“316″ Review: They’re Baaaaaaaaaaack!
Trying to put my thoughts about “316″ into words is a little tricky. You see, I loved this episode. I mean really loved it. I’m talking about instant classic, definite top 5, maybe best episode ever. While watching it on a computer in the office, my co-workers repeatedly asked me if I was OK because of the number of times I either gasped out loud or shouted “No way!” out loud.
“316″ was a great episode, mostly because it was so unexpected. When we learned the Oceanic 6 all needed to go back to the Island. I assume it would happen at the end of this season, or maybe a bit earlier. I didn’t think, nor do I suspect any other fan suspected, that they would all make it back in the sixth episode.
Yet there they are, or at least Jack, Kate and Hurley. Back on the Island, in an apparent time jump where Jin is wearing DHARMA uniform. Where the story goes from here I have no idea. Will there be more time jumps? Are they permanently stuck in the past? I have no clue.
What I do know is the show is now in a brilliant position to go anywhere it wants. We could have flashbacks that show us just how Jin came to be wearing that DHARMA uniform and what happened to the people on the Island after Locke left. We could see flash forwards about the missing time between the encounter with Ms, Hawking and the flight.
How did Hurley and Sayid know about the flight? Why was Sayid in custody? What happened to Aaron? How did Ben get beaten up, and did it have anything to do with his “tying up loose ends,” a clear reference to his promise to Charles Widmore that Ben would kill his daughter Penny?
They made it back to the Island, and yet there’s still so much more story to tell. Lost promised to shock us, and that’s what it did. I thought Dr. Candle bumping into Faraday was cool. I loved learning that Charles Widmore used to be an Other. And everything else this season has been amazing. But “316″ raised the game to a whole new level. Ms. Hawking explained the theory behind locating the Island. Jack gave John Locke his dad’s shoes. Lapidus was the pilot. It was all positively astounding.
Lost is back. Lost is better than ever. I’m already starting to think about what the best show of 2009 will be, and right now, Lost is in the lead. Then Fridays come and Battlestar Galactica, in its final season, takes a slight lead. Then Wednesday rolls around and once again, Lost is the clear frontrunner. Luckily for Lost, it has more episodes this year, and if they keep going like this, I can’t imagine anything else coming close.
Jesus declares, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again”- Thats from John 3:16, im assuming that John Locke will be reborn on the Island? Is the Island the kingdom of G-d? Im not sure where this is all going, but tonights episode was the best so far this season. What could top it?? How about the Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham. As for last nights episode- It seems to prove the theory that the people shooting at locke and co from the boats is going to be people from Flight 316-possibly the new Arab dude or Ben? In the promo for next weeks episode we see Locke say ” I remember dying.” I hope this means hes back from the dead already, because there is no Lost without Locke. Cant wait for next week!
Comment by Geoff — February 19, 2009 @ 1:15 am
Did we know the white tennis shoe story before? Cause it was always weird that Jack’s dad was walking around in white sneakers and I don’t remember ever knowing why.
Comment by MikeyV — February 19, 2009 @ 4:30 am
This was a really great episode. Good to see Jeff Fahey back in the fold, too.
Comment by avoidz — February 19, 2009 @ 4:38 am
Last weeks episode was terrible, this one started out much better. I enjoyed this episode, but for John to call it top ever or top 5 is ridiculous. Show this to a non-Lost fan and there will be absolutely nothing of interest. It would be like someone farting in someones face for 40 minutes and then saying “The butler did it, the end.” The previous seasons with flashbacks were much more interesting when they actually explored characters individually and how/why the dealt with things in their lives. This was not a top 20 episode. This was merely an episode that was built off all the other episodes and revealed some questions we had in a lazy exposition manner. Not great, but entertaining.
Comment by Blutoschmooto — February 19, 2009 @ 6:13 am
I liked the Wilhelm Scream during the aircraft turbulence just before the flash
Comment by avoidz — February 19, 2009 @ 6:43 am
Why do people miss the old flashbacks? Those generic flashbacks that made Season 2 unbearable sometimes? Do you really want another Fire + Water or S.O.S.? This is shaping up to be my favorite season already.
Comment by drew — February 19, 2009 @ 7:20 am
50% flashbacks were lame, time fillers. Jack’s tattoos? Rose used to have cancer? This season, for the most part the narrative has a clear purpose and direction and makes me want to go to the island more than ever! John, this was an awesome episode, I don’t think you should call it the best ever until the season is over. I think it’s just going to get better.
