What did I think of the latest LOST episode, Ji Yeon?

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Wow. That’s really all I can say about this episode. For the most part, the Sun and Jin episodes can bore me a bit. But I have not been this intrigued by a Sun and Jin episode since a Jin-centric episode in the first season, “. . . in Translation.” It really played with your expectations, emotions and your head a bit.

One thing I went into this episode expecting was the final revelation of the Oceanic Six. I had initially read that this episode was a Sun and Jin episode, but I had also read that this episode would reveal all of the Oceanic Six. So, naturally, I thought that Sun and Jin were the final 2 members of the Oceanic Six. But, boy was I wrong! We only got the revelation of the fifth member of the Oceanic Six, but the final member of that tight group is yet to be revealed. I, for one, don’t even know who it could be now. But, on the other hand, I’m excited to see who it could be.

One thing I have loved about the idea of character flashback and flash-forwards in LOST is that these “flashes” intensify what the character is feeling or doing in the episode. This episode was no exception, especially due to the fact that it had both a flash-forward and a flashback.

Although I enjoyed Sun’s little character journey on the island, I kind of didn’t believe it, as it just seemed to be filler to make way for the total mindblow that the writers were about to deal at the end of the episode. It was nice to watch onscreen but it still felt like it was a bit of a filler for the episode.

One thing I liked about this episode was Bernard and Jin’s interaction. I really felt these two characters had kind of connection, because they were the only married men on the island. This was another reason the episode kind of worked for me, because I usually cringe at those Bernard scenes. They are usually not well-delivered or well-written scenes. Not so, here. I really thought Bernard was able to kind of push the character of Jin to realize that they had to leave the island and stay with Jack.

Something else that went down during this episode (and has been a force throughout this whole season) is the kind of distrust that the castaways feel towards the Freighter Gang. Jack had kind of planted this seed into the members of hid group in the previous episode, and it seemed that these seeds continued to grow in this episode. It seems Locke’s group aren’t the only ones who don’t trust these Freighter Folk, and it’ll be interesting to see if there’ll be somewhat of a temporary alliance between the two groups over this fact. But, given of what we’ve seen of the future, I doubt it.

Now, as some of you know, Jin is in my top 10 list of favorite LOST characters. I think you can really see why, too. We really got to see Jin speak a lot of English. Over the course of the four seasons, we have really got a chance to see Jin kind of evolve, not only as a character, but through his language. In the beginning of the series, he couldn’t communicate with anyone on the island. But, now he is able to conduct conversations and is able to understand English a lot better. I think by the end of the series (if he makes it that long), we will see him in the ways that people have seen Daniel Dae Kim in his other roles on TV series such as Angel and 24.

But, I think what made this episode on the Sun and Jin front was the love between these two characters. It is undeniable, and one of the stronger and more solid relationships on the show. No matter what these two have been through before the island (which was a lot, mind you), there is always that love for one another that they always seem to have. It has motivated Jin to change his interactions with the other survivors, and his language. It has really caused Sun to realize how much she really loves Jin. It is amazing to watch.

Now, that would be great if all the episode contained was this awesome Sun and Jin stuff, but there was so much more to this episode than I think even I anticipated.

Another thing we got to see in this episode that I wasn’t expecting until next week was the introduction (reintroduction, if you will) of Kevin Johnson (AKA Michael Dawson) to the Freighter. Now, this is something I predicted weeks and weeks ago, and I’m glad to see that it went this direction. But I have to say I am a little perplexed to see Michael on the Freighter. As all of you probably are, I am loaded with questions about Michael’s activities on this Freighter. He is obviously Ben’s “man on the boat”, but how did he come to be “on the boat”? How was Ben, the master manipulator on the island, able to convince Ben to do his bidding as it were? I’m really excited for the coming episode to see all these questions get answered. Because if you recall, the last we saw Michael, he was heading off the island in a boat with his young son, Walt. So it’ll be interesting to see where this kind of goes.

On an acting standpoint, however, I shall be very interested to see how Harold Perrineau handles his return to the show. When he left the show, Michael was a very broken man, desperate to be reunited with his son. I think to see Michael in this sort of “Ben’s spy” role will be very interesting. I am intrigued to see how Harold Perrineau plays it off. I can only hope the season only goes up from here.

