Season 4 is a Triumph...at the Expense of Season 3

It's really beginning to annoy me how everybody's saying in their year-end top ten lists how Lost's fourth season rebounded from a weak third.

I realize that a comeback makes for a better story, but when that's the angle almost everybody takes, it begins to look exceedingly lazy.

The fact is, the first six episodes of Season 3 (Jack, Kate, and Sawyer trapped on the mini-island, Nikki and Paolo introduced on the real island) are almost universally considered to be the show's low point, but the final two-thirds of the season was heralded as terrific, with top-notch episodes like "Not in Portland," "Flashes Before Your Eyes," "Enter 77," "The Man from Tallahassee," "The Brig," "The Man Behind the Curtain," and "Greatest Hits" -- plus the critically-adored finale. Rolling Stone wrote a piece about how Lost was the best show on television to tap into our national anxieties, while Terry O'Quinn won an Emmy for his trouble.

Plus, they said the same thing about the second season when talking about the third: "A disappointment, started off slow, introduced unlikable characters (Ana-Lucia), etc -- but boy the third season is quite the comeback!" It's as if Lost has the reverse of SNL's curse, where everybody says it "sucks now" but was good "back when [insert former cast member] was on."

Anyway, the write-up that got me going on this little rant is from ScrippsNews, who named Lost the best show of 2008 and said:

Wildly curious and handsomely played out, this densely scripted adventure series pulled off a miracle. In 2007, "Lost" derailed, succumbing to too many plot avenues. "Lost" lost its way. Now with a fresh take on the action (revealing the puzzling future for the characters), "Lost" has not only showed us the end game, it has traveled beyond at light speed. This is the one series that cannot be missed.

I guess I shouldn't be complaining about people talking about how much they love my favorite show. In fact, when I put it that way, it sounds more than a little idiotic. But it had to be said.

TAGS: Reviews, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4
POST TOOLS: