The third season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing in the United States and Canada on October 4, 2006, and concluded on May 23, 2007. The third season continues the stories of a group of over 40 people who have been stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific, after their airplane crashed 68 days prior to the beginning of the season. In the Lost universe, the season takes place from November 28 to December 21, 2004. The producers have stated that as the first season is about introducing the survivors and the second season is about the hatch, the third season is about the Others, a group of mysterious island inhabitants.[1]
| Lost | |
|---|---|
| Season 3 | |
 DVD cover | |
| Showrunners | |
| Starring | |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | October 4, 2006 – May 23, 2007 |
| Season chronology | |
In response to fan complaints about scheduling in the previous seasons, ABC decided to air the episodes without reruns, albeit in two separate blocks.[2] In the United States, the first block consisted of six episodes aired on Wednesdays at 9:00 pm and after a twelve-week break, the season continued with the remaining 16 episodes at 10:00 pm.[3] In addition, three clip-shows recapped previous events on the show. "Lost: A Tale of Survival" aired a week before the season premiere, "Lost Survivor Guide" aired before the seventh episode[4] and "Lost: The Answers" aired before the season finale.[5] Buena Vista Home Entertainment released the season under the title Lost: The Complete Third Season – The Unexplored Experience on December 11, 2007, in Region 1 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.[6]
Crew
The season was produced by Touchstone Television (now ABC Studios), Bad Robot and Grass Skirt Productions and was aired on the American Broadcasting Company network in the United States of America. The executive producers for the third season were co-creator J. J. Abrams, co-creator Damon Lindelof, Bryan Burk, Jack Bender, Jeff Pinkner and Carlton Cuse. The staff writers were Lindelof, Cuse, Pinkner, co-executive producers Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, co-executive producer Drew Goddard, supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff, story editor Christina M. Kim and executive story editor Brian K. Vaughan.[7] The regular directors were Bender, supervising producer Stephen Williams, Paul Edwards and Eric Laneuville. Lindelof and Cuse served as the show runners.[8]
Cast
The season featured 16 major roles with star billing, making it the second largest ensemble cast of the 2006–2007 television season, behind ABC's Desperate Housewives. Characters are briefly summarized and credited in alphabetical order.
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje returns as warlord turned priest Mr. Eko.[9]
- Naveen Andrews acts as Sayid Jarrah, a former Iraqi Republican Guard.[10]
- Henry Ian Cusick was promoted to the main cast,[11] playing three-year islander Desmond Hume.
- Emilie de Ravin portrays single new mother Claire Littleton.[12]
- Michael Emerson as Ben Linus, the manipulative leader of the Others.[13]
- Matthew Fox stars as doctor Jack Shephard, the leader of the castaways.[14]
- Jorge Garcia plays unlucky millionaire and comic relief Hugo "Hurley" Reyes.[15]
- Josh Holloway portrays the sardonic con-man James "Sawyer" Ford.
- Daniel Dae Kim plays non-English speaking Jin Kwon, the son of a fisherman.
- Yunjin Kim as Jin's English-speaking pregnant wife Sun.[16]
- Evangeline Lilly stars as fugitive Kate Austen, who is unsure whether she loves Jack or Sawyer more.[17]
- Elizabeth Mitchell joins the cast as fertility specialist Juliet Burke, an Other trying to escape the Island.[18]
- Dominic Monaghan plays former rock star Charlie Pace.
- Terry O'Quinn plays John Locke, an alienated survivor with a deep connection to the island.
- Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro also join as previously unseen crash survivors Nikki and Paulo Fernandez.
The third season featured numerous recurring guest stars. M. C. Gainey plays the Other Tom. Tania Raymonde plays Alex, while Mira Furlan plays her mother Danielle Rousseau, who meets Alex for the first time since she was born.[19] Andrew Divoff acts as the eye-patched Other Mikhail Bakunin and Nestor Carbonell acts as the ageless Other Richard Alpert. Marsha Thomason plays Naomi Dorrit, who arrives on the Island.[20] Blake Bashoff plays Alex's boyfriend Karl. Michael Bowen portrays the vengeful Other Pickett and William Mapother portrays the late Other, Ethan Rom. Sonya Walger plays Desmond's off-island girlfriend Penny Widmore. L. Scott Caldwell and Sam Anderson briefly return as Flight 815 married couple Rose Henderson and Bernard Nadler as does Kimberley Joseph as kidnapped 815 flight attendant Cindy.
