SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't yet seen this episode of Lost, you should avoid reading this article and the user comments, as they will discuss events that happened during the episode.
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Season 6, Ep. 1 & 2: "LA X Parts 1 & 2"
Last night's season premiere of Lost -- kicking off its sixth and final season -- managed to introduce a host of new mysteries even as it started to answer some questions. But would you want it any other way?
Rather than recap the episode for you (that's what all those links below are for, and trust us -- many of these recaps leave out nothing), we've collected individual reviews/recaps from critics and bloggers, to see how they felt about the episode, and in particular, its new narrative device that seems to include two different realities.
Note that the individual critic scores listed below should be considered very approximate, rather than 100% accurate. Assigning scores to reviews is a tricky business anytime, but it is even more problematic for episode reviews, which tend to be 99% recap and 1% opinion. Still, we've tried to capture each reviewer's general feelings about the episode (though, since most people who review individual episodes do so generally because they like the show to begin with, when it doubt, we graded conservatively).
| Score | Publication | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | The Onion AV Club | Noel Murray |
| I loved pretty much every minute of “LA X,” mainly because I was giddy to see Lost back up and running after the long layoff, but also because I thought it was a really strong episode, with a lot of action and creepy mystery and well-struck character beats. [Grade: A] | ||
| 100 | Television Without Pity | Cindy McLennan |
| Part 1 Grade: A+ / Part 2 Grade: A | ||
| 100 | Chicago Tribune | Maureen Ryan |
| This was a fantastic season premiere. I was on the edge of my seat as all the revelations and heartbreaks and the dual timelines unfolded. | ||
| 92 | IGN | Chris Carabott |
| Despite the awkward pacing and the information overload of the first hour, "LA X" doesn't disappoint. There are a few questions answered and a boatload of new ones for us to ponder over the coming weeks. With a great deal of excitement, surprises and strong character moments season six is off to a fantastic start. | ||
| 90 | Boston Globe | Matthew Gilbert |
| If the episode is any indication, we’re heading into a wildly entertaining and endlessly engaging season that will find “Lost” doing exactly what more TV shows ought to be doing -- going out on top. | ||
| 90 | Cultural Learnings | Myles McNutt |
| What we got was an episode of television that turns the show’s world upside down while simultaneously fitting pieces together to work towards that conclusion, and by balancing the two almost to perfection Lindelof and Cuse have made this just as exciting and eventful as I hoped it would be, all while making me even more confused than I was before. | ||
| 90 | HitFix | (Monkeys As Critics Blog) |
| It's a risky narrative move, but based on the evidence of this two hour introduction to the conceit, it's a pretty damn cool one, and I think it could yield the craziest season yet. ... Welcome back, "Lost." And thanks for the most delicious headache imaginable. | ||
| 90 | Variety | Brian Lowry |
| As for all the hoopla, I'd say the show delivered. | ||
| 90 | What's Alan Watching | Alan Sepinwall |
| Hot damn, that was fun. ... Certainly, the parts of "LA X" that resonated with me most deeply were the ones taking place on the island. But as the premiere moved along and we kept zipping back to hang out on Oceanic 815 (and then in the airport), I began to have the same feeling I did when I rewatched the pilot: I was just so happy to be reminded of when I liked Jack or when Locke was a serene wise man and not a pig-headed victim. | ||
| 90 | Zap2It | Ryan McGee |
| A massive, massive episode that lifted a lot of narrative weight in a largely successful manner. | ||
| 80 | Los Angeles Times (Show Tracker Blog) | Todd VanDerWerff |
| When you think about it, "Lost" has always been a show about a bunch of people in moments of crisis who summarily had their lives interrupted by a giant, world-spanning mystery of epic proportions. ... The best thing about "LA X" is that it returns to this notion that's been at the center of the show all along, even if it's gotten misplaced a couple of times along the way. | ||
| 80 | Time | James Poniewozik |
| From here on out, I'm guessing, it'll be hard to judge season 6 as individual episodes so much as one big one. I have a couple concerns: that alterna-2004 will be able to maintain interest (Kate running from the law again?), and that alterna-2007, with its Apocalypse Now / Indiana Jones Temple, is skating the edge of silliness.
... But skating that edge is where Lost is most comfortable, and where it does its best work. |
||
| 80 | TV Squad | Jonathan Toomey |
| 'LA X' was easily one of the most confusing hours of 'Lost' yet... [but] I still loved every second of it. | ||
| 80 | Wall Street Journal (Speakeasy Blog) | Michelle Kung |
| Overall, the pacing of this episode felt a bit rushed to me -- as if writers wanted to cram in as many goodies and cameos as possible to thank fans for hanging in there, and welcoming them back into the fold. Though a few questions were addressed, I felt as if an equal number of new variables -- who are those temple people? -- were introduced. But who am I kidding? I'm glad "Lost," in all its cryptic, twisty-turny glory, is back on my TV. | ||
What did you think?
Did you enjoy the season premiere of Lost? Let us know in the comments section below. As a courtesy to other users, please do not include spoilers of any kind in your posts, although you are welcome to discuss all events shown in this particular episode of the show.
