LA X
Encyclopedia
"LA X" comprises the 104th and 105th episodes of the American Broadcasting Company
's Lost
, marking the premiere
of the sixth and final season
. It was written by show runner
s/executive producers Damon Lindelof
and Carlton Cuse
and directed by executive producer Jack Bender
. Both parts were aired on February 2, 2010 on ABC in the United States and CTV
in Canada, and on February 4, 2010 on RTÉ Two
in Ireland.
The story deals with the aftermath of the detonation of the hydrogen bomb at the end of the previous episode, "The Incident
". "LA X" introduces a new narrative device, two separate timelines, that replaces previously used devices, such as flashbacks, flash-forwards and time travel. Cuse and Lindelof have stated that the "two distinct timelines" are "equally real". Both ABC and the producers refer to these scenes as "flash sideways".
The date of first broadcast was the source of much speculation, as ABC intentionally avoided locking down a timeslot to keep options open in order to assess the threat of the upcoming Olympic Games
and to better fit Lost with how other shows were performing on ABC's schedule. Scheduling was further placed in jeopardy when it was announced that the chosen night was being considered for the 2010 State of the Union Address
. The season premiere was the first episode of Lost to air on a Tuesday in the United States.
Despite the fact that there is no specific character that the premiere is centered on, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, Jack Shephard
, Kate Austen
, John Locke
, Sun-Hwa Kwon, Sayid Jarrah
, Jin-Soo Kwon
and James "Sawyer" Ford each have points of view in the premiere.
(Evangeline Lilly
) is still being transported in custody of U.S. Marshal Edward Mars (Fredric Lehne
); Dr. Jack Shephard
(Matthew Fox
) is transporting his deceased father
; and John Locke
(Terry O'Quinn
) is still paralyzed. However, there are some differences as well, e.g. Boone Carlyle
(Ian Somerhalder
) is returning to Los Angeles without his stepsister
; Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
) claims to be the luckiest man alive; Locke claims to have participated in his walkabout
; Desmond Hume
(Henry Ian Cusick
) is a passenger and Rose Henderson (L. Scott Caldwell
) reassures Jack while experiencing turbulence
. During the flight, Jack is called upon to save Charlie Pace
(Dominic Monaghan
), who has asphyxiated while attempting to swallow a small packet of heroin. Jack, with the help of Sayid Jarrah
(Naveen Andrews
), resuscitates him; Charlie is arrested for drug possession. Jack also encounters Desmond; however, he is nowhere to be seen when the plane lands.
After the plane lands safely at LAX, Jack is informed that the airline has lost his father's coffin. Kate escapes custody of the marshal and hijacks a taxicab in which Claire Littleton
(Emilie de Ravin
) is also a passenger. Jin-Soo Kwon
(Daniel Dae Kim) is detained after he fails to declare a large amount of cash on his customs form. His travel partner, Sun-Hwa Paik (Yunjin Kim), who claims she can't speak English, does nothing to help the situation. Jack speaks with Locke, who notes that his own luggage has also been misplaced. They discuss Locke's condition, which Locke tells him is irreversible. Jack responds that nothing is irreversible, reveals that he is a spinal surgeon, and offers Locke a free medical consultation.
(Elizabeth Mitchell
), James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
), and Miles Straume
(Ken Leung
) have been returned to the present at the site of the Dharma Initiative
Swan station, immediately after Ben Linus (Michael Emerson
) has killed Jacob (Mark Pellegrino
). Sawyer is angered by the prospect that Juliet's death was meaningless and engages in a fight with Jack. However, Juliet is alive underneath the remains of the station. The survivors eventually free Juliet, but she dies soon after, moments before she can tell Sawyer something important; Sawyer blames Jack.
Hurley tends to Sayid, who has been mortally wounded by a gunshot. Jacob appears to Hurley and explains that he (Jacob) has been killed and that Hurley must take Sayid to the Others' temple in order to heal him. Hurley must also bring the guitar case that Jacob previously gave him
. The survivors split up, with the majority going to the temple, while Sawyer and Miles stay behind to bury Juliet. Sawyer forces Miles to use his medium skills to talk to Juliet. Miles relays her message: "It worked", referring to the bomb exploding and the flash-sideways timeline.
