Fire + Water

I dont get why this episode is rated as low as it is, perfectly fine episode....

I appreciate what Fire + Water is trying to do, but it fails in every way possible narratively. Other than that the show is well-scored, well-shot, well-acted, and all, and particularly well-directed by Jack Bender here, who does about as much with the show's haphazard attempts at surrealism as possible here.

"Fire + Water" is almost universally regarded as the worst "Lost" episode. Many factors have lead to this, not just the lacking quality of the episode itself, but coming after numerous similarly useless flashback episodes, and coming after the big cliffhanger the week before. It's simply not a good episode of "Lost".

It's not really the worst episode of "Lost". It's definitely more interesting than "Whatever the Case May Be", simply due to the focus being on Charlie and not Kate. "Stranger in a Strange Land" is possibly marginally better, but I'd still probably rather watch this than that. Undoubtedly one of the worst episodes on the series though, simply because it fails to be either a good character episode (the characterization here is terrible, really, and inconsistent) or a reasonably entertaining action-packed ride.

4/10

Yes this was before Breaking Bad, and Lost was in fact the Binge Series that started all modern Binge Series's, but let's just imagine that Breaking Bad's FLY episode basically relates to anytime a great show with surreal undertones simply goes overboard and dives off the overly-bizarre plank...

It's just not Drive Shaft (one of the lamest, most unbelievable fictional music bands) in diapers; Claire and Charlie's mom in bad CGI religious rendering; or the fact that the once very lovable Charlie, despite his heroin addiction, is given his own episode that lacks the other b-story's building as they should, since the entire series is made to push everything forward...

That alone makes it better than FLY being that it does involve other aspects and subplots, like Jack building his army with Ana, or Hurley's cute romance...

But, other than being redundant in the Charlie's addiction story, it's just an off-putting episode overall, and tries too hard to push the envelope, which wasn't needed on a show that folded the (binge series) envelope and mailed it successfully into inspiring future (and in many cases, superior) shows, like the aforementioned Breaking Bad, or The Walking Dead or Mad Men or... you name it...

It's just that, at this point, Lost was trying too hard to be original... and didn't have to.

When 'Lost' was in its prime, it was must-watch television. Remember first watching it, found it remarkably easy to get into, was hooked from the start and was on Season 3 by the end of one week. The general consensus is that the final season is a disappointment and cannot disagree.

Am not sure as to whether to call "Fire + Water" the worst ever 'Lost' episode. To me, and many others, it is down there and easily one of the weaker episodes of the earlier seasons. Wouldn't go as far as to call it terrible or a waste of time, at the same time it tries to do something different and fails to execute it very well.

There are things that work in "Fire + Water's" favour. It is beautifully and stylishly photographed with a good deal of atmosphere and the surrealistic/symbolic images being quite striking visually. The beautiful and mysterious island setting is made the most of and like its own character.

Music is still chilling and understated. Although the characterisation is severely wanting here, the acting is without complaint, Dominic Monaghan carries the episode very well. Hurley is pretty fun and the episode's stronger moments are actually with him. Some of the direction is neat, if more visually and in the direction of the actors than in how the story is told.

"Fire + Water" sadly is not particularly compelling on a story level, and says very little illuminating or interesting about Charlie and does very little with advancing the island events, making one question the point of it.

It is further hampered by dull pacing and pretty much all the characters being out of character and inconsistent, especially Locke (Charlie also goes from being one of 'Lost's' most likeable characters to a character one is very frustrated with well before the episode is over). The writing has been tighter and smarter elsewhere, little stands out here. What really hurts "Fire + Water" is the surrealism, as visually striking as it is it features far too much, is very heavy-handed and with the subtlety of an axe and just gives the episode an unintentional weirdness that fails to ignite any intrigue or fire.

Overall, very odd and not very fiery. One of the few early season major disappointments. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Probably the most underrated episode of Lost. Great imagery, quite disturbing and it's quite amazing that they made us sympathize with Charlie despite his actions in this episode. The flashback tied in perfectly with what was happening on the island.

Seeing Charlie trying to save Aaron on the beach and then Locke hitting him and everybody else turning their back on him was gut-wrenching. We can really understand his actions in 'The Long Con' after this scene.

I don't watch Lost for the mythology or the action, I watch for the characters. And this was a great character based episode. We learned a lot about Charlie, why he's so attached to Claire and Aaron and how he desperately wants a family to take care of.