Lost, Season 4, Episode 2: "Confirmed Dead"

Lost is probably the one show to date that has most successfully integrated with the web. In fact, having any inkling about what the hell is up with that island practically depends on participating in a devoted community with infinite time and infinite resources at their disposal to connect all the dots. Have you ever nosed through Lostpedia? Just look at how often the numbers come up – I bet you had only ever spotted an eighth of those.

Speaking of which, would you like to know the meaning of those mysterious numbers? It’s right here on YouTube. Honestly. The video is canon, and was produced by ABC. Of course, in order to see it, you had to assemble a bunch of fragments though an “alternate reality game.” (What? You mean you didn’t go straight to sublymonal.com right after watching that Sprite commercial?) This essential piece of the Lost puzzle has never been shown on air and may never find its way onto a regular broadcast. But there it is, on YouTube of all places. [Don’t you see? By linking to all these we are actually becoming part of the viral marketing campaign, thereby perpetuating the cycle of...fuck it, nevermind. I want a Sprite. –eds]

But even though Lost has arguably been able to pack in more interesting details by leaning on the internet, I think that the writers’ attempts to pander to fans (showrunner Damon Lindelof has even said he checks Lost discussion forums regularly) has made the show pretty annoying sometimes. Wednesday’s episode, “Confirmed Dead,” is a good example. While Locke et al and Jack et al gather up the scattered rescuers, each introduction is followed by their own brief flashback. They could have spent half a season hinting at the rescuers’ backstories – and, to be honest, I’m sure the new cast members will get their fair share of flashbacks in the next few episodes. But instead, they dispensed with their shiny, new flash-forward motif and threw together roughly drawn character archetypes. Hey look, it’s an A-Team comprised of a pilot, a psychic, a fighter, a ranger, and a cleric. It’s like somebody’s Lost: The Role Playing Game characters come to life. (Okay, I made up the ranger and the cleric.) 

Fortunately, the actors playing the rescuers are talented enough to make up for the poor characterization. (The script by adored comics scribe Brian K. Vaughn probably didn’t hurt, either.) Jeremy Davies playing Daniel Faraday as an unconvincing liar was actually refreshing compared to Ben Linus’s skillful bending of the truth. Ken Leung’s sarcastic Miles seemed more realistic than Sawyer’s whiny sarcasm. And even Baltimore native Lance Reddick (late of The Wire) was sufficiently creepy as Matthew Abaddon. (Hey, did you know Abaddon is name of the “Angel of the Abyss” in Revelations? Seriously, you learn all kinds of weird shit on Lostpedia.)

In general, the more freaky shit that happens on Lost, the better the show is. Which is why it’s frustrating to see writers just “answering questions” right off the bat. Of course, what exactly the rescuers want with Ben is a new mystery, but one that will likely be resolved within the next few episodes. So I was happy to see that they brought back the polar bear (which no one has mentioned directly since the first season). [I think a polar bear chased somebody at some point in season 2...maybe. –eds] I’m even more pleased with Ben’s response to Locke’s question: “What is the monster?”

“I don’t know.”