Special guest stars are actors and actresses who were once given star billing, but due to a character's death or escape from the island, now appear on occasion. First season main cast member Ian Somerhalder reprised his role in hallucinations and flashbacks as Boone Carlyle, as did his stepsister Shannon Rutherford, played by Maggie Grace.[21] Malcolm David Kelley returned for a single scene as ten-year-old Walt Lloyd.[22]
Reception
Critical reception
After criticism… reached its zenith, the backlash drew a backlash. Down the stretch, critics lauded Lost for one powerhouse episode after another, satisfying frustrated viewers by providing long-sought answers to some mysteries while simultaneously igniting strong new plotlines.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 71% with an average score of 7.9/10 based on 12 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Lost asks its audience to suspend their disbelief in ways that can be extremely trying for the grounded sci-fi show, but its character-driven plot holds season three together."[24]
The first block of episodes was criticized for raising too many mysteries[25] and not providing enough answers.[26] Complaints were also made about the limited screen-time for many of the main characters in the first block.[27] Locke, played by Terry O'Quinn, who had tied for the highest second-season episode count, appeared in only 14 of the 23 episodes in the third season – only two more than guest star M.C. Gainey, who played Tom. Reaction to two new characters, Nikki and Paulo, was generally negative, with Lindelof even acknowledging that the couple was "universally despised" by fans.[28] The decision to split the season[29] and the American timeslot switch after the hiatus were also criticized.[30] Cuse acknowledged that "No one was happy with the six-episode run."[31]
The second block of episodes was critically acclaimed however,[32] with the crew dealing with problems from the first block.[33] More answers were written into the show[34] and Nikki and Paulo were killed off.[35] It was also announced that the series would end three seasons after the third season,[36] which Cuse hoped would tell the audience that the writers knew where the story was going.[37]
Awards and nominations
The third season was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards. It was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Jack Bender for "Through the Looking Glass), Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse for "Through the Looking Glass"), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Michael Emerson), Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series. Terry O'Quinn won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.[38]
"Flashes Before Your Eyes", written by Damon Lindelof and Drew Goddard, was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award in the "Episodic Drama" category.[39] The producers were nominated for a Producers Guild Award in the "TV Drama" category.[40] Lost's stunt team was nominated for the season's only Screen Actors Guild Award.[41] Lost's third season also received a Television Critics Association nomination in the drama category.[42] The season also received two Directors Guild Award nominations, Eric Laneuville for "The Brig" and Jack Bender for "Through the Looking Glass".[43]
Ratings
The season averaged 13.74 million American viewers per episode, ranking 17th in viewership and ninth in the key adults 18–49 demographic.[44] The first block had an average close to four million more viewers than the second block,[45] with the 14th episode meeting a ratings low for the series, with 11.52 million viewers.[46] However, Lost was the most recorded program of 2007.[47]
Episodes
The number in the "No. in series" column refers to the episode's number within the overall series, whereas the number in the "No. in season" column refers to the episode's number within this particular season. "Featured character(s)" refers to the character(s), whose back story is featured in the episode's flashbacks. "U.S. viewers (million)" refers to the number of viewers in the United States in millions who watched the episode as it was aired.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featured character(s) | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 1 | "A Tale of Two Cities" | Jack Bender | Story by : Damon Lindelof Teleplay by : J. J. Abrams & Damon Lindelof | Jack | October 4, 2006 | 18.82[48] | ||||||||
