With this episode combined with the Naomi flashback last week, I'm not sure I entirely like this new direction toward some sort of spy show. I liked the bit about Faraday finding a time discrepancy related to the island in his experiment, but it seems like "the island", it's past, it's purpose, what brought THIS group to it, Claire's psychic baby and Jack's ghost-dad, Walt's abilities, the "healing power"...all of that might be becoming secondary down the line to a simple "secret organization #1 vs. secret organization #2" ALIAS type of thing with the island and its power as nothing more than the ambiguously defined stakes in the combat.

It's not that it's not being done well, it's just that the themes that defined the first two seasons are becoming ancillary material now, coincidental to the "real story." and I'm afraid that many of the mysteries of the first couple of seasons have taken a backseat and now may never be answered.

I'm afraid that many of the mysteries of the first couple of seasons have taken a backseat and now may never be answered.

Just count to five and the fear will go away.

And you can bet your sweet patootie that there will be many questions unanswered when its all said and done.

I don't like that The Others have completely disappeared after getting several of their own blown up, Ben captured, and Alex+Karl defections.

Mikhail could whack the freightie 4 by himself.

I don't like that The Others have completely disappeared

I have to say that while I do love the amped-up action and new direction (which I'm sure was actually the INTENDED pace and direction all along) the show has taken, I am worried about how they are going to stay faithful to some of the elements introduced in the past 2 seasons.

I actually doubt anyone wanted to spend an entire season with the Others, but Michael Emerson's mad skillz, combined with the writers' not knowing about the end-date meant meandering, first in the Hatch, and then in the barracks. Now, after a whole season, people are going to feel a little jipped if we just never see them again. Nestor Carbonell has a pilot... and he is now the Others' leader. The rest of the Others are basically Red Shirts (remember Diana Scarwid's sherriff character? Remember Hydra? Will we ever see either of them again? Doubtful....).

So conveniently, the Others go off to the ruins or temple or whatever, the Losties move into their abandoned houses, and...? What? I mean, with Ben in tha house and Juliet on the beach and Mr Friendly and Patchy apparently out of commission, the only point in bringing them back would be for consistency's sake. And I'm not sure how they're going to manage it without bringing the plot to a screeching halt again.

I do think the new season is strong enough (so far) that in the end, I won't care all that much about the gaping holes left either unresolved, or filled by some cute little aside/wink at the audience (taller-ghost-Walt, anyone?). But it just shows that network politics can really screw with a good show's mojo. Thank goodness they now have an end to write toward.

I kind of agree...at the end of last night I thought "man, there's a whole 'nother storyline they're getting into now with the 'after the crash' stuff". I'm still way intrigued (esp. the time warp deal!) but I miss the smoke monster, the numbers, new hatches. Still can't wait till next Thursday though.

I understand where you're coming from, but if you think back to the middle of season 2, everyone kind of felt the same way. That season had shifted more from the Losties and the island mysteries, to DHARMA and what their role was. I have a feeling that with 2 more seasons left, we will have even more drastic shifts in direction. I think we haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg as far as what this show is really about.

Whine... whine... whine... complain, complain ,complain. I'm sorry but this is what the show always was and if you have the problem with that then it is probably not for you. This post Island stuff was part of their plan and obviously ties in with the island stuff. They should not change a thing. Some people always find something to complain about.:rolleyes:

It's not that it's not being done well, it's just that the themes that defined the first two seasons are becoming ancillary material now, coincidental to the "real story." and I'm afraid that many of the mysteries of the first couple of seasons have taken a backseat and now may never be answered.

Well I think with this show, they are very quick at opening up all these stories etc but they never seem to get around to continuing them or closing them up.

I enjoy the show, I am a big fan, but when it comes to the end of it, I dont want them to leave stuff unanswered, and I dont want them to rush around filling in the gaps and wrapping everything up at the last minute.

I have to agree with Jynes. Never underestimate the writers of this show...nothing will take a back seat! Eventually things will be revealed, and I like the fact most of the mystery has not been neatly wrapped up already. It's the method of the writer's that keeps us riveted each week.
What have they done differently? The ending of the Economist is exactly the kind of mind play to make us, the viewers, jump out of seats and say OMG!
The only thing we have ever expected out of LOST is the unexpected and we are still getting that!

