Lost' Critical Analysis Essay

Jack wakes up in a jungle. The setting of this episode is on a beach right outside the jungle on a deserted island, which they thought was at the time, when their plane had crashed. He runs toward the beach where the plane crash happened and begins to help the survivors. Kate helps sow up his wounds. The survivors are scared to see a seemingly huge creature knocking down trees in the jungle. Jack, Kate, and Charlie head through the jungle to find the cockpit. The pilot tells them that the plane was a thousand miles off course, so the rescue operation won’t know where to look for them. He is then killed by the creature as the others run away. Lost begins in such a dramatic way, it manages to mark itself out from minute one as something amazing, and in my opinion, it’s the best moment in the episode. The noticing factor is the way people work from the start of the episode to the end. They are more relaxed and comfortable with each other and they started working together as a team which shows the heart of Lost: enlightenment and transformation.

The intensity and urgency grab you from the second that pupil dilates. We feel much like Jack, confused and a little scared. It builds as he runs through the jungle, then stops. The quietness adds to the suspense of the plane crash site. Focusing on Jack, we're thrown headfirst into the crisis, but we can still comprehend enough not to be lost. We're given several different reactions: those who are dazed from shock (Charlie), those who panic (Shannon), those desperately looking for someone (Michael), and those who try to help (Jack and Boone). This exhaustive sequence is thrilling; piling on the problems for Jack, never giving us a feeling of safety. Of course, we have to mention the guy who got sucked into the jet engine, which adds to the sense of anything can happen on this island, which brings us back to that they have to work together to survive on the island to make those changes in being okay with working with each other. This part is a large reason behind the episode's huge budget, but it pays for itself in what it did for the show as a whole.

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Swiftly we realize what the tv show will be about as Jack rushes from one wounded person to the next trying to bring some order to the chaos that’s happening around him. That opening sequence where the plane blows up is very dramatic and draws you into the action immediately. The various characters begin to be sketched into place. Locke, as we will come to know him looks the creepiest at this stage. The scene where Kate takes boots from a dead person and Locke grins at her (with an orange in his mouth) is intriguing and quite strange. Meanwhile, Boone established himself in an interesting way with his frantic search for pens. It’s an unusual and original take on survival stories to show a character trying to be helpful, but lacking the knowledge of how to. Finally, Charlie adds much-needed humor to the story by talking about his clearly struggling rock band and being annoyed that Jack is getting all of Kate’s attention. The music tends to be louder than usual giving off a more suspenseful scene, especially during the crash scene. Then leads to the “monster”, which pulls down trees and is an excellent idea to put so early into the show. It marks Lost Out as more than just a survival show. It tells viewers to expect something supernatural and intriguing is going to develop, so if they don’t like the survival stuff, stick around for something else. The monster also implies that drama will never be far away on the show, for every time someone steps into the jungle they will be in danger. By this point, I’m reading symbolism in the scene. The man in the suit is a civilization. The “wild” is the bamboo around him, and out of the wild comes the symbol of a wild tamed, domesticated dog. When the character stands and looks in his jacket, discovering his wound, we are viewing him through the bamboo stalks. The stalks act like bars, giving us the impression that the character is trapped.

The diverse cast is refreshing. There is one Latino, three blacks, a Middle Easterner, and two Asians. When was the last time you saw two Asians in the lead cast of a primetime show (or how many shows have had even one)? As it is a show whose cast consists of passengers on a plane, it would be hard to believe it would be entirely white people. It works for character-heavy drama to have people from different walks of life. Co-creators Abrams and Lindelof said that an important piece of this show is to have people who would never interact otherwise become friends on this island. Watching in retrospect (at this time, the most recently aired episode was the ninth episode of the second season), many hints and foreshadowing of events to come later in the season. Some of these things would be revealed later in the second part of the pilot. Our fear of what snapped the branch disappears as a dog appears, and whines. We see Jack react with a confused expression. The dog runs past him. By this point, I’m reading symbolism in the scene. The man in the suit is a civilization. The “wild” is the bamboo around him (the jungle), and out of the wild comes the symbol of wild tamed, the domesticated dog. When the character stands and looks in his jacket, discovering his wound, we are viewing him through the bamboo stalks. The stalks act like bars, giving us the impression that the character is trapped. This show takes its time, which is certainly wise in terms of the pilot. Evangeline Lilly, in her first speaking role, is a true find for the producers. Originally, Jack was going to be the one hanging in the tree at the end of this episode and the show was going to have Kate as the focal point. We could see from her performance in this episode that such an alternative reality Lost could've worked well. In this episode, she gives some looks that hint towards things revealed later and her chemistry with Jack is great from the start, which is a major part of the show. There was that great moment when they escaped the monster and Kate 'lets the fear in' as Jack told her. It is such a great tense moment thanks to her performance.

The only time we're given an exposition explanation isn't to describe the characters, but the situation our castaways are in and the transformation they have to make to survive. With our modern technology, many can wonder why they wouldn't be found within hours, as Shannon assumed. That's why we need the pilot to tell us that the technology that would help them failed and they were planning to land elsewhere and crashed. No one but they know where this plane is. Lost's Pilot is easily one of the best pilot episodes I've ever seen. From the urgency that grabs you instantly to the characters to the unbelievable production, it's hard to match on TV and in the cinema. Some were worried that ABC decided to split this feature-length pilot into two episodes, but the first episode was so good (and the retained audience from week to week) that such a concern was rendered useless within weeks. The use of a flashback to show us Jack’s point of view before the crash is also a great idea. It means we will presumably be able to piece together the characters' back story and contrast it with their behavior on the island. The unknown would be; what is the monster? What is Charlie up to in the bathroom (we also saw him running in Jack’s flashback)? How exactly did any of them survive the impact of a plane crashing into a beach? This show has a lot of suspense and it always keeps me on the edge of my seat, which is similar to Game of Thrones. The 2nd best show ever made. It has everything Lost has except not as much plot bending. It makes up for it in action & politics. Lastly, there is so much going on, so many mysteries and characters, that this bold mission statement of a pilot makes me willing to commit to this show for a long time.