| Jack is imprisoned in the Hydra, a Dharma Initiative station, and interrogated by an Other named Juliet. Kate and Sawyer are kept in nearby cages. Sawyer tries to escape with a teenaged Other named Karl, but they are caught. "Henry Gale", whose real name is Ben, is revealed to be the leader of the Others. In flashbacks, Jack obsessively tries to find out who his wife Sarah is having an affair with during his divorce settlement. Jack suspects his father and attacks him at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Jack is arrested and bailed out by his wife. | |||||||||||||||
| 51 | 2 | "The Glass Ballerina" | Paul Edwards | Jeff Pinkner & Drew Goddard | Sun & Jin | October 11, 2006 | 16.89[49] | ||||||||
| Ben offers to take Jack off the island if he cooperates. Kate and Sawyer are let out to smash rocks and it is revealed that they are under video surveillance by Ben. On the sailboat, Sun, Jin and Sayid are ambushed by the Others. Sun shoots the Other Colleen and the boat is taken by the Others. Sun, Jin and Sayid make their way back to the survivors' camp. Flashbacks show Sun's father finding out about Sun's affair with Jae Lee. He orders Jin to kill Jae, but Jin threatens Jae instead, and Jae subsequently dies by suicide. | |||||||||||||||
| 52 | 3 | "Further Instructions" | Stephen Williams | Carlton Cuse & Elizabeth Sarnoff | Locke | October 18, 2006 | 16.31[50] | ||||||||
| Locke, Desmond, and Eko survive the implosion of the hatch. Locke sees a vision of Boone and goes with Charlie to save Eko from a polar bear. Hurley discovers that Desmond can see the future. | |||||||||||||||
| 53 | 4 | "Every Man for Himself" | Stephen Williams | Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz | Sawyer | October 25, 2006 | 17.09[51] | ||||||||
| Colleen dies and her husband Danny takes out his anger by beating Sawyer. Sawyer is deceived into thinking that a pacemaker has been implanted in him and his heart will explode if his heart rate exceeds 140 bpm. Ben reveals to Sawyer that trying to escape is futile because they are on a separate island off the coast of the island where the survivors' camp is. In flashbacks, Sawyer cons his way out of prison and finds out that he has a daughter. After claiming that he doesn't care about her, he anonymously gives a large sum of money to his daughter. | |||||||||||||||
| 54 | 5 | "The Cost of Living" | Jack Bender | Alison Schapker & Monica Owusu-Breen | Mr. Eko | November 1, 2006 | 16.07[52] | ||||||||
| Eko follows what appears to be his brother into the jungle. It turns out to be the smoke monster, which proceeds to kill Eko. Jack finds out that the reason he was captured was to operate on Ben's spinal tumor. Juliet conspires with Jack against Ben, telling him to kill Ben during surgery but to make it look like an accident. In flashbacks, Eko becomes a priest after Yemi is killed and Eko kills a few men to protect his town. | |||||||||||||||
| 55 | 6 | "I Do" | Tucker Gates | Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse | Kate | November 8, 2006 | 17.15[53] | ||||||||
| Kate and Sawyer have sex. Danny almost kills Sawyer. Jack stops Ben's surgery and threatens to kill Ben unless Kate and Sawyer are given time to escape. In flashbacks, Kate tries to have an ordinary life and get married, but ends up running away after confessing to her husband about her past. | |||||||||||||||
| 56 | 7 | "Not in Portland" | Stephen Williams | Carlton Cuse & Jeff Pinkner | Juliet | February 7, 2007 | 14.49[54] | ||||||||
| The teenaged Other Alex supplies Kate and Sawyer with a catamaran to return to their island, but first convinces them to help her rescue her boyfriend Karl from a room where he is being brainwashed by being forced to watch a video. Juliet kills Pickett, who is in pursuit of Kate and Sawyer. Jack finishes Ben's surgery. Flashbacks reveal that over three years prior to the crash, Juliet is a fertility doctor, and is able to make her sister fertile. Juliet is interviewed by Mittelos Bioscience. | |||||||||||||||
| 57 | 8 | "Flashes Before Your Eyes" | Jack Bender | Damon Lindelof & Drew Goddard | Desmond | February 14, 2007 | 12.84[55] | ||||||||
| Charlie and Hurley attempt to get Desmond drunk so he will explain to them how he is able to see the future. An extended flashback reveals what happened to Desmond after the implosion of the hatch. Desmond relives a day of his life with Penny before coming to the island. He finds himself on the island again with the ability to see flashes of the future, most notably Charlie's approaching death. | |||||||||||||||
| 58 | 9 | "Stranger in a Strange Land" | Paris Barclay | Elizabeth Sarnoff & Christina M. Kim | Jack | February 21, 2007 | 12.95[56] | ||||||||
