LOST: 4×08 - “Meet Kevin Johnson”

What did I think of the most recent episode of LOST, Meet Kevin Johnson?

Was Michael’s return to the series a welcome one? Or did it just suck?

READ ON!

What an amazing episode. I’m glad that this episode was merely a small stepping stone in the ways of LOST. It seemed to really move the story forward in a nice direction yet again. I honestly don’t think this season has had any faults whatsoever. It has really been the perfect season.

This episode featured the “official” return of Michael Dawson to the regular cast of LOST. I, for one, was glad to see him. His return answered a lot of questions that fans seem to have about his appearance in last week’s episode. It definitely answered a lot of mine.

So what did I think of Michael’s return? I thought it was handled quite well. Harold Perrineau really is quite a versatile actor. In his time on LOST, he has played so many facets to the character of Michael. In season 1, he played somewhat of a budding father, and in season 2, he played the desperation bit quite a bit. In this episode however, Michael was really portrayed in a somewhat darker manner than I would’ve expected. I kind of did expect that Michael would be taken in a darker route.

I think Michael’s return will be most interesting when he finally returns to the island. We know that he doesn’t want to do that. But I think it’ll be interesting to see how the other survivors take Michael’s return. Especially Hurley. After all, Michael murdered the woman Hurley loved. We didn’t get to see a real genuine reaction to that revelation. SO I’ll be interested to see how that happens.

This episode was a very interesting episode of LOST, as it wasn’t a traditional LOST flashback episode. A traditional LOST flashback episode will have a present-time character situation, and the flashbacks will only accentuate and strengthen that character situation. This was a full-on flashback episode, where primarily the episode took place within the flashback. In LOST, we have not seen this kind of episode since season 2, when the Tailies’ entire backstory was explained in one awesome episode.

Like in almost every episode this season, the episode answered a lot of questions. It actually confirms a lot of things said in early episodes of season 1 and in some of the mobisodes. Locke, in the season 1 finale, tells Jack that they were all brought and chosen by the Island to come there for a purpose. This was confirmed in a LOST mobisode during the summer/fall hiatus when Ben tells Jack that the Island never lets you leave. I guess this is the same with death.

This revelation when Michael tries to kill himself, but to no avail, actually has some semblance into future Jack’s storyline. In the beginning of the season 3 finale, Jack tries to kill himself, but to no avail. It seems that once the island pulls you in, it never lets go. We saw this with Michael, Jack, and even Hurley earlier this season. I think we are going to see more of it in later seasons when the Oceanic Six actually return to the Island.

My question is how did Tom know about this? This also begs the other question, is it just the 815 Survivors that are affected by this pull of the island or is it everyone that comes in contact with the Island? Can the others die? Most specifically Ben? And does it apply to all kinds of death or just suicide? So many questions, but I guess no LOST episode would be complete without them.

I liked how Michael’s off-island situation almost mirrors exactly what jack’s post-island situation will end up being. It’s almost as if these characters CANNOT live off the island once they’ve arrived. I really like this idea. It just confirms what I said earlier: the Island won’t let you go once you leave it. It is for this reason, I cannot wait to see how Kate, Sayid and Sun come to the conclusion that they have to return. Will their worlds come crashing down upon them as it had for Hurley and Jack?

Another thing that this episode showed about Michael is his current status quo on thre Freighter, which is what we all were wondering about quite frankly. I find it very interesting that Michael wasn’t interested in helping the Others in any fashion until he saw the news bulletin about the 815 wreck. It is also interesting to note that he only made the expedition on Widmore’s boat because of his loyalty to his friends and fellow 815 survivors on the Island.

One thing I loved about this episode was that it featured the return of several characters who are now dead on the show. These characters were Naomi, Minkowski, Libby, and Mr. Friendly. Seeing as how these characters were now dead, it was nice to see them return in this flashback.

Of all the deaths that did return in this episode, the one that confused me the most was Libby. I was surprised with how much Libby was in this episode. I’ll be honest, I was surprised she was in this episode at all. I honestly loved Libby while she was on the show in season 2. I thought she was a great love interest for Hurley’s character, and would’ve loved to see her develop as a character. Maybe we’ll get our chance in the coming seasons. But I digress . . .

The question is how did Libby return? I think it was this - - I think Libby was a manifestation of the island. I think Libby appeared to Michael in the same way that Charlie appeared to Hurley in the premiere this season. It was kind of like a guiding force to lead him back. But what was Libby’s second appearance? I think that was still the Island, trying to guid ehis way back to the right way. Will we see more of ghost-Libby? I’m all for it.

On the same note, I think it was nice to see Mr. Friendly. He definitely adds an air of toughness that was very intimidating on LOST. I find it interesting that he was the one to recruit Michael, as he was the first of the Others that Michael (and us as an audience) saw in the series.

Did I like the reveal about Mr. Friendly’s homosexuality? Not really. Didn’t really care for it. As I’ve said in previous reviews and such, I don’t think we needed that bit. I think the episode could’ve flowed without it, but I will say this: it was consistent with the character of Mr. Friendly and the way M.C. Gainey played him in earlier episodes. If you recall, in the season 3 premiere, when he sees Kate with just a towel on, he laughs and says she isn’t his “type.” I wasn’t happy about it, but it happened nonetheless.

Although this episode was truly about Michael, it was also about Ben. Like in every episode this season, every episode has an aspect of the outreaching influence of Ben Linus. It seems that by the end of the season, we will learn more about this mysterious Benjamin Linus character. Although his appearance in this episode was minimal, I think his influence was felt throughout the episode.

