Already bored by the Flash-sideways

blue_steel

Anybody else feel the same? I know people will say give it a chance but I just don't see what they add to the show.
These sideways characters are NOT the characters we've invested 5 seasons in and as such I find them tedious and frustrating.
Surely the writers have set up enough to fill the final season without wasting half of every episode with what might have happened. By that rational why not have a seventh season to show us what might have occurred in yet another reality.
I was counting the days leading up to the final season but I have to say I've been really disappointed so far. “What Kate does” was the first episode since season 3 where I found my attention drifting. And that is the ultimate insult I can give to what has been the most gripping and cerebral show on TV.

cooker3

blue_steel wrote: »

I know people will say give it a chance .

Yep, that's exactly what I am going to say.

But I see what your saying. Before the 6th season I really didn't want them to do this, but this was when I thought it was an either or choice.
I agree they haven't been great and I wonder what the ultimate resolution will be but bear in mind the last episode concentrated on 2 of the more boring characters. The conversation with Locke and Jack was outstanding and I am hopeful when they are featured it will really pick up. I also look forward to Desmond and Hurley's story.

All is not lost yet.

NukaCola

cooker3 wrote: »

The conversation with Locke and Jack was outstanding and I am hopeful when they are featured it will really pick up.

Hardly outstanding....nothing we haven't already seen between those two TBH.
The "Flash-Sideways" are very boring, obviously they are going somewhere but it is just so frustrating.

While season 6 has been ok, the flash sideways has affected the pace of the show a lot and i haven't enjoyed a single one.

syklops

As a long devoted fan, I have to say I think they have fupped up royally a great show and a great premise.

This flash sideways stuff is annoying. Its not even a case of what would have happened when they landed as they have changed things for no apparent reason. Like Hurley thinking he is lucky and Desmond being on the plane. Shannon wasnt on the plane due to her being too busy to film the scene? What is she doing that she was too busy for a 2 minute role in lost?

Kiith

KingKenny wrote: »

Hardly outstanding....nothing we haven't already seen between those two TBH.

Its not something we've seen since season 1 though. They havent exactly been friendly since Boone died way back when.

KingKenny wrote: »

obviously they are going somewhere but it is just so frustrating.

Welcome to Lost :rolleyes:

Flash backs worked, flash forwards worked, so why can't you have a little faith and realise that flash-sideways just might actually work. ITS BEEN 3 EPISODES!!

ArmaniJeanss

I haven't been particularly bothered by them. They annoy me no more or less than most of the flashbacks or forwards.

But if this board is representative of the wider Lost Fans, and everyone out there hates them, then the writers are in a bit of a pickle.

The last time I read so much negative stuff was about Nena and Pablo in series3 and at that stage the writers had a gap after episode 6 so they could reduce their role and write them out by Expose (episode 9 i think).

Whereas apparently 13 of 17 episodes of this series are already complete so there is little scope for a rewrite.

gary_bre

Lost has been going down hill since last season. Only reason I still watch it is because ive followed it from the start and want to see how they end it.

Radiotower

I think it will get more interesting when the characters start meeting in the off-island time and interacting...

LA X 1&2 were good I thought but what Kate Does wasn't - i judge it by how anxious i am to watch it again on iplayer - no urge to rewatch the last episode. I think it will get intersting when Locke is the centre character of an episode..

the prob i have with alt realities is that they could be an infinite number of them so why are we just seeing one..

cooker3

armaniTShirts wrote: »

I haven't been particularly bothered by them. They annoy me no more or less than most of the flashbacks or forwards.

But if this board is representative of the wider Lost Fans, and everyone out there hates them, then the writers are in a bit of a pickle.

The last time I read so much negative stuff was about Nena and Pablo in series3 and at that stage the writers had a gap after episode 6 so they could reduce their role and write them out by Expose (episode 9 i think).

Whereas apparently 13 of 17 episodes of this series are already complete so there is little scope for a rewrite.

