In last weeks preview it said that three important questions would be answered? I can think of three questions, but they weren't important and I wasn't even trying to figure them out? Damn it ABC!

so, what does everyone think that the 3 answers are? I'm guessing that the weak attempt at answers are:

Where is Cindy and the people that were abducted?

What does Jacks tattoo mean?

I can't even think of a 3rd, that's how poor this episode was.

jack likes his sandwiches grilled?
They have backyards?
Ben is really in charge?

What? Jack's tattoo? C'mon. The last two eps of Lost have been more unclimatic that an old man in an old age home.

i agree with you... my friends and i were trying to think of three things and it was pretty sad...

1. tattoo meaning
2. that ethan was the surgeon maybe?
3. the eye for an eye justice system?

i mean, cindy and the kids and everything was shown in the previews... along with the lady from the shop last week... so it's not like it was a huge reveal or anything...

whoever does the previews should be fired.

the questions were...
1...Was Cindy and Other...
2...Why did they take the children...
3. What is the meaning of jacks tattoo...

Yeah, the only answer I found was what happened with the tallies but even that wasnt answered fully. Another one might be Jacks tattoos but I dont remember that being at the top of my answer priorities. Then maybe... if the others let their kidnapped children watch tv land?

what is this about 3 answers, what it something said in the previews, the podcast?

I am so sick and tired of Lost promos hearlding that "SOMETHIHNG WILL FINALLY HAPPEN" only to see a filler episode

Apparently "Lost's Three biggest Questions" are "What does Jack's Tattoos mean?" "What happend to the flight attendant?" and "What happend to the children?"

Silly me, I thought the three biggest questions were "What is the Dharma Initative?" "What is the black smoke?" and "Why did everyone get healed?"

The last two episodes have effectivelly been filler shows. Nothing much has happened this season and the cast is so large it's spiraling out of control. (Desmand can see the future now? WTF?)

I know they're trying to spin the story out for five seasons so they can all make a killing on syndcation sales, but really. Do something!

I'm preparing to be disappointed by next week's ep too

I hate to blow the horn here.. but it seems to me the 3rd answer was that Jack and Juliette have become partners. I suspected this from the moment i seen the two of them together.

1. Jack's tattoos -- where they came from, and their meaning
2. What happened to the children
3. What happened to Cindy

yeah we weren't told why the kids were taken... unless i missed it?

what is this about 3 answers, what it something said in the previews, the podcast?


The first one is where and when and why did Jack get the tattoos and what they meant

The second is what happened to the people that were "taken" after the tail end of the plane crashed.

The 3rd big question was where did the group live on the big Island or the Little Island and how did they get back and forth.

Just a note, Alex answered 3 of jacks questions

what is this about 3 answers, what it something said in the previews, the podcast?

Pen, I think in last weeks preview for this ep. it said something to the effect of "next week, the answers to 3 of Lost's biggest mysteries are answered"

The only question was "will this weeks episode suck"

They DID answer that questions with a resounding YES

1. Jack's tattoos -- where they came from, and their meaning
2. What happened to the children
3. What happened to Cindy
I agree with you

Just a note, Alex answered 3 of jacks questions

I don't remember them. What were they?

the questions were...
1...Was Cindy and Other...
2...Why did they take the children...
3. What is the meaning of jacks tattoo...


I"m not sure they answered the "Is Cindy an Other" question, we just learned that she was abducted, not that she was part of the "Others" before the plane crashed.

So, I guess the dirty others (the ones walking with the children who had the teddy bear) are the same as Ben's people. I don't think we knew that for sure before.

I agree with you

Right, because remember -- Cindy wasn't taken along with the children.

Nevertheless, I still think a more important "answer," though it wasn't an "island mystery," concerned what would happen to Juliet.

They didn't answer anything. They just had to come up with an promtion besides: "Another filler episode while we spin the series out long enough to make a killing on syndication."

The first one is where and when and why did Jack get the tattoos and what they meant.
Not a big mystery AT ALL (who really cares)

The second is what happened to the people that were "taken" after the tail end of the plane crashed. So, what DID happen to them? I sure couldn't tell you.

The 3rd big question was where did the group live on the big Island or the Little Island and how did they get back and forth. I never ever thought that they lived on the little island, and we knew that they had Desmond's boat.

Pretty lame episode all the way around. :mad:

Going by the previews for this episode from last week, the three "big mysteries" that would be answered were as follows:

1. What do Jack's tattoos mean?
2. What happened to Cindy?
3. What did the Others do with the children?

And here are the answers we got:

1. What do Jack's tattoos mean? They mean "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us". Actually, strike that - that's what they say, but that's not what they mean. But aside from that, was this really a "big mystery"? Was this really serious, genuine, gripping speculation spreading like wildfire on the message boards and at water coolers across the country? Were a few people curious? Probably. But those are actually Matthew Fox's tattoos, not Jack Shephards, so their meaning for this show was completely contrived. And although they did answer 'question', and answer it completely, I have to ask - who cares? So what? And that backstory they gave it to 'explain' it? Uh... what? I'm sure the Thai tourist board is psyched about that! Get a tattoo here, get your face pounded in by the angry locals! What? What was their motivation? Did this happen on planet Earth? This show continues to find new ways to make me say, out loud, "What? Why would they do that?" No reason was given, no explanation, just "hold him down while we beat him senseless for having the audacity to get a tattoo from a local tattoo artist!!".

Answer satisfaction rating for this question: D-. They don't fail because they actually did answer the question, it was just one no one cared about, had nothing to do with anything else, and required a positively pointless, absurd, unrealistic, bizarre flashback that made no sense whatsoever. But they get a passing grade for actually answering this question.

2. What happened to Cindy? Well, if you consider "She's with the Others" an actual answer, I suppose you could say they answered it. But when Jack presses her for answers that really matter, like "What happened? Why are you with them?", we get the classic "Huh? Wha? No, you don't..." half line with the puzzled look and no explanation forthcoming. Complete cop-out. The writers are positively terrified of giving anything away. It's as though these guys are stuck in Freud's 'Anal Retention' stage. They desperately need to expel, but gain pleasure from retaining.

Answer satisfaction for this question: F Yes, we found out Cindy was still alive, and with the Others, but this episode told us nothing (NOTHING!) more about this situation than the previews showed us. Therefore, they failed to answer anything we didn't already know about Cindy in this episode. Utter failure.

3. What did the Others do with the children? See my reaction to the Cindy question. We learned absolutely nothing. Zero. A better life? Didn't Goodwin already tell us that? We did finally get to actually see the children alive, so we were able to confirm that, but beyond that, we have no idea what they've been doing.

