Before my current re-watch of LOST, if you would have asked me what my favorite single season of the show was, I would have said "Season Four" without much hesitation. I remember watching that season live while the episodes were airing and just being blown away at the new twists and turns and revelations being thrown at the viewers week after week. What I found going back and soaking it all in again, however, is that this may be the first season of LOST that is actually better enjoyed in that format (rather than binging all the way through).
Though starting in the S3 finale ("We have to go back, Kate!"), LOST is a definitively different show starting this season. There is a reason why the premiere is titled "The Beginning of the End". Gone are the days of it being a show primarily about a group of plane crash survivors trying to get off a deserted island. The show has gotten so much bigger by this point that it has now morphed into "what does it all mean" instead of "will they survive". This was completely uncharted territory for network TV at the time (similar fare today plays out pretty routinely on cable and streaming outlet shows), and I have tremendous respect for the show runners in how they handled it all. One might think this show would end with the fate of whether the Oceanic 815 survivors get off the island, but here we are roughly half way through the show's run and that question has essentially been answered (now we just get the pieces of how it all happens).
For three seasons, viewers had been watching what was essentially a survivor/mystery show. In S4, it moves more confidently into the realm of "sci-fi", introducing more paranormal elements (such as time-travel) into the mix, while still always making sure to circle back and keep the show about the characters. This season produced some of the most iconic images and scenes of the entire show. Bearded future-Jack, the Oceanic Six, Ben waking up in the desert, Desmond & Penny's phone cal...these were all great, iconic show moments that transpired during the course of this groundbreaking season. Yes, the show had a bit of a different feel to it, but make no mistake: this is still dramatized television at its finest.
Like I said, I think the main reason I have to drop this season to 4.5 stars is because it doesn't necessarily hold up quite as well as its predecessors in terms of episode-by-episode fast viewing. Another one of the changes the show makes (besides the philosophical one described above) is that it really focuses more on each individual episode telling its own unique story. Whereas the flashbacks of Seasons 1-3 always did that, the on-island stuff was usually pretty linear (or at least always charging forward as put of one continues narrative). Here in Season 4, that doesn't always happen. There is a decent amount of "sitting around waiting" from both the Jack/Locke camps on the island, the even the flash-forwards hit a bit of a dry patch in the middle episodes (one problem being that only new character Daniel Farraday is truly great...Miles, Charlotte, & Lapidus are not as interesting yet as perhaps set up to be). So, while the revolutionary change in storytelling tactic felt huge when watching these episodes live, it is dulled slightly with the passage of time due to the fact that the episodes aren't quite as "bursting at the seams" like previous seasons. Also, in terms of full disclosure here, this was the season kind of jerked around by the Writers Guild strike, so one can't help but wonder how that may have affected week-to-week cohesiveness both in front of and behind the camera.
Ultimately, though, S4 represents the complete transition of LOST from "survival show" to "epic saga". We do start to get some answers and brought up to speed about a lot of events that had transpired in the previous three seasons. Sure, more questions are raised too, but the show runners were also aware that two more seasons were on the books. I always give the writers of this show the benefit of the doubt, because I can appreciate how difficult of a task they had and how brilliant their solutions often were. This is a show that always subverts expectations, which was something almost impossible to do on network TV at that time. It can be a bit jarring to see such a shift in story and tone, but ultimately it is for the better, as it opens up so many new story avenues and possibilities.
Though starting in the S3 finale ("We have to go back, Kate!"), LOST is a definitively different show starting this season. There is a reason why the premiere is titled "The Beginning of the End". Gone are the days of it being a show primarily about a group of plane crash survivors trying to get off a deserted island. The show has gotten so much bigger by this point that it has now morphed into "what does it all mean" instead of "will they survive". This was completely uncharted territory for network TV at the time (similar fare today plays out pretty routinely on cable and streaming outlet shows), and I have tremendous respect for the show runners in how they handled it all. One might think this show would end with the fate of whether the Oceanic 815 survivors get off the island, but here we are roughly half way through the show's run and that question has essentially been answered (now we just get the pieces of how it all happens).
For three seasons, viewers had been watching what was essentially a survivor/mystery show. In S4, it moves more confidently into the realm of "sci-fi", introducing more paranormal elements (such as time-travel) into the mix, while still always making sure to circle back and keep the show about the characters. This season produced some of the most iconic images and scenes of the entire show. Bearded future-Jack, the Oceanic Six, Ben waking up in the desert, Desmond & Penny's phone cal...these were all great, iconic show moments that transpired during the course of this groundbreaking season. Yes, the show had a bit of a different feel to it, but make no mistake: this is still dramatized television at its finest.
Like I said, I think the main reason I have to drop this season to 4.5 stars is because it doesn't necessarily hold up quite as well as its predecessors in terms of episode-by-episode fast viewing. Another one of the changes the show makes (besides the philosophical one described above) is that it really focuses more on each individual episode telling its own unique story. Whereas the flashbacks of Seasons 1-3 always did that, the on-island stuff was usually pretty linear (or at least always charging forward as put of one continues narrative). Here in Season 4, that doesn't always happen. There is a decent amount of "sitting around waiting" from both the Jack/Locke camps on the island, the even the flash-forwards hit a bit of a dry patch in the middle episodes (one problem being that only new character Daniel Farraday is truly great...Miles, Charlotte, & Lapidus are not as interesting yet as perhaps set up to be). So, while the revolutionary change in storytelling tactic felt huge when watching these episodes live, it is dulled slightly with the passage of time due to the fact that the episodes aren't quite as "bursting at the seams" like previous seasons. Also, in terms of full disclosure here, this was the season kind of jerked around by the Writers Guild strike, so one can't help but wonder how that may have affected week-to-week cohesiveness both in front of and behind the camera.
Ultimately, though, S4 represents the complete transition of LOST from "survival show" to "epic saga". We do start to get some answers and brought up to speed about a lot of events that had transpired in the previous three seasons. Sure, more questions are raised too, but the show runners were also aware that two more seasons were on the books. I always give the writers of this show the benefit of the doubt, because I can appreciate how difficult of a task they had and how brilliant their solutions often were. This is a show that always subverts expectations, which was something almost impossible to do on network TV at that time. It can be a bit jarring to see such a shift in story and tone, but ultimately it is for the better, as it opens up so many new story avenues and possibilities.