Lost Episode 4:01 "The Beginning of the End" Review

The wait is always long when a Lost season finally begins. But with the strike, an 8 month wait, and the heavy anticipation after last year's shocking ending, this was torturous to a new level. The 4'th season of Lost finally begins with the chance for rescue, the suspicion that it's not really rescue, and the knowledge that something goes really really wrong in the future. For Lost, it really is "The Beginning of the End" whether it is true for the vast majority of our survivors or not.

The first sign that this season of Lost is gonna be different is that for the first time ever, a season doesn't start with a Jack flashback- although Jack shows up in the non island scenes anyway. This time it's Hurley who takes the spotlight, as the third survivor we now know of to get off the island in the future. Like Jack, Hurley doesn't adjust well to post-island life. But even future Jack didn't start seeing hallucinations of the dead Charlie. This brings to mind the Season Two episode "Dave" when we first found out Hurley could see people that weren't there. Originally, it seemed like a one off episode that had no real bearing on the larger Lost plot, or even on Hurley that much. But now, that power could be very important in the future. Either the Lost powers really did have a grander plan for introducing that aspect of Hurley, or they knew how to make up for it later.

On the island, as rescue grows closer, things are relatively the same for everyone. Jack is still giving orders and cannot wait to go home. Locke is still trudging through the jungle on his own path, but this time he wants help. Kate's still sneaky, Sawyer's still looking out for number one, and Claire reacts as one would expect after hearing about Charlie's death. And Ben, even though he's beaten and defeated, is still capable of observing and keeping things to himself just to needle the Lost survivors and throw them off track. Like he did when he was first captured as "Henry Gale" in Season Two, Ben is still a few steps ahead of everyone even at his lowest point. Whether he will still have that advantage against his old island rival Locke could be another matter.

So how is the episode itself? In Lost, season premieres are known for having classic starts, but serving as mere setups for the season to come. In some ways, it's the same thing here, but that's not a bad thing. Although the opening scene this year does not pack the same punch as Season Two's look at the hatch and Season Three's introduction to Juliet and the Others barracks, there are still some surprises in store. The flash forwards are still working, even though we now know they are coming. In the future, we get our first look at one of the new characters this season, a so called attorney of Oceanic Airlines named Matthew Abbadon, played in creepy fashion by The Wire's Lance Reddick, who asks of Hurley "Are they still alive?" And the prospect that only some people will get off the island, while purposefully abandoning everyone else, is furthered big time. However, at this particular point in the future, Hurley is troubled by it a lot sooner than Jack is.

Choosing Hurley as the focus for this first show was the right touch by the Lost powers. We saw the turmoil Jack faces in the future, but since he is a character not universally loved by Lost fans, it was harder to really feel for him. Hurley, being an audience favorite and a surrogate for us Lost fans much of the time, is someone we have more feeling for, and that may be why his tragic story resonates deeper. We see his pure joy over the prospect of freedom, which turns to pure sadness over losing his best friend- and being one of the few survivors who actually cares that much about it. Whereas Jack is busy getting rescued and spatting with Locke, while Locke is busy with his own weird thing, and Ben is plotting against everyone, Hurley is the one with the clearest sense of what really matters- and who really matters.

As the true moral compass of Lost, its his plea to listen to Charlie's warning that carries the most weight among people, not so much Locke's suspicions. Whether it was the right call will be one of the great new mysteries of the new season, but Hurley makes it with more heart and clarity than Jack or Locke ever could. Even in the future, when he's seeing visions and is at his lowest point, Hurley still has some of the optimism and hope that the future bearded Jack does not- at least at that point in the story. And Jorge Garcia, who is often underrated for what he does when he's not saying "dude" or spouting one liners, rises to the occasion with some of the best work he's ever done on Lost.

Even as we move forward, the questions are still greater than answers. A new scene in Jacob's cabin will inspire all Lost fans to use their TiVo's, although they already knew from the extended Internet trailer that it looked like Christian Shepherd himself was sitting inside. But, in typical Lost fashion, no further mention of it is raised when Hurley finds Locke a moment later. In the final flash forward, we see Hurley say he never should have gone with Locke, even though he doesn't think they did the right thing by leaving the island. It seemed like Jack was the one who will completely screw things up by trusting the "rescuers" while Locke was the correct one for not believing them all along. However, perhaps Locke is not completely blameless for whatever tragedy is to come. But although Hurley did go with Locke's team that was against rescue, how did he leave the island with those who wanted rescue all along? And although it was given away in spoilers, other Lost fans who didn't read them have to wonder- who else makes up the Oceanic 6?

"The Beginning of the End" is the beginning of a new era for Lost, and it comes just in time. Although it seemed like 40% of the episode was given away in trailers already, there are a couple missteps, and this may not be a Lost classic in the long run, it does what Lost's other season premieres have done well. It lays the groundwork for the shocks and conflicts that are to come the rest of the season, while teasing out that those shocks and conflicts are going to be really juicy and special. And next week, we will get an immediate introduction of the "rescue team" with flashbacks featuring these four newcomers, with one already on the island. Word is they're not Nikki and Paulo like clumsy additions, so that's a good sign right there.

Lost is at last back. For the moment, it's the best thing for network television, and for the Lost cult especially.