Lost, season 4, Beginning of the end

• Author: admin
• Filed under: Uncategorized
• Date: Feb 1,2008

Nearly nine months ago Lost closed its third season in as nail biting of a place as it had ever closed a season. The survivors had made contact with a nearby force that could either bring rescue, or devastation, depending on who you ask; yet a glimpse into the future planted the notion that rescue may not be all it is cracked up to be, particularly for a despondent drug addicted Dr. Jack whose final words from the future were “We have to go back!”

Lost, season 4 is scheduled to be on air in February 2007. Lost’s fourth season premiere now has a title: “The Beginning of the End.” For fans, the five words are loaded with potential connotations. Is this a reference to the fact that this is the beginning of a 48 part story designed to close the book on Lost’s ethereal mysteries? On the other hand, is it a reference to a more apocalyptic story line, drawing Lost’s mythology towards the immemorial trappings of a cosmogonic cycle, the birth and death of the universe. A larger than life battle between our beloved, haggard castaways, and a force bent on the destruction of all they treasure.

As premieres go, “Beginning of the End” is nothing that Lost fans will expect. Instead of opening with a disorienting locale and characters we don’t know, Beginning of the End begins with a headlong slam into a fast moving vignette with characters we know very well. Instead of taking three or four episodes to address the splintered ranks of the Losties, all of the characters are addressed. Perhaps best of all, instead of servicing a single item like previous premieres, “Beginning of the End” does a remarkable job of tying up much of the overlapping issues from the latter quadrant of season 3 and an even better job of setting the pace for season four.

“Beginning of the End” is a crushingly emotional, action packed introduction to the Lost story, proving that four seasons in – when you might expect to see the light at the end of the tunnel begin to fade – Lost’s groundbreaking protean form still has plenty of blinding ways to dazzle and entertain in a way that is none-the-less unique unto itself.