I do love all the new plot twists and paranoia, but it's really confusing me about the ultimate point of the show.

Damon or Carlton was once quoted about how the Lostaways are lost in the island because they are lost in their lives, and when they stop being lost they will get off the island. I always thought that was the deal. The story was about a group of lost souls and their redemption. The goal was redemption/getting off the island, though sometimes, tragically, those were accomplished through death.

But now we have seen four Lostaways get off the island, and with the POSSIBLE exception of Kate, they are more miserable and lost than they ever were before. Which is okay, if it's the middle of the story rather than the end. But what is the Redemption Song NOW? It's hard to see where this is leading. The story is seeming more and more as if it will end up as a tragedy, not a triumphant adventure story.

Well I think with this show, they are very quick at opening up all these stories etc but they never seem to get around to continuing them or closing them up.

Blame the past two seasons, where the writers were just treading water because they didn't know if the show would have to go on indefinitely. They had a beginning, and they had an end in mind all along, and planned points along the way to get there. but for all they knew the show would go on for 10 years, so they had to stretch the taffy. That meant a lot of filler in there, a lot of junk that they didn't care about in the first place, and going back and resolving it now is just going to be an exercise...so I wouldn't be surprised if in many cases they just don't bother.

Some of the filler turned out great. Apparently the character of Henry Gale/Ben was not supposed to be a continuing character, but Michael Emerson was so awesome they did some kind of reshuffling to up his importance to the storyline. There's been some improvisation that necessarily changed things up. But the overall drive toward the conclusion has always been planned, and now that they have the end date they can book toward it in earnest. So while they may leave some holes open...they probably were not crucial holes anyway. I trust that anything really important will be resolved.
100%
Damon or Carlton was once quoted about how the Lostaways are lost in the island because they are lost in their lives, and when they stop being lost they will get off the island...But now we have seen four Lostaways get off the island, and with the POSSIBLE exception of Kate, they are more miserable and lost than they ever were before.

Yes, but the stuff going on in the flash forwards now is not the absolute end--the flash forwards will extend forward still. And really, they may be physically off the island, but mentally they're very much still there, and given all the "we have to go back" stuff...well, it would be pretty weird if they didn't go back. So maybe THAT will be the resolution Darlton was referring to and that you're hoping for. I hope so too...

With this episode combined with the Naomi flashback last week, I'm not sure I entirely like this new direction toward some sort of spy show. I liked the bit about Faraday finding a time discrepancy related to the island in his experiment, but it seems like "the island", it's past, it's purpose, what brought THIS group to it, Claire's psychic baby and Jack's ghost-dad, Walt's abilities, the "healing power"...all of that might be becoming secondary down the line to a simple "secret organization #1 vs. secret organization #2" ALIAS type of thing with the island and its power as nothing more than the ambiguously defined stakes in the combat.

It's not that it's not being done well, it's just that the themes that defined the first two seasons are becoming ancillary material now, coincidental to the "real story." and I'm afraid that many of the mysteries of the first couple of seasons have taken a backseat and now may never be answered.

LOL! Oh noes, a two episode streak of some stuff you didn't like! The whole show is going to turn into Alias!

Methinks you are a tad bit overreacting.

Watching these first three episodes has reminded me of an anecdote related by best-selling author Clive Cussler, author of the popular Dirk Pitt adventure series. Cussler's books feature these convoluted plots and subplots that unfold in far-flung locales all over the globe.

Cussler said he would get calls from friends who were reading his latest work and he would hear "you son of a gun. I'm halfway through such-and-such book and there's no way you're going to pull this off."

It may look like there's no way Cuse, Lindelof, et al are going to pull this off. But I've got faith they'll make it happen.

Just count to five and the fear will go away.

:laugh:

The island weirded out in S1E1, aka the Pilot, when the monster appeared. Nothing's changed...
And I've been a conspiracy theorist since S1E4 or so...

Im with Room22, you guys are jumping the gun a bit. It's three episodes in, way too early to assume they just abandoned all previous story lines in the interest of speeding things up. Have a little faith. ;) We'll see the Temple soon I hope, and smokey, and we'll learn more about how these LOST-souls redemption is still very much tied to their time on the Island. *fingers crossed*

I like that the show has changed directions pretty much every single season. It keeps everything fresh. I'm sure we will eventually learn more about the island's mysteries--I expect the freighters will discover a wealth of knowledge about the island but I am way into the new plot twists and all the action.