I think people are being slightly overly critical as the last episode was so poor and they are probably using that as a barometer for things to come which I highly doubt and hope will not be the case.

Oh btw, the writers had already planned to write out Nikki and Paolo before they even appeared on screen. They saw from the dailies and such like it wasn't working. Also, it's Nikki and expose was episode 14. Let's not talk about what episode 9 was...

anotherlostie

cooker3 wrote: »

I think people are being slightly overly critical as the last episode was so poor and they are probably using that as a barometer for things to come which I highly doubt and hope will not be the case.

Oh btw, the writers had already planned to write out Nikki and Paolo before they even appeared on screen. They saw from the dailies and such like it wasn't working. Also, it's Nikki and expose was episode 14. Let's not talk about what episode 9 was...

You having a Bai Ling moment? Maybe Jack will meet her again (while the pigs, and Nikki and Paolo fly by the hospital window).

I'm in the camp giving Darlton and co a chance to see where this all goes. But I would prefer if they divvied up the episodes between the different groups rather than switching focus weekly - it is annoying having to wait two weeks for progression of the storylines. But this isn't a new problem for S6.

Psychedelic

The writers knew the flash sideways would divide the fans. They are always very aware of the audience reactions so I reckon they will have the 2 realities come together somehow mid way through the season (I think they actually confirmed this in a podcast).

I'd say there will be a big WTF moment that will make us see the connection between the 2 realities.

NukaCola

Kiith wrote: »

so why can't you have a little faith and realise that flash-sideways just might actually work. ITS BEEN 3 EPISODES!!

I never said it would not work, all i'm saying is thus far IMO they have been poor and a lot of filler. Yes its been 3 episodes but its SEASON 6 THE FINAL SEASON.....i think we should be given a better grasp of whats going on at this stage rather than more filler.....

blue_steel

3 episodes out of the final 18 is a large chunk imho. Roussaeau's back story was covered in 10 minutes and Widmore's banishing in 2 and yet we have to sit through hours of this type of fill.
I guess I'm more into the mythology than the emotional side of the show and that's why I found a lot of the first three episodes disappointing.
Fingers crossed it will get stronger and end on a high

Sad Professor

blue_steel wrote: »

I guess I'm more into the mythology than the emotional side of the show and that's why I found a lot of the first three episodes disappointing.

You might want to get your expectations in check then. Because the writers have been very clear about what they consider more important.

Damon got a lot of abuse for the following:

"This is a character-based show. We care more about emotions, motivations and ultimate destinies of the people. We don't care about who built the statue."

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20100202_Fans_search_on_Waikiki_Beach_for_answers_to__Lost_.html

blue_steel

"This is a character-based show. We care more about emotions, motivations and ultimate destinies of the people. We don't care about who built the statue."

To me this is a cop out. Why set up the mythology at all if they were more interested in the people involved. They could just have written 6 season based around the love triangle/ square/ quadragle /whatever it is now.
Whether Darlton like it or not they have created a sci-fi show NOT a melodrama and it will ultimately be judged on how impressive it is as the former NOT the latter.

tok9

I'm far more interested in the characters tbh. I want some answers but like Lindelof said i'm not too bothered by the statue or that thing. So far i'm interested in the flash sideways. I think it was sad professor who said it seems to be showing that the island wasn't that important and that these people were destined to meet. I'm inclined to agree with this and it really does show what the producers think of the show.

Not sure if this is considered a spoiler so just in case

It's been said that the show will follow one timeline after 6 or 7 episodes.

I'm fairly sure i heard something like this.

astrofool

I think the big problem is that Kate is such an awful character, and when given a choice between A and B, always does C, the stupid option that causes people to get killed or caught.

First ep was great with Jack and Locke, hopefully there will be no more Kate centric episodes for the rest of the series.

I also reckon that the flash sideways are in the same reality, and not just a Bobby Ewing moment. So they will have a very large impact on how the story ends, including allowing some of the main islanders to die (yet not die).

