Lost 3.09: "Stranger in a Strange Land"

Cafe Society
121

It would have been better if another character had asked Jack about his tattoo. Jack says, “Funny story. I got it one night in Thailand. The next day the brother of the tattoo artist inexplicably beat the shit out of me. It was the darndest thing.”

Done. Let’s move on. Who cares about all this “character” bullshit? They’re on an island with a SMOKE MONSTER!! What’s the dang deal with that?

By the time they reveal that all the characters are just dolls in the bottom of a barrel, nobody will care anymore.

122

No answer, just to say that I noticed this too. There was something wrong with the continuity.

123

I thought the episode was tolerable (far better than the Kate episode that capped off the mini-season), but I think it’s the first this season without an ‘OH MY GOD’ moment.

I’m just glad that this damn Hydra station subplot is coming to an end.

Good point… It probably means Karl will have some sort of significance later. Perhaps they can weave the three love stories together into some sort of Dharma-esque love hexagon.

124

Yeah, that was kinda pretty damn stupid of me. Rough night, sorry everyone.

125

Not really. They were using a shuttle to get people to the bigger boat, and they probably made several trips. Remember, they were trying to get everyone off Othertraz.

126

The way they should have handled the mystery is to allow it to be solved a bit at a time, but then have it expand outwards from an apparent resolution.

For example, they’ve totally abandoned the mystery of all the stations, the initial Dharma videotape with the scientist guy, the smoke monster, and all that stuff. They just keep spinning new mysteries and leaving the old ones open and abandoned. That’s why people are frustrated.

What they should have done was answered the first questions, and then just when you think you’ve got a handle on it, widen the mystery out to be even bigger. Then start answering the new questions. Maybe last season we should have found out all about Dharma, got answers about what all the stations were doing, and then for a cliff-hanger reveal that Dharma itself is just a front for something even bigger and more mysterious.

They should have a character like Locke spending each episode seriously trying to understand what’s going on. Cut to scenes of him finding other empty buildings, discovering new clues, piecing together puzzles… Give us something to chew on while you do all the character development stuff. Make us feel like we’re actually heading to a resolution of some kind.

Instead, they just keep abandoning plot threads and spinning off new, unrelated ones. And to make that work, they have to make the characters completely incurious as to their situation. They seem content to just hang on a beach and do their laundry. None of these people behave like they would in real life.

For example, they found a big abandoned medical station. Lots of rooms, power, all kinds of stuff. Why aren’t they living there???. Or what about the other station they found, with all the monitors? Why aren’t they living there? Who would willingly live unprotected outdoors through all the rain, wind, insects, dangerous smoke monsters, yada yada? Get some cover, you stupid idiots! In the very first season they were ecstatic to find a damp cave to live in. Now they won’t even talk about moving into a nice concrete building? What’s up with that?

127

I can not find the post you are quoting. Where is it?

-FrL-

128

Never mind, I found it. It was Morbo who said that, not Dooku.

There are a few posts in this thread misattributing things Morbo said to Dooku! Whaddupwidat?

-FrL-

129

He changed his user name just now.

130

Well, I have muscular dystrophy. Still want to swap lives?

You know, I almost edited out the cancer comment thinking that SOMEONE will take it the wrong way. In the future I’ll run all my posts through my Microsoft Sensitivity Filter.

Seriously though, this episode was a train wreck. What the hell was with Jack’s sudden psychotic fit? He nearly killed Artichoke or whatever her name was. Why did she cry at the end? Why was she wearing makeup at night after a swim in the ocean? Was that “tastes salty” line supposed to not be vomit inducing? Was that star-crossed montage a metatheatrical joke? Terribly written, terribly directed. It was the first Lost episode I contemplated turning off in the middle.

131

Ack, I just read this after I posted. Sorry, please disregard my scathing sarcasm. :smack:

132

No, I’m not sure we do. I think we’re gonna need another “omg Sawyer was a con man!” episode to hammer his character home. The sixth, I think.

133

wait… Sawyer was a con man!!! CITE!!!

:wink:

134

See episodes 106 109 112 119 202 206 210 213 219 302 305 308 in which we had a “sawyer is a con man” story.

(numbers totally made up, of course).

135

Jack of all people should definitely be able to come up with some better comebacks to the “It’s complicated/It’s not that simple” non-answer:

“Well, I’m a neurosurgeon–try me.”

and, given that he’s languishing in a cell and/or cage:

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere–take your time.”

136

Yeah, this show has been going down the crapper all year. The Lost writers’ weakness has always been dialogue – nobody talks like a real human being. They all talk TV speak with stupid lines like “It’s complicated…” or “We’re here to observe…” Lots of implied ellipses. And now they’ve gone off the rails and stopped dealing with The Mystery of the island and all we get are these stupid “character development” episodes. They throw all kinds of exposition at us and then when they do have a character want something it’s for reasons that make no sense or have to be explained more, so that we know what it is. There are no characters on this show anymore, if there ever were. They’re all just cardboard standups who are put in situations to shout or cry. Blech.

And yet, I still don’t give up on the damn thing. I’ve invested too much time and was really interested in The Mystery last year. Ah well. Eventually it’ll either get better or I’ll finally get fed up. Too bad. This was an interesting show for a while.

137

The problem with this scenario is that the “others not yet on the boat” were lined up in some form of united “we’re still here and you are leaving” front.

However, I guess in the scheme of things, this is a minor complaint compared to all the other “WTF” moments this episode spawned.

138

They’re also living in a place where food is being airdropped on a (presumably) regular basis. At night.

Good thing nobody has bothered with a signal fire to notify the plane that THEY KNOW WILL BE UP THERE AT SOME POINT.

No, they’d rather, as you say, hang out and do their laundry.

At least Bernard (remember him?) made an attempt before the island’s Complacency Field got to him.

Remember when Locke was a character who got more than two or three line an episode? That was cool.

-Joe

139

Like the one where he’s working on the marijuana farm and accidentally brings the undercover cop there and we all thought that must have something to do with the larger mythology of the whole story rather than just a way to waste time and avoid telling us what the hell is going on with the island?

140

I got the impression that the planes dropping food were fully aware that the Losties were there, but they are aligned with the Others and therefore not gonna save the Losties.