Lost

[Jay 37,519]

This recap is far less annoying than the old clip shows. I kinda like it. Its well put together, and good use of Giacchino's character themes when they talk about each character

[Wojo 2,453]

I will patiently wait for this show to run its course, then sit back and watch the shows via Netflix. This show lost it for me years ago when people started wandering the island freely without fear of black smoke or the polar bear.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

This recap is far less annoying than the old clip shows. I kinda like it. Its well put together, and good use of Giacchino's character themes when they talk about each character

You an hour behind me? I'm watching the premiere right now!!!

[John Crichton 4]

I will patiently wait for this show to run its course, then sit back and watch the shows via Netflix. This show lost it for me years ago when people started wandering the island freely without fear of black smoke or the polar bear.

I haven't really watched it closely since I borrowed the season 1 DVDs a few years ago. I'll go back and watch it all after it's over too.

John- currently listening to the Galactica 4.11/13 podcast

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I haven't really watched it closely since I borrowed the season 1 DVDs a few years ago. I'll go back and watch it all after it's over too.

When the series is over, or the current season? You've missed a lot since Season 1

[King Mark 3,631]

I will patiently wait for this show to run its course, then sit back and watch the shows via Netflix. This show lost it for me years ago when people started wandering the island freely without fear of black smoke or the polar bear.

I haven't really watched it closely since I borrowed the season 1 DVDs a few years ago. I'll go back and watch it all after it's over too.

That's like beeing in 2003 and saying your going to read Harry Potter in 2010 when the books and movies are all finished. It's happening now man!

[ashinyobject 0]

Tonight's episodes were incredible!

[Datameister 2,096]

Bear in mind, John, that all episodes of Lost can be viewed freely, legally, and in incredible quality (if your connection is good) on ABC's site. =D

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Intriguing and entertaining as they were, they lacked a lot of sensible direction and a coherent plot. The stories were all over the place, there was no linear direction that each episode took. They were huge messes that made no sense.

Previously, the flashbacks and flashforwards kept the stories on and off the island in check, and organized. Without them, it seems like they didn't know what parts to show first or where to go with all the different plots.

[Jay 37,519]

This recap is far less annoying than the old clip shows. I kinda like it. Its well put together, and good use of Giacchino's character themes when they talk about each character

You an hour behind me? I'm watching the premiere right now!!!

I dislike commercials, so I watched the clip show from 845-930 and the 2 new episodes from 930-11.

Intriguing and entertaining as they were, they lacked a lot of sensible direction and a coherent plot. The stories were all over the place, there was no linear direction that each episode took. They were huge messes that made no sense.

Previously, the flashbacks and flashforwards kept the stories on and off the island in check, and organized. Without them, it seems like they didn't know what parts to show first or where to go with all the different plots.

Oh man, I completely disagree! I love that they've ditched the flashback/forward structure and are now just telling the 2007 mainland storyline and the 2005 island storyline concurrently. I had no trouble following the story at any point, and quite enjoyed it the whole time and can't wait to see what happens next week!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I am glad they are moving on without any kind of flashes as well. It allows them to focus on the big things happening. I didn't have trouble following, it just felt severely disorganized to me. Perhaps because these two episodes tackled A LOT of things. Also considering that they were never meant to be shown together, separately they are even more messy.

You had the Kate-Aaron subplot. You had the Sun-Whidmore subplot. You had the Desmond-Penny subplot. You had the Hurley-Sayid subplot. You had the Jack-Ben subplot. You had the Locke subplot. Then you had the remaining survivors subplot. Too many unrelated things happening at the same time. Then you had the random bookends, the construction of The Orchid, and whatever the hell happened at the end.

[Jay 37,519]

Nah, it wasn't "too many unrelated things", it was a show telling us stories about all the major characters. It would be annoying to watch 2 episodes and have them completely skip over some characters and keep us waiting for next week to know what happened to them.

Speaking of next week's episode, maybe you'll like it more because

it completely focuses on the island storyline. The O6 and Ben don't appear at all

(minor spoiler about which characters will be in next week's episode)

[King Mark 3,631]

who was actress playing that woman in the cloak at the end .I've seen her somwhere

[Koray Savas 2,251]

She was the woman that could see the future and told Desmond that he had to go to the island and push the button. Her picture was on the desk of Desmond's monk priest person at that place as well.

