TV Review: Lost – Namaste
Posted by Adam Sweeney (adam@filmschoolrejects.com) on March 20, 2009
Lost, ABC, Airs Wednesdays 9/8c
Episode: Namaste (Season 5, Episode 9)
Synopsis: Four of the members of the Oceanic 6 are introduced into the Dharma Initiative, Sayid (Naveen Andrews) gets captured and Sun (Yunjin Kim) starts her quest to find Jin (Daniel Dae Kim).
Review: Lost has become a sci-fi version of I Love the 70’s and we’re grateful for it. The time shift for the islanders has added a new obstacle and it’s good that the show isn’t too caught up in using the slang from the time period. A few right ons and I hope you dig its work just fine. We don’t need to see everyone doing the Hustle to know what time period it is.
The happiness over the reunion of Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and the Final Four (We’re calling them that in honor of March Madness. We love this time of year.) faded quicker than Tara Reid’s beauty. Time has taken its toll on the relationships built and there is a great divide building between the islanders that have been stuck with the Dharma Initiative and the Oceanic 6. Maybe it’s just me but Sawyer, Jack (Matthew Fox), Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) should just share a flat and have a weird love quartet. I mean they’ve all been with each other anyway. Or maybe that will end up being the spin-off of Lost. Let’s pray it wouldn’t be as bad as Joey was in relation to Friends.
The totem pole has been turned upside down and positions of power have shifted. The last few episodes have centered around Sawyer, who is turning out to be one of the most complex characters on the show. The attitude he gave Jack as he appraised the situation they’re in now was reason enough to watch the episode. There’s plenty of resentment coming from Sawyer, or as they’d say in Hype Williams’ Belly, “I’m feeling a lot of mother fucking heat coming from that couch!” Now Sawyer is in control and you get the sense that he is going to take his time and relish the temporary control he has over Jack.
Seeing that moment and then witnessing Sawyer’s total vulnerability a few seconds later after seeing Kate was another highlight of the episode. Subtlety is something most shows don’t understand, then again Lost isn’t like most shows.
Sayid’s situation is going to be a tricky one. Even if he does escape, where does he go? And seeing little Ben (Sterling Beaumon) was a great little ending to the episode. We knew who it was as soon as the boy walked in but that didn’t make it any less fun to witness. So if Sayid kills little Ben, does that mean Big Ben (Michael Emerson) dies as well?
The episode integrated four of the Oceanic 6 into the Dharma Initiative, so we’re hoping to get some answers concerning the island. Aren’t we always looking for answers though? We’ve always been looking at the island from the islanders’ point of view. Putting on Dharma-etched glasses is a way for us to alter our opinions of the characters we have grown close to. No longer is the Dharma Initiative a bunch of scientists looking to control and threaten the islanders. They have a face now and that, we expect, is going to force Sawyer to eventually make a decision. Does he sacrifice his life for the islanders or will the Dharma Initiative and new found power be enough to rein him in.
Namaste is an episode that sets the pawns up so that the bigger pieces can knock them down later in the season. Lost definitely is a story comparable to chess. Every character seems to be thinking three moves ahead. Once Locke, Ben and the Dharma Initiative crew cross paths, as they inevitably will, we will get to see who is in a position to call checkmate.
Up Next Week: Things begin to unravel when one of the survivors goes rogue and takes matters into their own hands — risking the lives of everyone on the island.
Read More: Lost Recaps
Did you see the Namaste episode? What are your thought and theories?
Read more articles by Adam Sweeney
