hell out of me for such a minor character. He never seems to age and is EVERYWHERE. I want to know how or why this can happen. Are they going to show more of him this season? He’s also got this insane wealth of knowledge about the island. For example, how does he know that Locke’s going to have to die to save the island? My thought is that he might be able to time travel without the inconvenience of death. I thought he was Jacob for a while, but I don’t think that’s true. I mean, he takes orders from Ben and apparently “real” Jacob won’t even talk to him. Whatever. I hope they spend some time this or next season explaining him.

The reappearance that surprised me was actually Ana Lucia. I did not expect to see her again. For a moment I thought that Hurley was time traveling like the people on the island. Then, I remembered that he’s been seeing dead people. There was kind of a Harry-Dexter moment there as she gave Hurley hints on how to avoid being caught by the police. I was touched, really.

Speaking of the Hurley story line, more Sayid action sequences. Please.

Apparently Hurley’s just been DYING to tell someone that they lied about being the only survivors of the Oceanic plane crash. In about 2 minutes, he sums up the entire series thus far to his mom. If I were in her shoes, I would have sent him right back to the mental hospital he escaped from with Sayid. She believes him, although she admits what us Lost fans have been thinking for years – that we don’t get it.

Sayid, who we saw last season worked for Ben, tells Hurley not to believe him at all costs. Thus, at the end of the episode where Ben, being amazingly creepy guy he is, shows up at Hurley’s house and tells him that Hurley’s going to be safe with him. Whatever Hurley thought Ben’s intentions were must have been absolutely terrible, though. He went to the police and embraced the four murder charges that he’s been wrongfully accused of (Sayid’s fault, of course) so that he can get away. I don’t know I might have just taken my chances with Ben.

Sun, like Charles Whidmore, wants Ben dead. I was actually expecting her to have a vendetta against Jack. Ben makes more sense. I don’t know what Whidmore would care about Jack save for the fact that he spent a significant amount of time on the island. Kate later has a heart-to-heart with Sun, where she tells him to watch over Aaron at all costs and forgives her for throwing her back into the helicopter before the giant ship blew up. I’m still not convinced Jin’s dead. I’m not sure where he’d be. He has to show up at least as a Hurley hallucination, right?

Speaking of Kate, why does she have such a lame phone? She got like a gajillion dollars from that settlement with Oceanic Airlines and it’s 2007/2008. She needs to get with the times. Come on!

And I’ll end with my thoughts on Benry. I have no idea what he’s up to. Somehow, he’s keeping DeadLockeBentham in a freezer at some butcher that seems to be in cahoots with him. Are we supposed to know who this Jill person is by the way? And why the name change? Is this a reference to the fact that Bentham’s body was preserved and on display at a university after his death or are we going to see a change in Locke’s philosophies over the course of this season? I’m not sure what was up with the creepy old lady at the end. It took a while for it to dawn on me that this was the same woman who, two seasons ago, told Desmond that he could not/should not buy a ring for Penny because he couldn’t change the past. I guess this means that she’s a real person and not some figment of Desmond’s imagination. I’m curious to know how she’s going to play into the storyline this season.

That’s about it. Not the strongest Lost season premiere, but it unleashed a number of questions that we can only hope they pretend to answer over the course of this season. I ended the episode more confused about the show than when it started. Sounds about right. Welcome back, Lost!