The “Lost” finale, according to someone who didn’t watch it
posted at 7:50 pm on May 24, 2010 by Allahpundit
I never watched the show, having learned my lesson from “Twin Peaks” to stay away from ambitiously cryptic serials, but (a) this is the big story of the day, to my amazement, so we owe the fanboys among us a thread and (b) not knowing what I’m talking about has never stopped me from blogging before. Besides, it’s the last 10 minutes that’s getting the buzz and you don’t really need to have followed “Lost” to form a judgment on that. (Skip ahead to 1:34:30 below to watch.) Everyone knows the basic plot outline: They crashed on a mysterious island years ago, they’ve had a thousand unexplainable things happen to them since then, and in lieu of explaining those things last night, they gave you … this. Which, I have to say: I really like. I understand why a lot of Losties detest it. You’ve been reading a thousand-page mystery novel that’s gotten more convoluted with each chapter, and on the very last page, instead of the whodunnit — they gave you a poem. The question is, was it a mystery novel or was it something else? Via Jim Treacher, this rings true with what I’ve heard from other “Lost” fans:
Ultimately, “Lost” didn’t succeed because of the mythology. We’ve seen too many examples of mythology-heavy, character-light series fail over the last six years to think that. “Lost” succeeded on emotion, whether that emotion was fear of the monster in the jungle, or grief over Juliet dying, or joy at Desmond reuniting with Penny, or thrills at Sayid’s breakdance fighting and Hurley riding to the rescue in the Dharma bus. When “Lost” was really and truly great, it locked you so deep into the emotions of the moment that the larger questions didn’t really matter.
My question for the people who are disappointed: Given the sheer volume and inscrutability of the show’s subplots, didn’t you already know that you weren’t going to get answers? It sounds like it would have taken a full season to wrap up the loose ends. And from what little I know of the individual gimmicks, I’m not sure any satisfying account was possible. How do you elegantly explain something as goofy as the “smoke monster,” for instance? Answer: You don’t, and luckily, you don’t really need to. It’s simply part of the ride.
As for the last 10 minutes, as hokey as some of it is (the ecumenical stained glass is awful), it actually appeals to my atheist eye. Not entirely, of course — it’s overtly spiritual — but the idea that the mysterious “mythology” they obsessed over during the course of the show didn’t really matter in the end is gratifying to a skeptic. I also like the ambiguity in the fact that the lead character isn’t dead until the final shot. Is the scene in the church real or a comforting vision with which he consoles himself in the last moments of consciousness before he closes his eyes — at which point it’s all over (literally)? Food for thought, or at least a light snack, although I don’t think that question’s important either. They’re going for the heart here instead of the brain, and they managed to reach it. How many shows can you say that about?
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 4
I felt like we saw the start of it. His “no one else will have me” moment with Ilana really got to me. I then genuinely wanted him to be a better person. With him stating that he’d be “honored” to be Hurley’s number two, that seemed, to me anyway, to show how he’d attain redemption and already showed how far he’d come in that he wasn’t trying to steal power from Hurley.
Yeah, me too. Not everyone got the show, but it was one of the best TV experiences I’ve ever had.
Esthier on May 25, 2010 at 4:16 PM
As for the stained glass, I recognized the Christain, Jewish, Muslim and Buddist symbols. What where the other two symbols. The wheel could be the Donkey wheel on the Island. Maybe?
mechkiller_k on May 25, 2010 at 4:18 PM
From top to bottom, left to right.
Islam, Judaism
Hinduism, Christianity
Buddhism, Daoism
Inanemergencydial on May 25, 2010 at 4:25 PM
They forgot to include the Jainism, but then they would have had to have a swastika in the stained glass.