Zombrex

blue_steel wrote: »

To me this is a cop out. Why set up the mythology at all if they were more interested in the people involved. They could just have written 6 season based around the love triangle/ square/ quadragle /whatever it is now.
Whether Darlton like it or not they have created a sci-fi show NOT a melodrama and it will ultimately be judged on how impressive it is as the former NOT the latter.

+1

Without the statue (ie the whole sci-fi mythology) Lost is Melrose Place with a bigger budget, better location and (slightly) better actors.

Zombrex

astrofool wrote: »

I also reckon that the flash sideways are in the same reality, and not just a Bobby Ewing moment.

The island has sunk in the flash sideways reality, so not sure that can be true.

uncleoswald

Wicknight wrote: »

+1

Without the statue (ie the whole sci-fi mythology) Lost is Melrose Place with a bigger budget, better location and (slightly) better actors.

Completely disagree. The polar bears running around loose, the four toed statue, the pirate ship in the middle of the island, all of these for me were ways to tell us that the characters weren't in Kansas anymore and that generally the island had had a pretty weird history. I honestly hope I do not find out how the Black Rock ended up in the middle of the jungle or who built the statue. I do want a general explanation for why the island is special and that will do for me with some obvious exceptions.

The Clone Wars when referred to in a couple of sentences sounded exotic and epic, but now when I hear Ben and Luke talk about it I see a giant CGI mess. Some things are best left to the imagination.

Psychedelic

Sad Professor wrote: »

You might want to get your expectations in check then. Because the writers have been very clear about what they consider more important.

Damon got a lot of abuse for the following:

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20100202_Fans_search_on_Waikiki_Beach_for_answers_to__Lost_.html

Fair enough they can say the characters are more important, but they have to realise that to a lot of people the mythology is more important. In fairness that is why everyone is so hooked on the show, we love the crazy stuff and keep watching because we believe we will eventually get answers, not because we want to see if Kate will choose Jack or Sawyer.

Damon Lindelof wrote:

We don't care about who built the statue.

With all due respect to Damon that is bollocks. We want to find out about the ancient people who built the statue as there has been so many connections to them on the show that we need to know more about them.

If they don't explain things like that I'd be so pissed off. The writers know full well by introducing those things into the show that people will want to know the explanations behind them, so they can't just ignore them. They can't just throw in loads of stuff and not explain them, or at least give us enough to go on that we can work it out for ourselves.

uncleoswald wrote: »

I honestly hope I do not find out how the Black Rock ended up in the middle of the jungle or who built the statue.

We will find out about the Black Rock, I'd nearly guarantee it, because we will be getting an Alpert episode at some stage which would surely show the events that took place when he arrived on the island. I hope we also see the statue being destroyed in that episode.

uncleoswald wrote: »

I do want a general explanation for why the island is special and that will do for me with some obvious exceptions.

This will not happen imo. There is no reason why the island is special, it just is, and that's okay with me. The closest we'll get to an explanation is references to the island's electro-magnetic properties and that it has a volcano, which somehow give the island its special powers.

uncleoswald

Psychedelic wrote: »

We will find out about the Black Rock, I'd nearly guarantee it, because we will be getting an Alpert episode at some stage which would surely show the events that took place when he arrived on the island. I hope we also see the statue being destroyed in that episode.

This may not happen for two reasons, budget constraints and I don't think they will do anymore flashback episodes. If we were just told about it would it be so bad?

This will not happen imo. There is no reason why the island is special, it just is, and that's okay with me. The closest we'll get to an explanation is references to the island's electro-magnetic properties and that it has a volcano, which somehow give the island its special powers

The Island has practically been a character on the show but people seem to think that how the statue was destroyed etc... is more important then why this island has been the location of so many events and has drawn so many people to it? If the island itself isn't special in itself then it is because Jacob & MIB reside there and I imagine is the big reveal the writers are heading towards.

