LOST-Season 3
Finished Season 3 the other day, so time for another post of favorite/meaningful moments!
I was struck by how much actually occurs during Season 3. The transformation of events from the first episode, where Sawyer, Kate, and Jack are being held prisoner by the Others, all the way to the finale, where Ben gets beaten to a bloody pulp by Jack before he calls the ship to "rescue" them.
Season one was all about the survivors, season two about the hatch. Season three is about the Others, which is a bold move on the writer's part. We've gone two seasons of believing that the others are bad, no matter what. As evidence, we had Ethan, who kidnapped Claire and tried to kill Charlie; Goodwin, who infiltrated the tail section survivors and allowed his people to steal the children; and Ben, the ultimate of all liars. Yet season 3 offers a new perspective on the others-they're normal human beings. They live on the island, in a typical suburb community (with a freaking gazebo. I still laugh when I see that), have jobs, have social lives, aren't trying to be rescued, because they WANT to be there (for the most part). The portrayal of the island has gone from a place people want to escape, to a place with a secretive past (the dharma stations), to a place that many call home. And I think it's that idea of the island as HOME that really gets me. Especially with the cliffhanger ending.
I don't think it's my favorite season, but it does contain the death of my favorite character, Charlie Pace (<3). The episode "Greatest Hits" practically had me crying the entire time. I remember when I first watched it, I was being mentally prepared for the death of Charlie (as Charlie himself mentally prepared for it), and so awestruck, happy in a bittersweet way that he survived 'till the next episode. The extra minutes of survival gave a little hope, until he died a hero. Out of all the deaths in the series (and there are many), his is probably the most touching.
That said, season three also contains the worst episode ever, Expose. They tried to highlight some new survivors, who have been hanging on the island this whole time. Nice idea in theory. In practice, however, it came across as extremely annoying. Like, who the hell are these extras and why do they feel entitled to start talking? It seems that we, the audience, are fine with meeting new people when they are logically new to us. Such as when we meet the others, it makes sense for there to be a lot of new characters. But we've been with the 815 survivors for two full seasons, so trying to highlight a new person just seemed forced. Luckily, their storyline was short lived.
Season three also contains one of the moments that left my jaw hanging in shock for minutes afterwards. I remember first seeing the scene where Locke ends up in a wheelchair, and thinking how it was absolutely perfect. The writers picked the exact sequence of events that made Locke's accident tragic, heartbreaking, devastating, terrible...you felt every bit of betrayal Locke felt. It was horrifying, and because it was horrifying, it was perfect.
"Live Together, Die Alone" count: 6
A Tale of Two Cities:
*-Juliet making muffins to the song "Downtown" for the book club (reading Stephen King!) and the plane crashes!!! And they have a gazebo :) "Guess I'm out of the book club."-Ben
-Jack wakes up in the Hydra station and walks into a glass wall
-Sawyer meets Karl
-Kate has breakfast on the beach with Ben (inspired by a scene in Indiana Jones)
-the communication button says "let it go, Jack" in Christen's voice, freaking out Jack (after a flashback with that same soundbite)
-"What's your job besides making sandwiches?"-Jack "Oh, I didn't make it. I just put the toothpicks in."-Juliet
-First time Juliet and Sawyer meet, she tasers him lol
-Jack opens the door that begins to flood the station and saves Juliet
-Sawyer figures out the polar bear button in the cage, and he gets a fish biscuit. "Only took the bears two hours!"-Tom
-(TEARS) Sarah bails Jack out of jail, saying Christian called and was so drunk she could barely understand him (after he was sober for 55 days) and Juliet tells Jack that Sarah is now very happy
The Glass Ballerina:
-Kate asks if she has to work in a dress, and the Other tells her she can take it off if she wants. Sawyer looks excited until Kate glares, so he says "How dare you!" to the Other
-Alex tells Kate she's wearing her dress
-Jin understands English better than Sun knows
-Juliet gives water to Sawyer, which he dumps before going and kissing Kate
-Sun's lover kills himself after threatened by Jin (who had refused to kill him and didn't know that he had slept with Sun)
-The Others steal Desmond's boat
-"You taste like strawberries."-Sawyer "You taste like fish biscuit."-Kate
-Ben watching on the monitors
*-Ben shows Jack the Red Sox winning the world series, proving the world is still out there
*Further Instructions:
-Desmond runs through the jungle with no clothes on, Eko's Jesus stick almost hits Locke ("Lift up your eyes and look North"), and Locke can't talk
-Charlie loves telling people that they don't call and don't write when he hasn't seen them in awhile. Third time he's used that phrase!
-Locke building his sweat lodge in the base of Eko's church
-Charlie, trying to understand Locke: "Sand. You need to talk to sand...trees! Yeah, they're wonderful conversationalists."
-Locke identifying with Eddie for having bad/no parents.
-"What's that? You're not...taking DRUGS, are you, John? I only ask 'cause of the strict zero tolerance policy you've enacted. And I wouldn't want you to have to start punching yourself in the face."-Charlie
-Locke sees Boone in the sweat lodge "What's that? Oh, you're sorry. Well, that's ok. I was a sacrifice the island demanded."-Boone
*-Locke's hallucination with Boone, going through the airport. Charlie, Claire, and Aaron: "Not them. They'll be fine. For awhile." Desmond: "Forget it. He's helping himself." "first you have to clean up your own mess."-Boone. And the polar bear jumps out at him
-"Sawyer killed the polar bear!"-Charlie "He killed A polar bear."-Locke
-Locke and Charlie see the hole that was the hatch
-Hurley tells Locke how Ben was the leader of the Others (the look on Locke's face is PRICELESS)
-"Hairspray? Well, I hate to be teh one to point this out to you, but..." -Charlie "It's not for me."-Locke (who is bald)
-Dharma bones with clothing from the Pearl station in the polar bear's cave.
-Desmond seeing the future :)
-EFF YOU NIKKI AND PAULO!!!! GO AWAY NOW!!!!
