Its never been controversial to claim that Stranger in a Strange Land is the worst episode of Lost. The ninth episode of the shows third season was greeted with almost universally negative reviews shortly after it aired in 2007, and its reputation hasnt improved in the nearly 18 years since its debut. Its the second-lowest-ranked episode of the show on IMDb (and the lowest-rated overall episode) and has become a kind of shorthand for the series broader shortcomings. Even Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have blasted the episode in past interviews, with Cuse going so far as to call it cringe-worthy.Yet, Lost fans everywhere should be at least a little grateful for Stranger in a Strange Land. Not as a standalone episode, perhaps, but rather as an important piece of the overall series that is more significant than many other technically better, yet largely meaningless episodes gone by.Without Stranger in a Strange Land, Lost may have become something far worse. It not only helped save the show; it did so in ways that feel especially pressing at a time when more and more viewers are romanticizing the age of network TV-style programming.What Makes Stranger in a Strange Land So Bad?On paper, Stranger In a Strange Land doesnt seem worthy of widespread scorn. Its not some grand entry in the series that fumbled a big moment, nor is it a crumbling cornerstone of the shows mythology. Its just a side-adventure about Jacks time as a prisoner in the Others camp mixed with flashbacks about Jacks trip to Thailand that gradually help explain where the character got his tattoos.But if you find yourself thinking Wow, that sounds like a Jack-heavy episode, then youve put your finger on part of the problem. While the hate that Jack has received over the years has arguably been stretched past the point of reason, much of the disdain for Jack as a character is rooted in valid criticisms.In a show defined by how its characters grow and what we learn about their past, Jack remained a stick in the mud. Early on, he was placed at the center of the series ensemble cast, yet largely functioned as a voice of stubborn dissent while those around him had more interesting adventures. To make matters worse, Jacks flashback episodes often repeated the same talking points (Daddy issues and substance abuse? Gasp!) whereas many other flashbacks gradually revealed richer character tapestries. At the very least, they were often more independently entertaining.Those flashbacks are the main reason why Stranger in a Strange Land is despised rather than disliked. A shocking amount of the episode focuses on a trip Jack took to Thailand. There, he has a fling with a woman named Achara (an often-better Bai Ling) who claims to be able to tattoo people with markings that reveal their true nature. A sullen and increasingly belligerent (try to be surprised) Jack eventually goads Achara into giving him the supposedly mystical tattoos.While the episode captures the thrills of hearing about some dudes trip to Thailand (Bro, hell claim. Its wild), its the tattoo plot point that is most often remembered and ridiculed. Previews for Stranger in a Strange Land teased answers to three of Losts biggest mysteries. Two of those mysteries ended up being the whereabouts of relatively minor characters, while the third seems to relate to the origins of Jacks tattoos: a question few ever asked before the series suggested it was a significant part of the puzzle.There had been bad and largely forgettable episodes of Lost before Stranger in a Strange Land, but that tease truly upset fans who begged for the show to start delivering answers rather than more mysteries. A bad filler episode in a 23-episode season is one thing. A bad filler episode that teases something significant and delivers a wheel-spinning, Jack-focused adventure that validates most criticisms directed towards that character and the series up until that point is something else entirely.Even removed from those expectations, Stranger in a Strange Land is a particularly poorly acted, poorly written, and poorly paced entry in a series that was about to be firing on all cylinders. Unless you long to watch Jack fly a kite while nearly everyone else puts their plots on hold for a week, you can probably skip it.Mind you, many involved with the production of Stranger in a Strange Land have since stated that they knew the episode was going to be a low point for the series. Its not that they didnt care, but rather that the episode was largely the result of circumstances beyond their control. However, that doesnt mean they were above using that despised episode to their eventual advantage.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!How Stranger in a Strange Land Saved LostIn an interview with USA Today, Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof reiterates that he also feels Stranger in a Strange Land is a bad episode but asks people to be just a bit kinder towards it. According to Lindelof, the episode was the result of many different circumstances that contributed to it being as bad as it was. Said circumstances include a bad casting decision, a bad premise decision, and a bad flashback story.However, the biggest contributing factor to the episodes various woes was the fact that the shows creators still had to adhere to more traditional network TV production requirements that didnt benefit their more serialized series. They had asked ABC to allow them to set a firmer end date for the show that they could gradually build towards through fewer, more meaningful episodes. ABC disagreed and seemingly felt that more Lost was good Lost.That is until they saw Stranger in a Strange Land. In a 2009 interview with writer Alan Sepinwall, Lindelof recalls that he sat in on a notes call with the network regarding Stranger in a Strange Land and heard them say what many have since said: We dont like this episode. Lindelof offered the kind of candid response that you can only get away with when youre in creative control of the hottest series on television.We dont like it, either, but its the best we can do if were not moving the story forward, Lindelof said. This is the future of the show: how Jack got his tattoos. Everything weve been saying for two years about whats to come, is now all here on the screen. You argued that an hour of Matthew Fox in emotionally-based conflicts, it doesnt matter what the flashback story is, itll be fine. But now that were doing his ninth flashback story, you just dont care.Stranger in a Strange Land was the proof that Lindelof needed to convince the network that they needed to be able to set an end date for Lost. Without that end date, they and us were probably going to have to suffer through a lot more episodes like that. ABC eventually agreed and allowed the showrunners to share their outline for a six-season version of the series.The three seasons of Lost we got after that conversation are hardly perfect. Theyre filled with lesser episodes and build towards a finale that continues to divide fans to this day. Yet, we never really got anything as bad as Stranger in a Strange Land again. We never got an episode quite that pointless or quite that boring that was made even worse by the production circumstances of its superfluous existence. Losts worst episode ended up making a compelling argument that ABC needed to start looking at their golden goose as something a bit more precious.In a time of renewed network TV nostalgia when more people find themselves longing for a simpler form of second-screen entertainment, the filler episode has become a kind of rallying cry for a better or at least different way to do things. Yet, Stranger in a Strange Land reminds us that such episodes can cut both ways. While they can serve as the backbone of more bountiful shows that deliver standalone thrills on a week-by-week basis, they are also part of the reason why those in the industry once begged the networks to reconsider what TV can be.Such arguments for the return of that format should be taken with a grain of salt. Their enthusiasm for the idea of a thing often conveniently overlooks the reality of just how low even the best shows can sink over the course of 20+ episodes. Or, as Jack says regarding an interpretation of his infamous tattoos, Thats what they say, thats not what they mean.