Director: Jack Bender
Writer: Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse
In all honesty, no Jack-centric episode is every going to beat season three’s cliffhanger, ‘Through The Looking Glass’. But, that’s not to say that ‘Lighthouse’ isn’t a step in the right direction for Lost’s final season.
Unlike ‘What Katie Does’ and previous episode ‘The Substitute’, this instalment manages to make us care about both timelines, as opposed to ploughing all the good writing and characterisation into one. Events on the island are intriguing and take us straight to Jin, who is in the company of a very different Claire. Is she a bad guy now? Or just a tad misguided? Either way her fate is one that has somehow got much more interesting in the wake of this episode. Meanwhile Jack and Hurley embark on a little mission to meet Jacob at the episode’s titular location. Matthew Fox is a real beacon in this episode, and once we take a trip over to the 2004 timeline his acting chops really impress. With the introduction of his son – a development that could easily have alienated viewers – the show’s creators have added a new dimension to both Jack and the season as a whole. Needless to say, it is clear that this timeline isn’t as straightforward as we once thought.
Unlike ‘The Substitute’, which had something of a lame reveal at its climax, ‘Lighthouse’ ends on a bombshell. There are questions still being asked, but already you get a sense that this series is going to finish with a thrilling showdown. Fingers crossed the quality doesn’t slip.
Following on from the Locke/man in black events of the previous episode, ‘Lighthouse’ succeeds in directing the series towards a memorable finale.
