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Lost: The Complete Sixth Season - The Final Season
R1 - America - Buena Vista Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Jeremiah Chin (16th October 2010). |
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The Show
 Above all the final season of “Lost” (2004-2010) was a love letter. Straight from the heart of the creators of the show to the fans, characters and world of “Lost” that made sure the show went from the bang that ended the fifth season to a humbling, emotional climax at the end of this final season. This season wasn’t really about time manipulation, flashbacks, flash-forwards, Sawyer’s (Josh Holloway) quips or Richard Alpert’s (Nestor Carbonell) graying hairs. It was learning to let go. Letting go of the characters that we had held onto for six years, the island that had tortured and redeemed them and letting go of something that redefined television. It’s a cheap saying, that a show is "groundbreaking" or "revolutionary," you hear words tossed around in critic blurbs all the time and as a film fanatic that reads these reviews you should know that they mean nothing. Unless it’s “Lost.” Everything has meaning, everything has some significance, or as “Lost”s only intellectual peer “The Wire” (2002-2008) would say ‘All the pieces matter.’ As any proper final season would have it, all the pieces are falling into place in the long term game. Everything mattered from the last seasons as we finally see what happened when Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) set off the bomb, and it seems like everything literally happened. Everyone is back on the island but everyone is also off the island. There’s a new parallel paradox where the plane never crashed, Jack (Matthew Fox) never declared that they will live together or die alone. But something isn’t right. Even those who did die long ago like Boone (Ian Somerhalder) and Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) roam freely, and apparently unhappily. Something is off, and it isn’t just the scratch on Jack’s neck. Yet back on the island the Oceanic six and those sent to the past all reappear in the present; where Claire (Emilie de Ravin) has gone crazy, Locke (Terry O’Quinn) is now the embodiment of the smoke monster determined to leave the island by any means necessary, Jacob (Mark Pellegrino) has been murdered, and Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey), well he’s still Lapidus. These two worlds seem to coexist and move towards a climax moderated by the always special Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) is a traveler that understands a larger purpose in each world. All set to one of the most amazing original scores that Michael Giacchino put out in the six years and maybe the history of television. Obviously there are spoilers here, and I’m going to keep on going into spoilers. If you haven’t seen “Lost” come on. Watch it. If you’ve already seen “Lost” let’s talk finale, as if you already haven’t. I haven’t cried like I cried when Jack closed his eyes and since Desmond called Penny (Sonya Walger) in season four. There’s something bigger here. Don’t be distracted by people who want you to write off the finale, and therefore the entire show, as some big Christian parable. I guess it can be, but I don’t think that’s really it. Really we got the first glimpse at what I think the finale means in the first season. It’s all in the whispers. After Michael (Harold Perrinau Jr.) appears to Hurley (Jorge Garcia) reveals that the whispers are ghosts left on the island, people’s disembodied presence trapped in some weird island nexus, it makes sense. All the voices have to do with the dead and can physically manifest themselves on the island. But what happens for those who haven’t let go of the island or even realized they’re dead? For me that’s what the flash-sideways really means. It’s not just a limbo that seems to hold religious significance for those of you that are religious. It’s some metaphysical manifestation of the island that draws those whose lives are deeply connected by the island and helps them let go. Something Michael can’t/couldn’t quite do, something the whisperers haven’t quite realized. Yet for Jack and the gang, it’s a way of learning to let go of the island. While it was crucial in their lives, something pivotal that shaped each of their lives and connected them to the people that mattered most during their lifetimes. That’s why Juliet’s final words at the end of the first part of “LA X” are the same as her realizations with Sawyer in “The End” it’s a shared, timeless moment that connects them through the ever-present mysticism of the island. That’s why she said ‘it worked,’ because their time as prisoners of the island, in life and after death, is over; the island is done with them. Which helps to explain why certain characters didn’t make it to the ending. Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) is still searching for something with his daughter that will help him let go, something that the Oceanic 815 gang can’t offer to him. Michael needs a reconnection with his son Walt (Malcolm David Kelley) that he couldn’t get in life and we don’t see him getting after death leaving him trapped between this flash-sideways nexus and being incorporeal hanging around the island. Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) is connected to his brother and their lost childhood, not Locke, Desmond or the Swan button. Plus he wanted too much money to reappear. Season six is a beautiful metaphor for the entirety of the show, giving a final goodbye in a world where everything we were involved in mattered, all the pain we felt over six years of deaths and departures mattered and all the pieces that we loved mattered. Plus there was some seriously crazy elements of mythology that tried to satisfy the “answers” crowd that seemed insatiable to the point of blind ignorance to a show that was feeding you beautiful characters, great drama and a genuinely thought provoking TV show that for six years made you wonder. If “Lost” did anything, it helped make the feeling of ‘what if’ more tangible. Wondering what was up with the smoke monster, how Walt made that bird crash into his window, whether or not destiny brought them to the island, how Locke lost the ability to use his legs, or even whether or not Desmond and Penny would ever meet again, this show connected a range of emotions and ideas, both metaphysical and simple, into a weekly hour of television that brought you back every year for its entire run and kept conversations going, even beyond the answers that were given in the finale and lingering questions. Because really, half of “Lost” is in that; questioning, trying to figure out what’s going to happen and why things happen and whether or not it all happens for a reason? Take a deep breath and try and take in the amount of thought provoking television they offered. For six years. Consistently. That’s twice as long as Desmond pushed the button. For me this review is the final catharsis. Even though I’ve now seen the finale countless times (if you want to count its 10) and the entire series countless times (again if you want its 8), it never fully set in that “Lost” is over. In some ways it isn’t. There’s always more to think about in a show that took larger philosophical concepts and put them into the show both in story and literally embodying them in characters. I keep on thinking back on what I could have left out in the review, but at two pages long already it shows just how much show there is to think about and just how much big pieces of the show are still on my mind. But writing this review has made me realize that it’s finally over, there’s no big premiere coming in 3 months. It’s finally time to let go. And I think that’s okay. The sixth season has 16 episodes spanning 5 discs, rounding out what I think might be the best show ever put on television. The episodes included are: “LA X” “What Kate Does” “The Substitute” “Lighthouse” “Sundown” “Dr. Linus” “Recon” “Ab Aeterno” “The Package” “Happily Ever After” “Everybody Loves Hugo” “The Last Recruit” “The Candidate” “Across the Sea” “What They Died For” “The End”
Video
Presented in its original 1.78:1 anamorphic aspect ratio the show looks great even on DVD. The colors all come through like gangbusters and the clarity is pretty consistently there. There’s slight variation with the black levels in some of the darker sequences along with a little bit of grain that comes more from the standard definition transfer than the actual filming of the show. Still it’s a great looking show with Jack Bender’s awesome touch on the finale putting a great visual end to the show with all kinds of parallels and metaphors that have you choked up the whole time. Visually it’s also great at hitting the key notes of the season and seasons past, helping the theme of letting go as well as showing Hurley’s ascension to leadership. Though in all seriousness, get it on Blu-ray, the format itself is just richer and after watching so many good looking seasons in high-definition, going down to this standard definition version is just a little lackluster considering how the show should look.
Audio
Similarly the English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track brings the beauty of Giacchino’s score out, doing it fair justice considering the limitations of the format. The sound design on “Lost” has been consistently great over six years and adds that in with some of the best writing and original music that television has seen, and it’s on full display in the transfer. It isn’t quite up to the standard that you would demand from high-definition, but for DVD it’s a nice transfer that brings out some great sound on the show. In addition there is an English Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track, along with English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Extras
If you jump down to here just to see the details on the extras for this disc, shame on you for missing out on my rambling and sentimental tribute to my favorite show. But since you’re here, and heartless, you may as well read about the four audio commentaries, handful of featurettes, deleted scenes, blooper reel and bonus trailers. DISC ONE: There’s an audio commentary track from executive producers/writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse on the episode “LA X”, which is their second to last commentary on the final disc of the show. Damon and Carlton's tradition of jokes made about copyrights, wearing pants and everything that you have heard over the years if you paid any attention to the official "Lost" podcast or previous commentaries are here. Still they have some good details on thinking about building the final season and creating the flash-sideways universe that sent everyone reeling until the very end. It’s a nice track and enjoyable for major fans, though it only covers the first hour of the episode. Additionally there’s the “Lost in 8:15 – A Crash