Answer satisfaction for this question: D-. We technically did not know that the children were still alive up to this point. Sure, we assumed so, but we didn't know. Now we do. But that's all we know. So that hardly constitutes an answer.

They didn't answer anything. They just had to come up with an promtion besides: "Another filler episode while we spin the series out long enough to make a killing on syndication."

They answered the question about whether Karl knew who the Brady Bunch was...:biggrin:

Oh I see so it was ABC's decision to hype the epi for fall sweeps, that makes it more palatable. I would have been more concerned if Darlton said this.

I cannot even remember when we saw Cindy before to wonder what happened to her - can someone refresh my memory -

The question of the kids was interesting -if they are on the main island and dirty then on the other island -why point out the teddy bear - and how dirty it is???

Going by the previews for this episode from last week, the three "big mysteries" that would be answered were as follows:

1. What do Jack's tattoos mean?
2. What happened to Cindy?
3. What did the Others do with the children?

And here are the answers we got:

1. What do Jack's tattoos mean? They mean "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us". Actually, strike that - that's what they say, but that's not what they mean. But aside from that, was this really a "big mystery"? Was this really serious, genuine, gripping speculation spreading like wildfire on the message boards and at water coolers across the country? Were a few people curious? Probably. But those are actually Matthew Fox's tattoos, not Jack Shephards, so their meaning for this show was completely contrived. And although they did answer 'question', and answer it completely, I have to ask - who cares? So what? And that backstory they gave it to 'explain' it? Uh... what? I'm sure the Thai tourist board is psyched about that! Get a tattoo here, get your face pounded in by the angry locals! What? What was their motivation? Did this happen on planet Earth? This show continues to find new ways to make me say, out loud, "What? Why would they do that?" No reason was given, no explanation, just "hold him down while we beat him senseless for having the audacity to get a tattoo from a local tattoo artist!!".

Answer satisfaction rating for this question: D-. They don't fail because they actually did answer the question, it was just one no one cared about, had nothing to do with anything else, and required a positively pointless, absurd, unrealistic, bizarre flashback that made no sense whatsoever. But they get a passing grade for actually answering this question.

2. What happened to Cindy? Well, if you consider "She's with the Others" an actual answer, I suppose you could say they answered it. But when Jack presses her for answers that really matter, like "What happened? Why are you with them?", we get the classic "Huh? Wha? No, you don't..." half line with the puzzled look and no explanation forthcoming. Complete cop-out. The writers are positively terrified of giving anything away. It's as though these guys are stuck in Freud's 'Anal Retention' stage. They desperately need to expel, but gain pleasure from retaining.

Answer satisfaction for this question: F Yes, we found out Cindy was still alive, and with the Others, but this episode told us nothing (NOTHING!) more about this situation than the previews showed us. Therefore, they failed to answer anything we didn't already know about Cindy in this episode. Utter failure.

3. What did the Others do with the children? See my reaction to the Cindy question. We learned absolutely nothing. Zero. A better life? Didn't Goodwin already tell us that? We did finally get to actually see the children alive, so we were able to confirm that, but beyond that, we have no idea what they've been doing.

Answer satisfaction for this question: D-. We technically did not know that the children were still alive up to this point. Sure, we assumed so, but we didn't know. Now we do. But that's all we know. So that hardly constitutes an answer.

great post,worthy of quoting

man - i honestly stick up for every episode when people complain. I'm preety easy about accepting the way each episode goes regardless of how confusing and slow it may be or that nothing gets answered but this kinda pissed me off. I mean dont say you'll answer 3 questions. People can complain about not getting answers but you knwo what, it's a show with tons of mystery so you dont have to give them answers - but to say you'll answer 3 and then gives us what we saw is kinda lame. The kids are living a better life??? and....

Jacks tatoo was intriquing but still so little was given.

1. Jack's tattoos -- where they came from, and their meaning

Well, at least the writing part on the bottom. We didn't find out a great deal about the rest of the tattoo added after his Thailand expedition.

man - i honestly stick up for every episode when people complain. I'm preety easy about accepting the way each episode goes regardless of how confusing and slow it may be or that nothing gets answered but this kinda pissed me off. I mean dont say you'll answer 3 questions. People can complain about not getting answers but you knwo what, it's a show with tons of mystery so you dont have to give them answers - but to say you'll answer 3 and then gives us what we saw is kinda lame. The kids are living a better life??? and....

Jacks tatoo was intriquing but still so little was given.

Not just 3 answers mind you, but answers to 3 of the islands biggest mysteries. :drowsy:

Damon and Carlton referred to the '3 mysteries answered' thing as "Promomania" in this week's podcast. Carlton actually asked "Why do they (ABC) do that?"

I can't wait. Next time when they promise us "3 of the island's biggest mysteries will be answered!!", we can look forward to these heavy-weight whoppers:

1. Did flight 815 serve chicken or fish?
2. Does Sawyer prefer boxers or briefs?
3. If Hurley were a bird, what kind of bird would he be?

I mean, seriously, these are big time.

Not only did we find out what Jack's tats say...we were told we didn't know what they actually mean??? Um...what now??

Damon and Carlton referred to the '3 mysteries answered' thing as "Promomania" in this week's podcast. Carlton actually asked "Why do they (ABC) do that?"
I guess it's kind of like the Geico commercial. Carlton and Damon tell ABC one thing, and then they get the announcer guy to come in and embellish it. :rolleyes:

I guess it's kind of like the Geico commercial. Carlton and Damon tell ABC one thing, and then they get the announcer guy to come in and embellish it. :rolleyes:

Maybe it's just ABC's way of saying "Hey, you guys better start answering questions, because we're telling people you're going to anyway."

And I thought the third question was, is Ben in charge? Boy, I didn't even get the three questions right.

1. The meaning of Jack tatoo and where he got it
2. What happened to all the people they took
3. Who is actually in charge of the island (it seems that it is actually Ben, not Jacob)

I think the biggest issue for me is that it was advertised as though something significant was going to be revealed. Whoever is responsible for their advertising certainly hasn't seen this episode. I'm not even sure I saw this episode - because I can't think of any mystery or question that was answered.

Going by the previews for this episode from last week, the three "big mysteries" that would be answered were as follows:

1. What do Jack's tattoos mean?
2. What happened to Cindy?
3. What did the Others do with the children?

As if those are mysteries or questions anyone even had?


