[BigHairedAristocrat]

at this point, i dont really know any "casual" viewers of lost. pretty much everyone who follows the show is a nerd or geek of some sort. the writers recognize this, which is why pretty much every episode is chock-full of easter eggs and literary references. there are very few things in the show that come as true surprises. usually any big reveal was foreshadowed in advance by some sort of easter egg. its audience IS nerds, which is why inconsistencies are so frustrating. then again, in a show that apparently involves multiple realities, theres no telling if something is truly an inconsistency or has been done deliberately.