Course” featurette that was put online before the season that sums up the entire show in fragmented narration and clips from the show that is a great summation of the show that hits key notes of the show over the full six year run with special emphasis on later seasons to get you ready for the present issues. It also runs 8 minutes and 27 seconds. Bonus trailers are for: - “ABC on DVD” runs for 1 minute and 34 seconds. - “Flash Forward: The Complete Second Season” runs for 1 minute and 21 seconds. - “Castle: The Complete Second Season” runs for 34 seconds. - “Legend of the Seeker: The Second Season” runs for 1 minute and 21 seconds. DISC TWO: The second audio commentary is with actor Michael Emerson and writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz on the episode "Dr. Linus." They talk about what they will miss from the show and the experience of putting together their first Ben episode, as well as looking at what happens in the flash-sideways world. Its slightly disjointed as they get caught up in watching the show every now and then, but when Emerson and the other two get to interact they have some good jokes and behind-the-scenes discussions of the show that are worthwhile for the commentary, but of course I think everything in the show is worthwhile. There’s good discussion of the surprise guest director Mario Van Peebles, and his smells, bigger issues of the episodes and even some of Emerson’s method. DISC THREE: On this disc the audio commentary comes on the episode “Ab Aeterno” with actor Nestor Carbonell and writers Melinda Hsu Taylor and Gregg Nations. In maybe the best commentary so far, Carbonell teases out the details from the writers with questions about what they thought of Alpert and how they broke down his back-story in the context of the show. It’s a well flowing and continuous track were they talk about everything from casting to the technical elements of the story and even Alpert’s process in acting out each scene. It’s one of the better tracks in the set and even in the tradition of "Lost" commentaries; it’s not super joke heavy, but it’s a great discussion of the episode and the show in general. DISC FOUR: The final audio commentary of “Lost” ever comes on “Across the Sea” and features executive producers/writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse talking about the grand mythology of the show as filtered through the personal relationships of the episode. They announce the episode as polarizing, which it was, but do a great job of talking about how they conceived of the episode and why they specifically didn’t want to directly answer everything in the episode, which I agree with and appreciate. The dynamic duo justifiably responds to the answers crowd in arguing that they want to tell stories of characters and add mythology in that way more so than just dump a list of answers that would seem irrelevant. It’s a nice farewell commentary, they even go so far as to say goodbye at the end. DISC FIVE: Here’s where a dividing point seems to come, the epilogue featurette “The New Man in Charge” runs for 11 minutes and 55 seconds. It breaks down into basically two parts, a discussion between Ben and two Dharma employees who have been loading palettes for food drops to the island for years as well as a visit from Hurley and Ben to Walt. The first half is almost a tongue in cheek response to those who demanded answers, literally sitting them down with a DVD and showing them a Dharma Orientation video that spoon feeds them answers about what went on with the Hydra Island. It’s not a terrible orientation video, but the way it starts shoving answers around is inherently (and I would argue intentionally) unsatisfying in some ways because it’s so blunt with the answers. But that’s what some people demanded. What’s more interesting is the second piece with Walt where it is revealed that Hurley and Ben visited him to bring him back to the island where he can reconnect with the whispers of his father as well as become the new Jacob for the island after Hurley has finished. This part is much more “Lost,” more vague, more open for interpretation with nice character inferences. I have no problems with “New Man in Charge” though I know there are others that do, but this is what happens when you demand answers to be thrown in your face rather than enjoy interpretation and the subtleties of lost that made the show great. Plus, Walt really grew up; it’s kind of crazy to see how much he’s aged. The making-of featurette “Crafting a Final Season” runs for 38 minutes and 33 seconds, it not only looks at the ending of the show but brings in some show runners from some other shows to talk about what it really means to be able to end a show on their own terms. There’s a ton of great behind the scenes work at all the different locations and the conversations about how they created the endgame and set up the ending of the show. Hearing the creators’ and characters’ voices as you see the major pivotal moments of the final season it helps add resolution to the show. There’s even footage of Jorge Garcia reading the final pages of the screenplay and watching him get that emotional over just the first reading of the screenplay is a great moment captured on film. It’s an amazing special feature that lets you see a little deeper into the ending of the show. “A Hero’s Journey” featurette runs for 8 minutes and 57 seconds, opening with a quote from Joseph Campbell on the idea of the hero’s journey, supplemented with clips from the show and interviews