Reception
"Further Instructions" was originally scheduled to air October 11, 2006 as the second episode of the show's third season, but swapped with another Lost episode, "The Glass Ballerina". Upon its original broadcast on October 18, 2006 in the United States on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), "Further Instructions" was watched live by an estimated 16.31 million viewers. In the 18-49 demographic, Lost received a 6.5/16 ratings share, helping ABC place first for the night when compared to the other major networks.
The episode has received mixed to positive reviews from television critics. Chris Carabott of IGN wrote that "Further Instructions" was "an entertaining hour of television. The episode certainly offers its fair share of excitement, but as with any typical Lost episode we are presented with more questions than answers". Carabott also called it an improvement over the preceding episode, "The Glass Ballerina." Andrew Dignan of Slant Magazine expressed relief in having Locke "back to the way we fondly remember him--as a wide-eyed, knife-wielding, face-smeared madman", but disliked his flashbacks, calling them a "largely under-developed affair". Dignan was also pleased to have Hurley back at the camp and referred to him as "someone will keep the show grounded", but concluded his review by unhappily noting the sudden emergence of Nikki and Paulo as "a colossal misjudgment on the producers' part" and "a dangerous precedent that bears keeping an eye on."
Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Christine Fenno believed the episode had "false starts" but still "enjoyed the trippy places the writers took us." While disliking the initial scenes with Charlie and Locke, Fenno thought the episode "found its groove" after Locke entered into the trance, and called the final scene between Eddie and Locke the episode's "strongest moment." The Record gave a negative review, noting that "Unfortunately, 'Instructions' seemed devoid of everything that made 'The Glass Ballerina' hum. It was disjointed, it was graceless, and it seemed filled with gaping holes and not terribly helpful information." In a 2008 review, Ryan McGee of Zap2It gave the episode another negative review and considered it the weakest of the season's first three episodes. He explained that after watching it for a second time, it "just feels off to me in hindsight. Maybe it's the lack of forward movement, maybe its the lackluster flashback, maybe because the central plot is rendered moot in just two more episodes...I can't quite say."
Read more about this topic: Further Instructions
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