As my sister Katie pointed out on the phone the other day, I had failed in delivering a review of last week's Jack episode of LOST, so I thought I'd provide a double-whammy today with two reviews.

LOST 4.10 - Something Nice Back Home

I thought this was one of the better Jack episodes in recent memory because it was both character and mythology driven.

Probably my favorite part of the whole episode was Jack's visit to Hurley in the asylum. That scene really upped the creepiness quotient that never went away in the episode. Hurley's mentioning that he'd be visited by someone and that something was "off" about their post-island adventures really hearkened back to earlier seasons of LOST where the island took on spiritual dimensions. Why is everything so "weird" off the island? Are they really in the afterlife now, as Hurley asked?

I liked the touch of the smoke alarm going off in the hospital when Jack's dad arrived. It was a nice subtle touch that I didn't pick up on until fans noticed it. I liked that Jack's dad visited him, but I wish that there was more of a conversation that took place other than the "hello, Jack" that his dad said. I wish we had more to go on than a cool moment.

Umm...I lied. Favorite part of the episode was the awesome eye candy. Jaters had reason to rejoice.

But so did Skaters. If anything, this episode pushed the point further that Sawyer and Kate are destined to end up together. I believe that the person she was talking to on the phone was Sawyer's ex-con-girlfriend and parent of his child.

Again, I contend that this is the "Empire Strikes Back" season of LOST. The shit has definitely hit the fan. And if this is the "ESB" season of LOST, then Sawyer is in full-on rehabilitation mode. The old Sawyer of thinking only about himself has officially come to an end. This is much like Han Solo in ESB.

And what's fascinating about LOST is that as Jack, the undisputed hero (in the traditional sense) of the show, falls further and further into his narcissism and his self-destructive ways, Sawyer gains more and more White Knight points. I *loved* the brief scene where Keamy is treking through the jungle and almost comes upon Sawyer, Miles, and Claire. They're feet away from one another and you can tell that Sawyer is going to do whatever it takes to protect Claire and the baby. Way to go, Sawyer!!!

And just to add one more point to the LOST and ESB parallel, Jack angrily steps on a toy Millennium Falcon and Sawyer is, presumably, still on the island. Stuck in carbonite much? I mean, you can almost envision Kate telling Sawyer, "I love you," as she's leaving the island and Sawyer responding with "I know."

Oh, and I think that Claire is totally dead. Her house blows up and not a scratch. Miles can sense something awry with her. And she leaves baby Aaron alone in the woods.

And I'm glad that they made another mention of how Aaron isn't supposed to be raised by anyone but Claire. Good to see that they're keeping that theme alive.

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LOST 4.11: Cabin Fever

You know, let me preface this entire review by saying that last night's episode was truly great for numerous differing reasons. But last night's episode confirmed some things for me.

First, as I had mentioned before, I knew some spoilers about tonight's episode. I knew that Richard (YAY!!!! GLAD YOU'RE BACK ON LOST) Alpert would be at the hospital on the day of Locke's birth. And I knew that we'd see Locke's birth and that at one point, he'd be trapped in a locker. So last night's episode confirmed that I should avoid spoilers from here on out.

But last night's episode also confirmed that I should really re-evaluate my expectations about LOST and should possibly lower them. I'll write more about this at the end of the season, as I always do a LOSTseason recap, but I have the sense that, while still the best show on television, it's not quite the same mind blowingly good show it was during all of season 1, most of season 2, parts of season 3, and during moments of season 4. "The Constant" is my pick for best episode of season 4, but Season 1 was filled with episodes as good as "The Constant."

More on that later...post-season.

As for last night, I love that we got a history of John Locke. We've gotten glimpses into the childhood's of other characters (Sawyer, Jack, and Sun), but never an entire episode's worth. My favorite segment was when Richard visited him with the pieces that "belong" to Locke. It seems as if Locke didn't choose correctly in the three pieces he took.

Or did he??? I am on the fence on this. I think that there's a possibility that Locke chose correctly but that Richard said that he couldn't take Richard to his "special school" because that would somehow alter a timeline that had to play out a certain way.

But because Locke never had the opportunity to go to "the school for the gifted," the original Island inhabitants chose Ben to be their leader. And in doing so, they set off a chain of events that the Universe has been trying to course correct, hence the plane crash on the island. Because Ben wasn't the true chosen one, Locke is, the island has been trying to fix it ever since.

I mean, there are a lot of similarities between Ben and Locke. Both have mothers named Emily. Both have major father issues. Both have mothers that died in child-birth. I don't know what's going on, but there was a scene last night where Locke tried to get Hurley to go back to Jack's camp. Ben saw it as a case of reverse-psychology, trying to get Hurley to stay. Locke replied with an "I'm not you" answer, which prompted a really knowing look from Ben. Almost as if to say, that somehow, they are the same people????!!!! What?

The other nugget from last night was the re-introduction of Matthew Abbadon (the orderlie who wheeled John down the hallway). I think that Matthew Abbadon is the "black Locke," if that makes any sense. It hearkens back to the pilot when Locke talked to a young Walt about the game he was playing. "There are two pieces, one light, one dark." Abbadon talked about the need for Locke to go on a walkabout and how he was once in a similar position as Locke.

I also liked the scene in the cabin. I think it furthers my theory that Claire is really dead. Can't wait to see how this plays out. But this scene also confirms my suspicion that I'm still not completely sold that these ghosts are the good guys. LOST has a way of dashing what you thought you knew. Who knows?

I don't know. I gotta get going. Discuss!!!

- Matthew