Season 4, Episode 13 - There’s No Place Like Home (Part 2)

Think about what you watched last night. Then imagine that taking place in half the time. Thank you, ABC, for granting Lost one more hour.

This season has been, far and away, my favorite season so far of Lost…eclipsing even the first season, I think. The WGA strike actually benefited the show, in that the fat had to be trimmed, and the show was cut down to its rawest form. And the finale was a worthy sendoff.

Let’s look at what was awesome. First, Keamy. I wasn’t crazy about him when he first came around a few weeks ago, but last night he became one of my favorites. To begin with, we had this meeting of the two most able fighters on the island, him and Sayid. Best fight scene I’ve seen on television in a while. And then I thought we were going to have another Mikhail on our hands again…remember how our favorite cycloptic Russian just wouldn’t die last season? The scene in the Orchid station was one of my favorite of the night, kind of playing like a horror movie.

Which brings us to Ben. His murder of Keamy was just another example of why I love Michael Emerson. Ben knew that Keamy’s death would result in the destruction of the freighter…was it genuinely a crime of passion, or was it a part of the plan that Ben always has (as they reminded us in the recap)? Also, the thing with the wheel was kind of strange, but how do you pull off moving an island without making it look funky?

The moment between Desmond and Penny was another of my favorites of the night. It’s amazing how this little story that is almost never touched on can bring a smile to my face. She’s his hero…it’s beautiful.

Oh, and Walt got freaking enormous. They had to get him off the island…there’s no way they could explain away a growth spurt that huge in 100 days.

So, questions. Things were pretty bad in the days leading up to the Oceanic 6 leaving the island…what could have happened after that that was bad enough to make Locke leave the island? And why did he take up an alias? That makes it seem like he was taking up permanent residence back in the real world. And why would none of the survivors call him by John Locke, only by Jeremy Bentham? Here’s what Wikipedia says about the real Bentham:

Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He was a political radical, and a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law. He is best known for his advocacy of utilitarianism, for the concept of animal rights, and his opposition to the idea of natural rights, with his oft-quoted statement that the idea of such rights is “nonsense upon stilts.” He also influenced the development of welfarism.

Bentham’s position included arguments in favour of individual and economic freedom, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equal rights for women, the end of slavery, the abolition of physical punishment (including that of children), the right to divorce, free trade, usury, and the decriminalization of homosexuality.

So what is next season going to look like? It’s tough to even get my head around it…I’m guessing it will be a mixture…what happens on the island after the Oceanic 6 are gone that spurs Locke to go bring the survivors back, and the story of Jack, Kate, Aaron, Sayid, Hurley and Sun inevitably heading back to the island.

Last season’s finale was nothing short of mindblowing, and had me frothing for what would happen next. While this finale wasn’t that huge, it was still a very worth sendoff to a tremendous season. I’m excited to see what happens next.

Episode grade: A
Season grade: A+

For those of you who will be at Comic Con in San Diego, taking place July 24-27, it appears that the next phase of the Lost Experience will be kicking off then. Check out the details at the Octagon Global Recruiting site, which was advertised during the finale.