| Juliet is put on trial for killing Danny. With Jack and Ben's help, Juliet does not receive the death penalty. The Others and Jack begin their journey to the Others' homes, which are located on a different island. Flashbacks show Jack getting his tattoos during a strange vacation in Thailand. | |||||||||||||||
| 59 | 10 | "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead" | Eric Laneuville | Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz | Hurley | February 28, 2007 | 12.78[57] | ||||||||
| Kate and Sawyer return to the beach. Sayid and Locke follow Kate into the jungle as she seeks out Rousseau, teasing her with information about Alex. Hurley finds an old, abandoned van in the jungle, and believing this will boost spirits and give people hope, he enlists Jin, Charlie, and Sawyer to help him fix it. Flashbacks depict familial conflict when Hurley's father returns home on the heels of Hurley winning the lottery. | |||||||||||||||
| 60 | 11 | "Enter 77" | Stephen Williams | Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof | Sayid | March 7, 2007 | 12.45[58] | ||||||||
| Locke, Sayid and Kate investigate a Dharma communications station in the jungle and meet its inhabitant, Mikhail. As they are leaving the station, Locke blows it up. Sawyer competes in a ping-pong competition against Hurley to get back his belongings, but loses and has to go without calling people nicknames for a week. In flashbacks, Sayid meets one of his former torture victims in Paris. | |||||||||||||||
| 61 | 12 | "Par Avion" | Paul Edwards | Christina M. Kim & Jordan Rosenberg | Claire | March 14, 2007 | 12.48[59] | ||||||||
| Claire attempts to tie a rescue message to a flock of birds, which she recognizes as being part of a scientific study. Curious and angry over Desmond and Charlie's repeated attempts to halt her project, she confronts Desmond, and he reveals his visions of Charlie's death. In flashbacks, it is revealed that Christian Shepherd is Claire's biological father, a fact she was unaware of until after a car accident put her mother in a vegetative state. On the other side of the island, Locke, Sayid, Kate, and Danielle approach a sonic barrier fence protecting the home of the Others. Locke pushes their hostage, Mikhail, through the fence, killing him instantly. The group figures out a way to climb over the fence unharmed. The final shot shows Jack playing football with Tom in the Others' encampment. | |||||||||||||||
| 62 | 13 | "The Man from Tallahassee" | Jack Bender | Drew Goddard & Jeff Pinkner | Locke | March 21, 2007 | 12.22[60] | ||||||||
| Locke, Sayid, and Kate encounter the Others' homes for the first time and find Jack relatively happy amongst them. Jack and Juliet, whose relationship has advanced, have cut a deal with Ben to leave the island on the Others' submarine, but Locke blows it up. Ben reveals that he has Locke's father in captivity. In flashbacks, Locke's father pushes him out of a window, which paralyzes Locke. | |||||||||||||||
| 63 | 14 | "Exposé" | Stephen Williams | Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz | Nikki & Paulo | March 28, 2007 | 11.52[46] | ||||||||
| Charlie tells Sun that he and Sawyer were behind her kidnapping attempt in the jungle. The survivors investigate the apparent deaths of Nikki and Paulo. Flashbacks feature past characters such as Shannon and Boone, and show Nikki and Paulo arguing over diamonds that they conned from a millionaire television executive. On the island, Nikki releases venomous spiders upon Paulo, but they are both bitten and stuck in an eight-hour paralysis. The survivors do not figure out that Nikki and Paulo are not dead, only paralyzed, and accidentally bury them alive. | |||||||||||||||
| 64 | 15 | "Left Behind" | Karen Gaviola | Damon Lindelof & Elizabeth Sarnoff | Kate | April 4, 2007 | 11.66[61] | ||||||||
| The Others and Locke leave the Others' homes, leaving behind Jack, Kate, Sayid and Juliet. It is shown the Others' sonic barrier fences stop the smoke monster from going past them. Hurley cons Sawyer into making amends with his fellow castaways. Flashbacks show the steps Kate took to reunite with her mother, who did not want her. | |||||||||||||||
| 65 | 16 | "One of Us" | Jack Bender | Carlton Cuse & Drew Goddard | Juliet | April 11, 2007 | 12.09[62] | ||||||||
| Jack, Sayid, Kate, and Juliet return from the Others' camp and because of his insistence that they trust Juliet, the rest of the survivors question the motives of Jack. A mysterious illness strikes Claire, activated by an implant from the Others inside her and Juliet cares for her. Flashbacks show Juliet's time on the island, kept there against her will and unable to save women who get pregnant on the island from death. Flashbacks also show Juliet conspiring with Ben to be a mole in the survivors' camp. | |||||||||||||||
