Lost (Season 1)
ABC
2005
Rating:


"Lost" single-handedly invigorated the genre series. After lying dormant following the burn-the-bridges final seasons of "The X-Files," audiences are now willing to tune in to a major network for a show steeped in science fiction and mythology instead of The WB or UPN. That also means there are fans willing to vent their impatience with a series that's clearly in no hurry to reveal all of its secrets, more eager as it is to create a few new ones.

In the final, breathlessly edited scenes of the season, Michael (Harold Perrineau Jr.), his son Walt (Malcolm David Kelly), Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway), all of whom had set sail on a raft to find help, seemed to find it too easily in a band of apparent redneck fishermen. The fishermen turned out to be the much feared but never seen "Others" who have long resided on the island. The Others kidnapped Walt, set fire to the raft and shot Sawyer, leaving the rafters to drown in the ocean.

Meanwhile Jack (Matthew Fox), Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Hurley (Jorge Garcia) prepared to blow open the mysterious hatch. Hurley realized too late that the cursed numbers of his winning lottery ticket are inscribed on the side. Hurley couldn't stop the explosion, though, and all that's revealed beneath the hatch is a deep tunnel with a broken ladder.

The contents of that tunnel may answer one of the series' other great mysteries — what exactly is the monster? During the finale, Jack's team was pursued by what they thought was the monster, but it turned out to be a kind of sentient smoke with the grinding of a chain and pulley system that has the capability to almost pull Locke beneath the ground. Locke managed to endure, however, setting up a possible schism amongst the survivors who may be forced to choose between Locke's mysticism (he believes they were brought to the island by fate) and Jack's increasing tyranny.

Which is to say that, in the greatest "Lost" twist, the best drama of the show comes from its interpersonal dynamics. More than anything, fans of the show complained about the amount of time spent on the passengers boarding the plane during the finale's requisite flashbacks. There was a lengthy sequence where Hurley rushed to the airport, which was given an added layer by the fact that Hurley encountered his unlucky numbers once again. But the kindness the strangers on the plane showed to each other — head nods of acknowledgement, smiles, help with luggage, the lending of a comic book — revealed that, after being trapped with each for a month, their treatment of each other has actually worsened.

Who these people are and why they behave this way has been the reason "Lost" resonates more than most shows. Jack, we've learned, has such trouble letting go that he married a woman he didn't love. Locke was once paralyzed from the waste down and was tricked by his estranged father into donating a kidney to him. Kate caused the death of the love of her life. Michael once resented having to reclaim his son, and now will do anything to get him back. Hurley… Well, there's a reason why this lovable, Harry Knowles look-a-like has a whopper hidden with his marshmallow body. And that was all just during the show's first 25 hours. The show left us with one more great mystery — what will "Lost" come up with next?

Posted Saturday, July 30, 2005

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