Every Man for Himself:
-Desmond starts preventing Charlie's death
-"What happened?"-Kate "we happened."-Sawyer (when they see an other has been shot, by Sun)
-Sawyer plans the con in jail
-Ben doesn't fall for sawyer's trick and then puts the fake pace maker in Sawyer
-Ben's bunny
-Sawyer finds out he has a daughter
-Juliet has Jack help them operate on the woman, and Jack sees Ben's spinal x-rays
-Kate says she loves Sawyer
-Sawyer reading Of Mice and Men in his flashback, which Ben references
-Kate gets out of her cage and then goes back in, since Sawyer won't tell her what happened.
*-Desmond's experiment saves Charlie
-Sawyer sets up a bank account for his daughter
-Ben shows Sawyer that they are on a separate island
*The Cost of Living:
-The Man in Black appears to Eko as Yemi and sets his tent on fire
-Jack knows that Ben has a tumor on his spine and unnerves Ben
-Others version of a funeral
-(TEARS) Eko returning to the church after Yemi was shot and taken
-Smokey messing with Eko
-Smokey running from Eko when he realized Locke was coming
-"You brought me here to operate on you. You want me to save your life."-Jack "No, I want you to want to save my life."-Ben
*-"Do you believe in God, Jack?" -Ben "Do you?" -Jack "Two days after I found out I have a fatal tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky. And if that's not proof of God, I don't know what is."-Ben
-SHUT UP NIKKI AND PAULO
-Locke says he saw a bright light, Eko saw smokey
-Locke gives Eko his cross back (after finding it in the jungle)
-Eko, as a priest, kills the gang lords, which his people see as horrifying
-Seeing the feed to Mikhail! Russian with an eyepatch!
*-Juliet's homemade movie for Jack with the signs, asking him to kill Ben
-They board up the church because it is no longer sacred, and Eko now owes Yemi a church (the one he built on the island!)
******-"I did not ask for the life that I was given. But it was given nonetheless. And with it, I did my best."-Eko
-Eko realizing that Yemi is not Yemi (Smokey)
-(TEARS) YEmi and Eko as boys right before Eko dies
-Jack's dad pays for Claire's mother's hospital expenses, since he is Claire's father too
I Do:
-Kate's husband was Captain Hammer!
-"Oh."-Ben, after finding out that his tumor on his spine needed to be operated on a week ago
-Kate's ex-husband loved her "honesty." "What you see is what you get." hahahahah nope
-Kate asks Jack to do Ben's surgery for Sawyer's sake, and Jack gets angry
-They bury Eko with his Jesus stick, and Locke sees the "Lift your eyes and look North" message, taking it as directions on where to go next
-Sawyer tells Kate he loves her
-Jack tells Ben he needs to get the hell off this island (yet later wants to go back!)
-Ben's surgery
-"Shepherd wasn't even on Jacob's list"-Danny (the other) First mention of Jacob!
Not in Portland:
-Juliet's alone time on the beach before helping her sister, and Ethan was there!
-Alex helps Sawyer and Kate hide from the others in their escape attempt
-"Hey. That's not helping anyone."-Ben, while in surgery, after Jack said he'd let Ben die
-Alex has violet eyes? just the lighting?
-RICHARD!!!!
-The island hardened Juliet and toughened her up!
-Rescuing Karl from the brainwashing room (guarded by the guy from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
-"God loves you as he loved Jacob"
-(TEARS) Juliet's douchebag ex-husband gets hit by a bus, freeing Juliet
-Sawyer, Kate, and Karl head to the other island
-Juliet realizes she said she wanted him to get hit by a bus, and it happened
-Gets recruited to go to the island!
-Jack realizes how Juliet is an Other, but in the same position as he is-can't leave!
*Flashes Before Your Eyes:
-Desmond's ESP-saves Claire from drowning (thus saving Charlie from going in and drowning when trying to save her)
-Charlie and Hurley try to get Desmond drunk with the expensive alcohol that Widmore refused to let him drink
-Charlie and Desmond <3
-Desmond's waking up after turning the key, having red paint all over him
-His alarm clock saying 1:08
-"It's not the end of the world."-Penny (before the sound of the button, made by the microwave)
-815 on the package, polar bear in the mural in Widmore's painting, Widmore's scale of the boat
-Widmore wouldn't let Desmond drink his whiskey
*-Desmond seeing Charlie singing "Wonderwall"-he's the one that saves him! "This is why we don't do drugs!"-Charlie (lol)
-"I don't think my failure to impress your father is an occasion to celebrate."-Desmond. "No, the occasion is I love you."-Penny
*-Faraday's mother! Selling Desmond a diamond ring for Penny, and refusing to give it to him, because he was not supposed to buy it
-The photo of Desmond and Penny, which causes Desmond to freak and break up with her
-Desmond, realizing he was reliving life, gets hit on the head, and returns to the present
-(TEARS) Desmond wanting to go back a third time to make the right choice and be with Penny
-"No matter what I try to do, you're gonna die, Charlie."-Desmond :(
Stranger in a Strange Land:
-"You have backyards?"-Sawyer "Yeah"-Karl "Well ain't that quaint."-sawyer
-Everyond outside of Jack's cage, staring at him. Cindy! "We're here to watch, Jack."
-"What the hell's the Brady Bunch?"-Karl
-Jack talking to Alex, saving Ben to save Juliet
-"We had an excellent surgeon, Jack. His name was Ethan."-Ben
-Juliet got marked for killing one of their own, and Jack put aloe on it for her
-"He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us."-Jack's tattoos
Tricia Tanaka is Dead:
-Hurlet listening to Shambala while trying to fix the car with his deadbeat dad
-Hurley at Libby's grave
-"Yeah, chase the dog with the skeletal arm into the creepy jungle. You be my guest!"-Charlie, to Hurley (Ben's father's arm! Roger!)
-An asteroid destroys Hurley's chicken place-his bad luck
-Sun talking to Jin in English only
-Hurley finding a car in the jungle and fixing it with Jin
-Kate goes from calling Sawyer "James" to Sawyer as they return to their camp
-The van Ben killed Roger in on their beer run is the one Hurley discovers. And they totally knock Roger's head off in the process of getting him out
-Charlie talking to Desmond about when he's going to die. "I have a right to know when I'm going to die."