Ben revealed a lot of things about the Freighter Gang in this episode. Now, as I watched this episode, I had to take everything that Ben was saying with a grain of salt, because as Juliet said, “Ben is a liar.” We know that he must be lying to some degree, as he used those half-truths to get him out of being held captive by Locke. How much of what Ben has been saying about the Freighter Gang is actual truth?

But I think what he is saying is true to some degree. Like I said, it is probably half-truth. What Ben has said so far is that Widmore wants the Island, and wants Ben Linus to tell him the secrets of it. He has also said that Widmore’s people are to take Ben and leave no survivors. That is where I have to take a grain of salt, because I believe that is a half-truth that Ben has cooked up.

Another aspect of Ben that we got to see in this episode, that we’ve seen before, is his undying care for his adopted daughter, Alex. We see that he is willing to do anything to care for Alex. Sometimes his caring for his daughter, Alex, can be his undoing, as we’ve seen. Michael Emerson has also said as much in interviews that he has given regarding his character.

Like in many episodes this season, this episode brought to light the coming war between Benjamin Linus and Charles Widmore. I think that that will be the focus of the next 5 episodes is that war and how all the other characters are affected by it. It will be one of the things that this season will have been about, as last season was the war between the 815 Survivors and the Others. But this begs the question, will the boat still operate to bring the Oceanic Six off the island? Is the end result of the war the Oceanic Six leaving the Island? I think that this “war” will be very instrumental in the story of the Oceanic Six. Also, I think this “war” will unite Locke and Jack’s separate groups for a time, as well.

I want to say one thing about Widmore that we learned in this episode. Now it is all word-of-mouth because it comes from the mouth of Ben. Like I said, we have to take everything Ben says with a grain of salt. He calls Widmore a “monster.” Now is Ben telling the truth when he says this or is it a half-truth to convince Michael to continue in their cause? I really think there is a grain of truth to that. I think Widmore is more evil than Ben is. I do believe there are similarities to both the Ben and Widmore characters. But I believe Ben to be more evil than Widmore.

I also think there is a grain of truth to what Ben said regarding the people on the boat that some of them don’t know how evil a person Widmore is. I think one of those people is Frank Lapidus. I see Frank Lapidus as somewhat of a kindred spirit to Michael. I think Widmore recruited Frank the same way Ben recruited Michael. I don’t believe he knows how evil of a man Widmore is. But I can’t wait to see how he finds out in the future.

Also, Michael’s status of being Ben’s “spy” was also very interesting to me, because it just begged a question on my behalf. Is Michael an Other? Ben referred to the Others as “the good guys.” At the end of the episode, Ben called Michael one of the “good guys.” So has Michael officially been inducted as one of the Others? It was never outrightly stated, but I would like to know how this plays out in the Widmore-Linus war.

I also think Michael’s status as one of Michael’s “men” also serves as great foreshadowing for who Sayid will become in the future. It’s sort of a dramatic irony that Sayid is so frustrated at Michael for choosing Ben’s side when he will choose Ben’s side in the not too distant future. Great foreshadowing there . . .

This brings me to the final moments of the episode. I thought that the ending was very good. This ending made me glad we have 5 new episodes of LOST in 4 weeks. Because if the strike was still going on, this is the ending we would’ve gotten.

Having said that, this episode ended on a WOW note. I just want to say that I do not think Danielle Rousseau is dead. I think it is the writers playing with us once again. I mean, Rousseau is one tough cookie. She evolved from a scientist on a boat to this tough-as-nails chick that we still have much to learn about in this series. She is also a recurring character that has been on this show since the pilot. However, if she is dead, the writers did give her a good sendoff, but I don’t think she’s dead.

One character that I am sure is dead is the character of Karl. I’ll be honest I’m glad he is dead. He hasn’t really added anything to LOST. He was just arm candy for Alex. So I’m not upset that he’s dead. Good riddance, I say.

Some people are saying that Alex was being very stupid by surrendering herself to the mysterious gunmen in the forest. I don’t think she was, though. I think Alex was doing whatever was necessary to survive. She obviously learned that from her father. So, I don’t criticize her for doing what she did. It’ll be interesting to see how that will take place in the next 5 episodes.

This also begs the question, Who were the mysterious forest gunmen? I think they were Widmore’s people. Earlier in the episode, we saw Michael talking to some people who were shooting clay pigeons over the side of the boat. I think that was a direct setup for the end of the episode. I think that these gunmen will be moving to the Barracks next and take Ben there.

This episode was written by the stellar team of Brian K. Vaughn and Elizabeth Sarnoff. Both of these writers separately have written wonderful episodes of the show,, so it is no surprise that their teamup effort was amazing. I think Brian K. Vaughn may be my favorite writer on the show, as he turned out some of my favorite episodes (Catch-22 and Confirmed Dead) thus far. Maybe I should check out Runaways . . . Anyway, Elizabeth Sarnoff is also part of the genius out of my favorite episode of the series, The Man Behind The Curtain. So she gets my vote there.

All in all, this episode was great. I really enjoyed it. Another solid hit for LOST. I have said this time and time again, but I think this season may be the best LOST has had yet. I think it stems from all the answers to longstanding questions that we’ve been getting all season. This episode elaborated on the character if Michael a lot more, and also on the Linus-Widmore war, which should continue into the next few episodes. I think it was a high note for the series and a great note to leave us on before the show returns in 4 weeks . . .

RATING: 9/10

This entry was posted on 15. April 2008 at 19:35 and is filed under LOST Reviews, Tv Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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