And here are the answers we got:

1. What do Jack's tattoos mean? They mean "He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us". Actually, strike that - that's what they say, but that's not what they mean. But aside from that, was this really a "big mystery"? Was this really serious, genuine, gripping speculation spreading like wildfire on the message boards and at water coolers across the country? Were a few people curious? Probably. But those are actually Matthew Fox's tattoos, not Jack Shephards, so their meaning for this show was completely contrived. And although they did answer 'question', and answer it completely, I have to ask - who cares? So what? And that backstory they gave it to 'explain' it? Uh... what? I'm sure the Thai tourist board is psyched about that! Get a tattoo here, get your face pounded in by the angry locals! What? What was their motivation? Did this happen on planet Earth? This show continues to find new ways to make me say, out loud, "What? Why would they do that?" No reason was given, no explanation, just "hold him down while we beat him senseless for having the audacity to get a tattoo from a local tattoo artist!!".
Answer satisfaction rating for this question: D-. They don't fail because they actually did answer the question, it was just one no one cared about, had nothing to do with anything else, and required a positively pointless, absurd, unrealistic, bizarre flashback that made no sense whatsoever. But they get a passing grade for actually answering this question.
Totally agree - we know the tattoo is part of Matthew Fox's life and making up a dumb story just to show Jack in bed with someone seems to me to be an absolute time waster. He went to "find" himself - this time there, another time running up and down stairs at a stadium, another time at a swimming pool... yeah so? Ok so Jack is lost.. we know that. He gets a tattoo that upsets the natives because he isn't part of them, gets beaten up on a beach, the kid won't sell him soda, blah blah blah.. and what have we learned? If those were really Jack's tattoos.. then I could understand mentioning their meaning in passing - but not as an advertised answer to a mystery. I don't know if I'd go with a D- though - more like an "incomplete - try again"


2. What happened to Cindy? Well, if you consider "She's with the Others" an actual answer, I suppose you could say they answered it. But when Jack presses her for answers that really matter, like "What happened? Why are you with them?", we get the classic "Huh? Wha? No, you don't..." half line with the puzzled look and no explanation forthcoming. Complete cop-out. The writers are positively terrified of giving anything away. It's as though these guys are stuck in Freud's 'Anal Retention' stage. They desperately need to expel, but gain pleasure from retaining.

Answer satisfaction for this question: F Yes, we found out Cindy was still alive, and with the Others, but this episode told us nothing (NOTHING!) more about this situation than the previews showed us. Therefore, they failed to answer anything we didn't already know about Cindy in this episode. Utter failure.
I lay awake at night wondering what happened to her.. NOT. We knew she was taken by them and therefore probably with them.. we're smart enough to know that either she was "with" them from the start or was brainwashed -- but ironically - thats not even something that matters either way. I agree on a grade of F


3. What did the Others do with the children? See my reaction to the Cindy question. We learned absolutely nothing. Zero. A better life? Didn't Goodwin already tell us that? We did finally get to actually see the children alive, so we were able to confirm that, but beyond that, we have no idea what they've been doing.

Answer satisfaction for this question: D-. We technically did not know that the children were still alive up to this point. Sure, we assumed so, but we didn't know. Now we do. But that's all we know. So that hardly constitutes an answer.

I have to say that I feel the same way about the kids as I did with Cindy. Yay, we saw the teddy bear! woo hoo? It is completely and totally irrelevant. We've been told over the past 2 seasons that the kids are in a better place.. so is this supposed to re-answer that? Big F.
I think that of every episode I've watched - this one has disappointed me the most because they advertised it as though it was going to mean something. Had they never said anything about mysteries being answered - I may have had a more positive view...

I just hope this is not going to be the path that gets followed for the rest of this season.

Its funny, ABC are so desperate to BS people into watching this ep so they flat out lie to draw people in. It will work for this episode but it will piss so many people off I bet twice as many people will not watch next week compared to those who tuned in this week based upon the preview.

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Not one of those 3 questions was even on my mind. :rolleyes:
100%
I can't wait. Next time when they promise us "3 of the island's biggest mysteries will be answered!!", we can look forward to these heavy-weight whoppers:

1. Did flight 815 serve chicken or fish?
2. Does Sawyer prefer boxers or briefs?
3. If Hurley were a bird, what kind of bird would he be?

I mean, seriously, these are big time.

1 - Both because the pilots have to eat different meals in case one of the dishes has food poisoning
2 - Boxers, no one wears briefs.
3 - Turkey, hed never be able to get off the ground.

There, you dont even have to tune in next week. :biggrin:

Don't hit me, but I found the epi exceptional, but I quess that I didn't expect any proverbial answers, and what we were given, was just enough. I think what 'did it' for me was the interaction between the characters themselves, once we know them, the real mysteries define themselves, well, for me at least. All the rest is just so much 'glitter'.

Going by the previews for this episode from last week, the three "big mysteries" that would be answered were as follows:

1. What do Jack's tattoos mean?
2. What happened to Cindy?
3. What did the Others do with the children?

And here are the answers we got...
Vert, have I ever told you that you're one of my favorite posters ever?

Honestly! last time i checked I wasn't exactly concerned with the meaning of Jack's tattoos. I guess the question I want answered is...how do these "answers" advance the plot whatsoever?

The promos for this week Gave us allot of hype..
They said they would give us the answer to 3 questions
1.. I guess we did find out what Jacks Tatoo's mean..
But was that really a big Island Mystery??
What were the other questions and Anwsers???

I was unsure of this myself, but I think:
What happened to the people that were taken?
Do the others really live on the island?
How Jack got his tatoos and what do they mean?

As usual they answered a little of the questions, but not to any full extent.

How did they actually "answer" about what happened to Cindy et al.? That's fine that they are leaving it vague, but give me a break with the teasers with no payoff!

And the third question is really irrelevant--who really cares which island they live on? I figured they lived on the main island, but it didn't matter much to me and still doesn't.

So they basically told us where the tatoos came from. Ok, fine.

I am not one of those people who watches just to get answers--I actually like to be entertained and to watch the storytelling in each individual episode as they unfold, and then the answers come too which is what makes it such a special show. This had neither answers nor storytelling, despite the promise of the preview and the really spectacular two weeks before.

IMHO, the problem is the previews, not the episodes. Probably different people are responsible for them, and the preview folks need to go.

TPTB weren't too pleased that ABC posted the promos that way because they knew people would be dissappointed giving that kind of hype. I wasn't expecting much.

Ok I should have searched the posts.
There is another post on this.
Other people are saying
it's Jacks tatoo
What happened to Cindy
What happend to the kids.
Well in a way they did anwser these rather lame questions.
But all the Hype in the Promos. I'm sure people saw that.
And after the episode were ready to scream out I'm never watching this show again.
With the Ratings sinking like a stone.
They really need to
A. watch what they advertise. So people don't get fed up.
B. Give us some "Real" anwsers. So people don't get fed up.
They say they worry about giving us the story to soon.
Ha!! they have started so many mysteries. And then left them to hang
They could anwser a question every week
And still have questions left for years to come!!!!

