'Lost' Week 2 Underscores Why Show Had to End

The second episode of "Lost" was a slower-moving affair than the two-hour premiere, with precious little learned about the new "Others" harboring several members of the original cast and an interesting flash-sideways involving Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Claire (Emilie de Ravin). As one writer I know said, too much foreplay, but with a big finish.

It was also both creatively and commercially a pretty good demonstration of why the producers were so right on in demanding that the show has to end.

Preliminary Nielsen ratings show the program drew 11 million viewers Tuesday and a 4.9 rating among adults 18-49 -- swell by current primetime standards, but a steep drop from "Lost's" heyday. And one suspects that number -- down a bit from the two-hour launch -- won't be going up until the final episodes in May. (Notably, "The Forgotten" chased away nearly half of that audience, suggesting that "Lost" will again be the programming equivalent of a lonely island, as it were, on Tuesday nights.)

This latest episode also required a lot of thinking back -- remembering who Claire was, for starters, given that she'd been gone for an extended stretch -- that highlights both why "Lost" is catnip for hardcore fans and unable to draw lost viewers back, much less bring new ones in.

At this point, I'm not overly second-guessing any of the creative choices, merely enjoying them -- while reserving the right to be disappointed if the payoff isn't worthy of the build-up. And I have a feeling another 11 million people or so will be along for most of that ride -- a couple million more than there would be, by the way, if ABC hadn't agreed to let this confounding, twisted roller-coaster of a show come to a full stop.

Oh, and in case your into cryptic log lines, here's next week's:

“The Substitute” – Locke goes in search of help to further his cause.