-Sawyer calls Desmond "Oliver Twist" :)
-"Good see you." -Jin "Well, look at that! Someone's hooked on phonics!"-Sawyer
-Hurley's mother cover's the statue of Jesus' ears when she says that she "has (sexual) needs"
-Sawyer, Jin, and Hurley tip the beer truck
-Hurley telling Charlie to snap outta it and try to get the car started." Let's look Death in the face and say, whatever man! Let's make our own luck!"-Hurley
-Sawyer teaching Jin English
-Hurley driving and Charlie riding shotgun "Victory or death!"-Charlie
-They drive and Shambala plays :)
-Jin brings Sun a flower
Enter 77:
-Sawyer looking for Kate and getting worried
-They find Mikhail at The Flame station
-Sawyer asks Nikki who the hell she is LOL
-Sayid sees the kitty named Nadia
-Mikhail yelling about not crossing a line. Pretends to be the last living member of the Dharma Initiative
-Locke plays the chess game, which Mikhail says cheats
-Sayid captured for his past work as a torturer
-Them realizing Mikhail is an other and he isn't alone!
-Locke wins the chess game, sees the Dharma guy video, tries to get outside communication, and fails
-Miss Klue has Mikhail kill her, since she is a loyalist
-(TEARS) The woman sayid tortured tells him a story of a cat being tortured by kids
-The Flame blows up ('cause of Locke), but the cat's ok!
Par Avion:
-Emo Claire!
-Charlie "Only way I could get you to sleep in was to borrow the midget!" Bringing her breakfast in bed, picnic, seize the day!
-Desmond telling Charlie to go boar hunting, 'cause he HIGHLY SUGGESTS IT!!!!
-Mikhail says Kate is "Not capable of understanding" why he'd want to come back to the island, 'cause she is no ton the list. "Ben? Ben is nothing...You are not on the list because you are flawed...and angry...and weak...and frightened!"-Mikhail
-Mikhail almost says how Locke was paralzyed
-The electrified boundaries of the Other's home
-Mikhail foamed at the mouth and bled from ears (but still not dead!)
*-Claire finds out Jack's dad is her dad (but doesn't know relation to Jack)
-(TEARS) Claire talking to her mom, who is in a coma, and tells her she's pregnant
-Claire sends off her bird with a message for the outside world
-They get to the other's homes, and see Jack playing football with Tom
The Man From Tallahassee:
-Locke sees Ben, in a wheelchair, shake Jack's hand: "This is going to be more complicated than we thought."
-Kate goes into Jack's "house" and hears him playing piano
-Locke goes and sneaks into Ben's room, wanting him to take him to the submarine
-Ben tells Richard to get "the man from tallahassee" (locke's father). "...is that some kind of code?"-Locke "No, John, unfortunately we don't hav ea code for there's a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter's head. Although, we obviously should."-Ben
-Locke tries to get his father to stop a con
-Locke helps Ben into a wheelchair
*-"Tell me John...did it hurt?"-Ben "I felt my back break...what do you think?"-Locke
-"You're Alex, aren't you?"-Sayid "How did you know my name?"-Alex "Because you look like your mother."-Sayid
*-"You've been here 80 days. I've been here my entire life! So how is it you think you know this island better than I do?"-Ben "Because you're in a wheelchair, and I'm not." -Locke
-Rousseau seeing Alex (from afar) for the first time in 16 years
-"You don't knock?"-Ben, after Jack and Juliet barge into his house, and Ben makes the deal that he'll let Kate and Sayid go as soon as they've left the island (knowing full well that Locke's off to destroy the sub)
-(TEARS) Anthony Cooper throws Locke out the window, putting him in the wheelchair
-"No, John. I wanted to know what it felt like when your own father tried to kill you."-Ben, who kills HIS own father
-THERE HE IS! CON MAN LOCKE'S DAD!
Expose:
-"Look, I'm just a guest star. And we all know what happens to guest stars."-Nikki HECK YEAH WE DO
-"Dude. Nikki's dead."-Hurley. "Who the hell's Nikki?"-Sawyer
-Boone and Shannon in the flashback :)
-Hey look it's Artz!
-First think Nikki asks about is the diamonds, not if Paulo's ok. What. a. bitch.
-Artz's spider collection
-"The pigs are walking. The pigs are walking!!"-Artz, referencing Animal Farm!
-Ben and Juliet go into the ? station to spy on Jack (and Paulo doesn't tell anyone, of course)
-Vincent uncovers the bodies (he knows they're not dead!)
-BURIED ALIVE!!! MWAHAHAHAHA
Left Behind:
-Juliet flips Kate, smashing her dinner "I was just bringing you something to eat. Enjoy your sandwich."-Juliet
-Kate helps sawyer's ex (who he conned) 'cause she didn't want the cops being called
-Hurley cons Sawyer into being nicer to everyone
-Kate wakes up handcuffed to Juliet, in the jungle
-"I'm really sorry I called you rotund." -Sawyer "Really?"-Hurley "You're worse than a girl!"-Sawyer
-"Welcome to the wonderful world of not knowing what the hell is going on."-Kate
-"Ben has a thing for mind games."-Juliet
-Smokey took flashes/pictures of Kate and Juliet
-"Oh and this is for you. I don't like...blankets..."-Sawyer, trying to be nice to Claire
-the other's fence blocking out smokey
-Sawyer holding Aaron
One of Us:
-Juliet listening to Downtown before agreeing to work for Richard
-Juliet chugging her OJ with tranquilzer in it and then arriving at the island
-"Well if it ain't three men and a baby...counted Hugo twice."-Sawyer
-Ben's compromise:if Juliet stays on the island, Jacob will save her sister
-Oh yeah! Calire's "sick" so that Juliet can save her and be accepted by their society!
-Ben out of the book club 'cause Juliet thought he lied about saving her sister. Ben not knowing why he has cancer.
-Juliet talking her way out of being questioned by Sayid and Sawyer
*-"Mikhail! It's Ben! I'm here with Juliet! we're approaching the house don't shoot us."-Ben
-(TEARS) Getting the files on 815 (Mikhail's job) and showing Juliet her sister (and child) via live feed
*-Aaron, playing with Charlie's hand, who is asleep, holding Claire's hand, as she sleeps
-Juliet's still an other! dun dun duuuuuuun
Catch 22:
-Desmond's flashes of Charlie dying, saving him beforehand.
