Television Review: The Little Prince (Lost, S5X04, 2009)

The Little Prince (S5X04)

Airdate: 4 Februarty 2009

Written by: Brian K. Vaughan & Melinda Hsu Taylor
Directed by: Steven Williams

Running Time: 42 minutes

The fifth season of Lost was poised to be the show’s most ambitious iteration, promising a radical shift in narrative structure built upon the engine of time travel and non-linear storytelling. Yet, despite these high-concept aspirations, the episode The Little Prince opens with a sense of déjà vu, suggesting that the series had not entirely escaped the gravitational pull of its earlier, more familiar formats. While the intent was to steer the audience into uncharted waters, the episode frequently drifts back into the comfortable, albeit repetitive, territory of previous installments. At times, particularly during the Los Angeles sequences, the episode feels indistinguishable from "filler" material designed to pad the runtime. Worse still, a specific segment within the episode recycles footage and narrative beats so thoroughly that it resembles a clip show episode disguised as a canonical narrative, a technique beneath the reputation of a television show so eager to prove its innovation.

The narrative formula adopted in The Little Prince relies on a dual structure, splitting the screen between two distinct time periods and character sets. The first, and perhaps less compelling segment, focuses on the Oceanic Six in Los Angeles during 2007. The plot centres on Ben Linus attempting to orchestrate a grand mission to return them to the Island, a task complicated by the fractured allegiances of the group. Jack Shephard agrees to help, but with visible reluctance; Sayid Jarrah assists yet remains fundamentally distrustful of Ben’s motives; Sun Kwon harbours a lethal intent to kill Ben due to her belief that he was ultimately responsible for the death of her husband, Jin; Hurley enjoys the relative safety of the LA County jail; and Kate Austen becomes obsessed with a mysterious maternity lawsuit that threatens to separate her from her son, Aaron. The tension here is palpable but ultimately feels familiar. Before the group is to join Ben at the Long Beach Marina for their presumed departure, a revelation occurs: Dan Norton, the lawyer involved in the maternity suit, is actually Ben’s puppet, handling the Carole Littleton lawsuit against Oceanic Airlines and working to secure Hurley’s release from prison. Just as the convergence is set to happen, Sun arrives with a gun, determined to assassinate Ben.

The second segment, taking place on the Island among the remaining survivors, is markedly more engaging. Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, Charlotte, and Locke grapple with violent time shifts. These temporal jumps induce physical ailments such as nosebleeds and dizziness, particularly for Charlotte, whose condition Faraday knows will ultimately lead to her death. The situation deteriorates as Miles and Juliet also begin suffering from nosebleeds. Locke, having emerged as a de facto leader, determines the group must reach the Orchid Station. His reasoning is that the phenomenon of the "Island moving" was initiated there and can presumably be reversed or mitigated.

To reach the Orchid Station faster, the group attempts a shortcut via a Zodiac craft situated on the beach. However, another sudden time shift makes Locke uncomfortable, compelling him to take a longer, safer route. This decision is justified when the time shift transports them to 1 November 2004, where Sawyer secretly observes Claire giving birth in Kate’s company. It is an emotional moment, yet it feels recycled. The scene essentially repurposes material from the episode Do No Harm, recycling footage of Claire’s labour to underscore Sawyer’s enduring attachment to Kate. While poignant, this technique looks like clip show manipulation, a lazy narrative shortcut for a series that prides itself on complexity.

Another time shift transports the group to an abandoned beach where the Zodiac is missing. Instead, they find outrigger canoes and begin to paddle. During their journey, they are attacked by unknown assailants. As the attackers fire, another time shift occurs mid-battle. The boat is thrown into a violent storm, forcing the occupants to wash up on a beach where they discover debris marked with French phrases. The source of this debris is revealed to be a French research ship. The crew had been forced to take a lifesaving raft, and during the chaos of the storm, they picked up a stowaway: Jin, who presumably survived the explosion of the Kahana. In the morning, Jin observes one of the researchers is a young, pregnant woman played by Melissa Farman. When asked, she reveals her name is Danielle Rousseau.

This sequence suggests the time shift occurred in 1988. Melissa Farman is an interesting choice to play the young Rousseau, though she lacks the strong physical resemblance to Mira Furlan as she looked in late 1980s. The script itself is solid, particularly the Island portion which introduces new mysteries. The survivors find artefacts belonging to Ajira Airways, a different airline to Oceanic, and the identity of the attackers on the canoe remains a mystery, prompting characters like Sawyer to speculate about "other Others". However, the Oceanic Six segments suffer from weak and predictable plotting, with several twists, such as Ben’s manipulation of the lawyers, being obvious to the attentive viewer.

The episode marked the writing debut for Melinda Hsu Taylor, who co-wrote the script with Brian K. Vaughan. It is worth noting that Taylor would later become a major critic of the Lost creators, accusing them of racism and a toxic atmosphere on the set. Despite the production issues hinted at later, the episode remains notable for one specific reason: it serves as a rare homage to the classic children’s story by French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on US broadcast television.

Ultimately, while The Little Prince attempts to bridge the gap between the Oceanic Six’s worldly struggles and the Island’s metaphysical horrors, it feels uneven. The Oceanic Six drama is too formulaic, relying on recycles and predictable twists, whereas the Island segments offer the requisite mystery that kept viewers hooked. It is a mixed bag, representative of a show that was struggling to maintain its footing as the narrative became increasingly complex.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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