Lost Season 4

If you haven't seen Season 3 yet, you shouldn't read this post (that means you Granny). For the rest of you, this is not a collection of Season 4 spoilers. I hate being spoiled, and would never do it to anyone. This post is purely about what the producers have told us to expect from this season, along with my own thoughts.

First of all, the picture above is ABC's official cast photo for Season 4, released just this week. I think the dark clouds are a good indication of what's to come. We all remember what happened at the end of last season: to the dismay of Island-Protector Ben and Island-Communer Locke, Jack Shepherd (a.k.a. Moses) contacted a mysterious freighter that was supposedly 80 miles away. But Desmond's filthy-rich soulmate, Penelope, whom we assumed would come looking for him, knows nothing about this freighter.

The name of the Season 4 premiere? The Beginning of the End. In case you forgot, those are the exact words Ben used to describe what would happen if Jack made that call.

Bottom line: these people aren't looking for survivors. They aren't part of any rescue mission. The Boy-Who-Cried-Wolf Ben was telling the truth this time. The dynamics on the Island will dramatically change this season. The survivors will initially be split into two factions. Team Jack, who seek out the freighters in hopes of rescue, and Team Locke, who...well, who knows what Locke's objective is? He seemed to know a LOT about these newcomers after talking with Walt. Or a manifestation of Walt, at least.

And what about flash-forwards? The producers have said that this season, there will be both flashbacks and flash-forwards. We'll learn about the pasts of characters new and old, and see what happens when some survivors are rescued. But these glimpses of the future are not the end of the story. When Jack Shepherd says "We have to go back," you better believe him. Eventually, the real-time narrative on the Island will catch up to the flash-forward narrative in the real world.

Oh, and Michael's back. That's right, everyone's favorite murderer-traitor will return to the Island sometime this season. In the first 8 episodes too, which is good, because the production team was only able to complete 8 episodes before the writer's strike. That means we only get half a season. The second half might be tacked onto Season 5, meaning we'd have to wait until 2009. Yikes.

For those of you who can't wait for January 31st to roll around, here's a new sneak peak at the Season 4 premiere, along with a list of the episode titles and the flashback/forward characters for each:



P.S. Don't be misled by the promise of a "Two-Hour Event". The first hour is a recap show.

1. The Beginning of the End (Hurley)
2. Confirmed Dead (The Freighters)
3. The Economist (Sayid)
4. Eggtown (Kate)
5. The Constant (Desmond)
6. The Other Woman (Juliet)
7. Ji-Yeon (Sun and Jin)
8. No title yet (Rumored to be Michael)