I can see how some people might hate the flashforwards, but in my opinion the writers made a great move for several reasons:

- The flashbacks were getting very boring!! It must be very hard for the writers to keep thinking of flashbacks, especially when a lot of them don't add a lot to the story.

- It's halfway through the overall series of Lost, so it seems like the perfect time to change the way the show works.

- It allows the writers to add/answer more questions about the island, which is difficult to do if you're looking at characters in the past.

- Someone mentioned somewhere that they didn't want to see what happened to the characters untill the final season, but I don't think that would be very good, so it's better to add bits into each episode about what happens after they leave.

- Who knows, they could go back? Never say never!!!

I hope they continue to use flash-forwards, as it could be very interesting! (Although very depressing with the 'Oceanic 6' all eventually realising that the island is where they should be. . . Ho Hum!!

It'll take a little getting used to, but I think it's very interesting, and look forward to the kind of effects it will have on the island-based plots.

Yeah it will certainly be hard to get used to, but I think its definatly for the best.

I think that the flash-forwards will revolve around how the '6' deal with leaving the island, and prehaps in the final season they manage to return to the island somehow.

I still feel a bit funny about the episode, but after 3 seasons of Lost it's always going to be hard to accept that it's trying out something very different and new! I just hope that others can accept this and love the show just as much as I do!! :)

The good part about it is that even if all six are identified, we still have to fill in the blanks of if the remaining died, got off secretly, or are still living on the island.

It'll take a little getting used to, but I think it's very interesting, and look forward to the kind of effects it will have on the island-based plots.


that's exaclty it!

and the flashbacks weren't "working" that well anymore so i guess it'll be really good to the series to vary a little.
some might think it ruined the suspense but i actually think that made it better :rolleyes:

Much, much better. The flashbacks, once an asset of the show, began to become stale. Now it feels like we're finally getting the story of Lost--what happens to the Losties at the end. Of course, it's being done in FFs non-sequentially, which makes it more puzzle-like and, thus, more interesting.

For Better, absolutely. It makes me wonder though, that if we see them come back at some point, say, in S6, then it follows that we would not see those 6 (or however many) on the island for a time. That would be weird, no? :confused:

I thought about this too.

First, I take exception that the flashbacks were boring. I DISAGREE COMPLETELY! I loved how the FB's showed the light and dark sides of the characters, which made them gray overall.

Second, I think it was a risky and brilliant move to take the show into a new direction -- one of the reasons LOST is the greatest show ever!!!!

Lastly, I will admit though that I am a little anxious to see how it plays out. If only 6 people make it off the island then that gives them only 6 people to show flash forwards for. There are 47 episodes remaining in the series, which breaks down to about 8 FF's per Oceanic 6 character. That may be difficlut to pull off.

I thought about this too.

First, I take exception that the flashbacks were boring. I DISAGREE COMPLETELY! I


Yeah, me too. I can't say I ever got tired of the flashbacks and dont really feel they had stopped being informative story telling tools, but I do think that might have been the case if they'd continued. I think it all comes at a good time.

I loved both flashforwards we've been shown so far. This one in particular was a pleasant surprise. I am spoiled for an upcoming one


...and I hate what I've read about it, but that's more a matter of personal taste. So this was a big relief, knowing it's probably just because of the character.


Think about Hurley's episodes and his flashbacks so far. There was nothing left to do with that (as with the majority of the losties) and some of his episodes have been pretty fillerific, even if they entertained me. This was a breath of fresh air.

The flashbacks were always cool and they give us new perspective and so forth, but I do think it was time to change things up at the halfway point. Plus I love how LOST is changing things up and creating an extremely unconventional plot twist with giving us a glimpse into the future rather than making us wait.

This changes our perspective completely and like someone said earlier the fact that we really don't know what's happening and when within the FF's it's like a puzzle we have to put together and that's VERY LOST. I like the FF's and think they are going to be successful. And yes there are only six people who got off the island BUT that doesn't mean that they won't reveal to us a few of the others who got off by having flashforwards for the people on the island. Think about it....the other night while watching Jack and Hurley in the future, weren't you wondering what was going on with everyone who was left behind or to chose to stay??? Especially with that creepy black guy asking Hurley if they were still alive and Charlie talking to Hurley about it, that would give us some perspective on those people. I don't think they have to keep the FF's limited to the Oceanic 6 and I hope they don't....just like they started opening up the flashbacks to The Others and having them be on the island instead of before the crash like they all were orignially, I'm sure they will start changing up the FF's.

But also remember that the FB's aren't dead. They said from now on there would be a mix of both, although I think they will probably be trying to make the FB's less and less. I don't know I guess we will just have to find out. This is SO exciting!!!!!!!