Damon & Cartlon touched upon this in the lastest Podcast. ABC makes the previews, and tends to over-hype the content. As far as D&C were concerned, Jack's tattoo was the only "major" mystery revealed, and they even said that wasn't mind-blowing.
So, ABC (once again) is to blame for the previews - they've done it a few times before, I can't remember which episodes exactly...

I'm all for answering questions, but would rather that they don't get obsessed with it. The ones that answer lots of questions start to feel like "Answerporn"--with things happening that don't make sense just to go from answer to answer. I think they should go back to their roots, back to what made season 1 great. Good writing, good stories, characters and action. Stop adding junky silly mysteries with silly unsatisfying explanations, stop adding junky silly characters (Paolo and Nikki come to mind). Worry less about us Fusey types and write!

Whenever they stray, they should pull out the DVD of "Walkabout" and get some focus!

I agree, I don't feel that they actually "answered" the question about Cindy or the kids.
We already knew the kids were alive and with them because of last season.
I can never remember the names of episodes like pretty much every one else here,
but we saw them, or rather their feet, last year. Eko and Jin hiding in the bushes.
So ok, Cindy is alive and with the kids.....but why did they take her? What are they
doing with her and why does she seem cool with it now didn't get answered.
The only answer I can think of really is what his tattoos mean and frankly, I didn't really care about that. With the ten thousand other questions floating around the definition of his tattoos wasn't high priority for me.


Not that I'm disgruntled, don't get me wrong. I'm basically one of those die hards who can see good things in every episode, HOWEVER, somebody needs to stop promising answeres when there aren't any actually forthcoming.
Mostly I thought it was a good episode, I like angry, tough guy, no longer crying all the time, Jack. Creepy Henry is always fun to watch. And Isabell seems like she could
be loads of fun at parties! :) But yeah, three answers? Not that I caught.
Maybe I'm even slower than I thought I was.........

Ok so there should only be 2 Questions
1 How Do we Write in Mathew Fox's Tatoo's.
2 How does ABC desperatly try and Save a Fast Sinking in the Ratings show!

Another question: can we all get together and write ABC and ask them to quit it with the previews?? Or I guess I could just stop watching them too...:undecide:

Who really cares what Jack's tatoos say anyway ?? I never paid any attention to them, because they're irrelevant to the show, except that they've now wasted an entire episode trying to explain them. We already knew they lived on the crash island, because Ben sent the two spies from their camp directly to the two crash sites. They couldn't have gotten there by boat in time to make themselves part of the survivors. They didn't even answer any questions about Cindy (who was never a major character) because there weren't any. We do know that two of the kids are alive and well, but no answers as to where they've been or what they've been doing. Being from Hawaii, we get lots of things in the news about LOST, but here ABC is also broadcasting the previous week's episode to fill a time slot, which is also annoying. They need to stop with so many back stories and advance the storyline a little more. People are getting tired of nothing happening. It's getting to be like my wife's soap operas; broadcast every day, but you can miss two weeks and still know what's going on.

.... give me a break with the teasers with no payoff!

Precisely.... this is why I'm not too excited for next week's episode. They're saying "if you don't watch next week's episode, you won't know what everyone will be talking about the next day". Well, if it was another episode like tonight's was, forget about it. I'm not expecting much.

Which is sad, because I remember the preview for "Two For the Road" -- totally unassuming yet when Libby and Ana Lucia were shot it totally blew me away.... I did NOT see that coming, especially because the previews weren't hyped.

Let's get back to THAT advertising!

I went into this epi expecting not to get answers. It may be sad to have to be that way with this show, but I've learned that it's the only way to get through it. I'm hoping one week, I'll be pleasantly surprised with something really juicy (like the story behind Jacob or what the heck Smokey actually wants!) But until then... The "mystery" of Jack's tats or whether Des may or may not save poor little Charlie from his predestined doom are plots I guess we're stuck with at the moment. :undecide:

Its time to put up or shut down. I love LOST but I am like a lot of others losing interest. We are the audience and we can if we asert ourselves tell TPTB its time to put up the answers or get shut down in the ratings. This was a great TV series and to hype that the new season would tell us the ANSWERS then give us crap... I have two choices: ! watch the rest of the season or wait for the reviews and possibly buy the DVD and watch it instead or to hell with it and move on!!!

The conversation with Karl may have been the only thing to salvage from this episode.

Brothers and Sisters.

The only thing this episode answered was "How did docta Jak get the syphillis?"

the questions were...
1...Was Cindy and Other...
2...Why did they take the children...
3. What is the meaning of jacks tattoo...

We still don't know why they took the children. We still don't know the meaning of Jack's tattoo. And we don't know if Cindy was One of Them initially, or was brainwashed after she left.

What we did find out:

What Jack's tattoo says, and that it describes him. But not what it means in relation to the story or even in relation to Achara.
That the children were taken by the Others that we know, and are okay, and are oblivious that Ana died.
Kate and James are late to Homeroom.

The 'answered questions' teaser was simply ABC promotional advertising. I never gave it a second thought. Many LOST fans are jumping on the "answered questions" bandwagon without stopping to think. I don't want the writers to wrap everything up and hand it to me in a neat package. The mysteries explained-- the questions answered-- would take away one of the main reasons LOST is interesting. LOST make you think, it challenges the viewer on a deeper level. If the writers stripped LOST of it's intrigue, or if viewers were dissatisfied with the answers (and many would be), would it be a better show? We don't know where this new plot twist is going-- or how the writers plan to weave it into the future of the established characters-- but I'm willing to enjoy seeing this unfold without getting impatient. The creative team behind LOST has yet to let me down. Questions answered with new questions, character development, layers in the plot. I love the show more because of it.

I never see the previews, so I have a feeling I was less disappointed as a result. I can totally understand everyone's frustrations at the ABC promo department, but I think less anger should be directed at the show itself - after all, as many people have pointed out, Damon & Carlton had nothing to do with the promo. This episode wasn't about major reveals, dammit, and it was totally wrong to advertise it as so.

Stranger in a Strange Land has taken a lot of critical mauling, which I think is unfair as it was a strong character episode. It was written by Liz Sarnoff and Christina Kim, whose episodes have typically come under fire as being 'filler' because they concentrate more on the emotions and drama than the mysteries, which doesn't seem to interest a lot of people. Okay, it wasn't the most exciting show ever, but it had plenty of good scenes and has conclusively gotten us off of Hydra Island. ABC totally shot themselves in the foot by giving people unrealistic expectations, and it's probably going to reflect negatively on the show now.


