More Reviews of Season 5

From TV Guide:
"The first seasons' flashbacks now seem utterly quaint. And the more recent flash-forwards? Relatively simple. As promised, previewed and teased by the producers of LOST ever since Season 4 came to a close, the next cycle of episodes introduce a new storytelling 'device' of sorts that might make you want to keep a notepad and pen next to your TV remote.

But enough about that. No, really — that's enough. I can't say more, given the confidentiality request that prefaced the first two Season 5 episodes made available to the press.

Instead, I will simply note that the episodes 'Because You Left' and 'The Lie' offer compelling twists for both the half-dozen 'survivors' of Oceanic flight 815 as well as those who are still on the island (wherever it may be).

The first hour is the stronger of the two, as it sends the mind reeling and uncorks infinite possibilities. Picking up soon after the events of the season finale, 'Because You Left' reiterates Ben's claim that Jack et al must return to the island to make things 'right' (as Michael Emerson shares, there's a 'scientific need' for that reunion to happen), then lets slip a bit of insight — from the perspective of those left behind — as to where the island moved. Alas, just as they figure it out....

Next up, 'The Lie' revolves around a major predicament for one of the Oceanic 6, setting the stage for a twist that significantly staggers Ben's plan to 'get the band back together.' Meanwhile, Sawyer, Juliet and the others are subject to old island problems, new revelations and surprise saviors, with the showstopper being one of LOST's most electric and intense action scenes ever.

Familiar faces return. New faces create new problems ... or perhaps offer solutions (hello, Fionnula Flanagan!). People die. All told, the foundation is laid for a pivotal penultimate season.

Before I go, a few more teasers to whet your whistle until the new season arrives Wednesday, Jan. 21.

• Within the first minutes, Daniel Faraday turns up in a most unexpected place.
• Jack shaves his strife beard ... in the premiere's second such shaving scene. (And no, you'll never guess the first familiar face to take razor in hand.)
• There's 'another' plane crash.
• Someone gets a nosebleed. (Uh-oh.)
• Kate is haunted by a decision she made.
• As previously spoiled, a dead gal briefly resurfaces — in a somewhat surprising (and somewhat ironic) capacity.
• Did someone order a big helping of frogurt...?
• Every theory I have read about how Desmond might remain in the mix, even though he and Penny were free and clear at the end of the season finale? No one got it right.
• Someone dares call Sawyer an 'inbred.' That can't end well. And it doesn't.
• Speaking of Sawyer, he remains shirtless for the entire first hour plus the first eight minutes of the second episode. (ABC, you owe me big time for spreading the word on that.)"

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From TV Reviews:
"Speaking of the island, where did it go? More like when did it go. There’s a lot of time travel involved in that story. Don’t fret though. If you’re one of the many who’s found themselves frustrated by the random time-travel twists we see so often in Heroes, it seems the rules about time travel as it relates to LOST are a bit more fixed. Thanks to Daniel’s genius-level knowledge of how time travel works and what’s happening to the island, we’re explained most of the rules pretty early on. Kind of. The island is hop-scotching through time, taking its present-day inhabitants with it. Considering everything that’s happened on that island, including the people who’ve lived there in its history, the LOSTies aren’t safe. Well, they’re less safe than they were before the flashes of light started. So as you can imagine, their situation’s pretty bad. Though Sawyer, who’s in the anger portion of his grief, believing Kate to have been killed when the freighter exploded, spends a fair portion of the season premiere with his shirt off, so we have that going for us.

The best part about the time travel aspect of the new season is that we get a blast from the past in the season premiere. I won’t reveal which character you’ll be seeing but rest assured, if you’ve been watching the series from the beginning, you’ll recognize this person’s face immediately. And speaking of old characters brought back to life (ok, not technically…) Back on the non-island, Hurley has a little reunion of his own with one dead character.

While we’re on the subject of Hurley, I need to just say it here and now: more Hurley! The first two hours of LOST include an ample portion of Hurley. One of his best moments is when he essentially recaps the plot of the series in a conversation he has with someone. He breaks it down so well that I wish the writers would consider letting Hurley do the “Previously on LOST” segment before every episode rather than showing us clips from random episodes and forcing us to try to remember where they all fit in to the series and how they’re going to factor into the episode we’re about to watch.

I don’t consider myself a die-hard LOST fan in that I don’t remember every random characters’ name or every specific detail of every main characters' back-story. That said, it’s the characters in the show and their stories that make the series worth watching, especially for those of us who sometimes feel a bit lost when we’re watching LOST. Season 5 looks to deliver more of what we’ve come to love about the series, which is personal drama twisted up in a sci-fi-ish story about a wacky island and a group of stranded human beings, most of whom have pasts riddled with mistakes, missed opportunities and other drama."

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From E! Online:
"Most Adorable: Penny and Desmond
When season five begins, Desmond and Penny are living happily ever after, but by the end of the first hour their fairy-tale bliss is interrupted by a message from the great beyond. Hope those two crazy kids caught up on their cuddle time while they could...

Most Adorable, Runner-Up: Charlotte and Daniel
Everybody thinks the Professor and Mary Ann were the castaway couple to beat, but the Professor and Ginger are coming up fast. Absent-minded professor Daniel Faraday has a crush on Charlotte (aka the girl Sawyer calls "Ginger" for her red hair), and she's definitely going to appreciate his affection in the days to come...

Most Tragic: Sun and Jin
Sun believes that Jin is dead, and she is, as you would imagine, royally pissed. In the premiere she forges a questionable new alliance designed to help her wreak the vengeance she craves.

Most Tragic, Runner-Up: Kate and Sawyer
As far as Sawyer knows, the freighter blew up with Kate on in it, and that's making him extra-unreasonable and angry. He says two telling things in the premiere: 'I wanted to make sure she—I wanted to make sure they got back to the boat. Doesn't matter now, does it?' and 'Everybody I care about just blew up on your damn boat. I know what I can't change.' Uh-oh...Is season-five Sawyer a man with nothing left to lose? (Don't go kamikaze, dude! We need you!)

Most Estranged: Kate and Jack
Has Jack finally given up on Kate? At one point during the premiere, Jack announces he and Kate are no longer even friends, and he seems pretty firm on that point. How could he forget that Jack and Kate are the original LOST BFF?

Most Mournful: Juliet and Jack
There's not a lot of Jacket development in the premiere, but there seems to be a little extra melancholy on the faces of both physicians when other characters mention Juliet or Jack. There's hope for the good doctors yet!"