After a string of strong episodes, perhaps the finest the series has had to offer, it was inevitable that the winning streak would end at some point. While this was a somewhat uneventful episode, it was, by no means, a disaster.

It is normal in the industry for programs to have episodes in a season that are there simply to set up other episodes or, if I am being less charitable, to simply kill time. Seasons 2 and 3 of Lost contained way too many of these episodes that lacked relevance and focus, and that ultimately eroded the fan base.

I am convinced that the days of filler episodes of Lost are a thing of the past. While this episode did not contain the striking amount of significant revelations the last few have, the episode did serve several purposes.

The most significant revelation established that those who were thrown from the plane landed in 1977; those who crashed are stuck in the present. This scenario leads to a 30 year time gap that stands as a barrier to the Jin/Sun reunion everyone is hoping to see. Also, it furthers the tension between Jack and Sawyer, whose love triangle has become a twisted quadrangle. Personally, I couldnt care less about the romantic relationships, but apparently some people do.

While this episode wasnt bad, it was quite predictable. When I saw the plane crash, I knew instantly that those survivors were in the present and the others in the past. Before I even saw the shape in the cabin doorway, in which it was revealed to Sun that Jin is in the past, I know it would be Christian Shepherd who would provide that information. Perhaps that is simply because I have seen every episode of Lost.

It is unreasonable to assume that every episode can maintain the frantic pace and staggering number of revelations that viewers experienced in the three previous episodes. This episode was the weakest in what has been the strongest season of Lost so far, but that is not an insult. It simply pares in comparison to the excellent ones that preceded it.

What Worked The plane crash at the beginning was very well done. Nobody does plane crashes like Lost.

For the first time this season, my head did not feel like it was going to explode from the confusion. The events of the season have flown by, and this pace, though slower, was a bit more coherent.

The Sun/Jin relationship has become one of the strongest on the series, and it is really sad that fate has placed them in this situation. A few of the relationships have had real meaning on this show: Desmond and Penny; Bernard and Rose; Sun and Jin; even Libby and Hugo had their moments. Unfortunately, it is the trite, irritating relationships that have garnered the most screen time.

What Didnt Work

As much as I like the relationships mentioned in the previous section, I dislike the Jack—Kate—Sawyer—Juliet nonsense. If I want to watch stupid, senseless, destructive relationships Id watch Greys Anatomy. I dont. Enough said.

For the first time this season, the notion of Jumping the Shark popped into my head. When the screen came up and said Thirty Years Earlier, and we saw Jack and the gang being reunited with Sawyer, I couldnt help but feel that the show has completely gone off the rails. As a time travel fan, I dont mind so much, but I wonder how many mainstream viewers that Lost was able to keep though this brain bending, time shifting phase. Most people I know abandoned this ship a while ago. Lost is now purely for the die-hard genre fans.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Namaste was written by Paul Zbyszewski and Brian K. Vaughan. It was directed by Jack Bender It stars Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Terry OQuinn, Josh Holloway, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Michael Emerson.