"Exodus: Part 1"

OCTOBER 22, 2010

FOCUS: EVERYONE!
EPISODE: 1.23
AIRED: MAY 2005

I had initially planned to watch both parts of "Exodus" today, to try to start playing "catch up" after my unexpected hiatus, but I forgot both parts together equaled over 2 hrs, and didn't have the time. Oh well. It's a shame, because the two episodes are essentially one long whole (no time whatsoever passes between them), and it's been so long that I actually forgot some of what happens.

But just from this part I can guarantee that it was the first or second most satisfying season finale ever, wrapping up some of the mythology and character storylines (ones that didn't need to be dragged any further lest they lose their impact), while opening up the story enough to make you want to come back for Season 2. Only Season 3's finale, with its mind-blowing twist, measured up to this one, in my opinion.

The number of tear-worthy character moments just in this first part are staggering. Sawyer finally telling Jack about meeting his dad, the emotional goodbye at the raft (Vincent trying to swim after the raft destroys me), Jin finally making peace with Sun... seems like I'm fighting back the waterworks every 5 minutes in this one. Partly because the show was a big hit - you knew that they wouldn't get rescued anytime soon, and now that they've proven that they have no qualms about killing off main cast members (Boone), it's very possible that Sawyer, Michael, Walt, and/or Jin would die out there, and that this really WOULD be goodbye (for Walt it pretty much actually is, and I don't know if Michael ever saw a lot of them again, can't remember).

It's also one of the last times we see everyone together, both in the appearance of the black smoke and in the launching of the raft. One thing I didn't like about future seasons is that it seemed they were always finding ways to keep people apart, with some characters almost never interacting with certian others again. Christ, Season 3 started off with an episode where we only saw Jack, Sawyer, and Kate (and the new cast members). It's one of the things that made them better to watch on DVD, because you would only be an hour from seeing your favorite character(s) again, instead of a week or more.

Speaking of new characters, we're also introduced to Ana Lucia, aka the bane of many fans' existence. It's odd though, she seems to be playing a completely different character here - not bitchy, not abrasive, and even kind of flirty. At the time, she seemed like a good addition (despite the fact that I'm not a fan of the actress period). She appears in Jack's flashback, which is one of many "right before the plane" based flashes we see in the show, all focusing on a different character. Some of them are pretty eye-opening when you consider how much things have changed since then; i.e Walt hating Michael, Shannon being pretty racist towards Sayid, but Ana is the only one who appears to have had a complete 180 turn in personality (i.e. Shannon is still a bitch).

I haven't mentioned Michael Giacchino's music in a while - the piece where the raft takes off is pretty much the greatest cue I've ever heard on a television show. As much as I miss Lost, I'm sort of glad it's over and will thus free him up for more work, hopefully in film. I think he's going to be one of the all time greats.

This episode's also a good showcase for my favorite extra, the bearded guy that I call Roger (see above). When everyone is saying goodbye, he's always finding a way to be in the shots, even though no one is talking to him. Love that guy. I wonder if he made more than typical extra pay. The beard alone is worth an additional 500 per episode.

Where are we?