More Griping About LOST

Plenty of real-world friends will probably want to lop my head off from all the complaints that I make about LOST. On a similar note, I think I had one friend who wanted to slap me around because I didn't much enjoy the fourth season of Angel.

The comments at Dead Things on Sticks: Oh Dear touches on my feelings about the season arcs for the 2nd one and the 3rd one so far. Just to mention, however, I do think the 3rd season has a somewhat better feeling to it than the 2nd season did at this point.

Have to admit, on some level, though, I haven't met any other fan of the show who has had complaints to the same degree that I do about the 3rd season. They agree with me, somewhat, on season two, but not this one. Nonetheless, I have the same complaint about this season so far: the show has spent so much time building up all this crazy tension without releasing it quick enough for me. The show has resolved all these minor plot arcs, but I just feel the pacing comes too slow for larger plot points.

But if I make a statement like this one about these last two seasons, how can I not make a similar one about the first season? I see two reasons as possible: either the show didn't escalate the stakes so high or they had balanced the increasing tension of mystery with the resolution of these tense situations.

Then again, as I've admitted, I haven't really met too many people in the "real world" who agree with me that there's any issue with this kind of balance in LOST. They're all gobbling it up, loving the increasing tension and enjoying the small resolutions and revelations of information, like the supposed fact that The Others live on another island than the hero's group does.

Me, I want to know more about the agenda of The Others, what happened to "TV">Michael, what's up with showing "TV">Desmond's girlfriend/fianceee at the end of the second season, etc. etc. I just feel that the show has created all these big revelations and mysteries in the past but haven't followed up quick enough with explorations of these revelations and mysteries.

And at the same time, I've lost interest in a lot of the characters. I don't completely know why, except that maybe the show has created all these connections between the characters but hasn't shown more connections for awhile now. Maybe, to me, they've built up these expectations of connection but haven't gone anywhere to explaining any such combinations. I guess I liked not having an expectation of connection between the characters and having the flashbacks and such be more about the characters, themselves, rather than the whole plot.

So, in the long run, I have the feeling that I feel there's all these connections and imbalance of connections between these different aspects. I've gotten frustrated with the build up of tension in comparison to every one else getting excited by all this potential. Along with my frustration, I'm even building up an expectation of feeling underwhelmed when the show finally ends. The production story about extending the show from 3 seasons to 5 doesn't help matters much for me, either.

But, on the flipside, as the author at Dead Things on Sticks points out about people with my criticism, I'm acting somewhat like a fanboy, complaining about the writers not resolving arcs quickly enough and such, wanting that emotional release for the big arcs then getting disappointed in the show once the tension gets released.

I can only think of one retort to that: the plot arcing for Charlie Jade and for Heroes. They both have ensemble casts, Charlie Jade much less than Heroes, but still. . .both shows have a good balance of building tension and resolving it (Well, Charlie Jade doesn't satisfy most people at first, but it hits a good balance by episode 7 then picks up real good at around episode 14. . .still, that's in a range of one season as compared to 2 1/4 seasons of LOST).

Part of the balance that satisfies me, I believe, involves raising mystery/tension for one character or set of them while resolving tension and providing a revelation for another point of view. Now, at the beginning of a series or a season, I can see a point of not resolving a lot of tension too quickly. Maybe I somewhat have that issue with LOST. I'm responding to not just the first six episodes of this new season of LOST, but I'm also responding to the very very slow and not so great 2nd season of it.

Nonetheless, I would enjoy seeing more of a balance between these two aspects. . .or if anything, raising more of the overall stakes and mystery than with just The Others and John Locke. I just feel there's a whole lot of other interesting details and plot arcs left dangling without even teasing the audience with them. So, I guess I want LOST to either provide me with more resolution or tease me more with more aspects and characters they've mentioned but haven't explored much. Honestly, Locke, Kate, Sawyer and The Others have started to annoy me. Jack, "TV">Desmond, Charlie, Desmond's girlfriend, "TV">Michael, Claire and Claire's child on the other hand. . ..

But you never know. Maybe the writers and producers will started addressing all these aspects after the hiatus and beginning of "season 4."