LA X, Part I (S6X01)
Airdate: 2 February 2010
Written by: Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse
Directed by: Jack Bender
Running Time: 42 minutes
As Lost neared its conclusion, the narrative strategy employed in its final season opener was strikingly self-aware, effectively returning the series to its beginning; at least, that was the initial impression one might take from LA X, which matched the actual series premiere in its artificial division into two distinct parts. This structural choice was not merely an homage but a deliberate dismantling of the show's complex mythology to address the lingering questions that had haunted fans for half a decade. The episode served as a bifurcation of reality, offering a glimpse into a world where the fundamental event of the series—the fatal crash of Oceanic 815—never occurred. This narrative pivot was necessary because, with only seventeen episodes remaining, the most pressing issue was to finally provide some concrete answers to the theories generated by a passionate and speculative audience.
The central tension of the episode, and indeed the entire season, revolved around the detonation of the hydrogen bomb at the site that would eventually become the Swan Station. The "cold open" attempts to answer the nagging question of what would have happened had the crash never occurred. We see Jack enjoying his flight, Hurley goofing around with Dr. Arzt, a disabled John Locke having a casual conversation with Boone, and Sawyer seeing Kate in custody of US Marshal Edward Mars. Even Jin and Sun discuss their marriage. The most surreal element is Jack meeting Desmond, who is also on the plane. The only potential eventful moment arises when the staff calls Jack, as a doctor, to help with Charlie Pace, who has swallowed a heroin bag in the lavatory. He is revived with the assistance of Sayid. The plane lands as LAX as planned, but this is not a happy occasion for at least two occupants; LAPD officers arrive on board to take over the detained Kate and Charlie, the latter to be charged with drug possession.
However, the script immediately pivots back to the immediate aftermath of the incident, with Kate, and later the other participants on the raid on the future Swan Station site, waking up with ringing ears and dizziness. Night is soon replaced by day, revealing that they have experienced another time shift and that they are in 2007. The bomb apparently didn't work, nor did it alter the timeline, and the Losties are still stuck with the immediate task of surviving on the Island. Sayid is in especially bad shape due to his gunshot wound, and Jack admits that he cannot help him. Hurley, however, sees Jacob, who reveals himself as a ghost, having been murdered only an hour prior. He suggests that Sayid be brought to the Temple where he can be healed. Before that happens, the van is commandeered to help remove debris; after many difficulties, Sawyer hears Juliet being alive and buried in the pit. He reaches her but, before he can get her out, she dies of her injuries in his arms. Sawyer finds Jack responsible for her death and swears to kill him.
On the other side of the Island, the Others, led by Richard, finally realise that what they thought was Locke is actually an impostor. When Ben comes from the pedestal of the large statue, demanding that Richard talks to Jacob, Richard refuses and instead sends a team led by Bram. They are confronted by "Locke," who turns into a smoke monster and kills them. Ben finally realises that he has been deceived.
Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have, after introducing time travel and basing the entire previous season on that concept, apparently insisted on a "closed time loop" scenario; in other words, the fate of characters and events being predetermined, best established by the series' late motto "whatever happened, happened." Yet, LA X in its beginning presents an intriguing alternate scenario that the creators' alternate universe predeterministic concept of Lost have been adamantly against.
Even more baffling, we see the "regular," deterministic timeline in which whatever Juliet tried didn't work, and the Losties are back on the Island. Furthermore, to make the sacrifice even more futile for Juliet and her fandom among Lost viewership, she apparently survives her terrible ordeal only to succumb to injuries in an utterly melodramatic fashion. And just as her sacrifice was in vain, so did the sacrifice of her friends who desperately tried to save her life. The arrival of Jacob's ghost who offers the option to save Sayid's life is the only light in the tunnel of utter despair.
Yet, this double timeline completely shatters the concept of Lost at this point. Did the bomb actually work and indeed create alternate timelines, or do alternate universes exist anyway? Or what is the actual connection between those two timelines? Or is it, like with the infamous "Who Killed JR?" cop-out, just a dream? The alternate 2004 timeline also appears to be more boring, with characters' lives outside the Island looking banal and predictable. The only hint that things can be interesting is a CGI shot of a monument and Barracks at the bottom of the ocean, but it remains to be seen what role it plays.
The 2007 timeline is more interesting, and not simply because of another melodramatic cliffhanger in which Sawyer suddenly gets reasons for another murderous life-long vendetta, this time against Jack. The discovery that the fake Locke is actually the Man in Black, while being the smoke monster at the same time, is a twist that is actually the more interesting part of the episode and would ultimately provide some extra mystery boxes to be opened for the remainder of the series. Jack Bender again directs the episode with great skill, and, apart from the ocean bottom shot, handles CGI well during the showdown inside the monument pedestal.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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