Lost: The Complete Third Season

It's been a few years since Lost first debuted to rave reviews, introducing a huge cast of characters in a format that has since been imitated many times with few successes. Never before had the TV audience been treated to a show so enigmatic, unique, involving, thoughtful, and exciting. The first season ended with a bang, and we couldn't wait for the next season...

Only to be treated, in my opinion, to a largely lackluster year that reverted to showing too many of the same overlapping sequences, dragging things out when the pace could have been so much more brisk. There seemed to be a lot of filler episodes, but I was determined to stick with it--surely this show couldn't suddenly drop so low! It must be set-up for an amazing second half...

And I must say viewers were duly rewarded for their patience, because the pace definitely picked up, events snowballing into incredible developments--namely of course, the capture of Jack, Kate, and Sawyer by the Others, with the aid of the by now notorious turncoat, Michael. Things couldn't have ended on a higher note, really.

With the third season, I felt that Lost got back to its roots--intrigue, tension, and intense character development. I thoroughly enjoyed the third season in its entirety--I can't help but mention the jaw-dropping first and last episodes of the season!--things seemed more direct with less bushwhacking. The plot just could not be sidetracked much with the urgency of Jack, Kate, and Sawyer's circumstances (keyword "much," because it still happened, lagging very slightly near the middle for which I have to withhold "1/2" a star).

I enjoyed the new characters--the surprising and darkly amusing pair Paolo and Nikki, greater insights into Ben, and particularly Julia, a satisfyingly maddening character you sometimes sympathize with, and hate yourself for it later when it's not clear whose side she's on. She's the perfect wild card with believable motivations, and it is with her that the Others begin to lose some of their mystery and other-worldliness.

That is not to say everything is revealed...far from it, in fact, but some things have as promised been answered, but naturally, we are given even more puzzles. Rather than feel tiresome with the additional burden of more questions, I was as curious as ever--Lost knows just how to present new riddles: not so head-on as to be overwhelming, never off-handedly as for anything to feel made up on the fly, and ultimately, never without the element of fascination. Just what is the nature of Jacob? Just who is Naomi? Just what are the Others trying to accomplish, and what is their relation to the Dharma project? Is Sun doomed?

Layers upon layers upon layers! With the sad departure of 2 loved characters, the only upside I can think of for season 4 is an even more focused scope for the plot...never mind the possible return of Michael! To say I'm excited for what's to come would be an understatement, but until February (an unbearably long ways away), reliving this season will have to suffice!

In summary, I highly recommend this. You might have heard the entertainment news of dropping viewership at last due to more and more unsolved mysteries piling up, but I can only say that it's their loss: these people are missing out on a brilliant show that feels refreshed and on the right track again!

Ever since the early 90's (when TV peaked with TWIN PEAKS) had I to come across such an engaging Series! Weird (in a good way), Insightful and Intelligent - and with much better luck with scheduling and ratings.

The secret in my opinion: truly SMART writing; well-ahead planed plot and characters not only interesting but also one cares about to follow week after week!
Faith and Reason, Fate and Choice, Dogma and Intuition, Nature and Nurture, Good and Evil are, all, in a constant dynamic equilibrium, raising everyday issues under extraordinary conditions to render all the hues discernible and debatable.
Come for the story, stay for the Philosophy.

If you liked the X-FILES you will appreciate the mythology been interwoven with the action (instead of mythology episodes alternating with action episodes and, thus, pretty much ruining the rhythm of the series).
If you liked TWIN PEAKS you will appreciate the skewed reality and the blurry boundaries between reality and fantasy.

The 3rd Season surpassed even the 1st one in plot twists and reversals. Lighter on background stories, it focused more on the Others and Ben's hold on them through the spectral and mysterious Jacob. It also featured one of the gutsier cliffhangers ever: a flash-forward that, had it not been pulled off so skillfully, it would have killed all interest in the show.
True, as expected after the huge success of the show, some...dilution is detectable (the producers are probably worried of running out of ideas) - yet we should be counting our blessings. Even the worse LOST episode is much better than anything else on the air.

This DVD release features 6 disks on the episodes and a 7th one with all the extra features: out-takes, locations, interviews, bloopers and commentaries.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

"Lost" ended its second season with a bang... literally. The hatch violently imploded, and Kate, Sawyer and Jack were captured by the Others.

And so the third season is all about the repercussions of those events. It lags badly in the first half, but shocking predictions and new arrivals on the island add fresh twists -- and some stunning answers -- to the twisty, surreal storyline. But there's still plenty left for the remaining three seasons.

Kate and Sawyer are put to work, then locked up in gorilla cages, while Jack is similarly imprisoned inside an Other compound -- and finds that he is there to be a doctor to the sinister Ben, who is suffering from a spinal tumor. Jack finds himself suspended between two Others -- Ben and the mysterious Juliet -- and unsure what to do, or who to trust.

The tensions between the Others and castaways become worse as Kate and Sawyer escape, and she mounts a rescue to find Jack. But even when they get him (and the disgraced Juliet) back, things don't improve -- Juliet is secretly spying for Ben, Desmond has terrible visions of Charlie's demise, and the newly solo Locke forces Ben to reveal the island's greatest secret -- Jacob, a mysterious power that commands the Others like a god.

Suddenly a woman parachutes onto the island, and tells the castaways that a ship is only a few miles out to sea. As the Others fragment and turn against each other, the survivors decide to take them out once and for all, while Charlie and Desmond set off to infiltrate an underwater hatch. But there will be shocking losses on both sides, as Jack is faced with the most important decision he may ever make....

"Lost" still has plenty of unsolved, unanswered mysteries, and the first half of the season is frustratingly slow and oblique. No answers, at all. But it picks up and answers questions in the second half, including who ruined Sawyer's life, who commands the Others, and the relationship between Dharma Corporation and the Others and why they protect the island so fiercely.

The writing for the first half is pretty lax (major questions are answered with non-answers like "We watch"), but later on it tightens up considerably, with dozens of seemingly unrelated plot threads coming together in the battle with the Others. Locke's dad, Desmond's checkered past, Rousseau's daughter and Sun's pregnancy are only a few of them.

But despite all the personal drama (enough about the love triangle!), the stories are still full of gritty action (including Sayid killing a man with just his feet), and increasingly twisted flashbacks that let us see the pre-crash lives of the islanders. These had gotten kinda stale, but Desmond's timeslip makes it seem fresher, as does the revelation of how Ben became King of the Magic Island. It answers a lot of questions too.

And there's the occasional loss. Two beloved characters bite the big one in this season, and the handling of their deaths is enough to bring tears to your eyes. But there's some humor as well -- usually provided by Hurley, who revives an old van, triumphs at Ping-pong, and even gets to be the rescuing cavalry. Not to mention the wry, solid dialogue (" If it was Rousseau's, a massive rock would be flying at my head right now").

Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly turn in some solid performances as the increasingly tormented castaways. But Dominic Monaghan and Henry Ian Cusick really rule the acting front, with their poignant struggles with love for their respective girlfriends, and the angst that Desmond's visions bring to them both. And Josh Holloway does a brilliant job, especially in the harrowing, claustrophobic episode in "The Brig."

The first half of "Lost's" third season is decidedly tepid -- not terrible, but flabby. But when it tightens up again, this tense series blossoms out. It'll be a long wait until season four.