Inanemergencydial on May 25, 2010 at 4:26 PM
As for the time travel issue. If the Island was the nexus where Heaven and Hell meet, then the Island is some kind of limbo or buffer zone. Like the narrow part of a sand glass timer. This area would be where our earthly lives are lived. Imagine the island being the most narrow part of the timer where the two sides meet. Time could be accessed here because I would suppose both Heaven and hell are timeless. If the balance of the island is distrupted (like what the DARMA people did) then the island could cause time to be unstable. This was corrected using the electro magnetic device that Desmond had to reset.
mechkiller_k on May 25, 2010 at 4:28 PM
As for the smoke monster. Best guess is that he was Cerberus. The DARMA people had this area mapped but the survivors never went there as far as I remember. I think he was the guardian or an escaped sprit that used the Man in black’s form to escape from hell. Later he used Locke’s form. (Only dead people could be imitated).
When the stone (cork) was pulled, hell came to the island and the imbalance was what was destroying it. Since the island was becoming the reality of hell, Cerberus (Locke) took on a real form, just as Jack and his father were real in the afterlife reality. At this point Cerberus could be killed.
mechkiller_k on May 25, 2010 at 4:42 PM
They “forgot” plenty of religions. But the ones you listed are the ones used currently practiced that were used on the show frequently:
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Religion_and_ideologies
The whole show incorporated philosophers and theologians to explain much of the show’s own mythology, not to promote one over the other or even to promote any of them. It was a crafty story telling devise.
Esthier on May 25, 2010 at 4:45 PM
I didn’t really mind the ambiguity of the ending, or the last ten minutes or so. In my view the finale sucked because the spent the entire hour and 45 minutes (without commercials) showering us with heartwarming scenes of people remembering who they were in the other timeline. It was moving the first time, touching the second time, and somewhat poignant the third. But by the fifteenth time, I started getting really emotional, because I was so sad to be watching such awful television.
There was basically no dramatic tension throughout the whole finale. The smoke monster didn’t even turn into smoke once, and got killed in a fistfight halfway through.
Also, even though I already strongly suspected Ben was going to turn out to be working for the good guys when he killed Widmore in a previous episode, they wrote the finale as if that were so obvious that it wasn’t even worth a dramatic “AHA, I was working for the good guys all along” moment. I guess with limited time, they figured it would be more powerful if they added a 17th heartwarming cameo from someone who died 4 seasons ago.
RINO in Name Only on May 25, 2010 at 4:53 PM
As for the healing. They explained this in an episode featuring Rose. She was dying of cancer and was looking for a cure. She and her husband (Bernie) went to Australia and learned about “Ley Lines“.
The one in Australia either was not powerful enough or was the wrong kind to cure her. It was implied that the island was a very strong or the strongest of Ley Line intersections. This also implied that Ley Lines where a form of electro magnetism, of which the island had in abundance. This leads to the idea that the island was a magnetic cork separating Heaven and hell.
mechkiller_k on May 25, 2010 at 4:54 PM
He didn’t turn to Smoke Monster because he couldn’t kill any of the candidates himself anyway, making it completely pointless.
Sorry you didn’t like it.
Esthier on May 25, 2010 at 4:59 PM
But Jacob is not the one who told him to do this. Jack came to conclusion on his own. Similarly, going into the cave to “reactivate” the island wasn’t Jacob’s plan: It was Jack’s. Even passing on the island’s custodianship to Hurley was Jack’s idea. In the end he did have faith in the island, Jacob, and Hurley, but the act of sacrificing his life to save the island was his choice alone, and where he found an existential meaning for his life.
Blacklake on May 25, 2010 at 5:11 PM
Sure, but his conclusions came from faith in Jacob. I mean, he decided on having Desmond go down into that cave because he believed that Jacob wouldn’t have wanted Desmond here so that MIB could force him to destroy the island. That was his entire rationale for going along with MIB’s plan.
Esthier on May 25, 2010 at 5:21 PM
Lost was one of the biggest scams of the century. It was a series with no plot and no purpose. The title “Lost” is more about the direction of the writers and the viewers than about the characters or any story line at all.
