The most famous mythology series prior to
Lost was, of course, The X-Files which while one of the greatest
series in history was one of the greatest examples of just what happens when a
mythology grows out of control on a show.
There were examples of its failing, but they were by far the most
obvious in the cliffhangers that ended every season. Pretty much from the start
of the series to the end (all of them) seasons would end with what appeared to
a revelation that would absolutely change the world of the show forever. And
when the show started up the next fall, all that would happen was a few pieces
would be moved but the board would be the same.
This was not entirely a flaw of The
X-Files but that of how network television worked up to this point and
beyond; every cliffhanger of every series, drama or comedy, basically ended up
with the status quo reaffirmed. While this began to change to an extent when
cable entered the picture, the effect on broadcast television was slower to
pick up on. Current hits like ER and
The Practice would not alter their formulas and newer series like The
West Wing and CSI would do so for a while, but eventually resume
business as usual. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 24 would reject
this formula overall by bringing their stories to an end with the final episode
and starting from scratch the next season. Only occasionally (most notably with
Alias, which sprang from J.J. Abrams mind) would the creators have the
balls to not only change the game with the season ender but commit to it for
the entire season and beyond.
All three of the hit series that
developed on ABC in 2004-2005 – Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s
Anatomy – cemented the idea of changing the same with the season finale and
committing to it the rest of the way. There’s a pretty clear divide between
network TV season enders in 2005 and how they did things going forward. Some
would be better at it than others, but few would manage to master not just the
idea of a season leading to a brilliant climax, but actually following through
on it. Lost would do it perfectly, beginning her and following through
until the penultimate season.
In a way, all of Lost’s first five
seasons would essentially follow the same model: a one hour episode putting
everything into motion and then following through with a tremendous season
finale. Exodus, Part 1 is the first such example and it does so perfectly in
every respect.
Each season finale would feature a
variation on the flashbacks that the viewer had gotten familiar with over the
season. In a way, the one that we see here (and will be concluded the following
week) is both the simplest model and the most complicated. The flashbacks
follow every regular in the series just prior to their getting on the plane and
illustrating how much they’ve changed since the plane crash. We see Walt and
Michael in violent disagreement, we see Jack drinking in a bar in mourning, we
see Boone and Shannon bickering (and Shannon turning Sayid in to security out
of pique at Boone) we see Kate being taunted and violently attacking the
marshal (who it now seems couldn’t have died soon enough) we see how Sawyer
ended up on the plane, we see Sun and Jin at a table in an airport café. The
contrast to their behavior between then and now is clear, but there are also
some interesting details we pick up.
The most obvious comes in Sawyer’s who,
not surprisingly, was arrested before he was put on the plane and we learn his
real name for the first time. (It does beg the question why Hurley didn’t call
him on when he read the manifest, but maybe Sawyer just told him.) In a sense
the most interesting comes when we see Jack in the airport bar, flirting with
an apparently random woman named Ana Lucia. I think at the time I thought that
this was little more than a ploy for ratings with some guest casting that a
series like Lost wouldn’t be able to do under other circumstances except
in flashbacks. At this point, Michelle Rodriguez was already becoming a
breakout star, having just appeared in The Fast and the Furious and SWAT
, both box office hits at the time. I don’t know until that fall any of us knew
we’d be seeing her again – or under what circumstances. (It’s possible the
writers didn’t either at this point; Ana Lucia in this scene is arguably openly
happy for the only time in the entire series.)
One could be forgiven for giving the
flashbacks short shrift; from the opening scene on the island, our attention is
riveted from the moment Rousseau wanders in to the camp and tells them: “The
Others are coming.” Mira Furlan’s performance in this episode is extraordinary;
the monologue she delivers in which she reveals what exactly happened to her
when she and her team crashed on the island sixteen years ago is mesmerizing,
especially when we learn that the Others took Alex one week after she gave
birth to him. When she finishes her speech by saying: “You have three choices.
Run, hide, or die,” we’re inclined to believe her no matter how crazy she may
be. Jack understandably doubts her – until he sees the smoke about which she’s
been talking.
Rousseau’s actions essentially force
Jack’s hand about the hatch. No one else except Locke is noticeably
enthusiastically, and honestly we wouldn’t be shocked if he agreed with anything
to get the hatch open. Rousseau then mentions that their explosives in the
Black Rock in the Dark Territory. (Hurley’s reaction again is the voice of the
audience.)
What follows essentially leads to
something that will become critical in every season finale and throughout the
series going forward. By the end of this episode, the camp will be split up and
will not reunite until nearly a third of the way through Season 2. The raft has to get in the ocean today and
that means the rest of the camp has to get it in there. By the time they do so,
the group going out to the Black Rock has set out, and its pretty much what
will be called by the fanbase as ‘The A-Team.” Jack, Locke and Kate are not
exactly surprises, though at this point we are slightly surprised to see Hurley
just deciding to come along. Up until this point, with the exception of his
trek to find Rousseau in ‘Numbers’ (and that was originally something he did on
his own) Hurley has not particularly wanted to be part of the dangerous treks
into the jungle, partly because of his queasiness towards blood. This is the
first major excursion where he is fully aware this could get him killed and
while many wondered at the time why he did, perhaps it is because he feels he
owes to his friends. The other member of the excursion is Arzt, who we met
briefly in the previous episode, and is one of the few survivors whose shown up
more than once. It’s hard not to get a serious ‘red shirt’ vibe from him. (Does
Arzt sense this when he runs away halfway through the trek? One wonders.)
And of course the reason he comes back is
because the monster makes a reappearance. Rousseau’s theory that is a ‘security
system’ is interesting (though the source will be…questionable) And we finally
get to the Black Rock and one of the great set pieces of Lost. The Black
Rock is a ship – in the middle of the island. We immediately have more
questions but this is one mystery that will not be paid off for a very long
time (though the resolution is worth it)
Because this is a time of parting, there
are other revelations many of them profoundly moving. Before Jack goes off into
the jungle, he gives Sawyer a gun though whether its because he thinks he’ll
need it for safety or because he thinks horrible things might happen is never
clear. Sawyer, almost certainly because he thinks he might never see Jack
again, confides about his meeting with Christian in ‘Outlaws’. It’s perhaps the
most selfless action he’s taken so far on the series; you almost wonder if he
does it because he thinks he might die on the ocean. Walt, who has been
reluctant to leave, gives Vincent to Shannon because he seems to think she will
need him. (Some speculated at the time she thought she needed protection; by
contrast, Vincent’s presence will lead many to speculate that there’s something
dangerous about the dog.) And Jin and Sun have their first conversation since her
secret was revealed and their first true connection on the island. The scene
between them is one of the most incredibly moving as we learn Jin’s theory as
to why this has happened and the first real step the two of them will take
towards loving each other again.
The final minutes of the episode are
extraordinary: the raft ends up in the ocean, there is a sense of cheering and
triumph among everybody on the beach that we have almost never seen in the
series before, and will rarely see again. The music from Michael Giacchino,
always magnificent in the finales, reaches soaring heights as the raft goes
into the ocean, the sail is launches everyone is cheering – and in the last
moment, it turns foreboding as we see the smoke rise in the forest. We think
we’re prepared for what will come in the finale. As Carlton Cuse and Damon
Lindelof (who will write every season finale) will prove, we couldn’t be more
wrong.
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