Who built the statue? I'd wager it was built by ancient people who were brought to the island by Jacob for the same reason he brought the Losties. Same with the Black Rock, same with whoever it was destroyed the statue. Many groups have had epic stories on the island and they are not going to cover them all as these past events may not be important in the grand scheme of things but simply paint us a colourful history.
But the question is if THIS time it's different and if so why? If not then in 50 years time another group might find themselves on the island, wonder what the blown up hatch means, find two corpses that had been buried alive on the beach and encounter an ageless Iraqi man named Sayid who says he works for the Leader of the island, Jack. I have no vested interest in the characters previously brought to the island but I do in the losties and their reasons for been there which I hope the flashsideways go some way to explaining.

nitrogen

"This is a character-based show. We care more about emotions, motivations and ultimate destinies of the people. We don't care about who built the statue."

blue_steel wrote: »

To me this is a cop out. Why set up the mythology at all if they were more interested in the people involved. They could just have written 6 season based around the love triangle/ square/ quadragle /whatever it is now.
Whether Darlton like it or not they have created a sci-fi show NOT a melodrama and it will ultimately be judged on how impressive it is as the former NOT the latter.

I totally agree with blue_steel. If they don't answer these questions, it's evident they've made up most of the stuff, wrote it as they went along, all for a fancy soap.

In my opinion, after the opening three episodes, they're very close to fcuking everything up. I hope, I am very wrong!

Lindelof can make all the excuses saying it's character based, but if they ignore the mythology, it's a cop-out, but above all a failure as a writer to introduce so many concepts and then to lack both intelligence and imagination to answer them.

cooker3

To be fair to Damon he has always said it's a character driven show over and over again from the start. It's not like he suddenly realised season 6 is not going to cut it and getting the excuses out early.

As for the island. I don't really see how you answer the question of how it is special without it being ridiculous. I think it's fine as it is. The statue on the hand, that would be extremely easy to answer. Just have Richard say it or have a flashback. I can't really see why they wouldn't do it. My guess is we will know the rough time it was built and the "civilisation" but not exactly who.

uncleoswald

cooker3 wrote: »

As for the island. I don't really see how you answer the question of how it is special without it being ridiculous. I think it's fine as it is.

Thats what I worry about considering all of the answers that people demand, such as the numbers. All I mean about finding out about why the island is special is why all these events are happening on it and I presume once we find out about Jacob it will kind of answer itself with no need for eye rolling mumbo jumbo or pseudo science. It may simply be special because Jacob lives there and again that is good enough for me.

Just because the statue is easy to answer doesn't mean it needs answering. Sometimes the mystery is better then the explanation.

Sad Professor

<snip>

Nevermind, posted in wrong thread.

syklops

Sad Professor wrote: »

Part of the problem with answering questions is that the show has never really dealt in actual questions.

Lost never dealt in actual questions?

I think I am watching a different show.

Psychedelic

uncleoswald wrote: »

This may not happen for two reasons, budget constraints and I don't think they will do anymore flashback episodes. If we were just told about it would it be so bad?

That would be fine with me. I would be surprised though if they didn't show how the Black Rock ended up in the middle of the jungle as that could be such a cool scene, and would be a really good pay off to people who were wondering about that mystery since the first season.

ToasterSparks

nitrogen wrote: »

I totally agree with blue_steel. If they don't answer these questions, it's evident they've made up most of the stuff, wrote it as they went along, all for a fancy soap.

In my opinion, after the opening three episodes, they're very close to fcuking everything up. I hope, I am very wrong!

Lindelof can make all the excuses saying it's character based, but if they ignore the mythology, it's a cop-out, but above all a failure as a writer to introduce so many concepts and then to lack both intelligence and imagination to answer them.

Thank you for this post. It's exactly what I'm thinking ATM. I'm not naive enough to believe that the writers have used every single scene in every single episode to further their very secret reasoning behind the whole show. There's clearly been times where they just rambled on and created characters and scenes and situations where relevance went out the window and they could attribute those parts of the show as 'important' in the long run.

