"Lost" There's No Place Like Home: Part 1 (2008)

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Director:

Stephen Williams

Writers:

Jeffrey Lieber (creator) and
J.J. Abrams (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Lost" (2004)

Original Air Date:

15 May 2008 (Season 4, Episode 12)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

Ben, Locke, and Hurley go to The Orchid, but Keamy and his men beat them there. Jack and Kate go after the helicopter, and are later joined by Sawyer. Sayid comes back to the island with a rescue boat, and then goes after them too.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Return | Orchid | Baby | Station

Cast

Naveen Andrews	...	Sayid Jarrah
Henry Ian Cusick	...	Desmond Hume
Jeremy Davies	...	Daniel Faraday
Emilie de Ravin	...	Claire Littleton (credit only)
Michael Emerson	...	Benjamin Linus
Matthew Fox	...	Jack Shephard
Jorge Garcia	...	Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes
Josh Holloway	...	James 'Sawyer' Ford
Daniel Dae Kim	...	Jin Kwon
Yunjin Kim	...	Sun Kwon
Ken Leung	...	Miles Straume
Evangeline Lilly	...	Kate Austen
Rebecca Mader	...	Charlotte Lewis
Elizabeth Mitchell	...	Juliet Burke
Terry O'Quinn	...	John Locke

Runtime:

43 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | Netherlands:12 | Venezuela:PG-13 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Bad Robot

Trivia:

The co-pilot who is flying the Oceanic 6 to Honolulo is holding a keyring that is seen later on this episode, when Hugo gets a car from his father.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sayid is coming up to the island on the Zodiac boat, there is a giant Sea Turtle resting on the beach. The next shot is panoramic and there is no turtle there.

Quotes:

Karen Decker: They're referring to you as the Oceanic Six. It's not the best branding as far as we're concerned, but it's catchy.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

Everyday

Great set-up for the rest of the finale

I have chosen to review "There's No Place Like Home Part 1" as a different episode than the other part of the season 4 finale which aired two weeks after this because this seems to me much more like a setup episode for the events of the finale than truly part of the finale. Though it is, like "Exodus", the season one finale, an episode which is very clearly the inspiration for the season four finale, more intrinsically linked to the events of the usual two-hour "Lost" finale than "Three Minutes" or "Greatest Hits".

The press conference, which has often been criticized, was decently-written as far as I'm concerned and I'm willing to forgive its clear flaws and suspend disbelief. After all, this is TV, and compared to most TV shows "Lost" rarely puts something out there and doesn't do something with it or go somewhere with it, so I'll trust the writers here. The rest of the off-island events show us what happens in the lives of the Oceanic 6 upon their return home and shortly after. I loved Hurley's party, it was so nice to have a bit of humor in this now very depressing show. I loved Cheech asking Sayid, Nadia, and Hurley if they were thinking about making fires and hunting boar, in the midst of an island-themed party. Yep, real smart. Of course even that scene has tragic undertones thanks to what we now know.

The island events are pretty standard for this time in the season, though very well-done. Lots of running around, characters meeting others and tying up loose ends, getting all the pieces in place for the traditionally epic, explosive finale. A fantastic set-up episode really, I can't think of any major flaws.