TVSquad

(S05E05) "Um... he's Korean. I'm from Encino." - Miles

The beautiful thing about Lost is that there's never two bad episodes in a row. That's not to say that "The Little Prince" wasn't good, but it certainly wasn't what we've come to expect. It was just too slow. Not the case this week - "This Place is Death" roared back and didn't let up once during its 60 minutes of perfection.

After last week's revelation that Jin was indeed still alive (Was anyone actually surprised by this?), the attention immediately shifted from him to the people who rescued him - Danielle Rousseau's research team. Fans (myself included) were furious when Danielle was killed so nonchalantly last season, mainly because we still had so many questions about her backstory and history on the island. Wish granted.

(S05E04) "I have to make them come back... even if it kills me." - Locke

And so begins the quest of Jeremy Bentham. That's been one of the real treats this season - seeing the Oceanic Six in the present while having their plot juxtaposed against the real-time (well... as "real-time" as real-time can get when you're time traveling) plight of those still on the island three years ago. The fact that we only saw Locke lay the foundation for his plan involving the Orchid to get everyone back was still mesmerizing. I love knowing what happens to him but not knowing the circumstances of his "suicide" and how he ended up in that coffin at Hoffs Drawler. Despite the lack of any more development on Locke's plan beyond what we got, this episode was still phenomenal - mainly because two people we've all been missing finally showed up again.

(S05E03) "Because... he's one of my people." - Locke

I really need to get in the habit of taping my mouth shut while watching Lost because my jaw is always on the floor by the end of every episode. Time-traveling has added an entirely new dimension (literally) to the story-telling techniques of this show and the first three hours of this season have been some of Lost's best. The flash-backs always lacked a certain amount of tension because they already happened. On the flip side of the same coin, the same can be said about the flash-forwards because you know they're going to happen. But time-traveling has created this new ripple where nothing has permanence anymore, whether it happened, is happening, or will happen. This is mesmerizing stuff to watch unfold because everything becomes new the second Faraday, Locke, and Co. make a new jump. They may not be altering the ultimate outcome, but they are altering the moment.

(S05E02) "There's no calling my father off." - Penny

Everybody lies. Some people enjoy the thrill of getting away with it ... and then there's Hurley. While this wasn't a traditional flash-back/flash-forward episode with one character as the focus (hard to say if those will ever be feasible again), this was pretty much a Hurley-centric hour anyway.

As the plot progresses this season, it's going to be interesting to see who becomes important (and who becomes irrelevant) to the ultimate endgame. That being said, we learned one pretty important fact in this episode:

Without Hugo in the mix, "then God help us all."

(S05E01) "You're gonna have to die, John." - Richard Alpert

Time travel! The future is now! later! here! gone! beginning! ending! OK, I give up. Lost is back and the future is... well, we don't know what the future is. Or the past. Or the present. All we know is what they were, because now they're just one big time travelin' mess.

As with seasons past of Lost, the fifth chapter of TV's favorite mindf*ck opens by presenting an entirely new storytelling technique - one that demands equal parts patience, attention, and imagination. More than anything, it's a test for true fans because the casual Lost viewer (do they exist?) probably had a hard time moving from A to Z (worst metaphor ever - I know) in tonight's season premiere. That being said, this whole hour gave me my own bloody nose.

As amazing as Lost is, I still hate it for one tiny reason - every time a new season begins, I get terrified that I won't "get it." If that happened, it would completely deflate my enjoyment of the show. While Lost has had its fair share of WTF episodes, most of them are decipherable after repeat viewings; season five's first two installments definitely fall into that category. It's like playing the sequel of your favorite video game - for the most part, the controls and game-play are the same, but there are enough changes that it still takes you a few hours to get a handle on it.

Ah, Season Four. You were so good to us, even though you were slightly shorted by that pesky writers strike. Lost wasn't as impacted as a lot of other shows because the creators had already gotten the okay to do three shorter seasons before any of this happened. Sure they lost a little bit of time, but not enough to have really impacted the show.

And Season Four gave us such pivotal moments. The introduction of the freighties, including some really good and interesting characters. The return of Michael. The identities of the Oceanic Six. An in-depth examination of what happened to them after the island in more flash forwards. The man in the cabin. Ben moves the island. And the identity of the man in the casket. So much happened in fourteen short episodes, but still that's not enough. To fill out the set, we've got two full discs of extras.

"Welcome to the war." Ben Linus utters those words to John Locke in one of ABC's Lost promos, gun in hand. Since day one, Ben claimed that the freighter folks were going to kill everyone on the island. The show's three-hour finale is only a few weeks away. What do these last episodes of the season hold for the island residents? Can they hold their own against Widmore's team of scientists and thugs? Spoiler Warning: Some details from promos, interviews, and podcasts are mentioned.

(S04E07) Well, that episode was a real tearjerker. This week on Lost, we met a few more members of the freighter crew, Sun had second thoughts about joining Team Jack, and Bernard got a little screen time. We finally got a look at Ben's inside man on the freighter, too. Things are starting to get weird on the freighter, and I'm beginning to wonder if Sayid and Desmond were safer back on the island.

(S04E06) I didn't think it was possible, but the Lost writers actually found a way to make Ben creepier. All they had to do was add a "lovesick stalker" dimension to his personality. For a Juliet-centric episode, it seemed like we learned a lot more about Ben than the intriguing Dr. Burke. We also got some significant answers about who's behind the freighter mission--from Ben, of course. Perhaps the only thing Ben doesn't know is how to have a healthy romantic relationship.

(S04E05) I love Desmond-centric episodes. I never fully understand them, but I love them. Confusing as they are, I believe that they are the key to understanding the island and its unique properties. This was the one of the few Lost episodes this season that didn't flash forward to the future of the Oceanic Six. We didn't get a shocking twist at the end, but we got a lot of new information to consider. It's a relief to know that this season's storytelling won't follow a strict formula. There are so many mysteries, relationships, and settings to explore now; variety is most welcome.

(S04E04) "Eggtown" gave us more answers and another shocking ending; I could really get used to this. This week, we got a closer look at Team Locke's life at the Barracks, caught a glimpse of Kate's future off the island, and got to catch up with the survivors on the beach--remember them? Not many shows could mix topics like blackmail, grenades, and motherhood into one episode, but Lost pulled it off.

(S04E03) Three great episodes in a row! Between "The Economist" and Carlton Cuse's promise to deliver five more episodes, Lost is having a great week. The identity of another member of the Oceanic Six was revealed, and that person is keeping strange company in the off-island future. As usual, each big revelation introduced about a dozen more questions, but that's part of the show's charm.

(S04E02) Watching "Confirmed Dead" was like watching my dream episode of Lost. People asked direct questions for once, some of which were answered within the hour! This episode was all about the Freighties--their lives back on the mainland, their connections to Oceanic 815, and, to borrow a phrase, their "primary objective."

ABC had garnered a fair amount of press over this one because of the obvious tie-in to the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie movie. The big news is that the creators of the movie are back for the TV show. Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Swingers) and Simon Kinberg (X-Men: The Last Stand) have signed on to try and transform their movie to the small screen.