Review: Lost Season 4, Episode 8: Meet Kevin Johnson
Original Air Date: March 21, 2008
Lost ends the first part of season 4 with an episode to rival any of the previous three season finales. In Meet Kevin Johnson, we find out what Michael has been up to since he left the island with his son at the end of the second season. It hasn’t been good for him, but it was intriguing to watch.
Following a formula that has been popular this season, episode 8 provided a flashback with a lot of answers bookended by snippets about what is going on right now on the island. The episode opened with Locke holding a family meeting with his group. This scene did a fine job of showing that, while no one is openly challenging John’s leadership, no one is very fond of how it is working out.
On the freighter, two scenes quickly establish the situation without wasting any time in unnecessary dialog. The captain is shown once more to be ruthless in enforcing his rules and Sayid quickly tracks Michael down to force him to spill his story.
That’s where the meat of this episode lies. Actor Harold Perrineau does a solid job with a character that no one much cares for anymore. Michael’s story, though, is one that needed to be told for the sake of completeness if nothing else. In what may be a precursor of the tribulations of the Oceanic 6, we see Michael completely lost to depression because the son he went to such lengths to rescue no longer wants to have anything to do with him. He is ready to end it all, and indeed makes a couple of effective attempts at doing so, but it seems he is unable to die until he finishes some business that the Island has left for him to do.
Despicable as his actions might have been, Michael makes for a compelling character. The one thing he has come to care about more than anything else-his son Walt-seems forever out of his reach. The fact that Walt is now alienated from him because of his own actions makes Michael all the more tragic. Although he claims that he’s come back to the island just so that he will be allowed to die, it is hard to believe that Michael won’t find some redemption before that is allowed to happen.
A couple of dead characters returned for this episode. It was nice to see Tom (aka Mr. Friendly) once again in both his friendly and not-so-friendly personas. In what may be a nod to the fans, it is now clear that Tom is gay, confirming a rumor that simmered on fan boards last season.
Libby’s two cameos were not as effective, however. They were probably included to help show how much Michael is still haunted about the two lives he took, but both appearances were quick and inconsequential to the story. Although it was nice to see Libby again, her scenes ended up being more distracting than insightful.
Although Michael was the focus of the episode, it is what happened at the end that will keep people talking for the next four weeks. After Ben sends Alex to the Temple (which seems to be a new Dharma station) along with her boyfriend Karl and her mother Danielle Rousseau, they are attacked in the jungle by a sniper. Karl and Danielle are both killed. In a panic, Alex jumps up and calls out that she is Ben’s daughter. Will Alex become a bargaining chip in much that same way that Ben used Walt? Or did Ben engineer the situation to get rid of his two main rivals for Alex’s love? No answers will come until the next new episode airs on April 24.
All in all, this ranks among one of the most enjoyable episodes of Lost. It is refreshing to be able to say that as often as I have this season. While the audience of season 1 may never come back, the writers are doing a fine job of returning to the storytelling magic that lured people in four years ago.