At the temple, the group encounters the remaining members of the Others who have taken refuge, including Flight 815 stewardess Cindy (Kimberley Joseph
) and the two abducted children, Zack and Emma, who have been missing since they were taken in by the Others. The survivors are captured and brought before two men, Dogen (Hiroyuki Sanada
), a Japanese man, and his translator, Lennon (John Hawkes
). Hurley tells them that Jacob sent him, and offers the guitar case as proof. Inside is a wooden ankh
, which Dogen breaks open, revealing a note that tells the Others they will all be in trouble if Sayid dies. Sayid is brought to a spring, noted to have gone murky, where he is held underwater until the time of an hourglass passes. Jack administers CPR
, but Sayid does not respond. They believe Sayid has died. Sawyer and Miles are brought into the temple, having been captured after burying Juliet. Dogen questions Hurley in a separate room, where Hurley reveals Jacob is dead. Shocked by this news, the Others sound an alarm, prepare their defenses, and send fireworks into the air in preparation for an attack. Lennon insists on speaking with Jack privately. Jack refuses, leading to an altercation, when suddenly Sayid comes back to life.
Inside the pedestal of the statue, the Man in Black
, who has taken the form of Locke, sends Ben to get Richard Alpert
(Nestor Carbonell
). Richard, however, refuses to go inside and instead shows Locke's body to Ben. Bram (Brad William Henke
) and his team from Flight 316 enter the statue with Ben. The Man in Black transforms into the Smoke Monster and easily kills Bram and his men, but spares Ben. The Man in Black then tells Ben what Locke's final thoughts were, and explains that his own true goal is to return home. The Man in Black finds this ironic because Locke wanted desperately to stay and live on the island. Outside, Richard sees the fireworks from the temple. The Man in Black then confronts Richard, who realizes who the man is, but the Man in Black quickly knocks him out and announces that he is disappointed in the Others as he carries Richard into the jungle.
appears as Charlie after a 30 episode absence. Ian Somerhalder
also reprises his role as Boone for the first time since the episode "Exposé
", while Kimberley Joseph
appears as flight attendant Cindy Chandler for the first time since the episode "The Brig
", both from the third season. Greg Grunberg
recorded lines in Los Angeles for a voice-over reprisal of his role of Oceanic Airlines
Captain Seth Norris of Flight 815 that crashed on the island in the pilot episode
. Originally, Maggie Grace
was set to make an appearance as Shannon, but Grace was unable to film any scenes due to her busy schedule. Thus, the backstory was rewritten to accommodate this.
has divulged that "it is revealed who Locke actually is. Although that's still kind of a mystery of who is that. But there's still a pretty big revelation there."
, adding an episode apiece onto the remaining seasons. Then-co-executive producer Edward Kitsis
speculated that these would translate into more two-part episodes. The fifth season premiered two weeks early to allow for two breaks in the season for a rerun
and a clip-show respectively. In June 2009, the producers ordered an additional hour for the show's final season. Cuse explained that "For us, [eighteen hours] is just about right. I mean, we aren't sitting here feeling like, 'Oh my God, we need a ton more hours to tell the rest of our story.' It feels like it's going to work out just fine. It will have been the right length." In September, ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson advertised that the final season would be the first Lost season to run uninterrupted and entirely repeat-free; however, Cuse said in October that Lost would premiere in January in order to take a two-week break in February to avoid competing with NBC
's coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games
. Having been shuffled around the primetime schedule five times (airing Wednesday at 8:00 in the first season, Wednesdays at 9:00 for the second and fifth seasons and part of the third season, Wednesdays at 10:00 for part of the third season and on Thursdays at both 9:00 and 10:00 for different parts of the fourth season) and remaining a top twenty program in Nielsen ratings
, McPherson had defined Lost as a "wildcard asset", elaborating that "it's a great position to be in. We're going to see where we are coming into the spring and see what happens. It's a tool to use." With ABC's new Wednesday sitcom block performing well, ABC ultimately ruled in November that Lost would move to Tuesdays at 9:00/8 central for the first time, premiering in February and running straight through with original episode broadcasts into mid-May, not taking a break for the Olympic Games.