with Lindelof and Cuse, as well as writers and actors from the rest of the show where they talk about the idea of having a giant handful of heroes over the 6 season as well as the iconic nature of the hero. “See You in Another Life Brotha” runs for 8 minutes and 36 seconds, this featurette looks at the flash-sideways and how all the characters and creators of the show interpret the flash sideways from the beginning of the flash sideways world. Of course there’s an error in an episode title calling episode 15 of season three “Maternity Matters” instead of “Maternity Leave” but hey, whatever. It’s a great featurette that discusses the ability of the flash-sideways to explore the depth of the characters and the idea of their nature. They discuss the use of mirrors in the final season as a visual metaphor for the mirrored experiences of the people and what they wanted to have or what they thought their lives should be like. Next up are a series of "Lost on Location" shoots which are more raw behind-the-scenes featurettes for different episodes from building the sets to the actual filming of the show. There are 6 parts in all playable together for 28 minutes or separately described below: - “LA X” runs for 6 minutes and 18 seconds and looks at the building of the temple and temple interiors from everything from building the set and painting it to designing the different costumes with narration from Jack Bender and the different designers that worked with the pieces of the production design. - “The Substitute” runs for 3 minutes and 32 seconds and looks at the large stunt sequence involved in the ladders scene going from how much Josh Holloway was involved in the different stunt pieces as well as the wide shots that involved stunt doubles and the large crew involved in the stunt sequence. It’s always fun to see the stunt doubles up close but it’s a great featurette. - “Recon” runs for 3 minutes and 4 seconds, looking at the cop sequences with Sawyer and Miles, with some on set banter from each of them and joking around on set. The two actors talk about their experiences on set and how they see their characters now as sideways universe cops, then going into their car stunt sequence briefly. - “Ab Aeterno” runs for 4 minutes and 40 seconds, going behind the scenes of the Black Rock with Nestor Carbonell and the other actors, as well as the different makeup and production designers that went into creating the storage hold for the ship. There’s look at the live pig filming with the pig trainer, as well as the dummy pig used for the charge and the Black Rock interior on a gimble. - “Happily Ever After” runs for 4 minutes and 49 seconds with Henry Ian Cusick and Dominic Monaghan working on the near death car crash into the ocean. The stunt coordinators look at stripping down the car to its bare frame and preparations for the sequence, as well as filming in the underwater sequence in the large tank involving the actors. - “The Candidate” runs for 6 minutes and 16 seconds, going through the final emotional filming for Jin and Sun, setting up the sinking and flooding submarine. Daniel Dae Kim talks about how the water makes acting different, and there’s a great look at the flooding of the set, but everyone talks about what a fun time they had in the flooding set. Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim talk about their tragic ending, and you get a bit of behind-the-scenes work in setting it up. Next are the deleted scenes, nine in all, from different episodes, which run together for 9 minutes and 39 seconds, but playable separately. They include: - “On Guard” runs for 44 seconds, Brahm heads into the statue and tells Illana to guard Sun. - “Bearing Fruit” runs for 52 seconds, Frank brings back food for Sun and Sun sends him in to the statue to check on Illana. - “Maternal instincts” runs for 1 minute and 12 seconds, Jin talks about his injured Leg with Kate and warns her about Claire’s craziness. - “Parched” runs for 36 seconds, Alpert manages to get a sip of water off a curved board. - “A Helping Hand” runs for 37 seconds, the Man in Black helps Alpert out of the Black Rock. - “Fatalities” runs for 2 minutes and 43 seconds, Locke and Claire talk about killing the survivors of the submarine and she leaves Locke’s company. Sawyer wakes up on the beach with Hurley and they talk about deaths of their friends. - “The Lab and The Well” runs for 40 seconds, Vincent finds Desmond at the bottom of the well. - “Epiphany” runs for 1 minute and 27 seconds, Desmond tells Ben about what he saw after getting zapped in the shed. - “Desmond’s Task” runs for 41 seconds, Desmond and Kate walk up to the dinner party where he explains he’s waking the people up. Here comes the final edition of “Lost Bloopers” blooper reel that runs for 7 minutes 24 seconds, with the same on set antics that we’ve seen over the past six years, with big mistakes and goof ups in different scenes, with an especially noisy rooster that won’t let Matthew Fox get his lines out. Bonus trailers on the disc are for: - “Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Sixth Season” runs for 1 minute and 2 seconds. - “Desperate Housewives: The Complete Sixth Season” runs for 1 minute and 2 seconds.
Packaging
The set comes in a 5-disc digi-pack, housed in a plastic sleeve.
Overall
For me everything about the show is an A+, but the minuses are just because of the limitations of the format more so than the limitations of the show or transfer.
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