The Tease: 'Lost' returns

There was a good deal of griping -- much of it on target, and some of it in this space -- about the way Lost left things at the end of its first six episodes this season, and about the structure of the arc in general, with its focus on the Others as the expense of some of the original characters.

The bad news is that, when the show returns Wednesday (in a new timeslot, 10 p.m. ET), there's still no sign of the rest of the survivors of Flight 815. The good news is that there's some definite forward momentum, and the promise of bringing the larger group back into the picture pretty soon -- as soon as next week, in fact.

Things pick up right where they left off in November: Jack (Matthew Fox, above with Elizabeth Mitchell's Juliet) is playing chicken with the Others by threatening to let Ben (Michael Emerson) die on the operating table. His goal is to free Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway), although he's unaware as the episode starts that they're not on the original island.

The ticking-clock aspect of the story serves the episode pretty well, lending a sense of urgency to the proceedings that Lost sometimes lacks. The flashback scenes deal with Juliet, and as it's the first time for her, the insight into her past life and work brings a little more information than some others have.

And -- maybe the biggest shocker of all -- not only does Jack ask a couple questions we might be inclined to shout at the TV, but he also gets an answer to one of them (whether it's a straight answer is up in the air a little, but it might be).

There are also hints that the Others' reach extends beyond the South Pacific, a revelation about Ben, and a reference to a company that promises to take Lost obsessives deeper down the rabbit hole. But that's probably a topic for discussion after you've seen the episode.

Lost showrunners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof have been saying that it's unfair to judge the first six episodes until we see what comes after them. I'm willing to concede that to a point, but they were the ones saying early on that the first six would be tantamount to a miniseries -- which to me, and a lot of other people, implied that there would be some sort of self-contained arc to those episodes.

That didn't really happen, and there aren't any Big Answers to be had in Wednesday's episode either. But it feels like a move back in the right direction for the show, and 2 1/2 seasons in, it's enough to pique my interest for what's to come.

Are you excited about the return of Lost? Come on back at episode's end and let us know what you thought.

E-mail

• Digg
• Facebook
• Fark
• Yahoo Buzz
• Stumbleupon