On January 6, 2010, it was reported that the White House
was considering two dates for Barack Obama
's annual State of the Union address
, which is typically on the last Tuesday of January at 9:00: January 26 and February 2. Were the latter date selected, the Lost premiere would be preempted and have to air at a later date, sabotaging months of promotion by ABC for "The Final Season" and forcing some awkward rescheduling of the season, which had no leeway for interruptions. This prompted an online protest among fans and the story was picked up by dozens of media outlets. On January 8, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs
announced "I don't foresee a scenario in which millions of people who hope to finally get some conclusion with Lost are preempted by the president", to which Damon Lindelof responded via his Twitter
account with "OBAMA BACKED DOWN!!!! Groundhog Day is OURS!!!!!!! (God Bless America)". Ben East of the United Arab Emirates The National
newspaper summed up the story with "confirmation of just how important [Lost] is came with an almost unbelievable communiqué from the White House last week … That's right. Obama might have had vital information to impart upon the American people about health care, the war in Afghanistan, the financial crisis—things that, you know, might affect real lives. But the most important thing was that his address didn't clash with a series in which a polar bear appears on a tropical island. After extensive lobbying by the ABC network, the White House surrendered." Lindelof later recounted, "What's amazing is you realize how fickle your political affiliations are. I'm a lifelong Democrat, but when I first heard that they were considering February 2, I was like, 'That motherfucker!' ""
assigned "LA X" a score of 89/100, indicating "universal acclaim" and making it the best-reviewed season premiere of the 2009-2010 television season. Chris Carbot of IGN
gave the episode a strong positive review, stating that "season six is off to a fantastic start", although he criticized the first hour of the premiere for its pacing and lack of "information that needs to be imparted to the audience." Overall he gave the episode a score of 9.2. Noel Murray of The A.V. Club
also praised "LA X", stating that he "loved pretty much every minute", and grading it A. Variety
's Cynthia Littleton praised the premiere as well, calling it "worth the ten-month wait." Maureen Ryan of Chicago Tribune
gave the episode a perfect score, stating "This was a fantastic season premiere. I was on the edge of my seat as all the revelations and heartbreaks and the dual timelines unfolded". Alan Sepinwall of the Star-Ledger reviewed the episode positively as well, calling it "fun" and comparing it to the Pilot
episode.
Ben Rawson-Jones of Digital Spy
gave the episode four out of five stars, explaining that "the skilful hands who craft that show assembled everything so intricately that we were treated to a thoroughly compelling adventure … On this evidence, Lost will go out on a high". He particularly enjoyed the "breathtaking camera swoop" from Oceanic 815 to the submerged island, saying that it "showcased [a] cinematic, visceral texture". Rawson-Jones commended Terry O'Quinn's dual-role performance, but lamented the treatment of Juliet's death, assessing it as melodramatic and predictable and calling it "the only real sore point of the generally brilliant season premiere."
The episode was watched by 12.1 million American viewers, 1.70 million Canadian viewers, 1.406 million viewers in the United Kingdom,
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, marking the premiere
Season premiere
In North America, a season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a given television show. It often airs in September or October, after several months of reruns.-Evaluating the changes:...
of the sixth and final season
Lost (season 6)
The sixth and final season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing in the United States and Canada on February 2, 2010. The sixth-season premiere was the first to climb in the ratings year-over-year since the second season, drawing 12.1 million viewers. The season...
. It was written by show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
s/executive producers Damon Lindelof
Damon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
and Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse is an AmericanEmmy Award winning screenwriter and producer, most famous as executive producer andscreenwriter for the American television series Lost for...
and directed by executive producer Jack Bender
Jack Bender
Jack Bender is an American television and film director, actor, television producer and also a screenwriter. Bender was an executive producer and lead director on the ABC television series, Lost. He directed the series finale of Lost. Bender has also directed on other popular shows such as The...
. Both parts were aired on February 2, 2010 on ABC in the United States and CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
in Canada, and on February 4, 2010 on RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...
in Ireland.
The story deals with the aftermath of the detonation of the hydrogen bomb at the end of the previous episode, "The Incident
The Incident (Lost)
"The Incident" is the season finale of the fifth season of ABC's Lost, consisting of its 16th and 17th episodes. Both parts of "The Incident", the show's 102nd and 103rd episodes overall, aired on May 13, 2009 on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by executive producers/showrunners...
". "LA X" introduces a new narrative device, two separate timelines, that replaces previously used devices, such as flashbacks, flash-forwards and time travel. Cuse and Lindelof have stated that the "two distinct timelines" are "equally real". Both ABC and the producers refer to these scenes as "flash sideways".
