Skimming thru the comments here, I’m finding myself agreeing with the folks who think the show has gotten too dense for its own good. The writers are like bad jugglers with too many balls in the air: Since they know they can’t catch them all, they throw new ones up hoping to distract the audience away from the ones they have to let bounce.
The key for me–at this point–is to end some of the longer-running mysteries with these six episodes. Top of the list is to explain once and for all who the Others are: I’m not looking for an air-tight, all-questions-settled explanation (the Internet has proven there is no such thing in the world of fastidious message-board analysis), but something I can use to judge the plausibility of future events. The problem with mysterious motives is that, sometimes, they are used as a crutch for bad story development; at some point you need to commit to certain options or the audience starts suspecting there’s no “there” there (see: X-files). Making the Others actions somewhat predictable would limit the possible plotlines and make the show a little bit more enjoyable to watch. I don’t think solving this particular mystery means the show has to become utterly predictable, but some predictability at this point would be appreciated; I feel like I’m being jerked around, and I’m not likely to keep watching if it continues.
Last night’s episode was partially a return to the kind of character exploration that first attracted me to “Lost”, the contrast of current events in a character’s live with flashbacks from their past. For all the problems last season, the study of Locke’s character was one of the high points, how this supposed strong-warrior figure–cheated by life in ways (wheelchair, bastard father) that never allowed his true talents to shine–was actually a frail, feet-of-clay leader who naturally makes bad decisions. It wasn’t the bad breaks that hid his light under a bushel–the Island effectively removed all of those–his weaknesses were all his own. Now, with the start of this season, we may be seeing Locke finding his footing again, strengthened by this knowledge of who he is.
Why, oh why, can’t the writers find this depth of character with the other castaways? Some of this has been done with Jack–haphazardly in my opinion–and with Kate and Sawyer in the earlier part of the series. Hurley also seems to have been given possibilities, exposing how his past reactions to his personal image and the “curse of the money” still color his judgment of events on the island. But Jack’s flashbacks have merely shown him to be erratic–interesting but not yet compelling; maybe I’ll be surprised. Kate and Sawyer’s have become less frequent (more time needed to advance the “mysteries”, I guess). And it seems to me since the death of Libby Hurley’s character has been little more than a punchline (truly even before this, but the budding romance with Libby offered possibilities that now we’ll never see. Her death was a shortsighted decision by screenwriters more interested in getting quick buzz with an “unexpected twist” than developing a potentially great payoff a la Locke sheepishly admitting “I was wrong” as the hatch tears itself apart).
The character stuff is what’s going to keep this series going, as the lingering mysteries, like party guests who can’t take a hint at 2AM, are starting to wear out their welcome. I sincerely doubt “everything is going to change” after episode 6, mainly because they’ve promised this before and not come thru. But even if they do, I wonder if this just means adding another layer of mystery on the tiring core (Penelope and the outside world, anyone?). I for one would like to see them settle the problems they have before introducing new ones (like Desmond’s newfound second sight; here’s hoping this little talent stays in the background for awhile), and I think the ratings prove that there are plenty of formerly regular viewers who feel the same way.
