"Lost" - Better? Worse? Different?

After this past Wed night's episode, we're two weeks into season 3 of "Lost", and I'm not sure what to think.

We've caught up on where some of the characters are, but the majority are still unseen. Previews of next week lead one to believe Locke, Desmond, and Eko were not deep-fried by whatever happened in the hatch in the season 2 finale. We know Jack, Sawyer, and Kate are not having any fun as guests of those wacky Others, and we know Jin and Sun have more, and bigger, marital problems than we thought. We also know Sun is a pretty good liar, and is able to lie convincingly about some important stuff: Remember, she told Jin, very earnestly and believably, she had never been unfaithful. Hmm, not so much.

It's awfully early to start drawing conclusions, but maybe not too early to look at trends. Is this show getting better? Worse? About the same? I dunno, I think maybe worse. The premise, and non-stop creepiness, the impression that the producers had The Plan and knew exactly where all this was going, of the first season was truly amazing. The clanking monster, the light coming on in the hatch, the numbers, Claire's kidnapping, crazy Rousseau, it was all genius! The only disappointment was the very end of the season 1 finale. What? We have to wait all summer to see what the heck is in the hatch? Well, it ensured I was back for the start of season 2.

As season 2 carried on, in fits and starts, the mystery and creepiness started to ebb. Oh sure, lots of new confusing stuff was introduced, and it seemed cool at the time. What is Dharma? What the heck is the hatch for? Who are those menacing, barefoot people, tramping through the jungle with a tied up teddy bear? Why does the shark have a tattoo? Who is Henry Gale and what keeps his eyes in his head?

But, all in all, the second season dragged.

It looks like season 3 will have some action, and some romance as well. But, it no longer seems like the producers have The Plan, that they're sorta making it up as they go. Maybe I'm wrong, and they're just lulling us, but I don't think so.

Well, I have way too much invested to give up easily. I will stick with it for some time before I pronounce the shark jumped and the game over. I'm just saying...