The date of first broadcast was the source of much speculation, as ABC intentionally avoided locking down a timeslot to keep options open in order to assess the threat of the upcoming Olympic Games
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
and to better fit Lost with how other shows were performing on ABC's schedule. Scheduling was further placed in jeopardy when it was announced that the chosen night was being considered for the 2010 State of the Union Address
2010 State of the Union Address
The 2010 State of the Union Address was given by United States President Barack Obama on January 27, 2010, to a joint session of Congress. It was aired on all the major networks starting at 9 p.m. ET...
. The season premiere was the first episode of Lost to air on a Tuesday in the United States.
Despite the fact that there is no specific character that the premiere is centered on, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
, Kate Austen
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
, John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
, Sun-Hwa Kwon, Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.-Season 1:Sayid fixes the transceiver recovered from the cockpit, and leads a group into the jungle in order to send out a distress signal. Instead, he picks up a looping message . He tries to locate the...
, Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Daniel Dae Kim.- Prior to the crash :...
and James "Sawyer" Ford each have points of view in the premiere.
2004 (flash-sideways timeline)
The first timeline begins on Oceanic Flight 815, in which the survivors' attempt to change the future has apparently successfully averted the crash. The island is now shown to be at the bottom of the ocean. Most of the characters' situations remain the same, e.g. Kate AustenKate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
) is still being transported in custody of U.S. Marshal Edward Mars (Fredric Lehne
Fredric Lehne
Fredric Lehne is an actor who has appeared in over 200 films, mini-series, and television shows as well as many stage productions including works by Shakespeare, Molière and Ibsen on Broadway...
); Dr. Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) is transporting his deceased father
Christian Shephard
Dr. Christian Shephard is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by John Terry. He is the father of lead characters Jack Shephard , who becomes the de facto leader of the survivors of Oceanic 815 after it crashes on an island, and Claire Littleton , another of the survivors...
; and John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) is still paralyzed. However, there are some differences as well, e.g. Boone Carlyle
Boone Carlyle
Boone Carlyle is a fictional character played by Ian Somerhalder on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the south Pacific. Boone is introduced in the pilot episode as the stepbrother of fellow crash survivor Shannon Rutherford...
(Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.-Early life:...
) is returning to Los Angeles without his stepsister
Shannon Rutherford
Shannon Rutherford is a fictional character played by Maggie Grace on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Shannon is introduced in the pilot episode as the stepsister of fellow crash survivor Boone Carlyle . She is...
; Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
) claims to be the luckiest man alive; Locke claims to have participated in his walkabout
Walkabout (Lost)
"Walkabout" is the fourth episode of the first season of Lost. The episode was directed by Jack Bender and written by David Fury. It first aired on October 13, 2004, on ABC. In the episode, flashbacks reveal John Locke's plans to get to Australia and participate in a walkabout tour...
; Desmond Hume
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
(Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
) is a passenger and Rose Henderson (L. Scott Caldwell
L. Scott Caldwell
Laverne Scott Caldwell is an American actress known for her role as Rose on Lost.This Chicago native started her career in 1978 as a member of the famed Negro Ensemble Company, making her Broadway debut two years later in the Tony Award nominated play Home...
) reassures Jack while experiencing turbulence
Turbulence
In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic and stochastic property changes. This includes low momentum diffusion, high momentum convection, and rapid variation of pressure and velocity in space and time...
. During the flight, Jack is called upon to save Charlie Pace
Charlie Pace
Charlie Hieronymus Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island...
(Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
), who has asphyxiated while attempting to swallow a small packet of heroin. Jack, with the help of Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.-Season 1:Sayid fixes the transceiver recovered from the cockpit, and leads a group into the jungle in order to send out a distress signal. Instead, he picks up a looping message . He tries to locate the...
(Naveen Andrews
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews is a British American actor. He is best known for portraying Kip in the movie The English Patient and Sayid Jarrah on the American television series Lost.-Early life:...
), resuscitates him; Charlie is arrested for drug possession. Jack also encounters Desmond; however, he is nowhere to be seen when the plane lands.
After the plane lands safely at LAX, Jack is informed that the airline has lost his father's coffin. Kate escapes custody of the marshal and hijacks a taxicab in which Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
(Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
) is also a passenger. Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Daniel Dae Kim.- Prior to the crash :...
