Lost

Meet Kevin Johnson

Season 4, Episode 8, Aired 3/20/08

Episode Summary

After Sayid encounters Michael, the story of how Ben's spy got to the freighter is finally revealed. Back at Locke's camp, Ben sends his daughter, Alex, to a safer place so that she may survive an approaching attack.

9.0

EPISODE RATING: Superb

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"Abysmal"

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Cast & Crew

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Harold Perrineau Jr.

Michael Dawson
Ken Leung

Miles Straume
Henry Ian Cusick

Desmond Hume

Fan Episode Reviews (63)

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A Michael-centric episode.

1.0

"Abysmal"

By Writer2000, Mar 12, 2011 Report Abuse

Let me just start out by saying that I didn't like this episode at all since I absolutely hate the character Michael and he's my least favorite character on the show. I was glad when he left in season two, and I would have preferred to have never seen him again on Lost. The show was doing just fine this season without him, and I don't see why it was necessary to bring him for anymore episodes, let alone this episode. In closing, I absolutely hated the story line for this episode and this episode as whole. That being said, I'm really looking looking forward to watching the rest of season four of Lost.moreless

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4 24
my classification is based specially for the end of the episode wich made no sense to me honestly and also I think that the explanation of how and why michael was on the boat was pretty lame they could have come up with something better.moreless

1.0

"Abysmal"

By GoKuVeGeTaGoHaN, Sep 23, 2010 Report Abuse

my classification is based specially for the end of the episode wich made no sense to me honestly and also I think that the explanation of how and why michael was on the boat was pretty lame they could have come up with something better. Hopefully they;ll make it up. my classification is based specially for the end of the episode wich made no sense to me honestly and also I think that the explanation of how and why michael was on the boat was pretty lame they could have come up with something better. Hopefully they'll make it up. Peacemoreless

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4 7
Meet Kevin Johnson

9.0

"Superb"

By thefanof, Aug 14, 2010 Report Abuse

A powerful episode here where we saw Ben try to protect his daughter Alex from the impending attack. We saw the Ben character really become three dimensional for his relationship with his daughter and it was one of the most shocking moments in show history, one of the few good ones after Season 1, when she ended up dying.

We knew Kevin Johnson would end up being Michael, but that does not mean this was not a good moment in the show. His exit from Lost was disappointing and I kind of wish he would could have stayed around for a long time.moreless

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Lost just lost it's charm.

4.4

"Poor"

By Dr_Dick, May 27, 2010 Report Abuse

Surviving car crashes, bullets bouncing of skulls, guns jamming? What the hell?
I don't know what to say anymore, this is just lame.

"You can't kill yourself. The island won't let you." -
yea yea whatever..

"I'm supposed to believe this?" asks Michael and I ask myself: do I have to watch more of this nonsense?

This whole seasons is getting dumber and dumber.
Seriously, what happend?
The first 3, 4 episodes were great and then all of a sudden they start with this time travel and other unbelievable garbage and ruin a really cool show.
I always thought that Lost was about character development and not about hocus pocus, guess I was wrong.

p.s.: I want at least one thumbs up pleasemoreless

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8 37
Not the most pleasant reunion we could have had

8.0

"Great"

By DavidB226Morris, Apr 04, 2010 Report Abuse

Based on what we've seen in the flashbacks on this series, almost everybody on the island had a difficult time before, during, and (in some cases) after their time on the island. But right now, it's hard to picture somebody who's had it worse than Michael Dawson.

He had a major struggle with his wife after Walt was born, he lost custody of his child in a bitter battle, his relationship with Walt on the island is sullen, and finally manages to solidify when he builds a rescue boat. The Others then blow up the boat, and take Walt prisoner. Michael moves heaven and earth to get his son back, which involves killing two women and betraying all the other survivors of the crash. He finally manages to reunite with his son, but the guilt is too much for him and he confesses, at which point Walt says he wants nothing to do with him.

Almost everybody on the island is looking for some kind of redemption., but now Michael can no longer have that. So he looks for the only way left open to him --- which appears to be death. However, then he runs into Tom, of all people.. Who tells him something that we haven't known, but may have suspected --- if someone needs to do something for the island, it won't let them die. It explains how Locke has managed to survive every attack he's taken so far, why Ben took such a horrible beating, and could possibly be the reason that Jack was unable to kill himself in the first flashforward we saw in Season 3.

During the flashback, the news that the fake Oceanic 815 has been recovered is broadcast. Tom then reveals that the man responsible for the cover up was none other than Charles Widmore, and that he dug up a mass grave in order to come up with 324 bodies. We won't find out how this happened until Season 5, but it does seem that Widmore was responsible. What's not clear is how he found that kind resources, but then Widmore does have access to a lot of things.

