'Six in Six': 'Lost' character comebacks
Let's face it: while Season 5 of "Lost" might have been the most ambitious season of television ever aired, it sacrificed character for story. That's not to say that character development was absent (see: James Ford). But in exerting more energy explaining a time-bending plot rather than those caught up in it, the show ended up wasting its most valuable asset. We've now spent five years with many of these characters, and several were shortchanged in Season 5.
Luckily, the show has one more season to right these wrongs. Unlike LL Cool J, I'm calling this a comeback for these following six characters next season after being underserved over the past year. In no particular order...
Jack Shephard
No one's been a bigger whipping boy for the machinations of unseen forces over the past five years than the good doctor. We as audience members have largely been frustrated by his character, not due to his inherent sense of morality but his incredible ability to always choose Door A when he should be choosing Door B. And yet, all those years of good intentions/bad results means he's in the unique position of being the biggest hero in the show's final season. Standing in his way? Cabin Christian. That showdown has EPIC written all over it.
Kate Austen
"Whatever Happened, Happened" almost completely redeemed her character in and of itself. Returning to the Island for the selfless reason of reuniting mother with child? Emotionally resonant and utterly heroic. And yet, the show seemed to forget this reason for the rest of the season, instead using her as a mechanism to ruin the happiness of seemingly every character in the "Lost" universe. If the show takes her stated purpose and uses it as a baseline for everything she does next year, she'll easily vault into one of the show's all-time iconic characters.
Ben Linus
Season 5 did the impossible: make Ben almost...boring. I say "almost," because Michael Emerson could read the phone book and I'd find the performance riveting. But between his inexplicable actions off-Island (What did he know? When did he know it?), his utter cluelessness on-Island, and general absence from chunks of the season, the sheen was removed from this titan of a character. I understand that a large bulk of Season 5 was spent conning this master manipulator, but that doesn't change the fact that the Ben from Seasons 2-4 was infinitely more interesting to watch. Look for Ben to be the key to the balance of power as the show approaches its end game.
Sun-Hwa Kwon
Remember early Season 5 Sun? Remember how bad-ass she was? Remember how she was somehow more terrifying than Ben and Widmore combined? You'd be forgiven if you did, since once seeing Jin's ring, she turned into a robot unable to say anything other than variations on, "And if we do this, I'll find Jin?" Devotion towards finding your husband is one thing. Being a one-note character is another. Maybe I read too much into these scenes, but I found the Ben/Sun dynamic to be subtly fascinating this season, almost as if Ben recognized a kindred psychosis in her eyes. If the show explores that dynamic going forth, maybe Sun will have more to do than simply pine for Jin.
Walt Lloyd
When it comes to "Lost," there's plenty about which I can be rational. Sure, I write four times a week about the show even in the off-season, but I'd like to think I can analyze the show from an emotional distance at which vantage point I can be both critic and fan. But so help me God, if "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" is truly the last time we see Walt on the show, I will throw my Vincent figurine against the wall in anger. A boy so terrifying Ben had him shipped off-Island, a boy with powers unique in the show's universe, and a boy at the heart of so many of the show's mysteries not around for the show's final season? Please. How would be return to the Island, you ask? Good question. Might have something to do with...
Desmond Hume
Did any character get the Season 5 shaft more than poor Des? Methinks not. An iconic character in the show's universe, he was largely an afterthought this year. It was almost as if the show had no idea how to use him once reunited with Penny at the end of Season 4. If Eloise is right and the Island's not done with Desmond just yet, look for him to return next year with a few key players: Widmore, Walt, Penny, and maybe the second-generation of Lostaways such as Ji Yeon, Aaron, and little Charlie. With so much of the show about intergenerational conflict, why not bring in the next generation to solve things once and for all?
So that's my list of character comebacks I'd like to see next year. What does yours look like?
Ryan invites you to join the hundreds already in Zap2It's Guide to Lost Facebook group.
Kate Austen ruined almost every Lost character happiness? If you mean Sawyer and Juliet, you should not forget that she didn't do anything wrong. Sawyer got with Juliet after he was heartbroken with the loss of his Freckles, and Juliet knew she was second best. Their so called happiness was a fantasy, and in parathesis as long as they were living in that per-fake world, living their own con.
