LOST S1 E2: Pilot (Part Two)

"Two players. Two sides. One is light. One is dark."

-John Locke-

 

 

There are some interesting points to be made about the opener LOST, Season One, Pilot (Part Two), not least of which is a foreshadowing of things to come in that aforementioned quote by John Locke about light and dark, i.e. science and faith, etc.. Indeed LOST often plays with the yin and yang concept on the island.

 

It's also worth noting we never actually get a wide angle aerial shot of the island. This was intentional as J.J. Abrams consciously chose to retain the mystery of the island as a character.

 

 

Highlights: There are two high points for me here. Michael's son Walt is reading a Green Lantern comic book. A panel, featuring a polar bear, appears to spring to life on the island by episode's end and come in conflict with Sawyer. This science fiction component isn't necessarily directly linked but the correlation that something supernatural is happening is suggested. Walt's ability to perhaps will things to be would take on greater resonance in LOST, Episode 14, Special.

 

One of the unnerving suspense builds comes in the form of an unsettling transmission by the Frenchwoman.

 

That aforementioned character would come to life by way of wonderful Croatian actress Mira Furlan beginning with LOST, Episode 9, Solitary. Furlan once played Delenn on Babylon 5 (1993-1998). More on Furlan when we reach Solitary.

 

 

For now, we hear only a voice. The eerie transmission translates as follows: "If there is anyone who can hear this, they are dead. I am going to try to go near the black rock; would you help us? They are all dead. Would you help us? It is outside. Would you help us, would you help us? If there is anyone who can hear this, I have told him to go up to the black rock. Would you help us? They are all dead. They are dead. They are dead. It has killed them. It has killed them all. I have told him to go up to the black rock."

 

 

This is the kind of mystery in which LOST excelled and with which it generated excitement for the series. For crying out loud they are all dead. Who is dead? It killed them. What killed them? It's outside. The survivors are outside. Cries for help. Now that is some gripping stuff. Death and mystery. The French in peril. This is the stuff that grabbed us by the throats and reeled viewers into each new episode.

 

The LOST Pilot two-parter is positively epic and the special effects and direction are stunning for television particularly the flashback sequences of the plane breaking apart. The destruction of Oceanic Flight 815 is so terrifying it does for air travelers what Jaws (1975) did for swimmers. Simply awesome. This is exceptional television. Based on the evidence found here was there any doubt LOST would be anything short of fascinating for all those who tuned in?

 

 

Right, so my mother tuned in. She heard the monster. She sees trees rustling. A plane crash with people flying out of it. She was done. She never returned to the island. Yeah, LOST, not for everybody it turns out.

 

Flashbacks: Kate Austen, Charlie Pace.

Writer: Jeffrey Lieber, J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof.

Director: J.J. Abrams.