4x13, "There's No Place Like Home, Part 2"

First off, there was a fake commercial for the DHARMA Initiative right before the last segment. Go to http://www.octagonglobalrecruiting.com/ and register. They say that something will happen in San Diego during the dates of Comic-Con. I'm assuming it's the launch of the next online viral marketing game. Ugh. And here I was planning on not going.

1) The Big Mo vs Jogging in Place: What made the Season 3 finale feel so special was the sense that the show was moving forward. This episode despite answering major questions like how the Oceanic 6 got off the Island and why everyone else was left behind, who was in the coffin, how Ben got off the Island, etc., etc. didn't propel the story significantly in any new direction. Really it asked more or less the same questions that it attempted to answer, so we end up asking the same questions just in new ways. The Oceanic 6 have to get back to the Island. Why? We still don't know after an entire season. They just do. We know Locke's dead, but why? Now we probably have to wait an entire season to find out how and why Locke left though probably it's the same thing: he had to move the Island again. We know the Oceanic 6 have to lie, but it doesn't make any sense. Why couldn't they have just stayed with Penny? Exposing themselves to the public lets Widmore know they're alive and are lying and could at any moment decide to tell the truth. Really doesn't lying about it in such a public manner elevate the danger? And how are the people on the Island in any danger from Widmore? It MOVED. It's easier now to find the Oceanic 6 than it is the Island.

2) Characterization: "Through the Looking Glass" served to closely examine Jack in every way. It treated getting off the Island as a test of Jack's leadership abilities and whether he was prepared to live with the consequences of his decisions. "No Place Like Home" was a mish-mash of updates on the Oceanic 6 that didn't feel Finale worthy. Did any of the characters grow? Was there significant play between the present and any of the flashforwards? Were any of the flashforwards fundamentally necessary? Instead of serving characters the episode served plot.

3) Payoffs or scams:

-The entire season the Oceanic 6 acted as if they had personally done something they were ashamed of and tried to cover up. But really they got rescued by accident.

-The Island moved, but why? All the bad guys were already dead.

-Ben wore a jacket when he appeared in Tunisia. But why did he need a jacket just for the few minutes it took to move the wheel? Wearing the jacket made it seem as if the entire Island had already moved to a cold climate.

-According to Jack, Sawyer "chose" to stay on the Island, making it seem as if he made an explicit decision for personal reasons, even personal gain. The way he said it to Kate made it seem as if Kate should be angry at Sawyer. Yet in reality his decision saved Kate. But the circumstances are almost so ridiculous it's not rehashing. There's any number of ways Sawyer could've made a sacrifice to save Kate, but jumping out of a helicpoter to make it lighter is one of the less interesting and more contrived ones I can come up with.

-Michael. Good god, please tell me they did not bring back Harold Perrineau just for that. Please tell me Christian whisked him off to the Island. Please tell me we're not going to be seeing him as a random ghost ala Christian. Did Ben know that's how he had to die when he recruited him? Does this really make up for killing Ana-Lucia and Libby?

-Claire. OK, enough. Is she dead, alive or what? Aside from Hurley worried about leaving her behind and Jack half-heartedly saying he'd go back to get her, her fate was more or less swept under the rug and forgotten, her appearance in Kate's dreams just muddying up the waters more.

-The Orchid. Treated almost like an afterthought. Instead we get the reveal that there's essentially a black hole underneath it that can be activated... by turning a frozen donkey cart wheel a third of a revolution. Seriously... even for a show that claims nothing you see wouldn't also be in a Michael Chrichton novel, the magic yellow light that makes the Island go "Yoink!" is crossing the line.

-Locke didn't move the Island. He just didn't. Sure, Ben says Locke had to be the one who was told to do so by Jacob, but then why did Locke have to even accompany Ben to the Orchid after he told him? And did Ben know he could give himself up and would then be freed so he could get back to the Orchid?

*Is Sun teaming with Widmore to get revenge on Ben? Does she blame Ben for the death of Jin? She should, but how would she know? Are we going to get a whole episode devoted to her finding out?

*The biggest problem LOST has is not that it's showrunners don't know what they're doing, it's that they have the show plotted out too well. But that's a much longer rant that I can't get into just now.