[US/IRL] 3X09 - "Stranger In A Strange Land" [** SPOILERS WITHIN **]

qz

That was without a doubt the worst episode of Lost ever thrown together.

And this is coming from somebody who's favourite character is Jack. I've never wanted an episode to end more than I did with 3x09, and it's left me so pissed off. I mean, most of us, if not all of us, have been watching it from day 1, and we deserve more than this. Every week I tell myself it'll be better the next week, and yet it ever is. I'm beginning to hate (detest) this show.

They should have ended it looking down the hatch at the end of season one.

Sinfonia

i think every second episode is going to be good from now on....

Bartronilic

7

Will they ever tell Alex who her mother is?!

bright

i thought this was a good episode in relation to the thread ''new lost theory'' it develops jack as the shepard/ leader who walks among his losties but is not one of them, if isabel/ben and the others are creating a utopia, they recognise that jack is worthy of gaining membership, while the other losties may not be.
this ep highlights jacks alienation and just how disillusioned he has become with trying to find out what is going on? he is more easily agitated than before, but he seems quite pleased to leave without question to go to bens 'home'. did himself and julliet make a plan after that scene cut? possibly if they were to coerce in a sinister way and jack is being played by jules, then his darker side will once again be revealed to the others......bye bye jacks ticket to utopia. thats my rant on a pretty solid episode.

Unpossible

3

This episode was one of the worst yet, can someone please explain why Jacks tattoo was in Chinese while he got it in Thailand? presumably from a Thai woman (with a chinese accent, but we are led to believe she is thai ), and my fiancee says the tattoo means something along the lines of "The eagle flys high in the sky", so now Im guessing the actor happens to have the tattoo and the writers are just trying to explain it.

It feels like the writers have forgotten a lot of the mysteries they gave us earlier, and are we to believe that the Losties don't talk to each other at all? I mean they just sit around keeping secrets, if there was a big white explosion near me I would try to find out what happened yet they all just seem to have ignored it (even the others).

sigh...

davros

Unpossible wrote:

so now Im guessing the actor happens to have the tattoo and the writers are just trying to explain it.

Right, when he rolled out of bed before the tattoo scene he had a dirty blue bruise-like patch on his arm, like they covered up a real tat with make-up.

Very nice to see Bai Ling turn up in something. She's an outstanding actress though she hadn't much chance to show that last night.

Nalz

5

So many questions

What and why was happening to Kyle in that physcho room with the big screen etc in the previous episode? Are the others connected to Dharma? Did Desmonds previous partner in the hatch know much about them?

Where is the black lady that told Hurley to go back to camp, and why did they pick that 4 (jack, Sawyer, Kate & Hurley)?

Is Jacks lady friend in Thailand any relation to the island? Is Julliet scenario all a cod?

So Jack is a special one, a leader. Walt, Desmond, John Locke and Eko could all see and predict things... this is getting a bit much, too many questions, which means more episodes to answer them and more questions to ask!!

I gave this episode a 6. "Dragging out" aren't the words. Next one better be good!

woodyg

I gave this episode a 1 cause it's not possible to give a 0! It was a real shambolic filler episode which not only did nothing for the plot, it also made me near fall asleep which would have been a 1st for lost!
There trying to make up to many stories for non-essential characters which is leading to the main plot getting totaly devalued. a shame

Agamemnon

4

A pointless episode, one of the worst ever. Jack's flashback was a hopelessly clichéd "tourist-offends-the-natives-by-not-respecting-their-culture" tale. Bai Ling was hot though.

Not good that they've introduced another new character in Isabel. Now they can waste a few more episodes developing her character and showing us a boring flashback of hers that tells us nothing really, like Juliet's.

Cindy was completely wasted. Why show her at all if Jack's not even going to ask her what happened to her and why she's cooperating with the Others now.

