RETRO REVIEW: Season 3

THE PREMIERE: Another great opening, focusing on the Others. It pretty much set the stage. We were going to find out everything about them this season, for better or worse. 10/10

THE HYDRA STATION: A major gripe from all the fans was the amount of screen time spent on Kate, Jack, and Sawyer in the Hydra Station. We got little or no plot from the Losties on the beach, and no real progress was being made. 5/10

THE OTHERS: Ben has a tumor, Juliet is ten times hotter than Kate, and Dan Pickett loves beating the shit out of Sawyer. It's always nice to get some new blood on the show, and these guys were pretty cool. The barracks was even cooler. 9/10

NIKKI AND PAULO: Sorry Season 3, but the attempted integration of two previously unknown Losties was a complete and utter failure. 0/10

THE TABLES TURN: Sensing the series was creeping along at a snail's pace, Doc Jack kicks things into high gear during Ben's surgery. Going into a crazy long winter break, it was just enough to keep me excited (Kate and Sawyer sharing diseases in the cage certainly did not). 7/10

DESMOND AND CHARLIE: Desmond sees flashes (Charlie's going to die). It was a fantastic little side story for the remaining part of season 3, and a return to form for Charlie, who was useless in Season 2. 10/10

FLASHBACKS: They officially lost steam. The infamous "Jack and Thailand" episode, couple with the "Sweat Lodge Locke" episode. The only thing that saved it were the fresh flashbacks of Ben and Juliet (incredible). 6/10

LOCKE LEAVES THE GROUP: After storming the Barracks with Sayid and Kate, Locke is actually there to blow up the submarine, and pretty much joins the Others (AND SEE JACOB!!!!!!!). This leads to a cool twist with his dad, and eventually to him getting a bullet in the gut courtesy of Big Ben Linus. 10/10

ARRIVAL OF NAOMI: Is she there for rescue? Is it Penny's boat? While this is happening, double (triple?) agent Juliet is plotting a trap set for the Others, building to a big finale. 10/10

FINALE: Another gem. The trap mostly works at the beach, and with the help of Hurley, Tom and co. are dead. Jack leads his people to the radio tower, where Locke knifes Naomi and the Rousseaus finally reunite. Meanwhile, Charlie sacrifices himself for the group (as does Mikhail for his group), and it is indeed NOT Penny's boat.

F L A S H F O R W A R D ! ! ! ! 10/10

FINAL SCORE: 76