Eh, could have been better.

[Karri]

Not impressed with the ep? Tell us why.

[simulatedbear]

The Eh thread is the only thread I post in anymore, so I just wanted to get in here real quick and say for the record, before the inevitable begins:

Having Locke back is almost orgasmic.

//EDIT: And, to jump-start said inevitable, a big WTF goes out to the C&C Peanut Butter Factory, for needing Locke to bloodily stagger out onto the beach for it to occur to them and their sand flea infested friends that they should care about what happened at the hatch.

//EDIT 2: I kid you not, when 'LOST' clanged onto the screen, I noticed my mouth was hanging open. The last time that happened was with 'Numbers' I think. And then the promo came on:

Spoiler:

DO YOU LOVE HIM?!?! DO YOU LOVE HIM!?!?!?!?!?!

And I immediately felt embarassed. Because this was the exception that proves the rule. The writers have basically told us this is the soap opera season, right? Which, ipso facto, means it's the Jack/Kate/Sawyer season. And do you know what I realized tonight? What made tonight so awesome for me? Not a trace of Jack. Not a hint of Kate. And not an iota of Sawyer. Just Locke and Charlie, slipping back into their magical 'Moth' relationship. The Gunslinger and Eddie Dean.

Yes, there were more than a few times I said to myself, 'I'm just going to ignore this for right now and only focus on the positive, because for once I want to enjoy my show again.' Mostly little things. It would have been no problem for an intern-level continuity script supervisor. Like, why is Desmond referring to the Swan Station as 'the hatch' all of a sudden? The only people who call it 'the hatch' are Losties who spent so long wondering 'what's in the hatch?'. Desmond used the FRONT door, remember? There were more, as I recall, but I'm sure in the next 20 pages or so, my beloved 'Eh' brethren will cover the bases for me.

But for now, at the top of the thread, I feel that it is my responsibility to deliver a message to TPTB. It's why I started posting here in the first place: I was in distress and wanted to try to get things back on track in Season 2. And this is a perfect time for you, if you ever would, to hear my voice:

Tonight, for the most part, WORKED. It worked in a way the show hasn't worked for a long, long time. This is coming from someone who (I think, anyway), totally grokked the concept of Season 2: the metaphysical Pandora's Box that was not just the computer, but the characters, the human condition, and even the show itself. Great ideas. But it just didn't work. For myself, I lay most of the blame on the tail section arc, which spawned the infamous Michael Problem; other devoted viewers have their own reasoning. But tonight, and I think the 'Lage feedback alone will bear this out, worked brilliantly. The homage to the pilot's opening scene, Locke's spirit journey (heck, just the cleverness of getting some use out of that stupid 'church'), Boone's return, that amazing airport dream, the return of the polar bear (oh yes, it's the ISLAND that's dangerous, not just characters whose actors have shaky contracts), Charlie being Charlie again, a devastatingly meaningful flashback, and most of all Locke being back in full effect...just superb.

As I said, I didn't buy Desmond tonight (to him it's "The Swan", dammit...also didn't buy his failsafe explanation, not even for a dollar), I resented the lack of explanation for Charlie's bizarre non-plussed behaviour in the S2 finale, and there were a couple of other things (oh, and I especially don't like where the redhshirts who are clearly going to become the surrogate Kate and Sawyer are heading), but I just want it said that the show's critics are NOT just being snarky for snark's sake. In all of our cases, we care deeply about the show, because S1 was truly something special. And in my case, singular as it may be (but somehow I doubt it), tonight's show felt a little something of that original magic. Wherever your heads were while writing this episode, you should do your best to stay there from now on.

But for the love of all that is holy, please hire someone who's job it is to read the scripts and highlight all the parts that violate simple common sense. You're making art, yes, but it happens to be in the medium of serial narrative fiction. After 2 full seasons, you need to understand that your audience does, in fact, remember what happens from week to week.

[ortiz34]

i enjoyed the ep, but there just wasnt a whole lot of MEAT in it.
With lost it takes 20 minutes to get anywhere in the show, and at that point, the show is half over...

[bobcagen]

My wife and I have been watching LOST since the beginning. My wife looked at me about half way through and said she would much rather be watching Americas Next Top Model. Now I would have heard her the first time she said this had I not fallen asleep from this snooze-fest

Does that sum it up nice?

Good day

[GettinLost]

It was great to see the other Losties!! Hey great to see the Polar Bear again!

This episode reminded me of the miiddle episodes of StarWars and LOTR - set up episodes for the next episodes. Had a hard time getting into it, but knew it was necessary for what is to come...

[Tachyon]

i was watching with a bunch of friends and i was so embarrassed b/c i'm the "lost obsessor" person and i got them all to watch it (some of which started watching with the 3rd season premier). i know i'll probably end up liking this, but my first impression is that this was a horrible episode. it was way too... out there without explaining itself. i feel like it took a giant leap into gruesome, supernatural, and random for this episode. i'm legit embarrassed.

once i get over my socially-anxious self, i hope there are "clues" and "hints" or connections or other LOST subtle/hidden things so it won't be a total disappointment in the future.

[EricGunn]

I always have the same beefs....2 many commercials, and 1 hour is not enough meat.

