Lost: Season 6 Premiere "LA X" Review

 "Let's not resort to name calling."

-The Man in Black

Season 6 picks up in the world of the flash-sideways.  Jack (Matthew Fox) is on Oceanic 815 and it doesn't crash because the Island is underwater.  There are still some differences.  Hurley (Jorge Garcia) is now extremely lucky, Shannon (Maggie Grace) isn't on the plane, and Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) is.

Jack and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) both respond to a request for assistance from the flight crew and find Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) unconscious in the bathroom with a bag of heroin stuck in his throat.  Jack saves him, but Charlie is not grateful when he is taken into custody.  

After landing, Jack is called to the Oceanic Airlines service desk, where he is informed that his father's body and coffin did not make it onto the plane.  He ends up meeting John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) and Jack offers him a consult for his injury.

Kate (Evangeline Lilly) manages to knock out Marshal Mars (Fredric Lehne) and escape the airport by hijacking a taxi, which has Claire (Emilie de Ravin) in the backseat.  

On the Island, the time-traveling group finds themselves back in their timeline.  Sawyer (Josh Holloway) is livid with Jack and attacks him, but they hear Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) alive inside the imploded Hatch.  They clear a path and Sawyer finds a dying Juliet.  She tries to tell him something important, but dies before she can.

Hurley is visited by the deceased Jacob (Mark Pellegrino) who tells him that to save the dying Sayid, he needs to take him to the Temple.  Hurley, Jack, Kate, and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) set off, while Sawyer and Miles (Ken Leung) stay behind to bury Juliet.  Sawyer gets Miles to find out what Juliet wanted to tell him, which was "It worked."

Hurley's group is captured by the Others and brought inside the Temple, where Dogen (Hiroyuki Sanada) is in charge.  They try to save Sayid by holding him underwater in a pool in the Temple, but Sayid drowns.  Hurley reveals that Jacob is dead and Dogen puts the Temple into lockdown with heightened security.  Sawyer and Miles are captured and brought to the Temple and, soon after, everyone is shocked when Sayid sits up, alive again.

At the Statue, the Man in Black (Terry O'Quinn) sends Ben (Michael Emerson) outside to get Richard (Nestor Carbonell), who refuses to go inside and reveals Locke's body to Ben.  Bram (Brad William Henke) and his team, apart from Ilana (Zuleikha Robinson), take Ben back inside and discover Jacob is dead.  They attack the Man in Black, but he transforms into the Monster and kills Bram and his team.  He tells Ben that he wants to leave the Island, unlike the real John Locke.  He proceeds to leave the Statue and revels his true identity to Richard before knocking him out and dragging him into the jungle.

What Works:

I know the flash-sideways storyline is a bit controversial over the course of the season, but I'm a big fan of it and it starts off strong here.  Of the three plots in the episode, this is my favorite.  I love examining the similarities and differences between this and the original Oceanic flight.  It's also pretty awesome to get people like Boone (Ian Somerhalder) and Charlie back on the show.

My favorite scene of the episode is when Jack and Locke talk about their missing luggage at the airport.  It's extremely emotional given these characters' backstories and what they went through on the Island.  It's been a long time since we've had a pleasant interaction between these two characters and it was worth the wait.

The Monster's attack on Bram's team and the reveal that the Man in Black is actually the Monster is incredible.  I always love a good Monster sequence, but this is made even better by getting this huge answer.  We thought the season 5 reveal that Locke is actually the Man in Black was big, but this is crazy.  Add in Terry O'Quinn's performance and it's a fantastic full introduction to the character.

Finally, Josh Holloway is incredible in this episode.  His devastation at losing Juliet, finding her again, only to watch her die is just brutal.  His anger and despair is palpable and actually makes you pretty angry at Jack.

What Sucks:

I'm not a big fan of the Temple storyline in this episode.  It definitely gets better by the time we get to "Sundown," but it's mostly setup for the Evil Sayid arc, which I don't love, and Dogen and Lennon (John Hawkes) are occasionally frustrating characters.  Just knowing how these stories go make "LA X" less interesting on the rewatch.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most competent character of the episode.  Since this is a two-parter, I'll give out two awards.  The first one goes to Hurley for taking charge of the group and starting them on the path to saving Sayid's life.  This is Hurley's 8th time winning this award, which ties him for 4th place with Sawyer.

The second will go to the Man in Black, who successfully kills Bram and his men and kidnaps Richard.  This is his 7th time winning this award, which puts him in 6th place.

Verdict:

 "LA X" is a solid premiere, though it loses some steam on the rewatch with the Sayid storyline.  That said, I love the flash-sideways stuff, the Monster reveal, and Josh Holloways performance.  This episode has absolutely got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good