‘Lost’: Tying up loose ends

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After several weeks of spinning around in an increasingly complex time travel story arc, this week ‘Lost’ put the plot in the backseat and gave us some good old-fashioned character drama courtesy of Kate and Sawyer’s big puppy dog eyes.

We finally found out what happened to Aaron (he went to grandma) and what Sawyer whispered to Kate before jumping out of the helicopter at the end of last season (something along the lines of ‘Take care of my daughter’) but perhaps most important to ‘Lost’s’ eagle-eyed watchdog fans, we learned why the Ben we saw back in Season 2 didn’t remember Sayid, the man who shot his younger self in Season 5. It’s a double-edged sword for co-creators Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof (who also wrote this episode) -- the fans love them for their attention to detail. But overlook one moment in the mad rush to surprise and shock and god help them.

The time travel talk between Miles and Hurley was one of the episode’s high points and if Hurley has frequently spoken the general viewpoint and attitude of the audience, he practically seemed to be reading directly from any number of ‘Lost’-centric message boards when he confronted Miles with Ben’s seeming amnesia surrounding Sayid. ‘Huh, I didn’t think of that,’ Miles said.

That conversation pointed out just how close to the edge of the narrative chasm the writers are dancing this season. Make too much of a leap or a twist and you risk sending this carefully constructed series off the cliff into incomprehension, loose ends and viewer apathy (just ask those poor slobs over at ‘Heroes.’)

Luckily, we have a major deus ex machina -- and I’m beginning to suspect he’s a real deus, if you know what I mean -- in Richard Alpert. So we learned that Richard was able to use his mumbo jumbo to save Ben’s life but simultaneously cause him to forget Sayid and become the scheming weasel we all know and love today. Genius! Thanks, Richard!

Yes, it seems convenient, and a little too much of the dialogue in ‘What Happened, Happened’ felt like it was being explained right at us instead of existing in the make-believe world we’ve grown obsessed with, but no matter. Nestor Carbonell, who plays Alpert, is a damn compelling actor and the lighting, sinister music and his intense stare sold the moment. Who would ever have guessed that Sawyer and Kate were the two who helped make Ben who he is now.

As for Sawyer, his character’s arc has been impressive. We’ve finally gotten underneath the tough guy exterior and seen the emotional mess he is deep down. Check out the simpering look he gives Kate when asking about his daughter’s well-being. A couple more minutes and he would have been sobbing, I guarantee it. Some may bemoan the diminishment of Sawyer’s tough-guy swagger, but I say let him bawl. By now we know him and love him, flaws and all. Remember how Locke almost become a weak mess a couple of seasons ago and now he’s back to being mysterious and spooky. The old Locke is still there somewhere, I’m sure, but no matter. We accept all aspects.

And speaking of Locke, the ending of the episode was surprising in a way unusual for this season. Instead of some new narrative twist or revelation, we simply got a small confrontation that benefited from the weight of actions set up weeks ago in ‘The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham.’ The look of unease and surprise on Ben’s face said it all. Whatever happened, this is no longer quite the Ben we grew to hate and mistrust. He’s weakened somehow, and Locke has become the stronger one. Can’t wait to see what happens with those two next.

I haven’t said much about Kate, even though this was her episode. But I have to confess to being largely apathetic toward Kate and her multiple issues. This was her episode in terms of screen time, but the emotional cores existed elsewhere, in Ben and Sawyer and Juliet, whose confrontation with Jack was heartbreaking. But there’s something about Kate that just leaves me cold. I suspect Jack and Sawyer would agree.

-- Patrick Kevin Day