Didn't like the ep? Tell us why. :biggrin:






This thread is for those that did NOT like the episode. If you liked the ep please visit the "Loved it!!!" thread. If you want to debate the episode (likes and dislikes), then please take your comments to the "Rate The Episode" thread or The "Discuss The Episode" thread. Any off topic posts will be deleted and possibly warned or given infraction points.

All the good things in the episode were offset by the stupid lines written for Ben & Kate.
Two formerly great characters reduced to ninnies.

Locke really didn't kipnap Ben? Locke's Dad was "the Sawyer" in Sawyer's past.

One word: Anticlimatic.



Did Locke's Dad seriously think they were in Hell? He said it several times. Is he some idiot who actually believes he is dead? Well, maybe I'm dead. Maybe those reading this are dead. Gee, I just can't tell. Although, it would go along way to explain being tortured by this idiotic show. Hmmm.


When Locke's Dad says, "Don't you know where we are?" Locke asks Ben, "What did he mean?". Ben's reply?... and I bet you saw it coming... "We don't have time for that now". Other's question dodge #248!


How is this whole thing with Flight 815 being found with the bodies going to be explained? They found the plane and somehow didn't recover the bodies? Those bodies would defintely have been very easy to identify. Yeah, yeah, I can see it now... Naomi is lying or it's all a con. Blah, blah, blah.


One moment that really made me cringe was the last scene with Jack, Kate, and Juliet. Kate wants to talk to Jack and he proclaims, "Anything you want to say to me you can say in front of her." Give me a break.

Lost is a cheesey, meandering soap-opera masquerading as a high-brow epic mystery.


Oh, and not to be nitpicky but Locke somehow mangaes to throw a 200 pound dead man over his shoulder and carry him? Yeah, OK.

I didn't dislike this episode, but I didn't like it either. The reason is that it is not really
a standalone episode. Whether this episode proves to be good or not depends greatly
on the episodes to follow. It is setting us up for something exceedingly stupid or very
interesting. As a standalone episode, though, there's not too much to it. A lot of
misdirection and hinting and setting up of plots take place in this episode. It was almost
like a prologue, and for it's own merits I guess I give it a C+/B-.


By the way, was there a flashback?! Not really, unless we count Locke's missing few
days as a flashback. I viewed it more as "what Locke has been doing all this time".

I would count those scenes's as a flashback.

I'm usually easy to please. And anything with Sawyer I'm pretty much sold. JH did a wonderful job but the execution, of the story didn't do too much for me. I wasn't really excited by everything that was happening. I was kinda bored. So who knew I could care less about what Locke had been doing all this time with the others. There were some highlights Sawyer and Sayid, but that can't help the plot. This was supposed to be the Sawyer/ Sawyer face off I"d been waiting for. I think I woulda prefered a Sawyer flashback.

The only thing that really pissed me off was them constantly (and I mean CONSTANTLY) dropping clues that the Losties are really dead...cause you know that they are trying to confuse the fans (which they most definitely will) and then it is going to all be explained away as lies and misdirection and dare I say it...hype!!

Actually there were other things that bugged me too. One being the fact that Locke didn't argue more with Ben over the reason WHY he had to kill his father. I'm sorry but to do something like take a human life (no matter how horrible the person) especially by someone who seems very reluctant to do it, I am very disappointed that Locke didn't get more information before he ran off looking for Sawyer.

It just doesn't make sense. Especially the part about having Locke kill Cooper in front of everyone and the whole thing about embarassing him??? HUH?? So he wasn't cold blooded enough to kill a person tied to a pillar?? IN FRONT OF CHILDREN no less?????

It also doesn't make sense why Ben would tell Locke information about their invasion in three days and then leave Locke with enough time to take Cooper to the Black Rock and track back to the beach where he could warn everyone of the coming attack on the pregnant women.

Ben had better done it on purpose to cause a rift in the camp for his actions to make sense, but Locke to not know that there was a real possibility he was being played by Ben....Locke is just not making any kind of sense anymore!

Its just getting too too frustrating with all the non information and non questions and ignoring what is right in front of your face just so the story can continue with the main characters not knowing what is going on.

Its even worse when you have Locke, who doesn't know what is going on on the island (otherwise he wouldn't be asking Ben to tell him everything) acting like he knows so much and not answering questions.

Then the whole "Kate must act like a complete idiot in order for the story to continue" with going to Jack with the secret that Sayid asked her to keep...and then the whole cryptic "we have to tell her"....

