Lost has a lot of broken plot points and numerous examples of broken continuity. While there was an idea of what the show was about when it was first conceived, it has been mentioned many times that plots and story lines have been adapted, enhanced, altered, or completely re-imagined from initial concepts.

No matter how much I've ever seen a show creator brag about how well conceived their project is, they all seem in the end to mostly make it up as they go along. This has been evident in Lost for a long time. To their credit, they have managed to tie back a lot of loose ends and make some corrections along the way. Last season rescued the show in my opinion, because it was previously already circling the bowl about to drop the last inch down the drain.

The first two episodes of this season were decent. I have confidence that we may see a season as good as the last one. Fingers crossed. Some plot elements are probably best left in the past without trying to tie them back in. I find convoluted or contrived tie-backs much more annoying.

Heroes has come back this season and somewhat smoothed out some of the damage they did last season, but it's still a pale, pale ghost of what it was during its first season. I don't believe for a second that anyone at that show has a strong idea of how episodes and the seasons fit into the overall plot. IMO, it suffered in a large way from lack of planning. An obvious thing this show's creators might want to keep in mind is character development and consistency. They take far too many liberties by pushing the characters, well... completely out of character.