TV Show Review: Lost - Season 5

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Lots of twists and turns in the midst of great drama

Cons: Still very few answers

The Bottom Line:

Lots of twists and turns

Interesting characters

Even some answers

They Have Become Unstuck in Time

When it comes to Lost, there are two schools of thought.  There are those who analyze every look and dissect every word trying to figure out what everything means.  Then there are those who sit back and enjoy the ride, hoping the producers know what they are doing.  I've got to admit I fall closer to the second camp.  True, I spend some thought trying to figure out where the show is going.  But I mostly just sit back and enjoy the ride.  And what a ride season five was.

The show started out telling us about the survivors of a plane crash.  They were stranded on a mysterious island.  But the show has grown and evolved so much from that, it is hard to believe it is the same show.  There is no way to discuss season 5 without spoiling some of the previous seasons, especially the end of season 4.  I won't get too much into what happens this season, but if you aren't up to date, continue reading only at your own risk.

While this show has always tried to separate characters and then bring them back together, this season finds them the most separated they have ever been.  Now that we know who the Oceanic Six are and how they got off the island, their story picks up 3 years later as Ben (Michael Emerson) attempts to get all of them to return to the island.  He finds a surprising ally in Jack (Matthew Fox), but some of the others have no interest in returning.  This is especially true for Kate (Evangeline Lilly).  What will get them to return?

Meanwhile, those left on the island have become unstuck in time.  They and the island flash in and out of various time periods and learn some surprising things along the way.  Locke (Terry O'Quinn) still acts like the leader, but a surprising alliance forms between Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell).  As their health is affected by all the time skips, will Locke's desperate plan to stop their time jumps really work?

Where do I even start with this season?

I honestly think it was the most compelling season they've had to date.  Every week found me glued to the TV from start to finish.  At times, I couldn't believe the hour was over already.  It's amazing how the writers mange to pack so much information into the time.  Granted, I still have plenty of questions for the soon to start final season, but I did feel like I began to get one or two answers as well.  Every episode seems to end with some kind of cliffhanger or shock, but nothing compared to the season finale.  I'd begun to look for those surprises, but this season even got me.  I can't believe I've been waiting since May to find out what is going to happen next.

Granted, some people complained we still don't have enough answers.  It just comes back to what you are expecting out of this show.  I decided a long time ago that we wouldn't get answers until the end of the final season, meaning we only have a few months to go.  Those who want to know everything now will still be highly disappointed.  I'm hoping my faith in the producers will be rewarded when the final scenes air.

Of course, no matter how great the storytelling is, I wouldn't keep turning in if I didn't at least like the characters.  And here is where the writers continue to shine.  While the focus is truly on the plot, the characters still come through.  Yes, some of them are rather annoying at times (I'm looking at you Jack and Kate), but others truly have my sympathy (Juliet or Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim's Jin and Sun).  Whether I love them or hate them, I have to admit these characters are real.  They have strengths and flaws that make them easy to root for.  Frankly, I think one reason I find Jack and Kate so annoying is because I can be a little too much like them.

Acting on this show can't be an easy job.  You can to take dialogue and events that don't always make sense and sell them.  But that is what the cast does every week.  You might find a moment or two with some weak acting, but on the whole, you'd be hard pressed to find a weak performance.  This is especially true of Michael Emerson as Ben.  He's been on the show since season two, and I still can't figure out what in the world he is up to.  His Emmy for best supporting actor is well deserved.  The other stand out to me is Terry O'Quinn.  He's a little easier to read most of the time, but again there are those moments when I wonder whether I believe him or not.

Season five consisted to 17 episodes, and all of them are in this package for you to pour over time and time again.  Since the show is shot in HD, it's not surprising to find a widescreen picture and full surround sound here.  And of course you get the usual assortment of behind the scenes features, audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and bloopers.  It's just another tool you can obsess over to try to solve the mysteries of the island before season six starts.

If the ultimate payoff for Lost turns out to be disappointing, I may be singing a different tune in a few months.  But for now, I can't recommend the roller coaster ride that is season five highly enough.