The scene with Michael’s “reintroduction” was really well done, I thought. Although, as soon as I heard the doctor call for “Johnson,” I knew it was Michael. As soon as Michael rolled his way down the corridor of the Freighter, I just waited to see the face we have waited almost a whole season to see. It was an amazing reveal.

Some question, however, the reactions of Sayid and Desmond. Some people might have been waiting for Sayid to call the man known on the Freighter as Kevin Johnson, “Michael.” I think Sayid didn’t want to blow Michael’s cover just then and there. Will he blow it on a future occasion? Who knows? But I think Sayid’s reaction was Sayid As for Desmond’s reaction to Michael’s appearance, Desmond hasn’t really seen Michael. His island interaction came after Michael had left the island. So their introduction was genuine. But like I said, with Sayid, there was a teensy bit of tension and you could feel it too . . .

This episode also saw the introduction of the Captain of the Freighter, who I was not expecting to meet this early on in the season. I had surmised that we would not see the character of the Captain until at least a few episodes before the finale. One would say that that introduction would have to be sped up because of the writer’s strike. But these episodes were shot and written before that, so I think the fact that we got to see such a pivotal character in the overall season arc of the Freighter Folk so early on in the season says a lot for the season. If all seasons of LOST (which are due to be sixteen episodes each) are as tight as this one is in this regard, then bring it on!

One thing the introduction of the Captain brought up was the plot thread that has been dangling since about episode 16 of season 3 of the series, and that is the plotline of the fact that the wreckage of Flight 815 found in the bottom of the ocean, which was seen at the beginning of this season. The captain’s dialogue in this episode seems to suggest that Ben was behind the fake-wreckage, but I don’t think so. It almost seems like that’s too easy of an explanation. But hey this is LOST, however, so I could be wrong about this. I do think there is some sort of conspiracy theory thing going on with the wreckage of Flight 815, but I think that conspiracy is tied real closely to Ben’s “list” in the future when he has Sayid as his hitman, as we saw in The Economist. But once again, I could be wrong.

Another point in this episode that I liked was the flash-forward at the end of the episode, where Sun goes to Jin’s grave with Hurley. I really felt the emotion as Sun poured her heart out to Jin at his grave. Yunjin Kim really poured out her heart and soul in that scene. It was heartbreaking to watch.

One thing that stood out to me is that Hurley had been the only one to see Sun and her baby. Given the other members of the Oceanic Six’ priorities right now in the future, I can’t say I’m surprised. Kate is busy taking care of young Aaron, Sayid is busy being Ben’s hitman, and Jack is probably trying to keep a low-profile as it is. But it just struck me that even off the island, Hurley hasn’t changed. He’s still that lovable teddy bear guy we have loved this whole series. I have to say, though, Hurley looks dang good in a suit too!

One thing tht perplexed me about that scene was the date on the gravestone. The date of the gravestone is the date of the crash (which if any of you forgot is September 22, 2004). Now was Jin one of the people who supposedly died in the wreckage? Or one of the “eight” that survived? Is he still on the island? Now, i don’t think Jin is on the island. I think he is actually dead. Otherwise, Sun wouldn’t be acting as if he was dead like she had, with talking to the grave and everything. I think Jin died on the island. Now, personally, I hope Jin does not die on the island anytime soon, as he is one of my favorite characters. I hope that glorious death is saved for season 6. But he could die and I would be crushed. But if it happens, it happens. I would still be crushed, though.

All in all, Ji Yeon was a great episode of LOST. It really took advantage of combining the flash forward and the flashback into one cohesive hour of television. It continued to move the story along in a nice fashion to keep us interested. It also introduced and reintroduced elements of the series to leave us wanting more in a way that only LOST can. I am way excited as more episodes develop and the mystery of the Oceanic Six is finally unveiled, as I expected it to be in this episode. But, LOST always has to toy with my expectations. Isn’t that why we love it though?

The episode was written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. These two writers gave us The Economist earlier this season and were in turn able to give us another enjoyable episode this season. They were able to once again toy with our expectations, and emotions and totally blow our minds. So kudos to them!

Like I said, great episode. It really gives us some fuel for the coming week and for the rest of the season. This season has so far been a rolelr coaster of a ride and I really hope it does NOT let up!

RATING: 8/10