If you're one of the many who were hooked by the first hour of Lost, the hour that grabbed you and wouldn't let go, but then drifted away after the meandering second season and the interminable hatch destroyed any good will the writers of the show had created, then it's time to come back. Season Three-B, the sixteen-week block of episodes currently airing, have finally recaptured the feel of that first season. The writers are delivering exactly what the fans have wanted, have missed, and have begged for. For the first time in a long time, I find myself on the edge of my seat. Lost is back, no doubt about it.
[Spoilers are inevitable, so read on at your own risk.]
Season One began with that shocking scene, from Jack's eye as he lies in the jungle to the devastation on the beach. We were introduced—quickly—to too many characters to absorb all at once, each with mysteries and secrets, and the island is a character of its own. The flashbacks filled in gaps while raising new questions, and we began to put together ideas, developing a sort of cosmology of how things worked on the island. At the same time, we decided to love certain characters, and not others. We rooted for one character and cursed another. Then came the numbers.
The numbers, the numbers, the numbers. The numbers themselves might not have been so bad, but the writers grew lazy. After setting up a fantastic ending to an outrageously good first season, they took the summer to bask in their well-deserved glory, and they fell apart. They rushed to introduce new characters, but nobody liked them, so they killed them off again. They used the numbers, and the hatch, as a crutch. What should have been a few episodes to keep up the pace turned into a full season, two or three times as long as needed. We delved more deeply into the familiar characters, as they kept saying, but we did so slowly. Slow enough that we realized threads were being dropped.
At the end of the first season, I had disagreements with people who swore to me that the writers made no mistakes, the every frame of the show had import, that artifacts of special effects on a low(-ish) budget were actually meaningful. By the end of the second season, nobody would make such a claim. We all knew by that point that there would always be unanswered questions, that the writers asked question for which they had no answers themselves.
Then came the destruction of the hatch—at last!—and a chance for a real change of pace. Real answers might finally come, and a real change of perspective. Six episodes, a mini-season, Season Three-A: meh.
Article comments
1 - Alex
Back? It's never been gone. The show is fine, it's certain impatient fans who want ALL THE ANSWERS NOW NOW NOW that are the problem. Smart shows make their brains (such as they are) hurt. They need to watch "King Of Queens" and have another joint.
2 - Phillip Winn
Alex, I hear you. I've never stopped watching, and never though it was quite as bad as people said. But Season Three has helped me to see the validity of the complaints. I guess I didn't see how bad it had gotten -- by degrees -- until it suddenly got a lot better!
In other words, it isn't just having or not having answers that was the problem -- the show slowed down, plain and simple.
3 - gordon
you know this episode was great. I thought i would hate it but it really kicked ass.
gordon
4 - Ty
"Now if only they could figure out how to bring Michael back, I might explode with excitement!"
You are f**king kidding, right?
Most LOST fans rejoiced when Michael was gone.
I am so done with:
"WAAAAALLLLLLLLLTTTTTTTT!"
and
"I NEED TO FIND MY SON."
Michael got annoying, fast.
5 - Phillip Winn
Harold Perrineau is a first-rate actor whose character had more passion than anyone else on the island, save possibly John Locke.
The Walt thing was strangely limiting, but Michael was a fantastic character.
6 - Kathy Scovill
The creep factor was way up on this weeks episode of Lost! Creepy seeing Nikki and Paulo traipsing around in scenes where they used to not be. I agree, it was done seamlessly and skillfully, but it crawled all over me like the Medusa spider. Wow!
7 - Andrew
I think that the Lost writers deserve a lot more credit than people are giving them. They have a big plan, and there are tons of hidden clues throughout earlier episodes that prove it. Sure, not everything is planned out, but they did say that whatever happens to Nikki and Paulo was meant to happen from their introduction.
I personally think that Lost has been great from the get go, and that it is just continuing that greatness. I know that not everyone agrees with this, but I'm just a little tired at the constant jabs and insults at the writers ("they don't know what they're doing", "they don't know where this is going" etc).
I agree with Alex, people are impatient and just want the answers now. Don't worry, we'll get them in due time. By the way, the writers said at the end of season 2 that the Michael leaving story wasn't just going to disappear - he will be back. It's all part of that great plan :)
8 - TV and Film Guy
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9 - lost fan
I agree! Lost is back. The latest episodes have been great. I feel like I am watching lost again, not just a crappy spin-off about the others.
10 - WicKeD!
Hey, i don´t know if they got better or whatever, but i certainly hope 4th season to be the last one or at least the writers should do something outstanding for me to watch the 5th one. I got a little bored on the 3rd season. Most of it was very predictble.
I like the show and i wish there was a 5th one, but make it good.
Lost lost me.
11 - jess
i luv lost! talk about pure class! CERT! LOST FANS HAV STYLE
lost is back ppl......