What I'm Watching: Lost (Season Premiere)

Lost: Season 4, Episode 1 "The Beginning of the End" (A-)

What a premiere! This is one show I am welcoming back with open arms. Sticking true to its stunning finale last May, this episode now continues with the flash-forward strategy and it works wonders. The thing to be careful of is of course turning it into a failed experiment like "The Nine", where the present-set "flash-forwards" were far less interesting than the actual events in the past but the story focused far too much on the lesser of the two. For the moment, "Lost" seems to be doing fine, especially with the revelation of its "Oceanic Six" bit. Who could the final three be? My money is on Sawyer being one of them and Sayid not. We will have to see, I guess. I am thrilled, however, that Charlie was incorporated into this episode and that the Jacob storyline has been made into a certifiable and good subplot. It was intensely thrilling when Hurley was running through the woods, saw the house with Jacob (actually Jack's father??!!) in it, turned the other way, ran a bit, and then stumbled back to the house again! The coolest part was that he closed his eyes and just made it go away. There is so much to like about this show and I have to be sure to write my review much quicker after I see the next episode so that I remember all the exciting stuff I enjoyed about it. While the last moment of this episode was a bit lame, it was a terrific ending and boy am I excited for this week.