Television Review: There's No Place Like Home, Part II (Lost, S4X13, 2008)

There’s No Place Like Home, Part II (S4X13)

Airdate: 29 May 2008

Written by: Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof
Directed by: Jack Bender

Running Time: 42 minutes

There is often a unique peril in the middle chapter of a narrative trilogy. It is the "in-between" moment, a segment that feels simultaneously like a standalone installment and a bridge to a massive finale. Season 4 finale of Lost, when viewed as a trilogy of episodes, suffers from this identity crisis. There's No Place Like Home, Part II is the pivotal middle film. It is torn between trying to function as a standalone episode of television and serving as the integral, mind-bending bridge that was supposed to provide the series with a mini-closure and a major shift in direction. However, despite this structural tension, it is a triumph of production values. It is well-written, exceptionally well-acted, and generally well-directed, successfully upping the ante with extra action, suspense, and major revelations that were only briefly hinted at in previous episodes and seasons.

The episode’s most brilliant move, however, is found in its opening sequence. The writers immediately bring the audience back to the very same mind-bending point where Season 3 ended, effectively hijacking the narrative structure of the series. It is now established that the show uses flashforwards instead of flashbacks. While the previous episode began with a flashforward, showing the triumphant return of the Oceanic Six to their loved ones, this episode begins with a starkly different reality. We find Jack at his absolute lowest point—an alcoholic, a drug addict, and nearly suicidal as he meets Kate near the airport. The audience is dropped into his despair as he pleads with Kate, suggesting that they should all "go back." The episode continues with Kate's furious retort that they can't go back because she can't face the horrible things that happened during their departure. This dialogue hints at some great tragedy or horrible moral choices that would befall the Oceanic Six in this and the next episode, instantly recontextualising the previous episode's triumph as a hollow victory.

Another flashforward scene offers a poignant look at Hurley, who is institutionalised at Santa Rosa Mental Institution. He is being visited by Walt Lloyd, a character who has grown significantly over the years. This provides a very rare opportunity to see Malcolm David Kelley, who has physically matured, meaning the producers don't have to rely on all kinds of digital tricks or camera angles to make him look younger than his actual age. The scene is nevertheless crucial because it provides a very important revelation: the lies the Oceanic Six tell to the world are actually meant to protect those who, for one reason or another, stayed on the Island. It is heavily hinted that Michael might be one of them. Furthermore, the scene mentions the name of Jeremy Bentham. This connects the present-day narrative to the past, as the obituary and funeral of this mysterious character were the triggers for Jack's breakdown in the Season 3 finale, tying the temporal strands of the series together with surgical precision.

More focus and audience attention, however, are given to the December 2004 scenes, which deal with existential threats to the survivors. The most obvious threat is the presence of Keamy’s mercenary troop and their "Second protocol," which are apparently orders to wipe out everyone on the Island. After capturing Ben at Orchid Station, Keamy returns to the helicopter, but the group is ambushed and wiped out by the Others, led by Richard Alpert. Ben is freed, and in line with previous arrangements, he allows Jack, Frank, Sayid, Kate, and Hurley to board Frank's helicopter and head for the Kahana.

During the flight, tension mounts as Frank realizes that the fuel tank was hit during the firefight and that the helicopter is leaking fuel. He tells them that they can hope to reach the Kahana only if they discard any extra weight. After some uncomfortable gazes are exchanged toward the obviously overweight Hurley, it is Sawyer who takes the heroic act of jumping into the sea and starts swimming back to the Island. It is a moment of pure, unadulterated characterisation for Sawyer, proving that his heart is still in the right place despite his cynical exterior.

On the Kahana, Desmond, despite being trained for bomb disposal while serving in the British Army, is at odds with how to disable the bomb. Michael suggests that they use a fire extinguisher to freeze the battery and try to prevent it from exploding, a desperate plan born of necessity.

Meanwhile, Ben returns to Orchid Station and guides Locke to an underground facility. Locke is given another orientation video by a project leader, this time identified as Dr. Edgar Halliwax, who explains that the station was built to "explore unique properties of the Island" and that a nearby door was built by "negatively charged exotic matter." Ben apparently starts working on the vault, but his work is interrupted by the arrival of the elevator. It is revealed that the person coming down is Keamy, who has survived the ambush and appears injured, thanks to a bulletproof vest. Keamy points to his heart-monitoring device on his arm, claiming it is a "dead man's switch" that would activate the explosive on Kahana and kill anyone onboard if he dies. He also taunts Ben with Alex's death. When Locke intervenes, a fight ensues in which Keamy is overpowered and Ben stabs him with a knife, finally avenging his daughter's death. Looking at the heart-monitoring device, Locke says that Ben just killed people on Kahana, to which Ben answers with a simple "So?"

The episode is slightly better than its predecessor because it is more focused on plot resolution than character exposition, although it still allows hints that Charlotte wants to remain on the Island. The best scenes are undoubtedly the firefight in which the Others eliminate the mercenaries, as well as the suspenseful and melodramatic scene in the helicopter when Sawyer makes his heroic choice. That scene is arguably one of the most spectacular and visually attractive of the entire season, capturing the isolation and the danger of the Island with stunning clarity.

The primary flaw of the episode, however, lies in the character of Keamy. It is difficult to accept that he inexplicably survived the ambush that left all his team eliminated and himself looking dead, only to get into a melodramatic showdown with Ben that ends the episode. While it is well-directed and visually striking, the moment feels a little too convenient. The simple word that serves as the mini-cliffhanger—Ben's dismissal of Locke's concern about the bomb—feels like a narrative shortcut. It resolves the immediate conflict but leaves the audience with a lingering sense that the episode is more concerned with setting up the finale than resolving the immediate stakes it has introduced.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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