It's only been a day since that's happened. The day the Dan, Charlotte and wassisname arrived was the day AFTER Charlie Died, Naomi got Killed and the Others were blown to bits at the camp. Episode three ended while we were still on that same day.

The episodes are moving through time a lot slower than they ever have. The the Others have only been waiting about 24 to 36 hours or so. It hasnt been that long...

I don't like that The Others have completely disappeared after getting several of their own blown up, Ben captured, and Alex+Karl defections.

Mikhail could whack the freightie 4 by himself.

Yes, but the stuff going on in the flash forwards now is not the absolute end--the flash forwards will extend forward still. And really, they may be physically off the island, but mentally they're very much still there, and given all the "we have to go back" stuff...well, it would be pretty weird if they didn't go back. So maybe THAT will be the resolution Darlton was referring to and that you're hoping for. I hope so too...

I agree with ya here. Darlton couldn't say at the time that this would occur the second time the arrive on the Island...right?

Im with Room22, you guys are jumping the gun a bit. It's three episodes in, way too early to assume they just abandoned all previous story lines in the interest of speeding things up. Have a little faith. ;) We'll see the Temple soon I hope, and smokey, and we'll learn more about how these LOST-souls redemption is still very much tied to their time on the Island. *fingers crossed*

Thank you!

I think because we're so emotionally involved with the show it's easy to jump the gun. I mean, after seeing Sayid shoot down Elsa I remember screaming "Forget this show! It never makes sense!" Then by the ending I had renewed my vows to see this thing through to the bitter end. Alpert will be back, the foot will be explained, and, God willing, Mr Friendly will be resurrected ala Charlie.

Also, this (http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=38267) little editorial put the show in a whole new context for me. If you've never read Watchmen it's okay, but think of the show in a much broader context. Ultimately the theme of this show is growing to encompass more than 'cheap' gimmicks like "ZOMG there's a polar bear in the jungle!!11" and moving into broader, more mythical storytelling about things such as, I don't know, the nature of reality. Moreso, story is growing into a bigger and bigger scope with each passing episode.

Who knew, as we watched Jack pulling people out of burning plane wreckage those many years ago, that this island would have scientific facilities with very sophisticated equipment and very sophisticated people using it? Who knew that evil Ethan was part of a team of brilliant scientists who dressed in Gap fashion and held book clubs in their sheik, insulated homes? Who knew that we'd find out they'd actually get off the island before the final episode?

Let's face it, our minds have been blown and will continually be blown until the bitter, cerebral-hemorrhaging end. Let's just hang on for the ride.

I think the show's take the direction it always took. The great thing about Lost is not the actual mysteries, but the way the unfold. The Losties are just a bunch of people stuck somewhere where obviously bigger things happen, and the beauty of it is that you never know something useful unless Jack for example finds out about them. Its always from their POV. I just hope all the big mysteries will tie together in the end and will be explained, and I'll survive this season even if we wont see any temple.

We need more mystery !

I too, miss the island, though I thoroughly enjoy what we've been given thus far this season. I'm of the belief that the "picture of the whole" is still unfolding. That picture includes Hanso Foundation itself, we haven't seen much of that within the show, but it is starting to show up. I believe Abbadon is DHARMA/Hanso related. The Tunisian Polar Bear, The Orchid Station...all of that stuff will get in to the story.

We are in a new phase of introduction. We're linear, can't see it all at the same time, but after these new introductions get blended in, we'll be back to Smokey and cabins and tall ghost Walt.

What seems to be left behind is not. The synchronicity of the intertwining of these people that THEY don't even know about remains core to the overall story, and the "mysteries" or "secrets" of the island remain of utmost importance.

Whoever posted earlier...the need to get back to the island. Weve already seen Hurley has it, and Jack has it....beofre this season is over, a bet Sayid has it, and probably Kate. The island needs them. They need the island, and we need the island.

You watch, the final scene of the final season will take place on the island.....

And Magnus Hanso is jacob.