-"This is future crap, isn't is?"-Hurley
-Des as a monk
-Desmond, Hurley, Charlie, JIn "going camping" and whistling
-Kate trying to flirt with Jack, after knowing that he saw her have sex with Sawyer
-Jin telling a ghost story in Korean, and the others getting scared, despite not knowing what he said
-"You two arguing over whose your favorite other?"-Sawyer
-Sawyer and Jack playing ping-pong
-The beacon in the jungle
-Picture of desmond and penny, in a copy of Catch-22
-Desmond choosing to save Charlie's life, even though it'd change the future
*-Desmond helping move the boxes, meeting Penny
-Head monk's picture with Faraday's mother!
-The woman hanging in the jungle...it's Naiomi, not Penny!
D.O.C:
-Hurley accidentally fires a flaire from Naiomi's bag: "oops!"
-Mikhail runs through the jungle, sees the boys, stops, and then runs away...and Jin runs after
-"As your friend pointed out, I've already died once this week."-Mikhail
-Sun visiting Jin's father and promising not to let Jin know
-Sun sparing Jin of shame led to Jin working directly for her father, leading to all of their issues!
-Sun and Juliet going to see Sun's baby in the Dharma station
-Sun finding out the baby is Jin's after all
-Juliet leaving Ben a message "I hate you."
-Naiomi telling Hurley that they found 815, and no one survived
The Brig:
-Locke comes to get Sawyer (to kill his father)
-"Stop! I said stop!....damnit, wait up."-Sawyer (to Locke)
-"Magic box is a metaphor, John"-Ben
-Naiomi, hired to find Desmond by Penny (so she claims!)
-Ben encouraging Locke to kill his father (something he has experience with!)
-Locke locking Sawyer in the brig with his father, and Rousseau stopping by the black rock for dynomite
-I bet Richard was the one smiling and putting the IV (tranquilzer) into Locke's father! Before bringing him to the island.
*-"Well, how 'bout that...Sawyer's my name too."-Sawyer
*-Sawyer gets his revenge. "Thank you."-Locke
*The Man Behind the Curtain:
-The birth of Ben, death of his mother
-"You do remember birthdays, don't you Richard?"-Ben
-Horrace was there when Ben was born
-"I thought you were dead."-Ben, to Mikhail
-Ben sees his dead mother
-By being free of his father, Locke changes...for the worse
-Ben's friend Annie gives him a gift
-the circle of ash around the cabin
-Richard doesn't age :)
*-The freakout at the cabin
*-Ben kills his father, and purged Dharma
-the pit and Ben shooting Locke
***Greatest Hits:
-"Why does everything have to be a secret? How about some opennes for a change?"-Charlie
-Rousseau blows up a tree
-Charlie and Liam hear themselves on the radio for the first time (#5)
-Charlie writing down his greatest hits for Claire
-Desmond tells Charlie that this time, he has to die
-Charlie learning to swim (#4)
*- (TEARS) Desmond telling Charlie HOW he's going to die, and Charlie accepting it
-Alex has Karl warn the camp
-Charlie gets the DS ring from Liam (#3)
-"You've got to promis me something. When I'm gone...don't worry about me."-Charlie, to Claire
-(TEARS x2) Charlie holding Aaron, tells him he loves him while Aaron holds Charlie's face, and then Charlie kisses Claire goodbye
-Charlie saving Nadia from being mugged (the moment after singing Wonderwall) (#2)
-(TEARS) Charlie telling Hurley goodbye
*-(TEARS) Charlie leaving Aaron the Drive Shaft ring in his crib
* (TEARS) Chalrie meeting Claire "the night I met you" as his #1 top moment of his life
-(TEARS) Desmond tries to take Charlie's place, but Charlie doesn't let him do it
-Charlie makes it into the Looking Glass
Through the Looking Glass, Part 1:
-First flashFORWARD! Jack sees the newspaper article announcing Locke's death (though we don't know it's locke's yet)
-"I am a dentist, I am not Rambo."-Bernard
-The travellling music
-Charlie getting beaten at the bottom of the ocean (one of the women is regina from Once Upon a Time!)
-The Looking Glass (Bonnie) breaking radio silence. "It's Charlie! Tell him I said hi!"
-Ben tells Richard to take everyone to the TEMPLE!!!
-The symbol for the looking glass is a bunny :)
-Des goes down to the looking glass 'cause Mikhail was shooting at hiim
-Juliet and Sawyer going back to the beach to save Bernard, Jin, and Sayid. Jack and Juliet kiss! weeeeeird
-Ben discussing protecting the island at all costs
-Jack tells Kate he loves her
-"We're building a runway."-Juliet "A runway? For what?"-Sawyer "The aliens."-Juliet
-"You screwing Jack yet?"-Sawyer "No. Are you?"-Juliet
-Locke not dead yet! And smokey (as Walt) telling him to get up, 'cause he's got work to do
Through the Looking Glass, Part 2:
-The name of the funeral home is "HOFFS/DRAWLAR", which is FLASHFORWARD rearranged
-Jack goes to Locke's funeral
-Ben and Alex meet the survivors at the radio tower
-Mikhail follows order and shoots Bonnie and Greta. Desmond shoots him, but he's not dead yet!
-"Let me ask you something, Jack. Why do you want to leave the island? What is it that you so despretely want to get back to?"-Ben
-The code Charlie needs to enter was programmed by a musician. Fate!
*-Ben introduces Alex to Rousseau, her mother
-Hurley drives the Dharma van into an other, and they rescue Bernard, Jin, and Sayid
-Sawyer kills Tom for taking Walt off the raft
-Jack and Hurley talking on the walkie-talkie
-Penny talking to Charlie, asks about Desmond
*-(BUTTLOAD OF TEARS) "Not Penny's Boat" Charlie dies making the sign of the cross, and Aaron cries at the same time as Charlie's death
-They take out the distress call Rousseau recorded 16 years ago
-Listen to Ben, Jack! you don't know what you're doing!!!
