As any Lost-a-holic can surely attest, the show's third season was one that dished out some its most erratic change-ups. An underground hatch with buttons being pushed to save the world is one thing, but a sonic barrier fence? Male pregnancy? Precognition? Talla-freakin-hassee?

I've heard a few stories from former Lost fans who felt alienated, possibly even disgruntled, by Season 2's abandonment of the whole survival issue. I mean, before, it was a battle just finding food and water, avoiding monsters, wiping the butt, entertaining oneself, or dealing with hallucinations that may or may not have been there. But the introduction of the Hatch took care of most of that. No monster in the Hatch, no hallucinations, ample food and even a record player. Where was the conflict?

I'll say this much, though, Season 2 did drop quite the cliffhanger, utilizing the Others' more prominent placement as villains to its advantage. It even dropped in a little outside-world bonus. Which brings us to Season 3. But as cliffhangers go, there is no cliffhanger on this show that could ever so much as lay a scratch on the humdinger that comes barrelling out of Season 3's last five minutes. It was because of that cliffhanger that I swore off spoilers for Season 4, because lemme tell you.

Season 3 opens in a style that mimicks that of Season 2. Unfamiliar atmosphere, upbeat oldie, and a strange new woman who we later learn is named Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell). It segues flawlessly into "Season 1 from a different angle" mode as the doomed Flight 815 falls to pieces in the sky just overhead. Ta-da, it's Othersville! And the theme of Season 3 is already established. It's Others Season.

Because of the widespread panic happening on three distinct locations of the island (although not necessarily on the island), Season 3 has a lot of ground to cover. Fortunately, it gets to all three scenarios for the first three episodes, although many believe that the second and third episodes would have benefitted from being flip-flopped. At this point, you're anxious to see how the beach survivors are doing, since this is where the majority of time has been spent, yet you have to wait for the third episode for that. On DVD, it's not so much of an issue, but watching week-by-week, that was like torture. Thanks a lot, Sayid.

The third episode, entitled "Further Instructions", is cryptic in that great Lost way, even though the flashback leaves something to be desired (many insist that it was actually ..er, something else). "Every Man For Himself" leads us into a bit of a rough patch, as it is one of those episodes where they had one significant fact to reveal, and had to write the whole story around it. "The Cost Of Living" has a slightly better story, almost too good of a story for such an ill-fated character who would never get a just follow-up.

Basically, the thing with Season 3 is that the first six episodes are widely considered by the LOST community as one of the worst rough patches ever. I disagree somewhat, especially since the release of the DVD's, but I can see how the sixth episode "I Do" more or less seals the deal on that line of thinking. (The fact that the first six episodes aired a few months apart from the rest might have helped that too.) By and large, the entire reason for "I Do" was to explain Kate's short marriage alluded to in Season 1 (which is just about as superfluous as Jack's tattoos), and to stick a monkey wrench into the whole Jack/Kate/Sawyer love triangle.

When LOST finally returned in January of 2007 to continue Season 3, it started off with "Not In Portland"... and a bang. I had the lowest expectations for this, as it was going to be Other-centric; more specifically, Juliet-centric. But as it turned out, it was an excellent introduction into Juliet's conflict, which would eventually blossom into one against both sides of the proverbial battlefield. Elizabeth Mitchell is nothing short of spectacular in her new place here, always teetering on that line between tough-by-necessity and on-the-brink brittle. Well, after those first six episodes, I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking that this great 7th one was a fluke.

"Flashes Before Your Eyes" shattered that theory into a million pieces. Here was where Lost really started to delve into the "time" aspect of the show, taking us through Desmond's literal return to his past and his inability to change what has happened. But whether it is inability or unwillingness, remains to be seen. Lost was on a roll, baby, nothing could stop it now!

Except maybe "Stranger In A Strange Land". Ouch is all I can say. Jack's tattoos, yeah, okay. A completely wasted scene with Cindy, yep. And the introduction of a seemingly invincible and interesting Other who never turns up again. Whatever. I've seen similar animosity directed toward Hurley-centric episode 10, "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead", but to me this is when Season 3 really takes off and there is not even so much as one sub-par episode from then on. "TTID" has an amazing Sawyer/Jin moment, and one of those long-missed hopeful kind of endings. "Shambala" by Three Dog Night makes all the difference. And how can ya not love Jorge Garcia?

"Enter 77" explores a more morbid side of Sayid's past (it's actually kind of disturbing) as well as a new station on the Island, not to mention a new character who will come to play an integral role as the season progresses. Naveen Andrews nails it yet again; the man is simply a God. "Par Avion" keeps the ping-pong momentum going nicely with an upbeat Claire episode. Emilie de Ravin adds her usual warmth, even though her turning on Charlie for the umpteenth time is a little bit ridiculous. Still, the note she attaches to a migratory bird is beautiful (call me a sap) and the cliffhanger for this episode, essentially the mid-point of the season, is the 2nd best one ever. (Not counting finales, and obviously the best is "Got milk?")

"Man From Tallahassee" was, at the time, practically revolutionary. Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson are complete maniacs, playing off each other like a couple of time-bombs. The dialogue is just galactic between them. But to be brutally honest, from this vantage point I find it to be kind of an over-rated episode, mostly because it doesn't feel like there's been much of a follow-through to it. It feels like they are still having the same conversation at Season 4's end.