(Daniel Dae Kim) is detained after he fails to declare a large amount of cash on his customs form. His travel partner, Sun-Hwa Paik (Yunjin Kim), who claims she can't speak English, does nothing to help the situation. Jack speaks with Locke, who notes that his own luggage has also been misplaced. They discuss Locke's condition, which Locke tells him is irreversible. Jack responds that nothing is irreversible, reveals that he is a spinal surgeon, and offers Locke a free medical consultation.
2007 (original timeline)
In the second timeline the events directly follow those of "The Incident". Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Jin, Juliet BurkeJuliet Burke
Dr. Juliet Burke is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Elizabeth Mitchell. Her character was introduced in the third season premiere.- Prior to arrival on the island :...
(Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
), James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
), and Miles Straume
Miles Straume
Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the Kahana that is offshore the island where most of Lost takes place...
(Ken Leung
Ken Leung
Kenneth "Ken" Leung is an American actor best known for his role as Miles Straume in the ABC television series Lost and roles in such films as Shanghai Kiss, Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Saw.-Early life:...
) have been returned to the present at the site of the Dharma Initiative
DHARMA Initiative
The Dharma Initiative, also written DHARMA , was a fictional research project featured in the television series Lost. It was introduced in the second season episode "Orientation". In 2008, the Dharma Initiative website was launched. Dharma's interests were directly connected with fringe science...
Swan station, immediately after Ben Linus (Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
) has killed Jacob (Mark Pellegrino
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work on Lost as Jacob and for playing Lucifer on Supernatural.-Career:...
). Sawyer is angered by the prospect that Juliet's death was meaningless and engages in a fight with Jack. However, Juliet is alive underneath the remains of the station. The survivors eventually free Juliet, but she dies soon after, moments before she can tell Sawyer something important; Sawyer blames Jack.
Hurley tends to Sayid, who has been mortally wounded by a gunshot. Jacob appears to Hurley and explains that he (Jacob) has been killed and that Hurley must take Sayid to the Others' temple in order to heal him. Hurley must also bring the guitar case that Jacob previously gave him
The Incident
- Films :* The Incident , a 1967 film starring Beau Bridges and Martin Sheen* The Incident , a Japanese film by Yoshitaro Nomura* The Incident , a 1990 film starring Walter Matthau and Harry Morgan...
. The survivors split up, with the majority going to the temple, while Sawyer and Miles stay behind to bury Juliet. Sawyer forces Miles to use his medium skills to talk to Juliet. Miles relays her message: "It worked", referring to the bomb exploding and the flash-sideways timeline.
At the temple, the group encounters the remaining members of the Others who have taken refuge, including Flight 815 stewardess Cindy (Kimberley Joseph
Kimberley Joseph
Kimberley Joseph is a Canadian-Australian actress who is based in the United States. Joseph was born in Canada, raised on the Gold Coast in Australia, and educated in Switzerland. After returning to Australia, she began a degree at Bond University but dropped out at the age of 19 when she was cast...
) and the two abducted children, Zack and Emma, who have been missing since they were taken in by the Others. The survivors are captured and brought before two men, Dogen (Hiroyuki Sanada
Hiroyuki Sanada
is a Japanese actor.-Life and career:Sanada was born in Tokyo. Originally aiming to be an action star, starting with shorinji kempo, he eventually took up Kyokushin kaikan Sanada began training at age 11 with actor and martial arts star Sonny Chiba's Japan Action Club where he developed good...
), a Japanese man, and his translator, Lennon (John Hawkes
John Hawkes (actor)
John Hawkes is an American film and television actor. He is known for his portrayal of the merchant Sol Star on the HBO series Deadwood, Dustin Powers on Eastbound & Down, and his Academy Award-nominated performance as the menacing backwoods meth addict Teardrop in Winter's Bone.-Life and...
). Hurley tells them that Jacob sent him, and offers the guitar case as proof. Inside is a wooden ankh
Ankh
The ankh , also known as key of life, the key of the Nile or crux ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ʻ-n-ḫ...
, which Dogen breaks open, revealing a note that tells the Others they will all be in trouble if Sayid dies. Sayid is brought to a spring, noted to have gone murky, where he is held underwater until the time of an hourglass passes. Jack administers CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency procedure which is performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person in cardiac arrest. It is indicated in those who are unresponsive...
