OT: LOST Season 3 Discussion **** SPOILERS ****

[Diablo25]

I watched the finale but I was so exhausted from a long day that I dozed off a few times. I'm gonna watch it again over the weekend to make sure I didn't miss anything important.

[vader29]

I think the reason Charlie didn't have any reaction to Ecko and Locke not being back is maybe because he is probably still brainwashed from before when Ethan took him and maybe when the magnetic field went off it did something to him that he doesn't remember what just happened back at the hatch. Surely Locke is still alive as the last thing Desmond told Locke was that he was meant to save him, not sure about Ecko though.

The stuff at the end with the two guys playing chess and Desmond's girlfriend receiving the phone call from them was interesting along with that four toed foot statue. Was very surprised that Henry ended up being the leader of that group of others, I didn't think we were going to even see him in the finale.

All in all it was a great season finale and is probably my favorite tv show of all time, there are just so many twists with everyone on the show somehow connected to one another.

[jondiehl]

The stuff at the end with the two guys playing chess and Desmond's girlfriend receiving the phone call from them was interesting along with that four toed foot statue.

That phone call was the first proof that the rest of the world, outside of the island, still exists (and this show isn't some Newhart-esque dream). They revealed alot, including:

-The Swan/button bunker is not an experiment. They really do need to release the energy every 108 minutes. The other bunker, with the monitors, was an experiment and the joke was on anyone in there, as the tubes they sent their data to just ended up out in an open field.
-Desmond is not part of Dharma, he was just sailing around the world and got stuck there.
-Desmond brought down the plane when he let the timer go all of the way down on accident, it wasn't some thing planned out beforehand by Dharma to bring down that plane.

A couple of theories:

-Perhaps the real Henry Gale (in the balloon), was sent by Desmond's girlfriend to find him? The balloon wouldn't be altered that much by the electromagnetic properties of the island.

-Desmond's boat probably has some sort of GPS or tracking system, so his girlfriend was probably monitoring his journey in the race and knew the approximate location where they lost contact with him. She hired those researchers and when he let the timer go down (that brought down the plane) they noticed the electromagnetic spike on their instruments, but weren't prepared... when Locke let it run down, they were ready to locate it's origination and this time found the coordinates (which is why they called her to let her know).

-I think Walt is compromised, which is why they didn't care to much that Michael was leaving with the boat. They know that Walt is now one of them and will come back with the boat w/ Michael (knocked out, tied up, or dead?).

-Season 1 was mostly about the front section of the plane. Season 2, the tail section + the bunker and mysteries of the island. I bet Season 3 will be primarily showing us the "Others" or "Hostiles" as Desmond called them, along with the mandatory flashbacks for each to see how they wound up there.

[Danimal]

-The Swan/button bunker is not an experiment. They really do need to real the energy every 108 minutes. The other bunker, with the monitors, was an experiment and the joke was on anyone in there, as the tubes they sent their data to just ended up out in an open field.

I think that the destruction of the electro magnetic thingy is going to spell trouble for Locke and Rose. I think the islands mysterious healing powers just went bye-bye.

-I think Walt is compromised, which is why they didn't care to much that Michael was leaving with the boat. They know that Walt is now one of them and will come back with the boat w/ Michael (knocked out, tied up, or dead?).

Well I'm not sure I agree with that. Neither the actor who plays Walt or Michael is set to be listed as a regular cast member next year. Thats not to say they won't due guest spots, but I think we will see less of them then we did this year. My bet is that they get rescued by the team Desmonds girlfriend sends searching for him.

-Season 1 was mostly about the front section of the plane. Season 2, the tail section + the bunker and mysteries of the island. I bet Season 3 will be primarily showing us the "Others" or "Hostiles" as Desmond called them, along with the mandatory flashbacks for each to see how they wound up there.

I think season 3 will focus on the others and Jack, Kate and Sawyer. My personal theory is the others are scientists ho have a research facility off shore, and that these 3 will be brought there for experiements.