Good point, Mylene. Kate just showed up... and not even for Sawyer! If you have to blame anyone, wouldn't it be sawyer for not being able to make up his own mind?
I'm definitely hoping season 6 is a season for redemption though. So many characters have just gone somewhat downhill (which may have been totally intentional to set up the final season). I'm really hoping Jack gets his redemption as well as Kate. I would also love to see John Locke (the REAL John Locke) somehow get some redemption though that one may be a little difficult to achieve. We'll see!
I could see the introduction of "Lost: The Next Generation" in one of two ways:
1) We see them in the future, as young adults or something and they meet periodically to discuss events in the past that happened with their parents, and it's mostly related to things that happened in Season 6, which we then get to see in the main narrative.
2) They decide to go back to the Island, and probably through time, to find out what became of their parents and possibly help them out, thereby changing the timeline.
Only problem with #2 is the time travel thing was done to death in Season 5, and I don't think Darlton are crazy enough to keep this train still rolling another season, especially the last.
Ultimately though, I do think Season 6 is going to be very character-driven, with each one settling their own personal issues/achieving their destinies.
I really want Jack, Locke and Desmond to be the main comebacks but would gladly settle for no Dharma comebacks in the likes of Horace and the gang. As I have said many times, there was way too much of Dharmaville this past season and not enough of the main characters. On another note...surprised to see no one mentioned in your blog several days back about the reunions we would like to see next season.....how about a Michael and Walt reunion...I know Michael is dead but who knows with the timeline potentially being changed. They did have very good scenes together in Season 1 and in reality they never got to have a good ending scene together.
For me, I think S6 will work best if the whole gang is back together again. From past seasons, something feels a bit off when large groups of characters are separated from each other. The beginning of season 3 and the beginning of season 5 felt the same in that we were watching basically two different shows play out at the same time. I really hope we won't be hopping between two different time zones or places anymore once the final season starts up. Plus, these 6 characters should have a better opportunity to return to their former selves once they're able to interact once again.
You bring up an interesting point at the end of your article: What if the people Jacob referred to coming ended up being Walt leading Aaron, Ji Yeon, and Charlie all grown up. I don't necessarily want this to be the ending, but it is an interesting idea.
Bring Juliet back, please!
How can everyone forget Juliet?
Personally, I think Jeremy Davies was seriously underused in season 5. He should have been the focus up until his death and not shipped off to Ann Arbor for half the season only to be brought back and instantly killed off. Long Live Daniel Faraday!!!!!
Jin wasn't much better used than Sun was. At least Jin got some juicy scenes with Danielle Rousseau to equal Sun's scenes with Ben.
I really hope they do not waste Frank Lapidus as a character in season 6 after the whole "he's a candidate" line.
I'd say that the whole season 5 featured James, Hurley and Miles more than anyone else with the possible exception of Richard. I would take more Richard any day.
well. given that you are highlighting the epicness of the character development of the mentioned characters i'll understand why claire isn't on your list. :)
jack and kate annoy me so much. i'm not saying they haven't had some nice moments in their character's lives. but here are two inherently selfish people concerned primarily with their own personal agenda in the name of doing it for everyone else.
that having been said you are still right. jack and kate (to my great deep consternation) are the central people to this show it seems and hopefully it will be likeable. (i will never love them)
i still take issue with your issue with sun! but we are each entitled to our own opinions. why else is she there on the island except to find jin? she did he bad*** thing to hurt the people she felt hurt jin. her end goal was to get back to the island to find jin. that has been her only goal. she's not sitting around crying over it. she is just trying to make sure people stay on course to help her find jin. what else is there for her to do on the island at this point! but yah i also love her and ben's interactions.
and maybe jacob's "they're coming" refers to his secret army of ilana and her peeps that are on the way to the statue who seems to have an intimate knowledge of who jacob is and probably in turn who mib is. they had just arrived. i'm sure their next step would be to go to the statue. hence, they are otw there already. too obvious?
either way. i have no idea what this coming season holds. all i know is it's too far away.
With time-skipping and alternate time-lines, the potential for any character to return is there (barring any DUI prosecutions, of course). Have faith, Ryan.