, but Sayid does not respond. They believe Sayid has died. Sawyer and Miles are brought into the temple, having been captured after burying Juliet. Dogen questions Hurley in a separate room, where Hurley reveals Jacob is dead. Shocked by this news, the Others sound an alarm, prepare their defenses, and send fireworks into the air in preparation for an attack. Lennon insists on speaking with Jack privately. Jack refuses, leading to an altercation, when suddenly Sayid comes back to life.
Inside the pedestal of the statue, the Man in Black
Man in Black (Lost)
The entity referred to most frequently as the Man in Black is a fictional character on the American ABC television series Lost, and is the main antagonist of the...
, who has taken the form of Locke, sends Ben to get Richard Alpert
Richard Alpert (Lost)
Ricardo "Richard" Alpert is a fictional character played by Nestor Carbonell in the American ABC television series Lost. Alpert is introduced in a flashback of the character Juliet Burke , where he claims to be a doctor for a bioscience company called Mittelos Bioscience; he is later revealed to...
(Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Gastón Carbonell is an American actor, known for portraying Richard Alpert in ABC's drama Lost and Mayor Anthony Garcia in the film The Dark Knight...
). Richard, however, refuses to go inside and instead shows Locke's body to Ben. Bram (Brad William Henke
Brad William Henke
Brad William Henke is an American actor.-Biography:Henke was born in Columbus, Nebraska. He starred in October Road and in the movies Around June with Samaire Armstrong and Jon Gries, The Amateurs with Jeff Bridges and Tim Blake Nelson, In the Valley of Elah with Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize...
) and his team from Flight 316 enter the statue with Ben. The Man in Black transforms into the Smoke Monster and easily kills Bram and his men, but spares Ben. The Man in Black then tells Ben what Locke's final thoughts were, and explains that his own true goal is to return home. The Man in Black finds this ironic because Locke wanted desperately to stay and live on the island. Outside, Richard sees the fireworks from the temple. The Man in Black then confronts Richard, who realizes who the man is, but the Man in Black quickly knocks him out and announces that he is disappointed in the Others as he carries Richard into the jungle.
Casting
Dominic MonaghanDominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
appears as Charlie after a 30 episode absence. Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.-Early life:...
also reprises his role as Boone for the first time since the episode "Exposé
Exposé (Lost)
"Exposé" is the 14th episode of the 3rd season and 63rd episode overall of the American Broadcasting Company 's serial drama television series Lost. It was aired as on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada on March 28, 2007...
", while Kimberley Joseph
Kimberley Joseph
Kimberley Joseph is a Canadian-Australian actress who is based in the United States. Joseph was born in Canada, raised on the Gold Coast in Australia, and educated in Switzerland. After returning to Australia, she began a degree at Bond University but dropped out at the age of 19 when she was cast...
appears as flight attendant Cindy Chandler for the first time since the episode "The Brig
The Brig
"The Brig" is the 19th episode of the 3rd season of Lost, and the 68th episode overall. It aired on May 2, 2007. The episode was written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and directed by Eric Laneuville...
", both from the third season. Greg Grunberg
Greg Grunberg
Gregory Phillip "Greg" Grunberg is an American television actor. He is best known from starring as Matt Parkman on the NBC television series Heroes. Other notable roles included the characters Sean Blumberg on Felicity and Eric Weiss on Alias , both created and produced by childhood friend J. J...
recorded lines in Los Angeles for a voice-over reprisal of his role of Oceanic Airlines
Oceanic Airlines
Oceanic Airlines and less frequently Oceanic Airways are fictional airlines used in several films and television programs.The most famous use of this brand is in the TV show Lost, where Oceanic Airlines is featured branded with a highly-stylized logo depicting an Aboriginal dot painting that...
Captain Seth Norris of Flight 815 that crashed on the island in the pilot episode
Pilot (Lost)
"Pilot" constitutes the first and second episodes of the first season of ABC television series Lost, with "Part 1" premiering on September 22, 2004 and Part 2 on September 29, 2004. The episodes were directed by J.J. Abrams, and written by him along with Damon Lindelof, based on a story by them and...
