Wow, this was a jam packed episode. The limited number of episodes this season, combined with memories of audience reaction to the Tailies, really had a noticeable effect on the episode. There’s four new characters, you can’t expect the audiences to identify with them right away, but they’ve got to have some backstory. So we get a nifty little device, mini flashbacks! They’re all very concise and get right to the point, so I will follow Darlton’s lead.

FARADAY! The standout of the group, thanks to Jeremy Davies and his kooky performance. This character could have been so flat, but instead he makes Faraday unique and unlike anyone we’ve ever seen on Lost. It actually feels like he’s being set up as the lead Freight character who is going to carry through to the end, but instead

MILES! I swear, I was the first one to like this guy. The whole combination of sarcasm and needless ANGRY, especially when he is fake stunned by Sayid being alive, is just so hilarious that I can’t hate him. Remember how so many people were saying “Lost has jumped the shark, a guy who can talk to the dead?” I was one of those people. In a show that already had a guy talking to the dead. In the previous episode.

CHARLOTTE! Dalia Hassan! Going from a bit role in one episode of Lost to appearing in almost every episode of a season of 24 two years later, good fortune for that actress. I’ve got more to say about her than Charlotte, who is and who remains the least defined of the freight folk. All I can say is that Rebecca Mader’s piercingly blue eyes terrify me in a way that they never do again after this episode.

FRANK! You know what, this drunken pilot guy is the only new guy I trust, but he isn’t worth talking about. The actor playing him, Jeff Fahey, is the only one not in the main cast. Dude, Frank is so going to die in a few episodes.

NAOMI! Finally we get Lost’s first true posthumous flashback where Naomi (looking better than she did on the island, incidentally) has a meeting with Matthew Abaddon. Interesting how she was meant to protect the other four, but she was the first to go. And Reddick continues to play this character in a way that is so unnecessarily sinister in hindsight. He actually makes me think that Naomi is villainous too just by association, which does increase the tension surrounding the whole Kahana crew.

There’s a few notable moments among our established characters too. I particularly loved Sayid’s acceptance of Juliet and their little mission together, notice how he says “You were living among the Others,” not “You used to be an Other.” All of the scenes involving Locke’s camp are great. When you’ve got Terry O’Quinn, Josh Holloway, and Michael Emerson in one place, you’ve got lots of nervous tension. And there’s a pile of reveals, most notably that the freight seems to be here to capture and/or kill Ben. Suddenly his fear from the end of Season 3 has new context. And this was my favourite part:

Ben: I’ll tell you everything!
Locke: Ok, what is the Monster?
Ben: Er, what?
Locke: *cocks gun*

I love that after everything, THIS is what sets Locke off.

Loose Ends:
Charlotte’s roaming date of birth. There’s a plausible explanation in the show, the 1979 date of birth is a part of her fabricated backstory, just like how England isn’t her birth place. I would have accepted this without question if not for that whole bru-ha-ha in Season 5, but I’ll forget about it.

I had always remembered this as a valuable Season 4 episode for the way it brought all the new characters into the game so swiftly. What really surprised me was that this was actually a great episode as a standalone. There’s no one character from this group who has the potential of a Mr. Eko, but their introduction is handled better than the Tailies and the group seems to fit into the Lost world right off the bat. A dense, but highly entertaining episode.

Rating: 9/10
Ranked 2nd out of 2 episodes.
Average: 9.25/10