Season 3 Recap

Another season over already. Where season 1 was dealing with the bewilderment of being trapped on a desert island and trying to find rescue, and season 2 was learning to live on the island, season 3 was discovering more about the inhabitants of the island, and how to either co-exist with them or separately from them.

Jack came to terms with his divorce from Sarah and then helped Kate and Sawyer get away, but because of what he’d seen on that video, he decided he’d had enough of the island and was going to leave on a sub. He said he was going to come back for her, and then later reassured her that he didn’t want her to come get him because he was worried about her, but he was probably just saying that to help make her feel better. Would he have come back for her? Of course he would have... just look at him in the flashforwards, living with the guilt of leaving everyone ELSE there. If Kate had been left behind, that guilt would have been tenfold.

Kate’s loyalties between Sawyer and Jack were tested a lot this season, and she began using Sawyer near the end of the season because of her jealousy over Jack and Juliet. At the beginning of the season, she’d slept with Sawyer and had abandoned Jack. By the end of the season, Sawyer had really hurt her with his pregnancy comment and Jack was making her feel better.

Sawyer finally killed the other Sawyer, and it leaves him with the realization that his lifetime goal didn’t actually take any of the pain away. I remember thinking he’d probably be a shell of his former self in season 4 because of it, but instead he really begins to take charge in the upcoming episodes as if he’s recognized his life was a bit of a waste and he needs to start over.

Sun and Jin have grown closer this season (more revelations to come, obviously) and Sun is now living with the belief that as long as she stays on the island, she will die before the baby comes to term. Jin doesn’t know any of this, but through their flashbacks we’ve learned even more about both of them this season... including the fact that you just don’t mess with Sun.

Sayid was a bit of a side character in season 3 and will return to prominence in season 4, but he continues to be the voice of reason (I love when Jack is so caught up in his war with the Others that Sayid has to remind him he’s trying to get them RESCUED).

Locke seemed to go completely freakin’ crazy partway through the season, but his little chat with Jacob — and then Walt — at the end of the season has given him a new purpose, and by next season there will be a LOT more to say about John Locke.

But this season was really the season of the Others. Juliet was introduced in the first episode, and through “Not in Portland” and “One of Us” we learned of her background and her desperate need to leave the island. Yet she’s almost as complicated as Ben at times: while we know about Rachel and the slimy Edmund Burke and what a good-hearted person she is, we also know she’s been capable of deception. In “Exposé,” we saw her wearing the raggedy costume the other Others wore and conniving with Ben in the Pearl station. She left tapes for Ben about Sun, and while on the one hand, she reassured Jack she wasn’t really going to turn in the other women, on the other hand, she DID tell him accurate details about “Kwon,” and let them know she was expecting and the details of the pregnancy and fetus. In light of season 5, any banter between her and Sawyer is going to be dissected and takes on an entirely new meaning for us. We’ve all seen her fall down the Swan station shaft and despite not actually seeing her die, it would seem the way the writers are talking about her and the media is writing about her, she’s pretty much dead now. So for me (a huge fan of Juliet, whether she’s good or bad), it’s great to go back and revisit those first few episodes where we got to know her.

Ben is as deliciously evil and wonderful as ever. Season 3 was the real turning point of the show for the series (and specifically, the season finale, where the direction turned to flashforwards). Henry Gale became Ben Linus, the Dharma Initiative boy who grew into the Other man, who believes he is Jacob’s chosen one, and who sees John Locke as a threat. We’ve seen some of the depth of his cunning (there will be much, much more to come; season 3 only skims the surface of what Ben is capable of) but we’ve also seen his flashback, which gives us a tiny, tiny bit of humanity in him. He once had a mother (albeit only for moments), he had a rough childhood, and he overcame a lot to become who he is today. But he’s also a liar who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

I completely forgot to mention this in my recap for the season 3 finale, but how amazing is it to watch Ben telling Jack that the people coming on that freighter aren’t actually coming to rescue them, and instead it’s being led by bad “people” (read: Widmore) who have been trying to find the island... and now know that he’s telling the TRUTH?! It’s one of the best moments to rewatch having seen the events of seasons 4 and 5 and the history between Widmore and Ben. It adds an entirely new depth to that scene with Jack.

And now, on to season 4!! You can pick up a copy of my book here if you haven’t already, but this will be an interesting discussion, because many of you joined me in season 4 and were here for our original chats about these episodes! So it’ll be fun to rewatch them with you. Just a quick note that we’re just doing the first 3 episodes next week, according to our schedule.

And until then, here’s the season 3 blooper reel!! One of my faves. See you next week!