lost - la x

I arrived home at 7:52 on Tuesday night. I had the shakes. I had gone to Wendy’s for dinner with friends and a man with Tourette syndrome was having an attack next to us in line, cursing and shouting every minute or so. The manager kicked him out. It was awkward. we ate peacefully and then went to Starbucks for Open Mic night. That was eventful, if I say so myself. This kid completely butchered Hallelujah but he did try and that is admirable, at best.

The night ended. I dropped everyone off and returned home at 7:52. Went into my room. Turned off the lights. Locked the door. Changed into my pajamas. Turned off my phone. The recap for LOST began at 8 and chronicled the most important characters and moments from the past five seasons. at 9, my head exploded.

The season premiere began with Jack on Oceanic Flight 815, just as it was in the beginning. Jack was a little shaky so the flight attendant Cindy, who hasn’t been seen or heard from since season three, I believe, gave him a small bottle of vodka.

Oh, but wait.

In the season one premiere, Cindy gave Jack TWO bottles of vodka. TWO. Here, she gives him one. I’m confused at this point. Jack speaks briefly with Rose, another Oceanic survivor from the series, and then he goes to the bathroom. When he looks in the mirror, he appears puzzled. Perhaps he’s wondering why his hair is so long. No, instead he notices that his neck is bleeding, apparently from a shaving error. He dabs away the blood. Goes back to his seat. It was a very random scene. When he returns, he finds a man has joined him – Desmond. Desmond…who should be on the island at that very moment, running through the island to go press the button the hatch. He should be failing to do so right about now, which is the reason that the plane crashed in the first place. Instead, he’s on the plane, sitting next to Jack, reading a newspaper.

What?

So Jack asks where they know each other from and neither can figure it out. I was hoping at this point that they would realize that they jogged up and down stadium steps together four years ago, but they don’t. The camera pans past Jack, down into the ocean, where it is revealed that the infamous island is submerged to the bottom of the sea. And then my head exploded once more.

The show relied on flashbacks to flesh out the characters in the beginning. The first three seasons featured that storytelling device. The season three finale introduced flash forwards, which lasted for one season. Last season, they switched between two timelines: 2007 and 1977. This season, the writers have introduced an alternate reality through the use of flashsideways. Yes, that’s new word now. The reality that we have been following for five seasons now is continuing in 2007, where the Losties are still separated from one another in complex situations. This new reality takes place in 2004, where Oceanic flight 815 does not crash, and everyone gets off the plane unscathed.

There are differences, however. For one, Desmond is a passenger on the plane. Charlie tried to commit suicide in the bathroom. Shannon is nowhere to be seen, nor are Michael or Walt. Claire isn’t seen on the plane but she is seen later in a cab that Kate hijacks. Jack’s father Christian has been lost by the airline and he freaks out until, of all people, John Locke calms him down. John is still handicap in this reality.

What I liked most about this episode, independent from the Man in Black’s spine-tingling glare and the first tour of the mysterious Temple, was that I would watch this other reality play out as if it were an entirely different show. The interaction between Jack and John was bittersweet, especially knowing that their alternative history doesn’t even exist or apply here. Kate’s storyline is somewhat riveting because she’s now on the run and she’s wound up in a cab with Claire, who is probably due to give birth soon. Hurley is a lucky man, Sawyer isn’t immediately seen as the antihero, and Sayid isn’t labeled as a terrorist from the get-go. This could have easily been the show to begin with and I probably still would have watched it.

I can’t wait for next week.