Lost Season 5
Time to go back to the island – literally
Tags: Lost Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Dec 18th, 2009
Where season 3 meandered a bit trying to find its place in the series, it found its footing in the last third or so and ended nicely. The 4th season moved along at a decent clip, progressing the storylines of all the characters as well as delving deep into the mythology of the series itself. Season 4 saw things pretty much blow up. Now, with season 5 everything is coming back together – literally and figuratively.
Season 5 is not the place to start watching Lost. As I’ve said before, you absolutely have to see this from the beginning. Thankfully, the series is being created in the era of digital video recorders and season sets being regularly released on DVD and Blu-ray. What might have been a good television movie or mini-series 20 years ago gets to be expanded into a full series that doesn’t need to compromise anything for the sake of the viewer. Lost is a show to be seen from the beginning all the way through to the end.
This review is going to contain a few spoilers, so if you haven’t seen Seasons 1 – 4 yet, stop reading this now. I’ll try and stay away from any major reveals from this season, however.
As season 3 ended, some key people died. That stayed true for season 4 – especially with it’s somewhat shocker of an ending. Season 5 deals with the aftermath of who dies, who has left the island, and yes, time travel. Season 5 is the time travel season, where characters move about in time, both those left behind on the island and those that left. By the end of the season almost everybody is back, but it might not be as neat and tidy as simply finding the island and chartering a 3 hour cruise.
By having a clear focus and an “end game” (the series will end with its next season) Lost has regained its narrative and is delivering satisfactory episode after satisfactory episode here. At this point, we’re even getting some answers to major questions. Sure, other questions arise, but not nearly as many as before.
In this season we see jack turn into an action hero. Kate becomes a mother concerned only for what is best for her child. Hugo talks to dead people. Sayid continues to be the most bad ass resident the island has ever seen. Sawyer finds his happy place. Miles works through his “daddy” issues. Desmond … well, he shows up the least.
One of the biggest themes of the season is family. Some of the answers we are given have to deal with family members, both expected and unforeseen. There are a number of main character that go through their own family issues (some resolved, some not) much in the same way Jack did the first couple of seasons. Daniel, Ben, and Miles each have deep ties to the island in both the present and past and they get explored in season 5 with much satisfaction. And we get to see Rose & Bernard one more time.
There are still a number of major questions to be answered, such as why is Walt so special, who exactly Jacob is (or was), and will everybody “get back” to where they belong, but after the satisfaction of the 4th and 5th seasons, I have faith that we’ll be satisfied.
As with previous seasons, we get a number of special features, all of which shouldn’t be seen until after watching the whole of the 5th season. We get only two audio commentaries, both excellent, mind you, but only two. It might be because the 6th and final season is coming and at this point the people involved don’t want to reveal too much ahead of time. I can’t say I blame them. Thankfully there is a spoiler warning – and really, there are some big spoilers in the audio commentary, so you’re warned. Do check them out though.
Some of the more “behind the scenes” featurettes aren’t as good as they could be (Richard and Ben’s pieces particularly) but die-hard Lost fans might like them. The “On Location” featurette is the one fans will definitely want to check out, going into the actual making of some episodes. Another featurette “Making Up For Lost Time” provides an interesting look at ramping things back up as well as where (and when) to go. This is the other supplement that shouldn’t be missed.
Deleted scenes, the gag reel. Check. Recap. Check. Celebrating the 100th’s episode. Check. Face documentary (that provides real insight). Check.
Blu-ray is awesome. I really like this format. Disney has done more for the format than I think any other studio, including Sony, which invented the technology. With Lost, Disney (well, ABC Studios which creates Lost, which is owned by Disney, which also owns Buena Vista Home Entertainment which puts out Lost on DVD and Blu-ray) is doing a great job of showcasing the series as well as the format. Season Play is simply phenomenal and I wish all series would incorporate it. I love being able to stop in the middle of an episode, go to bed, then the next day put in a different film or video for my kids to watch, then that night put Lost back in and have it start playing right where I left off – no searching, no hassle, just easy viewing.
Lost University is literally like an introduction to the various themes and concepts that are touched upon in Lost. Physics (time travel), psychology, and philosophy are just some of the topics covered in this BDLive feature. For the hardcore Lost fan this is a great way to explore some of the factual basis that provides a jumping off point for much of what is explored in the series. While it may be a bit convoluted initially, Lost University is an immersive special feature that is only available on the Blu-ray of the series. Many hours will be sucked up through this. I only logged in a few hours myself, and have quite a ways to go.
The 5th season of Lost fits in nicely with the other packages, and having stuck with the meanderings that begun in the second season and continued into the third, the viewer is amply rewarded. While jumping in with the explanations as to what is going on, such as polar bears, time travel, hieroglyphics, electromagnetism, and more may seem crazy, but it all works within the framework that has been building since the series began.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Answers! + Great pacing of story progression + Good twists + Various threads coming back together |
9.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Wasn't there a "clip" show this season? Where is it? - Really? You gotta kill off THAT character? - Only two audio commentaries |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| If you've been watching Lost, you got to see how it works out. The 5th season finds the series really finding its voice again. | |
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Tags: Lost
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Dec 18th, 2009 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