Whatever, its so ANNOYING not knowing what is going on, and this show just keeps doing it!! The look on Kate's face has been mine ever epiosde during the last 5 minutes and then for the first 5 minutes with the hope of getting an answer to the cliff hanger from last episode followed by that look again when you realize they are going to totally ignore it.

PLEASE for the love of god, just answer the d*mn mystery of the island so we can enjoy the character drama without always having in the back of our minds, the question of if they will answer something this time. Its just getting draining....

Yeah...umm most of us that have been here for a while have been calling the whole "Cooper is the real Sawyer' thing since season 1.
Even though it adds a connection, and most people like this tidy little solution, I wanted something more riveting.
I stand by my original statement that Locke having had a darker period in his youth (pre grand theft kidney) during which he was the predator would have made for a much more climatic reveal. In addition to ending his role as the perrenial victim, this also would have made Cooper's huslte more Karmic. Imagine what that scene could have been (or still could be if TPTB choose to fool James Ford twice) should John Locke himself had turned out to be the "real Sawyer".
***MOD EDIT..asking people to not flame...by flaming them?***

The logic that the writers ask us to follow and believe is absurd.

Every sentence from every character is not what they would logically say. Every action from every character is not what they would do. Every storyline is driven by logic that deifes everything we know about human behavior.

I cant say anything more than that.

You know what, I've never been here before because I totally LOVE this show, but WTF?
.


Same here. Sad :(

this was a C or a D episode. Someone else used the term anti-climatic. I think that fits. We've been leading up to Sawyer/Cooper for years and all I felt was "...Oh." (also, make sure he's really dead cause we saw what happened with Patchy!) I wasn't excited about Locke's character "progression" through-out the episode. I didn't feel entertained. I just felt sad and confused. And not in a fun Lost-confused kinda way.

This was poorly written and just not that interesting. And slowly paced. I kept glancing at my clock.

And the sad thing was when the episode started I was so excited and nervous and "omgwhatsgonnahappen!"

20 minutes in I paused and left to get ice cream. Seriously, thats sad commentary on a show like this.

I just feel completely let down and sad. Sad sad sad.

Did I mention sad?

It's been awhile since I've been in here. I Actually stopped watching the show but I got sucked back in at my neighbors request. So, on to last nights episode. Someone previously posted correctly that Locke sure didn't question too much this weird ritualistic killing he was supposed to perform. Look, to be embarrassed about not killing someone in cold blood? TIed down? In front of kids? It's just stupid. Maybe Ben's the devil or a devil if not THE devil, but cmon. Locke doesn't put up a better argument, or fight the presumption that killing his dad would set everything right. Sawyer, I get. After all, he wanted to kill him in the first place and could argue that he's already dead so he's not really doing anything, but no moral compass works on this island either. The only thing new I can add is that there are no anwers to get from this ep. I think the writers have had a general idea about the idea of the series, but all the questions you have are because of fillers that the writers think are cool, but I promise they all won't be answered or ever make any sense. Stevey King does that a lot in his books. He'll have a creepy catch phrase or something repeated several times in a story but it won't have much to do with the overall story. All you'll say about it is that it was weird.

the episode was tasteless to me. Sawyer's revenge on the real Sawyer was predictable from the very first line.

the big revelation from "DOC" that astonished all of us, the fact that they found the Losties' bodies as well as their plane off the island, revealed to be a "weak point", being the finding of the wreckage just a fake (probably)...

You know what would have been cool? If Locke was acting as a mole, kidnapped Ben and killed him. You know what was not cool? What actually happened.

Same here. Sad :(


This was poorly written and just not that interesting. And slowly paced. I kept glancing at my clock.



Oh my goodness. Me too. I was totally watching the clock.

I can't believe I am in here again - I thought I had dug myself out of the quagmire of disdain after the last couple of episodes. But here goes....again my problem is the writing. The basic premise of the story I can deal with and actually find the plane thing interesting but the desperation of the producers to get this show back on track is so pathetic it sweated through every pore of dialogue this episode. Hmmmm they want answers they want answer: Hmmm ok - we will attempt to explain away the whole series - they are in hell. ANVIL No 1. Come on!!! Writing and story is about development not big expose - and badly done at that. No subtlety.