[GameSeven]

I still enjoy the show and look forward to next season, but there are mounting incoherencies.

When Michael killed the two ladies in the hatch, I thought it was a brilliant twist, however the plot that followed was a stretch.

* When Jack discusses the attack plans with Michael and Michael starts his "crazy" routine ("This is the way it has to be!") I thought for sure he had, at a minimum, thought Michael was nuts, if not compromised. Yet, barring any interference from Sayid, he planned on proceeding according to this plan. Seeing as he butts heads with Locke over every little detail, it seemed a BIG conciliation.

* Sayid, who has been perhaps the most intriguing character despite the hastily put together love story with Shannon, recognizes Michael's position (hooray!) then proceeds with a failsafe plan worthy of his military background. I'll sail this boat around (I don't sail) to the far side of the island, where I won't be noticed as I single-handley scout hostiles before I join forces with the 4 of you (I know Michael is compromised he doesn't count) including Hurley who has made it clear that he doesn't want to fight with anyone but maybe by sheer size alone he'll draw the attention of the 20+ hostiles we expect to find (if I believe a word that Michael says)....

* In fact, Hurley's turnabout was odd. "I don't care if Libby's dead, I'm not going." During the eulogy.... seethes "I'm going". Later, "I don't want a gun, we're just going to get your son back." Later, "You killed Libby (you Bastard!). I'm going home."

* Lastly, the lack of communication has been noted as every single character seems unwilling/unable to realize that the more information they are able to share about their fantastic surroundings, the better off they'd likely be. John says he's not going to push the button. Ok, Desmond says. Brilliant idea, brother! Oh yeah, wait, I've seen what happens when the button doesn't get pressed... Bad things happen. But Oh, wait, this bloke has a video tape that he can't show me but he's sure I've wasted the last three years of my life and he's going to prove it to me if he doesn't kill me first.

I mean, I like the show, I really do... I'm just hoping they tighten things up a bit as they proceed as the more interesting characters are starting to be the one's they're killing off... Libby/Desmond to me...

Honestly, Charlie is becoming despicable, Eko's losing his mind (Dynamite in a narrow tunnel? At least get the Hell out after you light the fuse) along with John. Do people still care much for what Kate is on the run from?

-G7

[webdanzer]

I just don't get this show anymore. Nobody acts like actual people you would ever meet or know. Even in a fantastical situation their actions seem implausible.

I agree with reeche, and g7. It's to the point that I was hoping that these people would be eventually explained away as 'not people', like multiple personality fragments inside Hurley's head or something, to begin to explain why they act so unnaturally.

I still watch, but not really as a show anymore. It's more like I'm somewhat involved in the game ABC plays with its audience.

[reeche]

I still enjoy the show and look forward to next season, but there are mounting incoherencies.

When Michael killed the two ladies in the hatch, I thought it was a brilliant twist, however the plot that followed was a stretch.

* When Jack discusses the attack plans with Michael and Michael starts his "crazy" routine ("This is the way it has to be!") I thought for sure he had, at a minimum, thought Michael was nuts, if not compromised. Yet, barring any interference from Sayid, he planned on proceeding according to this plan. Seeing as he butts heads with Locke over every little detail, it seemed a BIG conciliation.

* Sayid, who has been perhaps the most intriguing character despite the hastily put together love story with Shannon, recognizes Michael's position (hooray!) then proceeds with a failsafe plan worthy of his military background. I'll sail this boat around (I don't sail) to the far side of the island, where I won't be noticed as I single-handley scout hostiles before I join forces with the 4 of you (I know Michael is compromised he doesn't count) including Hurley who has made it clear that he doesn't want to fight with anyone but maybe by sheer size alone he'll draw the attention of the 20+ hostiles we expect to find (if I believe a word that Michael says)....

