Huge TV series 'ruined' itself as viewers issue same complaint over controversial episode

Lost was one of the biggest shows on TV throughout their 2000s, until its climactic finale in 2010 - but viewers were totally divided on one unexpected episode which aired almost at the end of its run. The sci-fi series had fans gripped with its tales of plane crash survivors stranded on a remote desert island.

They soon found themselves relying on one another for survival as the more sinister inhabitants of the island revealed themselves - everyone from polar bears to the malevolent Man in Black, who initially appeared as an ambiguous cloud of black smoke. After some viewers confessed they were confused about certain elements and demanded answers, producers debuted the episode Across The Sea to explain. However, the backlash that ensued almost threatened to topple what had earlier been declared "the best TV show of all time".

Millions of avid viewers tuned in back in 2010 for the divisive episode, only to find it was taking them back in time by 2,000 years - and the plot wouldn't feature any recognisable characters.

They witnessed a battle between good and evil, with the island being the barrier between innocence on Earth and the perils of malevolent forces below it.

Jacob, played by Mark Pellegrino, and his brother The Man in Black (also known as the Smoke Monster and played by Titus Welliver) had been locked in a conflict that had lasted centuries, with Jacob trapping his sibling to protect humanity.

However, answers seemingly couldn't have been provided by the creators of the show without going far back in time to the beginning of the conflict.

To this day, 15 years after the show ended, viewers are still complaining about how an iconic moment in history was "ruined", just two episodes before the overall finale.

"I loathe Across the Sea, for lots of reasons, and a big part of it may be how it killed the momentum of the season wrap-up in the initial airing," complained one over on Reddit.

Another agreed: "I understand how it's all set up for the final two episodes. But god damn does its placement bring everything to a screeching halt. [It's like the writers said] "Screw it, let's go back to the beginning of time!"

A third griped of the controversial episode while taking a trip down memory lane: "I just don't get what the writers were going for with this origin story. [It] really was hard to stomach given the overall narrative of the entire show.

"For me, the episode 'Across the Sea' is the worst episode of the series... I still love the show, but just find this episode completely out of place."

Despite complaints, the show received an overall Rotten Tomatoes rating of 89% from the audience, and 86% from critics - and continues to be seen as one of the 2000s' most epic TV creations.