. Originally, Maggie Grace
Maggie Grace
Margaret Grace Denig , best known as Maggie Grace, is an American actress. Originally from Worthington, Ohio, she dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles with her mother after her parents' divorce. While struggling financially, she landed her first role as the title character in the...
was set to make an appearance as Shannon, but Grace was unable to film any scenes due to her busy schedule. Thus, the backstory was rewritten to accommodate this.
Writing
In terms of genre elements, Damon Lindelof has stated that, "We sort of suckered people into this show [by] not presenting it as a science fiction show right out of the gate … Lost has really been about the long con, because by the time we get to season 6, it's going to be...crazy!" The premiere will introduce a new narrative technique to the show, following flashbacks in the first five seasons, flashforwards in the third and fourth seasons and time travel in the fifth season. According to Lindelof, who is apprehensive that the audience will not understand or reject it, "the show demands constant shifts to best tell the story. We've known what we were going to do for a couple years now and there's been a tremendous amount of work setting up the premise so it would work." Lindelof has commented that the sixth season will most resemble the first for the show, even including characters sparsely seen since, saying, "We want the show to feel like a loop is closing with this final year", to which Carlton Cuse added that when the characters in the first season "were running around the jungle, things felt intense and surprising. We have a way that we're going to be able to do that in the final season too." Cuse has also stated, "We feel tonally it's most similar to the first season of the show. [The new] narrative device … is creating some emotional and heartfelt stories, and we want the audience to have a chance in the final season to remember the entire history of the show … We're hoping to achieve a circularity of the entire journey so the ending is reminiscent of the beginning." Cuse further explained that the new narrative "doesn't require either a deep investment or in-depth knowledge about the series", keeping in line with ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson's conclusion that "you really don't have to have seen the show [to watch the season]. There will be stuff that will go completely over your head for sure, but because of the way that they're telling this last season, it is this beautiful standalone conclusion." For years, Lindelof and Cuse have responded to theories about the greater meaning and answers of the show by pointing out that viewers did not have adequate information to theorize well. Lindelof finally conceded that "by the end of the season premiere of season six, you will have pretty much all the fundamental building blocks you need to put together a...theory as to what it all means and where the show [will] end." Confronted that the bomb detonating would force a timeline change and thus render the past five seasons pointless, Damon Lindelof responded with "Trust us." While producing the fourth season, Lindelof said, "We want people to believe in the stakes of the show. The problem with alternative realities is that you never know when the rug is going to be pulled out from under you. We want the audience to believe that the jeopardy is real. Postulating alternative realities would be an escape valve that would be damaging that as a narrative value … Carlton and I are PRO time-space continuum bending! But we're ANTI-paradox. Paradox creates issues." Actor Terry O'QuinnTerry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
has divulged that "it is revealed who Locke actually is. Although that's still kind of a mystery of who is that. But there's still a pretty big revelation there."
Scheduling
As the third season was wrapping production in May 2007, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse negotiated with ABC for the show to end in three years. The remaining three seasons were to each be a third shorter, containing just sixteen episodes each that would air consecutively week after week from early February through mid-May. The fourth season premiered on the last day of January in 2008, but was soon interrupted and truncated by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
, adding an episode apiece onto the remaining seasons. Then-co-executive producer Edward Kitsis
Edward Kitsis
Edward Lawrence Kitsis, also sometimes credited as Eddy Kitsis, is an American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on the popular American television series, Lost and Once Upon a Time.-Life and career:...
speculated that these would translate into more two-part episodes. The fifth season premiered two weeks early to allow for two breaks in the season for a rerun
Rerun
A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the...
and a clip-show respectively. In June 2009, the producers ordered an additional hour for the show's final season. Cuse explained that "For us, [eighteen hours] is just about right. I mean, we aren't sitting here feeling like, 'Oh my God, we need a ton more hours to tell the rest of our story.' It feels like it's going to work out just fine. It will have been the right length." In September, ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson advertised that the final season would be the first Lost season to run uninterrupted and entirely repeat-free; however, Cuse said in October that Lost would premiere in January in order to take a two-week break in February to avoid competing with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
. Having been shuffled around the primetime schedule five times (airing Wednesday at 8:00 in the first season, Wednesdays at 9:00 for the second and fifth seasons and part of the third season, Wednesdays at 10:00 for part of the third season and on Thursdays at both 9:00 and 10:00 for different parts of the fourth season) and remaining a top twenty program in Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, McPherson had defined Lost as a "wildcard asset", elaborating that "it's a great position to be in. We're going to see where we are coming into the spring and see what happens. It's a tool to use." With ABC's new Wednesday sitcom block performing well, ABC ultimately ruled in November that Lost would move to Tuesdays at 9:00/8 central for the first time, premiering in February and running straight through with original episode broadcasts into mid-May, not taking a break for the Olympic Games.