Plus: I think it's mighty ironic that some of those people who for two seasons have been questioning "Why don't they properly explore the island and go find the Others?" and "Who are the Others and how does their society operate?" are the same people who are complaining that we've been spending too much time with them. I think now that we can see more of the Others through Jack and Juliet that we will get the answers we've been waiting for on a lot of issues, because how else are we going to learn the history of the island? It just took quite a few (too many? Maybe) episodes to get us to the point where we can buy that Jack is now a part of their society and will be allowed access to people and places that will help us piece together the puzzle.

Edit: Not that i'm saying Jack is an Other now, or anything. Just that he's in the best position.

Yes, agreed. The lack of 'three answers' is not a failure of the writers but of ABC to promote something that wasn't there in the first place

I agree, my boss and I have been racking out brains for the three answers to questions, we agree on the tattoo, we did get what it means literally, but what it means to Jack and the Island, we still don't know.
The other question we assummed was that Kate and Sawyer make it back, but did they?
That Juliet is really an Other, as Henry said to Jack.

Other than that, I am not sure what else could have been answered. I liked the reply about Jack's sandwiches being grilled! Cute.
100%
ABC knows how to ruin a good thing, will they never learn????

1. Jack's tattoos -- where they came from, and their meaning
2. What happened to the children
3. What happened to Cindy

Vertical did an excellent job of answering these questions. Here's my cent and a half.

1. This not being a pressing issue aside, this episode did little to answer this question. I assumed he got his tats in Thailand the minute Jack said he went to Thailand way back in episode [insert episode here because I can't remember off the top of my head]. And this was only a portion of the tattoo. Notice there was no 5 and the rest of the desgin. If the episode did anything it caused more questions to be asked about his tattoos. Why did he get beat up? How did the guys know he got the tattoo, did Jack's girlfriend tell them? We only know what they say, what do they mean? ect.. So one of two things can happen now: 1. We have to revisit this whole flashback/scenero again to find out answers or 2. They will just let the rest go unanswered. Both ways are bad. Why couldn't they just wrap up the tattoo question in one episode?

2. I can't tell you what happened to the children from watching this episode. I know they are alive but we never believed the Others were killing them so this answers nothing. Why did they take them? What are they doing with them? Where are they being kept?

3. Again same thing. Is Cindy an other? Was Cindy brainwashed? What were they going to watch when they were all standing out in front of Jacks cage? This whole scene seemed forced as if they put it in just to let us know they were alive.

Worst episode of Lost ever. The only thing we found out for sure is that Ben does have some authority....or was the whole "trial" thing contrived?

TPTB answer our questions with new questions here it what the answers are..
1. Jacks tattoo has meaning.answer 1...Now new questions....It either means he is a leader who will always be angry thing or it means he walks amongst us but is not one of us....what is the true meaning and what does that mean are the new questions...

2. Cindy is an Other...answer... new questions...Now was she brainwashed into being an Other or was she always an Other...

3. The take the children to lead a better life...answer...new questions...who was born there....were the kids brainwashed also...

3. What did the Others do with the children? See my reaction to the Cindy question. We learned absolutely nothing. Zero. A better life? Didn't Goodwin already tell us that? We did finally get to actually see the children alive, so we were able to confirm that, but beyond that, we have no idea what they've been doing.

Answer satisfaction for this question: D-. We technically did not know that the children were still alive up to this point. Sure, we assumed so, but we didn't know. Now we do. But that's all we know. So that hardly constitutes an answer.

Excellent post Vertical, much better than the episode.

As to #3 didn't Karl say to Sawyer they took the kids so they'd be in a better place? It doesn't improve the grade though. Just how are they in a better place?

tptb answer our questions with new questions...what else would we have to talk about if they didnt???...lol

Lost is something different: a novel in the form of a TV series, planned from the outset with a beginning, middle and end. The episodes are chapters, not self-contained stories. Who gets frustrated with a single chapter in a novel because it doesn't answer the big questions? You expect those in the final chapter!

Don't be too hard on the network, either. They're on our side and we should be on theirs: if the ratings don't come up, what we'll have is a mystery novel with the last quarter torn off and thrown away.

You know, this promo is aimed at everyone who watches the show, not just the hardcore fans. I'm going to think about this from my mother's point of view. I don't think my mom has ever given any thought to Jack's tattoo.ss so what three questions would my mom be thrilled to have answered from last night's ep?

1.

You know, this promo is aimed at everyone who watches the show, not just the hardcore fans. I'm going to think about this from my mother's point of view. I don't think my mom has ever given any thought to Jack's tattoo.ss so what three questions would my mom be thrilled to have answered from last night's ep?

1. What

Wow, I'm fairly surprised with the backlash regarding this episode and the advertising leading up to it. Haven't we all learned that previews are borderline meaningless? How many time have they shown stuff that itsn't even IN the next episode? Lots. This backlash is interesting since I'm a VERY pessimistic viewer and poster, and thought this episode did exactly what they advertised.

Whether you like it or not, Jack's tattoo's, Cindy's fate, and the fate of the children are some of the MOST asked questions throughout the years. Notice I didn't say "most important" questions, nor are they the most recent.

If you think about it, seeing the children with these Others totally KILLS a very popular "2 sets of others" theory that has bounced around for more than a year. That's big news in the land of the Lost and should not be overlooked.

I think it's important to keep perspective in mind. The audience was looking for three answers but Jack received three answers.

Alex come to ask Jack a question but first he makes her answer his. She then notes that it is his turn to answer because she's answered 3.

I feel we got a lot of answers: What happened to Cindy, what happened to the kids, and what Jack's tatoos came from.

You know, this promo is aimed at everyone who watches the show, not just the hardcore fans. I'm going to think about this from my mother's point of view. I don't think my mom has ever given any thought to Jack's tattoo.ss so what three questions would my mom be thrilled to have answered from last night's ep?

1. What became of the people that were taken? (She wouldn't remember the name Cindy)

2. Is Juliet good or evil? (Yeah, I know this isn't definite yet, but it is for my mom)

3. Who does Kate really love? (I haven't talked to her yet, but I'm certain she got her long-awaited answer from that scene at the end)

So, yeah. I think my mom got three very important questions answered, anyway. Yay for my mom!

Wow, I'm fairly surprised with the backlash regarding this episode and the advertising leading up to it. Haven't we all learned that previews are borderline meaningless? How many time have they shown stuff that itsn't even IN the next episode? Lots. This backlash is interesting since I'm a VERY pessimistic viewer and poster, and thought this episode did exactly what they advertised.

Whether you like it or not, Jack's tattoo's, Cindy's fate, and the fate of the children are some of the MOST asked questions throughout the years. Notice I didn't say "most important" questions, nor are they the most recent.

