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| "Because You Left" |
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"Because You Left" is the television season premiere of the American Broadcasting Company's fifth season of the serial drama television series Lost. The episode is the 87th episode of the show overall, and was written by executive producers/show runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and directed by co-executive producer Stephen Williams. It first aired on January 21, 2009, on ABC in the United States and was simulcast on A in Canada. It aired immediately after a clip-show that recaps the first four seasons and aired back-to-back with the next episode, "The Lie".
In 2007, Jack Shephard and Benjamin Linus start their quest to reunite the "Oceanic 6". Hugo "Hurley" Reyes and Sayid Jarrah are ambushed at their safehouse. Sun-Hwa Kwon is confronted by Charles Widmore. Kate Austen and Aaron Littleton flee from their home after being ordered to submit a maternity test. At the island, James "Sawyer" Ford, Daniel Faraday, Juliet Burke, Charlotte Lewis, Miles Straume, John Locke and the other survivors of Oceanic 815 left on the island erratically jump through time upon the island's move. "Because You Left" averaged 11.347 million viewers in the United States, and received good reviews, praising the writing and the unraveling of new elements.
Plot
The episode begins in the late 1970s, when the Dharma Initiative has begun to build stations on the island. Dr. Pierre Chang (François Chau) | deadurl= no}}</ref> back-to-back with the next episode, "The Lie". Before the broadcast was aired "Lost: Destiny Calls", a clip-show recapping the first four seasons. It marked Lost's return to its original timeslot on Wednesdays.
Reviews were positive. James Poniewozik of Time thought that "Because You Left" provided a good balance of characterization and mythology and commended the character of Faraday, partially "because a perfectly-cast Jeremy Davies has turned him into a likeable, flawed, brusque, slightly-in-over-his-head nebbish-god." Matt Mitovich of TV Guide stated that the premiere "offer compelling twists … the foundation is laid for a pivotal penultimate season … it sends the mind reeling and uncorks infinite possibilities." Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote that "it's hard to name a series that is as engaging, surprising and flat-out gorgeous as Lost, or one in which every effort and penny expended seems to be put to shimmering good use. This is an epic big-screen adventure done for the small screen—and done in a way that makes most big-screen versions pale in comparison." Bianco also commended the characterizations, noting them as realistic and compelling. Maureen Ryan of The Chicago Tribune praised the opening sequence, calling it "really, really great … nerd-tastic for hardcore Lost fan; it's full of shout-outs and callbacks to classic Lost moments and trivia." She concluded that the premiere is "quite good" (three and a half out of four stars) with "a lot to like", specifically the expanded screen time for Faraday; however, Ryan expressed difficulty in understanding the use of time (travel) in the show and felt that one to two more viewings were warranted for her to give a better review of that aspect. Verne Gay of Newsday summed up that "The season's premiere represents pig-in-the-python storytelling—there's so much to work through, so many details, stories, characters and time dimensions to attend to, that after a while this all starts to feel like a very full meal. A bloated feeling may result." Among other pieces of praise, Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle was impressed by the "parallel plotting" of the characters on and off the island in different times. Despite deeming the premiere "riveting" and the script "tantalizing as ever", Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe had a mixed response, for he worried that he would not be able to handle a season's worth of time travel, stating that "I may be alone in this, and I hope I will be proven wrong, but I expected the solution to "Lost" to be more metaphysical, and more original, than simply people being unstuck in time." Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger deemed it "really good, in terms of keeping the momentum from last season going, servicing the characters and their emotions, and providing an appropriate number of 'Whoa's per hour." In a three out of four stars review, Thomas Connor of the Chicago Sun-Times stated that "the time-travel training wheels are coming off—and the path thus far seems blissfully free of the usual stumbling blocks", due to the previous four seasons of "baby steps" that set up the science fiction driven fifth season. Caryn Kunz of the Honolulu Advertiser said that "This was a great episode to get back into every aspect of our favorite show: relationships, mythology, reunions/cameos, and enough whoa moments to keep me on the edge of my seat throughout."
Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly summed up the entirety of the premiere as "pretty cool" and "worth the wait". He wrote that "Lost's tradition of opening the year with a killer, capture-the-imagination sequence is honored and upheld, though the thing I loved most was how it was brazenly frank (and engagingly funny) about the heady high-concept conceit that will define the season." Brian Lowry of Variety concluded that "Lost … approaches its twists with what appears to be a greater degree of intellectual rigor than almost anything else on primetime. Even when it's difficult to keep track of the myriad connections, a sense lingers that somebody knows—which is strangely reassuring." Despite being more interested in the romantic aspirations of the show's characters, Jennifer Godwin of E! remarked that "the Lost mythology is a miracle to behold. It's grandiose, compelling, gaspworthy and, despite what the haters would have you believe, altogether satisfying". Katherine Nichols of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin enjoyed the opening scene, "but the rest of it didn't capture as hoped it would", citing high expectations due to the eight-month hiatus after the fourth season finale and a possible "yearning for more character-driven stories over machinations revolving around time travel, however clever they might be." John Kubicek of BuddyTV said that "the opening scene itself will leave your mouth wide open and you'll probably forget to close it for a few minutes." He also wrote the premiere episodes "are vintage Lost, full of some unbelievable twists and a whole lot of groundwork". H.T. Strong of Ain't It Cool News said that "Because You Left" "is a corker, aggressively advancing the story in all kinds of directions."
References
- Broadcasting & Cable, (December 2, 2008) "ABC Sets Premiere Dates For Castle, Cupid and The Unusuals". Retrieved on December 20, 2008.
- Jensen, Jeff, (November 7, 2008) "Lost Season 5 Gets a Premiere Date", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on November 7, 2008.
- Poniewozik, James, (January 21, 2009) "Lostwatch: You Can't Make a Record If, You Can't Make a Record If, You Can't…", Time. Retrieved on February 8, 2009.
- Mitovich, Matt, (December 30, 2008) "Review: Lost Premiere Fires Up One Trippy New Season", TV Guide. Retrieved on December 30, 2008.
- Bianco, Robert, (January 20, 2009) "Lost Answers Arrive, But How They Get Here is the Fun Part", USA Today. Retrieved on January 23, 2009.
- Ryan, Maureen, (December 30, 2008) "Time Bandits: The Season Premiere of Lost (Just a Few Thoughts and Links)", The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on December 30, 2008.
- Gay, Verne, (January 21, 2009) "Season 5 Premiere of Lost Review", Newsday. Retrieved on January 24, 2009.
- Goodman, Tim, (January 21, 2008) "For Newbies, Lost is Aptly Named", San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on January 24, 2009.
- Gilbert, Matthew, (January 21, 2009) "A Riveting Premiere and a Slew of Clues", The Boston Globe. Retrieved on January 24, 2009.
- Sepinwall, Alan, (December 30, 2008) "Speaking of Pure Evil… I've Seen New Lost Episodes", The Star-Ledger. Retrieved on December 30, 2008.
- Connor, Thomas, (January 21, 2009) "'When are We?': Castaways on Lost Skip Through Time", Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on January 24, 2009.
- Kunz, Caryn, (January 21, 2009) "…and We're BACK!", Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved on February 8, 2009.
- Jensen, Jeff, (December 30, 2008) "Lost Season Premiere: We've Seen It!", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on December 30, 2008.
- Lowry, Brian, (January 15, 2009) "Lost Review", Variety. Retrieved on January 24, 2009.
- Godwin, Jennifer, (December 30, 2008) "Lost Premiere Preview: Love Story Spoilers", E!. Retrieved on December 30, 2008.
- Nichols, Katherine, (January 23, 2009) "Lost Welcomes New Viewers with Deft Recap", Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved on February 8, 2009.
- Kubicke, John, (December 31, 2008) "Lost Season 5 Premiere Review", BuddyTV. Retrieved on December 31, 2008.
- Strong, H.T. "Hercules", (December 30, 2008) "Herc's Seen the First Two Hours of Lost's Almost-Last Season!!", Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved on December 31, 2008.
