What I'm Watching: Lost

Lost: Season 4, Episode 9 "The Shape of Things to Come" (B-)

Ah, I want to love this show so much! Some of the few answers provided in this episode seem too simplistic, like the reason Sayid and Ben are working together, however sensible they may be. "Lost" is also cheating the system, taking things to a whole new level by killing off minor, unimportant characters, most notably the three nameless survivors dumb enough to leap out into the gunfire. Alex's death seems premature, though it makes sense as a catalyst for the final scene we see at the very end of the episode (more on that later). I was shocked that both Sawyer and Claire weren't killed off in this episode, since that would provide the perfect reason for Aaron to be in the hands of Kate in the future. Miles ringing the doorbell was hilarious but I'm glad that he's now with the castaways. The release of the smoke monster was cool, and actually the least annoyed I've been with it since its very debut (explaining what it was to a first-time "Lost" watcher was a bit challenging, however). It's unfortunate that even Daniel is lying to the castaways, but Bernard's stepping in was fairly awesome. So many questions, so few answers! As far as the flash-forwards go, the last scene is really the only truly important one. It gives the show more fodder for after everyone gets off the island, and why Widmore can't find the island and why Ben won't be able to find Penny are sure to prove to be interesting when we get to them.