[Jay 37,519]

Yea dude that was Ms Hawking

[Koray Savas 2,251]

One thing I really didn't expect was the constant moving of the island in time. I thought it only happened once. My theory could be correct though. I formulated this after seeing a clip that showed the Nigerian plane crashing near Locke:

The island was originally in the Atlantic Ocean. I always thought "How the hell did a Nigerian plane end up in the Pacific?" Well it was flying from Nigeria to the States, and crashed onto the island along the way. Further proof is the Black Rock. Slave ship from Africa going to the States or the Caribbean or wherever, and ended up on the island.

This would of course mean that the island moved recently to the Pacific.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Wow, what a night! I can see what Koray means about the plot being all over the place, but I see that as a sort of necessity to get us into the season. Now that we've firmly established what's going on with everyone, I imagine that they'll begin to focus more on individual storylines (as evidenced by Jason's revelation about next week).

I thought the opening of the first episode was awesome.....I love a good "who the hell is this" opening scene, and realizing it was Dr. Chang/Candle/Wickmund/Halliwax was a real shock. The second episode also had some nice character moments, like between Kate and Sun, and Hurley and his mom. There's really a lot to take in, so it's kinda hard to think of anything coherent to say....can't wait for next week, though.

[Datameister 2,096]

Wow...what a great way to start the season! I really, really enjoyed both episodes. Koray, I totally get where you're coming from...but it didn't bother me. It's indeed nice how some of the older episodes would have more clearly defined story arcs, and a little more focus...but I enjoy this sort of scramble of information, too. Definitely kept me on my toes. I suspect the episodes will become a little more focused over the course of the season, but I could be ENTIRELY off on that, and I won't lose any sleep if I am. I'm just so glad I was optimistic about this season...I have not been disappointed in the slightest.

(Also, I want to thank everyone for being respectful so far with spoiler tags. I, for one, do NOT like reading spoilers, so I really appreciate y'all taking the time to conceal any information about future episodes. )

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

Only wievers within the United States can watch these full-lenght episodes on ABC's site.

Too bad , I just can't wait . LOST is awesome!

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Well, we're really down the rabbit hole now, aren't we?

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Oh yeah, and it was cool to see Ana Lucia again. And her "message" from Libby to Hurley...*tear*

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I heard last nights episode was a MESS.

They tried too hard to do too much and only partially succeeded.

[Jay 37,519]

How about Ben's non-response when Jack said "Locke's really dead right?" (or whatever it was). THAT was interesting

So.... is Ms Hawkings Farraday's mom?

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Yeah, it doesn't surprise me that Locke may not really be dead. I mean, c'mon...it's LOCKE. It was interesting to see that Ben has contacts in the "real world" who know about the island and all that (like the meat lady). And whether or not she's Faraday's mother, Ms. Hawking just got a lot more intriguing. I wasn't sure if she herself was giving Ben the 70 hours, or just relaying the message so to speak. Her whole cloak/chalkboard/computer/map/pendulum setup was pretty sweet.

[Datameister 2,096]

Locke really is dead, if you ask me. The producers have said outright that when someone on the show is dead, they really are dead dead. (Of course, there are cases like Makhail and Keamy where they seem to be dead but then come back with a vengeance...but none of those involve a live person lying in a casket for hours or days on end.) However, let us note that two dead bodies to date have arrived at the Island, mysteriously disappeared from their resting places, and proceeded to start appearing to people on (and off!) the Island. I'm talking, of course, about Yemi and Christian, the latter of whom even seems to be taking a rather important role, as of the end of last season. So perhaps that's the sort of effect Ben wants, and in order for that to happen, Locke's body needs to make it back to the Island. Just a theory.

[Morlock 11]

Finished the second one now, rather unenthusiastically. Meh. Did not recapture the excitement of season 3 (that season 4 had only sparingly). More than ever, it seems like they're making this up as they go. Although I do like how Vonnegut's concept of becoming unstuck in time is becoming the major theme of the show. Both openings and both cliffhangers struck me as quite tired.

I'm certainly gonna keep watching, but it's lost it's pizzazz. It can't possibly be worse than season 2.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

However, let us note that two dead bodies to date have arrived at the Island, mysteriously disappeared from their resting places, and proceeded to start appearing to people on (and off!) the Island. I'm talking, of course, about Yemi and Christian, the latter of whom even seems to be taking a rather important role, as of the end of last season. So perhaps that's the sort of effect Ben wants, and in order for that to happen, Locke's body needs to make it back to the Island. Just a theory.

True. The producers have said that Yemi and Christian, along with Kate's horse, are the only characters to fall into the "undead" category (as in, neither alive nor dead). Perhaps Locke will join them?

