LOST: When Are We?

LOST started its fifth season on Wednesday, and although the second hour was only good (rather than great), this year is shaping up to be very good and very satisfying. When Ben moved the wheel, not only did the island move in space, but it also had temporal effects on the characters. Every now and then, Locke, Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, Rose, Bernard, and the expendables are thrown into a different point in time. The opening scene took place in the 70s or 80s and actually showed the DHARMA Orientation video scientist doing things that were not on a screen. And the scene ended with Daniel being on the construction crew of the Orchid Station.

This time-shifting will allow the writers to tell stories without relying on flashbacks/flashforwards, and scenes can focus on dead characters and people who are not our main characters. We will be able to see Rousseau arrive on the island, the storm that brought the Black Rock to the center of the jungle, and possibly the origins of the Others and Charles Widmore.

The off-island story with Ben, Desmond, and the Oceanic 6 was good for the most part, but I just want to see them get back to the island. Not enough time was spent on Kate and Sun, who are each involved with something most likely involving Widmore. Hurly got a lot of screentime, and even though I know that the men hunting him and Sayid are very likely associated with Widmore, the whole "on the lam" story just wasn't that exciting. However, Ben's part of the story is great, partly because Ben is always awesome and also because of the return of Ms. Hawking. Based on her role in Desmond's consciousness-leaping episode "Flashes Before Your Eyes", she seems like she will be a character with a lot of answers.

This wasn't the strongest season opener (the pilot will probably never be surpassed as the best opener), but it still had me very excited to see what happens next.

Up next: The days...