I think Season 3 has been good so far but this is the first really bad episode. Like other people in this thread, Lost is now overshadowed for me by Prison Break and Heroes.

stevejazzx

7

agamemnon wrote:

A pointless episode, one of the worst ever. Jack's flashback was a hopelessly clichéd "tourist-offends-the-natives-by-not-respecting-their-culture" tale. Bai Ling was hot though.

I don't think it was only about not respecting their culture but more about superstition, they felt that Jack being there after he recieved the tattoos was bad luck becasue bai ling had seen his fate and it wasn't good.

agamenom wrote:

Not good that they've introduced another new character in Isabel. Now they can waste a few more episodes developing her character and showing us a boring flashback of hers that tells us nothing really, like Juliet's.

There is no wat that they are going to show us Isabels backstory too soon. Juliets flashbacks are very important, it shows the setup of the group. She was obviously in Dhrama and then was recrutied into bens group, or even with Ben all along, but it shows how Dharma recruited.

agamemnom wrote:

Cindy was completely wasted. Why show her at all if Jack's not even going to ask her what happened to her and why she's cooperating with the Others now.

Completely agree (although I don't think the ep is even half as bad as people are claiming on this thread, lots of bandwagoning going on imo), they can't get away with this silliness of main caracters not asking questions anymore...it's really just gone too far now no matter how you explain it.

agamemnom wrote:

I think Season 3 has been good so far but this is the first really bad episode. Like other people in this thread, Lost is now overshadowed for me by Prison Break and Heroes.

I have high hopes for the rest of season 3 becasue i know there some nice twists coming but the writers have let themselves down this season i think...they need a good kick up the whole tbh.

Agamemnon

4

Fair points, stevejazzx. Yeah, we probably won't see an Isabel flashback any time soon but when we do, I hope we find out more about the Others than we did in Juliet's back story, which only showed how she was recruited.

Having Bai Ling freak out cos she saw Jack's fate wasn't very original though - the same thing happened with Claire and the fortune teller.

ArmaniJeanss

6

Trilla wrote:

So many questions

What and why was happening to Kyle in that physcho room with the big screen etc in the previous episode? Are the others connected to Dharma? Did Desmonds previous partner in the hatch know much about them?

Where is the black lady that told Hurley to go back to camp, and why did they pick that 4 (jack, Sawyer, Kate & Hurley)?
Is Jacks lady friend in Thailand any relation to the island? Is Julliet scenario all a cod?

So Jack is a special one, a leader. Walt, Desmond, John Locke and Eko could all see and predict things... this is getting a bit much, too many questions, which means more episodes to answer them and more questions to ask!!

I gave this episode a 6. "Dragging out" aren't the words. Next one better be good!

Actress is injured.
Why did they pick those 4?.
Hurley was rather pointlessly picked to send the 'dont try to rescue them message' back to the remaining Losties. Pointless as they were taken to a different island anyway.

Jack was obviously needed for the Ben surgery, and afaics Sawyer and more relevantly Kate were purely picked as bargaining tools to convince Jack to do the surgery. All imo, and possibly wrong.

Decent enough episode. Some funny Sawyer lines, and a Hot Chick on Beach scene is always welcome.

Anyone any idea of the US ratings for these episodes? Much as I like the show a bit of me wants the ratings to drop enough so that they are forced to announce 'Series 4 will be the last, all questions answered soon'.

viking

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this already...

When we've previously seen the boy with the teddy bear, he was walking past Eko and Micheal (I think) who were hiding in the undergrowth, however the boy and those with him were in filthy torn clothing. Now they seem to be wearing clean clothes, are washed and even the teddy bear seems like new... I wonder is there a particular reason for this

Star Lord

6

Yeah I asked the same thing... Surprised not more people asked this...

DamoElDiablo wrote:

Gave us a few answers too... I hope we get a little bit of the backstory of what happened to Cindy and the kids, aslast we saw of them in S2 ep. 5, they were filthy, barefoot, and making no noise while they were creeping past Eko and Jin while they were hiding in the bushes!

jor el

1

agamemnon wrote:

Cindy was completely wasted. Why show her at all if Jack's not even going to ask her what happened to her and why she's cooperating with the Others now.