[Datameister 2,096]

True. The producers have said that Yemi and Christian, along with Kate's horse, are the only characters to fall into the "undead" category (as in, neither alive nor dead). Perhaps Locke will join them?

That's what I'm thinking. I mean, obviously they're not truly gonna kill him off altogether for the last season or whenever it is...Terry is too great an actor playing too great a role. He's well-loved by fans, and he hasn't had any drunk driving incidents that I'm aware of... They've got to bring him back somehow.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

More than ever, it seems like they're making this up as they go.

Morlock, they have had this whole show pretty much planned out from the first episode.

Could Locke be temporarily paralyzed by a medusa spider? Perhaps that is foreshadowed with the Expose episode...

[Red 75]

Well, we're really down the rabbit hole now, aren't we?

It was a pretty convoluted and crazy episode, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I just hope everything is worked out before it gets too mind-boggling.

It's 'interesting' to point out that at the beginning of the show the creators said that time travel was not an element of the mythology, but now it has become its' biggest staple.

[Morlock 11]

More than ever, it seems like they're making this up as they go.

Morlock, they have had this whole show pretty much planned out from the first episode.

If that's the case...then how come the show's narrative only seriously kicked into gear in the middle of the third season, after Lindeloff and Cruse set the date for the finale? In broad strokes, perhaps it was vaguely planned (I doubt from season 1, though. And I'm less convinced when I think of the meandering of season 2). But they are definitely throwing a lot in the pot, seemingly hoping to see what makes the best soup. L&C have been less and less enigmatic and more and more belittling of the questions people have raised to them.

I'll keep on watching the show, but my confidence in it's makers has been deeply shaken over the past year or so.

[QMM 4]

The Lost writers had no idea that the show would end until halfway into the 3rd season.

I've kept watching because of Giacchino, and because they made a genius move of hiring Brian K Vaughn during the 3rd season to write for the show, giving me my favorite Jin moment of telling ghost stories to Hurley.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

More than ever, it seems like they're making this up as they go.

Morlock, they have had this whole show pretty much planned out from the first episode.

If that's the case...then how come the show's narrative only seriously kicked into gear in the middle of the third season, after Lindeloff and Cruse set the date for the finale? In broad strokes, perhaps it was vaguely planned (I doubt from season 1, though. And I'm less convinced when I think of the meandering of season 2). But they are definitely throwing a lot in the pot, seemingly hoping to see what makes the best soup. L&C have been less and less enigmatic and more and more belittling of the questions people have raised to them.

I'll keep on watching the show, but my confidence in it's makers has been deeply shaken over the past year or so.

In one of their past podcasts, they compare it to a road trip; they knew from the beginning where they were going to start and (roughly) where they wanted to end up, but not exactly how they'd get there along the way. I think QMM's point about the show's end date finally being set is a significant one; it allowed them to stop drawing things out and coming up with less interesting storylines to take up an undefinite amount of time, and begin to head toward a known conclusion. This excerpt from a recent interview with Damon and Carlton basically says as much (the episode they're referring to is "Stranger in a Strange Land," which they say is universally considered the worst episode they ever produced):

We can't go back and apologize for the creative mistakes that we made, because we had to make them. If that episode hadn't been made, we weren't able to get a notes call that said, "We don't like this episode," and where we could then say, "We don't like it, either, but it's the best we can do if we're not moving the story forward. And we're now at a point, guys, where we can't move the story forward." And they asked, "Well, what would you do if we allowed you an end date?" And we said, "Give us an end date, and we'll tell you what we'll do." And the conversations then reached a new pitch.

The whole article is here. Makes for an interesting read.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

In one of their past podcasts, they compare it to a road trip; they knew from the beginning where they were going to start and (roughly) where they wanted to end up, but not exactly how they'd get there along the way.

Yeah that's what I meant. It seems they had all the major events and characters planned out from the start. If my theory about the island originally being in the Atlantic ends up being true, then that goes to show how long it's been planned out.

I mean, the shoe we see in the first minute of the Pilot has relevance to the whole scheme of things. Did they just put that shoe there and randomly thought 3 seasons later to connect it to something?

[Docteur Qui 1,544]

I don't believe they've planned that much from the start - they had no idea what was in the hatch until they started writing season 2. Abrams admitted that.

I just think they're exceptionally skilled writers who have just made it seem like they've planned everything.

[Datameister 2,096]

I think there's a certain amount of planning that's happened since the beginning. But it must have been VERY high-level concept stuff. As in: "These people crash on an island and run up against some unusual obstacles. Then some of them make it back home, only to realize that they need to go back. They go back. Then something crazier than usual happens. The end."

