'Lost': May yet be saved

The return of "Lost" was something of a renaissance for viewers whose passion for the show has been bogged down by an ever-sprawling mythology and characters so numerous that many have ridden the bench since fall.

For the cult-like followers of its intrigues, Wednesday’s episode dropped clues to several new mysteries - e.g. Alex, the presumed daughter of the Frenchwoman, calls Ben “dad” - and revisited several old ones.

More than anything though, and for the first time this season, "Lost" gave us a back story worth paying attention to. The poignant hour devoted to Juliet (deftly played by Elizabeth Mitchell), the militant but compassionate second-in-command to Others overlord Ben, soared in its slow revelation of a fiercely loyal woman who wants off the island even more than any of the plane crash survivors.

Jack may be the resident doctor, but via this season’s strongest flashback, Juliet is shown to have some significant skills of her own. She is a medical researcher who before arriving on the island had succeeded in a scientific breakthrough that involved impregnating a beloved sister. (Through unhappy coincidence she has been forced to stay on the island for more than three years.)

After she facilitates the resolution to November’s cliffhanger - Jack had left Ben bleeding on the operating table in order to negotiate Kate and Sawyer’s release; she helps them get away - Juliet, choking back tears, confides to Jack that she only helped them because Ben had promised to send her home.

Rather than issuing the now-standard kill-a-character shock, the episode’s real surprise was its restraint - the episode felt reminiscent of the show’s first season, when a character’s impulses and motivations were slowly, enticingly exposed like peeling away the layers of an onion.

To date, this season’s episodes devoted to Jack and Co. have been largely lame and worse, repetitive. Part of the problem has been the uber-focus on Jack, Kate and Sawyer, while the less archetypal islanders like Charlie, Sayid and Locke have languished. Who remembers the last thing Claire’s had to worry about? What has Desmond been up to? And what about those two "new" plane crash survivors (abruptly and gracelessly introduced) who haven’t had anything to do since arriving several episodes ago?

During an hour-long "Lost" recap special that preceded the episode, executive producer Damon Lindeloff addressed the criticism that the show is weighed down by its many mysteries: "No matter how crazy the show ever gets and no matter how crazy the island ever gets, ultimately, it’s always about these people."

Some of the audience has already tired of the craziness; ratings for the episode came in below the season-to-date average. But so long as Juliet doesn’t go the way of Ana-Lucia, Libby and Mr. Eko - characters teeming with intrigue and potential - "Lost" may still be saved.

--Denise Martin