* In fact, Hurley's turnabout was odd. "I don't care if Libby's dead, I'm not going." During the eulogy.... seethes "I'm going". Later, "I don't want a gun, we're just going to get your son back." Later, "You killed Libby (you Bastard!). I'm going home."

* Lastly, the lack of communication has been noted as every single character seems unwilling/unable to realize that the more information they are able to share about their fantastic surroundings, the better off they'd likely be. John says he's not going to push the button. Ok, Desmond says. Brilliant idea, brother! Oh yeah, wait, I've seen what happens when the button doesn't get pressed... Bad things happen. But Oh, wait, this bloke has a video tape that he can't show me but he's sure I've wasted the last three years of my life and he's going to prove it to me if he doesn't kill me first.

I mean, I like the show, I really do... I'm just hoping they tighten things up a bit as they proceed as the more interesting characters are starting to be the one's they're killing off... Libby/Desmond to me...

Honestly, Charlie is becoming despicable, Eko's losing his mind (Dynamite in a narrow tunnel? At least get the Hell out after you light the fuse) along with John. Do people still care much for what Kate is on the run from?

-G7

Good post and I could add a few dozen more things to that list but I won't. Abrams seems to love these series which have long arcs but he's not very good at realistic characterization or even a consistent plot as he does them. Alias pretty much had all the same issues. Good first season that just lost the thread afterwards and always remained interesting but never lived up to its potential. Lost feels the same for me. People seem to get so wrapped up in the red herrings that they don't realize the main plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense and isn't very compelling. Flying birds that scream hurley and four toed statues are all well and good but how about some real honest to goodness story telling.

[Zeppo]

Abrams seems to love these series which have long arcs but he's not very good at realistic characterization or even a consistent plot as he does them. Alias pretty much had all the same issues.

I don't know that I believe Abrams likes long arcs as much as he is very good at coming up with compelling premises, but not posessing the patience to see these premises through for a long arc. Most TV shows don't survive their first season, and many get canned before they hit their thrid 'season premiere.' Abrams I don't think sees much beyond the first few episodes, with maybe a vague hope the show will go on beyond that, but no need to worry about the details.

Alias's first season had a tremendously compelling conflict between the normal, recent college grad Sydney's desire to be a good friend to those closest to her, and her secret life as a secret agent. It was this difficult internal conflict that drew me in, but this was pretty much abandoned sometime in the third season or so, after they tried to resurrect it a few times with different dynamics once they had shot their wad with the original secret.

Similar thing with Lost. The pilot is very engaging, and the first season did well to string along the energy that drove the pilot. Since then, there is the general sense of making it up as they go along. By now, I'm sure they have a better general structure to the overall story arc than they ever had at any time in the first season.

This is in contrast to someone like J. Michael Straczynski, whose Bablyon 5 is as good example as there is of a long arc drama. He had the entirety of the greater story arc well put together before shooting a single show, and despite making the kinds of changes sometimes necessary for a TV show through its run (like, changing the lead actor, for example), that show had a ton of individual threads and relationships that developed over the course of the 5 year run.

I still watch, but not really as a show anymore. It's more like I'm somewhat involved in the game ABC plays with its audience.

What took you so long? This is how I felt through most of the first season and especially the second. But I also watch for the photography (it's shot in Hawaii!!). The last few episodes really drew me back in, however, mostly I think due to the character Mr. Ecko. The Ecko/Locke episode where they found the middle room was very good, I thought.

This final episode I thought was pretty good as well. More of the creepiness I enjoy, and the adventurous kind of exploring that I like. Plus, a lot of the Desmond stuff had me thinking about The Prisoner, one of the weirdest shows ever made. There were some images I thought were downright brilliant, but of course they cut out of them so quickly. Sure, they leave a lot of threads dangling, but I'm used to that at this point.

[webdanzer]

Plus, a lot of the Desmond stuff had me thinking about The Prisoner, one of the weirdest shows ever made.