But what got me more were the two climatic scenes of this episode. No.1 - Sawyer killing 'Sawyer' - yeah how many times can the word con be thrown into the episode. I'm a con-man, I conned him for the liver, I loved the con, I wont get conned again. blah blah con blah con blah. Yes conmen really are that open, honest and free with the truth and their past. They also take classes in bow tying to dish out neat presents of predictable information. Hmm and a few lessons seemed to have been forgotten by our master con-man for it seems odd one would taunt a raging, bearded man with the look of murder in his eyes when tied to a metal pole with thick chains in a strange place.

Clanger NO2 - Kate - smart smart Kate - who has been on the run for god know how many years - abandons all her stealth, wiles and common sense - to tell Jack the important secret people have been keeping from him and relays it to him infront of Juliet!! Yes - really believable. Or are we to assume Kate is being led by her libido. Old Kate would've told Jack where to go when he oh so arrogantly ordered her to tell him in front of Juliet. That makes perfect sense: Kate doesnt trust Juliet, is uncertain of Jack, wants to speak to Jack alone but when this request is refused - blurts it out anyway. I mean come on,

I just want to say to TPTB - have some pride and conviction. Think up a coherent story, write it well and serve it up. By god - you got season 1 made without the fan's input and that was great. This episode just felt like a candy dummy full of answers to shove in the mouth of complaining fans and critics - umm it didnt work.

Oh my goodness. Me too. I was totally watching the clock.

Well, then you two did better than I did. I just got up and walked away lol. Actually, I got up and sat down at my computer and starting typing to a few buddies of mine who were confused as to why I was writing to them while Lost was on. The long and short of it is, the characters aren't the same characters many people enjoyed during seasons one and two. I feel like TPTB have butchered these characters on purpose and I don't know what their reasons could possibly be for portraying their two leading characters the way that they are and making the fans "choose" sides. I've never had characters that I've hated on a television show and then Lost season three blew that out of the water. I've never been this aggravated at a show like I am at Lost.

I also stopped watching and couldn't take it anymore, but my son made me watch it with him last night after he dvr'd it. What I want to know is are they inPurgatory. and if someone actually dies do they go to heaven or hell. All signs seem to point to that and if that is true then I will be so p*ssed that the show went this route. I agree with everyone it seems to me that tptb have butchered all of the characters on this show, and I am just sick and tired of it. My older son asked me what are they doing with Lost and I told him I'll be dammed if I know.

^You have no idea how tired people are of the Purgatory theory. I REALLY suggest you don't bring it up again, because it's brought up so much it drives people mad.

^You have no idea how tired people are of the Purgatory theory. I REALLY suggest you don't bring it up again, because it's brought up so much it drives people mad.

Maybe you should tell that to the writers.:rolleyes:

Yes, the writers have said that it's not purgatory. We all know that. So, why are they trying to drive it home that it is purgatory. It's a trick. They want to confuse us. Well, sorry but if you're going to tell us it's not purgatory then don't try to shove it down our throats that it is. Even my husband, who is a casual watcher and doesn't know they've said it isn't purgatory, thinks it's just a trick too. I think they really believe people are going to go OH MY GOSH!!! is this purgatory.:eek2:

We were not happy with the Sawyer killing Cooper story either. Terrible!!!

And our one strong, independent woman on the show has been reduced to a stupid sex object.

^You have no idea how tired people are of the Purgatory theory. I REALLY suggest you don't bring it up again, because it's brought up so much it drives people mad.

I would also propose not to spoilerfont it, as it was being SHOVED INTO OUR MINDS 23 TIMES this episode. Hardly a spoiler. Maybe we need a <Possiblecrappystoryline> function.
100%
Some things to note and hate:

Richard: They just killed off Paolo, so now they'll focus at the red shirt with no lines who was pushing Ben around in his wheelchair, coincidentally also 'hot'. They groom hip up, I think he had a couple of suntans between both episodes, and he HAD A SPARKLING CLEAN SUIT ON. It made me throw a fork at my screen. I looked down at my work clothes and was thinking 'This guy has been living on this island and trekking around with tents...and his clothes look better after mine when ironed?' Jezus.

Ben's tent: A heavy wooden drawer, to keep his electronic gadgets in, in a tent? When they are travelling around on foot? Seriously? Do they have four-toed midgets trailing behind not in camera view moving their furniture everywhere?

What is WRONG with this series? Anyone with half a brain can see this kind of glring errors. Are they making it into a gag?

Things I hated:

I was sincerely expecting more from this episode. Answers...finally.
But as usual Lost punched me in the face.

