I finally figured out what the secret to Lost is. It has nothing to do with the smoke monster or the Others or the numbers or anything like that. The secret of Lost is in how the show should be watched.

When Lost came out I knew nothing about it as I didn’t watch TV. On a whim I decided to download season 1 and after a few episodes I was absolutely hooked. I remember flying to visit a friend and watching 6 episodes on the flight. On the way back, 6 more. Then that night, 4 more.

Season 2 came out and like millions of people I watched it week by week, and wow, the show sucked. Week after week we viewers were tormented with long drawn out redundant episodes and Michael running around yelling, “Waaaaaaaaaaalt!” When the DVD came out for some reason I bought it and watched the episodes again back to back and noticed that the season wasn’t actually that horrible. It lacked the punch of the first season but by no means was the abomination that I remembered.

For season 3 I decided I would hold off watching any episodes until they were all available to watch. As my co-workers and friends complained familiar complaints about the declining state of the show, how episodes were shown with no seeming connection to the greater plot, I just covered my ears to avoid spoilers.

Having just finished watching season 3 over the course of a few nights I can say that the season was actually really good. I can empathize with my friends who watched in on a weekly basis because there were a few episodes that dragged on or that had little impact on the main storyline. But, when watched in the context of 23 episodes back to back, these weaker episodes just rolled on along blending in with the good. When a cliffhanger episode was followed up by an episode focusing on a silly character, I hadn’t built up anticipation for a week only to be disappointed. I just popped in the next episode and got instant satisfaction.

My advice to any Lost fans out there, it’s difficult, but just ignore that the show is on TV. When the DVD comes out or if you like iTunes, pick up the season and watch it in one go. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.