Season 4, Episode 2 – “Confirmed Dead”

Why, oh why, must this be the shortened season, when it’s off to such a phenomenal start?

It’s easy to say that this was the best episode of the season…not a difficult feat when there have only been two episodes. But I think it’s fair to make the claim that “Confirmed Dead” is the best dose of Lost that we’ve seen in a long time. Everything about tonight’s episode was a step toward getting back to what we loved about Lost to begin with.

The performances tonight were some of the most refreshing that we’ve seen in a while. The play between Jack and Kate…everything that Ken Leung as Miles did…Locke’s “I’d be dead if I still had a kidney in there”…and Ben…man oh man, how did we ever get along without Michael Emerson on the show? It was like there was some kind of acting workshop that took place overnight, and everyone was twice as good as before…not that they were bad to begin with, just major improvement.

Plus, we actually got some answers, or rather what amounts to answers on this show. The debris of Oceanic 815 actually was found…although, again, in true Lost fashion, the answer opens up a whole new box of questions. Was it planted evidence? What exactly is the deal with this Abaddon guy? And what the heck do they want with Ben?

Lost is off to a start so strong that it rivals the first season. I believe that we are witnessing the shift into the second act of the story arc, and we’re about to see it really take off…right before it shuts down abruptly in six more weeks. *sigh*

Episode grade: A+