However, (and I know episode 3 was a bad episode) the finish line is within sight and we're still being treated to the same character interactions, except this time, they don't know each other and it's like we're back at season 1. You can't keep stringing viewers along and there's no 'long term significance' to hide behind anymore. The flash-sideways are just turning into an off-island version of season 1. I really hope that we don't have to struggle through a dozen more flash-sideways where ALT-timeline characters do the same thing as plane-crash characters.

As someone who staunchly defends Lost in my house, I'd hate to think after 6 seasons that my siblings were right all along, and the writers just made it up as they went along.

astrofool

Wicknight wrote: »

The island has sunk in the flash sideways reality, so not sure that can be true.

Is it the same island? We saw a sunken plane also that we thought hadn't sank. What if the first few episodes on island are about how the Island sinks (we don't know the dates yet, apart via the ultrasound scan). Maybe sinking the Island is a way to protect it, and it can rise again. Nuclear blasts don't cause Islands to sink intact.

James Forde

astrofool wrote: »

Is it the same island? We saw a sunken plane also that we thought hadn't sank. What if the first few episodes on island are about how the Island sinks (we don't know the dates yet, apart via the ultrasound scan). Maybe sinking the Island is a way to protect it, and it can rise again. Nuclear blasts don't cause Islands to sink intact.

we saw the four toed statue................so my guess it is the same island

astrofool

bryanjf wrote: »

we saw the four toed statue................so my guess it is the same island

We also saw Dharma village and shark, but that can all either be replicated, or the Island itself might be able to move or travel in time.

nirvana0506

2 endings 1 show unless they go somewhere with them

tok9

For the people who are bored with the Alt and have seen The substitute, what do you think now? Remember to spoiler tag any info about the episode.. Don't want to spoil anything

blue_steel

Loved the episode. EVEN the flash sideways. But that’s probably only because Terry O’Quinn is my favourite actor on the show. I'm still worried with regards to how they are going to link in the ALT timeline with the original one without the help of a shoehorn. But yes, I am much happier after that (literally smiling while watching it). It was everything I love about the show; subtle menace, mythology, adventure, twists, tie-ins to previous episodes, great writing and great acting.

Mr.Nice Guy

I felt it was best to give the flash-sideways a chance and having done so I have to say I'm not impressed.

Hopefully something good comes out of it but at the moment it feels like it disrupts the story rather than adds to it. Certainly doesn't have the appeal of the flashforwards.

popebenny16

I am willing to lay real money on the line and bet that the last scene in the last episode is a flash sideways.

murpho999

I really don't understand why people are complaining about the alt storylines.

There are still 13 or 14 episodes to go and we don't know yet how everything is going to connect.

I think people should just reserve judgement and be patient and see how everything pans out. I think by the end of the season that the alt timeline will be very relevant and we'll probably be calling the writers genuises.

Don't understand why people are looking for instant answers all the time.

Also, 'The Substitute' was an absolutely fantastic episode.

NukaCola

murpho999 wrote: »

I really don't understand why people are complaining about the alt storylines.

There are still 13 or 14 episodes to go and we don't know yet how everything is going to connect.

I think people should just reserve judgement and be patient and see how everything pans out. I think by the end of the season that the alt timeline will be very relevant and we'll probably be calling the writers genuises.

Don't understand why people are looking for instant answers all the time.

Also, 'The Substitute' was an absolutely fantastic episode.

Instant answers?
Its the final season, with 13 or 14 eps left it doesn't leave all that much time to explain everything they have brought up and i assume a lot will be left unanswered or open to interpretation.

I think the Alt timelines are boring personally. We've already seen Kate on the run, we've already seen Locke at work, we've already seen the characters linked to each other, all this has been done already in the flashbacks, the characters have already been given plenty of time to develop, we pretty much know what each one is about. Thats what annoys me with the timeline. Its complete filler and its boring. I'll give it time and hope they are going somewhere very good with this but IMO if it is going somewhere its going very very slow.....

