While Lost remains one of the most influential and greatest shows in television history, most fans will agree that it is full of flaws.
No show is perfect (although some come pretty darned close), and each have their own distinct and unique flaws. Someone can be a big fan of certain shows while still acknowledging its issues and imperfections. Lost certainly has its problems - the final season and divisive ending being the most popular and discussed. But the show suffered problems throughout its six season run, some of which more serious than others.
The (Sometimes) Sloppy Storytelling
Lost tells a coherent story, but it goes about it in the most confusing way possible. Early seasons of Lost were easy to understand, as the on-island story was told in chronological order and was punctuated by chronological flashbacks.
By season five, the writing had turned increasingly complicated and messy. There was time travel, time hops, on island stuff, off-island stuff, characters referencing things that hadn't happened yet, flashforwards, and a marina meeting that audiences saw about ten thousand times.
The Whole Final Season
It's no secret that season six is bad. Or, at least very disappointing. While many critics and fans like to say that Lost had a bad ending or finale, the problem was more to do with the whole final season than the ending itself. The season not only veered from drama and science fiction into full blown fantasy, but it was also written in an unsatisfactory manner.
Answers and subplots were not being answered fast enough, new subplots and characters were being introduced, and the final episodes are crammed together in a complete mess of pacing.
The Messy Answers
Again, Lost critics often point to a lack of answers. And again, that's somewhat missing the point. It's not that there was a lack of answers. Rather, it's that the answers fans received ranged from boring to anti-climactic to completely incomprehensible.
While the final episodes were peppered with lame reveals, "Across the Sea" attempted to address the island's lore in one fell swoop, and the results were more disappointing and head-shaking than satisfactory. It also resulted in some horrible pacing issues. Speaking of which...
Some Poor Pacing
Lost was riddled with pacing issues from the outset. Season one moves at a steady clip and remains a perfectly-paced season of TV. However, things start to get a little rockier with season two.
Seasons two and three are filled with pacing issues, complete with numerous duds and "filler episodes" that didn't really lead anywhere. Things picked back up for four and five - seasons which almost moved a little too fast at times - before grinding to a halt again with six.
Inconsistent Quality
Due to the show's significant pacing issues, Lost suffers from a very inconsistent quality. Most people agree that the first season is a masterpiece, and it was arguably the show's most popular.
Season two tends to divide fans thanks to some poor episodes, a slow middle, and some boring flashbacks, and the beginning of season three is widely thought to be the worst string of episodes in the entire show. Opinion on seasons five and six are similarly divided. Lost is inconsistent at best - bad when it's bad, but fantastic when it's on its game.
Poor Visual Effects
Lost is a network show from the 2000s, and it certainly looks like it. For the most part, the production values of Lost are terrific. But things get really rocky whenever the show veered into CGI.
Many shots and scenes from Lost look quite poor today, including the polar bear, the shots of the plane breaking apart and falling from the sky, and the infamous submarine sequence from season five. Luckily, the show didn't often resort to CGI, and for the most part, it still looks great today.
Bloated & Unnecessary Flashbacks
In the season three finale, Lost introduced the then-revolutionary concept of flashforwards. It was a good thing, too, because many fans believed the flashbacks were starting to be formulaic.
Part of the show's pacing issues stems from the bloated flashbacks that peppered seasons two and three. It felt like some characters' stories had been well and truly told and that the writers were simply spinning their wheels by forcing unnecessary flashbacks. These episodes often reeked of filler, and they make some re-watches particularly difficult and tedious.
Neglecting Important Stories
At times, it felt like Lost was neglecting some important stories in favor of less interesting, more inconsequential ones. The most obvious example is the time travel in season five, wherein the characters go back in time and ingratiate themselves within the DHARMA village.
This proved an exceptionally clever idea, as it gave the show an excuse to provide island lore and answer a host of questions relating to the DHARMA Initiative. Instead, the show devoted most of its time to everyday minutiae and Sawyer's relationship with Juliet. What a waste.
Boring Love Stories
If there's one flaw even the diehard fans agree on, it's the needless and boring love stories. The biggest offender is the love triangle between Kate, Sawyer, and Jack. However, the show contained its fair share of boring love stories and drama, and it tended to bog down the more interesting on-island mysteries.
Character writing is obviously important, but not when it involves lame love triangle stuff and inconsequential love stories that don't go anywhere.
Dangling Cliffhangers
Lost often utilized cliffhangers, and most of them worked to spectacular and tantalizing degrees. But sometimes they didn't, and these tend to stand out as being particularly annoying.
For example, Sawyer stealing all the guns in season two, Jack decided to build "an army" to fight the Others, or Libby being seen in the psychiatric hospital with Hurley (only for this to never be mentioned or referenced again). It's a pain, and these serve as obvious sores on otherwise fantastic cliffhanger work.