Tom then tells Michael that his mission is to take out all of the people on that freighter, and sends him to Fiji with a fake passport. While some of the people on the freighter seem familiar (albeit creepy), it is not until he meets Kearny and Omar firing machine guns that he comes to realize just how dangerous this particular mission is. He then prepares to use a bomb to blow the ship sky high--- only to find out that it's yet another cruel test orchestrated by Ben. All of these scenes carry their own kind of agony, but the worst comes when Michael finally gets a message from the mainland from Walt, only to pick it up and hear Ben on the other end. Ben then tells Michael in that condescending way of his that he will do what he has to do, but he won't kill innocent people. He just gives the orders or allows them to happen. Michael than listens to one more set of marching orders, and Michael finishes up looking utterly crushed, as if he's been denied redemption one more time.

Michael then tells a very truncated version of this story to Sayid (the entire episode is basically a flashback, so it's hard to know exactly how much he actually told) and Sayid waits all of two seconds before taking Michael right over to the captain and telling everybody that he's is the traitor. (I wouldn't get comfortable in my ivory tower, Sayid). Like everyone else on the island, he cares little for someone else's redemption. Granted, he's still trying to save all of his friends, but considering just how violent the captain has been towards his own crew, it's still a pretty lousy thing for him to do.

Meanwhile, back on the island, Ben has finally revealed his secrets, which doesn't help Locke's position much, as everyone (even Miles, who's only been there a week) can tell than Ben has just maneuver himself back into a position of power. He then sends Alex out to the temple, where he told Richard (speaking of which, where is Richard?) to take the others when he got separated from him way back in season 3, and allows Karl and Rousseau to go with her. He's trying to protect her, but in doing so, all he does is guarantee than they all meet their end a bit quicker. Karl is killed in the jungle, and though we won't learn it for certain for a couple of more episodes, Rousseau has died too. All Ben's done is make sure that his daughter saw her boyfriend and mother get killed in front of her--- he couldn't have thought up a crueler fate if he'd arranged it himself. But there are far worse things ahead for Ben and everybody else in the barracks.

This episode is perhaps at its best when it follows Perrineau. He's always been an expressive actor, and in this episode, he pretty much has to be, as so many of the scenes he's in have no dialogue. He manages to show an entire range of emotions on it, from hope to desperation to guilt towards complete defeat. It's not clear (even now) if Michael will ever find the redemption or the peace that he has sought, but for a man who was willing to die for his son, somehow I can't believe fate has finished telling the whole story with him.
My score: 8moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- Michael hears whispers and sees Libby just before he activates the bomb on the freighter. This is the first time the whispers are heard off the Island. Edit
- Goof: When Michael arrives at the port in Suva, Fiji, the taxi is a left hand drive vehicle. However, in Fiji vehicles are right hand drive. Edit
- According to Libby's badge, Michael is in (the fictitious) Manhattan Springs Hospital. Edit
Notes
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- Music featured while Michael attempts suicide is "It's Getting Better" By Mama Cass Elliot. Edit
- This episode has the second longest flashback to date. Edit
- This episode won the 2008 Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (one-hour). Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- Captain Gault: What the hell is this? Sayid: This man is not who you think he is. He was a passenger on Oceanic Flight 815. I spent two months with him on the Island before he betrayed us. This is the man who sabotaged your radio room. He destroyed the ship's engine, and his name isn't Kevin Johnson. It's Michael Dawson, and he's a traitor. Edit
- Ben: I want you to compile a list of names... every person on your boat. When I call again, you'll give me that list. Then you will disable the radio room you're sitting in. When the crew is disoriented by their lack of communication, you'll take out the engines, too. That way, the boat can never get to this island, and your friends will be safe. Will you do that for me, Michael? Michael: Yeah. Ben: Then consider yourself one of the good guys. Edit
- Ben: There are people on your boat who are innocent. They have no idea that the man they work for is a monster, a killer without conscience or a greater purpose. I had to show you the difference between him and me. When I'm at war, I'll do what I need to do to win, but I will not kill innocent people. Michael: Ana Lucia and Libby... they were innocent. Ben: You killed them, Michael. No one asked you to. I don't blame you, Michael. We did have your boy. And what wouldn't a man do for his son? Edit
Allusions
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- The Great Escape Michael throwing on the ball against the wall references Hilts doing the same whilse in the cooler in this 1963 film. Edit
- The Hotel Earl, where Tom is staying, was also the name of the Hotel in the film Barton Fink , In the film, the hotel is like purgatory, a popular Lost theory is that the Island is purgatory. Edit
- Kurt Vonnegut, author of Slaughterhouse Five, is once again mentioned. This time as an answer on the game show Michael is watching on TV. Edit