There was no story line. Just random acts of meaningless events followed by other random acts of meaningless events with the purpose of deceiving the viewer into thinking that perhaps there was some meaning or hidden plot to it all.
JellyToast on May 25, 2010 at 5:22 PM
So, how come Sayid was reunited in the afterlife with Shannon whom he knew for only a few short weeks on the island instead of Nadia, the love of his life? Did he have any say in the matter? (Full disclosure: The writers couldn’t have gotten rid of Shannon/Aaron and their storyline soon enough to suit me and I was sorry to see them reappear.)
It was very emotional but ultimately unsatisfying. Not only as a wrap-up of the show’s mythology, but, since the writers decided to take us there, also on the spiritual level. A number of the characters had committed heinous acts in their lifetimes. What exactly had they done to earn their redemption and life everlasting surrounded by their loved ones?
I told my husband the message of Lost was: whatever you do, don’t go to the light. He said he’d always heard that was a trap. LOL
SukieTawdry on May 25, 2010 at 5:45 PM
Good question, but technically, Sayid was reunited with Nadia in the after life. She was just married to someone else. Somehow, Sayid wouldn’t let himself be with her. Which, considering he was a torturer, and she was a torture victim (I don’t know if he actually tortured her), I kinda get it.
I’ll admit that I didn’t like Shannon at first, but I grew to like her and liked the way they pulled her in at the end like that.
Esthier on May 25, 2010 at 5:48 PM
So what? It was a great ride, much like a roller coaster. It had ups and downs and yet you never go anywhere except to where you started. Just like Jack did. (eye opens and eye shuts)
mechkiller_k on May 25, 2010 at 5:48 PM
Obviously there are some who take/took this show waaaaay too seriously as some responses to some facetious comments show.
Sheeesh.
catmman on May 25, 2010 at 7:32 PM
I was hoping that it would end with the entire cast waking up next to Suzanne Pleshette.
Proud Rino on May 25, 2010 at 7:58 PM
Don’t need to. I wasn’t a christian until I was 25 so I understand how non-believers think.
Benaiah on May 26, 2010 at 1:22 AM
Lost. Unfortunately, an appropriate title, for it describes the souls of all involved. The conglomeration of the world’s religions in the stained glass reveal the lying message of the series: that all paths to God are equal, all roads lead to heaven. The Bible warns that Satan will present himself as an angel of light. It was his light shining around them at the end of the show. Hell awaited them on the other side of those doors.
Jesus said that if the light in your eye is actually darkness, how great is that darkness! I would encourage all readers to ask for the light of the gospel to shine upon them, to ask for God’s mercy that He reveal the true nature of Christ and his work. Ask God for his light, and your soul will be full of light indeed!
gajaw999 on May 26, 2010 at 5:06 AM
I watched the entire series and do not believe at all i was cheated on answers.
They provided answers to many of the questions and the mysteries that were unresolved are better that way.
LOST is the best thing to have ever been on TV.
Thune on May 26, 2010 at 10:39 AM
Something I said in the Doc Zero thread…
I’ve watched, re watched and thought about the end. For everyone else, think about this, who will be your person/group to greet you and walk to the backdoor of the church with? Maybe it’s time to refocus on some relationships of the people you care about. Who would you rather be at the end, Jack or Ben? With people you care about and that care for you…..or alone on bench outside hoping to make amends?
Other missing point I just thought of was how intertwined the characters were prior to flight. In some of the characters back stories you would see different Losties in the background.
VikingGoneWild on May 26, 2010 at 10:59 AM
My question wasn’t about non believers in general, but people like him specifically. Maybe you were like him, in which case, I don’t understand the potential for offense. And really, sometimes the character makes some good points.
Esthier on May 26, 2010 at 11:04 AM
That wasn’t the message of the series. Save your religious indignation for another thread.
Esthier on May 26, 2010 at 11:09 AM
Sounds like the Obama Administration.
kirkill on May 26, 2010 at 11:33 AM
To paraphrase the Simpsons:
There is no moral to the story; it’s just a bunch of stuff that happened.