Comment by Jocco — February 19, 2009 @ 7:45 am
Some serious nay-saying going on here. When we get episodes with little story development or twists, we complain, but that has not been the case all season long. The stories and situations have been cohesive and implicit, which is a nice change of pace, and this has been the most enlightening and revealing yet, taking only a few weeks to answer questions, as opposed to months or years. All I can say is THANK GOD FOR CONTINUOUS SEASONS!! =)
Comment by Andy — February 19, 2009 @ 8:06 am
I have to say I am extremely curious what Kate’s deal is… What she did with Aaron… Why she is following suite but acting aloof and even saying they’re “not together”… Also, 3 years after leaving the island I was sure that Walt would have made his way back into the picture by now… Seeing how special he is… Something tells me we are not done going back and forth from island to mainland… Think about the children: Aaron, Walt, Ji Yeon, and even lil Charlie (Desmond & Penny’s son)
Comment by BSTMSTR — February 19, 2009 @ 9:47 am
I watch on Comcast Cable in Seattle and there was something odd with the broadcast last night. In the airport scene, between when Jack was talking with the agent at the desk and about half-way into his conversation with Sun, the dialog went out. The background music continued so I don’t think it was a problem with the cable. Anyone else see this? If so, did you think it deliberate?
Comment by Keith — February 19, 2009 @ 10:55 am
Locke definitely gets resurrected, but in a Christian Sheppard sort of way. He will be a ghost floating around the island (which btw, I hope they explain at some point). That’s why Ben was talking about all that Thomas the Apostle stuff.
I agree with Geoff. I think the new guy is in the canoe and is up to no good. Probably a plant from the Abaddon or Widmore camp.
Also was that Ben pictured in the promo kneeling in front of Locke as he hung himself? I guess that would be another lie when Ben said he didn’t know Locke committed suicide.
All in all a great episode once again. I hope they go into better detail about how to find the island. That part felt a little convoluted and thrown together to me.
Can’t wait to see what Locke has been up to for the last 3 years. Or maybe the wheel threw him 3 years into the future.
Comment by Gavin — February 19, 2009 @ 11:02 am
My wife keeps talking about how Sun can just leave Ji Yeon and I agree. I mean I know she loves and misses Jin but damn she just left her daughter. The only thing I can figure is that she has some sort of plan that she hasn’t revealed yet. Maybe she has a way off the island once she reconnects with Jin or something. I’ve always liked Sun but if she just left her daughter like it looks so far than she’s a completly diffrent character than I thought.
Comment by Adam — February 19, 2009 @ 11:39 am
I had a couple issues with 316. I probably missed some things, but these kept eating at me.
1. Jack’s amazing lack of curiosity. When learning that people came up with these complicated equations and the pendulum just to find the island, he had no desire to ask why is the island THAT important? This is an awful lot of work to find it - why?
Also - he sees Ben get on the plane beaten up and with his arm in a sling. Maybe ask him how his evening went? Nope - sit on the plane and pretend it didn’t happen. Obviously the writers didn’t want to let us in, but leaves you yelling at the tv. Well, some of us.
2. The other thing that bugged me was the revelation that the island apparently moves constantly though time and space. So much so that they had to come up with complicted mathematical formulas (gotta be Farraday, right?) to determine its location. Now, if its location is always changing, how did Ben and the others make supply runs with the submarine? And a dharma plane (a prop plane mind you) still managed to make supply drops, even though the island was bouncing all over the place. And I can’t fathom if the island is bouncing through time - how do you coordinate a resupply run with the sub when the mainland may be 50 years in the past?
This only bugs me because one of the reasons I like Lost so much is that it seemed the writers had everything planned ahead, and were always 10 steps ahead of us. With this time travelling, it feels a little like they’re winging some stuff. I guess like Thomas, we need to take a leap of faith. But for a show that has so many important little details, its hard to stop taking things apart. Anyway, I still liked the episode, and can’t wait each week for the next one.
Comment by Doug — February 19, 2009 @ 11:43 am
i don’t remember if i caught the dialog track going out during Lost, but I definitely saw it during Life on Mars for several minutes. I think ABC was having some problems with their surround broadcasts and temporarily sending out the surround channels instead of the main front channels.
Comment by diggum — February 19, 2009 @ 12:07 pm
Sorry to disagree, but this was definitely the worst episode of the season.
Comment by besch64 — February 19, 2009 @ 12:28 pm
Adam,
I had this conversation about Sun abandoning he child as well. Here is the essential choice Sun has to make:
Stay with her kid and let Jin die.
or
Save Jin and let her daughter be raised by her mother.
