I'll break this episode down much like I do any other - into three parts. The first being the first eight minutes of the island storyline, then Michaels backstory, followed by the ending island scenes and the cliffhanger we will be hanging on for 5 weeks as we wait for Lost season four to start back up again.

Once again - an episode in season four draws a low rating the night I watch it (9.2) but scores higher once I rewatch it. Going over the first part of the episode (setting up Micheals story, I thought was very well done. Loved the first scene with the team metting at Lockes residence with Ben coming clean to everyone about Michael. Good reaction from Sawyer - but no one else was really there to get upset about it. Would have liked to see hurley say a little something "No. No. No Way, No!" Something along those lines but changed a bit from the last time he said it. Overall though - great scene where Claire asks if Ben is now "One of Us", which is a very godo question at the moment. Switch over to Captain Gault anihilating someone trying to leave the ship. I think that actor is fantastic. He has a way about him that when he starts to yell it doesn't sound like hes going out of character. He has a very good leadership quality to him which makes him very believable when hes shouting out orders. Great production pick up there. Then Sayid "goes all Sayid" on Michael and we begin the flashback. Overall - solid 10/10 for the opening 8 minutes.

Flashback - Things I liked and didn't like. Didn't like that he was just "home" out of nowhere. Really needed to see him return in some way, shape, or form. I can understand the giant Walt argument, but give us a little indication of the island. Where did Michael sail into? He just sailed up to a port and went back to New York? How he got back home needed to be there and it wasn't. Scene with Michael trying to kill himself - amazing. Great music choice to be playing in the background with "Its getting better every day" - really liked it. So other then no rescue being shown the first 12 minutes had this episode still at a 10/10. Then it gets bumpy. Four minute scene with his mother came off as informative, but very boring. Didnt care for the mother playing his actress and the entire scene came off as a bit meh. He leaves there to buy and gun and meets Tom in alley. Back to amazing. Great choice of Tom and Michael to talk. Loved the fact Toms character is in fact gay in this episode, which was alluded to a long time ago but still...good to see them get back to it. Michael + Boat (around 28 minutes in) is where it got really meh. Didn't care for the trick with the bomb, though it set up a later scene really well. Sometimes I feel the writers draw out certain scenes. Why two-three minutes of Michael just trying to kill himself. I understand the hesitation, but why not push execute and have the flag come out right away? Why wait 15-20 seconds? The suspense isn't there no matter how hard you try to make the music seem like it is. Cutting out seconds like these could make for more packed and better paced episodes. MIchael talking with Keamy was cool, but came across as kind of a long, drawn out scene. Boat scene picked up again with Michael and Ben. Emerson just makes every actor better - loved that conversation. Flashback - overall solid, boring at some points though. At this point we are 36 minutes into the episode and I say I enjoyed about 26-28 minutes of the episode to this point.

Not too much left other then just two scenes now. Sayid becoming a G and turning Michael in was cool - but I did wonder the quick decision made by Sayid.I understand the Ben Linus hatred of Sayid, but with Micheals story I thought Desmond would have been like "Hey - Widemore is a bad dude" too. Quick decision, but it paid off. Loved Andrews acting there. Cliffhanger - Mira Furlan can't act. I'm sorry. Shes so plain, nothing exciting about her. She delievers her lines in the same way everytime. Karl and Danielle are shot by unknown people is a good cliffhanger - but the "emotion" and the dialouge weren't in that scene.

Overal, solid episode. Highest expectations so far and it did dissapoint on that level. However, solid 9.4 and in the better half of the season so far I think.

SEASON FOUR RATINGS

1. The Constant (10+)

2. The Beginning of the End (9.7)

3. The Economist (9.6)

4. Meet Kevin Johnson (9.4)

5. Confirmed Dead (9.4)

6. Eggtown (9.2)

7. The Other Woman (9.1)

8. Ji Yeon (8.7)

SEASON FOUR AVERAGE - 9.3875