[colin72]

I could almost hear the ratings drop during this ep as people switched over to Criminal Minds.

Lost is starting the season with 6 episodes until a break. We've seen 3 of those episodes. Is this the best they could do? This is the the midway point of a 6 episode arc? Very disappointing. Looks like TPTB are working hard to earn another Emmy snub.

So in the season 2 finale Charlie doesn't care about what happened to Locke but a day later he's risking his life helping him? And no one went to check out the hatch and the explosion? Charlie told no one what happened? Locke never asks why Charlie didn't get help and go back for them? I guess we're sweeping all that under the big Lost rug. Oh and two redshirts stepped out of the background and were given lines. Great. Does that mean we're going to have to deal with these (coincidentally) beautiful people now?

Locke is temporarily mute? Huh?

Has Hurley never seen a penis before!? Didn't he shower with the other guys in gym class?

A Polar Bear dragged a 210+ lb man how far into that cave?

Ah yes, another pointless, time-filler flashback! So Locke and some cult were growing the sticky icky? Why should I care? Why is time being wasted on this? Oh yeah, it's just to drag things out and avoid advancing any of the dozens of plotlines.

So what was the point of this ep? That Desmond somehow knew about Locke's speech? Are we supposed to obsess over that now or will it be dropped and never mentioned again?

Once again TPTB managed to take 10 minutes of story and stretch it into a 40+ mintue episode. Bravo!

[Vertical]

I can say, without hesitation, that this episode was one of the worst I've seen. I watched with my neighbors who are usually enthusiastically optimistic about every episode, and I've honestly never heard them say a word about it other than that they loved every episode, but tonight, we looked at one another and all agreed - tonight sucked. Badly.

The problems were numerous. Firstly, way too much 'walking across the island' without anything happening but exposition, and ridiculous exposition with absurd reactions. Hey, Locke, everyone else was captured by 'Others'! Yes, Hurley actually saw them! What do we get out of Locke? "That's nice, Hugo, but I have to go find Eko". No reaction! Well, there was a pause when Locke learns that Ben is their leader, but that's it.

I almost laughed when Locke showed back up and no one even batted an eye. Holy crap, no continuity! It's as if these people are suffering from the disease where you can't store any short-term memory. Hello, the freakin' hatch blew up and you haven't seen Locke since. He shows up, and ... nothing? No one cares?

And I'm sorry, but that hallucination was about the sorriest excuse for Deus Ex Machina we've seen yet. Previously, it came in the form of an unsolicited dream or vision, but no no, apparently now the mysterious psychic powers of the island can be simply called upon at will! On demand! Locke needs supernatural guidance? No problemo, just build a sweat hut, mix up some peyote, and wait for the magic island to provide instructions... and sure enough, it does. Now that the precedent is set, there's no reason for Locke to wonder about anything anymore. He can just conjure up a session with the island spirits and learn anything he desires. Wow, wow, wow, just awful. Terrible. Almost a shark-jumping moment, IMO.

And why are we back to polar bears now? The threats from season 1? They're insignificant now. They've got an entire cache of high-powered weaponry which could down a polar bear in minutes (although Locke conveniently disregards that fact and opts for the hunting knife), Polar bears are not a problem anymore. Yet here we are, back at square one.

But I know why the writers did it. They were attempting to do what Locke was having to do - clean up their mess. They totally screwed season 2 up and completely assassinated Locke's character, so they had to give him a 'rebirth' (reborn after exiting the sweat hut, reborn after exiting the bear cave... ho hum). They had to return him to the way he was before. I would have preferred they just have a little voice-over: "We apologize for the absurdity that was Season 2, and for the joke we turned Locke into. Can we please just pretend like it never happened, and just return Locke's character to the way he was at the end of Season 1? Sorry about that!" That's all this episode was - getting Locke back into form. It was a waste of an episode that only happened because they screwed things up so badly. They spend a whole episode undoing their mess.

Also of note, but of no surprise, Hurley apparently returned to camp and told no one about what happened to Jack and co.! HA! It's almost comical now how stupid it is getting!

The only interesting moment in the entire show came in the brief moments that hinted at Desmond somehow having a premonition (or prior knowledge) of Locke's 'speech'. But you know what? It's only cool if they ever explain it. I'd bet my last dollar that they will never explain how Desmond could have known that. Never.

And, for the first time ever on Lost

Spoiler:

(and this is monumental): Next week's episode looks horrible! Usually my gripe is that no matter how bad an episode is, it looked great in the preview, and every preview always looks great. Not this time. "Do you love him?" WTF?? Who are these others, matchmakers?

WTF do they care? Insanely stupid. INSANE. I was furious at the preview. The show honestly may have just jumped the shark for me.

Awful. Awful, awful, awful.

Could potentially be worse than 'Born to Run' or 'Whatever the Case May Be'. Definitely on par with (or below) 'Fire + Water'.

[solonicl]

They almost lost me in the first few minutes when Locke is dragging out a scene miming to Charlie instead of WRITING THE WORDS IN THE SAND WITH HIS STICK. Have to say, it was a welcome relief to see no Kate and no Jack this epi.