If you think about it, seeing the children with these Others totally KILLS a very popular "2 sets of others" theory that has bounced around for more than a year. That's big news in the land of the Lost and should not be overlooked.

Well, not totally. The "ferels" and the "boaties" have been merged in our minds since we knew that Goodwin and Ethan came from the same team.

However, there are still more. Who's patch-eye and how does Inman's people fit in. Are they cooperative or competitive?

along with the lady from the shop last week... so it's not like it was a huge reveal or anything...
That wasn't the shop lady, they were played by different actors.

We did get many answers to questions...People need to see that...

When the big idea of what was in the hatch was answered...a person...we got an answer with new questions...

And that backstory they gave it to 'explain' it? Uh... what? I'm sure the Thai tourist board is psyched about that! Get a tattoo here, get your face pounded in by the angry locals! What? What was their motivation? Did this happen on planet Earth? This show continues to find new ways to make me say, out loud, "What? Why would they do that?" No reason was given, no explanation, just "hold him down while we beat him senseless for having the audacity to get a tattoo from a local tattoo artist!!".

:rotflmao2: Can't. Breathe. :rotflmao2:

I think the questions were

What happened to those abducted? It appears that they are living amongst the others and have been brain washed.

Where do the others live? They live on the main island. The other Island is where they work...on projects.

What do Jacks Tattoos mean and how did he get them. He got them in Thailand. They are not ordinary tattoos they are a branding of who he is. They mean something along hte lines of He walks amongst us but he is not one of us.

On the podcast Damon and Carlton could only come up with 2. Jack's tatoo and what happened to Cindy. It seems that the producers of the show don't control how ABC promote it.

Damon and Carlton referred to the '3 mysteries answered' thing as "Promomania" in this week's podcast. Carlton actually asked "Why do they (ABC) do that?"

This deserves repeating!!!!!
100%
I never see the previews, so I have a feeling I was less disappointed as a result. I can totally understand everyone's frustrations at the ABC promo department, but I think less anger should be directed at the show itself - after all, as many people have pointed out, Damon & Carlton had nothing to do with the promo. This episode wasn't about major reveals, dammit, and it was totally wrong to advertise it as so.

Stranger in a Strange Land has taken a lot of critical mauling, which I think is unfair as it was a strong character episode. It was written by Liz Sarnoff and Christina Kim, whose episodes have typically come under fire as being 'filler' because they concentrate more on the emotions and drama than the mysteries, which doesn't seem to interest a lot of people. Okay, it wasn't the most exciting show ever, but it had plenty of good scenes and has conclusively gotten us off of Hydra Island. ABC totally shot themselves in the foot by giving people unrealistic expectations, and it's probably going to reflect negatively on the show now.


Plus: I think it's mighty ironic that some of those people who for two seasons have been questioning "Why don't they properly explore the island and go find the Others?" and "Who are the Others and how does their society operate?" are the same people who are complaining that we've been spending too much time with them. I think now that we can see more of the Others through Jack and Juliet that we will get the answers we've been waiting for on a lot of issues, because how else are we going to learn the history of the island? It just took quite a few (too many? Maybe) episodes to get us to the point where we can buy that Jack is now a part of their society and will be allowed access to people and places that will help us piece together the puzzle.

Edit: Not that i'm saying Jack is an Other now, or anything. Just that he's in the best position.

Great post. Jack is now with them, which is great IMO. I think folks need to look beyond the promos. It wasn't the most revealing nor was it the most exciting. But it wasn't uber confusing either. Just a solid episode with some good moments.

You know if ABC was to announce that LOST was to be dropped and cancelled before even finishing this season, most of the naysayers would freak out. It's still one of the better offerings on TV. Then again there is always American Idol if you want entertianing TV that doesn't make you think.

I think it's fairly naive to be sucked in by promos, even if they'd just said one big mystery would be answered, I'd have still been skeptical.

As far as three question and answers go, I'm pretty much in agreeance with what's already been said (tattoo, cindy etc...)

For me though, I was happy with the episode and although I'm speculating I believe it offered a hint about the smoke monster, which I've gone into a bit more depth with here: http://www.thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=70275

Actually, if you look at the wikipedia article for last night's episode you will see this:

"The supposed three big mysteries solved in "Stranger in a Strange Land" was actually a stunt by the people in charge of the episode promos, according to the producers of the show in the official Lost podcast. They confirmed that the only mystery to be answered in this episode was the origin of Jack's tattoos."

I figured it was all a ruse when Alex said to Jack "I just answered three questions, now you answer mine." Pretty lame if you ask me.

J

I'm just wondering what the whole "We're here to watch" thing was about. I had hoped we'd see more than what we did in the previews, but nope.

According to the folks at Wikipedia:
The supposed three big mysteries solved in "Stranger in a Strange Land" was actually a stunt by the people in charge of the episode promos, according to the producers of the show in the official Lost podcast. They confirmed that the only mystery to be answered in this episode was the origin of Jack's tattoos.


I hate ABC!

"NEXT WEDNESDAY... on a special edition of Lost that you DON'T WANT TO MISS, you'll find out exactly what the hell we were talking about LAST WEEK when we said THREE ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED, only on ABC."

"NEXT WEDNESDAY... on a special edition of Lost that you DON'T WANT TO MISS, you'll find out exactly what the hell we were talking about LAST WEEK when we said THREE ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED, only on ABC."

haha, now THAT'S funny!

well they gave us a little more info about the kids and cindy, but thats it really

Technically they didn't even completely answer the question of why jack got all of his tattoos - they only showed him getting the chinese script, and not the other part with the bell or stars or something. But I guess those "don't matter"... of course, after watching the entire flash back, the chinese script ones don't really matter either because they "don't mean what you think they mean."

And who really cares anyway. Jack explaining that he got his tattoos in phuket learning to play poker gave a lot more insight into them than "I have a magic gift tattoo artist" did.

And they didn't even show Jack playing poker, unless they are setting us up for another promo mystery to be answer: "Tune in this week as we learn the exciting fact of how Jack learned how to play five card stud!!!"

"They confirmed that the only mystery to be answered in this episode was the origin of Jack's tattoos."

...and that's what I just don't understand. Why do they think that Jack's tattoos are considered a worthy enough "mystery" to warrant a FB? Damon and Carlton have hyped this "mystery" in interviews all season long, and it provided no new insight to the character or the island mythology. They are doing the same thing with

how Locke winds up in the wheelchair. Unless DHARMA or the others had something to do with it - and I just know they won't - why is it so important? Sure it is fine to show it, but don't hype it as a "mystery." Now, if they explored (I won't say "answered" because there is no way they will do that at this point) how the island healed Locke - THAT would be chipping away at a REAL mystery.