NukaCola

popebenny16 wrote: »

I am willing to lay real money on the line and bet that the last scene in the last episode is a flash sideways.

Or a flashback/flashforward/flashupward/flashdownward.......:pac:

blue_steel

We've already seen Kate on the run, we've already seen Locke at work, we've already seen the characters linked to each other, all this has been done already in the flashbacks, the characters have already been given plenty of time to develop, we pretty much know what each one is about.

Yeah I think this is the big problem with the devise alright; it just feels like we're watching repeats of season 1. Season 6 should have been all on-island and in a single timeline. I think after 5 season of jumping around the audience deserved that payoff.
Listening to the writers discussing the issue has me worried I have to say. They specifically said in a recent podcast that the flash-sideways are the major mystery of season six. I find this incredible. Here is Lostpedia's list of unanswered questions in the first 5 seasons:
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Unanswered_questions_by_episode
And yet despite this enormous catalogue they decide to introduce a completely new all encompassing mystery that nobody really cares about. I understand that the enigmatic nature of Lost is what we love about it but the show will be remembered as a disappointment if some decent explanation isn't offered. For the writers to say they don't care who built the statue and then advise viewers to trust them regarding the flash-sideways is asking a lot of us.
I think we will be stuck with this format for the whole season and that really doesn't excite me.

nitrogen

blue_steel wrote: »

http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Unanswered_questions_by_episode

To be honest, that's probably the main reason behind the alternative timeline: to force us to forget about all the unanswered questions and ignore the fact that for every mystery that was revealed, another three were introduced.

My attention is lost when I hear that sound to take us to the parallel world.

EKRIUQ

I'm rewatching the whole of lost and I'm nearing the end of season 2, and the thought of the whole of season 6 being littered with flashbacks is starting to ruin the final season. The time on the island viewing is great. The flashback/sideways can work great with some characters but for the majority it's just weak, even if they were flash forwards it would give some source for the ending. As I'm watching the shows there's so much to be answered and to be drip fed for the rest of the shows is a bit worrying.

NukaCola

EKRIUQ wrote: »

I'm rewatching the whole of lost

I was in the process of that also but having seen Season 6 i'm not sure i want to put more time into re-watching the show......yet, i really hope they know what they are doing.......

nitrogen

KingKenny wrote: »

I was in the process of that also but having seen Season 6 i'm not sure i want to put more time into re-watching the show......yet, i really hope they know what they are doing.......

I feel the same. I watched season 4 & 5 in a week before starting with season 6, it's a massive letdown. The whole time travel, which was great, feels like a filling season now.

Dymo

On lostopedia there are enough unanswered questions to take up the whole rest of the series with out all these fillers episodes and I think the producers are trying to aim at people who never watched lost before so they can just pick it up without previous knowledge. There's supposed to be a blending of the time shifts at around episodes 12-13, but I'm wondering are they bothered about all the finer points. The numbers seem to be explained pretty weakly.

syklops

nitrogen wrote: »

I feel the same. I watched season 4 & 5 in a week before starting with season 6, it's a massive letdown. The whole time travel, which was great, feels like a filling season now.

I completely agree. The more I watch it both past and present episodes I get the feeling that it started with the 2 writers going to ABC with a one page summary, and getting funding. And when it did well, they just pulled stuff out of their arses to make it last longer.

Season 1 meeting with ABC
Abrams: So there is this Island. And weird sh/t happens on the island. And then there is a plane crash. And its really spooky...
ABC: "I like it!" Start filming!

