Oh, it's not a perfect episode. The actors playing Nikki and Paulo are both pretty bad, and the characters still annoyed the hell out of me. And there wasn't nearly enough Lando. But it was just so sweet seeing Boone and Shannon and Ethan and Arzt again, and reliving the moments from past seasons from a different perspective. And the filling in of some gaps in the story, like what Ben was doing when he got caught or why Nikki + Paulo went on the hike to the Pearl station or the fact that Boone is gay, just added to it. And that end... the last ten minutes of this episode were just so amazing. It was a classic episode.

One thing, did anyone else hear the monster just before the spiders got Nikki? I could have sworn I heard it, which makes me think that the monster 'conjured' up the spiders. That would just add to the mystery.

Wow, that was fucking amazing. Lost is most definitely back.

No... no they weren't. To say more would be giving away WAY too much.

I liked the episode a ton, not the best of the season. Has anybody mentioned that he plays Xerxes in 300? http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0763928/

The whole thing had a very perverse sense of humor.

I found myself going "ooooooooh, Paulo found the first hatch on the island!" even though that's silly because it's probably an element that was new to the show. But I did find the way that the integrated new and old actors/scenes pretty seemlessly. I did like a trip back to the beach. It proves that if the background is good enough, Lost can always go back and introduce characters, but I'm kind of sick of them having so many red-shirts on the show.

The buried alive thing was pretty shocking. She may have been able to open her eyes but she may not have had motor control.

The most important things delivered in this episode seems to be the Sawyer/Sun/Charlie story. I know a lot of future storylines kind of blanch out from this episode.

Also the radio seems rather important, since it was introduced but did nothing in the episode.

I rewinded and I think it's just strong score cue.

als i gotta say is fmother uckin lasot i bakc to the ufullist mother cuskers

only way they survive is if Vincent digs them up.

That dog is smarter than every person on the island, yet nobody listens to him. After pulling the tarp off the two 'dead' bodies everything this dog does should be noted.

Great episode. Old Lost would've taken a 4 week break after last weeks cliffhanger, New Lost gives two useless characters a proper send off. Can't wait till the show takes no breaks at all.

Weird, I guess I had a very different reaction. That was a pointless episode, about on par with the Hurley van one. It seemed like every other shot was a closeup of Nikki's boobs which sounds like a good plan but one or two was enough, they could have left out about 150 shots of them. On the plus side, the writing for the main characters continued its solidness, keeping them likeable and realistic. Sawyer is especially better written than he was last year, and man did Sun look cute just before Oasis-boy confessed.

I'm looking forward to next week. I really liked about 5 of the last 8 so no big deal if this one was a bit so-so. Besides, it's something to watch till Heroes returns.

They should have called this episode "Who the hell is Nikki?"

great fucking episode. Chilling.

But after having some time to think about, I'm a bit conflicted. I ended liking all the flashback editing to incorporate them (I was a bit iffy when I first saw it). But here's my problem. The writers obviously planned this from the beginning of the season and setting it all up was masterful (words can't describe me and my best friend's reactions when Paolo and Nikki first came across the other hatch... I immediately realized that's why Paolo had gone to the bathroom in last year's episode and everything suddenly came to me. my best friend and I were like screaming and figuring it all out at the same time).

So, the payoff was huge. And I loved how it all led up to this. But what I'm a bit uncomfortable with is that, that may have been all it built up to. Like all of that was for one episode and that's it. They said after this episode Paolo and Nikki will become iconic characters and in a way that's true... people will be talking about them for a while. But I thought they'd have an important part to play in the mythology of the show.

Another reason why I thought it was great because it was the most stand-alone episode Lost has ever had. The payoff would be exponentially better had someone seen the other episodes with Nikki and Paolo but someone who has never watched Lost could have really gotten into this episode.

I really do wonder whether this was the end of them or not. I'm thinking it is and I'm a little disappointed at that prospect but damn, 3 outstanding episodes in a row. Way to go!

My friend and I were sure we heard mechanical clicking as well. Who says the monster is the only way the island can kill someone? The spider moment at the end was totally a homage to this one fucked up Italian horror movie I saw once.