"NEXT WEDNESDAY... on a special edition of Lost that you DON'T WANT TO MISS, you'll find out exactly what the hell we were talking about LAST WEEK when we said THREE ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED, only on ABC."
That is too funny

Three big mysteries solved:

Q.What do Lostie teenagers do on dates?

A.Think up cutesie names for constellations, ie Teddy Bear.

Q.What other profession has young Thai women getting breast implants, wearing clothes which could not be any skimpier, staying out until the wee small hours of the morning and making obscene amounts of money?

A. Secret Personal Artist of Tattoos (S.P.A.T.)

Q.Where and to whom can a world renowned spinal surgeon go to learn to fly a kite?

A. A Beach in Phuket with a SPAT.

I'm sorry but I just don't buy the "you can't blame the writer's room" argument. I've never worked at any of the major television networks, but I have worked for an advertising firm. There was always a certain number of clients that felt our work had "misrepresented" their product or service. Most often this would be smoothed over with a conversation with one of the execs or else that client would no longer be in business with our company.

Let's be honest, this is hardly the first time there has been a "miscommunication" between the promo department and the Lost folks at Touchstone Television. At some point the "don't look at me" excuse won't work anymore. With the mini-season problems and long hiatus, lingering frustration and declining ratings the show-runners or somebody who works in the writers room has to be communicating with the promotional department at ABC.

I'm sorry, it's inexcusable at this point. The show already has a majority of its audience utterly confused most of the time as to where it's headed, not too mention the ongoing game of "cat and mouse" in regards to the veracity of Darlton Lindeluse's media tidbits. Somebody absolutely has to get fired over this one.:mad: :rolleyes:

My thoughts on this were

1. What happened to Cindy
2. Where are the kids? Are they dead in a bear cave?
3. What do the tatoos mean

They did answer three question that I thought the first two were pretty big. I still want to know what happened to the drowning girl in Season 1 that Boone was trying to save.

some things i jottted to some friends this morning. Im quite sure those who think LOST can do no wrong, even as its ratings and quality are slipping, will rip, but this is for those who havent been brainwashed watching the Room 23 Video yet and can think with a clear head...

“Three mysteries will be answered” Really? When, it 2009??????? Last night’s episode may have been the biggest time killer yet.

Jack’s Tats....is that supposed to be mystery #1?? Well, Sawyer already told us where Jack got the tats. Is the mystery what the tats say, what they mean? And if so, are you kidding me? Yeah, I get the poijt that the ep is called “Stranger in a strange land”, which is a famous sci-fi novel about an outsider, a human, asked to be the leader of an alien race, and I get what the tat says. But come on, this is a mystery answered? And we know the #5 was answered in the first 15 minutes of the series, when he told Kate his spinal cord surgery story. But they didn’t answer anything. Instead, like everything else with LOST, it leaves unanswered questions, like

-Bai Ling has never been able to act. They couldn’t find anyone better?

-she ‘sees’ things. Is this a tie-in to Desmond? I know Bai has 2 more upcoming eps so her characters story isn’t done.

-why did her brother and his friends beat the crap out of him? So the writers could have a reason for Jack to leave? Because I couldn’t fathom a reason why they pummeled him

-Thailand is running rampant with AIDS. Jack just allows Bai to tat him??????????? And he’s a DOCTOR????????????????????

-why was her gift so important? Im sure we’ll see in her upcoming eps, but again, they answered a question with more FRICKIN QUESTIONS!

-Juliette being marked...why?? and why on the bottom of the back where no one could see it unless, you know, she decides she wants to start wearing belly shirts??



Cindy and the kids...that “mystery” was answered last week...in the TRAILER! The only thing new we saw last night was the kids, but we’ve seen them before. Exactly WHAT did they answer with that last night??? “We watch” Watch WHAT????? Again, an answer is answered with about a dozen more questions. They watched the Trial, and the trial room had Dharma logos. Ok, I get it. Now answer what the hell Dharma is already.

-“We give them better lives” Ok...HOW??????????????????????????????????

-They watch but don’t know about Ana Lucia? Again...WHY???????????????????????????????



Kate and Sawyer

-When Sawyer was singing the tune from “Jaws” anyone else expect one of the Dharma sharks fins to make an appearance. That would have been neat.

-Sawyer loves kate. Kate loves jack. Wow. I didn’t see that one coming.

-Sawyer lets Karl leave. Which made me start thinking the following...

-They are peppering Karl with questions. He mentions experiments and backyards and that the small island isn’t their home...and then they STOP ASKING QUESTIONS! If that was ME, I would have asked the following, kinda IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

Like-What the hell are you people doing?

-WHERE do you live?

-WHERE in the world are WE???

-HOW did you get involved in this??

-BACKYARD....WHERE?????????????

No, they just stop asking questions. Pisses me off and makes NO sense, sorta like Mike seeing a computer last season, reading someone possibly from the outside world asking “Who are you?” and instead of answering “Im Mike, we’re lost on a weird island, we were on Oceanic 815, we were way off course...etc” he says “Im Mike, who are you?” Are they KIDDING with this stuff? NORMAL people would be asking questions, especially last night with Karl.

Ben...

-If Ethan was the ONLY surgeon, why the HELL did ben let Ethan go to the island in a very dangerous situation?? It felt made up and weak.

-Why did Ben put himself in harms way by going on the island in the first place? To get Jack to perform surgery on his back? Really?? Wasn’t ETHAN a surgeon??? Why would he send the only person he KNEW could perform the surgery, and wouldn’t have to have his arm twisted to do so, to the island to possibly get killed. The plot holes are leaking.

-And if he did go to the island to get jack, I kinda remember Tom and the boys having Sawyer, Kate, Hurley and Jack surrouded in the island in the middle of season 2, the famous “Don’t cross this line, Jack” scene. So, um, why didn’t they just take them THEN to the smaller island and save Ben the trouble of being caught and possibly killed? They already had Walt. If they were afraid the rest of the castaways would com elooking for them, im sure a “We’ll kill ALL of them” would have stopped a search party. No?


This also got me thinking about the medical hatch, ethan and Claire. Like

-why was there a medical hatch on the bigger island? Its apparent the Others don’t like that island. Why wouldn’t they have just taken Claire to wherever they are taking Jack now to study her? It makes no sense whatsoever.

-the theatrical make-up Kate found in the Med hatch. Why? Looking back on it, it was a useless and pointless plot point. Why would the Others be using makeup to hide their appearances??

Next week’s Hurley ep better be a great one. I could actually hear TV sets being turned off last night around 10:20 after the THIRD COMMERCIAL break.

Three big mysteries solved:

Q.What do Lostie teenagers do on dates?

