The Tail Section

I figured I would stick my head together with BuddyTV senior writer Oscar Dahl and compare notes on the most awesome, and not-so-awesome, moments of the mini-season! We’re disqualifying next weeks finale because it is just completely inconceivable that it will be anything less than awesome from front to back!

DocArzt: Eye-Patch Guy

Patchy!  Hey, he’s mysterious, he radiates ‘guy-in-the-know’, and he wears Dharma jumpsuits,  how can the guy not be cool?  No doubt he will not be a regular, but I expect big things from this guy.

Oscar:  Juliet

Juliet has stolen the show since the very first scene of the very first episode of Lost’s third season.  She is kind, never intimidated, and extremely mysterious.  I can’t get a good read on her and have no idea, at this point, where her allegiances lie or whether she’s completely playing Jack.

DocArzt: Paolo

Die, Paolo, Die! He’s grouchy, aloof, lazy, and so far hasn’t shown us much reason for being at the center of any plots.  Frankly, I would have much rather had Hurley in the Pearl to say "Dude" when Patchy showed up over Paolo’s beady-eyed blank stare.

Oscar: (tie) Nikki and Paolo

These two, besides Elizabeth Mitchell, were the new cast members to join Lost this season and both have been unimpressive.  From Paolo’s weak golfing introduction, to Nikki’s overzealous behavior on Locke’s Eko/hatch expedition, the two newcomers have seemed wildly out of place.  We don’t need any more important characters, especially ones as unexciting as Nikki and Paolo.

DocArzt: Opening Scene of the Season

This should be predictable:  the opening of the premiere.  Seeing the others in their bucolic little yellow themed neighborhood was one of the biggest mind screws of the series.

Oscar:  Locke’s Airport Hallucination

The overwhelming choice here might very well be the first scene of the season, and with good reason.  The reveal of The Others’ lifestyle was stomach-punch level surprising.  However, we’ve come to expect greatness from the opening scene of a Lost season.  I’m going to go against the grain here and say that Locke’s airport hallucination with Boone was the best scene of the season.  The way it was filmed and the creative way to bring Boone back blew me away.

DocArzt: Nikki’s Hatch Observation

Nikki pointing out that the Pearl station was a monitoring station, and might be used to see into other Dharma rabbit-holes, and Locke validating it by saying "boy, I feel stupid."   Did Locke watch the same orientation film we watched last season?

Oscar: Mr. Eko’s Death

I’m cheating a little here, because the scene was well done.  It’s only the worst scene because Mr. Eko died.  And who didn’t love Mr. Eko?

DocArzt: Two Islands

Two islands!  It may not be the most resonating, but I personally was on pins and needles when Sawyer crested that hill.

Oscar: Ben Having a Tumor

Okay, maybe this isn’t a major twist, but once Jack saw those X-Rays I was ecstatic.  It all came together in that instant.  Ben’s plan for Jack to operate on him is diabolical, and I love it.

DocArzt: Desmond’s Premonitions

Desmond sees the future.  C’mon, it’s sooooo done.  This, for me, was reminiscent of the geek-chow the producers fed us in "Dave".  Worse yet, it is already apparent it is going to be a plot point they will switch on and off as needed.  So far, it is just inconsequential.  If it is going to be two years before it actually has value, do we need two cutesy scenes to remind us it exists? Please.

Oscar: The Two Islands

There better be a remarkably good explanation as to why no one (especially Desmond) has never seen this second island.  Until then, I’m not too happy about it.

DocArzt: Locke

John Locke.  Do I really have to explain this? C’mon!  He’s BACK people!  He is back!

Oscar: Locke

After what I thought was a sub-par second season, Locke has begun to redeem himself in full, becoming, again, my favorite character.  Part of this might be the fact that Jack isn’t around and, thus, Lock has become the clear alpha dog in camp.  It might also be the fact that he has no problem waltzing into a polar bear den.

DocArzt: The Cost of Living

I’m not just saying this because it was the most recent:  The Cost of Living.  It was a return to the ensemble style that put LOST on the map. Most of the major characters were serviced, all plots were advanced, and the emotional piques came with a nice chunk of mythology-fill-in as well; as close to a perfect LOST episode as we have seen so far.

Oscar: The Cost of Living

The last episode was great in that it incorporated all the major players, had major reveals, contained a momentous character death, and moved along the mythology, all the while setting up what should be an incredible final episode of 2006.

DocArzt: Mr. Eko

Mr. Eko!  Hey, the guy gave his life to reveal the true nature of the monster! Thanks to Eko’s sacrifice we now know that smokey can appear in human form.  And besides, he died like a champ!

Oscar: Ben

Ben is an enigma.  He is always creepy, but also has surprising depth and vulnerability.  He is erratic, you have no idea what he’s going to do next. Every time Ben is on screen I am completely riveted, which is about as great a compliment as I can give a character.