The Prisoner is fantastic. I love it, and they are unfortunately planning a remake. I can't see how they'll get a McGoohan performance out of anyone else.

[Zeppo]

As far as I'm concerned, Lost is as close to a remake as I'd like to see, although I am no expert on the original. But it seems to me there are a lot of elements to Lost that are very much the same.

Let's hope they surprise us with the new one! Is the new one British or American made?

[reeche]

Sure, they leave a lot of threads dangling,

YES THEY DO . Shamelessly stolen from another forum.


Why
Why did Walt tell Locke not to try and open the hatch?
Why did Claire dream of the Black Rock?
Why did the Monster withdraw from Eko after it approached him?
Why did the palm reader react so stongly when Claire went to see him?
Why did he carry on changing his mind and then insist she went to the US?
Why did Kate's dad seem to be speaking through Sawyer?
Why did the tail survivors find a glass eye and a bible in the 'arrow' station?
Why did the vials have the numbers printed on them?
Why did 'the others' take Danielle's baby Alex?
Why did the psychic say he was a fake?
Why did they take Michael's blood?
Why did they want kate/sawyer and jack?
Why did the Hatch lid with the Quarantine sign go into the air?
Why didn't the monster kill Locke?
Why didn't we see Charlies fathers face in the flashback?
Why didn't Claire's pens work when signing the adoption papers?
Why does it say 'quarantine' on the hatch?
Why does the Swan bunker have blast doors?
Why does Walt appear to certain people ?
Why does Dr. Candle/Waxman introduce himeslf by two different names in the two training videos?
Why are people 'better off' since being taken?
Why are Adam & Eve carrying black & white pebbles?
Why are the numbers cursed?
Why are there no hair brushes or combs on the island?
Why mustn't the computer be used for anything else?
Why was the Dharma Film missing parts?
Why was the missing part of the film taken to the other station?
Why was Walt talking backwards?
Why was the bunker called 'The Swan'?
Why was Libby in Australia?
Why was Kate in Australia? I know she is on the run but why Australia?
Why was The Dharma Initiative setup on this island?
Why was Jack seeing his father, was he hallucinating?
Why was the medical bunker abandoned?
Why was Eko in Australia?
Why was Eko going to LA?
Why was Locke so interested in Claire and Aaron?
Why was the pearl station abandoned?
Why was desmond in army prison?
Why were the bunkers built?
Why were the whispers only heard by certain people?
Why were the watches that Jin had to take to California so important?
Why do all the characters seemed to have run into each other before the flight?
Why do 'the others' want Walt?
Why do the washer and dryer in the bunker seem newer than everything else there?





What
What did Goodwin mean when he said that Nathan was 'not a good person'?
What did Kelvin mean when he said they had to be entered to 'save the world'?
What did Claire's father do (she mentions to his boyfriend she's the way she is because of her father)?
What is the purpose of the defence system?
What is 'the sickness'? What causes it?
What is causing the dreams and hallucinations? Is it the sickness?
What is behind the concrete in the main bunker
What is causing the electro-magnetic field?
What is significant about the numbers 4 8 15 16 23 & 42?
What is causing the whispering?
What is at the bottom of the pit Locke was being dragged into?
What is the importance of the band Geronimo Jackson ?
What is the cable used for they find on the beach that led them to Danielle?
What is the green eagle?
What is the large broken statue of the foot?
What/who is waiting at the coordinates givin to Michael to "rescue" them?
What was the second Bunker (Arrow) used for?
What was Dharma doing on the island before the 'incident'? What happened?
What was the mixture Locke put on Boone's head that made him see Shannon?
What has Locke seen? Why did he want to be dragged underground?
What happens if Aaron is raised by someone other than Claire?
What happened to the replacements for the bunker?
What happened to the crew of the Black Rock?
What happened to Hurley's father (he mentioned to Charlie he used to go fishing with him, but we've never seen him)?
What does DHARMA stand for?
What does Widmore Labs have in connection with Widmore Construction?
What does the system reset key that desmond used do?
What are Walts powers, how did he get them?
What are Charlie and Sayid working on?