But I don't doubt that they've got it all pretty well planned out now. They say they got it all figured out overall when they decided how much longer the show would go, and I believe them. They're quite obviously working towards specific goals with the plots, and even though it can be confusing and seemingly out-of-the-blue at the time, I think we're going to look back on most of the last three seasons as very purposefully crafted with the end game in mind. (Although I still think season 4 will be the worst of them all - for which I'm grateful, because I still enjoyed season 4 a fair amount.)

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I'm not sure about Locke being definitively dead either. Not even so much because of Ben's non-answer, but more because of Richard's adamant yet quite matter-of-fact "you're going to have to die, John."

I do think the showing-people-without-revealing-them-right-away schtick is getting a little tired. They did it four times, three of which in a single episode (Frank, the butcher and Ms Dawkins). Hrumph.

[Datameister 2,096]

Yeah, that particular schtick can be a lot of fun, but like all great things, it needs to be used in moderation. It worked brilliantly with Dr. Chang, and I suppose the last one with Ms. Hawking was fine, but the other two were unnecessary (albeit mercifully brief).

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

For a moment, I actually thought the season opened with Ben.

[Morlock 11]

I'm not sure about Locke being definitively dead either. Not even so much because of Ben's non-answer, but more because of Richard's adamant yet quite matter-of-fact "you're going to have to die, John."

I do think the showing-people-without-revealing-them-right-away schtick is getting a little tired. They did it four times, three of which in a single episode (Frank, the butcher and Ms Dawkins). Hrumph.

I agree with both parts.

[crocodile 8,066]

I enjoyed both episodes. The more convoluted and ridiculous it is, the more fun I will have watching it. It's the kind of show that best works that way. It was better than anything in S4. It is actually moving forward.

Karol - whose favourite season is the third.

[Marian Schedenig 8,253]

I didn't even remember Fionnula Flanagan was on the show. Yay!

I do think the showing-people-without-revealing-them-right-away schtick is getting a little tired. They did it four times, three of which in a single episode (Frank, the butcher and Ms Dawkins). Hrumph.

Agreed.

[Datameister 2,096]

Same here, Mr. Breathmask and crocodile.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I'm not sure about Locke being definitively dead either. Not even so much because of Ben's non-answer, but more because of Richard's adamant yet quite matter-of-fact "you're going to have to die, John."

I don't think anyone read my earlier comment about it. They included Exposé in one of the episodes, I can't remember which. It could be very possible John had himself paralyzed by a Medusa spider.

For a moment, I actually thought the season opened with Ben.

Same.

[Datameister 2,096]

I don't think anyone read my earlier comment about it. They included Exposé in one of the episodes, I can't remember which. It could be very possible John had himself paralyzed by a Medusa spider.

I read that comment, but I forgot to reply to it. It's certainly possible, yes, but the thing is, Nikki and Paulo seemed to start recovering from the paralysis after...what, a few hours? Locke has been "dead" for several days. And being paralyzed won't make an autopsy possible - he'd still bleed (and feel pain!) if the medical examiner tried to cut him open, immediately making it obvious that he was still alive. Of course, it's possible he didn't have an autopsy. But still.

Speaking of Locke...anyone think his throat looks weird in this shot?

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

If Locke's "death" ends up being related to the Medusa spider, it'll actually give "Exposé" some worth!

Speaking of Locke...anyone think his throat looks weird in this shot?

Yeah, that does look odd. Almost like some weird kind of face mask.

[Datameister 2,096]

Or a cosmetically concealed slit throat.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

That's probably more likely. I imagine we'll find out in Episode 6!

[BLUMENKOHL 1,070]

Great two episodes.

Not convoluted at all....I don't where that's coming from. There's a lot going, yes, but it's all interrelated and very cohesively put together. It's also a lot of necessary set up.

[Red 75]

However, let us note that two dead bodies to date have arrived at the Island, mysteriously disappeared from their resting places, and proceeded to start appearing to people on (and off!) the Island. I'm talking, of course, about Yemi and Christian, the latter of whom even seems to be taking a rather important role, as of the end of last season. So perhaps that's the sort of effect Ben wants, and in order for that to happen, Locke's body needs to make it back to the Island. Just a theory.

True. The producers have said that Yemi and Christian, along with Kate's horse, are the only characters to fall into the "undead" category (as in, neither alive nor dead). Perhaps Locke will join them?

If that happens it would give quite a bit of credibility to the Locke is Jacob theory.

Speaking of which, what the heck happened to Claire?