On January 6, 2010, it was reported that the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
was considering two dates for Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's annual State of the Union address
State of the Union Address
The State of the Union is an annual address presented by the President of the United States to the United States Congress. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda and his national priorities.The practice arises...
, which is typically on the last Tuesday of January at 9:00: January 26 and February 2. Were the latter date selected, the Lost premiere would be preempted and have to air at a later date, sabotaging months of promotion by ABC for "The Final Season" and forcing some awkward rescheduling of the season, which had no leeway for interruptions. This prompted an online protest among fans and the story was picked up by dozens of media outlets. On January 8, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs
Robert Gibbs
Robert Lane Gibbs was the 28th White House Press Secretary. Gibbs was the communications director for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama and Obama's 2008 presidential campaign...
announced "I don't foresee a scenario in which millions of people who hope to finally get some conclusion with Lost are preempted by the president", to which Damon Lindelof responded via his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account with "OBAMA BACKED DOWN!!!! Groundhog Day is OURS!!!!!!! (God Bless America)". Ben East of the United Arab Emirates The National
The National (Abu Dhabi)
The National is a government-owned English-language daily newspaper published in Abu Dhabi. The editor-in-chief since June 8, 2009 has been Hassan Fattah. Prior to this, and from the launch of the newspaper Martin Newland was editor-in-chief. Mubadala Development Company, an investment company...
newspaper summed up the story with "confirmation of just how important [Lost] is came with an almost unbelievable communiqué from the White House last week … That's right. Obama might have had vital information to impart upon the American people about health care, the war in Afghanistan, the financial crisis—things that, you know, might affect real lives. But the most important thing was that his address didn't clash with a series in which a polar bear appears on a tropical island. After extensive lobbying by the ABC network, the White House surrendered." Lindelof later recounted, "What's amazing is you realize how fickle your political affiliations are. I'm a lifelong Democrat, but when I first heard that they were considering February 2, I was like, 'That motherfucker!' ""
Reception
Critical review aggregate website MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
assigned "LA X" a score of 89/100, indicating "universal acclaim" and making it the best-reviewed season premiere of the 2009-2010 television season. Chris Carbot of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the episode a strong positive review, stating that "season six is off to a fantastic start", although he criticized the first hour of the premiere for its pacing and lack of "information that needs to be imparted to the audience." Overall he gave the episode a score of 9.2. Noel Murray of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
also praised "LA X", stating that he "loved pretty much every minute", and grading it A. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
's Cynthia Littleton praised the premiere as well, calling it "worth the ten-month wait." Maureen Ryan of Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
gave the episode a perfect score, stating "This was a fantastic season premiere. I was on the edge of my seat as all the revelations and heartbreaks and the dual timelines unfolded". Alan Sepinwall of the Star-Ledger reviewed the episode positively as well, calling it "fun" and comparing it to the Pilot
Pilot (Lost)
"Pilot" constitutes the first and second episodes of the first season of ABC television series Lost, with "Part 1" premiering on September 22, 2004 and Part 2 on September 29, 2004. The episodes were directed by J.J. Abrams, and written by him along with Damon Lindelof, based on a story by them and...
episode.
Ben Rawson-Jones of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
gave the episode four out of five stars, explaining that "the skilful hands who craft that show assembled everything so intricately that we were treated to a thoroughly compelling adventure … On this evidence, Lost will go out on a high". He particularly enjoyed the "breathtaking camera swoop" from Oceanic 815 to the submerged island, saying that it "showcased [a] cinematic, visceral texture". Rawson-Jones commended Terry O'Quinn's dual-role performance, but lamented the treatment of Juliet's death, assessing it as melodramatic and predictable and calling it "the only real sore point of the generally brilliant season premiere."
The episode was watched by 12.1 million American viewers, 1.70 million Canadian viewers, 1.406 million viewers in the United Kingdom,