Despite its critical acclaim, ABC’s Lost featured a number of controversial episodes during its six-season run, but the one most hated by the show’s creators was the episode about Jack’s tattoos. Lasting six seasons, Lost became known for its sprawling, serialized narrative, well-rounded ensemble cast, and unforgettable cliffhangers. One of the show’s most important storytelling devices was the flashbacks that detailed each character’s backstory.
Beyond Lost’s controversial ending, many other aspects of the show’s story were critically divisive during its run. Most of the criticisms were aimed at the series’ many unresolved mysteries, but there are specific episodes that have been singled out as among the worst Lost ever produced. Lost season 3, episode 9, “Stranger In A Strange Land” is one of those episodes. The episode features a lackluster flashback that explains the origins of Jack’s tattoos, while the character is imprisoned by the others on the island.
In various interviews, creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse explained that they dislike this episode because it was emblematic of the struggles they were experiencing while writing the show at the time. Carlton Cuse explicitly pointed to Lost season 3, episode 9, “Stranger In A Strange Land,” saying: “I mean, I think the episode where Jack gets his tattoos in Thailand. I think it’s cringe-worthy, where he’s flying the kite on the beach. It was not our finest hour.” He goes on to add: “We used Matthew Fox’s real tattoos. That’s how desperate we were for flashback stories.” (via Esquire) In another interview, Lindelof explained that one of the main concerns going into Lost season 3 was how they could keep coming up with new and interesting flashbacks for each of the characters. Lindelof stated that “It became clear that we were working so hard to keep the characters on the island, and it was starting to be immensely frustrating. The flashbacks weren’t good anymore.” (via Collider)
The most important facet of why this episode of Lost is so heavily criticized is that it was the best illustration of the show’s greatest flaw at the time: Lost could not go on forever. Lindelof and Cuse were constantly at war with the network from Lost season 2 because they wanted to decide on a definitive ending for the series and how many seasons they would do. However, seeing the popularity of the series, ABC didn’t want Lost to come to an end. According to Cuse, that episode “became really instrumental in convincing ABC that we needed to end the show.” He explains: “We were like, “Okay, this is what flashbacks look like now so it’s probably a good idea if we figure out how much longer this show is actually going to go.“
The first batch of episodes of season 3 also features the main characters, Jack, Sawyer, and Kate, literally locked in cages. Lindelof has commented on how he feels this was representative of their position as writers on a show that was not allowed to advance. Lindelof and the others writers were effectively stalling until they could figure out when they could end the show; they felt trapped. The lack of inspiration for Lost‘s flashbacks, especially Jack’s, combined with the frustrations the showrunners had with the show’s trajectory are the reasons why Lost season 3, episode 9, “Stranger In A Strange Land” is Lindelof and Cuse’s most hated episode of the show.