1. Loads of questions asked followed by loads of irrelevant answers & interruptions.

2. Kate's character is being bucthered with every passng episode.

Sayid & Hurley foolishly sit where someone can gatecrash. Kate can you keep a
secret. Ummm....okay whats it?
Kate: Jack, Jack Jack I want to talk to in private.
Jack: Scram away you jilted dork.
Kate: Jack please please please
Jack: Speak before the sweet & holy Juliet or dont.
Kate: Ok...blah blah blah...
No one trusts you, but you see I came and told you everything even if
you are behaving suspicious & treating me like a dog. Now, will you sleep with me?

3. Purgatory...Hell...Purgatory...Hell

To hell with it. We all know its neither purgatory nor hell.

4. Let go by killing your father in full view of children. Why? Becuz I wanna embarass you. hee...hee...

Great. :67hissy:

5. All the twists & turns to have people go "OMG!!!" are turning into
damp squibs. Has the writing deteriorated so much?

6. Season 3 = Filler Season

Such a thin story line so far. We have almost reached the finale & I am
still not excited. Even if the remaining eps are great they simply cannot
revive this season which I see as a disaster. Maybe I will "officially" make
an announcement to that effect if I get a stupid Ben or Charlie episode thats coming.
If they are really thinking of going till Season 5, I shiver at the thought of how
HORRIBLE season 4 will be.

BTW, I am gonna post in the Loved It thread as well for the things I loved about this
episode, cuz I wont put this episode in the same abysmal depth that many episodes
have managed to reach this season.

***Mod edited***

I leave you with what my fertile (!!!) imagination came up to go with the kneel-down scenario.

The little Nigerian kid from Eko's past saying to TPTB (with a heavy accent)...

CONFESS :deadhorse:

^You have no idea how tired people are of the Purgatory theory. I REALLY suggest you don't bring it up again, because it's brought up so much it drives people mad.
I'm going to keep mentioning purgatory as long as they keep overtly alluding to it. They like to claim "it's not purgatory." Well, show, don't tell.

My top 3 things that I didn't like, much less love.

1. Locke even just saying that he was working as a mole and that he kidnapped Ben with the intent to kill him. I mean, to even have Locke say it at all (even though we all knew it was Cooper under the bag) is just wildly insulting. How cool of a plot would that have been? Someone actually infiltrating the Others? Having Ben in captivity? Killing him? The fact that it even entered the brains of the writers, and they decided to use it as a "con" than an actual storyline? Offends my intelligence.

2. The reemergence of "Is it purgatory?" screaming loud and clear. They have the nerve to tell people it's absolutely not purgatory and then they have the nerve to write this freaking episode? Smart. :rolleyes:

3. Any scene with Jack and Kate is now duly embarrassing. How many times do you have to hit a puppy over the nose with a newspaper for it to learn to stay away? It's pathetic. And his behavior is not much better. I don't know what's up his ***, but you'd think he would understand why his friends wouldn't trust Juliet. But now, our fearless leader has decided to play a little game of schoolyard chicken? Nyah, nyah, if you don't tell me your secret, I won't tell you mine!

Think up a coherent story, write it well and serve it up. By god - you got season 1 made without the fan's input and that was great. This episode just felt like a candy dummy full of answers to shove in the mouth of complaining fans and critics - umm it didnt work.

That's all I want is a coherent story. And you're so right about trying silence the fans screaming for answers. I got that vibe from the episode to. I told a friend of mine, I would have been better off reading a synopsis of what they revealed in the ep, then having to sit through it. Oh, well JH was still good though. I thought I would be the only one who didn't like this ep, because it seemed to be a huge crowd pleaser.

I thought I would be the only one who didn't like this ep, because it seemed to be a huge crowd pleaser.

I'm not sure, I'm thinking the price for crowd pleaser would be the one with the close-up of Kate in her tiny whities.

Actually, I thought there was a lot of senseless violence in this episode, quite brutally brought. I'm not sure if that please a lot of the fans. Especially the 'OoHmIeWeEnIeSawyerfluffyLOVEhandlesbellybutton yummy!' ones. The arrow through Charlie's neck didn't seem to pass so well either, and the buried alive was very unlike lost too.

^You have no idea how tired people are of the Purgatory theory. I REALLY suggest you don't bring it up again, because it's brought up so much it drives people mad.



