"A Tale of Two Cities" through "I Do"

[DeafPoet]

I just watched this nice little interview with Damon and Carlton and at the end, Carlton makes a glib remark about how "the cage episodes" are no fan's favourite. That's certainly true. But, I was thinking about it and they really aren't as bad as I thought they were at the time.

I mean, at the time, we had just come off the hiatus after the amazing "Live Together, Die Alone" and I think we were all expecting some real revelations on the heels of that. Didn't happen. At the time I was like "Smokey's out there eating someone right this second and you guys are doing Sawyer and Kate glaring at each other through bars?!"

But, in retrospect, now that we know the show gets better and there's some answers, these are actually some pretty cool character episodes. Sawyer's last centric episode to date, "Every Man For Himself" is particularly awesome.

Sure, nothing really substantive happens in the arc, but looking back, that's one of its strengths. It's all character. Frustrating at the time, sure; but now it seems like a cool little interlude in the series.

Looking back at it through the prism of the awesome Season 4, how do you guys feel about "the mini-season?"

 

[Spot's Meow]

I really didn't like it then, and I still don't like it much now. I don't mind episodes that are completely character focused, but these episodes were just focused on the wrong characters (for my liking). Kate and Sawyer are my least favorite characters on the show and I didn't really care to see more exposition on them. If it had been Jin and Sun, for example, I wouldn't have minded it at all.

 

[RoJoHen]

I don't know why, but I loved these episodes. I wasn't watching on TV, though. I was just blowing through them on DVD, so they didn't last that long for me.

 

[Gertch]

I really hated (relatively that is) the cage episodes on TV. Watching them on DVD was totally different. Everything flowed nicely. I wish we could go back to 24 eps per season. 16 is way too short on DVD.

 

[DeafPoet]

I don't know why, but I loved these episodes. I wasn't watching on TV, though. I was just blowing through them on DVD, so they didn't last that long for me.

Yeah, I was amazed when I watched the season on DVD for the first time how well it all flowed. But, since I'm guessing you weren't a Lost fan at the time, you can probably see how those first six episodes were an island in a sea of hiatus and how that might have pissed people off. Certainly pissed me off, anyway

Stands up much better on repeated viewing. I think a lot of the "tap dancing episodes" will stand up much better once the show is done ("Adrift" and "Fire + Water" aside. Fuck those episodes )

I really hated (relatively that is) the cage episodes on TV. Watching them on DVD was totally different. Everything flowed nicely. I wish we could go back to 24 eps per season. 16 is way too short on DVD.

Yeah, more Lost would be nice. But, you gotta admit, the quality has shot through the roof since the episode order was trimmed. As much as I want more Lost I'll take good over more any day.

 

[TheGodBen]

Rewatching those episodes actually made me like them less. Just what were Sawyer and Kate doing with those rocks? There was some suggestion that they were building a runway, but why build a runway on the small island, and why stop building it half way through?

Frankly, I don't like Kate and I never have, she just gets in the way. I used to hate Jack and Saywer too, but then they started doing more scenes with characters other than Kate and that is when I realised that I actually liked Jack and Sawyer, it is just that I hated Kate so much that she was ruining them. Having a whole arc based around those three, and then ending it with a cliffhanger where Kate's life is in danger was absolutely the wrong way to go about entertaining me.

Locke, Eko and Desmond were, at that time, my second, third and fourth favourite characters, respectively. At the end of Live Together, Die Alone I thought all three might have been killed, so leaving the resolution to that thread until the third episode really pissed me off. That should have been the first episode, what was happening to Kate, Jack and Sawyer should not have taken precedence to what was happening to Locke, Eko and Desmond.

At that point my favourite character was Ben because he was such an interesting machiavellian villain. The cage arc and its follow-up completely ruined his character for some time because he became so weak and had to keep granting Jack's wishes. The idea that Jack tricked him so easily in I Do went against who Ben is, and I don't think he fully recovered in my eyes until The Man Behind the Curtain.

That being said, A Tale of Two Cities was a good episode. The teaser where we saw the plane crash from the point of view of The Others was great, and finding out that "Henry's" real name was Ben was a gleeful moment for me.

 

[sidious618]

Kate brings anything down so those episodes aren't my favorite. I did like The Cost of Living, especially when Locke hears the monster's sound and gets this excited look on his face.

 

[D Man]

I didn't like them at all the first time around, with a week in between episodes where not much happened, then a weak cliffhanger and a 3 month break. I've since re-watched season 3 multiple times and now I really like what they did with the story here. I agree with DeafPoet that in retrospect it comes across as an interesting interlude, and a pretty cool change of pace and focus after the action and adrenaline from "Two for the Road" through "Live Together, Die Alone." Plus for some reason, every time I re-watch "I Do" I love the ending even more. "Kate, damnit, RUN!" L O S T

 

[Starbreaker]

Yeah, that's a pretty cool ending... that leads into two much better episodes with meaning.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The stuff with Sawyer in the bear cage and Jack's interactions with Juliet were well done, I thought.

 

[Mr Light]

Aside from the Sun and Kate flashbacks, I loved this six episode arc. I thought being held captive by the Others was epic and exciting stuff. Juliet was a fascinating mystery. The twist of Ben's cancer was shocking. And of course the Eko-Cerebus episode was friggin' awesome. My main complaint is that the rescue didn't complete until episode 7; they should have put that one in the first batch.

 

[D Man]

One other thing I forgot to mention earlier is the camerawork doing the scene where Kate tells Jack he HAS to save Ben, or they'll kill Sawyer. The reflections of their faces through the aquarium glass are pretty brilliantly shot, and I think they add a lot to what would otherwise almost be a dull entry into a "prerequisite TV love triangle story" scene.

 

[Dream]

I was disappointed with the first six episodes. However the last episodes of season 3 more then made up for them.