Season 2 meeting with ABC
Abrams: So we're pretty happy with how its going. We're going to give more background to the Island, and to Dharma, and probably reveal everything around episode 22.
ABC:"Dont you dare! We're rolling in Money thanks to lost, write a few more seasons"
Abrams:"A few more seasons? With what we only have the losties and the others."
ABC:"Come up with something! I dont care. Anything that will keep the masses guessing. There were more survivors, and one of thems a priest! But he is not a real priest. Ooooh! And and and it turns out their not on an island at all but actually, their in a giant walmart that has been camouflaged to look like an island, and theres a sale on!! And Sun and Kate announce their undying love for each other and move into the same tent on the beach! Then Sawyer is kidnapped by aliens who want to clone his face, and Gin, still annoyed about Sun goes on a killing spree and murder all the others, or so he thinks, because it turns out that while everyone was watching Kate and Sun make out, the Island, moved through time and space, and the people he killed was actually him and the losties 40 years in the future, so now he has to go back in time to kill himself, so he can protect himself from being killed!" People fall for that stuff all the time.

By the time the masses figure out we just make it up as we go along, we'll be rich!"
Abrams:"Time travel. Must remember that..."

Psychedelic

syklops wrote: »

I completely agree. The more I watch it both past and present episodes I get the feeling that it started with the 2 writers going to ABC with a one page summary, and getting funding. And when it did well, they just pulled stuff out of their arses to make it last longer.

It was actually a 22 page outine, according to the former ABC exec who gave the go-ahead for the making of the pilot episode:

You've said that when you read the outline for Lost, you told a friend that it was the next ER. Do you still feel that way?
It was the eleventh hour and we weren’t happy with the original script that had been [commissioned for the concept], so I brought in J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof and they wrote a detailed outline — because we had to make a decision on whether to make the show or not based on this outline. By the time we had a script it would have been too late to greenlight it. So they wrote a 22-page outline — which I literally keep in my office because we often show drama writers this outline. I think it’s the best outline, to date, I’ve ever read. We use it as a model.

Source: http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/02/lloyd_braun_interview_lost_voi.html

syklops wrote: »

Season 2 meeting with ABC
Abrams:

Abrams left Lost after a few episodes into Season 1.

dudeitshurley

This was the only flash-sideways specific thread i could see. Anyway just a general point on them:

My problem with them isn't so much that they are boring or pointless, i don't think they necessarily are. I always assumed and surmised that they were a device to show that the Losties were always destined to meet/go to the island. However to date, we have seen interconnectivity and very little else; which is going to result in the following: if, somehow, in the remaining episodes in sideways-land they all realise their fate, purpose, whatever it may be, it's going to feel very rushed and ring very hollow.

Slightly unrelated - in earlier seasons we had main characters turning up in various flashbacks of other main characters. I'm sure we can all think of many examples. Given that this is repeating itself in the sideways, is it time to give more weight to what that meant from a very early point? A lot of people just assumed they were being smart and clever, giving nods to the fans when Sawyer shows up with Christian or Des with Jack etc.

blue_steel

I agree that whatever is going to be the culmination of the sideways story it will have to be done pretty quickly at the rate they're going.
As the seasons progressed I've found some of the sideways good (Ben and Jack) some watchable (Sun and Locke) and some truly awful (Kate and Sawyer). But for me they were all irrelevant asides. Whatever the point of them is could have been covered in one dedicated episode. We didn't need half a season of them.
I'm still hoping they are wrapped up sooner rather than later.

The last episode that obviously sounds like it includes a sideways is episode 12: Everybody loves Hugo. Maybe that'll be the end of them :pac:

Sad Professor

However well the writers ultimately use the sideways in the endgame, I agree that justifying their decision to spend an entire season showing them to us will be difficult. Even if they needed a second timeline, why spend so much time showing us that timeline?

I actually think the sideways were a brilliant concept if they had been used as a standard "what if the plane didn't crash". My big issue with them is that they changed the pre-2004 backstories of the characters, wiping out 4 seasons worth of flashbacks in the process. It's made the sideways very difficult to care about as they have no connection to what's happening on the island and the twists (Sawyer is a cop, etc) often seem arbitrary.

The writers have said that the sideways are about the implications of time travel. I like this. However, as much we read into the differences in this timeline, the vast majority of stuff remains the same. The characters are still fugitives, doctors, etc and still have daddy issues, want revenge, etc. The biggest change in this timeline is the island being underwater and that hasn't been dealt with at all.