Lost: "Through the Looking Glass" Review
HOLY. MOLEY. Lost has the tendency to string along the viewer for a couple of acts during an episode and then hit them with some sorta whammy in the final act. The season finale "Through the Looking Glass" used that formula perfectly and daringly. While the final five minutes were breathtaking, the rest of the episode was stellar as well.
As Jack and the survivors treked away from the beach camp, leaving behind Jin, Sayid, and Bernard to fend off the Others, Charlie was tied up and being tortured by the woman manning the Looking Glass station. He was flippant and defiant, knowing that his end is near. He happily told them of his plan to save the survivors and to die in the process. Meanwhile, Desmond came to and swam down to the station after Mikhail started opening fire on him. Mikhail too went down to the station and killed one woman and severely wounded another on Ben's order. Desmond seemingly killed Mikhail with a harpoon gun. Charlie managed to turn off the jamming device, reaching of all people, Penny. Penny said that Naomi was not part of her rescue attempt. Charlie was about to tell Desmond the news but Mikhail was outside the room with a grenade, which exploded and flooded. Charlie was forced to close the door to the room to save Desmond and locking himself in. As Charlie died, he crossed himself. It was a very heoric way to go out.
Ben's leadership position within The Others is starting to crack. After capturing Jin, Sayid, and Bernard, Ben eventually ordered Tom and the rest of the strikeforce to kill the trio to prove to Jack that he meant business. The strikeforce ignored this order, only pretending to do so. Meanwhile, Sawyer and Juliet go back to camp to try to rescue the trio, but they are unarmed. Only when Hurley drives his VW Bus through camp do our heroes can an advantage. Sawyer shoots Tom in cold blood to avenge his kidnapping of Walt.
Talking about Walt, he appears as a vision to the still alive Locke. He tells Locke that he still has work to do. Ben says he is protecting the Island for an outside threat, the one that Naomi is a part of, and when he meets up with the Lostaways (with his daughter in tow) he pleads with Jack to not contact the outside world. Jack doesn't believe a word Ben says, eventually beating him up when he thinks Ben has ordered the killing of the beach trio. In a funny twist, the bleeding Ben introducing Alex to her real mother, Rousseau.
Jack and company finally get to the radio tower and turn off the message. Locke shows up to kill Naomi and to plead with Jack not to contact the outside world, but Jack ignores him and does so. The castaways cheer and rescue is seemingly on its way. Except...
In what we were first to believe were flashbacks, we see a bearded Jack as his life is unraveling. He is addicted to painkillers and is seemingly lost in the world. He almost commits suicide after reading about someone's death. He is stealing drugs from his hospital and is going on about his father. In the final 5 minutes we are shocked: Jack has been trying to call someone the neitre flash and that someone is revealed to be Kate. But how? Then it comes out: Jack is trying to get back to the Island. This wasn't a flashback but a flashforward! This is Jack after rescue, despondent and finally believing Ben/Locke that they shouldn't leave the Island.
This brings up an interesting plot device for next season. Will there still be flashbacks or will we learn about waht happens to the people after they are rescued? How did everyone else turn out? And why do we have to wait till February to find out!
5 The Hells? out of 5.
As Jack and the survivors treked away from the beach camp, leaving behind Jin, Sayid, and Bernard to fend off the Others, Charlie was tied up and being tortured by the woman manning the Looking Glass station. He was flippant and defiant, knowing that his end is near. He happily told them of his plan to save the survivors and to die in the process. Meanwhile, Desmond came to and swam down to the station after Mikhail started opening fire on him. Mikhail too went down to the station and killed one woman and severely wounded another on Ben's order. Desmond seemingly killed Mikhail with a harpoon gun. Charlie managed to turn off the jamming device, reaching of all people, Penny. Penny said that Naomi was not part of her rescue attempt. Charlie was about to tell Desmond the news but Mikhail was outside the room with a grenade, which exploded and flooded. Charlie was forced to close the door to the room to save Desmond and locking himself in. As Charlie died, he crossed himself. It was a very heoric way to go out.
Ben's leadership position within The Others is starting to crack. After capturing Jin, Sayid, and Bernard, Ben eventually ordered Tom and the rest of the strikeforce to kill the trio to prove to Jack that he meant business. The strikeforce ignored this order, only pretending to do so. Meanwhile, Sawyer and Juliet go back to camp to try to rescue the trio, but they are unarmed. Only when Hurley drives his VW Bus through camp do our heroes can an advantage. Sawyer shoots Tom in cold blood to avenge his kidnapping of Walt.
Talking about Walt, he appears as a vision to the still alive Locke. He tells Locke that he still has work to do. Ben says he is protecting the Island for an outside threat, the one that Naomi is a part of, and when he meets up with the Lostaways (with his daughter in tow) he pleads with Jack to not contact the outside world. Jack doesn't believe a word Ben says, eventually beating him up when he thinks Ben has ordered the killing of the beach trio. In a funny twist, the bleeding Ben introducing Alex to her real mother, Rousseau.
Jack and company finally get to the radio tower and turn off the message. Locke shows up to kill Naomi and to plead with Jack not to contact the outside world, but Jack ignores him and does so. The castaways cheer and rescue is seemingly on its way. Except...
In what we were first to believe were flashbacks, we see a bearded Jack as his life is unraveling. He is addicted to painkillers and is seemingly lost in the world. He almost commits suicide after reading about someone's death. He is stealing drugs from his hospital and is going on about his father. In the final 5 minutes we are shocked: Jack has been trying to call someone the neitre flash and that someone is revealed to be Kate. But how? Then it comes out: Jack is trying to get back to the Island. This wasn't a flashback but a flashforward! This is Jack after rescue, despondent and finally believing Ben/Locke that they shouldn't leave the Island.
This brings up an interesting plot device for next season. Will there still be flashbacks or will we learn about waht happens to the people after they are rescued? How did everyone else turn out? And why do we have to wait till February to find out!
5 The Hells? out of 5.
Labels: Elizabeth Mitchell, Lost, Matthew Fox, Review, Television, Terry O'Quinn
posted by Adam Entertainment at 9:53 AM
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