Written by Jill SolowayDirected by Alan Ball
There were a lot of season finales in the 2002-2003 TV seasons that left me stunned and most of them weren't very mainstream. We had "Chosen", the last ever episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which Sunnydale had become a crater. In the Angel ender, "Home", the LA scoobies decided that after four years of fighting Wolfram & Hart, they would instead run the newly refurbished evil law firm, while on Alias' "The Telling" we had a bloody showdown between Sydney and Allison, with the former waking up two years later with no memory of what happened to her.
So could "I'm Sorry, I'm Lost" compete in my books? God yes and while "Twilight" still remains the best episode of the traumatic third season, this is still a very close contender.
Nate's downward spiral, which has been so compelling and heartbreaking to watch, is really put through the ringer as Peter Krause pulls in a defiant performance as his character goes through hell. We have him being a complete asshole towards his refusal to accept Ruth and George's marriage and his attack on both of them in separate sequences is upsetting to watch. But that's almost a lull his continuous screwing around and getting into a fight with that guy at the bar.
But all these actions are stemming from the fact that we find out that Lisa is now officially dead. At this point it was fairly obvious of that as we do get a clue along the way. Despite the fact that Nate is seen as a bloke's bloke, the writers sure do love to get Peter Krause crying and he gets plenty of that here. Also having Nate SR and Lisa appear when Nate is driving recklessly and goading into contemplating suicide is a creepy touch. Makes you wonder if we'll be seeing Dead Lisa in Season Four?
Nate's not the only person visited by Dead Dad as after an encounter with him, David decides to give his relationship with Keith another try, following a beautiful reconciliation for the pair at church, brilliantly played by Michael C. Hall and Matthew St Patrick.
Also having David tell Keith about sleeping with Patrick was a smart move as both of them can now really try and move on and repair their relationship and it's about time we saw these two happy without any secrets holding them back. It took all season, but they're finally getting there.
Claire also gets a visit from her dead father. Cue a rather fabulous looking trip to the afterlife, which appears to be a never-ending carnival where she meets up with Lisa (this being the clue of latter's death) and seeing Claire's son as a three month baby instead of a fetus was definitely the wiser move.
This also goes to prove that having an abortion for Claire wasn't an easy choice and I say that Claire will eventually tell someone in her family about having an abortion (hopefully Ruth) and maybe we'll see her keeping her promise to Lisa about looking out for Maya. Then there's her reunion with Gabe, which begs the question - is he dead? God, I really kinda hope so, especially as he seemed so improved here. Note his compassion and love for Anthony. Besides, last thing we need next season is for him to show as the shithead he's been in the past.
Before I get onto the joy factor of the episode, there is Federico's little indiscretion with a stripper in his car, following Angelica's successful campaign to have him and Vanessa on clearly opposing paths.
The devout family man sadly slips and you can't help but wonder what if this Infinity/Sophia chick happens to be connected to Angelica in some way. Plot wise, it would be a delicious twist and a brilliant additional to the tension between Federico and Vanessa. And who better to bring it to the fore than Angelica?
With all the heartbreak in this season, we finally have some joy at the expense of Ruth and George's rather discreet wedding and while it may not demand the most attention of the finale, it still manages to hold it\'s own nevertheless. And I’m sure there's gonna be some delightful ramifications for Nate being a no-show at the wedding.
And as for Brenda, it appears that she has an admirer in French horn playing Joe (played by Mullholland Drive's Justin Theroux), who interestingly doesn't believe in dating. But he's still an intriguing number and with him set to appear next season, the likelihood of Brenda remaining celibate is increasingly waning just that little bit more.
Also, having Nate show up at her door at the episode's end after the way he's treated her in the previous two episodes was ironic. It was obvious that she wouldn't turn him away, although if she had I may not have blamed her and it just proves how compassionate she's becoming.
Also in "I'm Sorry, I'm Lost"
The death of the week in this episode, Anahid Hovanessian who got hit with blue ice was once again kinda of a non event, only for Nate's abusive behaviour for the deceased's husband, who seemed like a pain in the ass.
George: "Nate, I love your mother and she loves me."
Nate: "Yeah, it's just so fucking moving I can hardly stand it."
The wannabe actor in the opening scenes was funny. Fuck you, Motherfucker indeed.
Claire: "Your whole relationship thing fell apart too, right?"
David: “I wouldn't say that ... yeah."
Brenda: “I’m not gonna have sex with you."
Joe: “Okay."
Wonder if Joe is a sex addict himself? I could buy into that, because at some point Brenda is going to have to start sleeping with men again.
Nathaniel (re George):"Well that man's alive and I’m dead. I think that means he wins."
Keith (to David):"Why is that funny? Don't you know I think you're beautiful and kind and smart and loving? You didn't know that?"
The afterlife sequences were rather colourful - Lisa was glowing in a similar way to "Tears, Bones And Desire" and even Gabe looked like colour/life was injected into him. Plus him and Claire said their "I love yous", which was rather sweet.
Nathaniel: “So how's life?"
Claire: “How’s death?"
Nathaniel: “It’s good, good. Made some new friends. Joined the chess team."
Sophia: “What are you crazy? I'm not a prostitute."
Federico: "Oh I’m sorry."
Chronology, it's July 20th 2003. Six weeks after "Twilight".
Joe: "Daring’s stupid."
Brenda: "But this is a date? Isn't it, kinda?"
Standout music: Ditto on the score but there was Princess Superstar "Wet, Wet, Wet" during Rico's strip club visit as well as the two Hank Williams tracks that featured.
Lisa (to Nate):"Go ahead honey, it's the least you can do for me. You fantasised about me being dead and now you got what you wanted."
Title Card: "Lisa Kimmel Fisher: 1967-2003". Even though you and Nate were totally incompatible and deep down we knew you weren't meant for the long haul, we will still miss you at times. R.I.P.
Despite all the emotional and heart wrenching themes of the season, the "lost" have finally seemed to have found themselves and the raw emotion in "I'm Sorry, I'm Lost" isn't forced upon viewers. June 13th 2004, in which Season Four is set to debut on HBO, cannot arrive soon enough. Now hurry up with those DVD's.
Rating: 10 out of 10.
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