For Better, absolutely. It makes me wonder though, that if we see them come back at some point, say, in S6, then it follows that we would not see those 6 (or however many) on the island for a time.Unless they return to the island, and we only find out what had happened in the meantime through Flashbacks..?


Anyways, I hated the flashforward thing at first. It seemed like it was giving away waaay too much, particularly with 3 seasons left. But I'm warming up to it, especially now it appears the story doesn't end with their rescue.

And with the revelations of "Oceanic 6" and "Are they still alive?", the writers have shown themselves capable of using FF's to add tantalizing new mysteries that have long been absent from the flashbacks (Jin's mother is still alive! Hurley's dad is Cheech Marin! Jack's tattoo doesn't mean what it says! :rolleyes: ).

I'm very glad they've added flashforwards. In fact I'm pretty certain that if they hadn't the telling of the story wouldn't make sense in the long run. For one thing, the pace of the show so far has meant that in over three years of it being on TV we've only seen a few months of them being on the island. It's unlikely things would drag so much off the island, and this device allows things in the future to be shown not only at a more suitable pace, but in an order that allows things to be revealed when they're relevant (seeing as Jack's flashforward clearly took place after Hurley's).

It gives the whole episode a fresh feel too; whereas before flashbacks always could give insight into a character's motivation or help us to understand how things got to where they are in the Island's "present", that is now reversed, with events on the Island explaining what is happening in the future. One of the most intriguing differences (in my opinion) is that because the Oceanic Six all know each other, the flashforwards can all tell one story that is an important part of the overall plot, rather than just explaining what had happened with one particular character.

I'd also be pretty happy if the timelines eventually merged - like events on the Island caught up to when the flashforwards are taking place, and their time became the "present". The terminology of this seems to get confusing quite easily..

I had typed out more of my theories pertaining to this, but it was getting a bit lengthy, so I think I'll save it for another time..

The key to Lost is patience. I have no desire for this show to ever end. It's one of the best shows I've seen in years. Therefore, bring on the flashfowards! I enjoy them, because it means that truly something horrible, and world changing, is connected to that island.

Hurley is one of my favorite characters, besides Locke. I am very intrigued by what's happening to him in "the future".

It reminds me of Twin Peaks (remember that show) but Lost is 1000 times better.

I think they're a terrific idea although they have lent the show a far bleaker ambience that didn't quite pervade it to the same extent before. There was always hope and wide-eyed adventure but now it seems that a sense of doom hangs over the movements of the island's occupants.

I've always loved the flashbacks for the way they fleshed out the characters and made the show more complex and appealing.
I also enjoy the flashforwards story-wise but I've got one major problem with them:
To me it always feels as if the flashforward parts of an episode in fact showed what happens in present time and the scenes on the island are the actual flashbacks now.
Am I making any sense? :confused:
Does anybody happen to feel the same way?!
I mean, the flashbacks always were memories, e.g. But since the characters cannot remember the future - except for Desmond maybe - I think they may actually obstruct the characters' developments.
I'm curious how this will manifest itself in the long run.
Maybe I'm just terribly bad at temporal mechanics (Chief Miles O'Brien, anyone?! ;) ) or maybe this just worries me because it turns the LOST formula on its head, I don't know.

If only 6 people make it off the island then that gives them only 6 people to show flash forwards for. There are 47 episodes remaining in the series, which breaks down to about 8 FF's per Oceanic 6 character. That may be difficlut to pull off.

Why would FFs need to be limited to off-island characters?



I think the FFs are great, and in true Lost fashion they create more questions than answers. If they had foregone the FFs and told the story in a linear style, the last season would completely lost a ton of interest for many fans. The central character and setting in this show is the Island, and by using flashforwards we get to hear the rest of the tale while still keeping the NOW on the island, which sets the atmosphere for the whole show.

Also in typical Lost fan style, I am amused at so many people who have passed judgement on the flashforwards after a whopping two episodes. People, you do NOT know what you think you know. Haven't you figured that out yet??

i like the flash forwards, kinds of.

someone mentioned it earlier in this post, but i think it would be cool to see the FFs merge with the present at some point.

I was just upset because I really didn't like seeing Jack so messed up. I don't care about what girl he ends up with or anything I just want to see him happy in life, not trying to kill himself. He's not my character of course but it hurt me to see him like that, I hope they jump further forward and he gets better.

Why would FFs need to be limited to off-island characters?
I think the FFs are great, and in true Lost fashion they create more questions than answers.... The central character and setting in this show is the Island, and by using flashforwards we get to hear the rest of the tale while still keeping the NOW on the island, which sets the atmosphere for the whole show.

