lostrecap

(S03E15) Some Lost episodes are stand-alone pieces of the show's mythology. Others are pieces of a larger puzzle, filling in gaps from past episodes and setting the stage for future episodes. "Left Behind" definitely falls into the second category. More of Kate's past was revealed, and new island loyalties were formed in what I am sure is a build-up to an Others-Survivors showdown (fingers crossed).

(S03E14) Well, "The Man From Tallahassee" was a tough act to follow, and it is probably unfair to compare the two episodes. This episode had its moments--shirtless Sawyer, double-crosses, and guest star Billy Dee Williams. Nikki and Paulo's story needed to be told, and I think that the writers accomplished what they set out to do. I might have to watch "Exposé" again before I can make a complete assessment.

(S03E13) Well, the mystery surrounding Locke's former disability was finally solved, and it was worth the wait. Leave it to super-evil Kevin Tighe to add extra creepiness to the show. It looks like a popular theory about the island was confirmed, but as usual the truth was only hinted at. As Locke episodes go, this one ranks up there with "Walkabout," when we first learned of Locke's paralysis.

(S03E12) In the words of Keanu Reeves, whoa. There was a ton of information to process in this episode. "Par Avion" featured at least three major shocks, all of which were pretty satisfying. Claire has had so few flashback episodes that I was not sure what to expect. This episode definitely helped me to understand (and like) Claire much more.

(S03E11) Now that was an episode! Writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse deserve serious kudos for achieving such a perfect balance of plot and character development. "Enter 77" combined action and humor, and utilized a majority of the cast instead of focusing on a core group of characters. We learned the identity of Eye Patch Guy, and he just might be my new favorite character.

(S03E10) I am a bit torn about this episode. "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" was entertaining, to be sure, but nothing new was learned from a viewer's standpoint. To a degree, a largely expository episode to catch the beach survivors up on recent events was a necessary evil. No significant ground was covered, but all of the characters are now in a position to take action. Hopefully the slow-moving events in this episode are building up to some serious resolution.

(S03E09) In case you happened to miss the numerous commercials, ABC had promised that "Stranger in a Strange Land" would answer three big Lost questions for viewers. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse made it clear in this week's podcast that at least one of them was the meaning of Jack's tattoos. After watching the episode, I'm not entirely sure what the other two huge revelations were supposed to be. Is it possible that ABC (gasp) overhyped this episode?

(S03E08) I cannot remember the last time two equally awesome episodes of Lost aired back to back, but here we are. "Flashes Before Your Eyes" was almost better than "Not in Portland." At the very least, it was more complex, and left me with even more questions than last week. I would even hesitate to call this a Desmond flashback episode. At first I thought I was watching a flashback within a flashback, but the writers of Lost had something far more mindbending in store for poor, tragic Desmond.

(S03E07) It was a long wait, but "Not in Portland" definitely built up a momentum for the next fifteen weeks. We got our first Other-centric flashback, courtesy of Juliet, and a better sense of the pecking order (and family structure) on the "other" island. Plus Sawyer got to use a whole mess o' nicknames!

(S03E06) Wow... where to begin. That was certainly an episode worthy of being called a mid-season finale. Good doesn't even begin to describe it. Definitely gives us plenty to talk about while we wait for the show to return in February for it's uninterrupted run though.

This episode focused on Kate's flashbacks and those have always been sort of 50-50 for me, but this one was great I thought. Even better than when she blew up her father. Of course I'm slightly biased because these flashbacks featured Nathan Fillion and the idea of having Mal Reynolds on Lost... it's making my head hurt. Fillion played Kate's husband (she was married!) Kevin. So I suppose rather than "what Kate did" you could call these flashbacks "who Kate did."

(S03E05) Now there's only one new episode of Lost left before a 13-week hiatus until February. The writers have answered quite a few questions in the last two episodes, but you know we're going to be left with a big, fat cliffhanger one week from tonight.

This episode had a heavy religious theme that ran through all of the storylines. In Eko's story, we come to understand how he interprets his life and that he does not see himself as a sinner, despite all the people he has killed. Eko spends the episode chasing his brother, Yemi, around the island. I think that Yemi was the black smoke, either actually taking the form of a man or causing Eko's hallucinations (he also saw the people he killed and the altar boy). During season two, in the "23rd Psalm" episode, the black smoke scans Eko and we see scenes from his life in the smoke. So, the question is: did the smoke take on alternate physical form or did it cause him to hallucinate? It did seem to admit to him that it was his brother at the end, and it may have set the tent on fire at the beginning.

(S03E04) This was an interesting episode. I remember reading about how this season was being split into two parts. First we'd get six episodes and then a nice long hiatus before the return in 2007. I remember reading that article because it said the two parts of season three would have distinctly different feels and themes. Well this episode certainly set-up what's in store for us in the next two installments before the break.

A Sawyer-centric episode, "every man for himself" has become our favorite con man's new slogan. As much as he'd like to find and help Jack, his priority is to get himself and Kate to safety first. Funny how priorities change though right?

(S03E03) Wow, I don't even know where to begin... get comfortable, because I'm gonna end up writing a lot. Spectacular. Although, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised because this episode just continued the up and down trend established last season. A few so-so or mediocre episodes and then we get this. The other day, while writing this Dexter post, I said that there's no reason why Lost can't feed us viewers a whole ton of info and clues (you know, keep us entertained) while at the same time, leave us on a note that makes us want to do something wildly inappropriate like punch a child or at the very least, knock over your TV set. This was one of those episodes. It's over, it was good great, but we're still in the dark... so what did we learn?

(S03E02) Someone want to tell me why they had to call this episode "The Glass Ballerina?" It referred to one tiny thing at the very beginning! I don't know, I guess I just like my episode titles to actually tell me what's going on and not give me some vague reference to something that's ultimately not all that important. Alias used to be notorious for this. But in the end, what did we learn from the glass ballerina? We learned that Sun is a big ol' cheating liar.

(S03E01) Here it is, as promised -- the TV Squad live blog of the third season premiere of Lost! I'll be doing my best to keep this post updated with my own observations on the episode as the events happen. I'll also see all of your comments as you post them below and will respond within the post if it seems the right place to do so.

So keep coming back to this page for updates as the night goes on. It's showtime! Actually, it's ABC, but you know what I mean...

(UPDATE: If you're looking for more of a review, check out the TV Squad Lost discussion post)