Note I spoiler fonted it only because I thought other people may not know it. But I agree with Jomama, the writers have said it isn't purgatory, but every so often they seem to shove it down our throats. Am I P*SSED that this is what they are alluding to. Yes. I am not happy with the way the characters have turned out this season. Talk about character assassinations, Sawyer killing Cooper and reducing Kate to a SL*T is bad enough, Sayid hasn't had much to say or do so far. Locke used to be a character I also liked but they have reduced him into a user. He uses people to get what he wants. Ben tells Locke Cooper has to die, Locke can't do it so he has Sawyer murder him. I think I have come to the end of my rope with this show. :mad:

My co-workers were ALL talking about the Purgatory theory the next morning. And clearly, TPTB want people to.

By the way, what happened to Veritcal????

All the good things in the episode were offset by the stupid lines written for Ben & Kate.

Interestingly, this VERY same thing bothered me the entire episode. I don't know if it was Ben's over-the-top delivery, or contrived "I'm ever so mysterious" demeanor, but I was very disappointed, surprised, and distracted by Emerson's (very rare) poor performance.

I like to think there will be a reason for this in the future, but at this point, hoping for answers to the ever-growing confusion is starting to grate on my nerves.

And yes, even though I felt Kate's immediate decision to tell Jack about the secret was eye-roll inducing, I felt it was very keeping with her character. But yes, Kate annoyed me as well, kissing up with Sawyer one minute, then pledging her unwavering loyalty to Jack the next.

Jumping on the purgatory band wagon - from the beginning of the show I had a feeling that would turn out to be the survivors situation and actually found it quite a novel idea. However given the producer's discussion of it, denial of it and the clanging anvils dropped into the show - if this did now occur it would be a huge anti-climax. The mystery of the show and suspense has been as much dispelled by poor writing but also unguarded comments deriving out of the egoism of the producers.

Jumping on the purgatory band wagon - from the beginning of the show I had a feeling that would turn out to be the survivors situation and actually found it quite a novel idea. However given the producer's discussion of it, denial of it and the clanging anvils dropped into the show - if this did now occur it would be a huge anti-climax. The mystery of the show and suspense has been as much dispelled by poor writing but also unguarded comments deriving out of the egoism of the producers.
I don't know what is going to happen. I wouldn't have been surprised or disappointed if it turned out to be purgatory or a purgatory-type place. But now, I'm getting a little angry. It feels an awful lot like "TPTB" are intentionally jerking us around as a result of hubris and spite. I don't think they should have EVER commented on whether or not the "answer" is purgatory. I think, originally, purgatory sounded like a pretty cool and plausible idea. I don't know why they would try to squash it even if it is 110% not it. Now, they adamantly claim that purgatory is absolutely out of the question, and yet they give us The Brig.

Wouldn't it be better to have never commented on the purgatory theory so that The Brig could open new discussions and expand ideas? Instead, we get to watch an episode that is full of hints that "the island" could well be some sort of afterlife, and nobody can discuss it without people jumping down throats because "TPTB said it's not purgatory so case closed, move on, next topic..." :rolleyes:

I don't even care if it's purgatory or not. I have no real investment in this theory. But I think it's annoying that "TPTB" decided to vehemently reject the idea of purgatory, even knowing that The Brig would elicit the possibility of an afterlife. Unless of course, at the time they rejected purgatory, they didn't know there would be a "magic box," which, hey, is really all too likely.

I think it's a waste of time to have Naomi say that the 815 wreckage was found and the passengers were reported dead and to have Cooper talk about how he thinks he died after the car accident and is in Hell since we already "know" "it's not purgatory."

I'm getting a bit drained by this show myself. I really hope the next 2 and finale are worth the set up. I really don't see this show lasting more than one more season. Wrap it up already and get on with the next great project.

What bothered me most about this episode is that Locke has reverted back to dumb-mode, and in a big and unrealistic way, too. To his credit, though, he didn't kill Cooper in the satanic sacrifice that Ben insisted on, with the Others/devil worshippers looking on.

It seemed plausible that Locke would loose some sense of reason when confronted with Cooper being on the Island, but it doesn't make sense that the same Locke who blew up the submarine (or the dock) would allow himself to be manipulated in such an obvious manner by Ben. Locke has always been self-centered, but for him to get Sawyer to kill Cooper so that he can be a real man, and be "free," as well as possibly be some sort of bizarre messiah for the Others.....well, it doesn't ring true.

