Now That's How It's Done

How many ways did I love the season premiere of Lost? Let me count the ways:

An opening that manages to pull the same damn trick on us that last year's did, and to fool us with it again! I was positive we weren't on the island. In part, because I could have sworn I'd read in several places that Elizabeth Mitchell would be playing a 815 castaway we just hadn't met yet. And the delicious irony of her attacking the Stephen King snob by saying that "we still have free will?" (paraphrased) before spending the episode guarding an imprisoned Jack? Priceless.

That Stephen King shout-out.

The consistency of bringing us back to that original plane crash time and time again, from new angles each time.

A Raiders of the Lost Ark homage. (Come on - I'm not the only one who thought of Marian and Belloq when Kate was led to BenHenery's table.)

Sawyer's cocky joy at figuring out the food-dispenser - and his subsequent deflaton when he realized all he got was a "fish-biscuit."

An emotional and revealing flashback for Jack - all the more impressive considering that it was his sixth. Consider that they managed to illuminate some of what was going on in his first flashback here, two seasons later. The dynamic between his father and he makes so much more sense, and makes the good-bad aspect of that dynamic not nearly so obvious anymore.

The bits with Elizabeth Mitchell gaining Jack's trust - expertly played.

The fact that they created a premiere in which we only saw three of the original castaways, and I didn't mind at all.

Questions:

Are we sure that the plane crash was just an accident? It could have been manipulated still, no?

What is BenHenery referring to when he tells Kate that the next two weeks will be unpleasant? And will those two weeks correspond to the first mini-arc of six epidoses?

Will the Stephen King snob return? And will someone punch him?

All hail the return of teh conquering hero. This was easily the best premiere of any show, new or old, I;ve seen this year.

Until Whenever