Right, what’s going on? Just when you think you have a grip on the developments in Lost the creative team throw a curve ball of confusion. Season 5 had more deaths to the heroes, time travel sequences, another plane crash landed bringing a whole new bunch of friends and foes to the island (plus more fodder to be killed) and maybe the writers’ biblical references may not have been so covert after all.
Time Travel in Lost Season Five
Last year’s stand-out episode The Constant established that time travel was indeed possible in the Lost universe and this season was build entirely around this concept. The Losties who remained on the island in the conclusion were whisked backwards and forwards in time – with Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) using the analogy of a record skipping – before Locke (Terry O’Quinn) turned the mysterious donkey wheel and the survivors ended up in the 1970s. They then became part of the Dharma Initiative due to Sawyer’s (Josh Holloway) quick thinking.
After Locke visited the Oceanic Six on the mainland in the guise of Jeremy Bentham they were all eventually convinced to return to the island on Ajira flight 316. However, the majority, lead by Jack (Matthew Fox), were sent back in time to join the others who were now in Dharma. To avoid any paradoxes the writers had one rule for time travel – whatever happened, happened.
Meanwhile the rest of the 316 passengers in the present day are coping with the same problems the original Losties did, but some know more about what’s going on than others. The team of Locke, Ben (Michael Emerson) and Sun (Yunjin Kim) went on a mission to kill Jacob (Mark Pellegrino), the island’s de facto ruler. Once again O’Quinn and Emerson prove that when they are together on screen they are collectively the best thing about Lost.
The Incident Happens and Jacob is Revealed
This season writers shed light on the mythology behind the island – nodding towards Ancient Egyptian origins – and the importance of the ageless Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell) but nothing has been confirmed, only speculated. At this point it appears the story has been building up an eternal biblical battle between Jacob and an unnamed adversary (perhaps Esau?)
The final episode, The Incident, answered a question that was set back in season 2 but the last moments of Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) destroying a nuclear bomb core to stop said incident faded to a white screen, meaning fans won’t know the outcome until next year. There was also another “what’s in the box” mystery which, mirroring last year’s finale There's No Place Like Home, turned out to be Locke’s dead body. So what's controlling Locke?
As ever with Lost there were some casualties to the main line-up as Charlotte (Rebecca Mader) died during the time jumps, Faraday was shot by his own mother and Juliet, although alive in the after her fall surely won’t survive. It’s a shame Faraday had to go as he had really captured the imagination of the fans and had an interesting backstory. Or has time now been unwritten after the bomb exploded?
The Foundations are Set for the Final Lost Season
It wasn't all Grade-A as there were some droning filler episodes – Namaste and He’s Our You leading the double header of dullness – and Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) was featured very little, which is a shame considering he’s one of the top three characters on the show. And can they stop doing the stuff where Rose (L. Scott Caldwell) and Bernard (Sam Anderson) disappear for most of the season only to pop up again in the finale for no reason.
Overall season five was a strong outing for the series and although it lacked the energy and thrill factor of the previous year it was still a worthy addition to the Lost canon. The foundations are now set for what looks to be a final season of concrete answers and shocking revelations. Here’s hoping executive producers Carton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, who have so far done a terrific job as showrunners, come true on their vision for the series.
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