-Locke kills Naiomi, but Jack calls the boat anyway
-Jack, obsessing over maps, using his oceanic flight coupons, hoping the planes crash
-"We have to go back, Kate! We have to go back!"-Jack
I was struck by how much actually occurs during Season 3. The transformation of events from the first episode, where Sawyer, Kate, and Jack are being held prisoner by the Others, all the way to the finale, where Ben gets beaten to a bloody pulp by Jack before he calls the ship to "rescue" them.
Season one was all about the survivors, season two about the hatch. Season three is about the Others, which is a bold move on the writer's part. We've gone two seasons of believing that the others are bad, no matter what. As evidence, we had Ethan, who kidnapped Claire and tried to kill Charlie; Goodwin, who infiltrated the tail section survivors and allowed his people to steal the children; and Ben, the ultimate of all liars. Yet season 3 offers a new perspective on the others-they're normal human beings. They live on the island, in a typical suburb community (with a freaking gazebo. I still laugh when I see that), have jobs, have social lives, aren't trying to be rescued, because they WANT to be there (for the most part). The portrayal of the island has gone from a place people want to escape, to a place with a secretive past (the dharma stations), to a place that many call home. And I think it's that idea of the island as HOME that really gets me. Especially with the cliffhanger ending.
I don't think it's my favorite season, but it does contain the death of my favorite character, Charlie Pace (<3). The episode "Greatest Hits" practically had me crying the entire time. I remember when I first watched it, I was being mentally prepared for the death of Charlie (as Charlie himself mentally prepared for it), and so awestruck, happy in a bittersweet way that he survived 'till the next episode. The extra minutes of survival gave a little hope, until he died a hero. Out of all the deaths in the series (and there are many), his is probably the most touching.
That said, season three also contains the worst episode ever, Expose. They tried to highlight some new survivors, who have been hanging on the island this whole time. Nice idea in theory. In practice, however, it came across as extremely annoying. Like, who the hell are these extras and why do they feel entitled to start talking? It seems that we, the audience, are fine with meeting new people when they are logically new to us. Such as when we meet the others, it makes sense for there to be a lot of new characters. But we've been with the 815 survivors for two full seasons, so trying to highlight a new person just seemed forced. Luckily, their storyline was short lived.
Season three also contains one of the moments that left my jaw hanging in shock for minutes afterwards. I remember first seeing the scene where Locke ends up in a wheelchair, and thinking how it was absolutely perfect. The writers picked the exact sequence of events that made Locke's accident tragic, heartbreaking, devastating, terrible...you felt every bit of betrayal Locke felt. It was horrifying, and because it was horrifying, it was perfect.
"Live Together, Die Alone" count: 6
A Tale of Two Cities:
*-Juliet making muffins to the song "Downtown" for the book club (reading Stephen King!) and the plane crashes!!! And they have a gazebo :) "Guess I'm out of the book club."-Ben
-Jack wakes up in the Hydra station and walks into a glass wall
-Sawyer meets Karl
-Kate has breakfast on the beach with Ben (inspired by a scene in Indiana Jones)
-the communication button says "let it go, Jack" in Christen's voice, freaking out Jack (after a flashback with that same soundbite)
-"What's your job besides making sandwiches?"-Jack "Oh, I didn't make it. I just put the toothpicks in."-Juliet
-First time Juliet and Sawyer meet, she tasers him lol
-Jack opens the door that begins to flood the station and saves Juliet
-Sawyer figures out the polar bear button in the cage, and he gets a fish biscuit. "Only took the bears two hours!"-Tom
-(TEARS) Sarah bails Jack out of jail, saying Christian called and was so drunk she could barely understand him (after he was sober for 55 days) and Juliet tells Jack that Sarah is now very happy
The Glass Ballerina:
-Kate asks if she has to work in a dress, and the Other tells her she can take it off if she wants. Sawyer looks excited until Kate glares, so he says "How dare you!" to the Other
-Alex tells Kate she's wearing her dress
-Jin understands English better than Sun knows
-Juliet gives water to Sawyer, which he dumps before going and kissing Kate
-Sun's lover kills himself after threatened by Jin (who had refused to kill him and didn't know that he had slept with Sun)
-The Others steal Desmond's boat
-"You taste like strawberries."-Sawyer "You taste like fish biscuit."-Kate
-Ben watching on the monitors
*-Ben shows Jack the Red Sox winning the world series, proving the world is still out there
*Further Instructions:
-Desmond runs through the jungle with no clothes on, Eko's Jesus stick almost hits Locke ("Lift up your eyes and look North"), and Locke can't talk
-Charlie loves telling people that they don't call and don't write when he hasn't seen them in awhile. Third time he's used that phrase!
-Locke building his sweat lodge in the base of Eko's church
-Charlie, trying to understand Locke: "Sand. You need to talk to sand...trees! Yeah, they're wonderful conversationalists."
-Locke identifying with Eddie for having bad/no parents.
-"What's that? You're not...taking DRUGS, are you, John? I only ask 'cause of the strict zero tolerance policy you've enacted. And I wouldn't want you to have to start punching yourself in the face."-Charlie
-Locke sees Boone in the sweat lodge "What's that? Oh, you're sorry. Well, that's ok. I was a sacrifice the island demanded."-Boone
*-Locke's hallucination with Boone, going through the airport. Charlie, Claire, and Aaron: "Not them. They'll be fine. For awhile." Desmond: "Forget it. He's helping himself." "first you have to clean up your own mess."-Boone. And the polar bear jumps out at him
-"Sawyer killed the polar bear!"-Charlie "He killed A polar bear."-Locke
-Locke and Charlie see the hole that was the hatch
-Hurley tells Locke how Ben was the leader of the Others (the look on Locke's face is PRICELESS)
-"Hairspray? Well, I hate to be teh one to point this out to you, but..." -Charlie "It's not for me."-Locke (who is bald)
-Dharma bones with clothing from the Pearl station in the polar bear's cave.
-Desmond seeing the future :)
-EFF YOU NIKKI AND PAULO!!!! GO AWAY NOW!!!!
