I was so excited for Lost coming back. Then Jack spent the whole season doing things differently because he admitted he was wrong about everything, and Juliet sacrificed her life to save Sawyer. It's like the writers tapped into my brain and put on the screen everything I *least* wanted to see.

My distaste for Sawyer/Juliet is not just about my disappointment over Jack/Juliet, by the way. I was rooting for J/J all through seasons three and four and convinced myself that the show paired Jack with Kate and Sawyer with Juliet as a temporary distraction, yes, and I'm super sad that the ships ended up the way they did, but that's not the only reason why I hate S/J. I hate it because I hate Sawyer and I love Juliet. I hate it because I can't think of a damn thing they have in common other than their experience and I can't imagine what they would have to talk about. I hate that it's supposed to be a relationship based on this "beautiful mutual respect," when I don't believe for a second that Sawyer deserves the respect of a woman like Juliet. I hate that Juliet, despite her lying and manipulations, was really one of the most realistic, pragmatic characters on the show, a doctor who cared about her patients and would've done anything to get off the island to see her sister and nephew. Now, she's content being Sawyer's little wifey and doesn't care that she's not a doctor anymore, and this cool, pragmatic woman is suddenly content playing pretend in 1977. I hate that Sawyer FINALLY stops being a jackass in a too little, too late way, and gets to be the Best Leader Ever that Jack Never Could Be. I have no problem with making Sawyer less annoying, and the little I saw of James LaFleur was a lot more tolerable than the old Sawyer, but that doesn't mean I want him to be in charge and lauded as the perfect leader while making Jack come up short in comparison. Sawyer had a lot more resources and knowledge of the island available to him when he started to lead, while Jack had NOTHING, but this isn't acknowledged - no, Sawyer, the guy who sat on his ass and sexually harassed the women on the island while Jack scrambled around trying to keep people safe, is just naturally a better leader? Fuck that noise.

For me, there was ONE saving grace of the Sawyer/Juliet storyline. I was afraid that Juliet would have to deal with being consolation prize *again* and that Sawyer would remember that it was Kate he really loved. Based on the clip I saw of her death - I had to watch the last scene of my favorite character - it seems that Sawyer really did love her, more than he ever loved Kate, and at least Juliet didn't have to be sloppy seconds to BOTH guys in the quadrangle. And I must begrudgingly give some props to Holloway, who normally irritates me, because I bought his grief for Juliet.

Anyway, if Juliet was my favorite, Jack was my second, and I couldn't constantly watch him get humiliated every week. He has to humble himself to Locke AND Sawyer? Dear God, do the writers really hate his character that much? And does he ever mention Claire or Aaron, or is his mission all about stupid Kate? (Kate, ironically, is the one who DOES care about Claire and Aaron, and the fact that she came back to the island for Claire and NOT Sawyer makes me like her more).

I just don't feel the writers really care about the characters anymore. Sawyer's development didn't feel genuine; it felt like fan pandering. Obviously the show is better plotted than it was in season one and they have an endgame in mind, but it seems very plot-centric rather than character-centric. Character development isn't as important as wacky time travel! Time travel bores me, anyway, which is another reason I stopped watching.

ONE thing I like is that Locke was really dead and someone else was using his body all season. Awesome. It's totally fitting that Locke met his end by Ben punk'ing him. And despite all the crap he's done, I really felt bad for him when he was crying in despair before hanging himself - O'Quinn rules. I may have to go back and download the Ben-centric, Locke-centric, and Miles-centric episodes for this season (because I *love* Miles like crazy), but that's it. This show has disappointed me greatly.