A.Think up cutesie names for constellations, ie Teddy Bear.

Q.What other profession has young Thai women getting breast implants, wearing clothes which could not be any skimpier, staying out until the wee small hours of the morning and making obscene amounts of money?

A. Secret Personal Artist of Tattoos (S.P.A.T.)

Q.Where and to whom can a world renowned spinal surgeon go to learn to fly a kite?

A. A Beach in Phuket with a SPAT.

:rotflmao2: :rotflmao2: I thought the kite part was pretty ridiculous...maybe that's what was supposed to blow our minds.

OK, a quick study on constellations since this episode was about stars
to me:

Carl talks about "Ursa Theodoris - The Teddy Bear" when he lands with
Sawyer and Kate. In our known constellations, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor
are the Big and Little Dippers, respectively. AKA - Big Bear and Little
Bear. Big Bear points to the North Star, Polaris. Polaris is at the end
of the "tail" of Little Bear. The relationship of these 2 constellations
is a constant rotation, or dance, around each other, around the north
pole, Polaris; and is the basis for our way of navigating the earth
latitudinally.


Lore states that Little Bear is playing "keep away" with Polaris;
keeping it from Big Bear. Neither constellation fully sets on the
horizon.

According to Greek mythology, Big Bear was created by Hera, the wife of
Zeus, by transforming Callisto, due to her jealously of her love with
Zeus. Callisto's own son, Arcas, almost killed Big Bear in the woods
with an arrow. To save Callisto, Zeus transformed Arcas into a bear as
well and tossed them both into the heavens so they could always be
together and watch over one another; or so they chase each other
endlessly, avoiding death and sorrow.

Source:
http://hsci.cas.ou.edu/exhibits/exhibit.php?exbgrp=3&exbid=20&exbpg=116 (http://ms06.lnh.mail.rcn.net/cgi-bin/fetch.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhsci.cas.ou.edu%2Fexhib its%2Fexhibit.php%3Fexbgrp%3D3%26exbid%3D20%26exbp g%3D116)

This relationship brings up a number of other themes in the show: polar
bears, father-son, being lost, death & endless suffering.

Finally, "Theodoris" and "Teddy Bear" must be a reference to Theodore
Roosevelt, the 25th president of the United States. (Incidentally,
Roosevelt served 2 terms as president, or 8 years - one of the "numbers"
in LOST.) One of the stories of how Teddy Bears got their name has to do
with a hunting excursion where one of Roosevelt's colleagues caught an
injured bear and Roosevelt insisted it be set free; killing it would be
"unsportsmanlike."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear (http://ms06.lnh.mail.rcn.net/cgi-bin/fetch.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki %2FTeddy_bear)

How long can we drag this out before we have to actually come up with a story?
Will an episode comprised primarily of Jack having sex and Kate and Sawyer not having sex hold anybody's attention?
Who is the most unlikely person to have the position of "Others' Surgeon"?

Speaking of unanswered questions, I heard that the Lost Powers That Be have stated that they're wrapping all the mysteries up by the end of this season. I don't know about all of you, but that screams "Cop-out!" to me. I mean, how can you solve two and a half seasons' worth of weirdness and impossibility in less than half a season?! If they explain everything just to have everything explained and don't put much thought into it, I'm going to stop watching. If people are curious enough, they'll watch til the end, no matter if it takes from here til 2027. Don't make a crappy ending just for the sake of appeasing the impatient.

Bob Newhart wakes up in bed next to Suzanne Pleshette

Bob: "I had this weird dream that I was a handsome spinal surgeon who crashed on a desert island... nothign made sense."

Suzanne: "Was I in it?"

3 questions answered last night:

1. Will the ratings improve if they add a sexy Asian actress to the mix? Answer, clearly no.

2. Will the ratings improve if Jack finally gets beat up? Answer, no, but it was still amusing.

3. Will the somewhat fraternal practice of college boys branding themselves with greek letters grow in popularity if Juliet gets a cute little brand on her lower back, or will it just start everyone wondering what that cute little brand signifies? Answer, I don't like her anyway, so if she got branded, oh well.

The writers really let us down last night, there's no way around it.

How long can we drag this out before we have to actually come up with a story?
Will an episode comprised primarily of Jack having sex and Kate and Sawyer not having sex hold anybody's attention?
Who is the most unlikely person to have the position of "Others' Surgeon"?

I can't believe I fell for the ole Ethan is a plumber trick.

Three Biggest Mysteries on Lost, now (thankyou ABC) SOLVED!:

1. How much promo-hype is too much?
2. Yeah but can you really have toooo much though?
3. How many more weeks can we sucker people into watching our sponsors' commercials?

;)

jk, I haven't lost faith...YET!!:rolleyes:

According to the folks at Wikipedia:
The supposed three big mysteries solved in "Stranger in a Strange Land" was actually a stunt by the people in charge of the episode promos, according to the producers of the show in the official Lost podcast. They confirmed that the only mystery to be answered in this episode was the origin of Jack's tattoos.


I hate ABC!


Just cause we didn't like the questions that got answered doesn't mean we didn't get em.

We weren't told what happened to the children or Cindy. We just saw them standing there. There is still a big gap to be filled. We weren't shown what has happened to them between being taken and now.

They answered the question about the children...Yes the Others have them and they took them to give them a better life..They seem happy. There are more questions to be answered byt they answered the fundamental one...

They answered where Cindy was...she is the caretaker of the children with the Others. Since there are more children there than the ones the Others kidnapped...and they all were quite a few kids with her...We can assume that the Others trusted her enough to put her in charge of the children as their keeper...Who do the Others trust?...Only themselves...making her an other...

I have a big question: what is the deal with the bear theme in LOST? We have polar bears and teddy bears and now Ursa Theodorus (latin for teddy bear). And the constellation he was looking at was Ursa Major (latin for great bear).

I want that question answered. What is up with the bear thing?

They answered where Cindy was...she is the caretaker of the children with the Others.

wha, who? i don't see where you're getting this. she was in the scene with some children and also some adults. "care taker" seems far-fetched to me.

What happened to the abductees? is a single question that covers multiple missing people including both the children and Cindy. If they had really answered it it would be one question answered not two.
We know where the abductees are but not what happened to them. The where was not a burning question.
We found out what part of Jack's tatoos say but he told us that is not what they mean.:rolleyes:
So that was not a complete answer.

My main question going into this episode was, "what would they do to tie it in to the Heinlen book for which it was named?"

I was happy with the episode because I (We) already knew that you can't trust promos therefore I expected no real answers. So seeing Jack gain 2 possible disident allies while he starts to disrupt the Other's society and watching Ben's control start to slip was plot progress of the type I expected based on the shows title.