Season 4 Finale “There’s No Place Like Home, Part 2″ Afterthoughts

Lost Recaps — May 29, 2008 at 6:03 pm by Matt

The night we’ve been both anticipating and dreading is finally here: It’s time for the final Lost episode of 2008. As the credits rolled on the first part of "There’s No Place Like Home," our castaways were split up and spread out all around the island.  Locke and Ben were attempting to bust into the Orchid station, while Jack and Sawyer were on their way to rescue Hurley.  Kate and Sayid were captured by the Others in the middle of the jungle.  Sun, Jin and Aaron were on the freighter, and everyone else was still stuck on the beach.  We were left wondering how the Oceanic 6 would possibly come together, and tonight we finally got our answer.  We also got an entire cavalcade of other answers, one of which I completely forgot I was waiting for.


After obsessing over the mystery of who was in the coffin for an entire year, I completely forgot about that mystery before the final scene of Lost’s unbelievably phenomenal season 4 finale.  The episode was so packed full of action and answers that the Coffin Man blanked from my mind until I saw Jack drive up to the funeral home all bearded and drunk at the end.  This episode was so great that it made me forget something that had been at the forefront of my mind just two hours earlier.  That’s what happens when your brain cells mix with Lost.

After it was revealed that "Jeremy Bentham" (Another real life philosopher. Read about him here.) had visited Giant Walt, we knew it had to be either Ben or Locke in that coffin.  How Locke got off the island remains a mystery, as do the terrible events that he apparently described to Jack.  What went wrong after the Oceanic 6 took off?  And will Sawyer and Juliet become buddies now that they’ve got nothing but a bottle of rum and a whole lot of time to kill?

Much to my delight, Sawyer managed to survive the entire episode, as did Desmond.  Michael probably wasn’t so lucky, but what about Jin?  I’m still holding out hope that Jin jumped off the boat right before it exploded.  Sun certainly thinks he’s dead, which explains her post-island actions, but there’s still a chance he swam. . .somewhere.  With no island to return to I have no idea where he’d go, but dammit, I’m going to keep hope alive.

Speaking of Desmond, his reunion with Penny had to be one of the most emotional moments in Lost history. Their kiss was well-deserved after so much time apart, and kudos to the writers for allowing them a happy ending.  Or, to be more specific, a happy middle.  Now that Ben is planning to kill Charles Widmore’s daughter, we have no idea how things will end up.

Just like with every Lost episode, Ben had plenty of fantastic moments in the finale.  We discovered that he’s unable to return to the island after moving it, which is the plan Jacob laid out for him.  I assume he automatically teleported to Tunisia after turning the giant wheel.  Ah yes, the wheel.  I definitely wasn’t expecting something so ancient to be able to move an entire island, but apparently it did the trick.  The island completely vanished, and went. . .well, where exactly?  To another space?  To another time?  To another dimension?  Throw that question in the mystery pile.

Rehashing every fantastic moment in this episode would require typing out the entire script, but here are some of the most memorable highlights:

–  I loved how the episode picked up right where the season 3 finale ended. 

–  The whispers reappeared, and it definitely feels like they’re tied to either ghosts or teleportation. 

–  Sayid kicking Keamy’s ass was a delight, even if it did take the mercenary a very long time to die. 

–  Locke and Jack indulged in a classic "man of science, man of faith" debate.

–  Miles implied that Charlotte has been on the island before.

–  We learned that rabbits can time travel, and also saw the beginning of the Orchid orientation video.

–  Hurley was playing chess with Mr. Eko!

–  Sun had a breakdown over Jin, but it allowed Yunjin Kim to do some of her strongest acting ever.

–  Locke became leader of the Others.

–  Ben told Jack that they ALL have to go back to the island, including the very dead John Locke.

We have months to pore over every question answered and mystery revealed, but for now I want to ponder what season 5 of Lost will look like.  Obviously the bulk of the adventure will no longer take place on the island, because many of our main characters are no longer there.  What do the producers have in store?  Will we follow the lives of both the off-island and on-island groups from the moment season 4 ended?  Will we still flash-forward to the future, or will the bulk of the show take place after Ben’s chat with Jack in the funeral home?

In a previous article, I mentioned that the only thing I wanted from the Lost finale was for my mind to be blown.  It did exactly that.  Not only was it an unbelievable two hours of television, but it left me with no idea where the show will pick up when season 5 comes along.  I think Lost is in for another big story structure shake-up, and while that sort of thing may frighten some people, I couldn’t be more excited.

"There’s No Place Like Home" was truly Lost at its best.  It was epic, emotional, and action packed.  I screamed obscenities at my TV and also shed a few (dozen) tears.  I rushed to discuss the episode with friends immediately afterwards.  A Lost season finale isn’t just television — it’s an experience.  This was one experience that completely surpassed my expectations. 

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