And yeah, hearing you guys say the producers said it was the best Lost episode ever... Well, that's a bit much. But compared to how lame the next week's episode thing made it out to be, yeah it was pretty great. Definitely a nice little mindfuck standalone. As Libs pointed out, I realllly liked how Lost closed right when Sawyer asked "Who the hell is Nicki?"

There are currently only 37 survivors from the fuselage left (9 people have died since the plane crash).

- Gary (sucked into the engine)
- Edward Mars (the Federal Marshal)
- Joanna (died while drowning)
- Scott or Steve (killed by Ethan)
- Boone
- Arzt
- Shannon
- Nikki
- Paulo
- Walt (left the island)
- Michael (left the island)


1 tail survivor who's not with the Others (Bernard)
1 dog
1 person born on the island (Aaron)
and Desmond from the Hatch.

That was really brilliant. Lost meets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

So I guess this is Nikki, Paulo, and Charlie?

Well I'm guessing Nikki and/or Paulo will periodically pop up in other character's flashbacks like other dead characters, most likely.

Has Lost sucked SO much that last nights episode is considered brilliant? Man, this show nosedived.

It was a solid episode, had that hitchcockesque feel, but it wasnt anything special.

I really wish they would advance the plot a little more. I mean it was a good episode none the less, but I really wish we would get some answers or something.

Haha dont give me that face Mr. X, you know its true. We learned shit last night.

Well, we can't get a pot of gold every week. If you want to get nitpicky, we did find out who the hell Nikki and Paolo are.

It's a very tragic story that they were buried alive.

And... (possible spoilers)judging from previews for the next two shows on TheFutonCritic.com, Nikki and Paolo won't be rising from the dead.

They did have Locke say that nothing stays buried on this island though, seemed like they intended a double meaning with that.

Shit people... do we have to spell it out for you...

(highlight)

The conversations about Sun/Charlie/Jinn/Sawyer in this episode set up their arcs for the remainder of the season. The words "murder" and "banishment" are involved

Fucking great episode. It was basically the "Lost" version of "CSI"- "CSI: DHARMA Island." That creepy, dark ending...wow..being buried alive! So now "good old fun time" Hurley is an inadverdent accomplice to murder? Poor guy and he doesn't even know it.

I was surprised I liked this so much, especially since it was an episode about the two castaways who appeared out of nowhere earlier in the season and I found them to be genuinely interesting by the end. Oh, and did you hear those clicking sounds of "the monster" right before you see those Medusa spiders head for Nikki? I bet that the monster manifested itself as those spiders, just like it apparently manifests itself as figures from the castaways pasts.

5 great episodes in a row, nice.

I guess I'm in the minority here b/c I thought this espisode was one the worst I have ever seen from Lost. I thought last week's was the best episode and had season finale type of feel to it it was so good. But this weeks was pure filler it seemed to me. The producers wrote these two characters into the show to give them an episode where they die. My roomates and I kept saying, why do we even care if they die?? To me, all the great momentum Lost had going for was on the other side of the island with Locke and Ben and the look Jack gave Locke at the end of the episode. Honestly, other than Desmond, the the rest of the survivors could all die and I really wouldn't care. This episode could be cut out entirely from the series and you wouldn't miss a thing. Now I haven't read any spoilers so maybe they bring this back to mean something. Otherwise I want to know whats going on with the great storyline they introduced with the "magic box" and Locke's Dad.

I don't mean to sound negative, but it left me really dissapointed.

I think the main reason I enjoyed Wednesday's episode so much was because it was so disconnected from everything else and was way more standalone than anything else. It almost felt like...a different show, another perspective, a break away from Lost's (admittedly enjoyable) formula.

I really love stories that have creepy, ironic endings, and Wednesday's episode was like Hitchcock/The Twilight Zone/whatever. I just thought it was a lot of fun in a way much different from other Lost episodes.

I really think that was one of my favorite episodes.

And it was far from filler. We found out who Nikki and Paolo are, which I know doesn't interest many. But, Sun also found out who kidnapped her, and who orchestrated the plan.

If you want to define filler in your own way, be my guest. But in the traditional sense, it was not filler. Just because we didn't get more answers from the other part of the show, doesn't mean we didn't get any answers at all. The show still progressed.