Caught Up With "Kevin Johnson"

Well, I successfully avoided recaps and spoilers and was able to watch "Meet Kevin Johnson" this evening at the edge of my seat, nervous that a favorite Lost character would make an untimely exit from our Thursday-night relationship.

I'm not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed with the episode. Why? Because, quite frankly, I'm not all that invested in Michael/Kevin at the moment. I agree with the discussion over at Zap2It:

I think it's fair to say that Michael's not exactly a popular character on the show. He's no Paolo, but he sure as heck ain't no Desmond, neither. Did you miss him in Season 3? I didn't. Which means the story didn't need him. Thus, his absence mattered not.

Now, we do miss Walt though. The first Michael/Walt-centric episode, "Special," marked the second time strange things were afoot off-Island (with "Raised by Another" the first to imply mysterious forces off-Island as well as on), but "Special" brought the kooky and the crazy up-front with Walt's amazing Bird Killing Mind Trick. With "Special," one marked Walt as one to watch, while Michael just stood on the side and built rafts all season.

No disrespect to Harold Perrineau. Love him as an actor.

The episode was unique for a couple of reasons: First, it was a flashback that was simultaneously being told to someone. It was storytelling. Usually, the flashbacks/forwards are for us, the audience. But the other characters aren't privy to each other's secrets. But here, Michael was telling Sayid and Desmond what we were seeing. It was also a flashback that occurred after the crash, which is the first of its kind.

And I guess Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly and friends got the week off. The flashbacks took such a large percentage of the show that the island folks were pretty much ignored. Until the whole death thing.

For a short painful moment, I thought Desmond was going to die. We were so entrenched in the Michael story, I just assumed someone significant with him would die. And Sayid is one of the Six, so it couldn't be him. Phew. The relief that the all-important Desmond/Penny story would continue overshadowed any shock or disappointment in Karl and Danielle's demise. Neither was contributing much of significance to the plot anymore. Although I will miss Danielle's awesome arms. Like Linda Hamilton's in Terminator 2. Whoa. Almost makes me want to go to the gym. Almost.

So Tom is gay. Karl and Danielle are dead. The island won't let people die before it's done with them. Sayid is not impressed with Michael (and went a little tattletale on us). Claire used a logical argument. Ben knows a lot (and really likes lists, apparently). The dead bodies at the bottom of the ocean are explained.

And I'm caught up. Now I just need to make plans for the next few Thursdays until Lost returns....

TAGS: Meet Kevin Johnson, Recap, Season4
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