Nikki Stafford

“Pilot, Part 1,” like the Series in general, is about fear. There are few things more frightening than being utterly lost in a foreign place among strangers, unsure if you’ll be able to survive. But J.J. Abrams & Co. aren’t satisfied with just a tiny thing like a plane crash on a deserted island; they throw in wild animals, mysterious voices … and a tree–crushin’, banshee–howlin’, people–evisceratin’ monster to boot. And that’s just in the first episode. The pilot of the plane tells everyone that they’re so off course that any search–and–rescue team is looking for them in the wrong place, eliminating all hope of someone coming to their aid quickly, and it’s that moment when the fear sets in for all of them. As Jack tells Kate when he first meets her, the trick is to conquer that fear and not let it overtake you. This comment will become integral to the overall plot of the show, especially in season 2.

Jack is immediately set up as the alpha male. Matthew Fox plays this character as a somber, damaged person who doesn’t want to be the leader, but once the burden is bestowed upon him he becomes The Boss. The Series’ first shot is of him, his is the first flashback we see (when we see what happens on the plane for the first time), and he gets more lines than anyone else on the show. Later, Locke and Sayid will also step in as leaders of the group, but for now, it’s all Jack. We see him as a man with incredible self–control (his story of his first surgery where he only “allowed” himself to be scared for five seconds establishes his Type A personality), but he’ll soon discover that controlling everyone around him might not be as easy.

The rest of the characters remain vague. Kate looks like she could be a girly–girl, but within seconds of being introduced to the Audience, we realize she just wants to be one of the guys, and will try desperately to prove that she can succeed as one. Charlie is a friendly but self–deprecating British former rock star; Locke is a mysterious man who might be a little bit insane; Boone is a guy who’s willing to help out everyone, but he’s a little dense; Shannon is a snotty princess whose most useful contribution to the group is lending her sunblock; Jin keeps his wife Sun on a short leash, and doesn’t want anything to do with the others; Hurley is a puppy dog whose presence makes others feel safe. Of course, first impressions are deceiving, and by the very next episode, almost all of these assumptions we’ve made about the characters will turn out to be completely wrong. Vincent, the golden Lab, is the second “character” we see after Jack, and as long as he is with Walt, Walt is safe; but whenever Vincent leaves him, Walt is in danger. Dogs have always been a symbol of protection and loyalty, and it is believed they have a sixth sense, and can detect danger before it occurs (dogs have been known to become anxious about their owners moments before their owners suffer a heart attack). Dogs are guides, and Native American beliefs state that when a dog appears, you should follow it and he’ll lead you to safety. Vincent appears to Jack but Jack doesn’t follow. Vincent will continue to pop up at integral moments, but we’ll later discover he isn’t the only character who can detect something before it happens (see page 321).

As with every episode of the Series, viewers will walk away with more questions than answers. “Pilot, Part 1” is more of an establishing episode than one that will generate questions, but they’re still there. The biggest question being, of course, what the heck is that monster? Throughout this season and the next, we’ll be privy to various theories from castaways and other people, but for now, it’s a menacing, terrifying beast. Yet, for all its fear–inducing rage, it’s nothing compared to what else awaits these people.

Season 1 of Lost was immensely popular. But by season 2 the ratings had begun to decline. This was either thanks to the inefficient scheduling of episodes (a couple of weeks of new episodes followed by a month of reruns, then three weeks back on and three more weeks of reruns) or thanks to the exposition of the story lines and the deepening of the mysteries (with no answers) that had fans scratching their heads. By season 3, when the network aired six episodes that were heavy on the Others, Kate, Jack, and Sawyer, and very light on everyone else, and when they ran the rest of the season a full three months later, those fans who were already frustrated by the show jumped ship, which left only the hardcore fans behind.

Thank goodness we stayed. We’ve loved Lost unbendingly from the beginning, but season 4 was mind–blowing.

In fact, the fourth season won back many viewers. Reduced to a mere 13 episodes due to the WGA Writers’ Strike, this season was short, but packed with intrigue, drama, mysteries, and answers. During an interview I did while the Writers’ Strike was on, a journalist asked me why I thought season 4 was getting great ratings and was so critically acclaimed. Was it because of the strike?, he asked. I said the answer was manifold. Yes, the Writers’ Strike (which lasted from November 2007 to February 2008) created a dearth of new programming in January and February, precisely the time Lost began rolling out brand new episodes. Or it could have been the timing of the DVDs. In previous seasons, new fans of the show would buy the DVDs when they came out — usually around September 7 or 8 — and try to make it through the episodes in two weeks before the new season started. But unless you’re a die–hard television viewer, such a schedule could be tough. When some viewers couldn’t finish the season, they wouldn’t dare begin the new one. So, they’d wait for the next season’s DVDs to come out a year later. These fans wouldn’t be counted in the ratings for that season. For season 4, however, the previous season’s DVDs were released on December 11, and the new season didn’t begin until January 31, giving new fans plenty of time to watch not only season 3, but the first two seasons as well.

But in my opinion, the main reason the new season was so good is because showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have an end date. ABC has done the unthinkable and given them an end date of 2010, with three seasons of 16 episodes each. Knowing there are 48 more hours in which to tell the story, “Darlton” (as fans like to call the two men) have mapped out a plan. They know how to answer certain huge questions, when to drop the clues in there, and when they should start on the big reveal. This plan has allowed the storytelling to be smooth, it’s given us so many answers, and the new questions seem to be leading into more obvious territories than in previous seasons.

In other words, it’s starting to unveil itself like a beautifully told fairy tale, one where the writer already knows how it’s going to end and how many pages he has left in which to tell it.

If season 1 was about trying to be rescued, season 2 was about learning to live with each other on the island, and season 3 was about dealing with the native people on the island, then season 4 is about the invasion by the outside world into the microcosm of the island, and what that does to the people on it. Do the freighter people come in peace? Do they want to rescue the Losties? Or, as Ben famously says in “Through the Looking Glass,” is making contact with that ship “the beginning of the end”?