In one scenario a loved one dies, in the other both loved ones live. In this context it isn’t a hard choice.
Comment by Blutoschmooto — February 19, 2009 @ 12:41 pm
Worst episode of the season?? I think you need to hand in your lost membership card. 316 had everything: Mythology,Action,Mystery,Emotion,and created some anticipation.PLus we got back to the Island! I dont know what else you want from an epidode of Lost??? Well, other than some more John Locke.
Comment by Geoff — February 19, 2009 @ 2:02 pm
Worst episode of the season?? I think you need to hand in your lost membership card. 316 had everything: Mythology,Action,Mystery,Emotion,and created some anticipation.PLus we got back to the Island! I dont know what else you want from an epidode of Lost??? Well, other than more John Locke.
Comment by Geoff — February 19, 2009 @ 2:02 pm
Effing _brilliant_.
I’ve never really had a hardcore ‘wwhhhaaaaaaa…?’ moment during an episode of Lost until now.
Bra-vo.
*standing ovation*
Comment by ianmalachi — February 19, 2009 @ 2:58 pm
Handing in my Lost membership card? Aside from the fact that you took this from the Easter Egg article, you didn’t even say it right. Are you implying that I am a member of “Lost,” as opposed to it’s fanbase? Moron.
Want to know why it was the worst episode of the season? It wasn’t because nothing happened; it was because the manner in which it all happened was not good payoff for such a buildup.
Remember Through the Looking Glass? “Kate, we have to go back!” A wrench gets thrown in everything, Hurley is in a mental institution, Kate and Sayid would rather die than go back. Then all of a sudden, boom, they’re all back and everything is fine.
Now, I’m not suggesting that there aren’t some crazy stories behind why everybody is on the plane. Obviously, some crazy s*** happened to Kate, Sayid, and Hurley that night. However, unless the writers pull off something totally crazy and awesome (which is always a distinct possibility), I am convinced that these stories would be best told in real time. It just seems as if getting back to the island wasn’t a big deal.
Hopefully, I’m proven wrong.
One last thing. 316 clearly had a lot of similarities to The Other 48 Days. The problem that episode had was that it didn’t feature anybody we care about, and it completely breaks the structure of the show, which is a very important factor. It did not seem like an episode of Lost. Traditionally, we are supposed to watch a story unfold and be treated to flashes, back or forward, which provide brilliant insight on the events going on in the present. That’s where the writers of Lost get to flex their muscles.
Aside from it’s broken structure, it suffered a major flaw: it did not give us the important characters. The only person who is currently important and fascinating that was featured in that episode was Ben, and we don’t even know what he did. The real action is happening with Locke, Faraday, and even Sawyer, and one of them is dead and two of them were MIA.
Hopefully, this suffered the middle-child syndrome and it was just a way to link the past to some crazy s*** in the next couple episodes.
Hopefully.
Comment by besch64 — February 19, 2009 @ 6:46 pm
It does look like ben with locke - when locke is hanging himself. However, I am sure he is lying about the “suicide” if infact ben is responsible for killing Locke. (I can just see him manipulating Locke’s conscience getting him to kill himself, all the while unwittingly doing what the Island wants Ben to do).
Comment by Andy — February 19, 2009 @ 7:10 pm
It does look like ben with locke - when locke is hanging himself. However, I am not sure he is lying about the “suicide” if infact ben is responsible for killing Locke. (I can just see him manipulating Locke’s conscience getting him to kill himself, all the while unwittingly doing what the Island wants Ben to do).
Comment by Andy — February 19, 2009 @ 7:10 pm
ummmm,I’m a moron?
The episode was great because it was different. Sometime the best episodes are the ones that step out of the box. You claim the episode didnt focus on any of the important characters? The last time i checked Jack is the central character of the show. 316 also included Kate, Hurley and John Locke. (even if he was dead) You claim we didnt learn anything new? How about learning how O6 get back to the Island , that the Island is constantly moving,that they all go back on the same plane (except aaron)and we were also introduced to Jack’s Grandfather. As for your Membership card,I refrenced the easter eggs article on purpose, since most the people on here read them.The fact that you resulted to insults makes you seem a tad defensive. 316 was a pleasant surprise, Damon and Charlton dont write bad episodes.
Comment by Geoff — February 20, 2009 @ 12:04 am
———-
Jesus declares, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again”- Thats from John 3:16
———-
No it’s not.
Comment by John Salerno — February 20, 2009 @ 6:31 am
I’m with besch64 on this. The writers hype does not equal the product. They built up this amazing conflict for Jack to have and they didn’t delve into it and the reason he could kill everyone on the island was because Ben turned the wheel? Not very dramatic. Just like in season 1 when Rousseau said a horrible disease killed her crew, very anti-climactic watching the French people get shot by her. There was no anguish or torment, she just shot her comrades immediately. No drama. No pay-off.
They have these great scenarios they set up and when they actually get around to showing us what happened they are a complete let down. We’ll find out this whole thing happened as a result of Charlie going to the bathroom on the airplane of something dumb like that.
Comment by Blutoschmooto — February 20, 2009 @ 6:46 am
Bluto,
D&C have already said that they never had much interest in showing Rousseau’s back story. The fact that it became such a big deal was because the viewers latched onto it and built it up in their minds as one of the big mysteries. This is probably going to happen with a lot of things. We wait years for an answer, and when the answer only takes about 5 minutes of screen time to reveal, it seems disappointing. Sometimes this could be the result of a poor payoff, but sometimes it could simply be that we expected more than the writers intended to deliver.
And btw, perhaps the “sickness” mystery is not over yet. We still don’t know what happened to the French crew after going into the hole.
Comment by John Salerno — February 20, 2009 @ 6:54 am
I loved this episode. I think it’s funny that Jin keeps showing up at the end of the show to shock us. Maybe next week he’ll pop up in a dress.
This show was loaded with so much Christian/Catholic iconography- all the statues in the church (including Mary- which points to a Catholic Church) Doubting Thomas, that Locke’s body is being kept at Simon’s Butcher Shop. Simon is another disciple name.
I loved this episode and can’t wait for next week.
Comment by Frank — February 20, 2009 @ 10:29 am
overall, great episode. i do believe that locke wil come back to life and i do hope some major questions are answered.
something thats bothered me for a while are the ghosts/ wispers in the jungle. remember, not olny dead people are seen and heard. back in the day walt was appearing all over the island and he was alive and well.
Comment by Karl — February 20, 2009 @ 12:58 pm
Dear Geoff,
I did not call you a moron because of your opinion on the episode. I called you a moron because your “witty” membership card joke wasn’t even used correctly.
Anyway, if you’d actually payed attention to what I was saying, I didn’t say that none of the characters are important, or that nothing happened. What I said is that none of the characters who are interesting at the moment were featured, aside from Ben who didn’t have anything that great to contribute aside from a few funny lines. Hell, he was only in the very beginning and very end of the episode. Just because Jack is the “main character” doesn’t mean he’s interesting at this point in time. All he was doing for the past 5 weeks was crying about getting back to the island.
Now, the event itself was a textbook description of anticlimactic. Poof, everybody’s on the plane and then the appear on the island. Again, I’m not insinuating that the events leading up to the plane ride for Kate, Hurley, Ben, and Sayid weren’t awesome. However, for the moment to be properly built up, they should have shown these events over the span of a few episodes instead of showing the re-arrival on the island and saying “we’ll get back to that later.”
The whole thing just seemed rushed.
Comment by besch64 — February 20, 2009 @ 1:47 pm
Before Locke turned the wheel and possibly stopped everybody from skipping through time, I thought that maybe Walt would be returning to the island with the rest of the Oceanic 6 and they would also skip through time and that would have explained Walt’s appearances in the jungle… kind of like if Kate noticed Sawyer in the jungle while he witnessed Aaron’s birth.
Comment by BSTMSTR — February 20, 2009 @ 2:02 pm
It seems now that they ARE back on the island, the show will be able to continue with the story while flashing “back to the future” to explain the circumstances of their participation…
Comment by BSTMSTR — February 20, 2009 @ 2:05 pm
On the skipping through time being out of wack with the dharma submarines, with the supply drops ect.
It’ll be a case of, ben and to reset the wheel, which off balance was causing all the major jumps. Now it’ll be back to a more steady out of time.
Remember though with the big time jumps, it was only the people jumping through time.
Comment by Grinspoon — February 21, 2009 @ 4:36 am
Apparently I’m the only one who thought last weeks episode was FAR better than 3:16. I just don’t have that much interest in any of the off-island stories. And really not all that much was answered for us in this episode. We learned that there are windows back to the island and why Christian was wearing white shoes, besides that this was merely a setup episode, a springboard for the next few weeks.
I still admit; to each their own…
Comment by B*Locke — February 21, 2009 @ 11:01 pm