I didn't think they were great at first. During the finale last spring, it freaked me out and made me a little depressed because it seemed to hasten the end of the series a bit. Someone else mentioned not wanting the show to end and enjoying the slow pace. I feel the same way but also realize that this show cannot follow a logical progress that we might expect it to follow. It has to keep twisting and turning.

I agree that the island is the central character/setting and I feel that most who "survive" this time will eventually end up back on the island. There may be a few characters who resolve their past and move on with a normal life, but the main ones (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke) will most likely die or end up on the island again.

I think the show's creators mentioned last year that they sacrificed Charlie because his character had come full circle and had nowhere else to go. Will the be the case with any other characters? Or will some of the others have to die to resolve their past?

I apologize for rambling but I also have to wonder about the information Naomi gave them--that there were no survivors of the flight. How will that play into the story?

Can't wait for Thursday!! :biggrin:

I wasnt sure if they would work or not. Well aftter watching the 1st ep, I think they work and are enjoyable but I dont like the idea of knowing who gets off the island 3 seasons early.

On the other hand, Im sure there will be a twist or two and we can speculate what happens to the non O6 guys.

The FFs made me a little uncomfortable at first because it's hard to see the people I've been rooting for so unhappy.

But in the overall structure, the idea of time is clearly being played with. Is the island a "fountain of youth" where people don't age/die of old age? The cycle of birth and death is obvious, so are the creators trying to pull us away from that idea into another idea of time (linear, cyclical, or completely chaotic.)

I can't get that picture of bunny #15 re-appearing again. It seems like the kind of thing that would happen if bunny were in the past and caught up with the present before remembering it has to pop out of the timestream again.

To make everyone happy......they can have a flashback within a flashforward ? ? ? ? :undecide:


Oh yeah......was anyone else just as surprised as me to realize after the first break that it was a Hurley flashforward? The way the episode began...I thought it was going to be about Jack.

I wasnt sure if they would work or not. Well aftter watching the 1st ep, I think they work and are enjoyable but I dont like the idea of knowing who gets off the island 3 seasons early.

On the other hand, Im sure there will be a twist or two and we can speculate what happens to the non O6 guys.

I too was't sure as well but I think the FF are going to work out well as to Twists on the O6 on one of the other threads someone said that the O6 might be known to all but other escapees from the Island might be under ground AKA Kate ???


Oddshot:cool:

I was just reading a thread in the "Confirmed Dead" section. It's a debate about wether or Freighties were having flashbacks or flashforwards (with the exception of Naomi's.) This is why FF's are great! We've got more stuff talk about here!

I love the flash forwards! :biggrin: Midway through the series, it was a great way to put a new spin on the style of the show. And come on, who here didn't gasp or have their jaws open wide during the very first FF?? :eek2::biggrin: Brilliant job to the writers!

I totally love the flash forwards!!!

Consider this: after watching the flash forwards of Jack from the Season 3 finale, we all want to know how Jack ends up in such a state.

The answers will (hopefully) be revealed in scenes that would be a flash forward from island time yet simultaneously a flashback from the drunk/depressed Jack that we've already seen. Awesome!

I think "filling in the gaps" will provide greater and more fulfilling discussion and debate for Lost fans than just guessing "what happens next".

Flash forwards are the best and I can't wait to see more. Truth be told, I was kind of bummed last week that we didn't get a flashforward although it was interesting to learn about the freighters. As for Jack being so unhappy in the future, I've always like the noir aspects to LOST so that doesn't bother me. I like seeing Jack kinda flawed because he was always just a little too perfect on the island. I'm really glad that the writers keep finding new ways to push this show forward and keep it intriguing and the Flashfowards are a great addition.

Flashfowards makes me feel more nervous about the show. the same way as the thing of the Oceanic 6. with flashfowards you know who will survive and who dont. Remember that Oceanic 6 are the only 6 from 815 so maybe Juliet and Desmond gets off. as so Ben that we saw him out in the episode "The Economist"

Even though last season's FF twist was amazing, and even though I felt the FBs had pretty much served their purpose, I was a little wary of how they would incorporate FFs into the series overall. We're so accustomed to storytelling in linear form, that I guess it's difficult to think outside that box. I'm so glad this show has done just that, and I'm having no trouble at all following their lead as they jump all over this mosaic they've created. No doubt, some of these newer pieces will come to lie side by side and we'll eventually see all the connections.

In the meantime, the pace is fantastic, the reveals are exciting, the energy in the show is enormous, and it feels like a totally amazing ride. They've blown the story wide open and I honestly don't think I've ever looked forward to a weekly hour of television more than I am this season. They've surpassed themselves and reinvented an already excellent show into an absolutely mind-bogglingly extraordinary show IMO.

So I'm voting "for better" on this one. :biggrin: