At the end of Series 4, Benjamin Linus sacrificed his island residency in order to save it from the vengeful clutches of millionaire tycoon Charles Whitmore. But of course there was a price to his actions. The Island- yes, the whole island- is now trapped in a time warp, and the survivors of Oceanic 8-15 have found themselves travelling through the course of past events, landing to a final standstill thirty years earlier during the initial occupation from meddling science nerds, The Dharma Initiative. It's during this time that their reckless experiments on the Island's energetic properties will eventually spell disaster for all parties concerned, and only the press hounded Oceanic 6 survivors, along with a deceased John Locke have the power to stop the oncoming course of events from taking a disastrously wrong turn.
A New Style For a New Series
Series 5 opens with a change of narrative. No longer does each character have their own episode with the standard flash back/forward story. Instead plot lines shift in a more rapid succession, changing from character to character in the space of an episode. This is the fastest paced series of Lost yet, and also, for better or worse, the least subtle.
S5 attempts to answer many of the questions asked with bated breath since the end of the first series, but in it's own finest tradition opens up a whole new avenue of mystery along the way. Motives for the Dharma Initiative's experiments and the origins of the enigmatic monstrous black smog are just a few things brought to revelation in this new series. But with everyone's favourite plane crash victims now trapped thirty years in the past, and events playing out at their own time continuum bending hands, its often hard to imagine where the story is now heading. After 4 series' of dedication, many die-hard fans may finally find themselves frustrated with this new avenue of progression, and it's difficult to decipher if this latest storyline is really what's needed to maintain the overall quality Lost has sustained so far.
A Worthy Climax For Series 5
But it's by no means all bad, as audiences are treated to a sublime season closure. Based around the omnipresent being known as Jacob, episodes 16 and 17 are a two part finale to behold, with explosive shoot outs, tear jerking tragedy and the kind of twists Lost do best- the ones you don't see coming. It is proof that Lost is still capable of fooling the audience whilst treating them like intelligent viewers. Weather it is appreciated or not, this is doubtlessly a show that still manages to raise the bar on engrossing TV, even after 5 years of transmission.
Of course at the end, viewers will let out a familiar anxious groan, knowing that they will have to wait until next year to uncover the resolve to those last nail biting seconds.
What's with all the ghosts? What's with that big statue? How did all the others get to the Island? How come Richard never grows old? For a supposed final series, number 6 has a lot to answer for. But there is no doubt audiences, who've stayed with the show this far, will be watching with great anticipation.
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