"Expose" was a moment of dread for many, as it was to be centered around the two most disliked noobs ever, Paulo and Nikki. I actually like the episode quite a bit. It is lighthearted, has terrific on-island flashbacks, a whole lot of Hurley/Sawyer backbiting, a great moment for Charlie, and a shocking ending. "Left Behind" is yet another episode that many seem to dislike, but I love. Admittedly, there is not much progress for Kate's storyline other than her meeting with Cassidy (which I always thought was huge), but what saves this episode for me is the B-plot in which Hurley pulls a brilliant con on Sawyer. Kate and Juliet also are particularly enjoyable as they squabble back and forth while handcuffed together in the jungle. Evangeline Lilly is greater here than any other point in the season, maybe even the series. 'Cause normally I'm not so crazy about her (weird as that sounds) but in this episode I love her. Oh yeah, and there's lots of Smokey.

"One Of Us" is the follow-up Juliet episode, with a flashback smooth as silk getting her where she "needs" to be in the story. Juliet saying goodbye to her ill sister always brings a tear to my eye, and the segueway into present time actually makes Sayid seem almost "bad" by comparison. I don't care much for the way the writers tried to have Juliet "explain" Ethan's actions at the end. It's too good of an explanation for her to be lying, but if it's the truth, it doesn't even begin to explain why he took all the time to hang Charlie, much less why no one would bring that up. I do find it interesting that in the similarly titled "One Of Them" from Season 2, the cliffhanger of that episode is Sayid talking about this very thing and asking, "Have you forgotten?".

Ep. 17 "Catch 22" runs Season 3 into overdrive with more "time crap", as Hurley would call it. Desmond has visions of someone coming to the island, as well as a survivor dying. But does that mean the survivor has to die for the person to show up, or for it to be who he thinks it is? The craziness has only just begun. "D.O.C." is a quick breather of a Sun episode, in which the issue of her pregnancy is addressed. Also lots of Juliet time. Yunjin Kim is terrific enough as it is, but she and Elizabeth together are golden. "The Brig" follows up by finally addressing a cliffhanger from six episodes ago, and the crazy con-fest between Locke and the Others begins. It only gets even more intense when we finally catch a get a good look into Ben (the lead Other) and his past in "The Man Behind The Curtain". There is also a glimpse of what may just be the ultimate good guy or the ultimate bad guy. Who knows? As Juliet's conflict with the Losties back on the beach makes way to a head, the pieces are almost in place for a final confrontation. The writers set it up so nicely, it's almost unreal how they did it.

"Greatest Hits" follows as the last episode before the finale, and it is probably my favorite episode of the season. Charlie Pace has run into a few snags on his Lost journey, but here, he gets to make the ultimate act of redemption. And Dominic Monaghan who plays him, well lemme just put it this way. There's a part of me that actually hopes he never tops this, just so that this episode can be that one moment that everyone talks about til kingdom come. I just love it that much. You have to see it to believe it. The end of this episode was what got me through the next week of work.

Season 3 tops it off with "Through The Looking Glass", the season finale. Some people have said it's even better than "Exodus", but there's no way. It's close, but no cigar. The thing with "Looking Glass" is that the on-island stuff is better than it has ever been, possibly the best there is. But Jack's "flashback" story is just painstakingly boring. He's basically going around in a drug-induced haze, randomly causing car accidents, knocking over sunglasses displays, driving with loud Nirvana music playing and visiting some random guy's funeral. It's just depressing and aside from the big reveal at the end, basically it goes nowhere. There was so much hoopla over the whole "Who's in the coffin" mystery that I got sick of hearing about it and kinda stopped caring. Still, as season finales go, I suppose it beats S2's finale. But even then, I'm not completely sure about that. I'm having kind of a S2 stage lately.

Acting is one of your biggest reasons to watch "Lost", should you decide to take the plunge before Season 5 starts in January 2009. Every single actor on this show is fabulous. Even the "single serving" ones like Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro (Nikki and Paulo) do nicely in their roles. I find myself thinking of one actor and wanting to instantly give him or her all the accolades, only to think of a second one and say "Well no, 'cause that one's really brilliant too."

I haven't mentioned Josh Holloway yet, and he is one of my favorites. Early in the season, he is this close to becoming a one-note horse (as he has mostly been in the first two seasons), but towards the middle of Season 3, you really start to see another side of Sawyer. It's amazing to watch the camaraderie that develops between him and Naveen late in the Season, seeing as how those two spent the majority of Lost time as kind of "worst enemies". I mean, one guy stuck bamboo under the other guy's fingernails. Three months later, they're on the same team. That's Lost for ya.

Matthew Fox gets a little crazy early in the season, but I wonder if that's not mostly the direction or the writing. His screaming at Cindy in "Stranger" was a gold mine for the Scaryjackface crowd, almost as big as his "Let's just SEE what HAPPENS!" scene in "One Of Them". His character's actions throughout the season are so unpredictable and at times seemingly unexplainable that it must have been a hell of a job. As I understand it, though, even the actors don't know the whole story just yet, so Mr. Fox is probably as confused as we are as to why he's button hooking with a kidnapper.

The DVD features for Season 3 follow a similar pattern to that of previous seasons. There are on-location featurettes for several episodes, interviews up the wazoo, a crew tribute by Evangeline Lilly that's a lot of fun, and one in particular called "Lost In A Day" that shows, hour by hour, what the workday is like when four or five episodes are being filmed or processed simultaneously just weeks prior to their air time.

But seriously, one of the biggest reasons to watch LOST is the scenery. It's just as beautiful as can be, and after being cooped up in the Hatch for most of Season 2, I find Season 3 to be unexpectedly warm in spite of the growing intensity of the war and things that are soon to come. Sometimes I'll just put it on in the background just to have it playing, like a Sounds of Nature CD or something. Although I'm sure I said that in my S1 and S2 reviews too.

Speaking of which, I got the urge to write a review this morning when suddenly I realized it's been exactly one year today since I wrote my last one. My, how the time does fly. Guess ya thought you could get rid of me for one full year, well in the words of Ana-Lucia, "Think again!"


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older