| 66 | 17 | "Catch-22" | Stephen Williams | Jeff Pinkner & Brian K. Vaughan | Desmond | April 18, 2007 | 12.08[63] | ||||||||
| Led by flashes, Desmond coaxes Charlie, Hurley and Jin on a trek across the jungle where they discover Naomi, a parachutist. Kate turns to Sawyer after seeing Jack alone with Juliet. Flashbacks show Desmond's time as a monk and his meeting with Penny. | |||||||||||||||
| 67 | 18 | "D.O.C." | Frederick E.O. Toye | Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz | Sun | April 25, 2007 | 11.86[64] | ||||||||
| After learning that the Others' pregnant women died before giving birth on the island, Sun allows Juliet to examine her in the Dharma medical station. Juliet reports back to Ben. Desmond meets a living Mikhail in the jungle and allows him to help save the life of Naomi. Flashbacks show Sun being blackmailed by Jin's biological mother, whom Sun thought to be dead. Hurley learns from Naomi that Oceanic flight 815 was "found" with "no survivors". | |||||||||||||||
| 68 | 19 | "The Brig" | Eric Laneuville | Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse | Locke | May 2, 2007 | 12.33[65] | ||||||||
| Flashbacks show Locke living with the Others, who have his father in captivity. In the present, Locke persuades Sawyer to go with him to the Black Rock to see Locke's father. Sawyer kills Locke's father, who happens to be the original Sawyer. | |||||||||||||||
| 69 | 20 | "The Man Behind the Curtain" | Bobby Roth | Elizabeth Sarnoff & Drew Goddard | Ben | May 9, 2007 | 12.11[66] | ||||||||
| Locke returns to the Others and Ben begrudgingly takes Locke to meet the Others' mysterious leader Jacob. Locke is unable to see Jacob, but can hear him, and because of this Ben shoots Locke and leaves him for dead. The survivors' mistrust of Jack peaks when Juliet is exposed as a mole; however, Juliet in turn reveals that she has been working with Jack against the Others. Flashbacks show when Ben first came to the island as a boy as part of the Dharma Initiative. Ben conspires with the Others (at least one of whom, Richard Alpert, does not age in the next thirty years) and kills most of Dharma. | |||||||||||||||
| 70 | 21 | "Greatest Hits" | Stephen Williams | Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz | Charlie | May 16, 2007 | 12.32[67] | ||||||||
| Jack learns of the Others' plan to ambush the survivors and kidnap their pregnant women, and he comes up with a plan to kill the Others with dynamite. Desmond informs Charlie of another flash in which Claire and Aaron are saved as a result of Charlie swimming to an underwater Dharma station that is jamming all transmissions. In order for this to work, however, Charlie must die. Charlie understands his fate and successfully makes it to the station. Charlie writes down the five greatest moments of his life and gives them to Desmond to give to Claire. | |||||||||||||||
| 71 | 22 | "Through the Looking Glass" | Jack Bender | Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof | Jack | May 23, 2007 | 13.86[68] | ||||||||
| 72 | 23 | ||||||||||||||
| In this double-length episode, Jack's plan to kill the Others backfires, and Sayid, Jin, and Bernard are held hostage by the Others at the beach. Led by Rousseau, the castaways travel to the radio tower to turn off Rousseau's transmission. Naomi makes contact with her boat, but is stabbed by Locke, who along with Ben, believes that the survivors are making a mistake. After successfully shutting down the jammer, Charlie makes contact with Penny Widmore in the underwater Dharma station and discovers that Naomi's boat has nothing to do with Penny, but Charlie drowns in the communications room when Mikhail detonates a hand grenade outside the porthole. Before drowning, Charlie warns Desmond by writing on his hand, "Not Penny's Boat." Sawyer, Juliet, and Hurley rescue the castaways at the beach. Instead of flashbacks, flashforwards show Jack's miserable life after rescue from the island, culminating in a meeting with Kate in which Jack says that they weren't supposed to leave and must go back to the island. | |||||||||||||||
Home media release
| Lost: The Complete Third Season – The Unexplored Experience | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Set details | Special features | ||||
|
| ||||
| Release dates | |||||
 Brazil |  United States Canada |  Australia |  Japan |  United Kingdom | |
| September 26, 2007 | December 11, 2007 | October 17, 2007 | February 20, 2008 | October 22, 2007 | |
References
External links
- Lost at IMDb
- List of Lost season 3 episodes at Lostpedia