Every Man for Himself:
-Desmond starts preventing Charlie's death
-"What happened?"-Kate "we happened."-Sawyer (when they see an other has been shot, by Sun)
-Sawyer plans the con in jail
-Ben doesn't fall for sawyer's trick and then puts the fake pace maker in Sawyer
-Ben's bunny
-Sawyer finds out he has a daughter
-Juliet has Jack help them operate on the woman, and Jack sees Ben's spinal x-rays
-Kate says she loves Sawyer
-Sawyer reading Of Mice and Men in his flashback, which Ben references
-Kate gets out of her cage and then goes back in, since Sawyer won't tell her what happened.
*-Desmond's experiment saves Charlie
-Sawyer sets up a bank account for his daughter
-Ben shows Sawyer that they are on a separate island
*The Cost of Living:
-The Man in Black appears to Eko as Yemi and sets his tent on fire
-Jack knows that Ben has a tumor on his spine and unnerves Ben
-Others version of a funeral
-(TEARS) Eko returning to the church after Yemi was shot and taken
-Smokey messing with Eko
-Smokey running from Eko when he realized Locke was coming
-"You brought me here to operate on you. You want me to save your life."-Jack "No, I want you to want to save my life."-Ben
*-"Do you believe in God, Jack?" -Ben "Do you?" -Jack "Two days after I found out I have a fatal tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky. And if that's not proof of God, I don't know what is."-Ben
-SHUT UP NIKKI AND PAULO
-Locke says he saw a bright light, Eko saw smokey
-Locke gives Eko his cross back (after finding it in the jungle)
-Eko, as a priest, kills the gang lords, which his people see as horrifying
-Seeing the feed to Mikhail! Russian with an eyepatch!
*-Juliet's homemade movie for Jack with the signs, asking him to kill Ben
-They board up the church because it is no longer sacred, and Eko now owes Yemi a church (the one he built on the island!)
******-"I did not ask for the life that I was given. But it was given nonetheless. And with it, I did my best."-Eko
-Eko realizing that Yemi is not Yemi (Smokey)
-(TEARS) YEmi and Eko as boys right before Eko dies
-Jack's dad pays for Claire's mother's hospital expenses, since he is Claire's father too
I Do:
-Kate's husband was Captain Hammer!
-"Oh."-Ben, after finding out that his tumor on his spine needed to be operated on a week ago
-Kate's ex-husband loved her "honesty." "What you see is what you get." hahahahah nope
-Kate asks Jack to do Ben's surgery for Sawyer's sake, and Jack gets angry
-They bury Eko with his Jesus stick, and Locke sees the "Lift your eyes and look North" message, taking it as directions on where to go next
-Sawyer tells Kate he loves her
-Jack tells Ben he needs to get the hell off this island (yet later wants to go back!)
-Ben's surgery
-"Shepherd wasn't even on Jacob's list"-Danny (the other) First mention of Jacob!
Not in Portland:
-Juliet's alone time on the beach before helping her sister, and Ethan was there!
-Alex helps Sawyer and Kate hide from the others in their escape attempt
-"Hey. That's not helping anyone."-Ben, while in surgery, after Jack said he'd let Ben die
-Alex has violet eyes? just the lighting?
-RICHARD!!!!
-The island hardened Juliet and toughened her up!
-Rescuing Karl from the brainwashing room (guarded by the guy from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
-"God loves you as he loved Jacob"
-(TEARS) Juliet's douchebag ex-husband gets hit by a bus, freeing Juliet
-Sawyer, Kate, and Karl head to the other island
-Juliet realizes she said she wanted him to get hit by a bus, and it happened
-Gets recruited to go to the island!
-Jack realizes how Juliet is an Other, but in the same position as he is-can't leave!
*Flashes Before Your Eyes:
-Desmond's ESP-saves Claire from drowning (thus saving Charlie from going in and drowning when trying to save her)
-Charlie and Hurley try to get Desmond drunk with the expensive alcohol that Widmore refused to let him drink
-Charlie and Desmond <3
-Desmond's waking up after turning the key, having red paint all over him
-His alarm clock saying 1:08
-"It's not the end of the world."-Penny (before the sound of the button, made by the microwave)
-815 on the package, polar bear in the mural in Widmore's painting, Widmore's scale of the boat
-Widmore wouldn't let Desmond drink his whiskey
*-Desmond seeing Charlie singing "Wonderwall"-he's the one that saves him! "This is why we don't do drugs!"-Charlie (lol)
-"I don't think my failure to impress your father is an occasion to celebrate."-Desmond. "No, the occasion is I love you."-Penny
*-Faraday's mother! Selling Desmond a diamond ring for Penny, and refusing to give it to him, because he was not supposed to buy it
-The photo of Desmond and Penny, which causes Desmond to freak and break up with her
-Desmond, realizing he was reliving life, gets hit on the head, and returns to the present
-(TEARS) Desmond wanting to go back a third time to make the right choice and be with Penny
-"No matter what I try to do, you're gonna die, Charlie."-Desmond :(
Stranger in a Strange Land:
-"You have backyards?"-Sawyer "Yeah"-Karl "Well ain't that quaint."-sawyer
-Everyond outside of Jack's cage, staring at him. Cindy! "We're here to watch, Jack."
-"What the hell's the Brady Bunch?"-Karl
-Jack talking to Alex, saving Ben to save Juliet
-"We had an excellent surgeon, Jack. His name was Ethan."-Ben
-Juliet got marked for killing one of their own, and Jack put aloe on it for her
-"He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us."-Jack's tattoos
Tricia Tanaka is Dead:
-Hurlet listening to Shambala while trying to fix the car with his deadbeat dad
-Hurley at Libby's grave
-"Yeah, chase the dog with the skeletal arm into the creepy jungle. You be my guest!"-Charlie, to Hurley (Ben's father's arm! Roger!)
-An asteroid destroys Hurley's chicken place-his bad luck
-Sun talking to Jin in English only
-Hurley finding a car in the jungle and fixing it with Jin
-Kate goes from calling Sawyer "James" to Sawyer as they return to their camp
-The van Ben killed Roger in on their beer run is the one Hurley discovers. And they totally knock Roger's head off in the process of getting him out
-Charlie talking to Desmond about when he's going to die. "I have a right to know when I'm going to die."
