What a terrific premiere for the fourth season of LOST! The purpose of such an episode is to hook you in for the rest of the season, and "The Beginning Of The End" does that brilliantly, by setting up a dozen new plot points and questions. The flash-forwards are a daring device: we learn that at least 6 people were rescued from the island and brought back to civilization - but how? When? At what price? We meet 2 of the 6 - Jack and Hurley - and their lives don't exactly seem to be in perfect order. Jack is back to doing "surgical stuff", while Hurley is having visions of his dead friend Charlie. But are they really visions? They must be, because when he opened his eyes, Charlie was gone. But wait - another man saw him too. And he did feel that slap. Back on the island, things are more uncertain than ever. There is a strong possibility that the level-headed Jack is wrong and the seemingly out of his mind Locke is right. The Others have been set up as a threat from the start of the series - could Naomi's people, the mysterious "rescuers", be even more dangerous? How much does Ben know? Was that Jacob's cabin that Hurley bumped into? Jack Bender's direction is pacy and offers a couple of stunning shots. ***1/2 out of 4.
Review of The Beginning of the End