Who
Who are 'the others'?
Who are the people in the monitoring station?
Who were the old bodies(Adam/Eve) found by Jack in the caves?
Who was 'Alvar Hanso', the G-Man behind Dharma?
Who was Sawyer talking about when he said i love her?
Who was the REAL Henry Gale?
Who is the Real 'Sawyer'?
Who is the real father of Suns baby
Who is Jacks half-sister?
Who edited the Dharma Film and Why?
Who did Jacks wife, Sarah, have an affair with.
Who brought the U.S. Army knife to the island?
Who brings a pregnancy test on a plane?
Who buried the real Henry Gale?


How
How did so many survive the plane crash?
How did the Black Rock get so far inland?
How did Kelvin know Desmond had arrived on the island?
How did Goodwin turn up at the tail crash site so quickly?
How did Jin get back to shore after the raft was destroyed?
How did Mr. Paik know Jin & Sun were planning to run away?
How did Locke get into the wheelchair?
How did Hurley know Leonard's doctor?
How did the smuggler's plane end up on the island?
How did Walt (if it was Walt) communicate with the computer?
How did the 'others' know the plane was going to crash?
How did or what made, Boone see Shannon tied to the tree and later killed?
How did Locke regain use of his legs?
How did the real Henry Gale die?
How did Locke know how to swaddle a baby?
How did Jack get to be such a good shot?
How come Locke could envisage the Nigerian plane going down ?
How come Walt looks at a picture of a bird and one turns up dead and then he reads a comic with polar bears and they turn up?
How long was Goodwin been on the island?
How is it that Locke dreamt about Ekos Brother?
How do they know that by looking for anomolies that they will find Desmond?


Where
Where is the island?
Where is the radio tower that Danielle talked about?
Where is Danielle's boat?
Where is Jack fathers body?
Where is the radio station that Sayid and Hurley heard?
Where have they taken Walt and what have they done with them?
Where does the cable on the beach go? Where does it come from?
Where did Nathan go for 2 Hrs.
Where did the horse come from?
Where has Rose heard the monster before?
Where was the signal coming from that Sayid picked up?


Miscellaneous
Has everyone been brought to the island as Locke suggested? If so Why?
Does Ana Lucia know Jack from somewhere (before the airport lounge)?
Is there anything significant about Jack's tatoos?
Is there more than 1 group of "others"#
Is there a significance to the big black rock in the clearing where Jack and Kate were waiting for Mr. Friendly and gang?
Is it possible that Locke's dad (a con artist) is the "Sawyer" who conned our Sawyer's parents?
Is the Pearl station just a test ie. are they themselves being monited?
If Jin is the father how is that possible?
Did Locke take the $200,000?
Did "Henry" do something other than enter the code?
Did the Pearl Station record Michael killing Ana and Libby?
Did Michael give the gun to fake Henry or hide it in the hatch?
Do the blast doors coming down have anything to do with the delivery of the food shipment?
Was Eko assigned to work in Australia by the church or did he somehow (why?) choose to go there?
Have the others been monitoring the Swan hatch or was it abandoned before they crashed?
Are Desmond,Locke and Eko ok?

[Feanor]

Why was Eko in Australia?

He was working as a priest.

[Brando70]

Similar thing with Lost. The pilot is very engaging, and the first season did well to string along the energy that drove the pilot. Since then, there is the general sense of making it up as they go along. By now, I'm sure they have a better general structure to the overall story arc than they ever had at any time in the first season.

Abrams has said in interviews that they have a six-season arc already in place. That doesn't mean they have everything plotted out, probably more like a general idea of where they are going. I know other producers have said they are making it up as they go along, but that may mean some details or the direction they are taking to reach the main arc points.

I felt like, after a rather lackluster first half, the second half of season 2 was very good. I liked the finale and that they more or less answered if the button really controlled anything or was just a psychological experiment. My main complaint would be the sharing of info among characters -- they seem to witness things and then not say anything -- but beyond that, I think it's a creative and compelling show. One of the only I watch regularly.

The key for Lost will be knowing when to end the show. That's what killed the X-Files. They should have completed that show the season after the movie was released, and instead dragged it out beyond where many viewers cared.

Lost also managed to avoid the 24 trap, too, where each season is essentially a rehash of the previous. I felt like, while there are a lot of unanswered questions, the Lost story made progress this year. They did enough to make me eager for season three.

[pk500]

This show damn near "jumped the shark" for me this season, as I really thought it meandered without much character development. But I watched the last three episodes, which I recorded while in Indy, this weekend, and I found them compelling.

Sure, very little of this show makes sense. But that's why we keep watching, right? It's an escape.

Take care,
PK

[Diablo25]

This show damn near "jumped the shark" for me this season, as I really thought it meandered without much character development. But I watched the last three episodes, which I recorded while in Indy, this weekend, and I found them compelling.

Sure, very little of this show makes sense. But that's why we keep watching, right? It's an escape.

Take care,
PK

Well put PK. I agree that the show leaves many things unanswered and, sometimes, forgotten but I still think its a hell of a show. One of my favorites in the last 5 years or so. I wish Anna Lucia would have survived...she turned me on

[Sudz]

http://mapgallery.esri.com/2006/414/85121816138512.jpg

holy smokes....

long load time...and it feels like it is in 1:1 scale...but awesome

[RobVarak]

Apparently the Alternate Reality Game has yielded a big payoff.

Here's a link to a blog entry that in turn links to some amazing stuff.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2006 ... l#comments

Without giving anything away...it's the answer to what Hurley's numbers mean

[vader29]

Just a reminder to everyone that season 3 starts tonight.

[wco81]

Shouldn't there be a new thread for season 3?

OK, they better deliver the goods.

[Feanor]

The blonde woman who's the focus of this first episode... she's a new character right? Or have we seen her before somewhere.

[vader29]

The blonde woman who's the focus of this first episode... she's a new character right? Or have we seen her before somewhere.

She's new and is apparently Ben's(Henry Gale's) wife. Good episode to start out the season, answered a couple of questions and left us with a few more.

And Kate not wanting to take a shower with Tom watching, I'm sure they've already seen her in all her glory with all of the cameras there.

[wco81]

Oh come on, she did not knock him out with one punch.

And nobody on the plane looked out the left side when the plane was breaking up and it was passing over the village?

If the Others in the village could see the plane, the people in the plane should be able to see a clearing in the jungle with several buildings.

So Kate has a tortured past, what with killing the man she loved.

Sawyer carries the burden of his parents' demise and guilt over the long con.

And now Jack had his heart broken to add to being disappointed by his father.

Even Juliette flashed a tinge of melancholy before her little book club.

Lot of angst on that little island.

[jondiehl]

And nobody on the plane looked out the left side when the plane was breaking up and it was passing over the village?

I doubt anyone was peaking out of the windows when they were seconds from potential death. I'm sure most were in that tucked/crash position when they got that close to the ground. With all of the chaos of a crash landing in a jumbo jet, I seriously doubt that anyone would be paying attention to a small clearing on the island.

[matthewk]

Dammit, I missed it. I completely forgot it was starting back up tonight. Anyone know if they plan on replaying it later in the week? If not, I guess I'll have to "find" it on the 'net.

[bdunn13]

Dammit, I missed it. I completely forgot it was starting back up tonight. Anyone know if they plan on replaying it later in the week? If not, I guess I'll have to "find" it on the 'net.

No need to "find" it... just goto abc.com and watch it.