-Sawyer calls Desmond "Oliver Twist" :)
-"Good see you." -Jin "Well, look at that! Someone's hooked on phonics!"-Sawyer
-Hurley's mother cover's the statue of Jesus' ears when she says that she "has (sexual) needs"
-Sawyer, Jin, and Hurley tip the beer truck
-Hurley telling Charlie to snap outta it and try to get the car started." Let's look Death in the face and say, whatever man! Let's make our own luck!"-Hurley
-Sawyer teaching Jin English
-Hurley driving and Charlie riding shotgun "Victory or death!"-Charlie
-They drive and Shambala plays :)
-Jin brings Sun a flower
Enter 77:
-Sawyer looking for Kate and getting worried
-They find Mikhail at The Flame station
-Sawyer asks Nikki who the hell she is LOL
-Sayid sees the kitty named Nadia
-Mikhail yelling about not crossing a line. Pretends to be the last living member of the Dharma Initiative
-Locke plays the chess game, which Mikhail says cheats
-Sayid captured for his past work as a torturer
-Them realizing Mikhail is an other and he isn't alone!
-Locke wins the chess game, sees the Dharma guy video, tries to get outside communication, and fails
-Miss Klue has Mikhail kill her, since she is a loyalist
-(TEARS) The woman sayid tortured tells him a story of a cat being tortured by kids
-The Flame blows up ('cause of Locke), but the cat's ok!
Par Avion:
-Emo Claire!
-Charlie "Only way I could get you to sleep in was to borrow the midget!" Bringing her breakfast in bed, picnic, seize the day!
-Desmond telling Charlie to go boar hunting, 'cause he HIGHLY SUGGESTS IT!!!!
-Mikhail says Kate is "Not capable of understanding" why he'd want to come back to the island, 'cause she is no ton the list. "Ben? Ben is nothing...You are not on the list because you are flawed...and angry...and weak...and frightened!"-Mikhail
-Mikhail almost says how Locke was paralzyed
-The electrified boundaries of the Other's home
-Mikhail foamed at the mouth and bled from ears (but still not dead!)
*-Claire finds out Jack's dad is her dad (but doesn't know relation to Jack)
-(TEARS) Claire talking to her mom, who is in a coma, and tells her she's pregnant
-Claire sends off her bird with a message for the outside world
-They get to the other's homes, and see Jack playing football with Tom
The Man From Tallahassee:
-Locke sees Ben, in a wheelchair, shake Jack's hand: "This is going to be more complicated than we thought."
-Kate goes into Jack's "house" and hears him playing piano
-Locke goes and sneaks into Ben's room, wanting him to take him to the submarine
-Ben tells Richard to get "the man from tallahassee" (locke's father). "...is that some kind of code?"-Locke "No, John, unfortunately we don't hav ea code for there's a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter's head. Although, we obviously should."-Ben
-Locke tries to get his father to stop a con
-Locke helps Ben into a wheelchair
*-"Tell me John...did it hurt?"-Ben "I felt my back break...what do you think?"-Locke
-"You're Alex, aren't you?"-Sayid "How did you know my name?"-Alex "Because you look like your mother."-Sayid
*-"You've been here 80 days. I've been here my entire life! So how is it you think you know this island better than I do?"-Ben "Because you're in a wheelchair, and I'm not." -Locke
-Rousseau seeing Alex (from afar) for the first time in 16 years
-"You don't knock?"-Ben, after Jack and Juliet barge into his house, and Ben makes the deal that he'll let Kate and Sayid go as soon as they've left the island (knowing full well that Locke's off to destroy the sub)
-(TEARS) Anthony Cooper throws Locke out the window, putting him in the wheelchair
-"No, John. I wanted to know what it felt like when your own father tried to kill you."-Ben, who kills HIS own father
-THERE HE IS! CON MAN LOCKE'S DAD!
Expose:
-"Look, I'm just a guest star. And we all know what happens to guest stars."-Nikki HECK YEAH WE DO
-"Dude. Nikki's dead."-Hurley. "Who the hell's Nikki?"-Sawyer
-Boone and Shannon in the flashback :)
-Hey look it's Artz!
-First think Nikki asks about is the diamonds, not if Paulo's ok. What. a. bitch.
-Artz's spider collection
-"The pigs are walking. The pigs are walking!!"-Artz, referencing Animal Farm!
-Ben and Juliet go into the ? station to spy on Jack (and Paulo doesn't tell anyone, of course)
-Vincent uncovers the bodies (he knows they're not dead!)
-BURIED ALIVE!!! MWAHAHAHAHA
Left Behind:
-Juliet flips Kate, smashing her dinner "I was just bringing you something to eat. Enjoy your sandwich."-Juliet
-Kate helps sawyer's ex (who he conned) 'cause she didn't want the cops being called
-Hurley cons Sawyer into being nicer to everyone
-Kate wakes up handcuffed to Juliet, in the jungle
-"I'm really sorry I called you rotund." -Sawyer "Really?"-Hurley "You're worse than a girl!"-Sawyer
-"Welcome to the wonderful world of not knowing what the hell is going on."-Kate
-"Ben has a thing for mind games."-Juliet
-Smokey took flashes/pictures of Kate and Juliet
-"Oh and this is for you. I don't like...blankets..."-Sawyer, trying to be nice to Claire
-the other's fence blocking out smokey
-Sawyer holding Aaron
One of Us:
-Juliet listening to Downtown before agreeing to work for Richard
-Juliet chugging her OJ with tranquilzer in it and then arriving at the island
-"Well if it ain't three men and a baby...counted Hugo twice."-Sawyer
-Ben's compromise:if Juliet stays on the island, Jacob will save her sister
-Oh yeah! Calire's "sick" so that Juliet can save her and be accepted by their society!
-Ben out of the book club 'cause Juliet thought he lied about saving her sister. Ben not knowing why he has cancer.
-Juliet talking her way out of being questioned by Sayid and Sawyer
*-"Mikhail! It's Ben! I'm here with Juliet! we're approaching the house don't shoot us."-Ben
-(TEARS) Getting the files on 815 (Mikhail's job) and showing Juliet her sister (and child) via live feed
*-Aaron, playing with Charlie's hand, who is asleep, holding Claire's hand, as she sleeps
-Juliet's still an other! dun dun duuuuuuun
Catch 22:
-Desmond's flashes of Charlie dying, saving him beforehand.