It was a soap opera, pure and simple. If you expected anything more, you were disappointed. If you only expected a campy soap opera, then you got what you came for.
The characters were real, but the setting and the plot were abstract. The setting and the plot could be anything the writers wanted them to be, but the characters and their relationships were concrete. All that really mattered was the character development, and all the character plot lines were completed (mostly, I think).
Jack made peace with his father and found love with Kate. We found out who Kate was going to end up with. Claire, Charlie, and Aaron were united as a family, as were Sun, Jin (sp?) and their daughter. Sawyer and Sayid both realized they weren’t such bad guys after all and hooked up with their true love. Etc. Etc. Also, all the really annoying characters got blow’d up. Which is good.
bitsy on May 26, 2010 at 11:43 AM
The truth is “religious indignation” now?
huh.
Inanemergencydial on May 26, 2010 at 1:29 PM
Are you being intentionally obtuse? I’m talking about your misplaced rant, pure and simple. It has nothing to do with Lost and only makes you look like someone looking for offense. It’s petty and mean-spirited.
You didn’t like the show? OK then. Don’t talk about it, especially when you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Esthier on May 26, 2010 at 2:34 PM
Aftr processing it for 2 days. I actually liked the ending. Doing it any other way would have screwed it up.
Sure, not all my questions were answered. What do the numbers mean? Or why can’t women have babaies on the island? and so forth. In the end none of it mattered. It was people that mattered not technical secrets.
The show was my weekly one-hour escape from all of the hassles of work, home, and such. My wife and I would spend time together talking about the episodes and theories afterwards.
In my mind, it was one of the better shows on TV. Tuesday nights seem boring now.
Maybe they’ll do a Lost II or a prequel.
I think they could do a series of shows with Sayid interogatting the wirters on all of the answers some people expected.
JohnBG on May 26, 2010 at 4:07 PM
Save your religious indignation for another thread.
Esthier on May 26, 2010 at 11:09 AM
Esthier, I am not indignant at all. Many other posters here have noted the not-so-subtle message of the stained glass window. Christians have been criticized from the beginning for refusing to meld their faith in with everyone else. I was simply giving a perspective on why that is so.
gajaw999 on May 26, 2010 at 4:57 PM
For the (satisfied or unsatisfied)LOST fans who still want answers, well they are coming:‘Lost’ Creators Promise More Answers After The Finale
RedRobin145 on May 26, 2010 at 5:46 PM
Yes, and I’ve disagreed with every one of them in the same way. That was never the point of the show and is far more likely a comment from the writers about all of the current religions they heavily borrowed from in writing their mythology for the island.
The stories were big on theologies and philosophies from multiple sources. You can even see it with the character naming.
That’s fine but off topic. That’s simply not what the show was about at all. And it’s a horrible thing to base criticism of a show on.
Esthier on May 26, 2010 at 6:57 PM
That would be awesome.
Heck, I’d even watch a Hurley/Ben sitcom about their island stuff.
Esthier on May 26, 2010 at 6:58 PM
Lost was stupid.
B26354 on May 26, 2010 at 8:05 PM
Lost was stupid.
Why is there no thread for 24 or did I miss it?
margategop517 on May 26, 2010 at 8:55 PM
I don’t think I indicated either way that I was enamored or not…
You are straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel.
I like how you have made yourself the arbiter of who can and cannot comment on your stupid TV show.
Is it lonely at the top?
Inanemergencydial on May 26, 2010 at 9:50 PM
I must be psychic then or know something about tone.
I get my obsession with this thread, but what’s yours? You made an unfounded claim about the show, haven’t even tried to back it up, and now can’t stop talking about it. Why?
Esthier on May 27, 2010 at 12:05 AM
Because getting canceled isn’t the same as having a series finale.
Esthier on May 27, 2010 at 12:06 AM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 4