Lost Review S1E1: “Pilot, Part One”

“You guys, is this normal? This kind of day turning into night, end of the world type weather? Guys?”

-Charlie Pace, Lost S1E1: “Pilot, Part One”

Brief synopsis: A plane crashes on an island far from mainland. Some of the survivors journey into the jungle to find a transceiver and hopefully get their way off the island. However, there is some creature in the jungle that seems to be quite unfriendly and quite dangerous.

Title significance: General name for a first episode, though I like to pretend it has to do with the bloody remains of the pilot hinting at how dangerous the island can be.

Mystery: I don’t really consider the island to be a mystery yet. They crashed and were lucky enough that it was on dry land. No, in the first hour of the two-hour premiere, the only out-of-the-ordinary aspect is the rumbling noises and trees being uprooted in the jungle. In other words, the monster.

As of yet, the monster is invisible, but the destruction it wrecks on both the trees and the unfortunate pilot suggests that the creature is of great size and strength. This brings to mind creatures such as King Kong and Godzilla. Lost loves to pay homage to older stories and I feel the eerie hugeness of the monster is, at least for now, is a nod to those old monster movies. But we are still left wondering, what is this thing? Is it just protecting its territory? Is it intelligent? Is it actually hostile or is it just scared and trying to frighten away the intruders?

Success of mystery: This was before Lost got into mysticism and the supernatural. So far, the mystery could be explained using scientific means. I like that, and think this mystery adds a bit of intrigue to the show.

What “Pilot” does right:

• Random acts of heroism – Right after the opening scene, we leap into the action. Jack runs into the fray, going from person to person and helping them. He saves at least four people in the scene on the beach. We also see Boone trying to save someone and excitedly rushing to find a plethora of pens to help Rose breath. Even Hurley, who seems reluctant to care for Claire, later makes sure everyone is fed, giving Claire an extra meal for the baby. We see Locke and another man leap to help Jack save a man. These acts of heroism make the viewer care about these characters.  It makes them human.

• Characterization – We had forty minutes and change for the show to begin introducing the fourteen main characters to the audience. They focused on Jack this episode, with a decent amount of Kate and Charlie. However, these are not the only characters we got bits of information about. Boone is beautifully portrayed as a young man with a hero complex who continually fails at his efforts. Rose is seen briefly kissing her ring before we get the flashback. We can feel the tension between Walt and Michael, even as we see Michael as a caring father. It was very well-done, and necessary with such a large cast of characters.

• Joy – Just like the situation brought out heroism in these people, it also brought out moments of happiness and joy. Locke’s orange smile and how he sat in the rain, and Kate and Charlie’s conversation about Drive Shaft are three such moments. It’s makes such a statement about the capacity in humans for getting past traumatic events. It was beautifully done, and I think really showed something special about the human spirit.

What “Pilot” could have done better:

• Misdirection –  I include misdirection on almost every list. This time, it’s a negative thing. We get ominous shots of Vincent throughout the show. One of them occurs right after the monster makes a fuss. We even get Walt saying, “Is that Vincent?” It just seems silly. It’s a cute family dog. To ominously focus on it doesn’t really create a theory that will blow our minds. My reaction tended more towards wondering if they were intentionally making it seem like Vincent were some scary monster.

• Killjoy – As I mentioned earlier, there are so many beautiful scenes in this episode. There were little bits of joy that are necessary when people are thrown into such a horrible situation. The scene with Kate and Charlie is interrupted by Jack, who begins his career as a jackass and least likeable character when he tells them to stop chatting with each other (Maybe a bit of jealousy because Kate is connecting with someone else?)  Kate also has a moment like this. Locke gives her an orange smile, which I found to be a gesture of reassurance. She scowls at him in rejection. It was hard to watch his face drop. The biggest problem I have with this is it makesJack and Kate harder to like.

• Camera work – Maybe it’s because I have inner ear problems and therefore get motion sick easily, but shaky cameras, such as the ones the utilized during the crash and during the monster attack, piss  me off. I know it’s supposed to create a gritty feel, but all it does is make me sick. Find a better way to convey the grittiness. This is not BWP. We do not need to believe the camera is actually present.

Overall: Very up and down episode for me, though the downs were brief and the ups were more integrated throughout the episode. A good beginning.