-"This is future crap, isn't is?"-Hurley
-Des as a monk
-Desmond, Hurley, Charlie, JIn "going camping" and whistling
-Kate trying to flirt with Jack, after knowing that he saw her have sex with Sawyer
-Jin telling a ghost story in Korean, and the others getting scared, despite not knowing what he said
-"You two arguing over whose your favorite other?"-Sawyer
-Sawyer and Jack playing ping-pong
-The beacon in the jungle
-Picture of desmond and penny, in a copy of Catch-22
-Desmond choosing to save Charlie's life, even though it'd change the future
*-Desmond helping move the boxes, meeting Penny
-Head monk's picture with Faraday's mother!
-The woman hanging in the jungle...it's Naiomi, not Penny!
D.O.C:
-Hurley accidentally fires a flaire from Naiomi's bag: "oops!"
-Mikhail runs through the jungle, sees the boys, stops, and then runs away...and Jin runs after
-"As your friend pointed out, I've already died once this week."-Mikhail
-Sun visiting Jin's father and promising not to let Jin know
-Sun sparing Jin of shame led to Jin working directly for her father, leading to all of their issues!
-Sun and Juliet going to see Sun's baby in the Dharma station
-Sun finding out the baby is Jin's after all
-Juliet leaving Ben a message "I hate you."
-Naiomi telling Hurley that they found 815, and no one survived
The Brig:
-Locke comes to get Sawyer (to kill his father)
-"Stop! I said stop!....damnit, wait up."-Sawyer (to Locke)
-"Magic box is a metaphor, John"-Ben
-Naiomi, hired to find Desmond by Penny (so she claims!)
-Ben encouraging Locke to kill his father (something he has experience with!)
-Locke locking Sawyer in the brig with his father, and Rousseau stopping by the black rock for dynomite
-I bet Richard was the one smiling and putting the IV (tranquilzer) into Locke's father! Before bringing him to the island.
*-"Well, how 'bout that...Sawyer's my name too."-Sawyer
*-Sawyer gets his revenge. "Thank you."-Locke
*The Man Behind the Curtain:
-The birth of Ben, death of his mother
-"You do remember birthdays, don't you Richard?"-Ben
-Horrace was there when Ben was born
-"I thought you were dead."-Ben, to Mikhail
-Ben sees his dead mother
-By being free of his father, Locke changes...for the worse
-Ben's friend Annie gives him a gift
-the circle of ash around the cabin
-Richard doesn't age :)
*-The freakout at the cabin
*-Ben kills his father, and purged Dharma
-the pit and Ben shooting Locke
***Greatest Hits:
-"Why does everything have to be a secret? How about some opennes for a change?"-Charlie
-Rousseau blows up a tree
-Charlie and Liam hear themselves on the radio for the first time (#5)
-Charlie writing down his greatest hits for Claire
-Desmond tells Charlie that this time, he has to die
-Charlie learning to swim (#4)
*- (TEARS) Desmond telling Charlie HOW he's going to die, and Charlie accepting it
-Alex has Karl warn the camp
-Charlie gets the DS ring from Liam (#3)
-"You've got to promis me something. When I'm gone...don't worry about me."-Charlie, to Claire
-(TEARS x2) Charlie holding Aaron, tells him he loves him while Aaron holds Charlie's face, and then Charlie kisses Claire goodbye
-Charlie saving Nadia from being mugged (the moment after singing Wonderwall) (#2)
-(TEARS) Charlie telling Hurley goodbye
*-(TEARS) Charlie leaving Aaron the Drive Shaft ring in his crib
* (TEARS) Chalrie meeting Claire "the night I met you" as his #1 top moment of his life
-(TEARS) Desmond tries to take Charlie's place, but Charlie doesn't let him do it
-Charlie makes it into the Looking Glass
Through the Looking Glass, Part 1:
-First flashFORWARD! Jack sees the newspaper article announcing Locke's death (though we don't know it's locke's yet)
-"I am a dentist, I am not Rambo."-Bernard
-The travellling music
-Charlie getting beaten at the bottom of the ocean (one of the women is regina from Once Upon a Time!)
-The Looking Glass (Bonnie) breaking radio silence. "It's Charlie! Tell him I said hi!"
-Ben tells Richard to take everyone to the TEMPLE!!!
-The symbol for the looking glass is a bunny :)
-Des goes down to the looking glass 'cause Mikhail was shooting at hiim
-Juliet and Sawyer going back to the beach to save Bernard, Jin, and Sayid. Jack and Juliet kiss! weeeeeird
-Ben discussing protecting the island at all costs
-Jack tells Kate he loves her
-"We're building a runway."-Juliet "A runway? For what?"-Sawyer "The aliens."-Juliet
-"You screwing Jack yet?"-Sawyer "No. Are you?"-Juliet
-Locke not dead yet! And smokey (as Walt) telling him to get up, 'cause he's got work to do
Through the Looking Glass, Part 2:
-The name of the funeral home is "HOFFS/DRAWLAR", which is FLASHFORWARD rearranged
-Jack goes to Locke's funeral
-Ben and Alex meet the survivors at the radio tower
-Mikhail follows order and shoots Bonnie and Greta. Desmond shoots him, but he's not dead yet!
-"Let me ask you something, Jack. Why do you want to leave the island? What is it that you so despretely want to get back to?"-Ben
-The code Charlie needs to enter was programmed by a musician. Fate!
*-Ben introduces Alex to Rousseau, her mother
-Hurley drives the Dharma van into an other, and they rescue Bernard, Jin, and Sayid
-Sawyer kills Tom for taking Walt off the raft
-Jack and Hurley talking on the walkie-talkie
-Penny talking to Charlie, asks about Desmond
*-(BUTTLOAD OF TEARS) "Not Penny's Boat" Charlie dies making the sign of the cross, and Aaron cries at the same time as Charlie's death
-They take out the distress call Rousseau recorded 16 years ago
-Listen to Ben, Jack! you don't know what you're doing!!!
-Locke kills Naiomi, but Jack calls the boat anyway
-Jack, obsessing over maps, using his oceanic flight coupons, hoping the planes crash
-"We have to go back, Kate! We have to go back!"-Jack