And when the girl asked about Anna Lucia, why didn't Jack tell them that their new pals had her and Libby killed (by Michael) in order to free Ben and bring Jack there. But no, he just shouts at them :rolleyes: Stupid, Stupid, stupid. You'd think he'd be a bit more curious as to why Cindy seemed so happy to be here now, especially since she seemed to know more about why they were even there.

Ponster

8

jor el wrote:

And when the girl asked about Anna Lucia, why didn't Jack tell them that their new pals had her and Libby killed (by Michael) in order to free Ben and bring Jack there.

Because that's not what happened. Michael wasn't sent to kill anyone.

Killaqueen!!!

I've been 'content' with season 3 so far. That is by no means a compliment to Lost because it had such potential to be amazing. Still, series 3 episodes have been good, some great (like the Desmond episode IMO) and some have been just average but this one....is probably the worst Lost episode to date.

Maybe it's because I was looking forward to the great 3 mysteries being solved (annoying advertising - I'll never trust the promos again!) I fail to see how Jack's tattoo's is a great Lost mystery that we need to find out about - but ok. But what the hell were the other 2 mysteries???

I'll start with Jack's flashback - boring, and unnecessary. The tattoo thing was slightly interesting but I didn't fully get it. If you're going to do a crap flashback at least have the kicker explained fully at the end. Maybe I'm slow but I didn't get it. She can 'see' who people are?!? So she sees that Jack is a leader - what is so bad about this? Is it that she knew he would get into danger because of it? So were talking a sort of psychic gift, yes? So she marks him (looks extremely painful to me why not use a needle?) and then the locals get annoyed about that and beat him up? A bit silly IMO.

I liked it when Tom asked Jack what kind of people he thinks they are and he replied by listing all the 'bad' crap the Others have done to them. At least he remembers this. But WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY....and WHY....doesn't he ask questions? Why don't any of the Losties ask questions? I know since season 1 the characters haven't exactly talked much about the goings on but why does Jack just shout at Cindy when he could've asked what the Others did to them?

Ok, so as someone has said - the people who were kidnapped (Cindy, the children etc.) might have been brainwashed (like Karl). It is looking like a sort of Utopia. Picking the 'best' to live in a created enviroment. This would explain why the Others took the children (could also be doing fertility tests, which reminds me...are the Others mostly taking women? This would be further evidence to fertility tests).

Sawyer/Kate bits are just frustrating me. I can't believe they are slowly ruining Sawyers character as well

MisterAnarchy

Bit of a ludicrous episode flashback wise.
Jack has it easy with a lovely babe in a nice location but he goes nuts and attacks her over some superstitious mumbo jumbo.
Ludicrous stuff

eirebhoy

7

Haven't a Clue wrote:

Right, that was the biggest load of ****e since 'What Kate Did' in s2. That was woeful.

After the great episode last week when we got to see some of the original gang, they go and spoil it again by focusing on Jack and the others. What could make this episode much worse I wondered? Well, Jack's flashbacks for one.

I now despise Jack more than I've despised any other tv character on telly. Nothing more than a big string of misery on the island, but judging by the flashbacks, that side of him's the lesser of two evils in comparison to him 'I guess I'm a nice guy' side. What an absolute wanker.

He's an actor ffs. If you actually hate the character I can't understand that.

cashback

6

I'd love to think that the writers are planning to end the show at the end of series 4. Any longer and I can't see myself sticking with it.
This episode was fairly average. The Thai girl was very hot but the flashbacks were boring enough really.
I realy hate when about two minutes of an episode are devoted to the characters all looking meaningfully at each other with some emotional music in the background. See the end of this episode. I thought we were going to see the island where the others lived, a glimpse maybe, but no.

