Lost: Meet Kevin Johnson

"Meet Kevin Johnson" is the 80th television episode of the American Broadcasting Company's (ABC's) Lost and the eighth episode of the fourth season. It was written in October and November 2007 by supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff and co-producer Brian K. Vaughan, and directed in November by co-executive producer Stephen Williams. "Meet Kevin Johnson" first aired March 20, 2008, on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada. In the second season finale, after 67 days of being stranded on a mysterious and mystical tropical island, Oceanic Airlines 815 crash survivor Michael Dawson (played by Harold Perrineau) successfully negotiates his escape via motorboat with the island's dangerous original inhabitants, whom the survivors refer to as the "Others". One month later in the episode before "Meet Kevin Johnson", Michael reappears on a freighter offshore of the island, undercover with the alias "Kevin Johnson". Most of the narrative of "Meet Kevin Johnson" consists of a continuous flashback—the third longest in the show's history after "Across the Sea" and "The Other 48 Days"—showing what happened to Michael in the month that he spent away in New York and on the freighter, primarily his recruitment aboard the freighter Kahana as a spy for the Others. The writers completed "Meet Kevin Johnson", the eighth of 16 ordered scripts, on the same day that the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike action began. Post-production finished weeks later without input from the show's writers. ABC pledged to air the completed eight episodes regardless of the strike's resolution, but the writers felt that the episode's cliffhanger was unsuitable as a potential season finale. ABC ultimately overruled their opposition. "Meet Kevin Johnson" was watched by 13 million Americans and was met with mixed reactions. A major discussion point was the episode's climax, which was criticized for its placement in the story and its focus on secondary characters. Although critics responded well to Michael's emotional journey, they complained that his physical journey seemed to conflict with Lost's timeline that had been laid out in previous episodes. The episode was honored with the fourth season's sole Primetime Emmy Award for its achievement in sound mixing.