Do you feel that some fans have a difficult time grasping the subtle qualities/flaws of Lost's characters? I sure do.

The more I see people complain about Jack being portrayed as "perfect" and Kate being portrayed as "weak" just because he shot a rope with a bullet and she didn't, the more I want to reach through my computer monitor and write "pay attention" in indelible ink on the foreheads of every person making these complaints.....

Jack is as flawed as anyone on this show, only in ways that aren't criminal. He is one of the most emotionally detached, insensitive, and obsessive heroes I've ever seen on a TV show. To say he's perfect is to ignore all the subtle (and many not-so-subtle) mistakes he's made over the course of the seasion. The people ignoring this are the same people who root for Sawyer to stomp Jack simply because they think Sawyer is better looking....ignoring the fact that he's done little but act on behalf of his own self-interests and challenge every positive thing that the group leadership has tried to accomplish.

Anyway. I feel that a large and unabashedly vocal segment of the American audience (I'm an American, so I reserve the right to be critical) needs things spelled out for them, and it's a shame. Do the writers of Lost struggle to find a balance between subtle and in-your-face character development?

Not that you need to hear it from me...but I'd say the majority of Lost's audience gets it....so please don't dumb it down for those who don't.

Thanks!

Edit: By the way...I'll appreciate if you choose to be diplomatic and avoid answering this post on the grounds that it might provoke an argument. I realize this board isn't the place for that....

Well here's a different perspective: I think people get the subtleties but I don't think they like them (or at least don't like part of them).

I think people like the characters and identify with them for all the reasons you list. That's what makes them so interesting and realistic. And once you latch onto them, like all good friends, you don't want them to make mistakes. When they do, you just want to reach through the TV screen and slap them. But of course what that really means is you want to reach out and slap the writers for making the characters make those wrong decisions.

But here's something to ponder: do Americans as a whole (and Americans is such a hard group to identify since there are so many different ways of defining what an American is beyond the nationalistic) like things spelled out more than people of other countries? Or is this just the flip side of saying that the French only like it when there are ambiguities and nothing is explained? Is it a result of the country or is it a product of engrained TV practices?

Is it a class difference? Do the upper classes tolerate ambiguous or experimental material better than lower classes?

Is it a political difference? Ideological? Do conservatives want things spelled out more than liberals?

Is it true that when you speak (or produce artistic endeavors) that the culture speaks you?

These are interesting topics to explore, and it doesn't have to result in an argument.