"There's No Place Like Home Part 2" was my favorite season finale for many months, as I had only seen it once. Upon re-watching it (and the entire series up to this point before it, in anticipation of season five), I find it to be the second weakest finale thus far, but such things are relative and all the finales are really excellent pieces of genre fiction.
"There's No Place Like Home Part 2", penned of course by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the main creative force behind this brilliant television series, has one major flaw: the entire bomb storyline. Not only is it a weak way for Michael to go out, but the entire storyline is silly and absurd. No need to take my word for it, on the commentary track the writers themselves said that they had the actors to thank for the entire storyline working on any level at all, because it was really something they had to do and they couldn't figure out a better way to do it. This finale was the victim of the writers' strike, and hence the writers wrote the equivalent of a feature film in a few days, and the crew and actors had to shoot it in that long. Beyond just that, the post-production and editing teams had literally only four or five days to finish editing and adding special effects on something that has the length and scope of a feature film. It's astonishing it turned out this good (and it's marvelous) all things considered, but naturally it is a little rough in spots both narratively (Keamy's trigger device is also very convenient, as is his turning into Mikhail Mark II) and from a visual and stylistic standpoint, to the point of it being obviously edited in a hurry, and the visual effects are really quite poor, aside from the island disappearing.
I've spent too much time criticizing the small flaws in the episode. This truly is, as expected, up there with the rest of the finales. It manages to get a 10/10 out of me in spite of its flaws because there are really several absolutely magical moments. The main action scene which comes early on is very well-shot and exciting, the discussion Jack and Locke have is absolutely brilliant on every level, the unexpected emotional relief of Penny and Desmond reuniting nearly had me in tears, Jin's dramatic near-escape had me on the edge of my seat, and there's surely even more that I'm forgetting right now. Naturally the final reveal is really very well-orchestrated. I had been spoiled on many of the finale's events, but not the final reveal, and it worked wonderfully for me. Personally I thought season 4 had more of a cliffhanger than season 3. It was obvious that season 3's finale indicated a game-changer in the narrative, but while it was a great twist I pretty much predicted how the events of that finale would be resolved in season 4. Not exactly, but I was close enough. With season 4's finale, and from the spoilers I've read about season 5, I really wasn't able to predict much of what was to come. That's what sets this show apart.
Aside from the treatment of Michael's character I also thought this finale handled all of the major characters very well. I especially found much of interest in Jack's behavior. He promises to go back for Sawyer after witnessing Kate and Sawyer sharing a kiss, while later he honors Locke's wish for them to lie about what happens on the island (but doesn't give Locke credit for it, not even to his fellow Oceanic 6'ers). Matthew Fox is terrific here as well, and Michael Emerson gives one of his best performances. All the stuff in the Orchid is fabulous, but especially the orientation film and the stuff that's played for laughs. Ah, time traveling bunnies, I love you so.
A very obviously rushed finale, but one that still manages to be very satisfying. A few hours from my writing this season five will begin airing, and bar more industry disasters, "Lost" should keep a steady narrative going. I trust these writers to tell the rest of the story well, even if I disapprove of where they're heading (thankfully that hasn't happened yet).
"There's No Place Like Home Part 2", penned of course by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, the main creative force behind this brilliant television series, has one major flaw: the entire bomb storyline. Not only is it a weak way for Michael to go out, but the entire storyline is silly and absurd. No need to take my word for it, on the commentary track the writers themselves said that they had the actors to thank for the entire storyline working on any level at all, because it was really something they had to do and they couldn't figure out a better way to do it. This finale was the victim of the writers' strike, and hence the writers wrote the equivalent of a feature film in a few days, and the crew and actors had to shoot it in that long. Beyond just that, the post-production and editing teams had literally only four or five days to finish editing and adding special effects on something that has the length and scope of a feature film. It's astonishing it turned out this good (and it's marvelous) all things considered, but naturally it is a little rough in spots both narratively (Keamy's trigger device is also very convenient, as is his turning into Mikhail Mark II) and from a visual and stylistic standpoint, to the point of it being obviously edited in a hurry, and the visual effects are really quite poor, aside from the island disappearing.
I've spent too much time criticizing the small flaws in the episode. This truly is, as expected, up there with the rest of the finales. It manages to get a 10/10 out of me in spite of its flaws because there are really several absolutely magical moments. The main action scene which comes early on is very well-shot and exciting, the discussion Jack and Locke have is absolutely brilliant on every level, the unexpected emotional relief of Penny and Desmond reuniting nearly had me in tears, Jin's dramatic near-escape had me on the edge of my seat, and there's surely even more that I'm forgetting right now. Naturally the final reveal is really very well-orchestrated. I had been spoiled on many of the finale's events, but not the final reveal, and it worked wonderfully for me. Personally I thought season 4 had more of a cliffhanger than season 3. It was obvious that season 3's finale indicated a game-changer in the narrative, but while it was a great twist I pretty much predicted how the events of that finale would be resolved in season 4. Not exactly, but I was close enough. With season 4's finale, and from the spoilers I've read about season 5, I really wasn't able to predict much of what was to come. That's what sets this show apart.
Aside from the treatment of Michael's character I also thought this finale handled all of the major characters very well. I especially found much of interest in Jack's behavior. He promises to go back for Sawyer after witnessing Kate and Sawyer sharing a kiss, while later he honors Locke's wish for them to lie about what happens on the island (but doesn't give Locke credit for it, not even to his fellow Oceanic 6'ers). Matthew Fox is terrific here as well, and Michael Emerson gives one of his best performances. All the stuff in the Orchid is fabulous, but especially the orientation film and the stuff that's played for laughs. Ah, time traveling bunnies, I love you so.
A very obviously rushed finale, but one that still manages to be very satisfying. A few hours from my writing this season five will begin airing, and bar more industry disasters, "Lost" should keep a steady narrative going. I trust these writers to tell the rest of the story well, even if I disapprove of where they're heading (thankfully that hasn't happened yet).