~Rebel~

3

Hyzepher wrote:

I also notice that the "5" and "stars" part of the tattoo were added later. Obviously after Jack left Thailand - so it might of been an effort to mask the meaning of the tattoo or maybe to reinforce the meaning.

Hyzepher

Bet it means he's a Liverpool Fan

Really though, quite disappointed with this, was almost shouting at the tv when he was talking with cindy to ask her what the f**k was going on! But no, he decided to be an asshole instead. pretty crap back story, didnt really care.

To be honest i like Lost as a show. Not just for the mystery and the questions and the impending answer, but as a week to week show. I like the layout, the character mix and writing. I enjoy the episodes that dont reveal anything just as much as teh ones that do (well maybe not quite), because its a good show, and it entertains me. But this was just unfulfilling on every level. Just a poor poor episode. As Basquille said, there were different writers so hopefully this is just a one off, and the usual guys were taking a nap or something, and will be back for the remainder of the series.

oleras

3

fantastic, fantastic, and more fantastic !!!!!!!!





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Jack got the sh1t kicked out of him..........:D

kevmy

6

It wasn't a fantastic episode alright. Jacks flashback was pretty useless and I haven't said that about Jacks flashbacks before as I think his father is somehow linked to things. But his whole flashback was a bit of mumbo jumbo.
The one scene I really liked was the one with Ben. He done more acting bugging out his eyes than the rest of the cast put together. He is obviously still in charge and is an almost God like figure to the Others. The Others are obviously going back ontop of there mountain now. Kate was a bit fcuking moody this week Sawyer should have slapped some sense into her instead of Karl.
Hopefully everyone shall be reunited next week and we can move along at a quicker pace than we have this season.
A few steps backward since the excellent Desmond episode last week. I won't stop watching anytime soon unless we get a run of these type of episodes and not just the odd one.

Old_-_School

ArmaniJeanss wrote:

Anyone any idea of the US ratings for these episodes? Much as I like the show a bit of me wants the ratings to drop enough so that they are forced to announce 'Series 4 will be the last, all questions answered soon'.

I think episode 8 was the lowest ever rating. They've now changed days and timeslots. Good news as it surely means the producers know that plans for 6 or 7 seasons can be abolished and they can concentrate on reaching a conclusion rather than think of ways to span it out.

scojones

Terrible episode. My God I love Juliet though. Hot Asian chick was... hot. Typical Lost crap though. More characters introduced, no answers. We act as if we didn't realise this was going to happen. If there are going to be 5 or 7 series of Lost we are not going to get answers any time soon. Get over it lads!

fobs

3

thought this was the worst episode so far of lost and gave it a 4. Was the only episode where felt my concentration wavering and didn't care that it was over. Didn't get the whole tattoo flashback as still don't know what that was about? Thought the kids appearing at least showed they havn't been harmed but again no questions asked by anyone. Think it will be better when all the characters are back on the one island as we havn't seen much of Hurley or Sayid or even John in a while...to disjointed....

Nalz

5

It is looking like they are trying to form a super family so to speak, but why hasnt there been more on Desmonds missus (Penny) and that whole north pole snowy place scene with those Portuguese/Brazilian guys?

WHY?

scojones

Trilla wrote:

It is looking like they are trying to form a super family so to speak, but why hasnt there been more on Desmonds missus (Penny) and that whole north pole snowy place scene with those Portuguese/Brazilian guys?

WHY?

They'll leave all that for the end of the series just to mess with our heads even further.

gazzer

The thing I dont understand about the brainwashing angle is that:

1) Why wasnt Juliet brainwashed so that she wants to stay on the island and not want to go home.
2). Why wasnt Jack brainwashed into doing the operation rather than Ben 'want' Jack to 'want' to do it.
3). Why wasnt Kate and Sawyer brainwashed rather than have them in a cage for 6 episodes.
4). Why wasnt Rosseaus daughter brainwashed, why is she allowed to hate Ben?

L31mr0d

5

WTF is the deal with that GIANT STONE FOOT??? sorry thats been messing with my head all season