LOST, season 5 (spoilers)

[ScottWinston]

I think this season of Lost may be the best one ever, surpassing season 4.

But does it remind anyone else of those old YAGDs were it would fade to black and a mysterious narrator would suddenly say "THREE YEARS LATER..." or "THREE THOUSAND YEARS EARLIER..."? Kind of odd they introduced text like that at this point in the series.

[Mr. Films]

I actually like season 4 better.

My problem is that the episodes don't stand alone anymore. They used to be simultaneously parts of a large whole AND they're own self-contained stories. Now, everything is just so we can get to the next episode. It all seems to go nowhere. I just hope there's some kick ass conclusion in store.

[ScottWinston]

I agree- that is another huge change. I can't complain, because I really like the weird places the show is going (and the pace its getting there at), but the last three episodes I've told my wife I have no idea how much of the show is left or when the episode will end because its just one thing after another.

The previous episodes all usually had some kind of theme or point that was usually touched on in the flash back or flash forward- but now there's no anchor to attach that to. When I think about what I like about an episode, its all just a random jumble of stuff.

In a way, it kind of speaks against the show that the series is hauling the kind of ass it is in Season five. And even though I like it, I wonder if the series would be popular at all if every season had been like this one. One reason I don't mind the current speed is because I felt most of the themes were played out, and even becoming tired. Like seeing Jack go crazy when he's off the island, or watching Jin and Sun fight just so at the end they can (again) discover its not good to fight. But if those character building episodes had never happened, the show would doubtlessly not mean as much.

I don't doubt that they've had the show mapped out since the start of Season 3, maybe, but at the very least the discrepancy between this season and the others makes it feel like the writers ha've been working overtime to finish a school project they forgot was due until the night before.

[Mr. Films]

yeah, it feels unbalanced. in that seasons 2 and 3 were soooo much dicking around and then 4 just started this mad dash to the finish that has only increased this season.

I recently got into watching Six Feet Under and it's made me realize how much I don't care about any of the characters on Lost. Like, on Six Feet Under, I really care what happens to these people.. but on Lost I just want answers. 2 of them, to be precised...

1) What the fuck is Jack's dad's role?
2) What's Richard Alpert's story?

[ScottWinston]

Aw, Matt, come on. You don't care about Sawyer at least? He's a good guy.

And I still really want things to get better for Jack and Locke. Those two- in spite of seeming so charasmatic and powerful in Season 1, have really become wet blankets. I'd like to see some good things happen to them.

And I really want someone to kill that asshole Ben, although at the same time I don't want them to because I find him interesting.

[Musica42]

For me, nothing has equaled the menace and excitement I felt while watching Season 1. It was a completely different show back then. Season 2 lost some steam for me and Season 3 just plain sucked save for the last several episodes (it also completely pussified Jack to the point that he's my least favorite character now). Season 4 was awesome, albeit really quick and I'm mostly digging what's happening with Season 5. The show has done some retarded plot twists along the way. Of prominent note is making Jack's dad also Claire's dad (for as of yet no particular reason) and then going even further off the deep end and making Jack's dad inexplicably linked to the island. In fact anything involving characters' seems to always end up sucking ass in this show. Like Locke's dad randomly showing up on the island - what a cornball reveal that was.

I've come to pretty much despise Kate and Jack by this point - Jack for being a total pussy who's inevitably wrong and Kate for doing that longing stare shit at Jack and Sawyer when it's already been shown in multiple flashbacks that she dicks over any guy she gets involved with. I still like Sawyer a lot and I'm teetering with Locke (he was my favorite story arch up until Season 4). I guess that the show has lost a lot of its charm for me since it abandoned the original premise and started flooding the island with various people and went down the wacky road of time travel. I'm mostly hanging on at this point just to find out some answers.

Chiefly I, too, want to know what the hell is going on with Jack's dad. I want to know about the smoke monster. I want to know why Dharma Initiative food was air dropped back in season 2. I want to know what that time wheel is doing inside the island. I want to know how the Black Rock wound up in the middle of the island. I want to know what caused Rouseaux's crew to try and kill her. And lastly I want to know more about that disappearing reappearing shack with the invisible guy who said "help me" to Locke.

I've got my own theory about Alpert. Based on the fact that he never seems to age and there was a bit about the Black Rock ship going in search of the fountain of youth, I'm guessing he's an original member of that ship and they somehow found what they were looking for. I'm also guessing the Others are the descendants of said crew. Who knows though.

[ScottWinston]

I loved the twist with Locke's Dad, although I guess they never fully explained it. My reasoning was that the Others brought him there under orders from Ben.

I feel the same way about Jack and Kate. When we'd first see Jack being pitiful and unique, he was always simultaneously being a badass, and the fact he managed to do everything right on the island made his flashback failings add character. Now, though, Jack is constantly breaking down or on the verge of tears and that's replaced his main characterizations of heroicness.

Locke has done the same thing - in Season 1 he was a total bad ass, but there are so many scenes with him whimpering like a baby that its hard to view him that way. Of course, he's killed enough people that you can still take him seriously. And I find his character easier to identify with than Jack- it seems like he has better reasons to pout.

I'm beginning to think most of the unexplained events are going to be due to time travel. Like the fact they air dropped Dharma food in Season 2? I don't even remember it, but the explanation will probably be time travel. It's kind of like that episode of the Simpsons where they meet Xena, and she says anytime you don't know why something happened, a wizard did it. I hope it doesn't turn out that anytime something odd happened in Lost, it was because of time travel.

My two biggest mysteries are:
What's up with Jack's Dad?
What's up with the Statue?
How'd the nuke get on the island / why was the military on the island?
Why'd some of the Oceanic Six time travel back and others didn't?
What became of Bernard and Harriet?