I hope that the writers will start focusing more on the characters who haven't yet become half-wits, such as Sayid, Charlie, Hurley, and Jin....even Danielle.

Yeah, while I didn't hate this episode, it was weaker than the last few. Mostly b/c it did seem more contrived. Lost needs to avoid becoming a show about a show, i.e. a show about itself. While I suspect there were some tricky things going on with this episode, it was also kind of ham-fisted, as though TPTB were writing an episode for viewers who'd dropped out over the last year. "We're in hell! Hey, remember that theory?" "I'm a con man--hey, remember me?" And yeah, I have a hard time seeing how Locke could carry the guy. Be much smarter to build a stretcher/sled, tie him on it, and drag him through the jungle. Locke would know this--but, "Ben said I have to be carrying him over my shoulder, so..." It just feels like very obvious writing.

It also seems that in order to drive the plot along faster, the show's in danger of losing its overall look-and-feel, or its heart and soul, and becoming more of an action serial. Not that there's anything wrong with that, and if that's the way it has to be so be it, but it would be kind of too bad. The way they've been handling this is they've been putting the meaningful stuff in the flashbacks, and mostly sticking to action for the island scenes, but it seems like the first season mixed the two together a little more deftly. I'm hoping Season 4 can give us a fresh start on all that now that we've moved well beyond the Tailies plotline and (especially after we see this week's episode) now that we know more about Dharma. It does seem more soap opera-y these days--the problem is, people like soap operas! But personally I'd like to see less DRAMA! and more drama, if you see what I mean. I admit it gets harder and harder to make it a human-interest drama as the mythology gets crazier and crazier, but the first season had a balance that it would be nice to have back.

What bothered me most about this episode is that Locke has reverted back to dumb-mode, and in a big and unrealistic way, too. To his credit, though, he didn't kill Cooper in the satanic sacrifice that Ben insisted on, with the Others/devil worshippers looking on.

It seemed plausible that Locke would loose some sense of reason when confronted with Cooper being on the Island, but it doesn't make sense that the same Locke who blew up the submarine (or the dock) would allow himself to be manipulated in such an obvious manner by Ben. Locke has always been self-centered, but for him to get Sawyer to kill Cooper so that he can be a real man, and be "free," as well as possibly be some sort of bizarre messiah for the Others.....well, it doesn't ring true.

I hope that the writers will start focusing more on the characters who haven't yet become half-wits, such as Sayid, Charlie, Hurley, and Jin....even Danielle.




I agree with your conclusion and the same thing bothered me about this episode. I always found Locke to be an interesting character. But to allow Ben to manipulate him to killing Cooper, so that he could join the others. I had a WTF, moment. This isn't what Locke was all about in the first season. It is sad for me to see a character I cared for become like this.

Stuff I absolutely LOVED in this episode.

(1) The Others carting Ben's library and framed photos of Alex around on a camping trip.

(2) Locke thinking it was better to tell sawyer he'd kidnapped Ben rather than The Real Sawyer.

(3) Juliet not being able to stand letting Kate shoot her mouth off and blurt out the big secret (to Jack, as well as to Juliet), and trying to go one better by saying, "Maybe we should tell her..."

(4) Locke not giving a monkey's what Rousseau wants with the dynamite. Probably knows she just wants to hide all the explosive before Locke blows up the whole island.

(5) See pages 1-4, this thread.

From what I read on this thread, no one has observed that when Sawyer killed Cooper, he also killed himself (Sawyer) too. That is, Sawyer no longer has a drive. Before, he was a man driven by the need to avenge his parents' death and in a way, face himself. But now that's come to pass, in a very anticlimactic way as everyone has pointed out. Now there's really nothing left for him. Now he no longer serves a purpose except for looking like a redneck and throwing out occasional quips or insults to Jack. It might have been a better move to kill Sawyer off at the season's end rather than Charlie.

It also seems that in order to drive the plot along faster, the show's in danger of losing its overall look-and-feel, or its heart and soul, and becoming more of an action serial. .

Couldn't agree more. I was thinking today that a time-out for the characters is in order, like Hurley setting up golf or finding the VW, or Aaron being born, and the nice scenes with music at the end or something. It's just hard to do it with everything really tense right now and the group split up and Charlie dead.

This episode wasn' weak really but after the Desmond episode two ago, both have come up short for me. I keep wanting to know more about what's up with Widmore, the journals, Desmond's place in the plot - can't wait!